Thank you so much for my ko-fi supporter.
Chapter 48
Qin Jiulin and Qi Yue hadn’t actually gone far, and if they were to chase after them now, they could still stop them. However… they didn’t have the qualifications to wander around inside the military camp.
Because the soldiers in front of them didn’t allow it. Among the many people, only two were regular beastmen, and the rest were ordinary individuals without any special abilities. They couldn’t even help out in the military camp.
The soldier said, “Why have you been staring at them? Let me tell you, variant beastmen, whether in their beast form or in terms of combat abilities, are extremely powerful. Don’t get any wrong ideas.”
Originally, the soldiers didn’t have such thoughts. However, Qi Jinglan and Duan Qiufeng’s expressions, standing together, seemed somewhat twisted, as if they were planning something bad.
It was only then that he warned them, not to protect Qin Jiulin and the others, but rather to protect this group of idiots, so they wouldn’t end up getting themselves killed in a fit of anger.
After all, if something were to really happen, there wouldn’t be any problems on the side of the beastmen. At most, there would be compensation. However, since the two of them didn’t have any family members, the compensation would most likely be a dead end.
At most, they would send out the beastmen who made a move to go on a mission for a period of time. After the situation died down, they would come back. That wouldn’t be a big deal, right?
Lin Yuzhe said, “Don’t worry, we won’t do anything unnecessary.”
The soldier then led them into the military camp. Of course, first, they settled the ordinary people behind them, and then they brought Wang Boming and Lin Yuzhe to meet the deputy squad leader, Fu Haiyang.
Fu Haiyang briefly assessed their situation, “Both of you are ordinary beastmen, one is a red fox, and the other is a pigeon, right?”
The two nodded, and Fu Haiyang thought to himself, being able to fly is good. Although their combat abilities were basically non-existent, pigeons are capable of flying far and for a long time. That was something he considered favorable.
Although he wasn’t a variant beastman himself, Lin Yuzhe could at least fly! This was really helpful!
Fu Haiyang immediately thought about Lin Yuzhe’s arrangements. “Since you two have completely different beast forms, it’s impossible to assign you to the same missions. Right, Wang Boming, I’ll be responsible for Lin Yuzhe. I’ll have someone take you to see the other deputy squad leader, Wu Feiyang. Just follow his instructions.”
Wang Boming replied, “Alright, I understand.”
Not long after, Wang Boming was taken away to see Wu Feiyang, while Lin Yuzhe stayed with Fu Haiyang, waiting for his own assignment.
Qin Jiulin and the others were unaware of these arrangements. After returning to Liu Zhongyuan, Qin Jiulin had made some small timed bombs, but their explosive power was small. They would only scatter the poisonous powder upon detonation, without destroying it.
Qin Jiulin suddenly spoke up, “I saw people in the villa area on the way back. They also came to the military camp, and the two beastmen were leading them.”
Liu Zhongyuan pondered for a moment and said, “That beastman who can fly will receive many privileges.”
Qin Jiulin agreed, “Yes, flying is indeed a significant advantage. Lin Yuzhe is likely to be absorbed into the army. I don’t think the army will let go of such a good scout.”
Not to mention that this scout was an ordinary beastman. He needed protection, and the army was undoubtedly the best choice for him. It would also allow him to shed many burdens.
To be clear, the ordinary people they brought with them had nothing to do with him. After reclaiming the city, they would have to fend for themselves.
Qin Jiulin didn’t really believe that Wang Boming and Lin Yuzhe would always protect those ordinary people.
Liu Zhongyuan asked, “Since they have encountered this, does that mean Duan Qiufeng and Qi Jinglan also know about Qi Yue being a beastman?”
Qin Jiulin glanced at Qi Yue and replied, “They didn’t explicitly say it, but they probably know.”
Liu Zhongyuan asked, “Qi Yue, what do you think?”
Qi Yue blinked his eyes. He had definitely noticed the shocked and incredulous expressions of Duan Qiufeng and Qi Jinglan when they looked at him, as if they were afraid he would attack them.
But he would never do such a thing, at least not now.
“I don’t have any thoughts. As long as they don’t provoke me, I won’t actively seek trouble with them. After all, I’m currently busy with missions, following Qin-ge and Liu-ge.”
Liu Zhongyuan nodded. “That’s good. Let’s not talk about this. Anyway, they can’t come after us now. We’ll have to wait until the city is completely cleared before we can decide anything.”
When they are able to move freely, they may inquire about where Qi Yue lives and come looking for them. After all, Duan Qiufeng and Qi Jinglan don’t seem like the type of people who can survive on their own.
Qin Jiulin said, “Since this thing is ready, let’s go on our mission tomorrow and not worry about anything else. It won’t affect us anyway.”
Liu Zhongyuan agreed, “Yeah, let’s rest today.”
The three of them rested in the military camp for one night and quietly set off with all their belongings the next day. When they arrived near the mission location, they first observed from a distance.
Liu Zhongyuan said, “Qi Yue, go and see if there are any changes.”
Qi Yue replied, “Alright, I’ll go now.”
Qi Yue transformed into his beast form, flapped his wings, and flew up into the sky. It was actually quite simple to observe the current location of the rat swarm. He just needed to look at the positions where groups of half-beastmen were gathered.
After hovering in the sky for a while, he noticed that the gathering place of the half-beastmen had moved from yesterday’s location to a crossroad about a hundred meters away. This crossroad was particularly spacious, and there were some black rats running around busily nearby.
These rats were more or less carrying a bit of a bloody smell, attracting the half-beastmen who were constantly crowding around, trying to catch these little creatures. However, the rats were fast, and they couldn’t catch them at all. This way, so many half-beastmen could be perfectly controlled within a small area.
After observing for a while, Qi Yue flew a large circle around the area but didn’t find any other abnormal gathering places of half-beastmen before returning to Qin Jiulin and the others.
Liu Zhongyuan asked, “How is the situation?”
Qi Yue replied, “There haven’t been any major changes. The gathering place of the half-beastmen has moved to a crossroad about a hundred meters away. That’s roughly the location. In the open areas around it, you can still see many black rats gathered together. The position of the rat swarm definitely hasn’t changed much.”
Qin Jiulin said, “That’s good. Since that’s the case, let’s start our plan. Let’s detonate a few bombs today.”
Liu Zhongyuan said, “I’ve made three. With this amount, we can detonate the poison powder a total of ten times. Let’s try detonating it three times today and see how it goes.”
Qi Yue had no problem with that, as the poison powder was made from Liu Zhongyuan’s venom. So, the task of dividing it was entrusted to him alone. Qi Yue and Qin Jiulin kept their distance.
After Liu Zhongyuan finished preparing, he let Qi Yue bring the items over.
Qin Jiulin handed the first poison powder bomb to Qi Yue. Qi Yue transformed into his beast form, with sharp claws gripping a rope and flew forward.
At the bottom of the rope hung a large bag containing the poison powder.
Qin Jiulin looked at the remote control in Liu Zhongyuan’s hand and asked, “Are you waiting for the right moment?”
Liu Zhongyuan replied, “Don’t worry, I have it under control.”
After circling in the air for a few rounds, Qi Yue flew to the center of the gathering place of the half-beastmen and released his claws, then flew away in another direction. In just two seconds, when the poison powder bomb was still a distance from the ground, Liu Zhongyuan pressed the button and the bomb exploded directly.
From Qin Jiulin and the others’ position, they could clearly see the white powder dispersing in the air, slowly falling down. All the powder landed on the surrounding ground, on the scurrying little rats, and on the bodies of the half-beastmen, making the scene appear much whiter.
Qi Yue had already returned to their side, transforming back into his human form and putting on loose clothing. He asked, “Liu ge, Qin ge, was the position and altitude alright just now?”
Liu Zhongyuan didn’t turn around but gave him a thumbs up, “Not bad, not bad!”
Qi Yue breathed a sigh of relief. He was afraid of making mistakes and causing trouble, but since he received Liu Zhongyuan’s approval, then there shouldn’t be any problems with what he did earlier.
Qin Jiulin said, “Let’s see how the situation unfolds.”
The poison powder was colorless and odorless, with an incubation period of two to five days. Just in case, they needed to spread all the powder within two days, at the latest within three days.
Liu Zhongyuan suggested, “Let’s do another one after an hour.”
Qin Jiulin responded, “Let’s detonate five today.”
Liu Zhongyuan thought for a moment and considered, “Let’s see how it goes. If nothing happens after detonating three, then we can do the fourth and fifth.”
They watched from a distance as the rat swarm seemed to have no reaction to the powder, continuing with their work. Of course, it could also be because the rats currently scurrying on the ground were the lowest-ranking ones and lacked intelligence.
After observing for an hour, Qin Jiulin and the others noticed that a few of the half-beastmen had been eaten.
Qin Jiulin said, “A few of the half-beastmen were eaten, mostly by the rats running on the ground. It seems like the rat swarm isn’t completely unaware of the powder.”
Liu Zhongyuan replied, “Even if they are aware, it’s not a problem. The incubation period for this stuff is at least two days. Unless they don’t eat anything for two days, or they give up on the half-beastmen here and search for other food.”
But for the rat swarm, there were a large number of rats that needed to eat. Giving up on this batch of half-beastmen would also be difficult for them, considering the abundance of food available.
Qin Jiulin said, “It’s still early. Let’s wait a bit longer.”
So they waited for another half an hour. Several more half-beastmen were attacked and eaten, but this time, some of the flesh of the eaten half-beastmen was dragged away by the rats to dark corners, disappearing without a trace.
Liu Zhongyuan said, “They must have been dragged into their nest by now.”
Qin Jiulin replied, “The alarm must have been disabled. We can proceed with the second explosion.”
Today, they sent Qi Yue with the prepared poison powder bombs every so often. They detonated a total of six times, leaving a thin layer of white powder on the ground over there.
At first, the rats were a bit uneasy, but as time passed, they gradually became familiar with the powder. After all, they didn’t encounter any problems.
The black rats carried the white powder on their bodies as they moved around in the nest, occasionally coming to the ground and bringing back a lot of meat covered in the white powder. However, once the flesh was soaked in blood, the powder couldn’t be seen at all. All the meat with the poison powder was devoured by them.
Liu Zhongyuan and the others didn’t return to the military camp tonight, instead staying nearby. It wouldn’t be a problem for the half-beastmen to go without food for a day or two.
Before morning came, they had a hearty meal at the cafeteria in the military camp, enough to sustain them until tomorrow afternoon or the following morning. No problem!
When they slept at night, all three of them transformed into their beast forms. Liu Zhongyuan coiled his body, leaving a space in the middle for Qin Jiulin’s giant tiger to sleep. A pure white snow owl rested on a nearby branch where they were resting.
Seeing their forms, Qi Yue felt like he had eaten a full meal and knew he wouldn’t go hungry!
During the night, they heard some faint sounds coming from the distant streets. They were a bit far away, so they couldn’t hear them clearly.
However, they soon heard the cries of the half-beastmen, which weren’t much different from human screams.
After all, the half-beastmen were transformed from humans and had completely lost their sanity. But the screams and cries didn’t have much difference.
The three of them had no problem with their hearing, and it was quite good. So with these sounds, they couldn’t fall asleep at all. But it wouldn’t be a big problem to go without sleep for one night.
Throughout the night, of course, the rat swarm didn’t make noise every moment, so Qin Jiulin and the others took short naps for two or three hours.
The rat swarm didn’t notice them. However, in the middle of the night, there were other things passing by from nearby. But the other party must have noticed the combat abilities of the three animals here, so the sounds around them would pause for a moment and then quickly leave, afraid that they would be pursued.
It was dawn, and Qin Jiulin transformed back into human form, putting on his clothes and tying them securely. “The number of half-beastmen over there seems to have decreased by about a third, and the white powder on the ground is no longer visible.”
Liu Zhongyuan: “Last night, a large number of rats must have come out of the nest, so they probably stepped on and spread the poison powder on the ground, or brought it back into the nest on their bodies.”
Qin Jiulin felt the wind: “Very well, just like yesterday, there’s not much wind. Let’s resolve this quickly.”
Liu Zhongyuan: “No problem. We detonated six times yesterday, today we only need to do it four times. Qi Yue, come over and let’s go detonate one in the morning.”
Qin Jiulin observed some movement in the distance: “Look, the rat swarm is coming out in large numbers. The streets are filled with rats, are they going to feed?”
Liu Zhongyuan was puzzled: “Didn’t they eat a lot last night?”
Qin Jiulin: “Could it be that they noticed something was wrong?”
Qi Yue: “Should we go detonate now?”
Qin Jiulin: “Let’s go now. While it’s still not fully bright, we’ll detonate once. They’ll be feeding on the ground, which is a good opportunity for us too.”
Qi Yue: “No problem, I’ll go now.”
When Qi Yue, in the form of a snow owl, flew directly above, the swarm of black rats below had already begun attacking the half-beastmen trapped in the middle.
Qi Yue didn’t rush, but flew to a similar height as yesterday before releasing the bomb he was holding and then flew away. The bomb that fell down exploded right on time two seconds later.
The white poisonous powder fluttered down from the sky like snowflakes, landing on the half-beastmen, on the ground, and on the rat swarm.
The rats continued to pile up and bite the half-beastmen, their bodies covered in a mixture of the poisonous powder. They fed while the white powder from above continued to fall on them one after another.
Qin Jiulin: “Let’s take advantage of this wave and go two more times. I just saw many rats carrying meat and leaving. They must be delivering it to the nest, this is a good opportunity!”
Liu Zhongyuan also thought it was a good opportunity. Their mission wasn’t to completely eliminate the rat swarm, but to reduce their numbers as much as possible and drive them away.
In this way, Qi Yue threw the remaining three bombs. After all the poison powder had been detonated, the three of them took a breather. About an hour later, most of the half-beastmen on the streets had been eaten.
Qin Jiulin: “Huh? There are still over a hundred half-beastmen left uneaten. What’s going on?”
Liu Zhongyuan: “Saving them for the evening?”
Qin Jiulin thought about it and agreed. He looked at the sky: “It’s already afternoon. Let’s go to the military camp and have something to eat first, then come back here to keep watch in the evening?”
Liu Zhongyuan: “Well, now the poison won’t take effect, but tomorrow will be the third day, so we have to keep an eye on it to avoid any problems that we can’t handle in time.”
The three of them returned to the military camp and went directly to the cafeteria. The food here was more abundant and delicious, with a greater variety of meat, mostly from animals showing atavistic traits.
Ordinary people definitely eat regular animal meat, and they could tell the difference. The presence of the three of them, as variant beastmen, attracted a lot of attention.
Especially Lin Yuzhe and Wang Boming, who were sitting in the corner. Although they were now separated, performing different missions in different squads, they rarely had a chance to meet when they came back to the camp. But whenever they saw each other, they would gather and talk about recent developments.
Lin Yuzhe whispered, “They eat so much.”
Wang Boming replied, “It seems like variant beastmen can eat a lot in one meal and then not eat for a day or two.”
Lin Yuzhe said, “We can’t do that. Who said we were ordinary beastmen? We have nothing special.”
Wang Boming responded, “I finally understand why Qin Jiulin refused to join us so many times before. It turns out the reason wasn’t anything else, but he thought we would be a burden.”
Lin Yuzhe added, “Hey, do you think the reason the villa area was so safe before was because of Qin Jiulin and Liu Zhongyuan? After all, they are variant beastmen, and the surrounding animals wouldn’t dare to approach the villa area.”
Wang Boming paused for a moment, “That’s very possible. Although they didn’t join us, they did provide us with some protection. If we get the chance, we should thank them properly.”
Lin Yuzhe continued, “But it’s also strange that after that rat appeared in the villa area, it never showed up again.”
Although those rats killed two people, they hadn’t seen any rats since that night. After that, the three of them left the villa area and only discovered the military’s presence when they went out to search for them.
That’s why they came here and received the treatment they have now.
Qin Jiulin and the others continued to eat, consuming three pots of food and a whole pot of soup. After finishing their meal, they washed up and left the military camp.
They didn’t even have a chance to talk to others, but everyone understood. The three of them were the variant beastmen team, and they rushed back to eat before going out on another mission.
They didn’t know when they would come back next.
Unfortunately, after they left, Xia Liansheng returned to the military camp with his team, and the faces of the three of them didn’t look good because Xie Sihan was injured!
Cheng Tianxiang supported Xie Sihan as they walked into the military camp. Xia Liansheng reached out to help, but was pushed away by Cheng Tianxiang, who said unkindly, “Back off, don’t touch her!”
Xia Liansheng’s face showed a hint of embarrassment, but this time it was his fault that Xie Sihan got injured. If he had noticed the hidden danger lurking in the dark…
After returning to the military camp, Xie Sihan received prompt medical treatment. Thankfully, her injuries weren’t severe, just a few scratches on her legs and arms. For a variant beastman being, their healing abilities are faster in human form, so these wounds should heal in about three to five days.
Xia Liansheng stood by the hospital bed and said, “I’m sorry, it’s my fault.”
Xie Sihan was also angry, not because she was injured, but because if it hadn’t been for Xia Liansheng’s mistake, it would have been Cheng Tianxiang who got hurt. If she hadn’t jumped in…
Cheng Tianxiang was also frightened at that moment, and she didn’t give Xia Liansheng a good face on the way back. But now, they both calmed down a bit. After all, if they were in the captain’s position, they might not have done as well as Xia Liansheng did.
Xia Liansheng wasn’t originally from the military, just like them, he had been living in society. To achieve this level of skill is not to say that he is inadequate, but rather that there is room for improvement.
Xie Sihan slightly eased her expression and said, “It’s okay, I’m not seriously injured. Resting for a few days will be enough. Don’t worry too much.”
After saying that, she patted Cheng Tianxiang on the shoulder. Cheng Tianxiang, feeling a bit resentful and awkward, glanced at Xia Liansheng and said, “Alright, just make sure this kind of situation doesn’t happen again. I was almost scared to death this time.”
Seeing that everything was fine between the two, Xia Liansheng let out a sigh of relief. “Alright, you two rest well. I’ll go report the progress of this mission to the captain. We should have a few days of rest.”
Xie Sihan replied, “Go ahead, Captain. I’ll take care of Tianxiang here.”