Zhang Lin stood in front of the crowd, looking at the situation at his feet, and couldn't help but gasp, "Holy crap..."

Ahead, there was a large pit, which looked to be at least five or six meters deep. As for its size... it was hard to estimate. There might have been water in the pit before; it might have been a small lake.

Now, this huge stone pit is teeming with baby rats, encased in a blood membrane. They vary in size, some as large as an adult dog, others the size of a basketball. They resemble fish eggs, the blood membrane translucent, allowing the baby rats to be seen with the naked eye.

Some of the baby mice are just like mice, while others are already starting to resemble humans.

Among the group of baby rats, there was a particularly large giant baby rat, larger than an adult. It had grown into a human shape, but still had rat characteristics. Its body was covered with a thin layer of blood membrane, and with each breath, its body and blood membrane rose and fell slightly.

"The Rat King has almost completed its transformation!" The city lord also came over, his face solemn beneath his silver mask.

“Many ratmen have also completed their metamorphosis.” Xia Xiaonuan followed along. “We’ve encountered more than a dozen before, but there are even more here.”

There were countless rats in the huge stone pit.

Not all transformations need to be completed before awakening; only one-tenth...

In such a confined space, the combined population of Hope City and Golden Feather County was less than thirty, which was definitely not enough to kill these ratmen.

"With so many rats, if we kill them all and extract their demon cores, how many Blood Pills could we make!" Zhang Lin pondered, stroking his chin.

"Is this the time to think about these things?" the city lord said irritably. "The Rat King is awakening. What we need to consider is whether or not to evacuate now."

There are too many rat people!

The city lord's original plan was to nip the rat-people in the bud before they fully transformed and had any fighting power, and then harvest a batch of demon cores.

But nowadays...

It's still uncertain who will suppress whom.

"Retreat? I don't think it's a good idea to retreat." Zhang Lin smiled. "You forgot, we have people behind us."

"I was careless!" The city lord was in a bad mood.

She miscalculated again.

If the ratmen are still undergoing their transformation as before, then they can deal with the ratmen first, then deal with the mysterious man, or fight on two fronts, it doesn't matter.

But now, the strength of the ratmen has already filled them with despair; what if someone else were to launch a sneak attack from behind...

"Squeak squeak squeak—"

While the group was observing and exchanging ideas, several rat-men had already completed their metamorphosis. They tore through the thin membrane of blood on their bodies with their sharp claws and then stood up.

They stepped on their own kind and staggered out. The pit was full of rats, and they could easily walk to the cave floor without climbing.

"Xiao Nuan, here's a gun for you." Zhang Lin handed the Type 92 with unlimited ammo to Xia Xiao Nuan, then whispered in her ear, "It has unlimited ammo, so when you're firing, make some fake magazine-changing movements to cover it up."

"Understood." Xia Xiaonuan felt a warmth in her heart, took the pistol, and aimed at the awakened ratmen. "Bang bang bang—" She fired more than a dozen shots in a row, and the ratmen that had just completed their metamorphosis immediately lost their lives.

She tucked the gun under her abdomen and made a feint as if she were changing a magazine. In the dim light of the cave, no one could see her clearly.

The gunfire ceased, and several ratmen perished, but then more ratmen awoke. Like newborn infants, they were still unfamiliar with this world, but driven by instinct, they launched an attack on the humans.

At this point, the number of ratmen had increased significantly, and they could no longer be dealt with by a single pistol, not even with unlimited ammo.

"Brother Lin, something's wrong!" Ji Yuetong had somehow gotten close to Zhang Lin. Perhaps her petite frame gave her an advantage, as no one noticed her. She quietly handed the brass box to Zhang Lin. "Someone's come in!"

Before entering the cave, Zhang Lin entrusted Ji Yuetong with the task of reconnaissance, instructing her to keep an eye on it from time to time and report any developments to him.

At the same time, he also placed a newly promoted scout spirit at the entrance of the cave.

Zhang Lin had planted it at the foot of the mountain simply because he had too many reconnaissance spirits and had nowhere else to use them, so he just considered it as buying insurance.

Knowing that someone was following him, Zhang Lin naturally wouldn't hesitate to use his reconnaissance spirit, and immediately used the last one at the cave entrance.

Zhang Lin was in charge of commanding the troops, but Ji Yuetong had nothing to do.

She was a hoodlum herself, so Zhang Lin assigned her the task of keeping an eye on the Heart of the Investigator.

At this moment, Ji Yuetong lived up to Zhang Lin's expectations and, as expected, saw the situation and came to report it.

When Zhang Lin looked at the inner lid of the brass box, he only saw two figures disappear from the scene.

“A man and a woman were pacing back and forth at the cave entrance for a long time, seemingly hesitant about whether to go in or not,” Ji Yuetong recounted what she had seen, then shrugged. “Now it seems they’ve made up their minds to come in.”

"Understood." Zhang Lin nodded, then said, "If a fight breaks out, go to Xiao Nuan's side, and I'll tell her to protect you."

Ji Yuetong's expression froze slightly, then she raised her head and looked at him with a wronged expression, "Are you sure she won't take advantage of the chaos to kill me?"

“…No way!” Zhang Lin was slightly speechless, then waved to Xia Xiaonuan, “Xiaonuan, take care of Yuetong.”

"Where are you going?" Xia Xiaonuan asked while firing her gun.

The cave terrain perfectly limited her strength; the motorcycle couldn't get in, greatly reducing her combat power. Fortunately, she now had a pistol with unlimited ammo, so she could still participate in the battle.

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