Frozen Goods Warehouse

Chapter 40: Cold Storage Warehouse

Ye Bai had walked the jianghu for so many years (past life plus this life combined), yet he had never seen anything this absurd.

The Thousand Changes Silkworm could not only devour Crystal Cores to learn skills, but could even replace them with higher-tier versions of the same type.

The Steelize skill allowed the entire body to become as hard as steel, greatly enhancing defensive capability, while the Harden skill made the body stiff, also boosting defense.

Steelize was essentially an advanced version of Harden.

If Ye Bai didn't have the Eye of Insight, he would never have noticed this subtle anomaly, and naturally wouldn't have detected the Thousand Changes Silkworm's special trait.

If all skills could be replaced like this, then the Thousand Changes Silkworm was ridiculously overpowered.

Ye Bai's heart pounded, but the prerequisite was that the Thousand Changes Silkworm itself possessed many skills.

"Thousand Changes Silkworm, use Steelize, then use Rolling."

A metallic sheen spread across the Thousand Changes Silkworm's body. When it curled up and used Rolling, the asphalt road cracked like a spiderweb under its weight.

It slammed heavily into an iron fence, which buckled deeply, deformed by the impact.

"After using Steelize, the Thousand Changes Silkworm's defense has increased several times, and its weight has also multiplied. The force of Rolling's Ram has become much more powerful."

Ye Bai was quite satisfied with this.

Just then, a manhole cover shot into the air with a bang, and many Burrowing Rats crawled out from the sewer below.

"Strange. I already sent an email to the Pet Beast Guild. Logically, the Burrowing Rats should have been contained by now."

"Why are there still so many of them?"

Ye Bai was baffled.

The large Cold Storage Warehouse in Jiaying City was located near the city's biggest dock.

The warehouse stored a massive amount of frozen meat, enough to supply all of Jiaying City's residents for a month.

A cargo ship chugged to a stop beside the dock.

Many people unloaded frozen meat from the ship.

The dock instantly became very busy.

"Hurry up! We have to get our smuggled frozen goods into storage while Jiaying City is under lockdown."

A man with sunglasses on his head and a gold chain around his neck shouted loudly to the group.

"Brother Long, I heard there's a Beast Tide here. Will our business be affected?"

A bald man said to the social figure, Brother Long.

He was worried about the Beast Tide's impact on Jiaying City.

Brother Long, with his thick brows and big eyes, stared hard at his underling: "Hunger kills the timid, fortune favors the bold."

"We can't stop our business just because of a Beast Tide."

"Besides, according to intel from my inside source, the Beast Tide has already been brought under control."

"That's why we can take this chance to transport our hundreds of tons of uninspected frozen goods from overseas."

"We'll use Jiaying City as a hub to distribute the frozen goods to other cities. Once this batch is fully moved, we'll make at least ten million Alliance Coins."

"What's there to fear from a Beast Tide? What we fear most is having no business."

"I'd even welcome a Beast Tide every day."

Brother Long laughed heartily. Just then, screams erupted from the cargo ship.

"What is this? Get away!"

"Help! Someone, help!"

"It's Burrowing Rats! So many Burrowing Rats!!!"

Bang bang bang.

Several gunshots rang out, then silence fell.

Brother Long signaled his men with a glance, telling them to go check what was happening.

His men swallowed hard, grabbed the pistols at their waists, and stepped cautiously toward the cargo ship.

The moment they boarded, they saw many red-eyed Burrowing Rats gnawing on the crew's corpses.

Their sharp teeth tore through flesh and blood, producing a chilling sound of chewing.

Blood Qi emanated from the Burrowing Rats, forming a corrosive Blood Mist.

Brother Long's men felt their hair stand on end. Just as they tried to leave, the Burrowing Rats spotted them.

One scream after another cut short, and then the ship fell silent.

Brother Long heard the screams, but in the end, he couldn't bear to abandon the cargo on the ship.

So he mustered his courage, grabbed an AK47, and charged onto the ship.

"Aren't they just a bunch of Burrowing Rats?"

"I don't believe they can withstand bullets!"

The moment he stepped onto the deck, Brother Long immediately regretted it.

Looking out, the cargo ship was covered in a dense swarm of burrowing rats.

They were gnawing at the entire vessel with their sharp teeth.

Several holes had already been bitten into the shipping containers; the burrowing rats had pulled out large amounts of frozen meat from inside and were now devouring it ravenously.

Scattered across the deck were many skeletons still wearing crew uniforms.

These bones lay strewn about everywhere.

When the burrowing rats sensed the presence of living humans, their eyes turned red, and they surged forward like a tide.

Brother Long grabbed his AK47 and opened fire wildly.

Bullets struck the burrowing rats; many fell after being hit, but even more swarmed forward.

They seemed unafraid of death, lunging at Brother Long with claws bared.

"Stay back, stay back, help!"

One burrowing rat leaped onto Brother Long's hand and bit down hard on the hand gripping the gun.

A searing pain shot through Brother Long, and the gun flew from his grasp.

Just as he tried to pick up the fallen weapon, the burrowing rats surrounded him completely.

"Ahhh."

Brother Long's cries quickly faded, replaced by the sound of chewing. Before long, the burrowing rats scattered, leaving behind a skeleton picked perfectly clean.

Even the thick gold chain on the bones had been devoured entirely by the burrowing rats.

The skull stared blankly at the overcast sky.

A patrol drone from Jiaying City soon detected the anomaly and reported it to the Jiaying City Pet Beast Guild.

Bam.

Wang Jinyin slammed his hand heavily on the desk, seething with anger.

He had barely managed to avert the Beast Tide based on the email's warning, yet despite all precautions, some reckless fools had still smuggled frozen goods in the gap.

The Beast Tide, already under control, now showed signs of flaring up again.

"Not good, Guild Leader. According to our investigation, this ship holds several hundred tons of 'Zombie Meat.' If the burrowing rats get their hands on that much flesh and blood, they'll grow rapidly and quickly advance into Second Order Berserk Blood Rats."

"The large Cold Storage Warehouse near the dock is packed with frozen products. If the burrowing rats discover it, the consequences would be unthinkable."

"The entire city of Jiaying would face annihilation."

"We must send people to stop them immediately."

The Secretary's face went pale; she understood the gravity of the situation.