Chapter 7: Life-or-Death Speed

Whoosh—!

The sharp sound of shattering glass rang right by my ear, shaking my eardrums painfully.

Lin Yue jerked his head left; the window on his left, already cracked, had shattered into a hole, and a skin-and-bones mutant dog smashed through the glass, thrusting its forehalf inside.

Its sickly green eyes were locked on Lin Yue, a low threat rumbling in its throat, yellow-green saliva dripping from its interlocking fangs, making a 'hiss—hiss' corrosive sound on the dust-covered floor.

A foul wind blew straight at him.

Almost at the same moment, deep in the supermarket, the iron back door leading to the warehouse let out a 'squeak—ga—ga—squeak' metal scraping sound that made the scalp tingle.

Not just one!

They were scratching at that already shaky door with their claws!

From the ceiling above came a 'thud—thud' dull sound, mixed with the noise of claws scraping concrete.

Obviously, more mutant dogs had climbed onto the roof of this two-story building, frantically looking for a breach.

Damn!

Lin Yue cursed under his breath; he had thought there might be an ambush in the convenience store, but he never imagined he'd have stumbled straight into the mutant dogs' den!

Meanwhile, Black Tortoise was tightly entangled by dozens of mutant dogs at the doorway, making it impossible for it to come to his rescue.

Roar—!

Outside the window, Black Tortoise roared angrily, biting off the neck of one mutant dog in a single snap, but the gap was instantly filled by more of its kind, which flung their bodies wildly against its rock‑solid shell.

It was held back.

Howl!

In that split second Lin Yue was distracted, the hind legs of the mutant dog probing through the window exploded with force, turning its whole body into a gray‑white lightning bolt that lunged straight for his throat!

It was astonishingly fast!

Lin Yue's pupils contracted suddenly to a pinpoint.

At the moment of life and death, bodily instinct overrode thought.

He didn't retreat; instead he stepped forward, lowered his center of gravity, and swung his rubber baton upward from below with all his might!

Bang!

A dull thud.

The baton struck solidly against the mutant dog's soft chin.

Whine!

The mutant dog let out a painful howl; its ferocious lunge was interrupted, its body flipping backward in mid‑air to crash heavily onto a row of disordered shelves.

Clatter—!

Cans, snacks, and miscellaneous items rolled everywhere.

Before it could get up, Lin Yue had already followed up.

He strode forward, mounted the creature's body, raised his baton high, and brought it down hard on its skull—once, again, striking fiercely!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

No technique, no form—only the most primitive strike.

Thick blood and brain matter splattered all over him.

The mutant dog's limbs twitched violently a few times, then lay still.

Lin Yue's chest heaved as he gulped air, his nostrils filled with the choking mix of blood and dust.

He pushed himself up using his knees, glanced at the still‑thick crowd of dogs outside the window, and heard the pounding on the warehouse door behind him growing louder.

Can't stay here!

This convenience store is like a leaky sieve; he can plug one hole but not all of them.

If more mutant dogs pour in, in this cramped space even having three heads and six arms would only mean being worn down to death.

Howl!

The first mutant dog that had rushed in from the left finally lost patience; its hind‑leg muscles coiled, it exploded forward as a blurred gray shadow, lunging viciously at Lin Yue's neck to bite!

Get lost!

Lin Yue's pupils contracted sharply; he twisted his body sideways and ducked at an unimaginable angle, barely avoiding that deadly lunge.

At the same moment, his baton whipped forward with a vicious gust, striking out hard!

Bang!

A heavy, dull thud—the baton smashed solidly into the mutant dog's side of the face.

The tremendous force made the creature emit a short, anguished howl; its whole body was flung sideways, slamming into a row of chip shelves and bursting the packaging bags with a crackle.

Yet Lin Yue didn't even have time to draw a breath before another mutant dog lunged silently from his right‑side blind spot!

These damn dogs even know how to cooperate!

Lin Yue cursed silently; only a fleeting glimpse of a black shape lunging at him caught in his peripheral vision.

He had no time to turn; relying purely on instinct, he tumbled forward in a clumsy roll.

Rip—!

The claws tore a long gash in the clothing on his back, and a burning pain exploded instantly.

Although it was only a superficial wound, it made Lin Yue's heart sink to the depths.

Just two!

Dozens more outside!

He rolled to his feet, leaned against another shelf, his chest heaving as he sucked in great gulps of air.

The two mutant dogs regained their footing, baring their fangs, and stepped toward him one by one.

No…… if this continues, death is certain!

Lin Yue's gaze swept quickly across the chaotic convenience store.

An incredibly bold, even crazy thought flashed through his mind.

Only by placing oneself in a deadly situation can one survive!

"Damn it, let's go all out!"

He stared at the two mutant dogs closing in step by step, not retreating but instead letting out a beast-like growl from his throat and charging forward with his baton!

This abnormal action caused both monsters to hesitate for a moment.

Now!

Lin Yue's target wasn't them at all; he slammed his shoulder hard into a snack shelf about half a person's height beside him.

Crash—!

The cookies, candies, and assorted snacks piled on the shelf instantly buried the two mutant dogs within them.

Of course, Lin Yue also knew that this stuff had hardly any lethal power, but it successfully hindered their movements.

"Whoo!"

The mutant dogs angrily roared and struggled in the debris pile, but Lin Yue didn't even glance at them, turning and sprinting toward the warehouse back door marked with an "Employee Passage" sign at the convenience store!

Lin Yue took a deep breath, suddenly turned, exerted all his strength, and kicked the shelf pillar behind him with all his might!

"Boom——!!"

A domino effect occurred.

Row after row of tall shelves, like collapsing walls, rolled up sky‑high dust and countless goods, crashing down one after another behind him and onto the few mutant dogs that had just rushed in!

"Whoo——!"

The piercing screams were completely drowned out by the heavy rumbling.

This bought him another precious few seconds!

Lin Yue hesitated no longer, leapt down from the shelf and landed steadily in front of the warehouse door.

"Open up, old man!"

He mustered all his strength and slammed his whole body hard against the rickety back door!

"Clang!"

The already wobbly iron door flung open outward with a bang!

Outside, two mutant dogs were frantically scratching at the door.

They never expected the door to suddenly swing outward, let alone that the prey would come marching right to them.

After a brief moment of bewilderment came a surging ferocity!

"Roar——!"

The mutant dog closest to him reacted fastest, letting out a hiss and lunging at him as a blur.

"Now!"

This was exactly the opportunity Lin Yue wanted; his body shot forward like a cannonball, bursting through the gap between the two monsters!

As he slipped through the gap, he could even feel the sting of canine teeth scraping his arm, but right now his life was at stake, so that minor injury was irrelevant.

He burst out of the narrow back alley to find a relatively open space before him—the original square.

And in the center of the street, the black‑reef‑like figure was none other than Black Tortoise, only thirty meters away!

Thirty meters—a distance of life and death!

"Black Tortoise!!"

Lin Yue let out a roar as if he were expending all his strength!

This roar successfully drew away most of the mutant dogs besieging Black Tortoise.

When they saw the "rations" that should have been trapped dead in the supermarket actually run out on its own, all the mutant dogs went berserk.

They gave up on the unchewable hard bone and went for the fresh meat delivered right to their mouths!

"Whoooo——!"

At least a dozen mutant dogs immediately turned, becoming gray‑white blurs that converged on Lin Yue from all directions!

Lin Yue's scalp tingled and his adrenaline surged to its peak.

He pushed his speed to the limit, the rubble and debris beneath his feet flashing backward in his vision.

At the same time, he heard Black Tortoise, whom he had called, coming toward him.

Twenty meters!

Ten meters!

He could already smell the unique scent of earth and stone emanating from Black Tortoise.

Behind him, the fastest mutant dog had caught up, its fierce gale almost tearing open the back of his neck!

At the critical moment, Lin Yue leapt up, gripping Black Tortoise's rough, stone‑like leg plates with both hands.

The tremendous impact tensed his arm muscles to the limit, almost tearing them apart.

But he gritted his teeth, brought his other hand up, and with a mighty pull of both arms hauled his body upward!

When his feet finally set upon the broad, flat turtle shell, the leading mutant dog's sharp fangs were less than half a meter from his heel!