In Honkai with Tom Cat

To get from here to the other side, they'd have to pass through at least five or six zombies.

Though Kiana was curious about what this man and cat could do, when she saw how Li Huan and Tom planned to handle it, she tilted her head in confusion.

"Are you two planning to just go across like that?" Kiana frowned, watching Li Huan and Tom hiding in the bushes. They seemed intent on carrying the bush with them to the next patch of cover.

While Kiana remembered seeing this kind of sneaky approach in cartoons when she was a kid—and though using bushes for stealth is actually a legitimate tactic in some situations—this was a city with tall buildings.

They didn't even have camouflage suits. What on earth were they thinking, hiding in a bush and trying to move with it?

Even though these zombies were of the lowest intelligence and barely aware, this kind of disguise was absolutely meaningless!

"What's wrong? This method works really well," Li Huan said, puzzled by Kiana's reaction.

"Well... works well? Has a donkey kicked your brain?" Kiana put her hand to her forehead, looking at Li Huan as if he were an idiot. "With such a crude disguise, it's easy for the zombies to see through it."

"Then how about we make a bet? Tom and I can successfully sneak into the computer lab without any of the zombies noticing us."

Upon hearing this, Kiana dug at her ear with her pinky, looking at him as if he was joking. "Huh? Did a donkey really kick your brain? Why would I bet on something like that?"

Li Huan grinned, "Just tell me if you dare or not."

It was a basic provocation, but unfortunately, the opponent was evenly matched.

Kiana, now irritated by his taunt, responded directly, "Hmph! Why wouldn't I? Fine, let's bet. What are the stakes?"

"If you win, you can make Tom and me do anything that's within our abilities and doesn't cross our moral boundaries."

Kiana raised an eyebrow, "With all these conditions?"

Li Huan replied flatly, "What if you told us to eat dirt?"

Kiana's expression soured instantly. "What do you mean by that? Do you think I'd give you such a disgusting order?"

"I'm not provoking you," Li Huan shook his head. "I just want to show you that you'd feel the same way if you lost."

The underlying meaning was clear: if I win and make you eat dirt, would you do it?

Kiana's expression darkened.

"Always leave yourself a way out when making a bet, young girl," Li Huan lectured her like an adult. "Otherwise, you might end up losing everything."

"Fine, I get it," Kiana turned her head away and pouted. "It's a deal."

Seeing Kiana agree to the bet, Li Huan and Tom exchanged a sly, mischievous smile. The two of them hid in the bushes, and just like they had done before at the second-year teaching building, they began moving through the street, bush and all.

Kiana, watching from a hidden spot under a tree, couldn't help but shake her head.

They were so obvious. They said they wouldn't be noticed—how ridiculous.

Then, something shocking happened. Li Huan and Tom, carrying the bush, walked right past a zombie. The zombie didn't even notice the bush swaggering by; it just stood there dumbly, without any reaction.

No way... can this actually work?

Kiana watched in disbelief as the bush quickly moved past four zombies, who all seemed completely oblivious to the highly suspicious bush sneaking by.

"Is this for real...?"

Stunned, Kiana scrutinized the bush that Li Huan and Tom were hiding in. Then she noticed something peculiar: for some reason, as they moved with the bush, there was no sound at all!

Normally, moving with a bush like that should be impossible without making noise. The rustling of leaves due to wind resistance or, at the very least, the sound of footsteps should be unavoidable.

But how were these two able to move so quickly without making any noise?

Kiana couldn't comprehend how they were doing it.

Only Li Huan knew the answer, and it was all thanks to Tom. Tom could do anything he set his mind to, so when Li Huan asked him to move them quickly and silently to the other side, it was a piece of cake for Tom. And so, the current scene unfolded.

Kiana, who had no clue about Tom's capabilities, was completely tricked...

Not that Li Huan felt the slightest bit guilty about it.

Tom easily led Li Huan past the zombies, and the two of them arrived at the base of the building.

"Tom, can you get up to the third floor and open that window?" Li Huan pointed up, and Tom, with a confident expression, saluted and got to work.

Tom pulled out a grappling hook from behind his back. Kiana, watching from a distance, tilted her head in confusion.

The grappling hook looked to be only two or three meters long, seemingly too short to reach the third floor. What was the point of that?

But Tom didn't seem bothered at all. He swung the grappling hook, and as it reached the peak of its arc, Tom threw it upward with force.

A miraculous thing happened. The grappling hook flew upward, and the rope, which had seemed too short, extended impossibly in midair, reaching the railing on the roof.

What had looked like a two or three-meter rope suddenly extended by several meters, a phenomenon no scientist could ever explain.

Kiana was dumbfounded.

What just happened? How did that rope extend by several meters?

Kiana's mind reeled, her head filled with countless question marks.

Tom, unconcerned, tugged on the rope to make sure it was secure, then climbed up.

When he reached the window Kiana had pointed out earlier, he examined the tightly closed window, clinging to the rope with one paw while extending a claw from the other.

He used his claw to cut a circle in the windowpane, then carefully removed the cut glass before reaching inside to unlock the window.

After opening the window, Tom gave Li Huan a thumbs-up. Li Huan returned the gesture and began climbing the rope.

Watching Li Huan and Tom climb the rope, Kiana made a firm decision.

Next time she bets with these two, she'd be a fool.