Chapter 29: Water Rat Beast

Although the iron rod possessed astonishing lethality, when fighting underwater, the longer the rod, the greater the resistance from the water. Therefore, he chose to attack using his left-hand fist.

The giant rat biting his calf clearly hadn’t expected Su Li’s reaction to be so quick. It was too late for it to release its bite and dodge. Su Li’s punch slammed into its skull. However, the blow from the fist wasn’t fatal; the true killing force came from the “Gluttony Fangs” Su Li activated.

The special ability “Gluttony Fangs”—gained from killing the elite Level 2 Spiritual Source Beast, the Gluttonous Dog—activated. Four terrifying, ten-centimeter-long fangs shot out from the back of Su Li’s left hand. Following the trajectory of Su Li’s punch, they sank completely into the giant rat’s skull, as easily as cutting into a block of tofu.

Su Li deeply felt the terrifying lethality of the “Gluttony Fangs.”

With the four fangs fully embedded in the giant rat’s head, Su Li quickly twisted his arm. The rat’s mouth, which had been clamped onto his calf, weakly opened. Four deep gashes appeared on its head, and a mix of red and white matter flowed out. If the claws had been long enough, they could have easily sliced the giant rat’s head into several pieces.

A white Spiritual Source appeared and merged into Su Li’s mind. The vertical eye-like rune appeared on his brow; he had activated the “Peering Rune” to view the giant rat’s data.

“Name: Water Rat Beast, Common species among Level 2 Spiritual Source Beasts. Has a certain probability of evolving into the Elite species, Water Rat King. Killing a Water Rat Beast will not grant any special abilities.”

“It seems only Elite Spiritual Source Beasts offer a chance to gain special abilities. This Water Rat Beast is only a common Level 2 Spiritual Source Beast, so killing it won’t yield any special abilities.”

As Su Li was thinking, another message suddenly appeared in his mind:

Level 2 Spiritual Source Wielder: Spiritual Source 3/20

He had gained one Spiritual Source from hunting this Water Rat Beast.

Having killed the Water Rat Beast, Su Li did not immediately surface. Instead, he opened his eyes and silently scanned the water around and below him.

The water was murky, limiting his field of vision. He could only see clearly within a few meters; beyond that, it was darker and darker. The depths of the water were absolute darkness, where nothing could be seen, yet an inexplicable chill emanated from below, suggesting some kind of undercurrent or movement.

In his sight, the Water Rat Beast’s corpse was slowly sinking.

Su Li watched the corpse disappear, as if swallowed by the darkness below. A feeling of unease suddenly surged within him. Daring not to linger, he kicked off the water with his legs and shot upward, breaking the surface. He took a long, deep breath, reached out to the raft, pulled himself aboard completely soaked, and slumped down.

Xu Xuehui obediently moved closer to him, looking at him with a nervous expression.

“It’s nothing. Don’t worry.” Su Li looked at his bitten calf. The wound was covered in a warm current. Fortunately, he had absorbed the Water Rat Beast’s Spiritual Source. The Spiritual Source’s effect was accelerating his wound healing.

Although he was thoroughly drenched, the current temperature wasn’t low, and his body was much stronger than before, with significantly improved resistance and cold tolerance. Thus, he didn’t feel cold.

The only thing he regretted was his leather boots. He had finally found a pair of waterproof boots and thought he wouldn’t have to soak his socks and shoes again, but he had fallen into the water shortly after putting them on.

Recalling the feeling of being underwater just now, Su Li’s unease intensified. He dared not waste any more time. He quickly stood up, picked up the paddle, and continued to row, desperate to reach his destination and leave the water.

Only when his feet were on solid ground would he feel safe; the water made him anxious.

Su Li sped up, paddling constantly. Unfortunately, with him, Xu Xuehui, and all their supplies, the raft drew deep in the water. No matter how hard he paddled, the speed wouldn’t increase. They could only slowly and steadily drift toward the distance.

“I hope everything remains safe going forward.”

Su Li glanced at Xu Xuehui and noticed she had finally stopped eating snacks. Perhaps she had been scared by the sudden attack of the Water Rat Beast. She was anxiously surveying the water around them, tightly gripping the fruit knife and hammer in her hands.

Suddenly, she stretched out her hand and pointed to the left side of the raft, calling out, “There!”

Su Li tensed and immediately looked over. Just then, in the water about three or four meters to the left of the raft, a dark shape appeared. Part of its scaly back was exposed above the surface. The shadow in the water looked like a large fish.

Su Li immediately dropped the paddle, grabbed the iron rod, and moved to the left side of the raft, standing ready for a fight.

However, the dark shadow, which he suspected was a large fish, did not charge the raft. Instead, it sank back beneath the water and soon disappeared.

It was a false alarm. Su Li quietly sighed in relief but did not dare to relax. His calf still throbbed faintly. The Water Rat Beast had bitten down hard, its four fangs sinking deep. Although the Spiritual Source was accelerating the wound’s healing, it wasn’t fully closed. Still, it no longer seriously hindered him and would be completely cured soon. As for the wounds he sustained in the fight with the Gluttonous Dog, they were already scabs, and new, tender flesh had grown underneath. Based on his previous experience, once the scabs naturally peeled off, the new flesh would be exactly like his skin before the injury, without even a scar left behind.

Despite the false alarm, Su Li was impressed with Xu Xuehui. He praised her: “That was done very well. Keep watching now, and if you see anything, immediately let me know.”

He had to paddle and watch his surroundings simultaneously, and it was easy to become distracted. The Water Rat Beast had seized the moment he turned his back to launch a surprise attack, catching him off guard.

Receiving his praise, a hint of excitement appeared in Xu Xuehui’s eyes. She immediately began scanning the surroundings more seriously, hoping to spot something.

“Finally, halfway there.” Su Li grew excited. The raft was over 100 meters from the building where Xu Xuehui used to live, and it was still over 100 meters from their destination. Su Li saw hope right before his eyes.

As Su Li constantly familiarized himself with the paddling technique, he controlled the raft more skillfully and began to exert more force. The raft’s speed slowly increased. Soon, they broke the 100-meter barrier, drawing closer and closer to the 32-story building ahead.

Su Li silently calculated the distance in his mind.

“Eighty meters, 70 meters… Almost there.”

Just as they closed to within 50 meters, Su Li suddenly noticed something else. On the water surface about ten-odd meters ahead of the raft, a human face bobbed up.

The face was swollen and bloated from being soaked in water, had dead fish-eyes, and was covered in white fuzz. It was a Corpse Beast, a human who had died in the great flood and mutated after acquiring a Spiritual Source.

(End of Chapter)