Chapter 191 Sewer Rats
In order to reach the sewer where he grew medicinal herbs as quickly as possible, the fat pharmacist hired a carriage, and the two of them rode to the bank of the Tussock River, where the Backlund Bridge District bordered the East District.
In the car, the pharmacist who called himself Darkwill introduced himself. He was kicked out by his teacher to travel the continent and experience life. He had spent some time in Tingen City and currently settled in Backlund. He had just planted a batch of herbs, but he didn't expect that most of them would be taken away by wild beasts in the sewer.
Angel also gave her pseudonym, Erin Watson.
The bridge area wasn't large, and the two quickly reached the riverbank from Tiemen Street. Within two minutes of getting off the carriage, Darkwill pointed to a location near the riverbank where there was a semi-open sewer entrance.
After the great plague that devastated half of the Loen Kingdom more than a decade ago, the capital, Backlund, had built an advanced sewer system. This system, derived from the "Emperor Roselle's Legacy" of the Intis Republic, had undergone numerous improvements, surpassing its model in one fell swoop.
Of course, in Angel's eyes, this system is still crude. Domestic wastewater is discharged directly into the Tussock River without subsequent treatment and filtration, and flows into the sea with all kinds of strange colors and smells. The drainage outlets near factories and docks are full of oil and garbage.
It is said that some people are calling on the parliament to pass relevant laws in the newspapers to prohibit residents living near the Tussock River from discharging sewage directly into the river. Unfortunately, the interests involved are too wide and the goal has not been achieved.
Therefore, the current situation of sewage directly entering the river will continue for a long time. This is the case with the sewer in front of us. The brown and black sewage flows out, is diluted by the river water, and flows away.
Opening the unlocked iron gate, Angel and Darkwill braved the foul stench and entered the main sewer channel.
It was almost midnight. The moonlight from the full crimson moon was blocked by the ever-present smog, and only a small portion of it reached the ground. Ten meters down from the sewer entrance, it was pitch black, which made the pharmacist, who had no dark vision, stop cautiously.
"Follow me, and be careful not to fall."
Angel wrinkled his nose to reduce the stench he inhaled and spoke in a muffled voice.
Darkwill fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a small metal bottle, handing it to Angel.
"This can reduce the bad smell. I always use it when I come to observe the herbs."
Seeing that Angel shook his head and didn't take it, he seemed a little angry. He uncorked the bottle, put it close to his nostrils and took a deep breath, with an expression of pain and pleasure on his face.
Look, it's not poisonous.
Darkwill conveyed this message with his eyes and handed the metal bottle over again.
No wonder he interrupted others and spoke rudely at the party. It was a miracle that he didn't get beaten to death for his straightforward personality... No, he was a pharmacist. Maybe he had been beaten, but he healed himself.
Angel found it a little funny. She took the vial, put it to her nose and took a sip.
The pungent smell of disinfectant mixed with mint instantly woke her up and she almost sneezed. Then her nose felt like it was corked, and her sense of smell quickly became dull, and she could no longer smell anything except the disinfectant.
This reminded her of a homemade oil that the "corpse collector" Frye often used when she was in the Tingen team. Unfortunately, she left her teammates before she learned how to make it.
After isolating themselves from the stench, the two continued walking deeper into the sewer. As the ground became slippery and the moonlight behind them dimmed, Darkwill's steps became hesitant.
"Should we... come back during the day?" He discussed hesitantly. "They've been eating my herbs for more than a day or two. I'm not in a rush to finish them off tonight."
"But I'm in a hurry."
Angel answered, turning a right-angled bend. In her dark vision, the sewer gradually became wider and entered an area where multiple branches converged.
In a rectangular underground space, Angel found a shelf made of simple wooden boards by the fat pharmacist. On it were several rows of pottery jars filled with dug soil and fertilizer, and with medicinal herbs of various shapes.
At this time, about half of the pottery jars had been broken, and the soil and herbs inside had spilled all over the shelf, and some had fallen into the shallow sewage. It was obvious that they could no longer be used.
Three creatures, larger than hunting dogs, were gathered around a wooden rack, picking herbs to eat. Just as the pharmacist had said at the gathering, they would even pick out the poisonous herbs and only eat those that were safe.
The sound of the two people's footsteps entering the planting area startled the animals. They stared at them with bloodshot eyes. Angel then realized that these "dogs" were actually sewer rats. Their skin was swollen and ulcerated, and the teeth protruding from their pointed mouths were jagged, like the kind of creatures you would see in a nightmare.
"Why don't you leave?"
Darkwill, who was as blind as a man in the darkness, asked curiously. He could only see the road clearly through the moonlight shining through the holes in the sewer outlet above his head, and he didn't pay any attention to the big rats in the corner.
“Stand back…”
Before Angel could finish his words, three mice jumped off the wooden frame and ran towards the two of them in the sewage.
Two other rats suddenly appeared from nowhere and surrounded them from different directions, blocking them at the exit of the sewer tributary.
Fearing that the gunshot would attract the attention of the homeless or patrolmen on the ground, Angel did not shoot. Instead, he mobilized his spiritual power, gathered frost, turned it into several spikes, and shot them out.
puff--
Sharp ice spikes pierced into the bodies of the two mice in front, nailing them to the ground. The frost even spread out, causing a thin layer of ice to form on the nearby water surface.
The mutant rats did not have enough intelligence to understand the gap between themselves and the extraordinary people. They just rushed towards the "food" based on instinct. Angel calmly manipulated the frost and killed them one by one in the sewer. The nearest one was more than ten meters away from her.
I thought these mutated animals were special, but it turns out they're just a little bigger...
Angel glanced at the cold rat corpse and looked around. He carefully checked the area and found that nothing was missing. Then he called back Darkwill who had already hidden deep in the sewer.
The latter carefully examined the dead mice in the faint moonlight from above and quickly came to the conclusion:
"They must have mutated after coming into contact with something strange. Perhaps some Beyonder material that fell into the sewer, or the... corpse of some Beyonder. But they're probably not the only ones destroying my herbs. These rats also eat herbs, but they won't damage the wooden frame."
"Do you have other planting areas? Perhaps there are other mutant animals destroying your achievements."
Angel asked as she approached the wooden planting racks and found that they were indeed intact as Darkwill had said. The mice were not interested in the moldy wood.
"There are two other planting sites in the sewers of the Bridge District. I'll take you there."
Although they were "led", Angel, who could see in the dark, still led the way. The pharmacist was only responsible for pointing out the direction, and the two continued to walk towards the next location.
"Why are you growing herbs in a place like this? Don't people usually rent a yard or grow them on their rooftop?"
Angel couldn't help but say as he continued walking on the foul-smelling sewage.
"Do you think I want to be in this kind of environment? These herbs prefer damp, dark places. Some people even grow them in underground tombs. I'm already abiding by the law by choosing the sewer."
But what's so illegal about the underground cemetery? Could it be that they...
Angel had a terrible idea. Seeing the next wide area just ahead, she forced herself not to think in strange directions.
"squeak--"
The rats, growing larger and more bloodthirsty, made the same noises as usual, and Angel quickly dispatched them with his ice spikes.
"Strange, how can there be such big rats, and they all like to eat your herbs..."
Angel examined the bodies of the mutant mice and found that they were no different from the mice at the first planting site. They all had deformed bodies, swollen skin, bloodshot eyes, and would pounce on any living thing without hesitation.
She took out her magic mirror and, under Darkwill's astonished gaze, attempted to divine the mouse's origins.
"Mirror, mirror, tell me why these rats are in the sewers."
Stroking the smooth mirror surface, causing ripples to form, Angel soon saw the divination scene in it.
Several normal-sized rats were wandering in the sewer. They drank the dark red sewage that floated down from upstream, and then became manic, grew huge, their eyes were red, and they started biting each other.
In the magic mirror's divination screen, they became bloodthirsty mutant rats!
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