Chapter 13 Mutated Animals Gray Fog
The seventeenth day of the end.
Qiao Qiao fell asleep feeling exhausted, lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling.
“Meow! Meow!”
When she heard Xiao Qiao's cry, she turned her head and saw Qiao Man playing with it. Although Xiao Qiao usually disliked it, cats could not resist moving long and thin things.
The commotion when picking up the express delivery the day before yesterday reminded her that she was still too weak.
The cause of human death in the doomsday crisis is not only natural disasters, but man-made disasters are also an important reason.
In her dreams, she had seen too many people killing and robbing for a bite of food, a bottle of water, or a pill, and there were even people who committed suicide because they could not survive.
The only thing that can truly be called powerful now is the mutant vine, but it is still in its infancy and cannot fully exert its full strength.
[Current number of card draws: 2]
[Whether to draw a card]
Qiao Qiao blinked. Her current hope of gaining power all lies in the Doomsday Card Drawing System. Unfortunately, there is only one chance per day, and there is no card pool, so there is no guarantee for SR and SSR level cards.
【yes】
[Current number of card draws: 2]
[Whether to draw a card]
【yes】
[Congratulations on getting the N-level card cucumber flavored potato chips*3]
Sure enough, the luck of drawing a miracle does not always come to you.
Watching Qiao Man playing carefree, she set her sights on the mutated animals and plants.
Now that the apocalypse had just begun, almost all the mutant plants and animals were in their infancy. She had a lot of cold weapons in her hands, and with Qiao Man, it was not impossible to hunt a few.
However, she needed to find a suitable one, as she didn't want to face large beasts like tigers and lions head-on.
Qiao Qiao opened the curtains. The gray fog outside the window still covered the sky and the sun. There were almost no people on the road. This was a good thing for her.
Just do it!
Qiao Qiao left ten empty compartments in his backpack, four of which were used to hold a lithium-powered cordless saw, an axe, a machete and a kitchen knife, the fifth for three lunch boxes, the sixth for ten bottles of mineral water, and the rest were left empty for backup.
For breakfast, Qiao Xinghe made vegetable porridge with ham and egg pancakes, and the pickles were shredded mustard greens and salted duck eggs.
After eating, Qiao Qiao returned to the bedroom and took out the drone to operate it.
"Manman, can you tell the difference between mutated animals and plants?" Qiao Man has a strong curiosity about everything, and the slender vines approached the drone.
Hearing the words, Qiao Man straightened her body and nodded.
"Is this okay? You stay on the drone and signal me if you find any mutated animals or plants." Qiao Qiao bent down and stroked it.
Qiao Man continued to nod, avoiding the wings and landing gear, and wrapped her body tightly around the fuselage.
"Thank you for your hard work." Qiao Qiao said.
The drone slowly rose into the air, flying through the gray fog as if it were in an empty space.
The drone she bought is the most highly configured all-weather drone on the market, equipped with an ultraviolet camera and a short-wave infrared camera capable of high-quality imaging, and can ignore extreme weather conditions such as wind, snow, rain and haze.
The maximum range is 20 kilometers, and the longest endurance can reach 1 hour, which is enough to explore the surrounding area. It even has noise reduction equipment.
Qiao Qiao controlled the drone according to the map and headed to an area with dense flora and fauna.
Perhaps it was because the doomsday had just begun, and apart from the ghost willow, no other mutated animals or plants were found.
Just when the drone had to return home with only 20 minutes left on the battery, Qiao Man suddenly sensed a familiar scent and quickly climbed onto the drone's camera to sound a warning.
"Have you found it?" Qiao Qiao's breathing paused, and he straightened his body, concentrating on descending in the direction indicated by Qiao Man.
Fresh blood appeared on the ground at the entrance of a remote alley, obvious signs of dragging. Although the amount was not large, blood had entered the alley.
The narrow alley was only wide enough for two people to pass side by side, so the drone had to take off again and try to find any clues from the air.
Next to the trash can, only half of the black kitten was left, and a gray creature was lying on it and gnawing at it.
Due to the distance, it is difficult to see what kind of creature it is, but it is larger than a cat and has not caused a huge commotion yet.
A dog, perhaps? Or a large bird?
Qiao Qiao squinted her eyes and looked carefully.
"squeak!"
After finishing eating, the gray creature noticed the presence of the drone and quickly looked up, revealing a pair of blood-red eyes and uneaten flesh and blood at the corners of its mouth.
"What is this? A rat!"
Although it feels somewhat familiar, the size is quite different from the impression I have of a mouse.
Its body is larger than that of a cat, but only two sizes smaller than that of a large dog like a golden retriever.
"squeak!"
The gray mouse felt it was being coveted and let out an unpleasant cry. It then nimbly climbed up the wall with the intention of knocking down the strange bird.
Seeing this, Qiao Qiao quickly operated the drone to take off, but if he was a little slower, it would have been shot down by the gray rat.
The gray rat stood on the wall unwillingly, its bloody nose twitching a few times, and its red eyes watched the drone fly away.
"Mutated animals..." Now that the target has been found, there is no giving up.
To save time and prevent the gray mouse from leaving, Qiao Qiao parked the drone on the playground of a nearby school.
It has been a long time since the holidays here. The huge school is empty except for the security guard, who is usually only responsible for guarding the gate. The playground is naturally a safe place.
Qiao Qiao took out the protective suit and was about to put it on when she suddenly remembered something. She quickly walked to the closet and took out some winter clothes.
The mouse mutated and its body expanded, so wouldn’t its other parts mutate as well?
Rats themselves carry a lot of germs, so if you get bitten by one and contract the plague due to carelessness, it would be a waste of time.
Qiao Qiao put on a thick cotton coat and trousers, and stuck a dozen cooling patches inside her clothes. Finally, she put on protective clothing and a gas mask.
It was mid-July, when the weather was hot, and she didn't want to be left outside to die from the heat because of a mutant animal.
"Xiao Qiao, I'm going out for a while and will be back soon. Just wait for me at home." Qiao Qiao stroked the calico cat's soft belly.
"Dad, Mom, I have to go out for something. Don't worry, I'll be back soon!" Qiao Qiao quickly opened the door and left.
"Qiao Qiao, where are you going?" Before Qiao Xinghe and Qiao Huizhou could react, the elevator had already closed and descended.
The two were left staring at each other in bewilderment.
"Don't worry too much, the child has grown up, and with Qiao Man by his side, nothing will happen to him." Even though Qiao Xinghe comforted her, his worried expression did not diminish at all.
Qiao Huizhou stood on the balcony in silence, watching the familiar car from home drive away.
Qiao Qiao was anxious. Unlike Ghost Willow who had to stay where she was, this time she had already alerted the enemy and was afraid that if she was a little slower, the mutant rat would escape.
Rats are elusive and extremely vengeful. If she can't eliminate it this time, something bad might happen in the future. She doesn't want to live in fear all day long.
Fortunately, most people are staying at home nowadays, and the few who go out go to big supermarkets. There are not many vehicles on these roads where there are no large shopping malls nearby.
Except for those people whose companies still haven't given them holidays and have to go to work.
It only took Qiao Qiao twenty minutes to reach the back door of the school. After retrieving the drone, he headed to the alley where the mutant rat appeared.
Unlike her usual obedient self with her arms folded, Qiao Man was now a little restless and kept leaning against the front windshield to give directions.
"Don't worry, we will definitely find it." Qiao Qiao thought its behavior was a little strange, but she still spoke to comfort it.
After hearing this, Qiao Man happily shook the tip of the vine, which looked exactly like a cat shaking its tail, causing Qiao Qiao to laugh out loud.
““Zizi——”
As my attention returned to the front, I felt a flash in front of my eyes and something suddenly rushed past the car.
Qiao Qiao subconsciously stepped on the brake pedal to the bottom, causing the seat belt to hurt.
“Bang!”
There was a crack on the left side of the window glass. Although the culprit was still not clearly seen, even a fool could guess who it was.
"Hey, that's enough. The repair shop is closed right now." Qiao Qiao parked the car on the side of the road, took out a cordless saw and got out.
Under the influence of the gray fog, the field of vision is limited to about five meters around, and this is when the fog lights are on.
Qiao Qiao didn't dare to leave the range of the car lights too far, so she kept watch nearby, but she believed that the mutant rats would come to her on their own.
Qiao Qiao held the chainsaw, his whole body tense and his attention highly focused, looking for traces of the mutant rats.
Qiao Man also stood up straight, looking alert everywhere.
Suddenly, as if it realized something, a silver light flashed on its body, and it jumped to the ground, pushing Qiao Qiao away with the vine tip.
Qiao Qiao didn't hesitate and took a few steps back.
As soon as she moved, the road where her left foot was standing instantly shattered, and a gray rat crawled out from the ground, its hard teeth still chewing the cement.
[It has been detected that there are mutant animals that pose a threat to human survival near the survivors. A temporary mission is now issued]
[Mission: Eliminate the juvenile mutant animal - the tooth-eating rat]
[Difficulty: D]
[Mission successful: 1 Dali Fruit, 3 R-level card pool draw tickets]
Without the energy to look at the tasks issued by the system, Qiao Qiao's eyes were fixed on the position of the tooth-eating rat.
After missing the first strike, the tooth-eating rat wanted to escape back into the cave.
Qiao Man didn't give it any chance. She crawled over quickly and silently like a snake, and with a flick of the vine, she threw the tooth-eating rat into the air.
"Squeak!" The tooth-eating rat screamed.
Qiao Man’s defense was so strong that even the cactus needles couldn’t break through it, let alone the mouse. She was obviously seriously injured by this attack.
Jojo seized the opportunity, quickly stepped forward, raised the chainsaw, and prepared to deliver the fatal blow.
The tooth-eating rat seemed to feel threatened. Its hair stood up, it let out a sharp hiss, rolled quickly in the air and landed on the ground, then pounced on Qiao Qiao.
Qiao Qiao quickly took a step back and pressed the switch of the chainsaw at the same time. The saw blade made a sharp buzzing sound, preparing for the coming impact.
While dodging the mutant rat's attacks, she kept swinging the chainsaw, trying to cut it off directly.
Unfortunately, the mutant rat was extremely fast, agile and small. Its claws left a lot of afterimages in the air, so Qiao Qiao was unable to succeed.
Just when the situation was at a stalemate, Qiao Man suddenly attacked from the side. Her body, which was only 10 centimeters long, suddenly grew to half a meter long. She rushed forward and tightly wrapped around the body of the tooth-eating rat.
The tooth-eating rat felt the threat of death and began to struggle desperately, trying to break free from Qiao Man's restraints.
But Qiao Man's vines were tough and strong. Not only did it not break free, but it wrapped around it tighter and tighter like a giant python hunting its prey, restricting its movements and making the rat's struggle futile.
Qiao Qiao did not waste time. She knew that this mutant creature had extremely strong vitality. If the battle was not resolved quickly, there might be more trouble.
While it was now unable to move, she aimed at the rat's head and swung the radio saw down with all her might.
The saw blade cut through the air, making a sharp whistling sound, and accurately hit the tooth-eating rat's head.
The tooth-eating rat let out a shrill scream, then its body twitched violently a few times and finally became motionless.
The battle ended with Qiao Qiao and Qiao Man winning.
After making sure it was dead, Qiao Man released the body she had been wrapped around, and the body, which had lost its body temperature, fell heavily to the ground.
Qiao Man's swollen body shrank again and she rolled on the ground, trying to wipe off the blood that splashed on her body.
Qiao Qiao bent over and gasped. She felt a little tired, but more of the joy of victory.
[Congratulations on completing the D-level mission: Eliminate juvenile mutant animals - rodents]
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