“They’re here?”
Officer Liang startled awake. Usually composed and serious, she turned pale upon seeing a swarm of giant, red-eyed rats emerging from a sewer grate and crawling toward a homeless man.
How could there be such terrifying rats beneath the city of Magic?
Could it be that the missing homeless men... were they taken by these creatures?
There was no time to ponder further.
“Save him!”
Liang pushed open her car door and drew the pistol from her waist. Simultaneously, she activated her communication device.
“Dispatch, Officer Liang at Wanyu Street 168 requests backup! Situation critical, urgent reinforcements needed!”
“Dispatch, copy!”
They were only twenty to thirty meters from the homeless man. A few of the giant red-eyed rats had reached the man, who slept as if dead, opening their mouths to reveal teeth as wide as two fingers, preparing to bite his neck.
*Bang!*
A gunshot echoed, a wisp of white smoke curling from Liang’s pistol.
*Squeak!*
A giant red-eyed rat let out a miserable cry and rolled to the ground.
*Squeak!*
*Squeak, squeak!!!*
In an instant, all the giant red-eyed rats stopped. Instead of scattering in panic, they turned their heads, fixing hostile and terrifying gazes on Liang and Zhang Yu.
“What the heck is going on?”
“Who dares to set off firecrackers in Magic City?”
Two homeless men awoke. As they opened their eyes, they saw dog-sized rats surrounding them. One immediately passed out, while the other sprang up, looking as if he had seen a ghost, and fled in a daze.
“Ahhh! Rats, such big rats!!!”
The homeless men had escaped successfully.
The giant red-eyed rats did not attack them but instead closed in on Liang and Zhang Yu.
Liang and Zhang Yu’s expressions changed, and they slowly backed away, guns held steady. Now, they were certain. The frequent disappearances of homeless men in Magic City were likely due to these rats eating them!!!
Thinking of this, their scalps tingled!
Where did these man-eating, giant rats come from???
*Squeak, squeak, squeak!!!*
Seeing Liang and Zhang Yu preparing to flee, the giant red-eyed rats charged at them with extreme speed.
Liang and Zhang Yu’s faces contorted, and they decisively pulled the triggers.
*Bang, bang!*
*Bang, bang, bang!*
A barrage of deafening shots, like a string of firecrackers, rang out.
The charging giant red-eyed rats fell with screams, but their numbers were too great, and their speed was astonishingly fast.
“Xiao Yu, run!”
Seeing them about to be overtaken, Liang stopped and pushed Zhang Yu back.
*Bang, bang!*
“Sister Liang!”
Zhang Yu’s eyes widened in horror, tears welling up. Liang’s full name was Liang Yin. She had a bit of a temper, but she treated new police officers like her own younger siblings.
The giant red-eyed rats had surrounded Liang from three sides. Her marksmanship was excellent, almost every shot hitting its target.
“Ah!!”
A giant red-eyed rat leaped up and bit her gun-wielding wrist, silencing the gunfire.
Liang cried out in pain, gritting her teeth and smashing the giant rat biting her hand with a punch. Though a woman, she was incredibly resolute, far surpassing any effeminate weakling.
*Squeak!*
Another leaped up, aiming for her neck. Her combat training had placed her first, and her reaction was lightning-fast. She spun and delivered a precise kick, sending the giant rat flying.
However, the giant rats were too numerous. Even with her bravery equaling that of any man, she couldn’t defend against them all. Her legs and back were constantly being attacked and bitten. Soon, her clothes revealed pale skin and bright red wounds.
Sensing the scent of blood, the giant rats became even more frenzied.
“Sister Liang!”
“Ah!”
*Bang, bang, bang!*
As the giant red-eyed rats were about to surround and overwhelm Liang Yin, Zhang Yu roared and fired his gun, tears streaming down his face. In this moment, courage triumphed over fear, and he charged forward, firing.
*Squeak!*
The giant red-eyed rats outside also lunged at him.
“Monsters, die for me!!!”
*Bang, bang, click, click, click!*
Zhang Yu’s bullets ran out. A carpet of giant red-eyed rats lay at his feet. Without the cover of gunfire, the rats pounced and bit at him.
The excruciating pain of flesh being torn from his body made him cry out continuously.
“Ah!!!”
However, fortunately, he had gotten close to Liang Yin. They stood back-to-back, fighting desperately.
“What’s going on?”
“Who is it? Disturbing people’s sleep in the middle of the night?!”
Residents from the street were woken up. Lights flickered on in houses, and curses were heard.
The residents’ lights made the street brighter.
*Squeak!*
“Ah!”
At this moment, Zhang Yu and Liang Yin finally couldn’t hold on and were pounced upon by the giant red-eyed rats.
Just as they were about to be devoured, near despair, a familiar siren finally sounded from a distance.
*Wee-woo, wee-woo!*
Police officers from Pujiang Station arrived in three patrol cars.
“What is that?!”
“Such big rats!”
“Oh no! Those rats are… they’re eating Liang Yin and Zhang Yu!”
“Save them!”
“Secure the scene!”
“Hello? Chief, Chief, something’s happened!”
*Bang, bang, bang!*
A fierce exchange of gunfire, like fireworks, erupted once more in the street.
*Squeak, squeak, squeak!*
Under the powerful barrage, the giant red-eyed rats fled desperately back into the sewers. However, only a few managed to escape, leaving numerous corpses of the red-eyed rats in the street.
All the officers present gasped for air, their expressions filled with horror, their nerves strained, as if they had experienced a terrible nightmare.
“All residents, stay in your homes! Do not come out! We are apprehending criminals, and the perpetrators are extremely dangerous. Do not come out!”
The captain of the responding officers immediately recognized the severity of the situation and shouted into the loudspeaker.
At the same time, he ordered his officers to turn off all the streetlights.
“Ahhh!!”
The people sent to rescue Liang Yin and Zhang Yu cried out in terror.
At this moment, Zhang Yu and Liang Yin were covered in blood and gore, especially around their necks where blood gushed out, pooling on the ground.
“Hurry, send them to the hospital!”
“Criminals? What happened?”
Residents on both sides looked terrified, becoming panicked. Were those gunshots just now??
Not long after, Situo Yuan arrived with almost all the officers from Pujiang Police Station, completely sealing off Wanyu Street.
Magic City, northeast. At the mouth of the Huaxia River, on Ming Island.
Seven or eight years ago, the “Number One Gorge in the World” in the middle reaches of the Huaxia River was unexpectedly damaged, causing floods that nearly submerged Ming Island entirely.
As a result, all residents of Ming Island had been relocated.
Now, after the First Gorge was repaired, the government did not allow the former residents of Ming Island to return. Instead, it was designated as military territory.
Over the past few years, numerous military facilities had been constructed on Ming Island.
In a military building on Ming Island, an old man in a Zhongshan suit received an urgent order from the capital.
“Old Song, Magic City is plagued by rats. Eliminate them swiftly!”
“Commander, our troops here are not enough…”
Hearing his staff officer’s anxious words, the old man’s gray eyebrows furrowed slightly.
The next day, in the morning.
Lone Star Villa.
Bai Ye woke from his sleep, feeling refreshed after a night’s rest.
Habitually, he opened his phone to check the news.
Although he hadn’t streamed much the previous day, his name had been trending.
“The brother is absent, but his legend lives on in the martial world!”
After browsing for a while, Bai Ye’s brow suddenly furrowed upon seeing a news item.
“#GiantMan-EatingRats Appear on Wanyu Street, Magic City”
The news also included a video in which a homeless man fearfully recounted, his voice trembling with fright.
“Last night I was sleeping by the road when I suddenly heard gunshots. When I woke up, the whole area was filled with rats bigger than dogs, their eyes glowing red, like devilish creatures that eat people…”
“The giant rats from the concert?”
Bai Ye immediately recalled the scene from the previous night!
However, after only browsing for a short while, the video was blocked before he could finish watching. Even the account that posted the video was banned.
Then, Bai Ye came across another piece of information from the Magic City Police.
“#Early this morning, Pujiang Police in Magic City engaged in a shootout with an organ trafficking criminal organization on Wanyu Street. Two young officers were seriously injured and remain in critical condition.”
Soon, the homeless man’s video was officially debunked.
Netizens suddenly understood.
“So it was fake news, no wonder their accounts were banned!”
Bai Ye’s expression grew more somber, a faint feeling of unease creeping in.
Suddenly, remembering something, a hint of suspicion flickered in Bai Ye’s eyes.