Giant Mutant Rat

"Brother Sheng, no need to look. Those two kids are in the alley over here!"

The woman turned around and shouted behind her.

Soon after, a man with two large tattoo sleeves appeared beside her.

The man was skin and bones, his face listless. He also sniffed from time to time, looking very much like an addict.

"What do you want?"

Facing these two uninvited guests, Lin Zichen did not run. Instead, he shielded Shen Qinghan behind him and calmly looked at them as he asked.

He had been evolving ever since birth, and his physical strength had long surpassed that of ordinary people. That gave him enough confidence to remain calm in the face of danger.

The two of them were somewhat surprised by Lin Zichen's composure.

Very quickly, the heavily made-up woman returned to the approachable demeanor she had worn that morning and smiled at Lin Zichen. "Little brother, little sister, big sister has tasty food and fun things at home. Do you want to come play at big sister's house?"

Before she had even finished speaking, the tattooed man beside her said impatiently, "You fucking old hag! Why are you wasting time trying to trick kids? Just go over, knock them out, and take them away! I'm in a hurry to sell them for cash!"

With that, he pulled two strong-smelling towels from his pocket. After tossing one to the woman, he quickly strode toward Shen Qinghan.

"Xiao Chen..." Shen Qinghan was terrified, her little hand clutching Lin Zichen's arm tightly.

Lin Zichen patted her little hand, signaling for her not to be afraid.

Then, he removed her hand from his arm and suddenly pushed off with his feet. In the next instant, like an arrow loosed from a bow, he became a blur and shot toward the approaching man.

Bang!

A dull impact rang out.

Lin Zichen instantly rushed in front of the man and slammed a fist into his abdomen, sending him flying with a single punch.

The man rolled several times across the ground before stopping. Curled up like a shrimp, he let out pained, hoarse gasps as blood continuously spilled from his mouth.

"Y-you, you, you...!"

The woman was completely dumbfounded. She could not understand what had just happened, and she was so frightened that she could not even speak.

She could not understand how an elementary school student who looked like he was only in second or third grade could send an adult flying with one punch. It completely defied common sense!

Lin Zichen did not waste words with her. He used Flash Step to rush straight in front of her, launched himself high into the air, and drove a fierce punch into her heavily made-up face.

Bang!

Another impact rang out.

The woman was sent flying by the punch, along with several teeth knocked from her mouth. Then she crashed to the ground with a thud, completely motionless.

It was impossible to tell whether she had merely passed out or died.

Lin Zichen looked around and saw no surveillance cameras. He decided to suppress his discomfort and finish the two of them off, eliminating any future trouble.

Just as he casually picked up a brick and prepared to eradicate the two people on the ground, a huge disturbance suddenly came from an abandoned tiled house ahead.

Immediately afterward, a gigantic rat with eight eyes and a body nearly three meters long charged out of the house. It opened its blood-filled maw and bit down on the woman closest to it.

With a single bite, the woman's head was torn clean off. Blood splattered everywhere, and she died instantly.

Seeing this horrifying scene, Lin Zichen reacted extremely quickly. He turned and ran at once. As he passed Shen Qinghan, he scooped her up in one arm and fled the area like mad, wanting only to get as far away from that giant rat as possible.

An Exotic Beast!

It was the Giant Mutant Rat that had appeared in Sakura Sea Nation before!

There was one here too?!

Something huge had happened!

Adrenaline surged through Lin Zichen's entire body, and his heartbeat kept accelerating. The sense of safety he had painstakingly built up through years of evolution vanished in an instant.

Shen Qinghan, held in his arms, had already been scared pale by what she had just seen. Her body trembled uncontrollably, but she held back her tears so as not to cause him trouble.

After running out of the alley and getting far enough away,

Lin Zichen finally set Shen Qinghan down. With trembling hands, he opened his children's watch and called the Public Security Team to report the incident.

"In the old district—in an alley in the old district—there's a Giant Mutant Rat, exactly like the one that appeared in Sakura Sea Nation some time ago!"

Lin Zichen panted as he tried his best to steady his breathing and explain everything clearly.

However, the massive rush of adrenaline still made his voice sound somewhat shaky.

Just as he finished speaking, before the Public Security Team could respond, the roar of machinery came from above the alley behind him.

He turned toward the sound and saw a Mechanical Cyborg with half its body blackened, steadily hovering over the alley. It raised its pure alloy right arm and aimed it at the alley below.

Then, sparks erupted from the Mechanical Cyborg's right hand, and it fired a smoke-trailing shell into the alley below.

Boom—

The shell landed in the alley and exploded into a burst of violet-blue fire.

The commotion was tremendous, but the destructive power did not seem particularly strong.

Standing outside the alley, Lin Zichen did not feel any shockwave.

At the same time, the buildings in the alley did not collapse into ruins as he had expected.

All he could see was violet-blue smoke filling the alley.

The shell from earlier seemed to have been something like a smoke grenade.

Lin Zichen did not know exactly what it was.

But he guessed it was something that could weaken the Giant Mutant Rat's combat ability.

For example, smoke with anesthetic properties.

Soon, Lin Zichen saw the Mechanical Cyborg hovering in the air slowly enter the alley filled with billowing smoke. It descended to the ground and engaged the Giant Mutant Rat in close combat.

Having evolved for years since birth, his senses were exceptionally sharp. Even standing outside the alley, he could clearly hear the sounds of fighting coming from within.

"X-Xiao Chen, what do we do now?"

Shen Qinghan tightly gripped Lin Zichen's hand, her voice trembling.

Seeing how badly she was doing, Lin Zichen said without hesitation, "We're going home."

Though he was very curious about the battle unfolding in the alley, he did not dare risk his life by going closer to watch. He only wanted to get home as soon as possible.

Then he could wait for the evening news and see whether it mentioned what had happened in the alley.

As he was thinking about this, the Public Security Team operator's voice continued coming from his children's watch.

"Little friend?"

"Hello, little friend, can you hear me?"

"Leave the alley immediately. Don't go near it—it's very dangerous!"

The operator sounded extremely anxious, clearly worried about Lin Zichen's safety.

Lin Zichen quickly came back to his senses and replied in a calmer voice, "Big sister, I've already left the alley. I'm safe now."

"That's good, that's good." The female Public Security Team operator breathed a sigh of relief.

Lin Zichen held Shen Qinghan's little hand tightly, reassuring her so she would not be so scared. Then he curiously asked the female operator, "Big sister, I just saw a Mechanical Cyborg fly into the alley. Is that one of your Public Security Team members?"

"Yes, that's a Public Security Team member." After answering, the operator instructed Lin Zichen, "Little friend, if there's nothing else, don't stay outside. Hurry home and stay safely with your parents, understand?"

"Understood. Thank you, big sister."

After politely thanking her, Lin Zichen ended the call with the Public Security Team.

Then his gaze returned to the alley ahead, where thick smoke was still billowing.

Intense fighting sounds still came from within, mixed with a great number of sharp rat squeals. It seemed that the Giant Mutant Rat was at a disadvantage.

Only after seeing that he had ended the call did Shen Qinghan speak, her lips trembling. "X-Xiao Chen, I want to go home..."

"I'll take you home right now."

"Mm."

"Can you still walk? If not, I'll carry you on my back."

"My legs feel a little weak..."

"Then climb on. I'll carry you home."

Lin Zichen turned around and carried Shen Qinghan on his back, then quickly headed home in silence.

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