Chapter 88 - 87: The Great War is Imminent

Chapter 88: Chapter 87: The Great War is Imminent

A strange voice suddenly broke the silence in the woods.

Gu Qing’s nerves instantly tensed.

The Qi Blood in his body surged wildly.

He was ready for a fight to the death.

The dim shadows of the trees were dense and deep, and the canopy above was pitch-black.

As Gu Qing focused his gaze,

soon,

a figure leaped lightly from above, landing on the ground.

The newcomer walked elegantly into Gu Qing’s view. He had one hand in his pocket and wore the iconic white lab coat of a researcher, his face hidden behind a bizarre Rat Head Mask.

Above his head was a three-word label:

—[Rat God Cultist]

’The Rat God Cult?’

’An organization of traitors to humanity that worships the monster known as the Source of the Plague?’

Gu Qing frowned deeply.

Across from him,

the masked man noticed the violent, ceaseless churning of the Qi Blood in Gu Qing’s body.

He raised an eyebrow.

He chuckled, his tone teasing:

"Oh?"

"Does a weak, pitiful, and helpless little lab rat dare to hiss at the very researcher who holds its life in his hands?"

"I must commend your courage, for a little lab rat."

"..."

"Who are you?"

Gu Qing’s gaze was locked on the masked man as he asked in a low voice.

The masked man smiled condescendingly.

"I just told you. I’m the researcher who controls whether you live or die."

The moment he finished speaking, a long, slender rat’s tail suddenly whipped out from behind him.

A cold, white glint shone from the tip of the tail.

WHIR.

It shot toward Gu Qing’s ankle with incredible speed.

With the aid of Lightning Reflexes,

Gu Qing could clearly track the trajectory of the approaching glint.

But it was the same old problem.

His eyes could see it clearly,

but his muscles’ Reaction Speed couldn’t keep up.

Making a precise dodge was impossible.

In this situation, his only hope of dodging was to either retreat or jump.

Gu Qing’s mind raced. He chose to push off his feet with all his might, his body shooting backward in a hasty retreat.

’Jumping would just make me a target in mid-air.’

’A rapid retreat is the right move.’

Gu Qing put everything he had into retreating faster.

But he was still a fraction too slow and failed to dodge the glint completely.

The glint grazed the skin on his ankle.

The flesh was instantly torn open.

Deep in the wound, the stark white of bone was faintly visible.

Gu Qing’s heart sank. Seeing his defenses broken so easily even with his Muscle Knots active, he immediately thought of retreating.

’This masked man is incredibly strong!’

’I can’t get tangled up with him!’

’Run!’

Without a moment’s hesitation, Gu Qing turned and fled, not even sparing a glance for the near-dead Huang Xiaoyue on the ground.

’It’s a shame I can’t take my prize, but my own survival is more important right now.’

"Such a disobedient little lab rat."

The masked man put a hand to his forehead and shook his head helplessly.

He then whipped his long tail again. A glint of cold light shot through the air, aimed straight for Gu Qing’s thigh.

This time,

Gu Qing didn’t rely on instinct to dodge.

Instead, he anticipated his opponent’s attack.

The moment he heard the whistle of something cutting through the air,

Gu Qing abruptly pushed off his feet, his body launching sideways.

He got lucky. He had successfully predicted the masked man’s point of attack and managed to dodge the cold glint just in time.

The glint of light grazed past his thigh and struck a large tree up ahead.

"THUD!"

A muffled sound rang out.

The cold glint easily pierced the thick tree trunk, leaving a fist-sized hole in it.

The instant the glint was withdrawn,

Gu Qing took a closer look and realized that the cold glint, which could cut through metal as if it were mud, was actually a sharp Bone Blade at the tip of the rat’s tail.

"SWISH—!"

Gu Qing tore his eyes away and plunged into a dense thicket to his side.

The lush, layered foliage would effectively hinder the masked man’s tail attacks.

"SWISH—!"

The masked man plunged into the thicket right behind him, weaving through the tangled branches at high speed. Within seconds, he caught up to Gu Qing, who was desperately running along the ground.

He chased with a jeering smile on his face.

The whole time, he looked down condescendingly at Gu Qing fleeing below.

Like a cat toying with a mouse, he continuously flicked his tail, shooting the sharp Bone Blade at him.

The dense obstacles in the forest significantly slowed the attacks from the bladed tail.

Furthermore, Gu Qing’s serpentine movements, constantly weaving left and right, made it much harder for the masked man to aim.

And so, the chase continued.

Gu Qing managed to dodge most of the masked man’s attacks.

Even the few hits that landed were only superficial wounds, never anything vital.

After several of his attacks missed in a row,

the masked man grew increasingly astonished and suspicious.

’An Extraordinary Contactor who’s barely twenty, and he can dodge so many of my attacks? And with such endurance?’

’Something’s not right with this lab rat!’

’I can’t keep playing around with him. I need to end this fast before something unexpected happens!’

His mind made up, the single, sharp Bone Blade at the end of his tail instantly multiplied into nine.

Like a Nine-tailed Demon Fox, he expertly controlled the nine bladed tails, which shot out simultaneously. They blotted out the sky, attacking from all directions at once and completely cutting off Gu Qing’s escape routes.

Relying on his predictive movements, Gu Qing barely managed to dodge most of the attacks.

But the assault was too dense, and he couldn’t evade it completely.

A Bone Blade viciously pierced his left arm, sending a spray of blood into the air.

’I can’t just keep running!’

’I have to fight back!’

Gritting his teeth against the excruciating pain, Gu Qing reached back and grabbed the long tail piercing his arm.

Then, with a sudden burst of strength,

he yanked the masked man straight down from the trees.

The masked man was completely unconcerned.

He was about to let out a taunt.

’This puny lab rat thinks it can oppose me?’

But in the next second, an immense force suddenly shot up his tail, surging through his entire body.

"What the fuck!"

The masked man’s face contorted in shock. The next instant, he was violently yanked down, smashing straight toward the ground.

As the masked man was falling,

Gu Qing’s Qi Blood erupted as he swiftly pulled the Bone Blade out of his arm.

With a SNAP, he tore it from the tail.

Then, aiming for the masked man’s crotch, he violently flung the Bone Blade.

"THUNK... AAAAAHHH!!!"

The Bone Blade found its mark, embedding itself in the masked man’s vital area. His face twisted in agony as he let out a wretched scream.

By then, Gu Qing had already turned and fled, sprinting away with all his might.

As he ran, he pulled out his phone and sent a voice message to Lin Tianyang, briefly explaining his situation and asking for backup as soon as possible.

"You motherfucker!"

The masked man looked up, his eyes bloodshot. Humiliated and enraged, he watched Gu Qing’s retreating figure and couldn’t help but roar a curse.

’A senior researcher like me, bitten by a lab rat?’

’What an absolute disgrace!’

The next moment, the masked man’s body began to stretch and contort bizarrely as dark grey fur rapidly sprouted across his skin.

In just a few seconds, he had transformed into a giant, humanoid rat.

"WHIR—!"

A piercing shriek tore through the air.

Now fully transformed into a Ratman, the masked man’s massive body became a blur, chasing after Gu Qing at an extreme speed.

He was no longer in the mood to play cat-and-mouse.

All that remained was a burning rage and the desire to make Gu Qing suffer.

Sensing the masked man rapidly closing in from behind, Gu Qing’s expression darkened.

’His speed skyrocketed after he transformed.’

The distance between them was closing at an alarming rate.

’If I can’t figure out a way to get away, I’m going to die here today.’

"Where the fuck do you think you’re running?!"

An angry roar echoed.

The Ratman-like figure suddenly leaped high into the air, soaring over Gu Qing’s head.

With a heavy THUD, he landed solidly in front of Gu Qing,

completely blocking his escape.

’No more running. It’s a fight to the death.’

Gu Qing’s gaze locked onto the masked man before him.

He saw that the creature’s figure was as thin as a reed, with nine bladed tails dancing nimbly in the air. ’A classic glass cannon—high attack, low defense,’ Gu Qing thought, and the idea of engaging in close-quarters combat instantly formed in his mind.

"WHIR—!"

"WHIR—!"

"WHIR—!"

Several whooshing sounds exploded in succession.

The nine bladed tails behind the masked man suddenly shot out at once, flying like arrows loosed from a bow, simultaneously targeting Gu Qing’s head and limbs.

Gu Qing’s eyes narrowed, all the Qi Blood in his body boiling and surging.

He then pushed off forcefully with his feet. Instead of dodging, he charged straight toward the incoming Bone Blades, intending to tank some of the damage to close the distance for hand-to-hand combat.

Just as he raised his arm to block the blades,

a figure with an incredibly powerful aura suddenly erupted from the pitch-black shadow at his feet.

The moment the newcomer appeared, a majestic and tyrannical Qi Blood Power erupted, forcefully deflecting all the high-speed Bone Blades and sending them flying.

Gu Qing froze.

’Who?!’

’How did someone just pop out of my shadow?’

’Are they reinforcements from the Night Court?’

At this thought,

Gu Qing felt a surge of joy.

He took a closer look at the newcomer and was shocked to see it was the man with slicked-back hair and sunglasses, the one with the [Traitor] label above his head.

"A Rat God Cultist?"

He Haikun completely ignored Gu Qing behind him. His gaze was indifferent as he stared at the masked man, his tone perfectly calm, as if he didn’t consider the creature a threat.

The masked man didn’t reply. He just narrowed his eyes, carefully sizing up He Haikun, and instantly identified him as an Extraordinary Awakened.

Realizing this,

the masked man didn’t hesitate. He immediately rushed toward the collapsed Huang Xiaoyue, scooped up her dying body, and turned to flee.

"Heh. Think you can run?"

He Haikun sneered, his figure sinking directly into Gu Qing’s shadow and disappearing.

The next second, he emerged like a phantom from a shadow beside the masked man, his hand shooting out to grip the creature’s throat with perfect precision.

The masked man’s face contorted in pain as he immediately directed his nine bladed tails to strike frantically at He Haikun.

A glint of ice flashed in He Haikun’s eyes. He tightened his grip, and with a sudden clench, he crushed the masked man’s slender neck.

The masked man was instantly decapitated, but he didn’t die.

The moment his severed head and body hit the ground, they dissolved into countless small, dark grey rats that scattered frantically in all directions.

A moment later, a portion of the rats reconverged into a humanoid shape. As it fled in panic, it shouted a threat back at the dying Huang Xiaoyue:

"Keep your mouth shut, unless you want your sister to die without even a grave!"

He Haikun did not continue to pursue the masked man.

He knew that pursuit was meaningless.

Even if he caught up and struck the masked man again, splitting his body in half, the creature could still dissolve into countless small, dark grey rats and escape.

With his current strength, he couldn’t completely kill the masked man.

Only an expert of a higher level could crush and kill such an opponent.

Not far away,

Gu Qing stood quietly, having watched the entire, brief exchange between He Haikun and the masked man, his heart filled with shock.

’So this is the power of an Extraordinary Awakened?’

’They can travel between shadows.’

’Turn into a swarm of rats to escape.’

’Their abilities are divine and unfathomable.’

’Like the Cultivators from myths and legends.’

’No wonder the Extraordinary Awakened look down on Extraordinary Contactors.’

’The abilities of an Extraordinary Awakened are on a completely different level from an Extraordinary Contactor, who just has brute strength.’

...

PS: Holding out my bowl and begging for monthly passes and recommendation votes!