บท 12: 12. Giant Mutant Rat
"Brother Sheng, no need to search anymore, the two kids are in the alley on my side!"
The woman turned and shouted back loudly.
Soon after, a man with two large tattoos on his arms appeared next to her.
The man was skinny as a rail, his face sapped of spirit, and he occasionally sniffed his nose, appearing to be a drug addict.
"What do you want to do?"
Faced with these two unwelcome guests, Lin Zichen didn't run; instead, he shielded Shen Qinghan behind him and calmly faced the two, questioning them.
Having evolved since birth, his physical strength had long surpassed that of normal humans, giving him enough confidence to calmly handle crises.
Seeing Lin Zichen so composed unexpectedly surprised the pair.
Suddenly, the woman with bright makeup resumed her friendly demeanor from the morning, and smiling, she said to Lin Zichen, "Little brother, little sister, I have delicious and fun things at my home, would you like to come and play at my place?"
No sooner had she finished speaking when the tattooed man impatiently interjected, "Damn it, you old hag! Why bother scheming to lure these kids? Just go up, knock them out, grab them, and let's get it over with! I need to sell them fast for money!"
With that, he pulled two pungent-smelling cloths from his pocket and tossed one to the woman before briskly walking toward Shen Qinghan.
"Xiao Chen..." Shen Qinghan was very frightened, her small hand gripping Lin Zichen's arm tightly.
Lin Zichen patted her small hand, signaling her not to be afraid.
Then, he let go of her hand, forcefully drove his feet against the ground, and in the next moment, he shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, turning into a blur as he rushed toward the approaching man.
"Bang!"
A dull punching sound erupted.
Lin Zichen, who had instantly rushed to the man's side, fiercely punched him in the stomach, sending him flying.
He rolled several times on the ground before stopping, curled up like a shrimp, his mouth emitting painful "heh heh" sounds as blood flowed continually.
"You, you you you...!"
The woman was dumbfounded on the spot, completely unable to comprehend what had just happened. She was so terrified she couldn't even speak.
She couldn't understand how a primary school student, appearing to be in about the second or third grade, could punch an adult man flying. It made no sense at all!
Lin Zichen didn't waste words with the woman; he immediately used Blink Step to charge in front of her, leaped high with the force from the ground, and fiercely punched her heavily made-up face.
"Bang!"
Another sound followed.
The woman was sent flying by the punch, several teeth expelled from her mouth as she fell flat on the ground, completely silent.
It was unknown whether she was knocked out or dead.
Lin Zichen scanned the surroundings; seeing no surveillance cameras, he decided to overcome his discomfort and finish off the two to eliminate any future threats.
Just as he picked up a brick, preparing to obliterate the two on the ground, a loud noise suddenly came from an abandoned tile house in front.
Then, a three-meter long Giant Mutant Rat with eight eyes emerged from the tile house, opening its massive maw and biting the woman closest to it on the head.
With just one bite, the woman's head was viciously snapped off, blood splattering everywhere, instantly killing her.
Seeing this horrifying scene, Lin Zichen reacted incredibly fast, immediately turning around to run. As he passed by Shen Qinghan, he swiftly scooped her up and dashed away from the location, desperate to distance himself from the Giant Mutant Rat.
Exotic Beasts!
It was the Giant Mutant Rat that had appeared in Sakura Sea Country before!
They were here too?!
Something big was happening!
Adrenaline surged throughout Lin Zichen's body, his heartbeat accelerating, shattering the sense of safety he had built up from years of evolution.
Shen Qinghan, held in his arms, had already turned pale with fear from the recent events, her body trembling uncontrollably, but she held back her tears, not wanting to burden him.
After running out of the alley and distancing themselves sufficiently,
Lin Zichen finally set Shen Qinghan down, his hands trembling as he activated his children's watch to dial the official security team to report the incident.
"Old town area, in an alley in the old town, a Giant Mutant Rat appeared, just like the one that appeared in Sakura Sea Country recently!"
Lin Zichen, gasping for breath, tried his best to steady his voice and explain the situation completely.
But the surge of adrenaline made his voice tremble nonetheless.
As soon as his words fell, before the security team could respond, a roaring sound of machinery came from the sky above the alley behind him.
He turned his head at the sound and saw a Mechanically Modified Human, half of whose body was painted black, hovering steadily above the alley, raising its right hand made of pure alloy, aiming at the alley below.
Then, a burst of sparks erupted from the right hand of the Mechanically Modified Human, shooting a smoke-laden cannonball toward the alley below.
"Boom——"
The cannonball fell into the lower part of the alley, exploding in a burst of purple-blue flames.
The noise was loud, but the destructive power seemed weak.
Lin Zichen, standing outside the alley, felt no shockwave.
Simultaneously, the buildings inside the alley did not turn into ruins as he had expected.
The scene before him was just the alley filled with dense purple-blue smoke.
The recent cannonball appeared to be something akin to a smoke grenade.
What exactly it was, Lin Zichen did not know.
But he guessed it was something that could potentially reduce the combat effectiveness of the Giant Mutant Rat.
Like, perhaps, smoke with anaesthetic effects.
Soon, Lin Zichen saw the Mechanically Modified Human hovering in the air slowly descend into the smoky alley and engage in close combat with the Giant Mutant Rat on the ground.
Having evolved over the years since his birth, he possessed sharp sensory abilities, allowing him to clearly hear the sounds of the fight coming from inside the alley even while standing outside.
"Xiao Chen, what should we do now?"
Shen Qinghan tightly grasped Lin Zichen's hand, her voice trembling.
Seeing her distressed state, Lin Zichen did not hesitate, "We're going home."
Although curious about the fight currently happening in the alley, he did not dare to risk watching it and only wanted to hurry home.
Then, he would wait for tonight's news to see if it would cover the incident in the alley.
As he thought about these things, the voice of the security team operator continuously came from the children's watch on his hand.
"Little one?"
"Hey, little one, can you hear my voice?"
"Quickly move away from the alley, do not get close, it's dangerous there!"
The operator's voice sounded very anxious, clearly worried about Lin Zichen's safety.
Lin Zichen quickly regained his composure and responded calmly, "Sister, I've already left the alley, I'm safe now."
"That's good, that's good." The female operator from the security team sighed with relief.
Lin Zichen held Shen Qinghan's hand tightly to comfort her, then curiously asked the female operator, "Sister, I just saw a Mechanically Modified Human fly into the alley, is that one of your team members from the security team?"
"It's a member of the security team," the operator responded before advising Lin Zichen, "Little one, if it's not necessary, don't stay outside. Hurry home and stay safe with your mom and dad, okay?"
"Understood, thank you, sister."
He thanked her politely and then disconnected the communication with the security team.
Afterward, his gaze returned to the alley still emanating rolling smoke ahead.
At that moment, intense sounds of a fight still echoed from there, mixed with a large number of sharp rat noises, suggesting the Giant Mutant Rat was at a disadvantage.
Seeing him disconnect the call, Shen Qinghan then stammered through trembling lips, "Xiao Chen, I want to go home..."
"I'm taking you home now."
"Okay."
"Can you walk? If not, I'll carry you."
"My legs are a bit weak..."
"Then come on, I'll carry you home."
Lin Zichen turned around, lifted Shen Qinghan onto his back, and silently hurried toward their home.
...
PS: Bowing and asking for Monthly Pass recommendations!
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