Chapter 513: When in Doubt, Fire One Off First……

Howling Celestial Hound let out a roar.

The rat-headed creature immediately shrank back into the cave, and after a few "squeaks," it instantly ran off without a trace.

"Master, there are rats, huge rats." Ao Yulie hurried over, describing the rats he had seen to Tang Luo.

From his gestures, they were even larger than the ones Tang Luo had seen.

"Squeak squeak squeak, squeak squeak squeak!"

Before Tang Luo could say anything, the sound came from all directions, even more from beneath their feet, turning muffled as it passed through the ground.

"Rats are social animals; it seems the 'Calamity' only changed their size," Tang Luo said. "It didn't change their habits."

"Rats this big, if there are a lot of them, what do they eat?" Ao Yulie asked.

"That's why this place was abandoned," Tang Luo said. "Looks like you poked a rat's nest, Doggy."

The "squeaking" grew louder and louder, and the earth beneath their feet faintly trembled.

The ground not far away suddenly collapsed downward, forming a pit one meter in diameter, and rats the size of house cats, some even larger, burrowed out from inside.

Packed densely, they covered the surroundings in an instant.

After burrowing out of the holes, these rats scurried about in all directions like headless flies, and some even began killing each other.

Once a rat spilled fresh blood, the surrounding rats would swarm up, frantically gnawing on their own kind.

Extremely practiced.

In just under thirty seconds, quite a few white bones had appeared; the scene was manic and chaotic.

"Really poked a rat's nest, huh." Tang Luo said.

Howling Celestial Hound's roar had driven these giant rats out from underground, the desire to feed driving them.

But the creature's instinct also sensed the fear brought by an apex predator from the top of the food chain, and for a time the feeding desire could not overcome the survival instinct.

A bit of space cleared around Tang Luo and the others.

Some rats killing each other — that was the current situation.

Such a situation obviously would not last long; soon, with a piercing "squeak," the rat swarm lunged at Tang Luo and the others.

Slapping a Flight Talisman onto himself, Tang Luo scooped up the low-growling but no longer threatening Howling Celestial Hound and rose into the air.

"It really is a post-apocalyptic wasteland." Ao Yulie flew beside Tang Luo and said.

A rat swarm like this poses a far greater threat than any zombies.

Not just here; looking out, more and more rats burrowed out from underground, and this abandoned building complex was gradually being occupied by rats.

Once, this was a human settlement; now, it is the nest of these giant rats.

The Journey to the West quartet had already reached the top floor of a building that was barely still intact.

Beneath their feet were more and more rats.

"What do we do, what do we do?" The red-haired man, the one with the Sha Wujing destiny, "Tamura Gojyo," said. He was a man without much brains, liking to solve problems with violence and meaningless low growls and loud shouts.

But the rat swarm beneath their feet was no longer a problem that could be solved with violence and shouting.

"Charge!"

The "strategist" role among the quartet was instead that shorty with the Sun Wukong destiny; let's call him Fukuhara Goku. He roared.

Right now the rat swarm hasn't fully converged yet, their position is also relatively close to the edge of the building complex, there's still a chance to break out.

"How do we charge?"

"Two per bike!"

Fukuhara Goku took out a rampage motorcycle; that blond "Tomita Genjo" followed suit.

Nakahara Hachi and Tamura Gojyo each got on a bike.

With the roar of engines, the two motorcycles charged straight off the rooftop, and the four began their escape journey.

"Ora ora!"

Tamura Gojyo held a chain-equipped weapon, waving it wildly, lashing at the rats surging from the front and sides.

A pale golden qi sphere emerged in Nakahara Hachi's palm; after he threw it out, it silently exploded in the rat swarm, its power surpassing a hand grenade.

However, it was purely concussive damage, with no flame or high-temperature lethality.

Flesh and blood flew everywhere.

The other two focused on controlling the bikes, striving to rush outward.

"What's this?"

On the other side, Ao Yulie looked at the rat swarm beneath her feet and let out a puzzled sound.

These rats spontaneously gathered and stacked atop one another, forming rat piles whose height kept rising, closing in on Tang Luo and the others in the high sky.

"Seems there's a commander," Tang Luo said. "A Rat King?"

"Truly disgusting." The rat swarm was already packed dense, and now it kept stacking and writhing; Ao Yulie couldn't help herself, extending a finger and pointing.

A bolt of lightning streaked across, a thunderbolt blasting into the rat pile.

The air instantly filled with a scorched stench; the vast majority of rats in the pile were electrocuted into tiny lumps of coke.

The lightning struck the ground, spreading out in all directions.

The Journey to the West group on that side felt many rats running toward the direction behind them, and the pressure instantly lessened; seizing the chance, they successfully broke out, continuously distancing themselves from the rat nest.

The rats behind did not pursue for long; after chasing a bit they retreated on their own.

They did not leave the nest too far.

The group did not stop, continuing to speed wildly for over half an hour before stopping.

"Aaaah! We did it!"

"Great escape victory!"

Several people, ignoring the injuries on their bodies, roared loudly.

The Zhu Bajie in the sky was left speechless—could these guys' jobs in the modern world be actors?

Even the Sakura Island demon warriors I met before weren't this exaggerated—late-stage chuunibyo?

After venting and celebrating, the four began treating their wounds.

Someone was injured quite severely, a large chunk of flesh missing from their thigh, seriously affecting mobility.

Fu Tian Xuanzang suddenly asked: "By the way, where are the masters?"

"How could they be in danger?"

"Maybe they're hunting rats! Rat Plague Terminator!" someone started throwing out nicknames.

"Um, I mean, can we run now?" Fu Tian Xuanzang said cautiously.

Staying beside Tang Luo and the others, the pressure was too great—especially for him, a fellow origin fate-holder.

The others were relatively fewer— they didn't know that the two beside Tang Luo were the fate-holders of "White Dragon Horse" and "Zhu Bajie."

If they knew, that Central Plains Bajie would also join him, forming a pair of trembling companions.

"The master seems to have ordained us as the pilgrimage quartet, meaning we can leave," Fukuhara Wukong said seriously.

In Journey to the West, after the Buddha ordained Tang Sanzang as the pilgrim, he set him on the pilgrimage road.

So it's the same for us!

After exchanging glances and nodding, they each climbed into the vehicle and sped off again.

Freedom!

The taste of serving a ruler like serving a tiger is unpleasant—they want to be as free as the wind; men should not be bound!

The Zhu Bajie in the sky watched those late-stage chuunibyo types depart, smiled slightly, and returned to Tang Luo's side.

There, a rat the size of an ox had already appeared.

It was being trampled underfoot by the Heavenly Hound, constantly struggling.

The surrounding rat pack was restless, with some rats already burrowing back underground.

The Rat King dug frantically with its limbs, soon carving a hole in the ground—digging speed was impressive.

But in agility, it was far inferior to other "small rats."

"Big head, slightly higher intelligence, but that's about it," Ao Yu Lie said. "No signs of becoming a spirit—just a mutant creature?"

"Hmm." Tang Luo nodded.

The Heavenly Hound pressed down with its paw, directly crushing the Rat King to death.

The restless rat pack instantly scattered; within a few breaths, everything returned to calm, just as when Tang Luo and the others first arrived.

The difference was that the ground now had many more rat holes.

Even without the Rat King, this place remains a rat nest—likely to spawn a new Rat King soon.

"Master, they've left." Zhu Bajie flew over and said.

"Follow them." Tang Luo said. "Report any discoveries to us."

"Okay." Zhu Bajie nodded, turned, and left.

As the ordained pilgrim, one must certainly go on the pilgrimage (complete the mission) oneself—having powerful figures watching from behind is basic procedure.

By splitting up, we can better explore the truth of the world.

"Let's split up." Tang Luo said.

Ao Yu Lie nodded: "Master, give us a buff."

This is steady, not cowardly.

"..."

The group dispersed; Tang Luo brought the Heavenly Hound and didn't leave immediately, thought for a moment, then reached down and slapped.

The entire building complex collapsed with a boom, the ground sank, and from high above, one could see a giant palm-shaped pit.

All rat nests underground were destroyed; the rat pack was thoroughly "integrated," becoming part of the earth.

After countless years, it might turn into oil.

Choosing a direction different from Ao Yu Lie and the others, Tang Luo flew off.

At night, the surroundings plunged into total darkness; thick clouds seemed to cover the entire horizon, and after darkness fell, there was not a glimmer of light.

The temperature also dropped from near forty degrees to around zero within just half an hour.

And it continued to fall.

That night, it could drop to minus twenty degrees.

From what was once a furnace, it became a freezer.

One can't help but marvel at how tenacious those rats' lives are.

After one night passed, by noon the next day, Tang Luo had truly left this desert.

Although the surrounding environment still appeared barren.

But one could clearly feel the environment had improved considerably—at least some shrubbery had appeared.

Occasionally, one could see a few pools of dead water, with the corpses of strange-looking animals nearby.

More importantly, more abandoned buildings and civilizational debris came into view.

Roads and abandoned cars.

This meant Tang Luo was getting closer to a place where people might gather in this wasteland world.

"Ka ka ka ka ka ka!"

A piercingly harsh engine sound, worse than a tractor's, came from far and grew near.

Tang Luo looked toward the sound's direction; there, yellow sand rose as a convoy approached.

Squinting, Tang Luo saw eight vehicles flying toward him.

The rusted exterior was mottled, without glass, crude and violent, covered in spikes and protective contours; some cracks were patched with iron plates and rivets, primitive and wild.

As they drove, the vehicles shook, and even unknown parts burst from somewhere.

It made one suspect these vehicles would fall apart completely the next second.

But these vehicles didn't fall apart; instead, they could run, and their speed was even quite fast.

The most conspicuous was the large truck at the rear of the convoy, like a black monster.

Tang Luo saw that on those vehicles, the only relatively clean spot was the front, near the hood, where the emblem was.

It was a spreading black bird, its appearance fierce.

A blinding light flashed.

In the convoy, someone saw Tang Luo through a telescope or similar device.

The convoy's original direction gradually adjusted, speeding toward Tang Luo.

The piercing noise grew louder.

"Kaka ka!"

Like jamming an iron rod into a running engine's brake sound, the convoy stopped about fifteen meters from Tang Luo.

No one got out; black gun muzzles protruded from gaps in the vehicles.

"Bang!"

The loud gunshot echoed across the wilderness.

When in doubt, fire a shot first.