Chapter 73: Unavoidable Death, Cruel Reality

On the city streets, cats and dogs of unknown origin had already swarmed in, their bodies more than twice their original size, claws sharp as curved hooks, teeth turned sharp and terrifying; drool dripped uncontrollably from their mouths onto the ground.

They did not know what had happened to their bodies, which made them want to eat their owners and even their own kind; unwilling to harm their owners, they had run out of their homes.

"Bang!"

A Border Collie slammed its head hard against a streetlight pole, trying to suppress the urge to bite passersby with pain; a Poodle curled up trembling in the green belt, covering its mouth tightly with its paws.

An orange cat paced anxiously on a trash can, all the fur on its tail standing on end.

But instinct would ultimately overcome reason.

"Woof!"

A mutated Shiba Inu suddenly lunged at a pedestrian returning home at night, sharp teeth easily tearing open the jeans; amidst screams, more cats and dogs began to stir.

Many mutated cats began to target speeding cars; although the vast majority would be thrown off or even crushed to death, a very small number still jumped into the driver's cabin through open windows; a mutated Husky overturned a night market stall, fangs biting at screaming diners.

In the city, terrified screams and chaotic noise rose and fell; although it was night and there were very few pedestrians on the roads, there were still large crowds in some areas where night markets existed.

These mutated pets also began to gather there.

People scattered in all directions, trying to dodge their attacks; but these mutated cats and dogs seemed to have triggered their hunting instincts, launching a mad chase on humans.

The manhole cover of the sewer was pushed open at some unknown time, and a black tide of rats surged onto the streets like a flood.

These rats had swollen to twice their size, their scarlet eyes flashing in the night; unlike the cats and dogs still struggling, the rats' goal was clear and unified: to devour all living things.

"Squeak squeak squeak—"

Piercing screams merged into one; the rat swarm instantly flooded everything on the streets. Several mutated dogs that were tearing at humans had no time to react before they were covered head to toe by the swarming rats.

The "rustling" sound of fur being gnawed was hair-raising; in just a few seconds, the huge mutated dogs disappeared into the rat swarm.

Humans were even more powerless to resist.

A fleeing man was caught up by the rat swarm; rats climbed up his pant legs into his clothes and began to gnaw him from the inside out; a woman curled up in a corner was discovered, and her screams were quickly drowned out by the "crunch crunch" of chewing.

Even the stray cats hiding in trash cans were drilled into by rats through the gaps and eaten alive to the last bite.

The most terrifying thing was that the rat swarm spared not even their own kind; injured rats were torn apart and swallowed by their companions in the blink of an eye; the entire hunting process was efficient and cold, wasting not a scrap of flesh or blood.

When the rat swarm receded like a tide, only pools of scarlet blood remained on the streets, not even a single bone left behind.

Hangcheng Tian Shu Bureau.

Amidst piercing alarm sounds, a huge electronic screen displayed real-time red alarm zones across the entire city.

"Report! The mutated beast swarm attempting to gather in the nature reserve has been annihilated by the Third Squad!"

The monitor immediately said.

"Compared to outside the city, what matters now is inside the city!"

Those mutated creatures in the nature reserve didn't matter; since there were no civilians there, one only needed to consider if the firepower was sufficient, without worrying about civilian safety; eliminating them was a piece of cake.

But inside the city, no!

Zhou Chen stood at the command console, his face gloomy as he stared at the surveillance footage; on the streets, a black mass of rat swarms was wreaking havoc, while mutated cats and dogs frantically fled between buildings, occasionally lunging at panicked citizens.

"What is the situation inside the city right now?"

"Large-scale attacks by mutated cats and dogs have occurred in the East District and West District; a rat tide has erupted in the South District; the North District is temporarily stable, but abnormal energy fluctuations have been detected!"

The monitor summarized all area information and immediately said.

"Deploy all firepower; clean up these beasts for me! No need to consider ammunition consumption; prioritize ensuring civilian safety!"

"Yes!"

In the communication channel, responses from squad leaders rang out one after another—

"First Squad has arrived in the East District and begun the cull!"

"Second Squad encountered a rat swarm; requesting use of heavy weapons."

"Fourth Squad has established a defensive line on the commercial street and is evacuating the crowd."

"Even with foreknowledge of the future and full preparations, death is still unavoidable."

Ye Xuan stood atop a high-rise building, looking down at the chaotic streets below; dark red blood was everywhere on the ground, and several incomplete corpses lay quietly by the roadside.

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

Human civilization was indeed powerful; their technology was enough to crush any mutated beast swarm, and they also possessed a vast number of warriors.

But the reality was that when hundreds of millions of people were scattered across vast cities, and every street corner might hide survivors, even the most powerful force would have its hands and feet bound.

This was not a question of power, but a dilemma of choice.

In the wild, one could cover an area with artillery fire without hesitation, but in the city, every decision concerned human lives.

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

Because no one wants to be the one sacrificed.

It's just that when such problems occur, the number of deaths is often more than one.

Ye Xuan took a step, and his figure vanished like a phantom at the edge of the high-rise, as if merging into the night; the next second, his figure appeared in the middle of the street a hundred meters away, surrounded by raging mutated beasts and people fleeing in panic.

His gilded-gold pupils glowed faintly in the darkness; looking at the bloody scene before him, his expression was calm yet carried a hint of coldness.

He could not save everyone, but he would not stand idly by regarding what was happening before his eyes.

"Clang!"

With a crisp sound of a sword, brilliant Jin Guang shot up from Ye Xuan, illuminating the entire block like the rising sun; the light contained a heart-stopping sharpness, as if even the air was cut into pieces.

The Jin Guang exploded violently a hundred meters high, turning into a rain of swords filling the sky; every light sword was as solid as substance, the blade emitting a soft glow; they hovered in the air, sword tips pointing directly downward, like swords of judgment waiting to deliver verdicts.

"Fall."

Ye Xuan softly uttered a single word; the myriad light swords trembled simultaneously, emitting a hair-raising hum.

The next instant—

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!"

Thousands of light swords poured down, carving countless golden trails in the air like a magnificent yet fatal rain of light; every sword precisely locked onto a mutated creature, piercing their bodies with unparalleled sharpness.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

The sound of flesh and blood being pierced merged into one, echoing through the streets like the whisper of the Death God.

(End of this chapter)