Bloodline Suppression

Return countdown: 144:00:00.

Midnight.

"Li Hao, come up here quickly! The gang leader we were tracking was killed by a few rats. I saw it with my own eyes!" Li Chao said urgently on the phone. "Those rats looked fierce, with bloodshot eyes, but they were probably afraid of people. They ran away when they saw me."

As he spoke, Li Chao slowly peeked into the room. He saw that the room was luxuriously decorated, and the central air conditioning vent on the ceiling was dilapidated. The rats must have entered the apartment from there.

He recalled the scene just now and was quite certain that there was something wrong with those rats, "Are the rats still in the alley? You should stay away from them. I have a feeling something is off."

"Are you kidding me? A rat killed the gang leader?" Li Hao replied on the other end of the phone, "What kind of rat is that bold? Stop joking around, come downstairs, let's go to the bar for a drink."

This Li Hao is Li Chao and his friends' new friend after leaving Sun Chuci. He is a rich young man from the Outer World who usually makes a living by talking about transporting gold bars. He lives a fairly comfortable life in the Inner World.

"I'm not kidding, we must stay away from rats," Li Chao said. "I'll leave here first, and we'll talk when we meet."

"You're such a coward, they're just rats," Li Hao glanced at the two rats in the alley, walked over nonchalantly, and kicked them, trying to scare them away.

It can undergo sudden and unexpected changes.

Li Hao failed to kick either of the rats, but they crawled up his calf.

Their purpose was extremely clear: they wanted to bite off his carotid artery!

"Damn it!" Li Hao kept slapping his body, but he couldn't get rid of the two rats at all. It was only when the other people rushed up that he was saved and they knocked the rats to the ground.

The group looked on in shock, only to see that the two rats had not left, but were staring intently at them all, making squeaking noises.

Just then, a voice came from outside the alley. "Xiao San, what's it like to be part of the Golden Family?"

"Hehe, of course it's incredibly awesome! I heard from the Black Family that the elders have allowed me to come to the island to cultivate," a voice boasted. "What an honor that is!"

"Holy crap, is this for real? Your parents are calling you to the island? Xiao Qi and the others are in the first batch, and you're in the second?"

"That's right, the second batch has a total of 48 people," Xiao San said with a chuckle. "Although we weren't selected for the first batch like Xiao Qi, it's still pretty good that we were able to get on the island."

"Isn't that obvious? They're with their parents!"

Looking at the neon lights of the city, Xiao San exclaimed, "The Fourth District is so lively at night, it seems even more bustling than City No. 18."

Someone laughed and said, "City No. 18 is the Li family's private territory, while City No. 10 is where all sorts of forces are permanently based. The Federal House of Representatives and Senate are both here, and there are probably hundreds of administrative agencies of all sizes. If you go out now and throw a punch at anyone, you might just hit a congressman. Moreover, this is where the most celebrities are in the entire Federation. All the top-tier and super-top-tier celebrities are here."

" In City No. 18, dozens of banquets are held simultaneously every night. Those important figures live a life of debauchery. If this place is not prosperous, then the Federation has no prosperous place."

Someone else said, "Xiao San, you just came back from City 22. Today, the brothers chipped in and brought you to the biggest venue in Fourth District to broaden your horizons. Lao Luo said in an internal email that you and Xiao Qi did a great job this time, and the parents have agreed to grant you the third level of Breathing Technique."

Parent's Association indeed rich now, but they also have many expenses. They need to stockpile medicines, weapons, and various supplies in case the conglomerates start targeting Parent's Association one day, causing a huge shortage of supplies.

Therefore, everyone is still struggling to make ends meet.

At this moment, Xiao Wu and the others passed by the alley. When they discovered that there were people inside, they quickly shut their mouths and walked past as if nothing had happened.

"Help..." Li Hao had just spoken when he noticed that the two little mice seemed to have seen something terrifying, and they turned and ran away!

Without hesitation!

Li Hao and the others were stunned. The two little mice escaped so suddenly that they had no time to react.

They didn't know whether the rat was afraid of crowds or the few people who had just passed by.

It's really strange. The rats, which were fierce just a second ago, suddenly became timid!

"What happened to those two rats just now?" Li Hao asked.

"I don't know! Quick, call Li Chao down! Something's wrong here!" a girl said. "The rats in City No. 10 have mutated! We have to tell the academy about this right away!"

Li Hao picked up his phone from the ground. "Hey, Li Chao, come down quickly, we need to hurry up and get back to our place first."

He waited for several seconds but didn't hear a response from Li Chao: "Hey? Li Chao, what's wrong? Say something!"

A chilling atmosphere filled the air, and no one answered the phone.

Li Hao turned on speakerphone, and everyone could still hear strange sounds.

It's like something is chewing on flesh and gnawing on bones...

Every now and then, a gurgling sound could be heard over the phone, like the sound of someone gasping for air when their trachea is bitten through.

With a thud, Li Hao froze, and his phone fell to the ground.

Everyone's faces turned pale.

One of the girls exclaimed, "Let's go save him!"

The group ran towards the apartment entrance, but as they ran, someone realized something was wrong. Turning around, they saw Li Hao and his group of wealthy young men being dragged by Li Hao and running in the opposite direction.

"Wait, where are you going?" the girl asked.

"I'm going to call the police," Li Hao and the others said, disappearing down the street without looking back.

The remaining four people stopped in their tracks.

They dared not mention the rescue again.

"Call the PCE Public Security Management Committee!"

A girl dialed the phone, her voice trembling. "Hello, PCE? There are rats here that have killed people!"

A chuckle came from the other end of the phone, "Damn it, don't call in the middle of the night, you know? And what's this about rats killing people? Making a false police report goes to jail... Let's get a pair of ketamine!"

As he spoke, the phone was hung up.

The four were even more desperate.

"Let's call Brother Chu Ci," the girl suddenly said. "This is a matter of life and death. No matter how angry he is with us, he won't abandon us."

In the past, no matter what difficulties they encountered in the wilderness, everyone's first reaction was to look for Sun Chuci.

The wilderness adventure was thrilling but safe, and after returning to the city and finding so many weapons and firearms, life suddenly became much better.

Gradually, people in the city almost forgot what Sun Chuci had done, until they encountered danger again.

The group hesitated for a moment. They had just deceived Sun Chuci, and now they wanted to ask him for help again?

But considering that this was a matter of life and death, everyone gritted their teeth and dialed the number.

"Sorry, the user you are trying to reach has their phone switched off."

As it turns out, some people won't always wait for you in the same place.

The four students said, "How about... we leave first? Li Chao is definitely beyond saving. We need to find a way to tell Kunlun about this."

"Yes, let's go find the people from Kunlun. The academy gave us an emergency rescue number!" A student finally remembered Kunlun.

When they made the call, they had barely explained the situation when the person on the other end immediately became serious, "Don't linger there. Come to 172 Blackwood Street, District 8. I'll be waiting for you here."

Kunlun's secret headquarters in City No. 10 is located in District 8.

It's not that I'm trying to be low-key or anything; it's just that the living environment in the Lower Three Districts these days, apart from being a bit dilapidated, is really much better than that of the 4th, 5th, and 6th districts...

Of course, it still can't compare to the Upper Third District.

Just then, Xiao Wu and the others suddenly turned back, staring intently at the four students who were about to leave. "Did something happen to you just now?"

The Parent's Association originally there to have some fun, but Xiao San, having gained experience in the battles of City 22, reacted exceptionally well.

He sensed something was wrong as he passed through the alley, so after walking a short distance, he turned back because he was worried.

The students exchanged glances. "We've encountered a situation where a rat bit someone to death."

Everyone at the Parent's Association felt a chill run down their spines!

To be honest, there is a misalignment in the mindset of the Parent's Association.

The Lower Three Districts actively carried out the work of eliminating the four pests. The Joint Defense efforts drove the rats away in fear, and gradually the rats were no longer seen in the Lower Three Districts.

So they thought the rats had been completely eradicated. Yesterday, at the Parent's Association' meeting, three rat-eliminating heroes were commended and awarded the title of "Advanced Individual".

One of the heroes who got rid of the rats was the guy who was just about to take his Xiao San to see the world.

That's why the rats in the alley ran away so quickly.

Just like how a auntie at the market can make a hen stiffen at the slightest touch, this rat-eliminating hero has already achieved Bloodline Suppression.

In the eyes of the Parent's Association, the rat infestation should have been eradicated, but now the facts tell them that the rat infestation does not seem to be limited to the once dirty and chaotic Lower Three Districts, but is spreading throughout the entire city.

Moreover, the rat population is growing larger and larger, and they've even started killing people openly!

This was a terrifying thing. The Parent's Association looked around. They couldn't be sure how many mutated rats were still in the city, where they were hiding, or how many people had been harmed.

A keen intuition told the family that this matter was not as simple as it seemed, and that something big was about to happen!

Xiao San frowned and said, "We must get the Federation's attention to this. This is City No. 10, the political center of the power struggle between various parties. If something goes wrong here, the entire Federation could be in trouble. Call the PCE and tell them about this!"

One of the girls said, "It's no use. We called them, but they didn't believe us at all and even said they would make us go to jail for making a false police report."

The Xiao San frowned even more. "Call the media and let them expose this!"

As they were talking, a family member picked up the phone and dialed. "Hello, is this Oriental Media? We need... a celebrity? We don't have any scandals about celebrities."

The person on the other end of the phone said, "Why are you calling me if you don't have any celebrity scoops? I only want this stuff, and that's all the audience wants to see."

As he was speaking, the reporter on the other end of the phone suddenly hung up.

Xiao San and the others were dumbfounded. Had the media in the Federation become so corrupt? So only celebrity matters were considered important?

The Xiao San pulled her family aside and whispered, "This can't be delayed. We need to contact Black Family and parents as soon as possible. Stop playing around, this is important."

The family members, who had originally planned to enjoy themselves in the Fourth District, immediately became serious upon hearing that there was important business to attend to and all rushed to the Lower Three Districts.

In the dark sewers, two rats that had just escaped from the alley scurried about.

In the underground of the District 5, countless rats carried back and forth, carrying flesh and blood. In the very center, countless pink-cheeked rat pups crawled on the ground, frantically devouring the food that the rats had brought back.

Mice come in all sizes; the larger ones are the first to reproduce, while the smaller ones are more robust.

This nascent population is multiplying at an unimaginable rate. The Rat King does not blindly invade the surface; its every action is planned: it only plunders the most hidden food, keeping as low-key as possible before humans discover it, and waiting for a better opportunity.

The Rat King seemed to understand one thing very well: it did not yet have the power to contend with the humans on the surface, and its population size would be its greatest advantage.

Beside the black coffin, the Rat King pulled out its last arm and began to gnaw on it, the sound of its teeth chewing on the bone eerily unsettling.

The two rats ran up to it and squeaked incessantly. The Rat King listened for a moment and was surprised that the humans from the Lower Three Districts had actually moved to other areas.

Was it intentional targeting of them, or just a coincidence?

The Rat King's eyes surprisingly revealed a look of wisdom.

At this moment, the Rat King suddenly started making a piercing squeaking sound.

An anomaly has occurred.

The smaller rats climbed onto the larger rats and began to gnaw on them, while the larger rats obediently stayed where they were, letting the group treat them as food. It seemed that this was originally a granary reserved by the Rat King for the group.

Rats' greatest advantage is definitely not their strength, but their small size, which allows them to enter and exit anywhere: pipes, wall cracks, sewers, and they can even squeeze out of the toilet seat.

Therefore, those large rats are inherently defective products in the reproduction of their species, and will eventually be replaced by newly evolved rats.

Now, the Rat King feels the urgency of time and must adopt a more radical plan.

The rate of reproduction must be faster, and the rate of food plundering must also be faster. It can no longer slowly search for food, but must instead confine it to a enclosure.

After feeding, the rats began to converge on the sewers where the Fourth District was located. They found the building where Li Chao died and then climbed up the pipes.

They crowded into the sewers, and terror spread like a flood.

Inside the Dream Building in Fourth District.

A middle-aged man was sitting on the toilet looking at his phone. On the news, a female host was reporting, "At 8 pm tonight, a reporter photographed a middle-aged female celebrity surnamed Zhou having dinner with a young man. That night, the two returned to a luxury house in the third district together, suspected of having an extramarital affair."

The middle-aged man watched with great interest and casually searched for a lot of news and photos about this female celebrity.

However, at that moment, he suddenly heard the sound of water coming from the toilet under his buttocks.

The middle-aged man was stunned for a moment. The next second, he let out a wail, covered his buttocks, stood up, and jumped up and down wildly, roaring angrily.

He desperately wanted to find something inside his body, but the unknown fear kept drilling holes in him, crushing everything in its path.

The middle-aged man looked down in pain and could even see a palm-sized bulge moving inside his stomach.

Blood was flowing continuously between his legs.

Slowly, the middle-aged man collapsed to the ground, his eyes wide open and lifeless.

After an unknown amount of time, a tiny mouse pushed open his mouth and crawled out.

The little mouse surveyed the room and, after confirming that there were no other humans, began to squeak towards the toilet.

Then, countless rats crawled out of the toilet.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and someone shouted, "What's all this howling and wailing in the middle of the night? Can't a person get some sleep?"

The hundreds of rats inside the house stopped what they were doing until the knocking stopped, and then they resumed sharing the food.

The rats have a very clear division of labor. They are piled up in huge numbers, allowing some rats to enter the ventilation ducts while others crawl back into the toilet.

Finally, there was another group that kept carrying the bodies from inside the house back into the dark sewers.

This dreamlike building is about to fall; it will become the rats' third stronghold, and all the humans inside will become food for them.

Early morning.

On the 81st floor of the Dream Tower, a young man woke up to strange noises. He went out of his bedroom but found nothing. "Dad? Mom?"

As is customary, by this time, Mother should already be up and cooking, and Father should be at the table watching the federal morning political news.

However, the living room was empty; there was no one there at all.

He turned on the TV, and a holographic projection was broadcasting his father's favorite news channel.

The young man was puzzled. He knocked on his parents' bedroom door, but no one answered.

He turned the doorknob, and the door clicked open.

The young man saw two people covered by a blanket on the bed, and his parents seemed to be still asleep.

He intended to quietly leave the room, but strange noises came from under the blanket.

The young man paused for a moment and walked to the bedside. He gently lifted the blanket and found that it was teeming with rats, while his parents were already skeletons, their blood staining the sheets red.

"Ah!!!" the young man screamed hoarsely. The scene was too cruel and directly shattered his mind.

He felt as if he had lost the ability to think, as if a mountain was pressing down on his chest, making it hard for him to breathe.

In an instant, the moment the blanket was pulled back, countless rats pounced on him, quickly engulfing him in a gray tide.

In the holographic news projection, a smiling female host announced, "Seven days from now, the 127th World Boxing Championship will be held in Fourth District of City No. 10, a highly anticipated event for the people of the Federation. It is reported that King of Fighters Afan from City No. 18, will face King of Fighters Gu Zheng from City No. 10. Rumors have long circulated about a feud between the two, and they have consistently been compared. Now, everyone will finally know who the true champion is. The Fourth District boxing arena will be packed with 100,000 spectators cheering them on!"

In front of the holographic projection, among the swarm of wriggling gray rats, several dark-skinned rats were silently watching.

After reading the news, they looked at each other, and immediately two of them crawled back into the sewer through the toilet, seemingly to take the news back underground.

On that very day, the Parent's Association suddenly became alarmed and launched a new round of special campaigns to exterminate and prevent rats.

A 5,000-word chapter; there will be another chapter before 11 PM tonight.