Yang Wenhao raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.

What do you want?

He dared not approach his long sword, but instead raised his hands and slowly moved closer to Zhang Lin, saying, "Don't hurt my sister. I'll grant you whatever you ask!"

Zhang Lin looked at him with a half-smile, without saying a word.

A bead of cold sweat slid down Yang Wenhao's forehead. He felt as if the person in front of him saw right through him, as if he had no secrets from him at all.

"Brother, fight him!" Yang Wenting suddenly shouted, and at the same time, a gray light that had been condensed on her fingers behind her back struck Zhang Lin once again.

Although the two siblings look young, they are seasoned veterans of the apocalypse after awakening their memories, and they will not easily admit defeat.

A gray light struck Zhang Lin, causing his body to stiffen briefly, and Yang Wenting quickly escaped.

At this moment, Yang Wenhao also drew a dagger from his waist and activated the "One Mouse First" ability, causing his attributes to surge, and attacked with his maximum strength.

When Zhang Lin recovered, he saw Yang Wenhao's eyes glowing red, his whole being radiating a violent aura, attacking him fearlessly.

He had anticipated the attack coming so close, and remained completely calm, swinging his sword back to strike.

Yang Wenhao activated his ability with full confidence, but the moment the dagger made contact with the Miao sword, he knew he was doomed.

One cut.

The dagger flew out.

The Miao sword swung down and struck Yang Wenhao's shoulder.

puff!

Blood gushed out as his entire arm and half of his shoulder hit the ground, the blood gushing uncontrollably. At the same time, a chilling power clung to the wound, intensifying his pain and slowing down his healing process.

"ah!!!"

Yang Wenhao knelt down on the ground.

With the "One Mouse First" ability, his pain was greatly reduced, but at this moment, a cold, intense pain still made him feel like he was dying.

"elder brother!"

Yang Wenting was shocked and wanted to rush over to check on Yang Wenhao's condition, but she stopped immediately after taking only one step.

Because once again, that Miao knife was held to his neck.

"I only have one question," Zhang Lin's cold voice echoed in the darkness, "The rat-people have completed their premature metamorphosis. Can you handle this?"

Quiet!

Yang Wenhao endured the excruciating pain, stopped screaming, and looked at Zhang Lin with icy eyes.

He knew he was doomed.

Zhang Lin's strength had exceeded his expectations. He thought that he had already gained an advantage by awakening the extraordinary template before the new era, but he did not expect that there would be a strong person like Zhang Lin.

Although he and Yang Wenting didn't have many extraordinary combat abilities, they were not people that ordinary people could deal with. But now, the two of them were being subdued by Zhang Lin alone.

Whoosh!

Zhang Lin waited a second, and seeing no one answer, he controlled the Miao knife to sink with one hand. The slender blade swept through Yang Wenting's hand, and two fingers fell to the ground.

"Ahhh—"

Blood dripped onto the ground, and Yang Wenting trembled all over in pain. After letting out a scream, she immediately shut her mouth, trying to stop the sound, but under the amplified pain of the Netherworld Power, the sound, like the wounded cry of a young beast, could not be stopped from escaping from her throat.

"Damn it, am I fucking stupid?!"

Yang Wenhao's eyes were bloodshot. He wanted to get up and fight Zhang Lin, but his injuries were too severe. He slumped on the ground and struggled several times but could not stand up.

"I'll ask you one more time, can you solve the problem of the rat-people completing their transformation ahead of schedule?" Zhang Lin's tone was completely flat, like an emotionless robot. "Answer me now, or I'll cut off her arm."

silence!

Neither of the Yang siblings spoke.

They certainly knew how to deal with the ratmen. All they had to do was execute a decapitation strike, killing the Rat King directly, and then have Yang Wenting appease the ratmen. That would naturally solve the current problem.

The problem is, these two siblings have been planning this for so long, even betraying their own settlement, and now they've so easily revealed their secret...

This is so frustrating!

However, Zhang Lin's decisive action still terrified the two, especially Yang Wenting. She closed her eyes, trembling with fear, her mind wavering between speaking and remaining silent, anxiously awaiting Zhang Lin's next strike.

“Chopping off an arm is too bloody!” Zhang Lin suddenly laughed. “Such a beautiful girl, it would be so unsightly to be missing an arm. How about we chop off her head?”

Yang Wenting's eyes widened suddenly.

Hearing the first part of the sentence, she thought Zhang Lin had softened his heart.

But upon hearing the second half of the sentence...

She completely broke down.

"Tell me, I'll tell you everything!"

"Xiaoting!" Yang Wenhao roared in frustration, trying to stop his sister, but before he could even utter the words, he leaned against the stone wall behind him in despair, saying as if he had completely lost hope, "Tell him, as long as you can survive, that's all that matters."

At this critical moment of life and death, secrets and ambitions... none of that mattered anymore. Yang Wenhao knew his injuries were too severe and he certainly wouldn't survive. Now, all he wanted was for his sister to live.

"Brother!" Yang Wenting cried out.

"Don't waste my time!" Zhang Lin said coldly. "My men are fighting inside, and they could die at any moment!"

"I said, my extraordinary template is called 'Ratman High Priest.' As long as the Rat King dies, I can control the remaining Ratmen!" Yang Wenting pleaded with Zhang Lin, "Save my brother, and I'll help you control the Ratmen!"

At this moment, Zhang Lin finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He was gambling too.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!