Volume One, Chapter 38: The Elephant Herd That Suddenly Burst Onto the Scene

Although Zhang Wei did not understand the language of the rats, he could deduce the Rat King's intentions from the movements of the swarm.

"So you've got some backbone after all. Don't run away when school's out."

"Wait, that's not right. Don't run away if you've got the guts; let's fight this out to the bitter end!"

Zhang Wei was delighted. If he could get his hands on these tens of thousands of source crystals, wouldn't his mech's level skyrocket? As for how to eliminate these tens of thousands of mechanical rats, that was even simpler. As long as they didn't flee, they would be wiped out sooner or later. Zhang Wei had no concerns about power; by sustaining the fight through the battle itself, the source crystals floating amidst the wreckage of the mechanical rats provided a constant stream of energy. He just needed to absorb that energy while fighting—it was hardly a challenge.

Meanwhile, Zhang Tao had already completed his mech evolution and was coordinating with Lin Qianying to fight off the mechanical rats. However, they weren't as reckless as Zhang Wei and could only fight while retreating. Yet, just as the battle was reaching its peak, the rat swarm suddenly withdrew.

"Huh? Are they scared?" Zhang Tao asked, glancing toward Lin Qianying, who was perched on a high-rise a hundred meters away.

Lin Qianying gazed into the distance; she was not as naive as Zhang Tao. Although she and Zhang Tao had been suppressing the mechanical rats, that was only because the number of rats surrounding them was small. But now...

"They aren't afraid. They've gone to do something else."

"Do what? Go after my big brother?" Zhang Tao was confused, but a flash of realization quickly crossed his mind.

Lin Qianying nodded slightly at Zhang Tao and said, "I'm going to help him."

Without waiting to see what Zhang Tao thought, she headed straight toward where the swarm was gathering. Zhang Tao watched her figure leaping between the skyscrapers. "I..." He was speechless. Shouldn't we have discussed something this major? "Wait, discuss what? Shouldn't I be hoping he dies?" Zhang Tao shook his head. If Zhang Wei died, wouldn't he automatically regain his status as the boss? Who would be content as a lackey when they could be the leader? But as he thought about it, Zhang Tao cursed himself: "Damn it, am I a masochist?" Even though he had been with Zhang Wei for less than two days, he found that being his lackey wasn't actually that bad.

"Screw it, let's do this!" With a roar in his heart, Zhang Tao dashed toward the direction where the swarm had retreated, moving like an arrow released from a bow.

Leaping between the towers, Lin Qianying noticed something behind her and glanced back. Seeing Zhang Tao’s slightly clumsy figure struggling to catch up, she smiled and slowed her pace, waiting for him to close the gap. Zhang Tao had only just received his thrusters, so his movements were indeed a bit awkward. However, his mech was tall and his combat power wasn't weak; once he got his legs moving, he wasn't slow, and he soon caught up to her.

"Why did you follow?" Lin Qianying teased with a playful smile once he was close.

"That's my big brother. Knowing he's in danger, how could I stand by?" Zhang Tao replied righteously.

"Not afraid of dying?"

"If you aren't, why should I be?"

"If I can't win, I can run away. But you..." Lin Qianying looked at him and shook her head.

Zhang Tao was taken aback. That seemed fair. He knew exactly how agile her mech was; if they were truly surrounded by mechanical rats, she could definitely escape. But if he were surrounded...

"It's not too late to go back. He didn't ask us for help; he just told us to wait where we were. Even if he survives, he won't give you any trouble," she advised. She just wanted to know how Zhang Tao would choose in a crisis; there was no need to actually drag him to his death. Her words weren't a joke—she really could escape, but he could not.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible. Don't try to talk me out of it. Let's go. If we dilly-dally, my big brother might be finished," Zhang Tao waved his hands, rejecting her proposal. He had finally summoned the courage to come this far—how could he let a few words from her push him back? As for whether he would die... the worst that could happen was that he'd get more practice with his thrusters now, which would make his escape smoother later.

"Fine. Let's go."

With that, the two accelerated like arrows toward the heart of the swarm.

In the center of the mass, Zhang Wei was surrounded by layer upon layer of mechanical rats. It wasn't just a simple encirclement; the ground beneath his feet was already buried under countless layers of metallic wreckage left by the destroyed rats. Originally, the temperature of his thermal greatsword would have made melting the debris easy, but before one layer could be cleared, a new one was piled on top. By now, the spot where Zhang Wei stood had formed a small mound. He had lost count of how many rats he had destroyed.

"They're useless. Why don't you come yourself?" Zhang Wei taunted the Rat King while slashing away.

The Rat King was about six hundred meters away—a safety distance it had personally determined. From here, even if Zhang Wei used his floating cannons, it could dodge perfectly, and its life would not be in danger. As for going in itself? To hell with that. Why go and throw its life away?

"Not coming? That's fine. Just make sure you don't run." Seeing the Rat King remain indifferent, Zhang Wei gave a final warning and focused on the slaughter. Being surrounded was far more efficient than hunting them down in sewers one by one. His cargo hold was already packed with common source crystals collected from the kills. Standing in one place didn't hinder his collection at all. If the rats would just pause, he could upgrade his mech to level thirty and complete his second evolution right now.

Unfortunately, the mechanical rats didn't seem inclined to give him that time. Just as he was hacking away, a violent tremor erupted. Zhang Tao, who was sprinting toward the scene, couldn't help but stop, and Lin Qianying, leaping between the buildings, halted as well.

"What's going on?" Although Zhang Tao's mech was tall, he couldn't see as far as Lin Qianying on the rooftops. She stared into the distance, momentarily stunned. Seeing her silence, Zhang Tao scrambled up the side of a building.

"Holy crap!" Zhang Tao gasped once he reached the top. "What is that?"

"Elephants?" he asked, looking at Lin Qianying, unsure. She nodded.

"What do we do? They're heading toward the swarm!" Zhang Tao was frantic. They were already struggling to deal with the rats; now, a group of monsters like this had appeared. These creatures averaged ten meters in height, and their size was beyond description. Worse, there were at least a dozen of them. Come to think of it, were there even elephants at the Chuan City Zoo? And why hadn't they seen these monsters yesterday?