Chapter 40

Su Cheng broke into a run, with Hao Ruoxue holding on to the hem of her clothes.

It was almost six, and heavy rain had suddenly begun pouring from the sky, leaving very little light.

Su Cheng's night vision kept her unaffected, but Hao Ruoxue could only cling to her clothes, afraid she would lose her as they went...

Su Cheng did not mind, but having her clothes tugged was inconvenient. She simply took Hao Ruoxue by the wrist and ran with her.

Rain struck their raincoats with a pattering sound.

Rainwater also meant they had to wipe their visors from time to time to see clearly.

The patter of their running footsteps was drowned out by the rushing rain.

The monsters that had been hunting in the streets and mimicking human speech were all gone. There was no telling whether they had hidden inside some building...

There were no monsters at all on the main street.

Had all the monsters gone to shelter from the rain?

Su Cheng brought Hao Ruoxue to the restaurant entrance without trouble.

The owner's wife was already waiting. When she saw the two approaching and recognized Su Cheng, she hurriedly opened the door to welcome them inside.

After entering, Su Cheng immediately took off her raincoat so she would not drip water everywhere.

Everyone else was in the dining area along with the owner's wife.

The owner and his daughter brought bowls of ginger tea to Su Cheng and Hao Ruoxue respectively.

Wang Yang and Li Mu looked astonished to see Su Cheng return safely. Clearly, he had underestimated her abilities earlier.

Their appraising gazes then landed on the newly arrived Hao Ruoxue. No wonder Su Cheng had suddenly gone out-she had gone to rescue someone!

Su Cheng put her raincoat on the rack by the entrance, then accepted the steaming ginger tea with a word of thanks.

She was soaked through, and the wet clothes clinging to her body felt a little cold. With a sip of ginger tea, warmth flowed from her mouth into her body, dispelling the chill.

The owner's wife glanced at Hao Ruoxue and took out her phone: Is she a relative of yours?

Su Cheng shook her head. "No."

Her sudden speech startled everyone present except Hao Ruoxue.

Su Cheng hurriedly explained, "The rain is loud. It's fine to speak quietly."

Hearing this, the others watched the entrance for a while. Only when no monsters appeared did they relax a little.

The sound of heavy rain beating against the windows was indeed enough to drown out human voices.

Su Cheng checked the time. It was almost eight in the evening. She stopped the owner's wife, who was about to speak to Hao Ruoxue, and said seriously, "We're leaving tonight, for the island in the middle of the lake!"

"Tonight?" The owner's wife had not expected Su Cheng to be in such a hurry.

Su Cheng's safe return had already proved her abilities.

But venturing outside, where monsters ran rampant, was not something they could do rashly...

"Yes, tonight, while the heavy rain masks our footsteps and the monsters are less active."

"A lot of the fog has been washed away too. It's clearing faster than usual."

Su Cheng had not made this decision rashly. Her journey back to the restaurant along the streets had shown that most monsters disliked rain.

The monsters did not like being active on rainy days, giving people a chance to go outside.

They could not predict the weather to come. Rather than wait, they were better off seizing the opportunity before them.

She continued, "Travel light. A backpack with some clothes will be enough. I have food."

The kindness the owner's family had shown was enough for Su Cheng to be willing to provide them with food.

"We leave in half an hour. Think it over."

"...All right."

The owner's wife nodded conflictedly. Whether to leave with Su Cheng or stay here was a decision that required careful thought.

Everything about Su Cheng's conduct made the owner's family feel she was no ordinary person. If they chose to shrink back this time, they might never encounter another opportunity like this...

Su Cheng turned around. "Come to my room."

Hao Ruoxue, who had been listening in bewilderment, nodded obediently. "Okay."

Su Cheng led Hao Ruoxue upstairs and into her room.

"Did you bring any clothes from the mall?"

Hao Ruoxue put down her mostly soaked backpack and shook her head a little awkwardly. "I only arrived in the instance yesterday. I ate something, then woke up to find snail monsters all over the ceiling..."

"I even brought this backpack from the apartment..."

Su Cheng handed her a set of clothes.

Hao Ruoxue accepted them gratefully, blinking her bright eyes. "Thanks, sis."

That look reminded Su Cheng of the interns she had supervised at her old company.

Su Cheng turned away to change. "You're welcome. You're still a student, right?"

Seeing Su Cheng changing, Hao Ruoxue turned away to change too and answered, "Yes, I'm only a freshman."

Su Cheng told Hao Ruoxue about her plan to go to the island in the middle of the lake with the owner's family. "Are you coming along or staying here?"

Hao Ruoxue answered without hesitation, "I'm definitely coming with you!"

She had now made up her mind to hug this veteran Su Cheng's thigh and get carried to victory.

Su Cheng had no objections. "By the way, those two men are from the apartment too, but I don't know what kind of people they are."

"Oh, no wonder they kept looking at me earlier. So they're from the apartment too. Are they coming with us?"

"I don't know. Don't worry about them."

"Got it!"

After changing, Su Cheng dried her hair with a towel and put on her rain boots.

Hao Ruoxue was ready too, but unlike Su Cheng, who was traveling light, she carried a large backpack.

"Su Cheng, do you have one of those spatial abilities from novels?"

"This is your first instance, right? I don't have a spatial ability. It's an item from the apartment supermarket."

As she answered, Su Cheng suddenly felt this scene overlap somewhat with her first meeting with Yan Yu.

Back then, she had been the newcomer.

Now it was her turn to guide one.

Su Cheng briefly told Hao Ruoxue a few things about the apartment's instances, just as Yan Yu had told her back then.

But she did not mention things like the Gene Lock or classes.

After all, she had only just met Hao Ruoxue. There was no need to go into too much depth.

When the clock reached 8:30.

Heavy rain poured outside the windows.

Su Cheng, Hao Ruoxue, and the owner's family were all ready.

They were each wearing raincoats and rain boots, and equipped with powerful flashlights.

After learning what was happening from the owner's wife, Wang Yang and Li Mu actually prepared to go with them too. The two stood quietly to the side without saying anything.

Wang Yang had previously thought going outside was a foolish decision, but now that Su Cheng was taking the lead, he conveniently forgot his earlier words and actions.

Su Cheng could not be bothered to waste time arguing with them. In any case, once they went outside, she would not look after them.

She turned back and cautioned them, "Don't get separated! Not all monsters are blind, so pay extra attention to your surroundings."

"If anything seems wrong, find cover immediately."

Hao Ruoxue swallowed and was the first to answer. "Understood."

The owner's family gripped one another's hands tightly and nodded too. "All right."

Under everyone's gaze, Su Cheng slowly pushed open the door.

Without the door muffling it, the rushing rain grew louder.

Only their flashlight beams shone through the curtain of rain in the night.

Boom-

Purple lightning leaped across the sky, and deafening thunder roared, as though a bolt would strike down hard at any moment.

Su Cheng was not afraid of thunder like this. On the contrary, she felt the louder, the better...

Author's note:

None

Chapter 40

The owner's wife walked ahead to lead the way, with Su Cheng and her family close behind.

Hao Ruoxue followed right behind her, while Wang Yang and Li Mu brought up the rear.

The outlines of the buildings looked particularly towering in the rain.

Water had already pooled on the ground, splashing with a swish beneath their feet.

Rain washed over their visors. All they could hear was rain striking their bodies and the ground.

They moved along the green belt through the streets, using the cars by the roadside to conceal themselves.

Even with the rain covering the noise, no one dared speak loudly. Their breaths came slow and long as they worried about undiscovered monsters in the darkness.

The traffic lights were broken, and two cars had crashed into each other at the intersection.

They passed beside an overturned car.

This was the first set of traffic lights they had passed.

Su Cheng felt the owner's wife beside her relax slightly. She remembered her saying that they only needed to pass two sets of traffic lights to reach their destination.

Rumble-

Another tremendous crash sounded in the sky.

A silver bolt of lightning suddenly appeared on the horizon like a roaming dragon, illuminating the dark outlines of the buildings.

It also illuminated a pair of eerie green eyes high on a wall.

Su Cheng's heart tightened, and she forced out a breathy whisper. "Lights off!"

Her unusual words naturally made the others realize something, and their flashlight beams immediately went out.

With Hao Ruoxue in her left hand and the owner's wife in her right, Su Cheng ran toward a nearby car.

The owner's wife was also holding on to her husband and daughter.

In the darkness, once the flashlight beams no longer lit their way, their vision went black. Holding hands in a chain, they were led by Su Cheng toward cover.

Within the three seconds after they moved away, Wang Yang and Li Mu reacted too and immediately switched off their flashlights.

But no one was holding their hands to guide them. The moment they switched off their flashlights, they turned and saw a giant mutated lizard-like monster charging at them.

Its eerily glowing green eyes locked onto Wang Yang and Li Mu.

"Ah!"

Facing the monster at close range, Li Mu cried out in terror.

But before he could flee, the hands behind him shoved him hard. As he fell, the monster immediately pounced and bit into him.

Li Mu cried out in despair, "Wang Yang!!!"

"Aaaah!"

Crack...

Su Cheng and the others hid behind the overturned vehicle.

The cracking of human bones between teeth and Li Mu's agonized screams sounded particularly piercing amid the rain.