Chapter 17 : Chapter 17
Chapter 17: Rat Tide Riot
At the entrance of Anxi Residential Complex, in front of the pitch-black iron gate.
Tao Xiao’an, with her twin ponytails, frowned. “Zhou Hong, did not three people accept this mission? Where is the other one? Why has he not arrived yet?”
Beside the girl, a fair-faced young man sat on the steps by the gate railing, playing a game on his phone.
“Do not rush, Sister Tao. Guess what I found out?”
Zhou Hong seemed to have discovered something interesting, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
“What?”
Tao Xiao’an sat down beside Zhou Hong.
She happened to catch a glimpse of his phone screen, which had already turned gray. Zhou Hong set the phone down in annoyance, then looked at Tao Xiao’an beside him and said,
“I heard the one who accepted the mission is a newcomer named Lu Zhan. Well? Interesting, right?”
Because missions were restricted by region, Zhou Hong and Tao Xiao’an were quite familiar with each other.
“What? A newcomer? Then how does he dare accept a D-rank mission? Is he not afraid of dying? Or is he trying to take advantage of a loophole?”
Tao Xiao’an was in disbelief.
If a newcomer could simply guard his own jurisdiction well enough to keep Demon Beasts from causing trouble, that was already considered decent.
Even if they accepted missions, they would only dare take E-rank ones.
But this person had skipped straight to a D-rank mission.
It was not as if newcomers like this had never existed before.
But every one of them had died during the mission.
Without exception.
“Who knows? Maybe he really does have some skill.”
Zhou Hong shrugged, lowered his head again, and continued tapping rapidly on the screen.
Very soon, the screech of tires interrupted the conversation between the two.
A taxi came to a stop in front of them.
A young man stepped out, a saber hanging at his waist and a black uniform on his body.
The uniform fit him perfectly, outlining the lean lines of his waist.
A red cord wound around the scabbard swayed lightly with his steps, but the most striking thing was his eyes, like black jade submerged in a cold pool.
Dark and deep.
Zhou Hong’s first impression was that this was an expert.
For some reason, this newcomer gave him a very strong sense of danger.
But that feeling vanished as quickly as it came.
“Hey, Lu Zhan, right? We agreed to meet at seven. I thought you had run off at the last minute.”
“Sorry. I could not get a cab this morning.”
Lu Zhan was rather helpless. Usually, Peach Blossom Alley had plenty of cars, but today something unexpected had happened.
Zhou Hong smiled, put down his phone, walked over, and extended a hand to introduce himself.
“Zhou Hong. Welcome aboard.”
Lu Zhan nodded and asked, “What is the situation in Anxi Residential Complex right now?”
Only then did Zhou Hong turn serious. He pointed toward the yellow warning tape at the entrance of the complex.
“According to Chen Qing, the Apprentice Demon Exterminator here, the Demon Aura in Anxi Residential Complex has doubled compared to two days ago.”
Lu Zhan frowned when he heard that.
“This rise in Demon Aura is rather abnormal.”
Zhou Hong could not help but warn him, “Lu Zhan, why not give up the mission? When something unusual happens, there is usually something wrong behind it. If we really end up fighting Demon Beasts, we probably will not have the time to look after you.”
“And do not think it is embarrassing to abandon the mission. Sometimes, it is normal not to notice the mission note.”
The mission notice had recommended that only those at the Aperture Opening Realm accept it. He felt that Lu Zhan might simply not have seen that.
Lu Zhan smiled, released his aura, and said calmly, “I already opened an aperture.”
“What?”
Zhou Hong and Tao Xiao’an were stunned.
Had he not only taken the assessment yesterday? How had this newcomer crossed into the Aperture Opening Realm so quickly?
But the aura on Lu Zhan’s body could not be faked.
“Alright then. Since you have the strength to protect yourself, I will not try to persuade you anymore. Let us go clear out those mutated rats.”
Now that he had confirmed Lu Zhan could at least protect himself, Zhou Hong said nothing more.
The three of them headed toward the apartment building where the incident had occurred.
Armed police stood guard at the entrance to the residential complex.
Only after Lu Zhan and the others showed their identity tokens were they allowed through.
The moment he entered the complex, Lu Zhan sensed a dense Demon Beast presence.
“What dense Demon Aura.”
The bronze bells hanging at the waists of the three of them gave off a crisp ringing sound.
As though they were issuing a warning.
Suddenly, three youths dressed in the uniform of Apprentice Demon Exterminators walked over.
The one in front looked somewhat worn out as he said, “My name is Chen Qing. I am the Demon Exterminator assigned to this jurisdiction. You have finally arrived. May I ask how the three of you are addressed?”
After Lu Zhan and the other two briefly introduced themselves, Chen Qing led them to the foot of Building One.
“There were not many rats in Anxi Residential Complex to begin with, but three days ago, for some unknown reason, quite a few residents started reporting frequent rat sightings here.”
“At first, nobody thought much of it.”
“But by last night, those mutated Rat Demons had grown increasingly frenzied and attacked the residents of this building. By the time we got here, twelve people were already dead.”
Chen Qing’s expression turned ugly when he mentioned it.
After all, this was his own jurisdiction. For something like this to happen here was truly terrible luck.
“Then have you found out where their nest is?”
Chen Qing shook his head.
Zhou Hong frowned. “That makes things difficult.”
Sometimes, finding Demon Beasts was even harder than killing them.
Suddenly, 【Ding! Detected a fluctuation of Demon Aura ten meters directly ahead】
Lu Zhan’s eyes lit up.
Without any hesitation, he drew his saber and slashed instantly.
In the next moment, a crimson saber aura struck the corner of a wall.
At once, a clean cut appeared in the corner.
Zhou Hong and the others jumped in fright.
“Damn it, Lu Zhan, what are you doing?”
Lu Zhan did not answer, because at that instant, the shrill squeaking cry of a rat rang in everyone’s ears.
“Squeak, squeak, squeak!”
Zhou Hong reacted immediately.
“After it!”
But when they reached the wall corner, there was nothing there at all.
“Damn it, it got away.”
Tao Xiao’an cursed, then said in surprise, “Lu Zhan, how did you sense that Rat Demon?”
Even the Demon-Seeking Bronze Bell at their waists had failed to detect the Demon Aura on that Rat Demon.
“I learned a martial art that makes me especially sensitive to Demon Aura.”
Lu Zhan made it up on the spot.
“Then can you still track that Demon Beast?”
There was expectation in her eyes.
Lu Zhan closed his eyes and focused, carefully sensing something.
A moment later, he suddenly opened them and said, “Follow me.”
That saber aura from earlier had not been fatal, but it had cut open a wound on the Rat Demon’s abdomen so deep that bone could be seen.
And even from a distance, Lu Zhan could still sense the saber aura lingering on the wound.
Not long afterward, the group arrived at an underground parking garage.
Chen Qing looked puzzled. “We already searched this garage over the past two days and did not find anything unusual.”
“Chen Qing, watch out.”
Before he had even finished speaking, Zhou Hong suddenly grabbed him and pulled him back.
A fang no bigger than a fingernail grazed his forehead and nailed itself into the wall, knocking loose a spray of fine plaster.
“Damn it, what was that?”
Chen Qing broke out in a cold sweat.
“It was that mutated Rat Demon!”
Then his expression changed drastically.
“No, this is not just one Rat Demon. It is a rat swarm. This is retaliation from the Rat Demons.”
“Damn, Lu Zhan, the one you slashed just now would not happen to have been the mutated Rat King, would it?”
Dense black shapes began pouring out from the shadows at the entrance to the garage.
The rats in the front row were each as tall as half a man. Dark bluish-black flesh tumors bulged from their hunched backs, and dried blood still clung to their pointed snouts.