Early in the morning, the red clouds in the sky gradually thinned—this was a good start.

  Emma looked down at the street below through the window. The mutated creatures had all returned to their nests to rest, making it the perfect time to go out.

  "Bentley, wake up," Emma patted the German Shepherd lying under the bed, smiling softly.

  Bentley lay on his blanket, opened his eyes slightly, then closed them again. On such a gentle morning, nothing was better than a second sleep.

  "Come on, Bentley, get up," Emma tempted him. "We need to go get gas, or we won’t have fried meat for lunch!"

  At the thought of the fried meat his owner made, Bentley sat up abruptly, then looked at Emma with bright, energetic eyes.

  Emma was extremely cautious every time she went out, because the outside was far too dangerous. Those high-level zombies carried the infectious mutated Z-Virus—one scratch from their claws could infect you, turning you into a zombie. The mutated creatures were even more bizarre: mice had turned into giant rats with sharp teeth that could gnaw through steel; stray cats had become night killers, their sharp claws ready to take their prey’s life at any moment.

  Emma was just an ordinary girl. Although she had survived the Z-Virus outbreak through sheer perseverance, her physical fitness hadn’t improved much. So she had to learn to protect herself.

  She put on the bulletproof vest and protective helmet she’d taken from a dead policeman, followed by arm and leg guards. But Emma knew that relying on these alone wouldn’t save her—she’d end up no better than the original owner of this gear. So she put on her homemade iron armor and iron gloves, a set she’d spent a full month making and another month polishing. It was crafted so meticulously that it didn’t hinder her movement at all.

  Once fully armored, she put on her roller skates, slung her backpack over her shoulders, and was ready to go.

  "Bentley, let’s go!" Emma said.

  Bentley immediately ran to her side, wagging his tail nonstop, as if saying, "Hurry up, I can’t wait anymore."

  Emma smiled, carefully opened the iron door, and found no zombies or mutated creatures outside. Bentley charged ahead first, and Emma quickly followed. She knew Bentley had an extremely sharp nose—his bold run was his way of telling her it was safe.

  After a night of fighting, most mutated creatures had eaten their fill and left. The streets were littered with dry bones and blood. Emma was already numb to this sight. She jogged along the street behind Bentley, heading toward their target.

  Suddenly, Bentley stopped. He bared his teeth at the front, his fur standing on end, making him look much more imposing. Emma knew danger was nearby. She quickly pulled a pistol from her backpack and stood cautiously behind Bentley.

  "Woof... woof..." Bentley let out a low growl, and his body was soon wrapped in lightning, emitting a faint blue glow.

  Seeing that Bentley had even used his electricity-generating ability, Emma felt sweat trickle down her palms. The unknown enemy must be extremely powerful.

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Although Bentley’s physique hadn’t changed, he was actually a mutated creature—he just retained his original nature. Emma had bought Bentley home before he even opened his eyes, so to Bentley, Emma was like family. And thanks to the increased intelligence from his mutation, he knew better than ever to protect his only family, Emma.

  Without a doubt, Bentley was the biggest reason Emma was still alive.

  "Bentley, if it’s too dangerous, we’ll back off for now," Emma whispered, worried that Bentley couldn’t handle it. She knew he could understand her.

  But this time, Bentley didn’t move an inch. His eyes were still fixed on the front, as if there was some terrifying creature there.

  Emma wasn’t a foolish woman. She knew Bentley must have his reasons for acting this way. So she leaned against him, held the gun forward, and got ready to shoot at any moment.

  Suddenly, Bentley bit onto Emma’s iron armor and jumped away quickly. Emma felt dizzy for a moment, then saw a huge pit where she and Bentley had been standing—but the enemy was still nowhere to be seen.

  Bentley put Emma down, his body glowing with electricity. Suddenly, he roared, and a bolt of lightning shot from his forehead, striking the pit. Emma immediately caught a glimpse of a faint shadow—it was a python!

  This python could turn invisible!

  Emma only got a split-second look at the python when it was electrocuted; now it had turned invisible again and disappeared.

  "Where are you?" Emma’s forehead was covered in sweat, her hands trembling slightly. Only leaning against Bentley gave her a shred of security. Many people were naturally afraid of snakes, insects, mice, and ants. Emma was better than most, but she was still a girl—and she was facing an extremely dangerous invisible snake!

  "Woof!" Bentley barked suddenly, then shot a bolt of electricity at an empty spot nearby—but this time, he seemed to miss.

  Next, Bentley’s body trembled, and his legs bent slightly. A bloodstain had appeared on his body. He’d been ambushed by the invisible python.

  Emma felt Bentley tremble, turned around, and saw blood dripping onto the ground from his side. She gritted her teeth, then fired randomly at the empty spaces around her. She had to bandage Bentley quickly, but she couldn’t—not with the invisible snake watching, ready to ambush her at any moment. She had to find it and kill it first.

  After firing several shots, Emma pulled out the magazine to reload. Just then, Bentley suddenly swept her aside with his tail. The ground shook, and Bentley was knocked flying, landing on a dilapidated bus.

  Thanks to her armor, Emma wasn’t hurt. She turned around, saw Bentley being knocked away, and screamed, "Bentley!"

  The bus shook suddenly, and then a huge burst of lightning erupted from the roof. All the lightning quickly converged into a single point, then struck the ground. But the invisible snake had learned its lesson after being electrocuted once—it had moved immediately after knocking Bentley away, so Bentley’s full-force attack missed completely.

  Bentley struggled to stand up, barking wildly at his surroundings. He was completely powerless, but he had to draw the invisible snake’s attention—only then could Emma be safe.

  Emma was smart, at least she’d always been at the top of her class in school. When she saw Bentley barking wildly even though he was seriously injured, she guessed what he was thinking. Her eyes turned red, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

  "Bentley, I will never let you die!!" Emma raised her gun and fired randomly toward the bus. Unexpectedly, this time, she hit the invisible snake by chance.

  The invisible python revealed its true form. It had originally planned to go up and eat Bentley, but now it changed its mind.

  Because Emma posed no threat to it, and Bentley was powerless. So it confidently dropped its invisibility and turned to crawl toward Emma.

  "Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!" When Bentley saw the python crawling toward Emma, he barked anxiously, but he was completely exhausted and could only watch helplessly.

  Emma looked at the python approaching, filled with fear. But she was out of bullets, and she couldn’t outrun the python in front of her. Was she really going to be eaten by this python?

  Emma had watched a movie before. The thing she remembered most was a python swallowing a person and swimming in the water, with the shape of a human bulging from its belly. Would she end up like that?