The Natives of This World Are Fierce

"SWOOSH~" "SWOOSH~" "SWOOSH~"...

The Thorns lashed through the night sky, creating a whistling sound. It was easy to imagine the power behind their movements.

Under the searchlights, the cold-glinting barbs drew a spray of fresh blood with every pass. This, mixed with the screeches of the rat horde and the surrounding electrical arcs, painted a picture of Hell.

’Is this why those rats were fleeing for their lives underground?’

The question had only just surfaced, but they soon had no time to ponder it.

Because with the appearance of the Life-taking Thorn, countless rats had gone mad!

If the arc traps, bright lights, and the large number of humans had made them hesitate before, now they were charging out of the encirclement as if desperate to die.

"Flamethrowers!"

At the Officer’s command, the armed police in the front rank, shouldering their flamethrowers, pulled triggers slick with sweat.

Violent jets of flame erupted, their intense heat igniting the rats that were trampling over their own kind to escape Hell.

The ones that escaped were all smaller rats. In contrast, not a single one of the terrifyingly giant rats made it out; they had either fallen in the arc traps or been annihilated by the Thorns.

The intense, high-temperature flames swung left and right, setting the rat horde ablaze as if sweeping the floor.

The smaller rats couldn’t withstand this kind of damage at all. In just a few seconds, nearly half their bodies would be cooked through.

The scent of charred meat filled the air.

Though it was disgusting, the situation that the armed police, civilian police, and firefighters had feared did not come to pass. The rats were almost completely unable to breach the blockade formed by incendiaries and flamethrowers.

Moreover, while the rat swarm was terrifyingly numerous, it wasn’t endless. After a few minutes, their numbers began to dwindle. At the very least, no more were getting past the arc traps.

The constant, clamorous noise from the rat swarm, which had persisted all night, also began to quiet down.

But this didn’t mean they could relax. The terrifying Thorns were still dancing about, brutally finishing off any rats near the manhole cover that still had a breath left in them.

It was like a battlefield cleanup, delivering finishing blows. Each strike was a swift, efficient kill, piercing a skull to the brainstem.

"How much longer until the specially developed herbicide arrives?"

"Not enough time. This was too sudden. It’s only been ten-some minutes. The research institute just finished loading the truck. Even at top speed, it’ll be hours before it can be airdropped."

Liu Yue clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking.

"What about the air force?"

"Jets have already taken off from the nearest base. Estimated eight minutes until they’re in attack range... But we’re too close. A direct strike with high-yield weapons would cause collateral damage..."

The tension on Huang Jiutian’s face as he answered was completely genuine.

But unlike Liu Yue’s unease and fear of the mutated Thorns, Jiutian’s tension stemmed from the immense pressure of this risky endeavor.

’One wrong move, and Mumu could be hit with an attack that spares no cost.’

For the Special Security Team, setting aside the immediate danger, this unknown, terrifying plant was a far greater concern than the rats under Shen City.

A large, severed piece of these Thorns was already in a lab in the Capital. Could the one that appeared in Shen City be the same species?

If so, did that mean this terrifying plant had already established a breeding population across the entirety of Hua Country?

When Tao Xingzhi received this latest report, he didn’t even finish the important briefing he was in the middle of. He bolted straight from the Ministry of Defense to the airport.

He had given a single, ruthless order.

"Even if everyone else dies, you bring Huang Jiutian out of there!"

They were unprepared. Yes, compared to the incident in Rong Town, neither the Shen City military and police nor the Special Security Team members were the least bit prepared this time.

On the open ground flowing with dark red rat blood, the last squeak faded away.

The scene fell completely silent.

As if just realizing some key piece of information, all searchlights and vehicle headlights were extinguished under a new order. Even the surrounding streetlights went dark.

The scene was like a freeze-frame. The Thorns were no longer moving, and the people in the encirclement didn’t dare to open fire rashly.

Although stalling for time was to their advantage, Liu Yue was still full of questions.

"Why isn’t it eating or absorbing the rat corpses? And why isn’t it retreating back into the sewer? Jiutian, can you sense anything?"

In the darkness, Liu Yue whispered his question as he turned to look at Jiutian, only to find that the latter was so nervous his hair was soaked with sweat.

He desperately wanted to carry out Tao Xingzhi’s order, but unfortunately, the entire area was at a standstill. And Jiutian’s Perception told him the mutated plant was currently on high alert; he didn’t want to—and couldn’t—move Jiutian now.

"Brother Liu, tell everyone to hold their fire. Remember what I said last time? That thing... it’s intelligent..."

Even though they were mentally prepared, the other members of the Special Security Team felt their hair stand on end.

"So it really is the same type?"

"No, it’s not just the same type... It’s the very same plant..."

All eyes immediately focused on Jiutian.

’The same plant? But that one should have been obliterated by a bunker-buster missile!’

At this moment of extreme tension, something completely unexpected happened.

"Humans... My patience has its limits!"

A slightly weathered voice abruptly echoed throughout the area. The resonance of its after-sound seemed to create a peculiar vibration in the air, making everyone’s eardrums tingle.

"It... it spoke?"

Liu Yue heard more than one gasp. Everyone wore a look of utter disbelief, while the soldiers on the perimeter whispered words of shock, exchanging suspicions like "Demon."

"Please don’t point your weapons at me. After all, I’m just a plant!"

Holy shit!

The content of this sentence wasn’t strange, but the novel way it was expressed at this moment left everyone with only one phrase in their minds: ’Holy shit!’

Mumu was terrified. The ones holding ’firewood sticks’ were one thing, but an inescapable premonition of danger told it that it could be hit with something nasty at any moment.

Qin Xiaoxia’s note to be "a little imposing, but not too arrogant" had, by Mumu’s second sentence, rapidly devolved into a weak-kneed bluff.

From the voice, the context, and even the tone, it wasn’t hard for the surrounding Special Security Team members and all the soldiers to figure it out.

"It just used a polite turn of phrase..."

"Er, yeah..."

Jiutian tugged at the collar of his uniform.

"Brother Liu, I suggest we negotiate with this mutated Thorn plant."

For some reason, hearing the line "After all, I’m just a plant" inexplicably made everyone present relax quite a bit.

...

「On the roof of a shopping mall construction site, just a hundred meters away.」

Looking at Mumu in the distance, Doudou slapped a hand to their face with a SMACK.

"That idiot!"

Su Su was laughing so hard she could barely stand up straight.

"Broke character in one second, he totally broke character! Hahahahaha... Er..."

Suddenly seeing Qin Xiaoxia’s expressionless face, Sister Su immediately reined in her laughter and forced herself to look serious.

"Never mind, never mind. This might actually have a better effect."

Qin Xiaoxia was also exasperated. For a job like exterminating rats in the sewer, Mumu was the most convenient and suitable choice.

’The others, well, either they didn’t have enough Magic Power or they found it too disgusting. Besides, Tree Shepherds are hardy, aren’t they? If something unexpected happened, there would still be time for a rescue.’

So, despite being ten thousand percent unwilling, Mumu had been sent over anyway.

...

"What kind of being are you? Why are you in the sewers of Shen City?"

Huang Jiutian used a megaphone to speak with the Thorns opposite him. However, he and Liu Yue were inside the command vehicle, while the loudspeaker was deceptively placed on the other side of the encirclement.

Mumu also regretted that last sentence as soon as it said it. Although there was a script, Qin Xiaoxia couldn’t have predicted every situation. So the dialogue was just a rough outline based on speculation, with a few specific requirements. The rest was up to Mumu’s improvisation.

But then again, improvisation wasn’t its strong suit, and it had lost all its imposing momentum in an instant.

Sensing that its master wasn’t angry, and hearing Huang Jiutian’s question, Mumu decided to just let loose.

"What am I? Can’t you see I’m a Thorn plant? The only reason I’m in these filthy, stinking sewers is because the Master Sage ordered me to kill all these rats!"

They hadn’t expected such a quick response; the dialogue was proving more effective than anticipated.

Liu Yue and Huang Jiutian exchanged a look.

"Ask it if it’s the one from Rong Town."

Huang Jiutian nodded and asked about the possibility he had raised earlier.

The moment it heard this question, Mumu was instantly reminded of that painful experience. A wave of lingering fear and anger surged up.

Because Qin Xiaoxia had found out that the Demon Vine it was raising had killed quite a few people back then, he had made it "bleed" for three days to water the Crystal Ore as punishment.

After that, every subsequent "bloodletting" session was given the high-sounding justification of "atonement."

’Heavens, have mercy! Although it didn’t care about these two-legged creatures when it first came to this world, what kind of shepherd can be bothered to watch over every blade of grass his sheep eat? At most, it was a failure of management!’

’Mumu felt wronged but didn’t dare complain to Qin Xiaoxia. And now these guys were questioning the victim!’

"You have the nerve to ask?? You have the nerve to ask??"

Perhaps it wasn’t a good actor when it came to improvisation, but its saving grace was its ability to get into character. Right now, it had completely placed itself on the side of the righteous "Dawn."

"When the Dark Realm Demon Vine appeared, I had just arrived underground. Before I could even make a move, I got hit with something nasty out of nowhere... You guys didn’t even give a warning!!"

Such a strong sense of grievance! The self-image of a hero who had rushed to save the day on the Sage’s orders, only to be shot in the back, was now firmly etched in Mumu’s heart.

The scene on the ground and the inside of the command vehicle both fell eerily silent.