Back at the villa, Lu Heng prepared a room for the kitten in the room next to his on the third floor.
He rummaged through his spatial storage for a cat carrier, a cat bed, a cat tree, a litter box, cat litter, and specialized bowls for the cat's food and water.
Finally, he modified the door of that room, adding a barred gate the same size as the door itself.
This way, he wouldn't have to keep the kitten confined daily, and he could still see what the kitten was doing in the room from the outside.
Moreover, he wasn't sure if this kitten would also mutate after the apocalypse arrived.
But if it turned into a zombie cat, he would kill it.
After filling the food and water bowls, Lu Heng poured well water into the kitten's water bowl. Once everything was set up, he released the kitten from its carrier.
Upon being released, the kitten first meowed incessantly at Lu Heng, then wobbled towards the water bowl.
Watching the kitten drink half a bowl of water, Lu Heng guessed it must have been very thirsty.
After drinking its fill, the kitten explored the room, finally ambling into the litter box.
Lu Heng, feeling disgusted, put on a mask and cleaned up the kitten's droppings after it had finished urinating and defecating.
He frowned as he sealed the cat waste in a bag and threw it back into his spatial storage.
How could he have forgotten about the cat's need to relieve itself? It seemed he would need to find a dedicated spot in his spatial storage for such things from now on.
In the afternoon, Lu Heng played with the kitten for a long time. The cat, perhaps sensing Lu Heng's affection, kept stumbling and pouncing at the feather wand in Lu Heng's hand.
After playing with the cat for a while, the kitten, likely due to its young age, eventually grew tired. It swayed and collapsed onto the carpet below the cat tree.
Lu Heng quickly went over to check on it. He nudged the kitten, thinking it had tired itself to death, but upon seeing that it was merely asleep and still warm, he was relieved.
Holding the kitten's limp body in his hands, Lu Heng thought it would be convenient if he could bring this little creature into his spatial storage. After all, he would be away for extended periods, and he was worried about leaving it alone at home.
With a thought, Lu Heng vanished into his spatial storage. However, when he saw his empty hands, Lu Heng couldn't help but be surprised. He turned around, but there was no sign of the kitten anywhere.
Reappearing in the villa, Lu Heng saw the kitten still sleeping soundly on the carpet.
Refusing to believe it, Lu Heng thought, if he himself could enter the spatial storage, why couldn't such a small cat?
He had tried it before; when the hotel made him a roast duck, he had placed it into his spatial storage.
Picking up the kitten by the scruff of its neck from the carpet, Lu Heng attempted to enter his spatial storage again. This time, all he held was a tuft of orange cat fur.
Emerging from the spatial storage once more, Lu Heng saw the cat still lying on the carpet, continuing its slumber.
So, living creatures couldn't enter the spatial storage?
Damn it, no wonder it was so quiet in there.
Perhaps there wasn't even a single flea inside?
With a large grab, Lu Heng placed the kitten onto its bed in the cat carrier. He dusted the cat fur off his hands and then got up, leaving the cat room.
"Sigh..." Looking at the cat fur all over himself, Lu Heng sighed with a hint of regret.
It seemed his spatial storage wasn't omnipotent after all.
Going downstairs, Lu Heng decided to exercise. This body was significantly weaker than the one he had after years of struggling in the apocalypse.
He wasn't entirely sure about the exact timing of the apocalypse's arrival. He had slept in a bit late that day, and by the time he heard the chaotic sounds downstairs, the zombies had already appeared on the streets.
However, the zombies in the early stages of the apocalypse weren't of a high level, and their movements were slow. For an ordinary person like him, as long as he could overcome his fear, he could kill a few zombies alone.
He retrieved a treadmill from his spatial storage, adjusted the speed, and began his workout.
However, after running for a few minutes, he found the current training intensity unsatisfactory. He gradually increased the speed and also activated the incline function.
Even so, Lu Heng stopped after running for half an hour.
He had adjusted all the functions of the treadmill to their maximum settings, yet after running for only half an hour, he hadn't broken a single sweat. His breathing was also very steady, as if he had just returned from a leisurely stroll.
This was unscientific.
Even before the apocalypse, he used to frequent the gym, but after every training session, he would be drenched in sweat from exhaustion.
Putting away the treadmill, Lu Heng retrieved a multi-functional home strength training machine.
He went through each exercise one by one and confirmed that his body indeed had a problem.
The barbell weights that used to require considerable effort to lift, he could now lift with ease. Disbelieving, Lu Heng tried to lift the barbell with one hand.
Could this barbell be a counterfeit product, with its weight not matching the marked value?
Had his body truly changed from before?
It was probably too late to go to the hospital for a check-up now. After all, going to the hospital so late would require an emergency visit, and no one could perform a thorough examination at this hour.
Lu Heng sat on the seat of the fitness machine and thought for a moment, then he appeared in the hospital within his spatial storage.
He could examine himself. After all, he had studied medicine for many years, and many theoretical concepts were interconnected. He figured he could probably manage to draw his own blood with a machine.
Lu Heng went to the hospital he was familiar with, as he knew all the departments well. At the very least, he knew where to get what kind of tests done.
He quickly went to the emergency department, grabbed a set of syringes and various empty blood vials needed for blood tests, and then headed to the laboratory.
He drew several tubes of blood himself and ran all the blood tests.
Soon, the results of all the tests were out. His various indicators were all normal.
Did he need to test his urine too?
No, that was too disgusting. Since his blood indicators were fine, he figured his body was probably normal.
Should he get a full-body scan, a CT scan?
Well, forget it. He couldn't operate that by himself; the control console was outside.
Lu Heng took his lab report out of his spatial storage. After putting away the fitness machine, he went upstairs and checked on the kitten again.
The kitten was still sleeping. Lu Heng tried lifting one of its front paws. The limp paw had no strength at all, and when he let go, it fell back beside its other paw.
Alas, it was cute, but its energy levels were too low. It got tired so quickly after playing for just a little while.
Leaving the cat room, Lu Heng returned to his own room next door.
After taking a shower, Lu Heng took out a plate of blanched king prawns, a plate of steamed perch, and a plate of grilled oysters from his spatial storage. He didn't really feel like drinking alcohol anymore; it didn't give him that dizzying sensation, and the well water tasted better anyway.
Just as he took a few bites, the kitten in the next room started meowing.
Heh, its nose was really sharp. Had it woken up as soon as the seafood was brought out?
Wiping his hands with a tissue, Lu Heng went next door and picked up the kitten.