"A rat? This big!"

Inside the sewer channel, Tie Xiong measured the size of the footprint with his hands, quickly converting it.

"A body length of at least four meters, this..."

The expression on Tie Xiong's face instantly became rich with shock, absurdity, and disbelief.

He glanced at the nearly two-meter-long Black Slayer beside him and seemed to understand why the Yu Yuan Shelter had managed to climb to its current ranking in such a short time.

"The big shot behind him is really willing to go all out! To actually spend such a huge price to equip him with such a powerful spiritual creature for protection, no wonder the shelter's ranking is rising so fast."

Tie Xiong crouched down, carefully examining the traces left by the Giant Mutant Rat.

"Obviously, Yu Yuan was out collecting supplies with this rat before. He only returned to the shelter immediately after receiving the notification of my attack."

"Hmm~ That must be it! But... what's with these hoof marks in this passage? Sheep?....." Tie Xiong looked at the sheep hoof and human footprints on the ground, some fresh, some old.

Right at that moment, a sudden explosive sound came from the passage ahead, accompanied by the continuous firing of gunfire.

Tie Xiong immediately grabbed the long rifle from his back. Beside him, the hunting dog Black Slayer lowered its body, on high alert.

Tie Xiong glanced at the shelter cursor indicator on the Virtual Light Screen, and his eyes immediately lit up with delight.

"A fight is happening! What a perfect opportunity!"

Tie Xiong was experienced in fighting players and naturally knew that players often encountered attacks from native world creatures, including not only animals and plants but also the most dangerous of all—humans.

These were also unavoidable aspects of player survival.

Clearly, the Yu Yuan Shelter was now facing such a situation.

It seemed heaven itself was helping him.

Without hesitation, Tie Xiong issued an order.

"Black Slayer, let's get closer!"

At this moment, Tie Xiong was like a hunter who had discovered his prey's trail, his hunting spirit reaching its peak.

He switched off the headlamp and, with Black Slayer, began creeping towards the direction of the sound.

————————

Squeak—

Bang—

Under the claw strike of the Giant Mutant Rat, deep gashes immediately appeared on the sewer wall, with bricks and rubble falling away.

Seeing the familiar figure that had suddenly appeared before it, the Giant Mutant Rat's single remaining eye flashed with venomous, hateful light.

This figure had appeared in its mind every day for this period, impossible to forget.

Every time it remembered, a sharp pain would shoot through its blinded eye.

Meeting one's enemy, feeling regret for not meeting sooner.

Its body reeked of the gunpowder smoke and flames from the grenade explosions.

Squeak—

In the next moment, the rat tail behind it, nearly as long as its body, lashed out like a long whip towards the figure in front of it.

Crack—

The sewer bricks shattered and flew apart under the whip-like strike of the tail.

Yu Yuan looked at the Giant Mutant Rat, which had taken several grenade hits without any visible effect.

"This guy really has gotten stronger, and not just by a little. The grenades have no effect at all now! But that's good, it'll lower its guard."

Looking at the Combat Detector, a grade now appeared next to the Giant Mutant Rat—Bronze-tier.

Clearly, it hadn't completed its transformation yet, or perhaps the resources in Green Forest City weren't sufficient for it to advance.

And on the detector, another red dot was approaching this location. Yu Yuan had already determined it was the Stag Shelter.

Without hesitation, he immediately began moving towards the location of the red dot.

Seeing this, the Giant Mutant Rat thought Yu Yuan was trying to escape and would never let him succeed.

Especially after the brief fight just now, the combat prowess Yu Yuan displayed hadn't posed any threat to the Giant Mutant Rat.

It had even steadily suppressed Yu Yuan.

The Giant Mutant Rat, which originally held some wariness towards Yu Yuan, now fully revealed its ferocious beast nature.

Baring its teeth and brandishing its claws, it pounced at him. Its four-meter body length didn't hinder its agility. Although Yu Yuan's strength had improved a lot during this time, even with the attribute bonuses from equipping Mie Mie and the title [Neighborhood Shadow], he was still somewhat struggling against the Giant Mutant Rat's attacks.

Bang—

Another claw strike grazed past Yu Yuan's body and slammed into the wall.

Yu Yuan looked at the gash torn in his Bulletproof Vest, his eyes still calm and steady.

While desperately dodging the Giant Mutant Rat's attacks, the [Sharp Alloy Scalpel] in his hand would simultaneously leave a wound on the rat's body.

The wounds weren't deep. Even with an Epic-grade weapon, it could only barely pierce through the incredibly tough rat hide.

It was just enough to ensure he wasn't hit while also inflicting some effective damage on the Giant Mutant Rat.

But it was precisely this slight pain that convinced the Giant Mutant Rat that the person before it could no longer pose a threat.

Its attacks became more ferocious and rapid. Today, it would have its revenge.

Claw strikes, pounces, and tail whips were unleashed in succession.

Yu Yuan immediately began having trouble keeping up with the Giant Mutant Rat's attack speed.

He also felt the baiting was about sufficient.

He immediately stopped attacking, turned, and prepared to flee at full speed.

But the moment he turned, a flicker of triumph, cunning, and sinister glee flashed in the Giant Mutant Rat's dark green single eye.

In the next moment, its eyes turned blood-red, its mouth gaped wide, and an extremely penetrating rat shriek erupted from its maw.

Squeak—

In the pitch-black sewer, this sonic wave seemed to ripple through the thick darkness.

Yu Yuan's brain felt like it had been struck hard by a heavy hammer, his vision swimming.

"Damn it, this move again! And it's even more powerful."

But thanks to the increased mental resistance from the [Peering Eye] title and the ["Pious" Believer] title, although Yu Yuan was still somewhat dizzy, it felt much better than the last time. At least there were no signs of losing consciousness.

A whooshing sound came from behind—the Giant Mutant Rat's tail.

But just as the Giant Mutant Rat's eyes shone with excitement, drool of anticipation dripping from its gaping maw as it prepared to tear this guy before it to shreds...

Thud—

The thick tail slammed heavily onto the sewer floor with a dull thud.

Yu Yuan, however, had already appeared twenty meters away, the assault rifle in his hands spitting dazzling muzzle flashes as he launched an attack on the Giant Mutant Rat.

It was [Shadow Stride].

Squeak—

Feeling the impact of the bullets striking its body.

The look of astonishment in the Giant Mutant Rat's eyes vanished in a flash, replaced by the rage and madness of a missed strike.

It pounced at Yu Yuan like a mad beast.

Seeing the Giant Mutant Rat's movement, Yu Yuan stowed his weapon, turned, and ran towards the rear.

"This level should be enough!"

On the Combat Detector, the red dot ahead had stopped and entered a side sewer branch. Clearly, Stag had detected their approach and was preparing to hide, waiting to reap the rewards.

After dodging the Giant Mutant Rat's pounce again via [Shadow Stride], Yu Yuan retreated towards Stag's direction while attacking and luring.

And so, under Yu Yuan's deliberate pacing.

The Giant Mutant Rat's attacks always came close to success but were always dodged by Yu Yuan, who would then inflict some superficial, irritating attacks right in its face after each dodge.

Truly, the damage was minimal, but the insult was maximal.

After several consecutive times, the Giant Mutant Rat's last shreds of cunning and wariness were utterly exhausted.

This damnable human!

The Giant Mutant Rat's single eye turned bloodshot, descending into madness.

And right at that moment, in their chase, man and rat arrived at the sewer branch where the red dot was hiding.

After dodging the Giant Mutant Rat's attack once more, Yu Yuan glanced at the branching passage beside him, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes.

"Here I come~"

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com