The Rat

Going deeper and deeper, we must have walked for two or three hours. We were finally approaching the city center.

During this time, I had taken the anti-radiation medicine several more times. The side effects were lasting longer and longer, and by now, they were almost constant.

The soldiers had long been left behind. In truth, they could have moved faster. But in a dangerous heavy radiation zone, it was always better to be cautious.

Who knew if a terrifying mutant was hiding in the alleys between buildings or under the snowdrifts by the street?

As for why our group could move so fast… it probably stemmed from the confidence of the four cyborgs.

“…”

I suddenly stopped in my tracks. Su Yanlan, who was holding my hand, didn’t immediately react to my halt.

I didn’t know if I should say it. Just now, I heard a strange crunching sound in the snow again.

It was a sound completely different from ours. It was lighter and constantly changing positions. The only thing I could be sure of was that the sound was following us.

“Cough… it’s nothing…”

Feeling the nausea in my stomach, I coughed to brush it off, moved my feet again, and continued walking.

It must be a hallucination.

Yes, it must be a hallucination.

My brain made a judgment, and I deceived myself. Along the way, I had mentioned some anomalies to Su Yanlan, but she had said there were no problems.

She had started to suspect something was wrong with me.

I couldn’t say any more; I couldn’t waste Su Yanlan’s time. I just became more alert in my heart.

…

The sound was getting closer. In the distance, the iconic police badge above the police station was already visible, but my unease was growing.

What, exactly, was going on?

The sound wasn’t a hallucination; it was real. It was getting lighter but also closer.

Stopping in my tracks again, I shook off Su Yanlan’s hand.

“Miss Qin Yue?”

Su Yanlan looked slightly puzzled and stopped with me.

The three in front weren’t affected and continued walking straight ahead.

When I stopped, that unique, almost imperceptible sound of crunching snow also stopped.

“…”

Silent, I ignored Su Yanlan and slowly scanned everywhere around me, not missing a single spot.

“Miss Qin Yue? What’s wrong with you?”

Finally, just as she was about to get angry, I noticed something wrong.

In a footprint a few dozen centimeters behind me… there was a strange, small bump.

This wasn’t right. It should have been indented. There was definitely something under this layer of snow.

I clearly remembered not feeling anything hard when I stepped there, which ruled out a rock or a bone buried under the snow.

Unholstering my gun, I slowly aimed the muzzle at the small bump in the center of the footprint.

Because of my physical condition, my hands were shaking uncontrollably, making it hard to aim. My brain was muddled. Even though it was only a few dozen centimeters away, the bump was so small I wasn’t sure I could hit it.

I felt uneasy. It was my first time using an automatic rifle like an AK, and my second time using a gun ever.

The first time was using a pistol under Su Yanlan’s control.

“Hoo…”

Taking a deep breath to force myself to calm down, I gently pulled the trigger.

A burst of gunfire. The ear-piercing sound shattered the silence of the city.

Unsurprisingly, an accident happened. I had only pressed the trigger, for less than a second, but several bullets shot out…

My shaking hands couldn’t control the gun body well, and the bullets inevitably went wide. The muzzle rose slightly due to recoil, making the already off-target bullets miss by even more.

Staring blankly at the wisp of smoke from the muzzle, I was stunned for a moment. As expected… I really couldn’t do it.

“Miss Qin Yue, you…”

Su Yanlan finally got a bit angry. She called my name, but just as her reprimand was about to leave her mouth, a white creature burst out from the footprint.

Is that… a rat? Its white fur wasn’t conspicuous in the snow, but its pea-sized red eyes were very striking.

Maybe it shouldn’t be called a rat anymore. Although its body was small, it was definitely a mutant. Its limbs were much longer than a normal rat’s, and the tail behind its back was very long, about twenty centimeters.

This weird little thing jumped up… yes… it just jumped up, straight at my face.

“Hmm?”

Su Yanlan quickly pushed me away and grabbed the rat with one hand.

Squeak! Squeak.

An ear-piercing shriek, very sharp, but it didn’t shake Su Yanlan’s grip.

Her hand tightened. The poor rat’s eyes almost popped out.

Before my stunned gaze, the mutant rat met its end… its body was crushed.

Blood and viscera splattered. I seemed to hear the sound of bones shattering. Only the rat’s head remained intact, but its eyes had completely popped out of their sockets.

“Th… thank you…”

Lying on my side on the ground, wiping the blood from my face, I thanked Su Yanlan.

Even though I had a gun, I still had to rely on Su Yanlan to protect me. Following her was indeed the right choice.

If I had gone with that squad of soldiers, I would probably have inevitably been pounced on.

Rats have been associated with bacteria and viruses since ancient times, let alone a rat that had survived radiation. I didn’t know what would happen if it injured me.

“It’s fine, Miss Qin Yue, get up yourself. It seems a bit inconvenient for me right now.”

Saying this, she opened her hand.

The rat’s body and head had separated. That triangular head fell straight to the ground. Blood melted into the snow.

In Su Yanlan’s palm, the rat’s body was still stuck, a blurry mess of blood and flesh sticking to her pale skin.

“Mhm.”

Using the gun as support, I barely stood up, my legs trembling uncontrollably.

Was it out of fear?

Fear of what? The rat? No, I was imagining it. Imagining becoming that rat, and then being crushed by Su Yanlan.

In fact, I was no different from a rat. The only difference might be that I’m bigger and heavier, and perhaps better looking by human aesthetic standards?

Just as hidden from the light, just as annoying, and at the same time… just as easily crushed by Su Yanlan. If she wanted to.

Or rather, I should say, any of the victims I’ve encountered could crush me.

“So, Miss Qin Yue, how did you spot this thing?”

Su Yanlan shook her hand, finally shaking off the rat’s remains. A pile of bone fragments and flesh scattered on the ground.

“Ha… just a little intuition…”

Laughing awkwardly, I patted my body all over, trying to find a piece of cloth to wipe the blood off Su Yanlan’s palm. Finally, I just tore another piece from the shirt inside my padded coat and carefully wiped her palm.

Under the side effects of the medicine, I was in a lot of pain, but my senses other than vision seemed sharper?