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nFollowing the directions on the mini-map, David walked towards the ambient storage area. “Strange, how can there be no one in this place?” David felt curious. Near the warehouse, he hadn’t seen a single survivor, let alone a zombie.

nIn theory, although this place had fewer people, there should at least be a few zombies around. “Could it be that the company happened to have a day off on the day of the zombie outbreak?” However, David quickly dismissed this idea because cold chain transportation companies usually operated year-round.

nThe various supermarkets and restaurants in SJ City purchased large quantities of fresh food every day, so it was unlikely for this cold storage facility to take a break. Nevertheless, the absence of even a single zombie here seemed somewhat eerie.

nSoon, David arrived at the ambient storage area of Warehouse No. 1. The rolling shutter door of the warehouse was half-open, about half a person’s height. Just below the partially opened shutter door, David discovered half a leg bone. He moved the bone with force, and it was clear that it was a human leg bone.

nDavid carefully examined the bone and quickly concluded that the owner of this bone had definitely not been killed by a zombie. The flesh on the bone had been gnawed clean, and if it were a zombie, it wouldn’t have been able to clean the meat so thoroughly.

nBending down, David observed closely. The leg bone was covered in various small bite marks, resembling the bite marks of some small rodent. These bite marks looked fresh, and there were also fresh traces of blood remaining. David speculated that the owner of this bone should have died no more than a day ago.

n“Could it be mutated rats?” Looking at the bite marks, David couldn’t think of any other creature besides rats. Although any animal had the possibility of mutation in the post-apocalyptic world, the most common animals in the city were cats, dogs, and rats, weren’t they?

nDavid thought of a rat plague that had occurred in the official refuge base established by the SJ City authorities in his previous life. Thousands of mutated rats invaded the official base and completely destroyed the stored food in the warehouses. Although these rats were eventually successfully eliminated, the base paid a great price.

nThe mutated rats not only killed many survivors but also took the lives of several esper abilities. The most deadly aspect was that they carried various viruses and bacteria, making much of the remaining food inedible. Many survivors in the base died due to the rat epidemic.

nWithdrawing his thoughts, David walked up to the rolling shutter door and raised it with his hand, causing it to make a rattling sound. As if in response to David’s action, a rustling sound came from inside the warehouse.

n“Indeed, there’s something inside!” David pushed open the rolling shutter door, and the outside light instantly illuminated the dark warehouse, revealing a scene that made his scalp tingle. The warehouse was stacked with various bags of rice, flour, and cooking oil, and these bags were now crawling with a dark mass of rats.

nThese rats were startled by the sound and started scurrying around. They formed a dense mass, numbering at least a thousand, and looked extremely eerie. Moreover, these rats were larger than ordinary rats, with red gleaming eyes, appearing quite horrifying. Clearly, they were a group of mutated rats.

nThe bags of rice and flour in the warehouse had been completely ruined by them. Many of the bags containing rice and flour had been bitten, with leaks everywhere. David also caught a strong stench of rat droppings, which was nauseating.

nIt appears that these mice have made this place their stronghold, freely eating, drinking, and defecating here. David instantly understood why there were no traces of zombies or humans in this area. With this group of mutant mice around, even zombies would be gnawed down to their bones.

nAfter a brief panic, the mice finally noticed David’s presence. They seemed provoked by the presence of this outsider David and began emitting shrill cries. Dozens of mice that were closer to David charged towards him.

n“These mutant mice are indeed fierce.” It was evident that these mice were not afraid of humans at all and were even actively attacking David. Not wasting any time, David quickly summoned his armor. He raised his hand and consecutively threw out several spatial blades, splitting the leading mice in half and killing them on the spot.

nHowever, the remaining mice had already reached David and he had no choice but to fight them head-on. With each swing of his blade, he killed one of the mutant mice. But with their large numbers, small bodies, and agile movements, more than a dozen mice had climbed onto his body in an instant. These mice were like mad creatures, crazily biting and gnawing at his armor.

nDavid’s armor was made of special materials, so even with the sharp teeth of the mutant mice, they could only leave scratches on it. David grabbed a few mice that were crawling on him and threw them to the ground, causing the mice to emit squeals of pain. 𝗼𝐯𝗹．𝐞𝘁

nDavid quickly realized that he couldn’t continue to engage with these mice. If he did, he would likely be surrounded by the group. The dozen or so mice attacking him were just the advance party. If the rest of the mice swarmed in later, even with his sturdy armor, it would eventually be breached.

nSeeing the swarm of mice behind him becoming restless, David didn’t hesitate any longer and turned around, sprinting towards his off-road vehicle. He managed to remove the dozen or so mice that were still diligently gnawing on his armor.

n“Stop biting. Your teeth are already broken, yet you’re still trying to gnaw.” David couldn’t help but sigh at the ferocity of these mutant mice. One of them even had its teeth completely broken, yet it still fiercely gnawed at David’s armor, displaying an indomitable spirit.

nDavid grabbed the mice and threw them forcefully onto the ground, causing them to bleed profusely and die instantly. He glanced back and fortunately, the mutant mice inside the warehouse hadn’t followed them out.

n“It seems these mice have a strong sense of territory.” These mutant mice had no shortage of food and drink within their territory, so there was no need for them to provoke other creatures. However, once someone entered their territory, they would fiercely attack the intruders. After killing the dozen or so mice on him, David picked up the corpse of one of the mice and used a small knife to open its scalp.

nIndeed, beneath its scalp, there was a mutant crystal, although it was very small, roughly one-third the size of a zombie mutant crystal. Nevertheless, every little bit counts. David stored the crystal in his spatial storage. As for the remaining mouse corpses, David didn’t rush to dispose of them. He simply opened the car door and got in. With the large number of mice present, he alone wouldn’t be able to handle them. He had to go back and bring reinforcements.

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