Creak~~
The Lead Rat saw a foolish human daring to sleep on its turf and excitedly crawled out of its underground nest. Even after evolving, the rats remained sneaky and made no sound as they moved.
But once they got within striking distance, they would swarm their prey and go straight for its vital points!
After the Lead Rat crawled out, its offspring followed one after another. Most of them were as thick as a human arm!
Nearly a hundred of them poured out. This ruined house was a medium-sized nest of mutated rats!
The giant mutant rats crept toward the corner, surrounding Xia Leng, who was asleep with his back against the wall. Dozens of pairs of blood-red eyes glinted savagely. The "delicious morsel" right in front of them had them itching to attack.
One of the largest Soldier Rats in the group braced its forelegs against the ground and tucked its hind legs beneath it. Its incisors, sharp enough to jut past its chin, gleamed eerily in the moonlight.
It was ready to attack Xia Leng's exposed neck. Smarter than the house rats of the old era, they knew how to test their prey.
If one of them couldn't finish him off, they would all rush in together, gnawing their prey down to a pile of bones!
Hiss~
The Soldier Rat crouched low, then sprang high into the air with a powerful thrust of its hips, lunging for Xia Leng's neck as he slept!
Their teeth were sharp enough to snap steel rebar with ease. Breaking a person's neck would be no trouble at all.
Just as the rats thought they had secured the delicious meal that had practically landed in their laps, the scene that followed left them frozen in shock!
The Soldier Rat that had attacked first was just about to sink its incisors into the soft skin of Xia Leng's neck—
Squelch!
A muffled sound rang out as flesh was pierced. The leaping Soldier Rat froze in midair, its sharp snout opening and closing helplessly as it tried to bite through Xia Leng's throat.
A black spike had suddenly thrust out from Xia Leng's "clothes," piercing the rat's furry body!
Before it could even let out a scream, thousands of tiny tendrils twisted it to pieces. It became a mass of flesh, which the black spike absorbed without a trace...
The whole thing took less than two seconds. From beginning to end, Xia Leng remained fast asleep, completely unaware of what had just happened!
The mutant Spike Rats, which relied on their numbers, were so terrified by the strange sight that they forgot whether to attack together or scatter and flee.
By the time they came to their senses, they realized it was already too late to escape. Several black tendrils, thick as pythons, had somehow appeared around them and writhed wildly, encircling the rats...
Xia Leng had no idea how long he had slept. He had never slept so soundly or deeply—not even in the peaceful old era, when he would naturally wake after six hours.
When he opened his eyes, his first instinct was to scan his surroundings warily for danger.
He was also surprised by how deeply he had slept. It was probably the soundest rest he had ever gotten since he could remember.
Usually, either some inexplicable nightmare woke him, or the slightest noise nearby put him on such high alert that he couldn't get back to sleep.
Had no mutated creatures tried to attack him while he slept?
Puzzled, he looked around and saw only a few sparse tufts of animal fur scattered on the ground.
He picked one up. It was a stiff hair from a mutant Spike Rat, but there was no sign of the creatures themselves. Perhaps this had once been their nest.
Wait...
It was light?!
Xia Leng suddenly noticed a streak of blazing white light shining through a crack in the wall. In its glow, the dust drifting through the room was clearly visible!
He immediately stood and went to the window. He moved aside the barrier he had put up to keep out enemies and looked outside. Just as he'd expected!
A huge orange-red sun hung in the pale blue sky. The heat made the air outside shimmer and warp!
The sun in this era looked twice as large as it had in the old one, as though the distance between the sun and Earth had been halved. That had to be why the temperature was so terrifying.
Still, however scorching it was, daytime was far better than the night, when danger lurked in the dark, waiting to strike a fatal blow.
When the sun rose, most dangerous mutated creatures hid in shady buildings or underground, away from the sunlight.
Mutation had left their skin rotting, making them more vulnerable to the stinging burns of ultraviolet rays. That included even the dreaded Night Demons.
Only some less dangerous, thick-skinned mutated creatures came out at this time.
People hated the extreme heat too, but they could shield themselves from the sun with all kinds of coverings. So the long-awaited daylight had also become the time when wasteland drifters hunted and traveled.
Looking at the glaring sunlight beating down on the earth, Xia Leng knew it was time to set off.
He had no idea where the Land of Corpse Cold was. Perhaps he could learn more at the intermediate Fortress eighty kilometers away, controlled by the Komodo Mercenary Company. He could also trade for some supplies for the long journey.
Deep in his subconscious, Xia Leng felt that this journey, which seemed to be calling him to uncover the truth about his origins, would be long and fraught with danger...
He reached his hand out the window to feel the searing sunlight. In less than three seconds, a sharp burning pain spread across the back of his hand.
"The temperature's higher than before. It must be over 55°C now..."
Xia Leng pulled his hand back. If his skin stayed exposed to sunlight like this for too long, it would suffer irreversible ultraviolet damage. He had gained a frightening ability to heal, but he wasn't about to hurt himself just to test it.
He checked his gear and backpack, then pulled on the hood woven from mysterious tendrils and set out on his journey.
After that deep sleep, he felt more refreshed than ever. His body and mind both felt energized, as if he'd been basking in a warm spring breeze. He also felt oddly full.
But he hadn't eaten anything before going to sleep last night...
Once everything was ready, Xia Leng left the building. Now that daylight had arrived, he couldn't stay indoors for long either.
Dark buildings had become hunting grounds for light-averse mutated creatures.
At night, the streets and wilderness were off-limits to drifters. By day, the danger shifted to the dark interiors of buildings.
Xia Leng stepped out under the blazing sun and stood in the ruin-filled street. He checked his map. The Fortress affiliated with the Komodo Mercenary Company was still a long way off.
He had found the precious wasteland map in the leader's room.
If he walked while conserving his strength, it would take about three days to reach his destination, eighty kilometers away.
With day and night shifting unpredictably, Xia Leng kept track of time by counting silently to himself.
Most electronic devices left over from the old era had mysteriously stopped working after the Black Rain, watches included.
The bottle of clean water and a piece of dried insect meat in his backpack should be enough to sustain him on the way.
Of course, if he came across easy prey along the way, he wouldn't pass up the chance to stock up on food.
Xia Leng took a deep breath and set out on this unknown journey.
Before you continue