Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Field Mouse’s Signal

“Yes, monsters don’t reason with you. When faced with real danger, no matter how high your intelligence, it’s all in vain.” Liu Chang got up from the ground, twisting his ankle as he walked to test his injured right foot. After a few tries, he found that aside from the expected tearing pain, the injury didn’t really hinder his movement.

Seeing that he could still walk, Liu Chang’s expression relaxed, and he continued, “As for fighting monsters head-on, it’s always the most exhausting and thankless option, only to be used as a last resort. So, Shen Mingyi and I are just the backup plan. Xiao Jing’s unconsciousness, which keeps her out of danger for now, is a huge loss for the team!”

After confirming his leg was fine, Liu Chang didn’t delay. “Let’s keep moving—I can walk.”

“Alright.” Li Qingshui nodded and resumed leading the team forward. “Did you see what bit you just now?”

“No, it was too fast. It darted into the tree hollow in a flash,” Liu Chang replied, grimacing. “I just hope it wasn’t poisonous.”

“Hmm.”

The team pressed on. In the next hour, they finally circled around the vibrant flower patch and returned to the main road. During that hour, they endured several monster attacks. Fortunately, these scattered assaults caused no casualties. The creatures of the forest seemed to possess a sense for danger; weaker groups, upon glimpsing the humans from afar, simply moved away, avoiding pointless suicidal attacks.

“There’s a group of field rats behind us. They’ve been tailing us for quite a while now.” Once they reached the 'Zhengkai Avenue,' Liu Chang glanced over his shoulder at the pairs of blood-red eyes hidden in the woods.

“How many? How big are they?” Li Qingshui asked as he walked.

“Not sure, maybe seven or eight. I can see four or five, but there must be more.” Liu Chang looked back again. “I don’t know their size either—they’re hiding. But at least as big as a wolfdog.”

“Well, that’s fine. We have ten people, and guns. We’re not afraid. They probably caught the scent of blood and followed us, but they shouldn’t dare attack.” Li Qingshui quickened his pace. “As long as they don’t call for reinforcements and their numbers don’t grow, we’re safe.”

“Should we fire a shot to scare them off?” Liu Chang asked.

“Worth a try. Our scent is strong enough already, we don’t have to worry about exposing ourselves.” Li Qingshui turned to a soldier. “Fire a few shots into the bushes behind us—something’s following.”

“Yes, sir!” The soldier raised his assault rifle and fired a dozen rounds into the shadows of the forest. The gunfire rattled through the summer jungle, blending with the calls of insects and birds as bullets whistled into the depths.

Squeaking sounds echoed—the rats were startled and scattered.

“All right, let’s keep moving.” Hearing the rats flee, Li Qingshui led the team onward at a brisk pace.

But less than a kilometer later, Liu Chang noticed the familiar stirrings behind them again.

“Damn, those rats are back. Relentless, aren’t they?” Liu Chang frowned and listened intently.

“Forget it, nothing we can do. They’re lurking and following from a distance. What can we do?” Li Qingshui shrugged. “With the current trend, even if we scare them off multiple times, they’ll just come back. They’re like men crazed by lust, and we’re the ‘beauties’ emitting the scent of flesh. No matter how we reject them, they’ll press forward, undeterred.”

“So we just let them tail us?” The feeling of being stalked was unsettling; the team’s mood was already tense, and being followed by a bloodthirsty yet cowardly pack only made it worse.

“What else? Go back and fight them? Forget it. If you turn back, they’d probably scatter, and when we move on, they’d just appear again. Sometimes lions hunt this way too.”

“Disgusting.” Liu Chang spat on the ground, saying no more.

The team kept moving swiftly.

They marched with the rats in tow for another half hour before Liu Chang’s frown finally eased.

“Hey, the rats seem to have scattered all of a sudden.” Walking, Liu Chang twitched his ears and smiled in relief. “They’re all gone. We must have left their territory.”

“Maybe. Most mammals are territorial, after all.” Li Qingshui let out a sigh, but halfway through, he inhaled sharply, retracting his breath. “Did they leave one by one, or all at once?”

“All at once—they vanished within seconds.” Liu Chang, seeing Li Qingshui’s expression, frowned. “Is there a problem?”

“The rats’ reaction isn’t like giving up food reluctantly. It’s more like fleeing in panic from danger.” Li Qingshui waved his hand, signaling the team to halt. “Remember I once told you rats’ noses are ten times more sensitive than dogs’?”

“I remember. You mean...”

“There’s danger ahead!” Li Qingshui shouted to the team, “Everyone, ready your weapons, protect your comrades, and spread out in a semi-circle!”

Upon the order, the elite squad, well-trained, immediately formed a combat formation. Though the limited visibility forced them close together, violating standard spacing, they executed the command well, displaying solid military discipline.

“Mr. Li, what’s the danger ahead?” a soldier called out from the formation.

“I don’t know. The rats that followed us suddenly fled. I believe it’s the signal they give when confronted by an unbeatable threat!” Li Qingshui said, grabbing the severely wounded member carried by Shen Mingyi. “I’ll carry him for you. Prepare for battle.”

“Alright.” Shen Mingyi nodded.

“Which way did the rats run?” After securing the wounded, Li Qingshui turned to Liu Chang.

“Directly behind us.”

“Then you go scout ahead and see what’s coming.” Li Qingshui freed a hand and patted Shen Mingyi’s shoulder. “Can you go with him?”

“Sure.” Shen Mingyi nodded.

“Let’s go then,” Liu Chang said, wasting no more words.

With their crossbows loaded, Liu Chang and Shen Mingyi—the two strongest in the group—rushed forward at top speed. After running about thirty meters, Liu Chang heard a rustling sound carried by the breeze ahead.

“There’s something!” Hearing the noise, Liu Chang quickly crouched behind a tree on the road, pulling Shen Mingyi into cover with him. He listened quietly as the rustling grew closer, and from behind the bushes, a head emerged. As the sound became clearer, a brilliantly colored creature walked out of the mist and into his view.

“Oh, what the hell is that? Damn, that’s disgusting!” Seeing the monster enter his line of sight, Liu Chang’s stomach immediately contracted in revulsion.