Rat Swarm

In the distance, the eye-catching police badge was getting closer. The surroundings opened up; small plazas flanked the road.

On the plaza, one or two grotesquely shaped white skeletons could occasionally be seen, seemingly dead for a long time. However, beneath those white bones, the pristine snow was stained red.

Without a doubt, these things had died recently. There was a dangerous predator near the police station.

Is there anything that can gnaw bones so clean? There is, but it couldn’t be a large creature. If there were predators here, they should be small, swarm-forming mutants.

Even a person like me, bogged down by physical agony, could sense something was wrong, but the several cyborgs ahead seemed to have noticed nothing.

The further we walked, the heavier the sense of crisis became, as if we would be devoured at any moment by mutants hiding in every nook and cranny.

Why? Why keep moving forward? Did these cyborgs forget to modify their brains when they modified their bodies?

“Miss Yanlan.”

I called Su Yanlan’s name and stopped once again.

It was the umpteenth time I had stopped during our journey, but Su Yanlan didn’t show impatience. She stood quietly in place, turned her head to look at me, confusion in her eyes.

Su Yanlan, you are so gentle.

“…Don’t keep walking… there’s something ahead.”

Saying this, I gently pulled Su Yanlan, stepping back instead of advancing.

I had no intention of warning Qin Dai and the other two cyborgs. They wouldn’t believe me anyway and would just mock me in return.

As for why I told Su Yanlan? Probably because she was the friendliest to me. Besides, I needed a cyborg by my side…

“Miss Qin Yue, did you discover something again?”

Her expression shifted. After hesitating for a moment, she stepped back with me, showing no intention of calling out to stop the others ahead.

Perhaps her relationship with those three wasn’t good either? Or perhaps she was confident in their strength. Of course, it was also possible she thought my words were sheer nonsense and didn’t want to waste her teammates’ time.

“…Intuition.”

I said this, not wanting to appear too smart in front of my victims. That would absolutely, definitely invite misfortune…

I just needed to play the role of a lowly clown who would do anything to survive and please them.

Smart people aren’t well-liked; only fools are loved. It’s enough to know whether you’re smart yourself; there’s no need to let others know.

Perhaps because I had discovered that mutant rat earlier, even though the reason I gave was laughable, Su Yanlan still pulled me down to sit.

The freezing snow made my mind even clearer. I could distinctly hear rustling sounds in the snow ahead…

Qin Dai and the other two were going to be in big trouble, but that had nothing to do with me. Or rather, Qin Dai dying would be excellent for me because she was one of my victims.

Calculating the time, the effects of the drug were about to wear off. I once again took the bottle of anti-radiation medicine from my pocket and swallowed a pill.

After taking it so many times, although the side effects were still hard to endure, it was better than before. Wasn’t it just throbbing pain all over, dizziness, and muscle spasms? I could grit my teeth and barely tolerate it.

Of course, if there were external influences, I couldn’t guarantee I wouldn’t cry out.

“You really should eat less of these.”

As always, gently wiping the cold sweat from my forehead, Su Yanlan’s concern still felt like sarcastic remarks to me.

Who would want to eat this stuff? Not only are the side effects unbearable, but anyone with half a brain knows it shortens your lifespan.

“…Mm…”

Forcing a smile, I focused my gaze again on the three people continuing towards the police station.

Naturally, they noticed Su Yanlan and me falling behind, but they only thought I was tired and Su Yanlan was staying with me to rest.

Their figures grew farther away, but soon, the three backs stopped simultaneously.

Why? Because in the snow outside the police station, mutant rats popped out one after another.

Their white fur was hard to distinguish against the snow, but their red eyes were easy to spot.

This was a rat swarm. Not just in front of the police station, but also from beneath the white bones in the surrounding plaza, more and more rats crawled out, completely surrounding Qin Dai and the other two.

With ear-piercing squeaks, one rat after another lunged at Qin Dai’s trio, a dense mass that was terrifying to behold.

Having never been attacked by such rats, I didn’t know their attack power yet, but looking at the sheer number, even if Qin Dai and the other two didn’t die, they couldn’t avoid serious injuries.

Being seriously injured in a heavy radiation zone is basically a death sentence, isn’t it?

Arbitrarily speculating on the trio’s fate in my mind, I saw them begin to dodge constantly, but they inevitably had rats pouncing on their bodies.

But to my surprise, those people didn’t let out a single scream… In other words, they weren’t even hurt?

What the hell… these rats are way too weak…

In my heart, I complained silently. Actually, I wanted Qin Dai to die in this rat swarm.

In my view, the three twisted and turned within the rat swarm, constantly dodging the rats’ pounces. Even if a few rats occasionally climbed onto their bodies, they were quickly swatted off.

The rats caused almost no damage, while with every flicker of the trio’s figures, one or two bloody blossoms bloomed in the rat swarm—they were either crushed underfoot or smashed to pieces by palm strikes.

“…So powerful…”

The combat power of cyborgs was fully displayed. How many rats were there? Hundreds? Thousands? It was impossible to count.

I believed no ordinary person could effortlessly dodge every attack from such a massive number of rats, let alone easily cull their numbers while doing so.

Is the gap between cyborgs and ordinary people really this huge?

I had previously witnessed the absurd power of Qin Dai’s mechanical arm, but watching the trio’s movements now, I was still utterly amazed.

“Mm-hmm?”

Beside me, Su Yanlan hummed softly, glancing at me out of the corner of her eye, probably trying to find something on my face?

Unfortunately, that was impossible. My face didn’t have the expression of worship that a young girl might have. Even if I really were a young girl, I shouldn’t show a love-struck face right now that might affect Su Yanlan’s mood.

Tired of watching the three twist and turn in the rat swarm, my hearing, heightened by the drug’s side effects, made the rats’ shrieks unbearably grating.

Raising the gun from behind me, I pulled the trigger aiming at the area where the rats were clustered, making sure the bullets wouldn’t stray toward Qin Dai’s trio, and emptied the magazine in one breath.

More than twenty consecutive gunshots not only scared off the pack of rats but nearly overwhelmed my ears.

A bout of tinnitus, accompanied by a stinging pain; fortunately, there was no bleeding…

I tossed the empty gun aside, lay down on Su Yanlan’s lap, covered my ears, and trembled from the discomfort.