The sounds grew louder and louder. Bai Chen Zhu turned sideways and glimpsed mounds of earth continuously emerging from under the car, drawing closer and closer. His pitch-black pupils, deep as an abyss, suddenly contracted.
“Watch out!” As a massive unknown creature with glowing red eyes burst out from underground, Bai Chen Zhu lunged toward Zhou Zhuo Hua, who had her back to him. Amid the “squeak squeak squeak” noises, he shoved her into the car.
“Ah!” Zhou Zhuo Hua’s leg banged against the car door edge. In his haste to close the door, Bai Chen Zhu did not notice that it had pinched her leg. She immediately pulled her foot back, hissing through her teeth as she withdrew it.
Bai Chen Zhu slammed the car door shut in time.
The red-eyed rats that had missed their pounce and turned to chase them crashed into the tightly shut door one after another. Their strength was immense, making the door shake and rattle as if it would be smashed through the next second.
Traces of shock lingered on both their faces. Zhou Zhuo Hua fumbled to pick up her fallen glasses and put them on. She glanced back outside and nearly stopped breathing.
Rats—rats the size of two adult fists! Their eyes glowed red, their teeth were razor-sharp, and flecks of scarlet flesh clung to their fangs. The red eyes locked onto them with the gaze of predators eyeing food, sending chills down their spines. Their bodies slammed into the door like cannonballs.
These were clearly no ordinary rats, but mutated rats! A bite would either kill or infect.
There were three mutated rats in total. The one in front was obviously twice the size of the other two, clearly the leader. Its nose sniffed at the wheel tire, probing for a way through.
Bai Chen Zhu’s hands and feet felt ice-cold, but he retained his reason. He climbed over Zhou Zhuo Hua and settled into the passenger seat.
“It’s fine.” He comforted Zhou Zhuo Hua and himself at the same time. “Only three of them. We’re safe inside the car.” His words were calm and steady, inspiring trust. Zhou Zhuo Hua’s heart settled back into place.
No sooner had he spoken than a crunching, gnawing sound rose from below.
They were chewing on the tires. Both realized it.
No good—if the car broke down, they were done for! Zhou Zhuo Hua slammed on the accelerator, and the car shot forward like an arrow. The sudden g-force nearly flung the unprepared Bai Chen Zhu flying.
Yet the squeaking sounds followed like a shadow. Bai Chen Zhu, now buckled in, glanced in the rearview mirror and saw the three chasing at an astonishing speed.
“I never thought I’d live to see the day I’m chased by rats,” Zhou Zhuo Hua muttered, gripping the steering wheel tightly, as if in a dream.
“Wait.” She remembered something and yanked the wheel into a sharp 180-degree turn. Tires screeched, sparking against the ground, facing the direction they had come from.
The hard-earned distance shrank in an instant. The rats drew closer. Bai Chen Zhu gripped his seat. “What are you doing? Drive!”
“Jiang Ye! We forgot Jiang Ye!” Zhou Zhuo Hua slapped her forehead and shouted.
She floored the accelerator. The black off-roader roared like a beast, accelerating until it became a blur, smashing the three giant rats flying.
After the massive crash, the pale-faced Bai Chen Zhu looked ahead. The front of the car was now pocked with deep dents from the impacts.
“They’re dead now, right!” After the extreme tension, a gleeful light sparked in Zhou Zhuo Hua’s eyes. Her hands trembled excitedly on the wheel.
Bai Chen Zhu let out a heavy breath. He glanced in the direction the rats had been flung and saw the largest mutated rat climbing back up. He tightened his seatbelt, his face paler than paper. “Run!”
Zhou Zhuo Hua hurriedly sped toward the direction Jiang Ye had gone.
The car’s headlights blazed on, illuminating the pitted construction site in stark white as they raced along. Bai Chen Zhu bounced so hard he nearly vomited, clutching his stomach and unable to speak. If not for the mutated rats’ threat, he would have jumped out right then.
“Why’d that guy run so far! Where is he?” Zhou Zhuo Hua could not find him. The car circled nearby haphazardly. Sweat beaded on her forehead.
Carsick, Bai Chen Zhu closed his eyes briefly, forcing himself to stay clear-headed. He also wanted to find Jiang Ye. Amid the surrounding darkness, he faintly sensed a human presence.
His fair, strong fingers lifted in front of Zhou Zhuo Hua, pointing in a direction. Though his voice was weak, his tone was certain. “That way.”
It was pitch black outside. Zhou Zhuo Hua had no idea how Bai Chen Zhu could tell, but she instinctively trusted him and sped in the direction he indicated.
The headlights suddenly caught Jiang Ye off guard, nearly blinding him. But from inside the car, the two saw him clearly.
Jiang Ye was shirtless, his muscular upper body bare, wearing only knee-length shorts.
He was drenched, clearly fresh from a bath, wringing out his shirt. His powerful hands twisted the fabric effortlessly, sending beads of water dripping in a stream to form a small puddle on the ground. He casually shook out the half-dry shirt, his rippling muscles brimming with vibrant vitality.
We’re done for. Zhou Zhuo Hua eyed him like that and saw nothing but spots where rats could bite. She slapped the steering wheel. “Jiang Ye! Get in!”
Jiang Ye’s eyes were dazzled by the headlights, the world a white blur. He could not make out directions.
Zhou Zhuo Hua’s urgent shouts rang in his ears. Puzzled, he rubbed his sensitive eyes. Once his vision cleared, he strode toward the off-roader. “Hey! Want to wash up? There’s still plenty of water here.”
Zhou Zhuo Hua wanted to drag him in herself. “Get in!”
“So urgent?” Jiang Ye opened the back door and lifted a leg to climb in when something hurtled at him from the darkness—two glowing red orbs faintly visible.
Curiosity killed the cat, and humans too.
Faced with the urge to explore, Jiang Ye paused for two seconds and turned toward the incoming thing, getting a full, clear view of the hideous massive rat pouncing at him.
“Squeak!” The pointed snout, the razor teeth, the rough gray-black fur, the rolling red eyes gleaming with predatory hunger—they all danced on his nerves.
“Holy shit!” Chicken skin erupted all over Jiang Ye. His muscles tensed, heart pounding. He leaped in fright.
In the extreme tension, his body reacted faster than his brain. Like kicking a soccer ball, he swung his leg up in a vicious sweep. Whoosh—the practiced motion sent the lunging fat rat flying into the sky like a shooting star.
And just like that… it was over?
Bai Chen Zhu was stunned. Zhou Zhuo Hua was stunned.
This was a monster that could burrow underground, chew tires, and dent the car hood!
In the stunned silence, Bai Chen Zhu from the passenger seat rubbed his aching brow and half-opened his deep black eyes.
He clearly sensed that the mutated rat had indeed been kicked far away by Jiang Ye, beyond the range of his mental power.
Jiang Ye snapped back to his senses, but his brain lagged. “You guys still want to wash up?”
Bai Chen Zhu pinched his brow. “Shut up and get in.”
Zhou Zhuo Hua strongly agreed with Bai Chen Zhu.
It felt like things had gone back to daytime.
Bai Chen Zhu closed his eyes in the back seat to rest. The two up front took turns driving and chatting.
“Look at that freakish strength—even mutated rats can’t handle you. You’ve turned into a strongman.” After checking Jiang Ye over and confirming no bite wounds, Zhou Zhuo Hua kept teasing him about his “mutation.”
A vein popped on Jiang Ye’s forehead. He vehemently denied the ugly nickname. “You’re the strongman. Those rats were just too weak. I’m done with you two—scared of one fat rat.”
“Lord Jiang, they chew tires. Did you see how deep those bite marks were? If I’d reacted a second slower, the tires would’ve been gone.” Zhou Zhuo Hua gestured with one hand. “With that bite force, and you say they’re just fat?”
Jiang Ye huffed dismissively, clearly unconvinced.
Zhou Zhuo Hua sighed. “Thanks to little Bai this time. Without him pointing the way, I never would’ve found you. You’d be left surviving in the wilderness.”
At the nickname, Bai Chen Zhu, dozing with eyes closed, rubbed his faintly aching brow. Ever since the mutated rats, he had felt listless, unable to muster energy.
Jiang Ye slapped the car discontentedly. “When did you two get so chummy?”
Zhou Zhuo Hua watched the road without turning. “Calling him by name makes us chummy? Not to speak ill, but he hasn’t done anything to you. Stop bullying him.”
“When did I bully him?” Jiang Ye protested.
“You didn’t? That cheap sneaky look of yours is just like when you yanked the kindergarten class flower’s pigtails back in the day.”
“Why bring that up again? How can he compare to the class flower? You haven’t seen how he bullies me! His kicks are brutal.”
……
