PCJ – Chapter 534 What a Huge Rat!

Zeng Lei’s pace slowed more and more. His extremely sharp sense of danger told him that something was approaching. Although the tunnel wasn’t particularly unstable and the air wasn’t too suffocating, sweat was already beading on his forehead.

“Thud, thud…”

A series of rapid footsteps echoed ahead in the tunnel—something was coming toward him!

What was that?

Zeng Lei’s hair stood on end. Danger!

He gripped the Luoyang shovel tightly. When he came down, he had casually grabbed one. Although Ma Fusong had always been wary of him, he didn’t say anything upon seeing the shovel in Zeng Lei’s hands. If they did end up turning against each other, Zeng Lei having just a shovel hardly gave him an advantage, and Ma Fusong believed his side still held the upper hand.

Thud, thud!

The footsteps got closer—louder and clearer. Zeng Lei stopped and used the headlamp on his miner’s helmet to shine ahead.

“Ah!” Zeng Lei cried out in surprise when a figure appeared in the beam.

Squeak! Squeak!

The creature also let out a sharp screech, but instead of fleeing, it snarled repeatedly at Zeng Lei, as though he had trespassed into its territory.

“It’s a rat! A huge rat! My god!” Zeng Lei’s eyes widened in shock.

A fat, giant rat was crouched ahead, baring its teeth at him, as if to drive him out of the tunnel.

Zeng Lei gripped his Luoyang shovel tighter. He knew that no matter how scared he was, he couldn’t run. If he fled, the creature would sense weakness and attack without hesitation.

“Hah!” Zeng Lei shouted at the giant rat, hoping to scare it away. But instead of retreating, the rat became even more enraged and roared back.

He stood firm, shovel in hand, eyes locked on the creature.

“Squeak!”

The rat flew into a rage and charged forward. Zeng Lei swung his shovel with all his strength, landing a blow on the rat’s nose and drawing blood.

The rat shrieked but didn’t flee—instead, its wild instincts were fully awakened. It lunged at Zeng Lei in a frenzy.

“Brother Ma, did you hear that? There’s definitely something ahead!” Lao Wu said.

Ma Fusong had heard the commotion too. He immediately signaled everyone to stop. “Hold up. Everyone get your weapons ready and be quiet. Whatever’s up there might not be simple. Lao Wu, go check it out.”

“Brother Ma, want me to get rid of that guy Zeng while I’m at it?” Lao Wu asked.

“Why kill him now? He’s still useful—we haven’t found the treasure yet. If we kill him, who’s going to scout for us? Besides, we might as well give him a hand. No point letting him die for nothing,” Ma Fusong said with an air of confidence.

Lao Wu, always obedient to Ma Fusong, said nothing and grabbed an iron spike before hurrying toward the source of the noise.

Zhang Jiaohua was following Ma Fusong’s group from a distance, making sure not to be spotted. They trusted the gatekeeper Lao Qi so much that they didn’t even think someone might have sneaked in behind them—no one even thought to shine a flashlight backward.

Not that it would matter. Even if they did, they wouldn’t have seen Zhang Jiaohua.

Hearing the noise ahead, Zhang Jiaohua knew Zeng Lei was in danger.

He patted Zuan Shanbao (his pet or companion beast) on the head. “Sneak up and help Zeng Lei if he’s in trouble. But be careful—don’t let the tunnel’s monsters get you.”

Zuan Shanbao darted off without a sound, so fast he was nearly invisible to the naked eye.

Zeng Lei realized that the giant rat was a tough opponent. It was cunning—only in the very beginning had it been caught off guard and taken a solid hit to the nose, almost slicing its snout in half.

But afterward, the rat dodged every attack with agility. Zeng Lei launched strike after strike, but all missed. His energy was quickly draining, his body soaked with sweat. But he couldn’t stop attacking—the rat looked ready to pounce at any second. It was a dangerous situation.

As Zeng Lei’s concentration slipped for a moment, the rat lunged and bit at his leg.

Zeng Lei narrowly dodged, but it still managed to tear off a chunk of fabric from his pant leg, leaving a huge hole.

Thankfully, he had been practicing Meishan Stance Training recently—otherwise, that bite would have landed squarely on his flesh.

This wasn’t an ordinary rat—it was far more agile, and despite its size, it wasn’t clumsy at all. Zeng Lei was growing desperate. The rat’s defense was also freakishly strong—it barely flinched after taking such a hard blow earlier.

Suddenly, Lao Wu arrived and slammed the iron spike into the rat, knocking it aside.

“Zeng bro, what the heck is that thing? Looks like a rat!” Lao Wu said, cautiously watching their surroundings.

“It is a rat. A terrifying one. Almost got hurt just now,” Zeng Lei said, still shaken.

“Brother Ma was a little worried about you. Sent me to lend a hand,” Lao Wu explained.

“Thanks.” Zeng Lei was confused. Based on what he knew, Ma Fusong should be trying to eliminate him. Why would he send help?

“Come on, help me out. I can’t handle this thing alone.” Lao Wu’s earlier strike had enraged the rat even more. It was screeching wildly.

Zeng Lei didn’t have time to think. He charged in again with his shovel. The two of them worked together, finally giving the rat no opportunity to launch a surprise attack. The rat was hit several times and grew more furious.

“Thank goodness there’s only one. If another shows up, we’re screwed,” Lao Wu said, sweat pouring down his face.

“Squeak squeak!” Suddenly, the rat ran off quickly, then raised its head and let out a loud cry.

“No way. Is it summoning more?” Lao Wu scratched his head.

Zeng Lei shone his light forward—and sure enough, several more rats of similar size were charging toward them!

“Holy crap, talk about jinxing it!” Zeng Lei glared at Lao Wu.

Lao Wu dropped his iron spike and ran.

“Damn!” Zeng Lei didn’t hesitate either—he turned and ran for his life.