"Man, this is some freaky power..."
Zane was just staring down, trying to figure out who was behind all this mess.
On the street below, Mike and Chris were literally tearing each other apart, blood flowing everywhere.
Before long, they both dropped, having bitten each other to death!
If any regular Joe saw this horror show, they'd probably freak out.
Just then, from a sewer nearby, a huge, dark figure emerged, squeaking excitedly as it dashed toward the bodies.
It was a massive rat, big as a dog, with jet-black fur and fangs sharper than daggers.
It started chowing down on the two guys, clearly enjoying itself.
Turns out, this beast was the mastermind—a mutant with a Core crystal that could mess with people's minds, the so-called Rat King of the area.
"Man, wonder what that mutant beast's Core crystal tastes like..."
Zane had hunted a mutant two-headed wolf before, but that was just at the Brain Nexus stage, and it tasted pretty good.
So now, he was eyeing the Rat King's Core crystal.
But the giant rat, busy eating, was still super alert.
It sensed someone watching and quickly looked up, spotting Zane's silhouette on a high building.
"Oh? Got spotted, huh?" Zane raised an eyebrow.
The man and the rat locked eyes, even though they were hundreds of meters apart.
Suddenly, the rat got agitated, its dark red eyes glowing menacingly.
A faint black mist started to drift from its body, heading straight for Zane.
Its psychic attack was powerful.
But compared to Zane's "Dead Zone," it was nothing—a minor league player facing a major league star.
A flash of red light in Zane's eyes, and his domain spread out.
The "Dead Zone" dispersed the black mist as easily as the sun melts ice, not letting it get anywhere close.
The rat twitched its nose, clearly panicked.
It stared at the figure on the building as if it was seeing a king, feeling an overwhelming pressure.
Rats, being super sensitive to danger like earthquakes or tsunamis, could sense it first.
And right now, this Rat King sensed death creeping closer.
So, it ditched the bodies and bolted.
"Trying to bolt, huh?"
Zane leaped from the high-rise, hitting the street in a flash, and man, was he booking it—zoomed over ten meters in a blink.
Like some kind of teleporting ghost.
A few hundred meters? Just a matter of breaths for him.
"Squeak—squeak squeak—"
The Rat King let out a piercing shriek, super grating, echoing down the whole street.
Squeak fest all around.
Suddenly, Zane heard rustling sounds from beneath the dirt, along with those high-pitched rat screams.
Next thing you know, a whole army of rats burst out of the sewer, thick as thieves, like a dark fountain.
They surged up and swarmed towards Zane.
And not just from the sewer—rats were sprinting from every alley and street, coming at him from all sides, like they were rushing to save their king.
"So, it's calling its homies..."
Zane stood alone, surrounded by a sea of rats.
These rodents varied in size—some as big as dogs, others like cats, each wildly fierce, charging at him.
But Zane's "Dead Zone" was fierce. Any rat that dashed into it popped like a smashed watermelon, just exploding.
The rat wave was wild, but around Zane, a vacuum zone appeared, making it impossible for them to get close.
Still, these rats weren't scared of dying, kept charging like moths to a flame.
Zane turned into a full-on meat grinder.
Chunks of flesh flew around him, blood spraying everywhere, and in moments, piles of bodies stacked up.
Everywhere he looked—rats!
Zane's eyes narrowed as he spotted the original Rat King blending into the crowd, losing sight of it.
"This rat's slippery..."
Scanning around, Zane suddenly spotted a big rat chilling on a bus stop bench, half-squinting, tail twitching, looking all relaxed and smirking at him, full of sass.
"Still wanna taunt?"
Zane was sure it was the Rat King, so he charged in that direction.
But the rat wasn't phased, leaped into a nearby sewer, and vanished into the rat flood.
Zane lost sight of it again, unable to lock it down.
He was starting to feel uneasy because his "Dead Zone" could only hold up for about twenty minutes, and two minutes had already ticked by.
If this drag-out continued, his odds weren't looking good.
While Zane was mulling over his next move, that big rat popped up again, this time lounging on a busted-up car shed, giving Zane a smirk that was more taunt than smile.
Zane was about to chase after it.
But the rat pulled its usual disappearing act, darting away once more.
Meanwhile, the endless swarm of rats kept flooding towards him like a relentless tide.
Clearly, the big rat was trying to wear him down!
Zane thought to himself, maybe he should just bail because once his "Dead Zone" ran out, those rats would be all over him.
Even though Zane's tough build meant rat teeth couldn't break his defense, those sewer-dwelling critters were just too filthy.
Zane didn't fancy becoming a walking rat hanger.
Most importantly, without the "Dead Zone," hunting down that Rat King would be even tougher.
"With my skills, I can't guarantee a 100% successful hunt," Zane thought to himself.
But that darn big rat showed up again.
Just like before.
It was perched on a trash can, squinting and tauntingly staring at Zane.
This time, Zane didn't plan to catch it but decided to use the remaining time of his "Dead Zone" to get out of the area and maybe come back later to finish off that rat!
But just as he was about to give up.
Suddenly, something strange happened.
The previously bright sky suddenly darkened, a large shadow looming overhead.
"Caw—caw caw!"
A chilling crow's call echoed from afar.
Mixed with a peculiar bird sound.
"Good guy, hello..."
"Oh?"
Zane looked up to see a large crow circling overhead, the same one he had fed before.
It seemed to have come to help him.
The red-eyed crow eyed the rat flood with undiminished ferocity and murderous intent, then let out a piercing screech.
Tens of thousands of crows in the sky dove downwards.
Their bodies like cannonballs, plummeting fast, their sharp beaks easily piercing through the rats.
The massive flock of crows actually helped Zane block the rat tide!
The big rat on the trash can, seeing this, lost its relaxed demeanor, its nostrils twitching, visibly annoyed.