Endless Throne - Chapter 8

The closer he got, the more extraordinary the other’s aura appeared.

Even standing among the rat swarm, it was as bright as the sun and moon.

The contrast between the two was extremely brutal, with the rat-man looking like an inferior product that had crawled out of the sewers.

This was what it meant to pale in comparison.

How unfair the creator was! The rat-man’s eyes immediately turned red as it shrieked fiercely. “Ahhhh——“

Lin Yebai seized this opportunity to throw the fang using hidden weapon techniques.

The sharp fang transformed into a white shadow in the air, suddenly drilling into its open mouth, piercing through the rat-man’s throat. The shriek stopped abruptly.

Zhou Yuan’s ears hurt painfully from this sound, his whole body trembling. His neck felt sticky, and when he touched it, his hand was covered in fresh blood. With a splitting headache, he gripped the steering wheel tightly, attempting to restart the truck. If only he could find an opportunity to run over those rats!

Coach Wang was equally dizzy and disoriented, reinforcing the truck door with spider silk to prevent the rats from opening it.

Countless rats surged toward Lin Yebai. He leaped into the air, using a fat rat’s head as leverage to jump several meters, his posture graceful as he swung his blade toward the rat-man’s neck.

The hard gray fur blocked the blade’s force, leaving only a white mark.

Lin Yebai’s next strike hit the rat-man’s eyes. Despite its quick evasion, a line of blood appeared across its eyes, completely blurring its vision.

What had wounded it wasn’t the bone blade but the sharp blade intent.

With both throat in severe pain and eyes badly injured, the rat-man was furious. It immediately commanded the rat swarm, signaling them to bite these people to death.

Having lost its sight, the rat-man could only evade attacks by feeling, but no matter which direction it fled, it was locked by a cold murderous intent.

The gray rat fur all over its body stood on end under the threat of death, no less formidable than a suit of hard armor.

Seeing it couldn’t dodge, it began to lunge and bite everywhere, but each time Lin Yebai successfully avoided it.

To better protect itself, it opened its mouth again to issue commands. Because of the fang, the rat-man’s throat was severely injured, making its screech sharp and hoarse.

Some smaller rats actively piled up to form a high wall, surrounding the rat-man in a ring formation.

Lin Yebai temporarily couldn’t get close. Suddenly he heard someone shout, “Brother, quick, fall back!”

Lin Yebai jumped up, only to see an object the size of a fist thrown into the middle of the rat swarm——

With a thunderous boom, flames reached the sky.

A bloody, mangled shadow randomly chose a direction and fled in panic. Lin Yebai threw his blade, slicing the ball-like thing in half. The main god space notification sounded:

[Killed mid-level aberrant x1]

[Points +500]

[Obtained “Attribute Card” x1]

The rat-man must have died.

Countless rat corpses fell to the ground. The air was filled with the smell of charred flesh, faintly mixed with the scent of blood and dust, extremely choking.

The previously frenzied rats were terrified by the enormous explosion and, having lost their rat king’s control, scattered in all directions.

Lin Yebai had only exhausted too much internal energy without being injured, though he felt dizzy from the rat-man’s screams. He took the [Blue Bottle] pill he had exchanged for previously, and felt much better.

Not only did his physical strength recover greatly, but his internal energy also quickly replenished.

He still looked pale, with light lips. Compared to normal people, he lacked the proper color, making his black hair appear eerily striking. An aura of deathly stillness lingered around him.

[Magician’s Big Zen Staff]: My friend, that’s a weapon of the new era. Be extremely careful when you encounter it.

[Soft Cat Ears]: Baby makes me so worried, are you sick?

[One Needle From Me]: Based on my years of experience as an old Chinese doctor, the host has congenital deficiencies and severe depletion, seemingly with not much life left. Try to avoid fighting; otherwise, your life force will be extinguished, the oil will run out of the lamp, and no one can save you.

[Lord of the Gods]: The medicine exchanged in the live broadcast room can promote recovery, but it still consumes your own vital energy. Be careful about how often you use it.

[Lord of the Gods]: After completing the mission, you can exchange for vitality potions in the main god space to extend your lifespan, such as the Spring of Life produced by the Elven Kingdom.

[Truth Supreme]: Spring of Life costs tens of thousands of points per bottle; it’s good except for being expensive.

[Super Rich Tangerine Seat]: Baby, don’t worry, when you leave the instance, this cat will take care of you!

Lin Yebai kept the words of the live broadcast room audience in his heart, finding a way to survive, such as the Spring of Life.

Illness had made him his own doctor. He knew his physical condition all too well. Even if his injuries were healed by the main god space, he wouldn’t live more than a month.

In such an environment, it was almost impossible not to fight. He could only try to conserve energy and avoid injuries.

“Brother, are you alright?”

A car approached from not far away, and several tall, strong men got out and walked toward them. They were all heavily covered, just like Zhou Yuan.

Seeing someone facing the rat swarm alone, using the legendary lightness skill, moving like a wild goose with flowing black hair, like an otherworldly expert, they couldn’t help but lend a hand. Up close, he was indeed outstanding, with an immortal air, though his complexion was too poor.

Lin Yebai had already picked up his bone knife and discreetly put away the blood pearl from inside the rat-man’s skull.

“Thank you all.”

“Be careful with protection.” The leader wore sunglasses and had a young voice. He pointed to the dim moon in the sky, assuming Lin Yebai didn’t know about this, and specifically explained:

“The aberration is related to the moon. Don’t get exposed to it.”

[Sexy Spider Louis]: No amount of clothing can block the abyss corruption.

[Konjac Vegetarian Tripe]: With this plane’s technological level, they should be able to make qualified protective suits.

[White Umbrella]: Not looking directly at the moon and hiding in buildings can slow down the aberration speed; it won’t turn into beast form within ten years.

Lin Yebai remembered the barrage content and thanked those people again, then opened the trunk door.

Zhou Yuan was slumped over the steering wheel, bleeding from both ears, unconscious, with his clothes torn by rats and dozens of wounds, large and small. The truck window glass was broken; the rats must have entered through there.

“Was he bitten? There was blood contact, so he’s likely to be infected. If his body shows signs of aberration, deal with him early.”

Despite saying this, they still took a medical kit from the car, and one of them skillfully treated Zhou Yuan’s wounds.

“What’s your name, brother? I’m Song Yao,” the leader said in a particularly clear voice, young but composed in his behavior.

“My surname is Lin,” Lin Yebai spoke very softly, lacking strength.

“We’re searching for survivors, planning to gather them together and transfer them to the northern shelter. Why don’t you come with us, Mr. Lin?” Song Yao asked.

Coach Wang remained in the back of the truck, not daring to show himself, extremely quiet.

“I’ll consider it and decide after he wakes up,” Lin Yebai looked at Zhou Yuan, who was tied up with rope by Song Yao.

“If he turns into a monster but can maintain rationality, he can still come to the shelter. Some of our companions have also become like this,” Song Yao said solemnly:

“Now that disaster has struck, we can only survive better by helping each other. We absolutely do not discriminate against any companions.”

“The rat king attacked the shelter, causing hundreds of casualties. It lost its humanity and was extremely cruel. Mr. Lin, by eliminating it, you’ve removed a major threat for us. Thank you.”

Song Yao’s expression was sincere as he led the others in a bow.

Lin Yebai was about to speak when he couldn’t suppress a coughing fit, his fingertips stained with spots of blood—his own blood.

Song Yao and the others fell silent, having hoped they would meet a practitioner of ancient martial arts who could change the situation at the shelter, but the other’s condition looked too terrible.

“Mr. Lin, there’s a medical team at the shelter. Is there anything you need help with?”

“Could you provide some common medications?” Lin Yebai’s voice was extremely soft.

When searching for supplies, he hadn’t found any medicine. If he fell ill, it would be fatal.

Song Yao nodded, and one of his companions immediately prepared a small medical kit and handed it to Lin Yebai.

“Thank you.”

“If you get surrounded next time, try to find a way to escape. You can pour some gasoline and light a fire. Not only people have become aberrant, but animals too, and they instinctively fear fire.” Song Yao had intended to persuade Lin Yebai to come along, but seeing the unconscious Zhou Yuan and the still-sealed truck compartment, he changed the subject.

“Time is limited, and we still need to search for others. Mr. Lin, if you want to go to the shelter, don’t go to Jiamao Square. Just follow the direction indicated by this mark.”

Song Yao drew a special mark.

Lin Yebai mentioned the morning’s incident:

“Near Tianxing Garden residential complex, there was a person with extremely long legs using a megaphone to call out for survivors. Is he also from the shelter?”

“Shelter personnel never act alone. It could be survivors who formed their own group, or more likely an aberrant with ill intentions. Exercise caution when making contact.”

Song Yao and his group hurriedly left. After a while, Coach Wang finally spoke up, “Mr. Lin, how are you doing now? Can I come out?”

“Come out.” Lin Yebai was checking Zhou Yuan’s pulse, which was extremely chaotic, sometimes strong, sometimes weak—a living person could hardly have such a pulse.

Seeing Coach Wang watching from the side, Lin Yebai slightly raised his eyebrows. “Give me your hand.”

Both were aberrants; perhaps their pulse patterns would have something in common?

After placing his fingers on Coach Wang’s wrist, Lin Yebai’s expression gradually became solemn. He gestured for Coach Wang to switch hands.

“Mr. Lin? What disease do I have?”

“Am I about to die?” Coach Wang was extremely nervous. Mr. Lin’s expression when checking Zhou Yuan’s pulse hadn’t been as grave as it was now.

“It’s a pregnancy pulse.” Lin Yebai instinctively looked at Coach Wang’s belly.