40: Swarms of mutant rats!
The Thug in the driver's seat had no time to bother with her; he was frozen stiff, his face pale, his eyes fixed on the road ahead, his mouth agape as if too scared to speak, only able to emit a silent gasp.
"Wh-what is that?" another Bodyguard stammered, his trembling hand pointing at a dark shadow ahead.
The Lei Family Members looked in the direction he pointed, only to see a dark, shapeless mass lying on the ground not far away.
Everyone collectively gasped.
"What in the world is that? Is it... a rat?" Lei Yan's eyes widened in disbelief. "But how can it be so big? My god, it's like a monster from an Apocalypse movie!"
The creature was larger than a dog but slightly smaller than a pig, its glossy black fur gleaming under the rain, lying motionless on the ground. Its terrifying appearance made Lei Yan shriek.
As if hearing Lei Yan's shriek, the monster suddenly turned and lunged towards their car.
Seeing this, Lei Qian quickly reacted, sharply turning the steering wheel to avoid the Strange Rat charging at them.
At the same time, he activated the car's defense system. Seeing the Strange Rat lunge again, Lei Qian immediately unlocked the installed turret and began operating the control panel to counterattack.
"Get back!" he roared at the Thug sitting in the driver's seat, motionless like a statue.
But the man seemed to have had his soul scared out of him, remaining frozen, his eyes wide with terror.
Lei Qian, unable to bear it any longer, grabbed him by the collar, yanked him from the seat, and jumped into the driver's seat himself.
However, just as he took control of the steering wheel, the Mutated Rat let out a deafening roar.
Boom!
"This... this..." Lei Yan pointed in horror at the swarm of Mutated Rats continuously pouring out of the potholes and alleys.
Even the Mutated Rat that her brother had attacked with the turret earlier was still unharmed, as if the overwhelming barrage of bullets had never hit it.
The giant rat shook its head slightly, and the next second, it charged fiercely towards their car again.
Lei Qian regained control of the turret, quickly changing direction. The road he had originally intended to take was now completely blocked by the giant rats.
"Oh my god, brother, what's going on? Where did these giant rats come from?" Lei Yan's voice trembled with fear, and she was on the verge of a breakdown.
"Lei Yan, now is not the time to think about that!" Lei Qian gritted his teeth, his tone sharp. "Look around, find an exit we can escape through!"
As he spoke, he glanced at the rearview mirror and saw the giant rat still relentlessly pursuing them. A chill ran down his spine, and he was almost terrified.
He finally understood why the city had so many checkpoints.
Lei Yan quickly pressed close to the car window, carefully observing the situation outside, trying to find an escape route. Soon, she pointed to a small path with only one or two rats and shouted, "Brother, go that way!"
Lei Qian looked in the direction she pointed and, without hesitation, sharply turned the steering wheel, heading west of the city.
He would rather fight two than face an entire swarm of Strange Rat.
As soon as he drove onto the open road, he immediately began to shoot wildly, not caring what he hit or where he aimed.
However, the fur of those Strange Rat seemed to be made of iron; no matter how many bullets he wasted, they remained unharmed.
The bullets either bounced off or got stuck in their fur, unable to cause any substantial damage.
They sped past two Strange Rat, but those two, like the previous ones, immediately turned and gave chase.
Lei Yan watched the giant rats pursuing them, tears welling in her eyes: "No wonder those officials wouldn't let people enter and leave the city freely; they were completely covering this up!"
Father Lei and Mother Lei's faces had already turned ashen, and even Lei Qian couldn't hide the anger in his heart.
Thinking that those in power had concealed such a shocking truth, while outwardly maintaining an appearance of calm, he felt a mix of anger and fear, barely able to suppress the rage in his heart.
The Lei Family Members knew full well that the situation had become uncontrollable... Meanwhile, Bai Wanning had no idea that Lei Qian's life was in danger.
After taking her vitamins, she went to find Shen Zhen.
Since she had decided to keep Shen Zhen by her side, Bai Wanning knew very well that she had to understand Shen Zhen's schedule.
If she didn't even know what Shen Zhen would do or where she would be on the day of the Apocalypse, how could she kidnap her?
So, she started asking around and learned that Shen Zhen was not on duty on the day of the Apocalypse. Bai Wanning frowned slightly and sighed softly. It seemed she now had to find Shen Zhen's residence.
She spent a lot of time and money gathering information and finally found out Shen Zhen's address.
So, she rushed non-stop to the small building Shen Zhen rented, quietly observing and looking for an entry point to sneak in.
It took her a full three hours to survey the entire building's situation.
After initially planning all possible infiltration routes, Bai Wanning then turned and quietly left.
She got into the car, and just as she settled down, her phone rang. It was her mother calling, asking her to come home for dinner, saying that lunchtime had already passed.
Bai Wanning's heart warmed. This was the first time she felt someone cared about her. In the past, even if she hadn't eaten for two days, no one would remind her to eat, let alone care about her health.
They only cared if she had earned enough money and when she would get paid if she had.
She rushed home in a few minutes. As soon as she entered the door, she heard her mother scolding her, saying that she shouldn't go out in such terrible weather.
Bai Wanning smiled awkwardly and walked over to sit on the chair next to her eldest nephew, Bai Xiaoyu.
She glanced at the spicy beef short ribs placed in front of Bai Xiaoyu, and then at the bowl of spinach soup next to the short ribs.
However, Bai Xiaoyu only ate the boiled spinach and didn't even touch the beef short ribs.
Bai Wanning frowned and picked up a few pieces of beef short ribs, placing them in his rice bowl.
"Why do you only eat vegetables and no meat? If you don't eat properly, how can you grow as tall as your father?" she said softly.
To her surprise, as soon as she said this, Bai Xiaoyu instantly froze, his eyes wide as if he hadn't understood.
He stared blankly at Bai Wanning, then suddenly jumped off his chair and knelt with a thud in front of her.
"Auntie, please don't send us away. I promise to be good and obedient from now on and never make you angry again."
After saying that, he also pulled his younger brother, Bai Xiaoxu, and they both knelt down.
Bai Wanning was startled and quickly jumped out of her chair to help the two children up.
"What's wrong with you two? Why are you kneeling to me?" she asked her mother, her face full of confusion.
Her mother also looked bewildered, completely failing to understand why her two grandsons had suddenly knelt before her daughter.
Seeing that her mother was just as confused as she was, Bai Wanning's mind was filled with doubts.
She looked back at the two boys still kneeling on the ground and tentatively asked, "Did your mother tell you that children who eat meat will be sent away?"
Although Bai Wanning had not lived with her mother and two older brothers for a long time, she knew very well that neither her brothers nor Yan Meiyu would threaten their children in this way to make them not eat meat.
Bai Jixuan had always doted on his son, and even in the Apocalypse, he never gave up searching for them, even willing to sacrifice everything for his children. As for suspecting Bai Zhan, that was even less likely; her second brother would spoil his nephews to no end.
As for Yan Meiyu, that was even more impossible; her mother clearly loved her grandsons more than her own life, so how could she bear to let them starve?
That left only one person — Fang Qing!