CH 46

Chapter 46

Xia Liansheng only knew that in the end, he would definitely be fine, but whether he would get injured or not depended on himself. Moreover, his two female team members were actually quite good.

He had to plan carefully, otherwise it would be a pity to ruin a good hand. If he performed well, he could share some ideas and opinions with the army and gain more benefits.

On the same night, Qin Jiulin and the other two were lying on the innermost beds of the tent. It was unclear what was underneath, but it was neither cold nor hard to sleep on, quite comfortable actually.

Qi Yue was sleeping with his back to the two of them. If he accidentally disturbed these two bosses, wouldn’t he be doomed? It’s better to stay away.

Qin Jiulin and Liu Zhongyuan were lying flat on their own beds, following the rules. Of course, the distance between the three beds was not far, just about half a body’s width, after all, the tent wasn’t particularly large.

Both of them didn’t speak, and the tent was silent. It seemed like all three of them were asleep, but in fact, they were all awake, especially Liu Zhongyuan and Qin Jiulin…

Qi Yue was somewhat drowsy, but the presence of someone beside him prevented the two Beastmen from being able to sleep in such a short time due to their subconscious alertness.

Liu Zhongyuan took the initiative to reach out and grabbed his wrist. Qin Jiulin was taken aback and tried to pull his hand away, but Liu Zhongyuan squeezed his wrist.

Qin Jiulin didn’t know what he was doing, so he could only turn his head and look at him. Liu Zhongyuan also looked at him and blinked, as if to say, let’s sleep like this.

Qin Jiulin didn’t understand what was going on with himself. Was this his way of expressing something? Could it be that they had become accustomed to communicating in Beastman form, so now…

There was no choice, he couldn’t just not sleep now, right? He nodded at Liu Zhongyuan, and finally glanced at his wrist that was lightly held by him. Without breaking free, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

A triumphant smile flashed in Liu Zhongyuan’s eyes, and he also fell asleep. Whether it was their mutual trust or the communication just now, this time they fell asleep quickly.

Not to mention Qi Yue, he had absolute trust in the two of them. He fell asleep in no time. The three of them slept until dawn, sleeping very comfortably.

When Qin Jiulin woke up, he found that Liu Zhongyuan was still holding his wrist. Fortunately, he didn’t grip it too tightly, otherwise his wrist would have been bruised after a whole night.

He pulled back his wrist and looked at it, there was only a slight mark, not very noticeable. It seemed like it would fade away on its own after a while.

Liu Zhongyuan rubbed his eyes and sat up, “Morning?”

Qin Jiulin: “Well, let’s get up. We should gather and have breakfast.”

Qi Yue, who was still a bit drowsy, woke up and saw Liu Zhongyuan holding Qin Jiulin’s hand. Following his lead, Qin Jiulin stood up. Qi Yue quickly closed his eyes again and waited for them to leave before getting up cautiously, getting dressed, and following them outside.

When they came out, Wu Feiyang was waiting for them outside. “Are you awake? Come with me, the captain will give you your mission separately.”

Liu Zhongyuan: “Will there be others interfering with our mission?”

Wu Feiyang: “Of course not. Your team belongs to your team, and Xia Liansheng’s team has a separate mission. And to prevent any encounters during the mission, the captain has assigned the mission locations far apart. Unless someone intentionally seeks you out, it’s highly unlikely you’ll run into anyone.”

Liu Zhongyuan nodded. “That’s good.”

Soon they saw Gao Siyang. Wu Feiyang went outside to wait, keeping an eye on the surroundings. At this time, it was important to keep people away.

Gao Siyang handed them the documents on the table. “Take a look. This is the content of your mission this time. I hope you can complete it without casualties.”

The three of them leaned over and carefully examined the mission details. The content was brief, but all the necessary information was there.

Qin Jiulin felt a sense of familiarity as he read. Wasn’t this the area near the street they had previously visited to collect supplies? Where they had cleared the half-beastmen?

Wait a minute, wasn’t there a swarm of rats in that area? How come the half-beastmen haven’t been eaten by them yet?

Qin Jiulin: “That area doesn’t seem to be densely populated. How did so many half-beastmen gather there?”

Gao Siyang: “Actually, we don’t know either. We’ve been investigating for days but haven’t found any reasons. However, that area is on the outskirts of the city, and there’s a major road nearby. We must take control of it.”

“But dealing with such a large number of half-beastmen is very challenging. If the military directly intervenes, there will definitely be heavy losses. So, we can only rely on you.”

Qin Jiulin: “Dealing with half-beastmen is not a problem, but…”

Liu Zhongyuan: “Captain, you know where the villa area we used to live is, right? The closest street from that area to the city is also in this vicinity. We came here recently to search for supplies, and I think I also sent you a message. We discovered the swarm of rats nearby.”

Gao Siyang blinked. “A message? I haven’t received any message about this swarm of rats. Wait a moment.”

He then called in his subordinate, who was outside, and after explaining the situation about the rats, he also looked puzzled. “I don’t know either. I haven’t received any message from Liu Zhongyuan about this rat swarm.”

He sighed, “It’s probably because the distance is too far. Sometimes the communication works, sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes messages get lost.”

Gao Siyang said, “I see, so there’s a swarm of rats there. No wonder the situation around is so strange.”

Liu Zhongyuan said, “If there’s a swarm of rats, the three of us can’t just go there like that. With such a large number of rats, there’s a high chance of casualties.”

Gao Siyang stroked his chin, “Since that’s the case, you should go and investigate the situation first. If you encounter the swarm of rats, try to bring back some samples if possible. We have researchers in the military who can study and develop poison specifically for them.”

Liu Zhongyuan asked, “Can we leave now?”

Gao Siyang replied, “Yes, you can go. The camp is not far from the mission location, so you can come back anytime to rest and have meals.”

Liu Zhongyuan said, “Understood, we’ll leave now.”

They left after receiving their mission. They hadn’t gone far when Wu Feiyang brought Xia Liansheng’s team to meet Gao Siyang. Gao Siyang assigned them their mission as well.

“Hope you all come back safely.”

Xia Liansheng replied, “We won’t let you down. We are strong…”

They were confident in themselves, and the two girls showed no signs of fear.

Liu Zhongyuan and the others quickly arrived at the mission location. After all, it was close to the military camp. They stood at a distance and observed the area they needed to clear.

Liu Zhongyuan said, “There are really a lot of half-beastmen over there. The streets are packed, there must be around four to five hundred of them, right?”

Qin Jiulin added, “And they’re all gathered on the streets. There are very few in the surrounding alleys or farther areas. It’s not normal.”

Liu Zhongyuan said, “There must be something attracting them to gather there. Otherwise, based on the ferocity of the half-beastmen, it’s impossible for them to stay peacefully within a certain area.”

There’s even a high probability that the half-beastmen would attack each other, but from their observations since arriving in the area, they hadn’t seen any instances of half-beastmen attacking each other. What’s going on?

Liu Zhongyuan said, “There must be some special circumstances… Hmm, they’re on the move.”

And all the half-beastmen are moving together, as if they discovered something very enticing to eat at the same time.

Qin Jiulin immediately took off his loose coat and transformed into a giant tiger, there was something emitting a strong scent of blood.

Liu Zhongyuan asked, “Is there a scent of blood?”

Qin Jiulin nodded, and it wasn’t just a faint smell of blood. Despite being a bit far away, he could still detect a strong scent of blood. This meant that something was bleeding heavily over there, and it was being done by a swarm of rats.

Liu Zhongyuan pondered for a moment, “Qie Yue, why don’t you go and take a look?”

Qie Yue nodded and, facing away from them, took off his clothes and threw them aside. He transformed into a silent snowy owl and flew up into the sky. From above, he immediately spotted a large group of half-beastmen chasing after a piece of… huh? That’s meat?

The piece of meat kept moving forward… no, it was actually moving. Drops of fresh blood fell onto the ground, leaving a trail, and the half-beastmen followed closely behind.

Qie Yue thought carefully. The piece of meat wouldn’t move on its own, which meant that there must be something beneath it, propelling it to move rapidly and leading the half-beastmen behind it. So, are the rats moving the piece of meat?

Qie Yue returned to Liu Zhongyuan and the others, assuming his human form and putting his clothes back on. He recounted in detail what he had witnessed just now, and Liu Zhongyuan’s expression confirmed his suspicions.

“It seems that they are quite formidable. This swarm of rats has developed some level of intelligence.”

Qin Jiulin furrowed his brow slightly, “We don’t know the exact number of the rat swarm, and for us, rats are too small and their numbers are too great. We’re not suited to confront them head-on.”

Liu Zhongyuan responded, “I know that. That’s why we can outsmart them using a different approach.”

Qin Jiulin asked, “What approach?”

Liu Zhongyuan winked, “Did I mention that I am a venomous snake?”

Qin Jiulin was taken aback. He truly didn’t know this. He had never heard in his previous life that Liu Zhongyuan’s beast form as a giant snake was also venomous!

This was too incredible, right? Such a large size, such formidable combat and defensive abilities, and it also had venom!

Qin Jiulin asked, “Is the venom very potent?”