Aberrant Creature

The sudden, intense sound of gunfire caught Yang Jia by surprise.

Handing a gun to someone who had just woken up and asking them to shoot an innocent homeless man was something no one could do, right?

What she intended to teach Xiao Xiao was that living in a foreign land meant many things couldn't be viewed through the lens of normalcy. He had to learn to discern the disguises of others and, more importantly, to be ruthless.

When facing these Aberrant Creatures, any hesitation or fear could be fatal.

So, after handing over the gun, if Xiao Xiao was long-winded and full of questions, she might find it annoying, but it would also be a good opportunity to teach him.

After all, that's how her own teacher had taught her back in the day.

But Xiao Xiao…

...he wasn't like that at all.

He took the gun without even asking why he should shoot, and unhesitatingly pulled the trigger, firing continuously as if he wanted to empty the entire magazine.

"Is it dead?"

While Yang Jia was still in shock and disbelief, Xiao Xiao was calmly staring at the homeless man, whose body was erupting in puffs of blood mist, his nerves on edge.

When he had just taken the gun, facing Yang Jia's order, he had actually hesitated.

He even wondered if this beautiful girl was crazy, wanting to kill someone for no reason…

But, even as he hesitated, he suddenly felt a heavy thumping in his heart, and a sudden, intense sense of crisis overwhelmed him, instantly throwing him into a state of mental overload.

Countless thoughts and pieces of information exploded in his brain like a volcanic eruption, operating beyond its capacity.

"Why kill this homeless man?"

"Is Yang Jia joking with me? …That's highly unlikely, she wouldn't be so bored."

"Then, is this homeless man really a homeless man?"

"..."

In what felt like frozen time, Xiao Xiao looked at the homeless man, and had enough time to carefully observe his appearance, movements, the bedding and liquor bottles around him.

His eyes were slightly sunken, filled with red blood vessels.

This seemed normal for someone who drank heavily and didn't sleep well.

However, the homeless man's eyes were redder than most, and due to the lighting, his eyes were shadowed, so he could only see two dimly glowing dark red pupils flickering in the darkness.

It was a characteristic that could be easily overlooked, but upon closer inspection, it was chilling.

With this discovery, Xiao Xiao immediately noticed the homeless man's posture. He looked scared, his body pressed tightly against the wall, his hands and feet trembling.

But on closer inspection, he could see that his legs were slightly bent, half-supporting his body, and his hands were resting on his thighs, fingers hooked tightly, ready to tear something apart at any moment.

The man was slowly adjusting his posture, ready to lash out and hurt someone.

He was dangerous!

But even after discovering all this, Xiao Xiao didn't feel he could immediately shoot the man.

What made him make up his mind was a piece of dark, gooey stuff that had fallen from under the homeless man's blanket.

Normally, it would be difficult to notice what it was, but Xiao Xiao carefully observed the size, shape, and the subtle color and texture…

…it was a human thumb, half-eaten!

So, this wasn't a homeless man, but a monster hiding under a broken blanket in the corner of the subway, eating people.

And this monster was in an attack stance, ready to pounce on his face at any moment.

!!

Yang Jia wasn't joking with him, she had really brought him to a monster and ordered him to kill it.

What was there to hesitate about?

The thought formed instantly, and Xiao Xiao immediately pulled the trigger, wanting to kill this monster completely before it could transform into something disgusting and jump on his face.

The violent impact of the bullets made the homeless man's body tremble.

But because Xiao Xiao wasn't familiar with the recoil of the gun, his aim was wildly off. At a distance of only two or three meters, he still missed several shots, blasting holes in the wall next to the homeless man, sending debris flying.

The homeless man suddenly let out a strange cry.

The surface of his body, riddled with bullet holes, suddenly tore open, and a slender, blood-red monster crawled out, squealing and rushing towards Xiao Xiao's face.

"What the hell is that?"

Facing this scarlet monster, Xiao Xiao felt his scalp tingle, and a strong sense of disgust rose within him, making him want to vomit.

His brain seemed to turn to mush at that moment, but in his highly tense state, he was still able to see what was pouncing at him, thanks to his mental overload ability.

It was a humanoid Rat-Man that looked like it had been skinned.

It had knotted muscle tissue, bulging, lightbulb-like bright red eyes, and even a slender tail made of segments of bone whipping behind it.

Black mucus seeped between its jagged, sharp teeth, and a putrid stench assaulted the senses.

"Don't turn your back on it..."

Yang Jia, standing to one side, offered a timely reminder. To be precise, she had spoken even before the Rat-Man tore through the human skin.

In her slender, fair palm, she held a black dagger in a reverse grip.

But she still showed no intention of attacking, seemingly wanting to see how Xiao Xiao would react to this sudden mutation.

This old classmate, now a rookie, had already shown too many things that surprised her.

So, when facing the Rat-Man's true form up close, would he still be able to maintain the same calm and precise judgment as before?

Just as Yang Jia's reminder sounded, Xiao Xiao widened his eyes, watching the monster lunging towards him.

Its deformed joints and bright red skin, even the strands of mucus trailing as it attacked, were all caught in his eyes, and he instantly made a judgment about it.

This thing was terrifying, its body so strong that even bullets couldn't rob it of its ability to move without hitting a vital point.

Its speed and strength were far beyond his comprehension.

At the same time, for some reason, the moment he saw it, he felt a sense of fear, disgust, and cowardice.

Some kind of instinct in his body seemed to be driving him to stand still, not to move.

It was as if, when most people encountered terrifying things, their first reaction wasn't to run, but for their legs to go weak, losing their self-control.

However, Xiao Xiao overcame this instinctive awareness in a very short time.

And, in the next moment, he made his own response.

He gripped the gun in his hand, which didn't have many bullets left, pursed his lips, and quickly took a step back, putting distance between himself and the monster.

Then, he took a step sideways, hiding behind Yang Jia.

"???"

Yang Jia, who had been calmly observing Xiao Xiao's reaction and preparing to rescue him at any moment, instantly looked astonished.

Was this kid using her as a shield?

Amidst her astonishment, the Rat-Man had already pounced to her side, its sharp fangs biting fiercely, and she could even smell the putrid odor emanating from its body.

Feeling somewhat helpless, Yang Jia gently raised her hand.

The air was distorted by some invisible force, actually forming an invisible ripple similar to a door frame, faintly floating to the left of her body, directly in front of the Rat-Man's attack.

In the next moment, the lightning-fast Rat-Man passed through the illusory door frame.

Its movements were still the same as before, but its speed seemed to be half a beat slower, as if some kind of kinetic energy had been stripped away the moment it passed through the door frame, but it didn't know it.

Yang Jia held the black dagger in a reverse grip and thrust it out with a backhand, thwack, stabbing it into the creature's head, then slammed the body to the ground.

Throughout the entire process, she didn't even turn her head.

She just squinted her eyes and looked at Xiao Xiao, who was hiding behind her, her eyes carrying a hint of scrutiny.

And meeting Yang Jia's questioning gaze, Xiao Xiao paused slightly, not having time to say anything, he just stepped forward, aimed at the struggling monster, and pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

The monster wasn't completely dead yet, so he'd add another shot first.

After doing all this, he retreated again, breathed a sigh of relief, and said with lingering fear, "What is this thing? It's so scary?"

"Rat-Man."

Yang Jia quietly looked at Xiao Xiao for a few seconds before slowly saying:

"Aberrant Creatures that breed in the Forgotten City Edge, they are good at parasitizing human bodies and continuing to live with the other party's shell and identity."

"This is one of the most common monsters in our city, its danger level is not very high, but it is very tricky."

"Once discovered, it must be cleaned up immediately, otherwise, in just a few days, it may breed ten times, or even twenty times the population, causing large-scale disasters."

"It possesses a mental attack method, causing people to instantly suffer from the impact of nausea and fear!"

"After normal people encounter them, they often turn around and flee due to the sudden feeling of nausea and horror, and the Rat-Man will take the opportunity from behind..."

"You understand, that's the hole...drilling into people's bodies."

"Then hollow out the other party's internal organs and flesh, parasitize in his body, control its shell, and access its memory. From then on, there is no change on the surface, but the essence has become one of the rats."

"..."

Xiao Xiao's face already showed a shocked expression as he listened.

And Yang Jia finished saying these words, paused slightly, and then continued: "I have already explained it, so now, should it be your turn to explain..."

"...why hide behind me?"

Yesterday someone accompanied me, it's not too much to ask for a Gold Alliance, right?