In the car, Zhao Wanting kept acting spoiled, but Lin Yi was determined and refused to let go. This made Zhao Wanting, who was beside her, so angry that her teeth itched.
Lin Yi bickered as he drove, feeling extremely at ease.
Suddenly, he frowned and shifted his gaze from the road to the paddy fields by the roadside.
He sensed a slight abnormality over there. There were creatures with strong energy fluctuations hiding there, and there were many of them.
Should he stop?
Lin Yi hesitated for a moment before making his decision.
Squeak.
He stepped on the brakes and the moving car quickly stopped by the roadside.
This path was the most commonly used path from the village to the city center. If there were any abnormalities, it would greatly affect the villagers.
"Elder Brother Xiaoyi, what's wrong?" Zhao Wanting, who was in the passenger seat, was a little confused. Why did they suddenly stop?
"There seems to be something in front," Lin Yi replied with a frown.
"In front?"
Following Lin Yi's gaze, Zhao Wanting only saw paddy fields that were no different from other places. "Is there something here?"
"We'll know once we try it out."
Lin Yi braked very quickly. The place where he stopped was about ten meters away from the abnormal location. However, the commotion caused by the car must have been noticed by the group of creatures.
However, the location of these things didn't change much.
These creatures weren't humans. This was something Lin Yi was very sure of.
It was impossible to hide someone in such a short rice field unless it was a baby. However, babies wouldn't have such energy fluctuations.
Then there was nothing else to say.
He didn't stop the engine. He opened the door and quickly picked up a few rocks from the side of the road. Then, he returned to the car, closed the door, and rolled down the window.
Half of his body leaned out of the car window as he swung his left hand forcefully.
The fist-sized stone flew toward the abnormal location with a sharp might. Along with the stone, there was also a tiny steel needle that was difficult to detect under the cover of night.
The moment the two items appeared, Lin Yi quickly rolled up the window and stepped on the accelerator, preparing to leave at any moment.
Even though he felt that these creatures shouldn't be a match for him, he couldn't be sure if they had any backup plans. Hence, Lin Yi still chose to act cautiously.
Those with long eyes could see the fist-sized stones in the air. These creatures wisely chose to avoid them, but as if they were angered, they simultaneously approached Lin Yi's van.
But in the next second, shrill screams rang out in the silent night sky.
"Squeak—"
This sound seemed to be the beginning. Immediately, tens of squeaking sounds rose and fell in the distance.
"Rats?" When Lin Yi heard this cry, he knew who his opponent was. But rats shouldn't have such energy fluctuations, right?
On the other side, the rats fell into panic.
Previously, when humans threw rocks at them, they didn't take it seriously. After avoiding the rocks, they wanted to eat this human who made them restless.
However, they didn't expect that after a while, a companion would suddenly die. After a companion died, the bad luck didn't stop. Very soon, a second and third companion appeared…
The number of rats was decreasing at an astonishing rate, but they didn't even know how their companions died.
The timid and cautious rats were scared out of their wits.
Under Lin Yi's remote control, a thin steel needle became a sharp weapon to kill rats. His perception of creatures weaker than him was clearer.
One needle to the head, and there was no chance of survival.
After half of their companions died, the aggressive rats scattered and fled in all directions, no longer as imposing as before.
"What happened? Are these rats crazy?" Zhao Wanting couldn't see what was happening in the distance, but from the sounds, she could tell that these rats were abnormal.
However, she didn't think too much about it. After all, she was from the countryside. Even though it wasn't common to see so many rats, she could still see them occasionally.
Moreover, rats had a natural fear of humans. Unless they were truly too hungry, they wouldn't seek death by attacking humans.
Lin Yi took the opportunity to kill a few more rats and then controlled the steel needles to chase after a few more. He only stopped his pursuit after these rats escaped from his perception range.
If he really wanted to kill all of them, Lin Yi could do so as well. He just had to chase after them. However, Zhao Wanting was still here, so he couldn't leave her alone. Hence, Lin Yi gave up on hunting them down. In any case, there were only a few of them left, and they wouldn't be able to cause much trouble.
"Wait for me in the car. I'll go down and take a look."
Lin Yi said to Zhao Wanting. He wanted to see why these rats had such energy fluctuations.
"I'm going too."
"No, be good and sit in the car."
Zhao Wanting pouted and didn't retort. 'Ain't they just rats? What's there to take a look? I just want to accompany you.'
Lin Yi got out of the car and went to the paddy field. The moment he got close, he saw a tragic scene. Dozens of gray-skinned rats that were larger than dogs were lying on the ground.
There was a pin-sized hole on the head of each gray-skinned rat, and from it, a red-white liquid was slowly flowing out.
"These rats are a little large." Lin Yi looked at it thoughtfully.
He could sense a very weak amount of spiritual energy in the flesh of these gray-skinned rats. In other words, these rats also had the ability to absorb spiritual energy.
The gradually recovering spiritual energy not only allowed humans to start cultivating, but even animals had the possibility of transforming.
Looking at the battered and exhausted rice field and the many rat corpses, Lin Yi thought for a moment before taking out his phone and calling Zhao Aiguo.
Very soon, the call connected.
Zhao Aiguo's calm voice came from the other end.
"Xiaoyi, what's wrong? It's already so late. Are you guys not back yet?"
"Uncle Zhao, have you seen a rat twice the size of a dog?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of a cup falling to the ground could be heard from the other end of the line. Immediately after, Zhao Aiguo asked anxiously,
"You guys encountered such animals? Where are you guys now? Hurry up and run. The further you run, the better. These animals are very dangerous."
As expected, he had seen it before. There was indeed sufficient information at the national level. Lin Yi now had an idea.
"Uncle Zhao, they are already dead, but you'd better come over and take a look. We are currently on Autumn Stone Road, about two kilometers away from the village entrance."
"Dead? They're dead?!" Zhao Aiguo was surprised for a moment. When he heard that Lin Yi and the others were nearby, he didn't ask too much and hurriedly said, "I'll come over immediately. You guys stay where you are and don't move."
"Sure thing."
After hanging up, Lin Yi narrowed his eyes. He then lifted his leg and stomped down forcefully.
"Squash."
A rat's head was crushed by the huge force.
"Squash, squash, squash…"
After a few sounds, all the rat heads were crushed. The holes on their heads could no longer be seen with the bloody mess.
After stepping on the weeds and roughly removing the flesh from the soles of his shoes, Lin Yi nodded in satisfaction. There were some methods that he didn't want anyone to know about for the time being.