Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Rat Miasma was forged from the corpses and souls of countless rats, supplemented by the miasma of the deep swamp. The refining process was extremely bloody and cruel, maximizing the resentment of the rats, causing their shattered souls to merge with the miasma.
It was something between a living and dead thing. When disguised, it could invade silently like the most ordinary fog. It seemed to be harmless, but in fact, after the rat miasma entered the body, it would assimilate the person without the person knowing. First, the appearance became like a rat, and then the temperament unconsciously became as cunning and greedy as a rat. They would hunt everywhere under the influence of the rat miasma. And when they had hunted enough food, the assimilated people would gradually degenerate into rats and then be absorbed by the rat miasma as nutrients, waiting to be released next time and assimilated again in the same way.
The rat miasma was controlled by the refiner, and the people or monsters assimilated by the rat miasma would also be controlled by the refiner like puppets.
This kind of unconventional technique had a complicated and tedious refining method, and not many people understood it.
Ying Qiao had only seen it in ancient books before, but he never expected to meet it while just strolling around the street.
He narrowed his eyes, looking at the normal people who hadn’t yet been assimilated, fleeing in panic in the square. Some tried to escape the square to call for help, but found they couldn’t, so they could only crouch at the edge, howling in despair. Some, forced into retreat by their assimilated relatives and friends, could only fight back through tears and pain. Still others, utterly terrified, had collapsed to the ground, unable even to flee, and could only watch helplessly as the ratmen approached, devouring their flesh…
This leisure plaza was already bustling with activity, and with the charity event tonight, it attracted countless fans and onlookers. A conservative estimate put the number of people present at nearly a thousand. At least three-quarters of them had been silently assimilated by the rat miasma. Unaware, they sported enormous rat heads, their pea-sized red eyes betraying a thirst for food, their pointed mouths gaping, stinking saliva dripping from the corners…
Ying Qiao frowned uncomfortably, looking at the rats that were gradually surrounding them, thinking about how to break the deadlock.
Ancient books only briefly mentioned the horrors of rat miasma but never mentioned a cure. It was unclear whether the author didn’t know about it, or if there simply wasn’t a cure.
“What should we do now? First, find a way to send a message to the bureau?” The rat miasma formed a barrier, completely blocking out any signals from the outside world.
Jiang Lan protected his brothers and retreated, frowning in embarrassment.
All monsters and demons were easy to deal with, the worst that could happen was that they could be swallowed whole. But these were not monsters and demons; just a few minutes ago, they were living people.
Even now, although they look like ratmen, they may not really be monsters.
Jiang Lan held back and only fended off the attacking rats, being cautious and not actually taking action.
“We probably don’t have enough time. If we delay any longer, these people may never be rescued.” They still had to think of ways to save people as much as possible.
Ying Qiao surveyed the layout of the square, searching for a place to temporarily house ordinary people.
This leisure square covered a large area. In addition to basic fitness equipment, there were also many antique pavilions, rockery and flying rocks for pedestrians to rest and play.
He took a fancy to an octagonal pavilion on a rockery, pointed at it and said, “Take Jiang Chi and the others there, and then take the ordinary people who haven’t been assimilated there to temporarily house them. I will deal with them and find their weaknesses.”
He glanced around with a cold gaze. The square was blocked by rat miasma. Although it seemed connected to the outside world, it was actually a space on its own.
The essence of these assimilated rat people was being continuously extracted and fed back to the barrier formed by the rat miasma, and the barrier continued to produce miasma, assimilating these ordinary people more deeply and quickly into their own kind, forming a closed loop between the in and out, forcibly tying the lives of these hundreds of people to the barrier.
The barrier could not be broken by force. If it was broken by force, the hundreds of people who had been assimilated would have no chance of survival.
The other party knew that they would have concerns, so they unscrupulously chose a location in a square with a large flow of people.
This chain of calculations did not seem to be accidental, but rather well-prepared.
He just didn’t know whether they just happened to bump into each other, or they were deliberately targeted and fell into the trap without any preparation.
On the other side, Jiang Lan led Jiang Chi and several others, fighting as they retreated towards the octagonal pavilion. He described himself as rather embarrassed. These rat-men were reduced to mere instinct, becoming ferocious and brutal. Their movements were no longer slow and sluggish like those of ordinary people, but rather nimble and agile, like cunning rats.
Jiang Lan had to get those ordinary people who had not been assimilated and were already terrified to stand up and follow him, while he also had to control his strength and try not to cause fatal injuries to the rat people who were rushing towards him fiercely.
This was a bit difficult for Taotie, who had always been simple and rough in fighting.
He soon became impatient and looked around. Then he pulled up two small trees of suitable thickness from the flower bed, quickly cleared the branches, and used them as weapons, holding them horizontally in front of him, one above and one below, to block the ratmen that were rushing towards him.
Seeing this, Jiu Ding and his three cubs who were protected behind him were also eager to help.
The three youngsters and the immature Jiu Ding gathered together and quickly discussed the division of labor. Jiu Ding protected Jiang Lan from behind, immediately helping him fend off the ratmen who attacked from the side and rear. Jiao Tu immediately transformed into a humanoid form and pulled up the ordinary people who were paralyzed on the ground and forced them to follow him.
These people were all terrified, their hands and feet were weak, and some had large pieces of flesh bitten off by the rat people, their faces distorted with pain.
But seeing that the two young children were not afraid, the ones with stronger survival instincts gritted their teeth and followed behind.
They gathered more and more ordinary people, and many of them were injured. The fresh blood stimulated the ratmen, and they pounced forward recklessly like sharks smelling blood.
Jiang Lan and Jiu Ding were blocking the front. Occasionally, a few people would sneak through the front line without warning, and would be beaten out with a baseball bat by the alert Jiang Chi.
The baseball bat was a find. Jiang Chi had been eating and drinking well lately, and his strength had grown. Even the horns on his head had become shinier. He panted slightly, holding the baseball bat tightly to defend the second line of defense. The intense movement made his heart beat faster, and an unfamiliar, indescribable feeling filled his limbs, making his tense nerves even more excited.
There seemed to be a voice in his head constantly shouting, kill, keep killing.
His eyes were slightly bloodshot and red, his fingers were trembling slightly due to emotional excitement, and even his mind was slightly dazed.
“Jiang Chi, be careful on the left!” Jiao Tu’s shout suddenly pulled him back from his chaotic thoughts.
Jiang Chi was startled and came to his senses instantly. He instinctively crouched down and fought back, beating back the attacking rat man.
He shook his head vigorously, gripped the baseball bat tightly, then ignoring the tempting voice, his expression gradually became firm.
….
They fought as they retreated, protecting the remaining ordinary people until they reached the octagonal pavilion.
The octagonal pavilion was built on a rockery. The rockery was not very high, but it had the advantage of high terrain, good vision and better defense.
Ordinary people gathered in the octagonal pavilion in shock, looking at Jiang Lan who looked calm. Some of the brave ones mustered up the courage to ask questions.
Jiang Lan couldn’t explain the reason to them. Besides, since it involved such a large-scale incident, these people would definitely have their memories tampered with by hypnosis in the end. There was no point in explaining it now.
He pondered for a moment and gave a more soothing explanation: “I’ve already called the police. They’ll know what’s going on when they get here. We just have to hold on until they get here.”
Perhaps it was their natural trust in the state apparatus, or perhaps it was their desire to live, but these frightened people gradually calmed down. The uninjured men mustered up their courage and spontaneously stood with the defending Jiang Chi and the others.
The square was filled with hordes of ratmen, and a few ordinary people who had not had time to catch up with the main group were hiding in panic.
Ying Qiao was dealing with the ratmen and had held back half of them by himself. He should still be looking for a way to break the deadlock.
Jiang Lan looked at the people below and asked Jiu Ding and the others to guard the octagonal pavilion. He then went down to bring back the other people who were left alone.
He jumped off the rockery and walked towards the stage – he saw that there seemed to be a few ordinary people hiding there.
The rats, driven by their appetite, showed no fear. Seeing him, they lunged at him recklessly. Without having to think ahead, Jiang Lan moved with ease this time, dragging the rats along behind him like a tail. When they reached the stage, he casually untied the cables for the lights and tied up the annoying rats like dumplings.
The ratmen had sharp teeth, and the cables may not be able to trap them for too long, but the extra time would make it easier for Jiang Lan to find someone.
After tying the bunch of ratmen around the tree, Jiang Lan clapped his hands and called out, “Who else is there? Come out and follow me.”
There was a rustling noise coming from under the stage. People were either emerging from under the stage curtains or crawling out from the prop boxes. Jiang Lan was counting the number of people and was stunned when he saw Bai You crawling out from under a pile of prop costumes. “Why are you here too?”
When the incident happened, Bai You had not yet come on stage, and he thought that he had not arrived.
Bai You looked disheveled, his carefully prepared hair and makeup a mess. Seeing Jiang Lan, he was both surprised and delighted. His eyes caught the rat-man struggling and biting the cables behind Jiang Lan, and he flinched. “I had been invited to participate in a charity event.”
Seeing more ratmen gathering around them, Jiang Lan didn’t have time to chat with him. He just pointed to the octagonal pavilion in the distance and said, “Follow me, run to the pavilion.”
There were five or six people hiding on the stage, including Bai You and his assistant, and the rest were staff members of the event team.
Although they were frightened, they hid in time and were not seriously injured. Upon hearing this, they rushed towards the octagonal pavilion with all their might. Bai You was at the back of the group, but after a few steps, his speed slowed down and he gradually fell to the back of the group, with a slight limp in his left leg.
Seeing this, the two ratmen immediately changed their target and pounced on him –
Bai You’s breath caught in his throat, and he closed his eyes in panic, but the expected pain didn’t come. He opened his eyes in panic and saw Jiang Lan fending off two ratmen. Using his strength, he lifted him up and tucked him under his arm, catching up with the group.
Bai You: …
He took a deep breath and said in a trembling voice, “Thank you, you saved me again.”
Jiang Lan had no time to chat with him, so he said casually, “It’s just my business, you’re welcome.”
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