Shen Heng lowered his eyes to look at the man in front of him whose chest was stained with blood.
"How are you? Can you still move?"
The man tried to move, then immediately coughed loudly a few times.
But it didn't seem like a big problem. He took a breath and said:
"I can't fight anymore, but after a rest, I can still manage simple movements."
Shen Heng glanced at the people lying on the ground around him, then looked away.
"In that case, you can sit here and rest for now."
"The area within five minutes is still safe for now."
I can't guarantee it will take any longer.
In short, try to get yourself in the right state of mind within these five minutes.
"Then take your teammates to the Martial Arts Association or the hospital."
"These two places are relatively safer now."
"Okay, I understand!" The man nodded and thanked him, "Thank you so much this time, Inspector, otherwise our whole team might have been killed."
Shen Heng nodded simply, not paying much attention.
He turned and walked toward the Sharp-Horned Rat's corpse, pulling the long knife stuck in the Sharp-Horned Rat's head.
Then he turned around and ran quickly in one direction with a clear goal in mind.
The morning breeze, carrying a slight chill, brushed against Shen Heng's face, but it couldn't bring him any joy.
After they rushed back from outside, they immediately dispersed and went to various areas in order to stabilize the situation as quickly as possible.
This stability does not mean that all the Sharp-Horned Rat in that area have been eliminated, resulting in no casualties.
Instead, their presence allows them to prioritize the elimination of Tier 3, some Tier 2, and a few Sharp-Horned Rat that act together.
In this way, the police officers and martial artists from the Martial Arts Association who are currently fighting against the Calamity Beast attacks in Linhai City can play their roles to the fullest extent.
Otherwise, it's very easy for this to happen.
Calamity Beast appeared in a certain area, one that even police officers and martial artists could not defeat.
The police officers and martial artists who went ahead were killed by the Calamity Beast.
Then the other martial artists, unaware of the noise, were drawn over and killed as well.
If this continues, the situation in that area will soon collapse!
Therefore, they chose this current plan, which cannot quickly clear a safe area, but can roughly stabilize the current situation in Linhai.
Of course, this plan isn't without its costs...
Shen Heng lowered his eyes slightly.
In my ears, the almost incessant screams, terror, and wails echoed from all around the Linhai...
"Bang! Bang!..."
The heavy iron gate swayed intermittently.
Inside the door were two siblings, a brother and a sister, standing close together.
Their bodies trembled uncontrollably, their eyes filled with tears, their gazes fixed on the slamming iron gate.
"Honey, what are you doing?" the woman asked softly to the man who was stuffing canned food and water into his backpack.
"We need to find a way to get out of here. The food is to prevent this situation from dragging on indefinitely." The man glanced back, then continued with his work.
"Leave... leave?" The woman's eyes widened slightly. "Where to?"
"I don't know yet, but we can't stay in this building." The man quickly stuffed easy-to-store and carry food into his bag, continuing, "..."
Didn't you just see it too?
"A rat has run into our building, and we still don't know where it is!"
As he spoke, he pulled up the backpack that was already filled with his belongings.
He turned and quickly walked to the woman's side, intending to pull her away with him.
"But... but didn't the announcement just say to stay safely in your room?" the woman asked, somewhat resistant.
"That was before we encountered the Calamity Beast. Now that Calamity Beast's in our building, no one can guarantee it won't come here again." The man lowered his voice. "If that happens, there'll be nowhere to run."
"But..." the woman hesitated.
Just then, a scream suddenly came from below.
Their clasped hands trembled slightly.
The man looked at the woman.
This time, the woman did not argue.
As the man led the woman out the door and was about to carefully walk downstairs, he felt a resistance pulling on his wrist again.
He turned around and patiently asked, "What's wrong?"
The woman pointed upwards and whispered:
"I've noticed this when I go up to the roof to hang clothes to dry. Our building and the building next door are connected, separated only by a wall..."
"Ha-hoo--Ha-hoo--"
Heavy breathing came from a man's mouth.
He carried his child on his back and ran forward with difficulty, but...
He raised his gaze and looked ahead.
Then, the last person's figure disappeared from his sight as he rounded a corner.
He was still more than two hundred meters away from that corner.
Behind them, the screams, not too far away, gradually faded away...
He turned his head to look at the empty street behind him, then turned back and scanned the area in front of him.
After hesitating for a moment, he quickly walked to a trash can, opened the lid,
Then she turned around and placed her child inside.
"Daddy, it stinks!" the little boy said, frowning and looking a little aggrieved.
"Yes, Dad knows!"
The man forced a smile.
"But can you please bear with it?"
"Let's play hide-and-seek. You stay inside and don't make a sound or come out."
"You can only come out when I come looking for you from behind, or when the police come looking for you!"
"Hide and seek?" The little boy's eyes widened.
"Yes, hide-and-seek!" The man nodded, maintaining a smile.
"Okay!" the little boy shouted in response.
"Remember, no matter what, don't come out or make a sound until your dad and the police come to find you!" the man reminded him again.
"E--"
The little boy had barely uttered a sound when he saw his father make a shushing gesture.
He quickly covered his mouth.
He then nodded, indicating that he understood.
Seeing this, the man smiled and prepared to close the trash can lid.
However, the lid stopped halfway down.
Looking at the little boy hiding in the trash can, the man forced himself to control his emotions and said:
"Remember, Dad loves you!"
The little boy smiled broadly, but he remembered his father's teachings and remained silent.
Seeing this, the man no longer hesitated and closed the lid.
The moment he closed the book, he could no longer hold back his tears, which streamed down his face.
He quickly reached the street corner.
But they didn't leave immediately.
Instead, he bent slightly and placed his hands on his knees to adjust his posture.
Suddenly, a blurry black shadow appeared in the morning mist.
The man glanced at it, a relieved smile appearing on his face, and got up to run to the side.
The dark figure quickly gave chase and soon disappeared down the street.
A muffled groan echoed through the unseen streets...