Chapter 73: Inevitable Death, Cruel Reality

On the city streets, cats and dogs had somehow flooded the roads, their bodies more than doubled in size, claws like hooked blades, teeth sharp and terrifying; saliva dripped uncontrollably from their mouths onto the ground.

They did not understand what had happened to their bodies, driving them to crave devouring their owners and even their own kind; unwilling to harm their masters, they had fled from their homes.

“Bang!”

A border collie slammed its head against a streetlamp pole, trying to suppress its urge to bite passersby with pain; a poodle curled up in the greenery, trembling, paws pressed tightly over its mouth.

An orange cat paced anxiously atop a trash bin, its tail fur standing completely on end.

But instinct would ultimately overcome reason.

“Woof!”

A mutated chow chow suddenly lunged at a night-returning pedestrian, its fangs easily tearing through denim; screams erupted, and more cats and dogs began to stir.

Many mutated cats fixed their gaze on speeding cars; though most were flung off or crushed, a tiny fraction leapt through open windows into the driver’s cabins; mutated huskies overturned night market stalls, fangs sinking into screaming diners.

In the city, terrified screams and chaotic noise rose and fell; though it was night and pedestrians were scarce, areas with night markets still held large crowds.

These mutated pets began converging toward those places.

People scattered in all directions, trying to evade their attacks; but these mutated cats and dogs, as if awakened by hunting instincts, launched frenzied chases after humans.

The manhole covers had been pried open without warning; a black tide of rats surged onto the streets like a flood.

These rats had swollen to twice their size, their crimson eyes glinting in the night; unlike the struggling cats and dogs, the rat swarm’s goal was clear and unified: devour all living things.

“Squeak-squeak-squeak—”

A piercing chorus of shrieks merged into one; the rat swarm instantly overwhelmed everything on the streets. A few mutated dogs still tearing into humans had no time to react before rats swarmed over their entire bodies.

The “rustle-rustle” of fur being gnawed sent chills down the spine; within seconds, the massive mutated dogs vanished beneath the rat tide.

Humans were powerless to resist.

A fleeing man was overtaken by the rat swarm; rats crawled up his pant legs, into his clothes, and began gnawing from within; a woman cowering in a corner was discovered—her screams were swiftly drowned out by the “crunch-crunch” of chewing;

Even a stray cat hiding in a trash bin was penetrated by rats through the gaps, devoured alive, piece by piece.

Most terrifying of all, the rat swarm did not spare its own kind; injured rats were instantly torn apart and devoured by their peers—the entire hunting process was efficient and cold, leaving not a single drop of flesh wasted.

When the rat swarm receded like a tide, the streets were left with only pools of crimson blood—not a single bone remained.

Hangcheng Tianshu Bureau.

Alarms blared shrilly; on a massive electronic screen, real-time red alert zones flashed across the entire city.

“Report! The mutated beast cluster attempting to gather in the nature reserve has been annihilated by the Third Squad!”

The monitor operator immediately reported.

“Outside the city is irrelevant—what matters now is inside!”

The mutated creatures in the nature reserve didn’t matter; no civilians were there. All that mattered was whether firepower was sufficient—no need to worry about civilian safety; eliminating them was effortless.

But inside the city? No.

Zhou Chen stood before the command console, his face grim as he stared at the surveillance feeds; on the streets below, a dense tide of rats rampaged, mutated cats and dogs fled wildly between buildings, occasionally lunging at panicked citizens.

“What’s the situation inside the city?”

“Large-scale attacks by mutated cats and dogs have erupted in the East and West Districts; a rat flood has broken out in the South District; the North District remains stable for now, but abnormal energy fluctuations have been detected!”

The monitor operator swiftly compiled all regional data and reported.

“Deploy all firepower—clean these beasts off the streets! Do not conserve ammunition; prioritize civilian safety!”

“Yes!”

Across the communication channels, responses from squad leaders followed one after another—

“First Squad has arrived in the East District and is beginning clearance!”

“Second Squad has encountered a rat swarm; requesting heavy weapons.”

“Fourth Squad has established a defensive line on the commercial street and is evacuating civilians.”

“Even with foreknowledge of the future and thorough preparation, death remains unavoidable.”

Ye Xuan stood atop a high-rise, overlooking the chaotic streets below; dark red blood stained the ground, and several mangled corpses lay still beside the road.

He shook his head slightly; though cruel, this was reality.

Human civilization was indeed powerful; their technology could crush any mutated beast swarm, and they possessed vast numbers of warriors.

But reality was this: when billions of people were scattered across vast cities, when every corner might hide survivors, even the strongest force would be bound hand and foot.

This was not a problem of power—it was a dilemma of choice.

In the wild, one could unhesitatingly carpet-bomb; in the city, every decision meant life or death.

Sacrificing one person to save a thousand? Such cold arithmetic could not be executed in reality; as long as there was even a sliver of hope, rescue must continue.

Because no one wished to be the one sacrificed.

Yet when such dilemmas arose, the number of deaths was rarely just one.

Ye Xuan stepped forward, his figure dissolving like a phantom at the building’s edge, as if merging into the night; the next instant, he appeared in the center of the street a hundred meters away, surrounded by rampaging mutated beasts and frantic fleeing crowds.

His gilded pupils glowed faintly in the darkness; he gazed at the bloody scene before him, expression calm yet edged with coldness.

He could not save everyone—but what happened before his eyes, he would not ignore.

“Clang!”

With a clear sword chime, brilliant golden light erupted from Ye Xuan, rising like a rising sun to illuminate the entire district; the light carried a terrifying sharpness, as if even the air had been sliced into fragments.

The golden light exploded high above, transforming into a rain of a thousand swords; each radiant blade solidified as if real, glowing softly, suspended in midair, their tips pointing downward like judgmental blades awaiting execution.

“Fall.”

Ye Xuan uttered a single word; the skyful of light swords trembled simultaneously, emitting a chilling hum.

The next instant—

“Swoosh-swoosh-swoosh-swoosh!”

Thousands of light swords rained down, carving countless golden trails through the air like a beautiful yet deadly storm of light; each blade locked precisely onto a mutated creature, piercing their bodies with unmatched sharpness.

“Plop! Plop!”

The sound of flesh being pierced echoed continuously, like the whisper of death across the streets.

(End of Chapter)