The Eerie Giant Rat

After comparing fingerprints and applying for the reward.

The two families' parents saw that it was getting late, so they didn't stay much longer at the Public Security Station and decided to take the two kids home.

As they passed the office door, Lin Zichen, whose hearing was unusually sharp, keenly picked up some of the conversation inside.

They were talking about the Heretic Cult's followers and the Giant Mutant Rat.

"The Rat God Cult has been growing more active lately, going around persuading people who are dissatisfied with society and full of resentment to join them."

"I heard people from the Rat God Cult have even infiltrated a few universities, trying to sway students who couldn't undergo Gene Fusion through the proper channels."

"The Heretic Cult follower who was killed tonight used to be a liberal arts student at Guangyan University. He couldn't undergo Gene Fusion because his body didn't meet the standards, but he still longed to become a Gene Fusionist. Then the Rat God Cult's Human Traitors swayed him."

"What a bunch of rotten apples! Sooner or later, we'll wipe out all those Human Traitors in one fell swoop!"

"Wiping out the Human Traitors won't help. It treats the symptoms, not the root cause. We need to take down that Rat King who calls himself a god."

"..."

The Rat God Cult?

It was the first time Lin Zichen had heard those three words, so he immediately took out his phone to look them up.

He learned that it was a Heretic Cult that worshipped a Giant Mutant Rat as a god.

The organization's Base Camp was in Shanhai City, and most of its members were societal failures. They had grown more active in recent years.

It was suspected that the Rat King wanted to evolve into an Advanced Being and needed its followers to gather a large amount of evolutionary resources for it.

That was all the information the authorities had made public.

"Worshipping a rat as a god?"

Lin Zichen shook his head, stopped searching, and slipped his phone into his pocket.

They left the Public Security Station and headed to where the cars were parked.

As usual, Shen Qinghan got into Lin Yansheng's car, planning to sit in the back with Lin Zichen.

Watching this, Shen Jianye couldn't help giving a rueful smile. "Sigh, it looks like our daughter's almost become one of the Lin family."

Xu Meng, however, remained calm. "Honestly, it's a blessing for Hanhan to be close with the Lin family. Why are you sighing?"

"True." Shen Jianye smiled, and he and Xu Meng soon got into their car.

In the other car, Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan chatted off and on.

For the most part, Shen Qinghan did the talking while Lin Zichen responded.

"Xiao Chen, I wonder how Teacher Strawberry is doing. I saw her neck bleeding at the time. She'll be okay, right?"

"Her injury didn't look too serious. A simple bandage should be enough. She'll be fine."

"Xiao Chen, when that Heretic Cult follower mutated earlier, eight eyes grew right on his face. It was so scary."

"That's what mutation is like."

Lin Zichen answered absentmindedly.

As they chatted, Shen Qinghan, who had been talking nonstop, suddenly fell silent. She didn't play with her phone, either. She just pressed her straight legs tightly together, her thighs sealed shut, and she didn't look quite right.

Lin Zichen noticed something was off. His eyes instinctively flicked over, and he saw that she was bulging just like when they were little.

But he knew it wasn't a diaper this time. It was another kind of absorbent pad.

Realizing this, he quietly turned his head and looked out the car window, not wanting to embarrass Shen Qinghan.

Shen Qinghan also knew Lin Zichen had noticed. She lowered her head, pressed her thin lips together, and said nothing.

Just like that, the atmosphere in the car fell silent.

Hm?

Suddenly, Lin Zichen's eyes widened.

He saw a fat rat about as big as a cat zip past the roadside and scurry up the drainpipe into the second floor of the Public Security Station.

How could there be such a huge rat?

Could it be a Giant Mutant Rat?

Lin Zichen tensed up at once.

But soon, he relaxed, deciding he was just overthinking it.

This was the south, not the north. It was perfectly normal for rats to grow as big as cats. Nothing strange about it.

"Looks like I've been too wound up. I'll have to relax properly once I get home..."

Lin Zichen thought to himself.

When they got home.

Shen Qinghan called out, "See you tomorrow," then got out of the car and walked away with an awkward gait.

Zhang Wanxin asked, puzzled, "What's wrong with Hanhan? Doesn't she usually like to linger and chat with you a little longer? Why was she so quiet in the car, and why did she get out as soon as we stopped?"

"She looked really sleepy just now. She was probably tired and didn't have the energy to talk." Lin Zichen offered an explanation.

Zhang Wanxin nodded and didn't dwell on it.

Soon, the family of three got out of the car and went inside.

As soon as they entered, Zhang Wanxin reminded Lin Zichen with a serious look, "Xiao Chen, if something like tonight happens again, I hope you'll put your own safety first. Know your limits, and don't let yourself get carried away."

"Mom, I understand. I will." Lin Zichen nodded obediently.

Only when Zhang Wanxin saw that he was willing to listen did the worry between her brows ease a little.

Then she suddenly remembered something and asked:

"By the way, didn't you buy three jin of Ghost Shadow Squid meat? Where is it? I didn't see it in the bicycle basket, and you aren't carrying it."

"Mom, don't be mad, but when that Heretic Cult follower mutated earlier, Hanhan and I ran off in such a hurry that I accidentally lost the meat..." Lin Zichen hesitated before speaking.

Zhang Wanxin's eyes widened at once.

Her heart ached, but she held back from showing it in front of Lin Zichen. Instead, she comforted him:

"It's okay. If it's lost, it's lost. You ran into trouble with a Heretic Cult follower, and you made it out unharmed—that's already a blessing. Besides, you did the right thing and saved someone. You're Mom's pride and joy."

"It hasn't been lost for long. How about I drive back and search along the way?" Lin Yansheng suggested.

Zhang Wanxin immediately refused. "No. A Heretic Cult follower just mutated there. It's too dangerous."

"True." Lin Yansheng nodded.

Lin Zichen said nothing. He silently thought that he'd take part in a few more competitions from now on. Once he'd saved enough prize money, he'd buy three jin of Ghost Shadow Squid meat to bring home for his parents.

At the Public Security Station, in the team captain's office.

The Public Security Team captain couldn't help laughing as he looked at the written statement in his hands.

He'd launched it with a slingshot?

Who in their right mind used a stone the size of an egg in a slingshot?

Could anyone even launch one?

He'd obviously thrown it by hand!

Didn't he know what I do for a living? Did he think he could fool me, some student?

The Public Security Team captain lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled as he watched the smoke spread.

Come to think of it, he was only a middle school student. How had he managed to throw a stone with so much force?

No, he'd have to pull up the security footage tomorrow morning and see what had happened.

As he thought, the Public Security Team captain put the statement back into its designated file box, locked it, and got ready to head home.

Just then, he noticed a rat on the windowsill, as big as a cat.

He was a little surprised. "Where did this rat come from? How did it get so big?"

The rat outside wasn't frightened by his voice. It stood perfectly still on the windowsill, its eerie eyes fixed on the Public Security Team captain.