Chapter 49 Mutant Rats

Qin Zhuo and his group finally made their way to the vicinity of the granary.

The once sturdy gate of the granary had been violently breached and was now wide open.

The surrounding area was a scene of utter devastation, with corpses lying haphazardly on the ground. Most of the corpses were mutilated, with some parts even showing exposed bones, covered in animal bite marks, and exuding a putrid stench.

Clearly, many people came here in search of food, only to perish and never return.

Qiao Yan frowned, squatted down and carefully examined a corpse. "These corpses are strange. The wounds don't look like they were caused by zombies. Zombie bite marks are usually messy, but these wounds look more like they were made by some kind of rodent."

Chen Yunfei chimed in, "It really is. And have you noticed that there isn't a single zombie in sight around here? That's really strange."

Qin Zhuo glanced around and said in a low voice, "Everyone be careful. The situation here is unclear, and there may be hidden dangers."

At this moment, Youxiang peeked inside the rickety gate of the granary.

It was pitch black inside, filled with a sinister atmosphere that made her feel extremely dangerous, and her small body couldn't help but tremble slightly.

Suddenly, Mimi, who had been quietly perched on Yuxiang's shoulder, seemed to be attracted by something, and with a "whoosh," she jumped down and rushed into the granary.

"Mimi!"

Yu Xiang exclaimed in surprise and stepped forward, ready to rush inside.

Qin Zhuo reacted quickly and grabbed Youxiang's arm. "Don't be impulsive. Cats are much smarter than you. Since it dared to rush in, it must have made its own judgment. It will be fine."

Yu Xiang pouted, clearly unconvinced, and said angrily, "I'm obviously smarter than Mimi!"

Qin Zhuo pulled Youxiang slowly into the granary, with Qiao Yan and Chen Yunfei following closely behind.

The granary was eerily quiet, with only the faint sound of their footsteps echoing inside.

A cold wind blew by, carrying a slight chill, making Chen Yunfei's nose itch.

Achoo!

He sneezed loudly.

The sound was exceptionally clear in the almost deathly quiet environment.

Yu Xiang was so frightened that her little body trembled, and she subconsciously took a step back.

Chen Yunfei scratched his head sheepishly and gave an awkward laugh. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself."

Yu Xiang glared at him, pouted, and was about to speak when she suddenly felt something furry brush against her calf.

The touch sent a shiver down her spine, and like a startled rabbit, she leaped onto Qin Zhuo, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and burying her head in his chest.

Yu Xiang's sudden embrace startled Qin Zhuo for a moment before he reacted and gently patted her back.

Seeing this, Qiao Yan quickly stepped forward and asked with concern, "Little Youzi, what's wrong?"

Yu Xiang hugged Qin Zhuo's neck, "Something furry is rubbing against me, it's so scary."

Chen Yunfei guessed from the side, "Did Mimi come back to find you?"

Yuka shook her head. "No, absolutely not, the texture is different."

Qin Zhuo pulled Youxiang off his body, made her stand beside him, then made a shushing gesture and whispered, "Shh, listen."

Everyone fell silent instantly, pricked up their ears, and nervously listened for any sounds around them.

In the darkness, rustling sounds surged in like a tide.

Suddenly, countless blood-red eyes lit up in the darkness, like will-o'-the-wisps, sending chills down one's spine.

Chen Yunfei's eyes widened. "What...what is this?"

Yu Xiang took out her flashlight and pressed the switch sharply, instantly illuminating the surroundings with a strong beam of light.

She shouted, "Mice! So many mice!"

They were surrounded by a dense swarm of mutated rats, each one enormous, almost two or three times the size of a normal rat.

Their incisors are exceptionally prominent, long and sharp, and some even have bloody bits of meat hanging from them.

Looking at these mutated rats, Qin Zhuo suddenly understood why there were so many tooth marks on the corpses.

Just then, Yuxiang suddenly shouted in terror, "Zhuozhuo, behind you!"

A mutated rat opened its blood-red maw, revealing sharp teeth, and lunged fiercely at Qin Zhuo's back.

In the blink of an eye, Qiao Yan's eyes sharpened, and with a flick of her wrist, a vine whip flew out like a nimble snake, striking the mutated rat with a precise "snap," sending it flying.

This action seemed to be some kind of signal, and the mutated rats that were already eager to try suddenly rushed forward as if they had received a command, making a shrill "squeak squeak squeak" sound.

Just as the mutated rats were about to pounce on them, a blue protective shield instantly formed, like a transparent bubble, tightly protecting everyone inside.

Seeing that they couldn't attack them, the mutated rats outside the protective shield became even more frenzied. They scratched at the shield with their sharp claws and banged their heads against it, the "bang bang bang" sounds like the prelude to death.

Yu Xiang's face was full of anxiety, "If I keep crashing like this, my superpowers might not last long."

Qin Zhuo's eyes were firm as he said loudly, "You all step back a little."

After saying that, he stretched out his hands and placed them on the protective shield.

Thin strands of lightning continuously surged from his palm, like tiny snakes, rapidly spreading across the entire protective shield.

Instantly, the protective shield was powered on, flashing with electric light.

Water conducts electricity, which is why Qin Zhuo's lightning-based superpower can be used in this way.

With a series of cracking sounds, the mutated rats clinging to the protective shield twitched and then fell straight to the ground with a dull thud.

Upon seeing this, Chen Yunfei excitedly exclaimed, "That's great!"

However, Chen Yunfei was too happy too soon.

Although the mutated rats that had been lying on the protective shield died, the surviving mutated rats immediately rushed up to it and continued their frenzied attack on the shield.

Qiao Yan's expression was cold and stern as she stared intently at the mutated rats. Her tone was grave. "This won't do. There are just too many of these mutated rats. We can't exhaust our supernatural abilities."

Chen Yunfei paced back and forth anxiously. "What should we do? How about this, Xiaoyouzi, you remove the protective shield, and we'll just fight our way out!"

Qiao Yan frowned and immediately rejected the idea: "Absolutely not! There are so many of these mutated rats that even if we are very careful, we will still get bitten."

"But we have absolutely no idea what will happen to our bodies after being bitten by these mutated rats, or what terrible consequences it might cause, so we absolutely cannot take this risk lightly."