“It looks like the rat swarm has just started attacking the fourth district,” Qing Chen said calmly. “We can’t wait any longer. We’ll just cut through the crowd.”
As they spoke, Qing Chen began to speed up with Zhang Mengqian. Fortunately, the little boy had eaten nine Longevity Fruits, otherwise the long trek would have been exhausting.
As soon as they entered the fourth district, they saw crowds running wildly out of various bars, boxing gyms, and strip clubs.
A glamorous woman in high heels was running when her heel broke, and two rats were still hanging around her neck, tearing at the skin on the back of her neck.
An obese man had just run out of the bar when he was swarmed by rats, which then slowly dragged his massive body back inside.
A well-dressed middle-aged man, accompanied by two bodyguards, rushed away to clear a path, even shoving a middle-aged woman who was blocking their way to the ground.
What I saw before me was like a living hell.
Qing Chen calmly walked through the crowd, trying to pretend that he hadn't seen what had happened to those people.
Just then, when Qingchen looked up, he suddenly saw a little girl standing in the middle of the street, rubbing her eyes and crying loudly. Her parents were nowhere to be seen.
Adults walked around her, but she remained there, calling out for her parents.
No one went to save her; everyone was too busy taking care of themselves.
Qing Chen's pace slowed down. People were dying one after another on the street, but he remained unharmed because of his strength.
But when he turned around and looked around, four or five children could no longer find their parents, an old man selling late-night snacks in the fourth district was also pushed to the ground, women were screaming and wailing, and even a wealthy man who came to watch the boxing match was surrounded by rats along with his bodyguards.
District Four is the most bustling and vibrant part of the Federal City. Yesterday it was a place of dazzling lights and revelry, but today it is a living hell.
That was so tragic.
To manage or not to manage?
If he ignores it, these people will die right in front of him.
"Save them! Mengqian, forget about the adults, gather all the children together first!" Qingchen shouted.
"Received!" Zhang Mengqian ran out quickly, grabbed the bewildered and crying children on the street, and ran together towards Qingchen.
He saw his boss standing on the long street, a golden light shining from the depths of his pupils.
In an instant, sixteen streaks of lightning shot out in a winding and zigzagging pattern, instantly burning and piercing through the swarm of rats that had chased out of the bar!
The hundreds of people still alive on the street rushed over as if they had grasped at a straw when they saw this scene.
"Boss, I've brought them all back," Zhang Mengqian called out. As she spoke, the young boy, who wasn't very old himself, used the power of the Eternal Heaven to carry the two little girls on his shoulders, while two relatively strong little boys followed behind him.
Qing Chen took a deep breath and said, "Fight your way out!"
Chapter 681, The Beginning of the Disaster
Seeing the refugees swarming in, Qing Chen thought for a second and then said, "Come closer! Adult men, surround the elderly, children, and women in the middle. Everyone, find something handy nearby to kill the rats. Don't let the rats get close to the group!"
He used marionettes as knives, moving like shadows through the long streets, and any rats that tried to approach were cut in two by the sharp marionettes.
The marionette was completely invisible in the darkness. It glided across the mouse, and Qingchen felt the strings cutting through the mouse without any resistance.
Cut open the skin and muscles, sever the bones and fascia, and the rat vanished in an instant.
At this moment, Qing Chen was surprised to find that the marionette was actually offering itself as a sacrifice to the corpses of the rats. The forbidden foods that had been with him for a long time were now being eaten without any restrictions, and he was eating everything!
When the marionette was sacrificed to the rats, the threads grew very slowly, but Qingchen clearly noticed that its fourth thread was indeed growing.
Qing Chen suddenly wondered if sacrificing the entire city of rats would allow the marionette to grow nine strings.
However, Qingchen had no time to focus on his gains.
There are probably still more than 300 refugees alive on Long Street in District 4.
Old people, women, men, and children.
Boxers, gamblers, spectators, vendors, waiters.
There were all sorts of people, and Qingchen wanted them to stick together and protect the elderly, women, and children.
At this time, the rat swarms were still rampaging in various bars, residential buildings, and boxing gyms, which were the places with the largest human population.
Therefore, if the people on the street unite, they may still have a chance to leave alive.
But things didn't go as planned.
As the formation contracted, several strong boxers actually squeezed into the very center of the crowd. If a rat pounced on them, they would use the people next to them as shields, and would even push women out to attract the rats' attention.
A tall, burly boxer easily lifted an old man in his hands, using the old man as a shield.
As the burly boxers fled for their lives, they shouted to Qing Chen, "Run! Don't stay here! Don't wait for the people inside the bar!"
Qing Chen's expression grew cold. He grabbed a gaunt-looking man who resembled a gambler and asked, "Do you know these three boxers? Have you ever bet on them?"
The gambler nodded: "I know them. They're all land cruiser-level boxers. Those three bastards all like to fix matches..."
"What's your name?" Qing Chen roared.
"Chen Chuan, Lü Chi, Wang Gan," the gambler exclaimed in alarm, rattling off all the names he knew.
The conditions for using a marionette are harsh. If it were on the front lines of a battle, he would have no chance to ask the soldier's name, so the marionette can only be used as a weapon.
These three named boxers are exactly the puppets that Qing Chen needs most!
The next moment, Qing Chen had already pushed through the crowd and arrived at the side of the three boxers.
In an instant, the transparent threads in Qing Chen's hand suddenly separated and cleverly wrapped around the wrists of the three boxers.
The marionette was excited.
At the end of each thread, like a small snake opening its mouth, it plunged fiercely into the veins of the three boxers' wrists.
For the past few months, Qingchen has been using it as a knife.
Two of the puppet's former owners separated the strings into 18 strands, which was its peak condition.
Now, in order to remind Qingchen of its original function, the marionette is even eating mice!
That was so difficult!
This thing has finally remembered its original function as a forbidden object!
In the midst of the chaos, no one noticed what Qing Chen had done. Immediately afterwards, the three boxers volunteered to break through the crowd and patrol the area to protect everyone.
The rats surrounded them, but the three men remained calm and fearless. They shouted for everyone not to be afraid and fought back at lightning speed, managing to hold off the rats.
The gambler, who had just been questioned by Qing Chen, suddenly felt that the three boxers had become incredibly powerful...
It's not that I suddenly became brave; it's that I genuinely became incredibly capable.
The exertion of force follows a certain pattern and rhythm, with the breathing frequency and the burst of movement perfectly coordinated, making it pleasing to the eye even for laymen.
The gambler thought to himself, "Wow, you guys are really that good. You guys were rigging the game before!"
But what the gambler didn't know was that the three boxers suddenly became powerful not because they were inherently strong, but because Qing Chen was controlling them with a single mind.
At this moment, a rat leaped up, trying to get past the three people and pounce into the crowd, forcing them to disperse.
But as the rat flew through the air, it was sliced in two by an unknown sharp weapon, and the next second, the rat's corpse turned to ashes in mid-air.
It was sacrificed.
Several more rats pounced, but in the darkness it seemed as if someone had drawn a deadly net with razor-sharp threads, using Qing Chen as the axis and the three boxers as the fulcrum, firmly protecting the refugees within.
All of this happened in the darkness. Qing Chen was like a chess player, holding three pieces while multitasking.
Qing Chen shouted, "I'm going to the Lower Three Districts! Those who follow will live, those who don't will die!"
Just then, someone rushed out of a private club on the street, screaming in panic.
The first person to rush out was a waiter, followed by a middle-aged man in a suit and tie, and two women in gold sequined evening gowns and high heels.
Four bodyguards stood guard beside the group, looking hurried, using candles to light their way and guide their employers.
The refugees, seeing the two women by the light, exclaimed in surprise, "Wang Wenwen, Zhou Jieyi!"
Wang Wenwen and Zhou Jieyi are both well-known actresses in the Federation, considered top-tier actresses in the Federation's film and television industry. No one expected to run into the two actresses fleeing with everyone at this time.
Qing Chen recognized the middle-aged man next to the two female celebrities; he was Chen Luwen, the Member of Parliament for City Constituency 13!
This congressman is from a branch of the Chen family and is one of the Chen family's representatives in the federal political center. His speech was inspiring and rousing, and he had just passed a jobs bill a few days ago.
On television, Chen Luwen passionately declared that the federal employment rate would immediately increase and people's lives would become happier.
Four bodyguards escorted the employer and two ladies into the crowd, carefully hiding them.
Qing Chen didn't need to look to know that a rat infestation must have broken out in the private club as well.
To prevent rats and cockroaches, the private clubs in the federal government have specially treated reverse drains in their sewers, which rats generally cannot climb up to.
But they underestimated the ferocity of the rats, who managed to push open the sealed drain and take over the private club.
Qing Chen ignored them and continued to charge into the lower three districts. The four bodyguards instinctively tried to follow the crowd.
However, the four bodyguards had barely moved when Chen Luwen sternly ordered, "Whose bodyguards are you? Stay here and don't go anywhere. Li Ling already went to find the garrison to provide backup when the power went out; they should be here soon!"
"Boss, I've got a way to stop the rat infestation!" someone shouted from the crowd.
Qing Chen glanced back and saw Zhang Mengqian taking off her clothes in the crowd, cutting them into four strips with the dagger she carried, and then wrapping them around the necks of the four children.
If the carotid artery is protected, even if the victim is bitten by rats several times, they will not die immediately. If they receive timely treatment and vaccinations afterward, they will have a high probability of surviving.
Zhang Mengqian herself was only a 14-year-old child, yet she was taking care of others amidst the chaos.
While manipulating the marionettes to block the rat swarm, Qing Chen said, "Well done! Everyone here, immediately take off your coats and wrap them around your necks. Don't give the rats a chance to bite you to death!"
In their panic, the refugees did as instructed.
A young man had just put his coat around his neck when he saw a rat scurry through a gap to his feet and tug at his clothes as it climbed up.
However, when it climbed up to the neck, it found there was nowhere to bite.
The mouse tried to gnaw through the clothes, but the denim jacket was too sturdy; it took several bites but still couldn't get through the layers.
In a fit of rage, it could only bite the young man's ear and tear off a piece of flesh!
Seeing this, the refugees in the crowd helped swat the rats while shouting, "It works! This method really works!"
As long as the rats can't kill humans instantly, humans still have a chance to fight back!
As they were talking, the roar of vehicle engines came from afar. More than a dozen diesel SUVs sped over, and dozens of garrison soldiers on board, carrying automatic rifles, were firing wildly at the rats they encountered along the way.