Chapter 20 – The Plan Succeeds

Volume 1: Apocalypse Beginning

There were not many Mutant Rats at the back door of the Police Station; most of the Mutant Rats were concentrated at the front door, enjoying their delicious feast.

But that didn't mean Wen Yu and Wang Zhigang faced no resistance at all. After Wen Yu's observation, he was certain that among this group of rats, there was definitely a Rat King present, and at the back door, there were exactly six Level 1 Mutant Rats standing guard.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak."

Seeing the two humans charging straight at them, the Mutant Rats let out a series of sounds.

Wen Yu's heart tightened. He knew this sound well-it was an alarm. In his previous life, he had dealt with Mutant Rats countless times. He knew that the sentry rats would sound the alarm, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Rats were cautious, and under the Suppression of the Rat King, their discipline was extremely strong. Once they detected an enemy, they would sound the alarm immediately.

"Old Wang, hurry up!"

For two powerful Level 1 Class Holders, a distance of dozens of meters was gone in a flash. Swinging their Steel Blades, Wen Yu and Old Wang dispatched the Mutant Rats-who, despite being Level 1 Mutant Creatures, were individually weak-with a single strike each, killing them cleanly.

Wen Yu ignored the Magic Crystals inside the Level 1 Mutant Rats' skulls.

Yes, Mutant Creatures that reached Level 1 would produce Magic Crystals in their brains. Demonic Creatures had them too, but Zombies and humans did not. This was an extra reward for killing Mutant Beasts or Demonic Creatures.

Moreover, the attribute of the Magic Crystal inside these Mutant Creatures was determined by their own attribute-in other words, all the Magic Crystals inside Mutant Creatures were Beast Attribute Magic Crystals.

Most Mutant Beasts had Beast Attribute Magic Crystals.

The two rushed forward quickly. At the same time, the rat horde, alerted by the alarm, charged madly toward the back door.

Seeing the back door getting closer, Wen Yu entered Combat State, grabbed the lagging Wang Zhigang, and threw him directly into the back door of the Police Station.

Watching the rat horde draw nearer, Wen Yu saw his task was complete. Without lingering, he sprinted off into the distance.

Most of the rats behind him hadn't reached Level 1. Before long, Wen Yu had left them far behind.

He glanced toward the Police Station. It was silent, with no sound at all. Wen Yu had no idea how likely Wang Zhigang's plan was to succeed. After circling around, he lay in ambush near the Police Station once more.

…

Wang Zhigang, dizzy and disoriented, was thrown into the Police Station, just as Wen Yu shut the door.

The powerful physique of a Class Holder allowed Wang Zhigang to quickly shake off the dizziness. Recalling his plan, his eyes grew colder and more focused.

"Wen Wen, wait for me. Once I kill all these filthy rats, I'll come down to be with you. Soon, very soon."

Hearing the dense, subtle sounds of running nearby, Wang Zhigang knew he didn't have much time left.

He dashed down the stairs-the explosives were stored in the basement's storage room.

…

The staircase downward was pitch black, but fortunately, a Class Holder's night vision was excellent, so Wang Zhigang wasn't left completely blind.

He quickly surveyed the basement, but found nothing.

It was empty.

The faint footsteps and the chilling "squeak" of rats upstairs gradually faded away.

Wang Zhigang felt as if he were inside a giant trap.

Steeling himself, Wang Zhigang felt like he was walking into the jaws of a giant beast, slowly vanishing into the darkness.

The basement was littered with rat droppings and the remains of dead Zombies.

These remains had all been dragged in by the rats outside.

The explosives were stored in the innermost evidence room on the basement level.

Wang Zhigang was intimately familiar with the Police Station, but the eerie silence around him gave rise to a vague sense of dread.

…

Nothing happened all the way to the evidence room door, which made Wang Zhigang breathe a sigh of relief.

Seeing that he was about to avenge his child, Wang Zhigang didn't hesitate for a moment and pulled open the evidence room door.

His figure was about to be swallowed by the pitch-black room.

Suddenly, Wang Zhigang's body shot out at incredible speed-or rather, was flung backward.

"Ah!"

A scream rang out. Wang Zhigang's chest visibly caved in, as if struck by a heavy hammer, and he collapsed, unable to get up for a long time.

From within the evidence room, a dark shadow stretched longer and longer. Slowly, a giant rat half as tall as a person emerged.

A Level 2 Mutant-the king of this rat horde.

…

Waiting was absolute agony.

Just as Wen Yu was lost in thought, a massive explosion erupted, nearly deafening him.

He watched as huge flames burst from every window of the Police Station, and charred rats were blasted out. Wen Yu clenched his fists tightly.

"It worked."

"Old Wang, from now on, every holiday I'll burn incense for you and your daughter. You're truly incredible."

Seeing Wang Zhigang's self-sacrificing plan succeed, Wen Yu quickly rushed toward the Police Station.

After passing by the back door of the Police Station, Wen Yu took the opportunity to look for the corpse of the Level 1 Mutant Rat he had just killed. Unfortunately, after he left, the dead rat had already been devoured by its own kind.

The closer he got to the Police Station, the more dead rats there were, and Wen Yu was happy to scavenge the corpses.

Unfortunately, the rats that had been killed from such a distance were definitely not even Level 1, and Mutant Beasts below Level 1 did not have Magic Crystals.

Wen Yu curled his lips, ignored these small fry, and walked straight through the main entrance of the Police Station.

The once spacious lobby had already collapsed beyond recognition, and Wen Yu didn't bother searching the ruins for rat corpses. There were enough bodies scattered all over the floor for him to pick from.

"One, Beast Attribute, Level 1. Here you go, baby."

He dug out a Magic Crystal from a corpse on the ground, and seeing that it was Beast Attribute, he fed it directly to the Soul Beast.

"Another one, Beast-Fire Dual Attribute, but it's impure. You can't eat this." Ignoring the Soul Beast's eager mental fluctuations, Wen Yu put this Magic Crystal away.

"Tsk tsk tsk, there really are quite a lot."

The more Wen Yu scavenged, the happier he became. Before long, after cleaning up this section of the ruins, he had already fed the Soul Beast to Peak Level 1.

He also picked up a large pile of Level 1 Magic Crystals he couldn't use. He placed the full bag on top of the ruins.

Casually finishing off a few Mutant Rats that weren't quite dead, Wen Yu nodded in satisfaction.

"Old Wang gets things done. Reliable."

Just as he was about to finish scavenging the area, Wen Yu suddenly heard some noises coming from within the ruins.

"There's still something alive?"

Wen Yu picked up his Steel Blade and slowly walked toward the source of the sound.

Wen Yu hadn't forgotten that among this horde of rats, there was definitely a Rat King.

He slowly approached a section of the ruins, listening carefully.

"Hm? There's space underneath?"

Confirming that the sound was coming from below, Wen Yu directly lifted the stone slab on top.

A staircase, blasted into a mangled mess, appeared before Wen Yu. At the same time, the sounds became even clearer.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak." The rats' piercing shrieks were accompanied by the sounds of gnawing and tearing.

Wen Yu quickly descended the stairs, his Peak Level 1 physique quickly adapting to the darkness.

The underground looked even more chaotic. The entire space was supported only by a few Stone Pillars. In the cramped space, blood and flesh were smeared everywhere.

Seeing the scene below, Wen Yu couldn't help but widen his eyes.

A giant rat, half as tall as a person, was sprawled on the ground, half its body crushed by debris. The blood gushing from beneath it proved that this Level 2 Mutant Rat was already gravely wounded and likely near death.

What shocked Wen Yu even more was the person lying on the other side. Although he was covered in blood and his arm had been bitten off by the giant rat, the fact that he was still gasping for breath proved he was alive.

"Old Wang? You're not dead?"

Wen Yu asked in surprise. The living person before him was none other than Wang Zhigang, who had intended to sacrifice himself.

"Hurry, help me kill it. This big rat ate my daughter." As soon as Wang Zhigang saw that it was Wen Yu, he immediately called out to him. The ferocity in his eyes startled Wen Yu.

For such a free reward, Wen Yu was more than happy to oblige. Fixing his gaze on the Rat King before him, Wen Yu immediately entered Combat State without another word.

The Level 2 Rat King also sensed how troublesome this human was. It bared its teeth fiercely, but seeing that its intimidation had no effect, a flash of green light suddenly appeared in its beady eyes.

The Rat King opened its mouth wide, and a stream of green liquid sprayed out like a machine gun, shooting straight at Wen Yu.

Wen Yu was shocked, but with 20 points in physical attributes in Combat State, he reacted instantly. Twisting his body, he dodged the green liquid at lightning speed.

The green liquid hit the wall behind Wen Yu, immediately corroding a huge pit that grew deeper and deeper, clearly showing that the corrosive substance was still at work.

Seeing this, Wen Yu couldn't help but shudder. If that had hit him, he'd be dead for sure. He had to admit, his caution had once again saved his life.

Seeing the Rat King looking drained after spitting once, Wen Yu charged forward and slashed at the Rat King with his Steel Blade.

The wound wasn't large; even with Wen Yu's immense strength, the F-Rank Steel Blade didn't inflict much damage on the Rat King.

What was truly terrifying was the Soul Strike.

Currently, both Wen Yu and the Soul Beast were at Peak Level 1. In Combat State, with a full 20 points in physical attributes, they completely overpowered the Level 2 Mutant Beast. It was worth noting that even at Level 2, the rat's physical attributes couldn't match those of a human.

With just one slash, the Rat King let out a miserable shriek, blood gushing from all its facial orifices. It twitched twice on the ground and then lay still.

"Ding! Killed Level 2 Mutant Rat, gained 153 Points."

Letting out a long breath, Wen Yu split open the giant rat's skull and took out the yellow-green Level 2 Magic Crystal inside.

Level 2 Magic Crystal, Beast-Poison Dual Attribute.

After dealing with all this, Wen Yu finally turned around and carefully examined the half-dead Wang Zhigang.