12 Colossal Rat

As it turned out, there wasn't as much methane in the sewers as I had hoped for. While that sucked, it also meant the stink of sewage matter and all the other filthy stuff were mostly gone, having decomposed over the years. There were a few traces left here and there – they were not entirely gone – but it wouldn't trigger the gigantic explosion I hoped it would.

"Well, we'll figure something out," I muttered, crouching next to the entrance and thinking hard.

"Um, if it's methane you need, I can use my ability to gather as much methane into the sewers as possible," Pang Fei suggested with a raised hand. He looked a little hesitant. "However, to gather that much methane for your explosion, I'm going to need some time. And I've to be in the center of the sewer too."

"So in the end we'll have to go in either way," Lei Shu grumbled. I nodded with a sigh. I was hoping to be able to solve this easily, but it seemed that we would have to do this the hard way. Even Nian Qing looked revolted as he peered into the entrance of the sewage.

"At least it's not as wet as I thought it would be," he muttered.

Only Lou Qian was unaffected, which was strange. I thought she would be squeamish, but she didn't seem to care. She was already holding her scythe and readying for a foray into the place. Glancing at us impatiently, she tapped her foot.

"Are we going in or not?"

"We need a plan first," I told her. "So relax. First, Pang Fei, how much time do you need?"

"Fifteen minutes."

I considered that for a moment, and then nodded.

"Okay, so we'll buy you all the time you need. I'll see if I can distract the Colossal Rat and engage it in combat. Nian Qing, you'll be given defensive duties. Guard Pang Fei and make sure nothing disturbs him or disrupts his spell. Lou Qian and Lei Shu, just kill as many Cyclops Rats as possible. Then once Pang Fei's technique is done, open up a route for us to escape. We'll need to get out of there or we'll get caught up in the explosion."

"Roger that."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Leave the defense to me!" Nian Qing patted his chest confidently.

"All right, let's go!" I rose to my feet and clapped my hands. "We'll kill our way into the center until we find the Colossal Rat, and then set the trap. Pang Fei, we'll be counting on you then!"

"Okay…" Pang Fei gulped, looking as if he was stressed from all that pressure. But he resolved himself and put on a determined expression. "I will do my best."

"All right, let's go!"

We moved as stealthily as we could through the tunnels, but the Cyclops Rats inevitably found us. I could hear them scampering along the walls or in other corridors, splashing against filthy water and the like. Their squeaks filled the air, echoing throughout the confines.

A few of them came at us, throwing themselves at us with reckless abandon, but Lei Shu and Lou Qian mercilessly mowed them down with their staff and scythe, each weapon wreathed in elemental energies. Cyclops Rats fell, shattering into ice fragments, or convulsed from burning electricity. At first, I didn't even get to fire a single shot. My teammates were in the vanguard, so I had to hold back or I would be worried about accidentally shooting them.

That meant my Kill Count wasn't going up. I felt a little frustrated, but I told myself to prioritize on the success of the mission. There would be more opportunities later. Especially the moment when we finally reached the heart of the nest where the Colossal Rat awaited. There would be a lot of Cyclops Rats to slay. Not to mention, the Colossal Rat itself was probably worth 50 points.

I had to be patient and not be greedy.

The Cyclops Rats weren't suicidal or stupid – at least not when they were being directed by the Colossal Rat. They retreated deeper into the shadows, watching us warily from their corners and crevices. A few of them attempted to ambush us, but they were nothing before the might of evolvers. Minion-class mutants weren't exactly the strongest enemy. They were pretty much fodder.

After a few exchanges, they retreated and wisely kept their distances, with their attacks becoming less frequent. At least at first.

However, the deeper we went in, the more Cyclops Rats we encountered. The ambushes rose in frequency as well, with the Cyclops Rats' assault being more vicious and frantic than before. They tried to come from us in all directions, but Lei Shu, Lou Qian, Pang Fei and Nian Qing worked in concert, covering all four directions. Ice froze an entire tunnel, lightning bathed all sections of a corridor, wind sliced and diced across every corner of a passage, and a wall of thorny wood blocked a path, hindering access from that direction.

I took aim and fired a couple of shots, but I wasn't able to kill any Cyclops Rats before my friends took care of them. It felt like they were kill stealing, and normally I wouldn't care, but it did feel frustrating to see the Kill Count crept up ever so slowly. 16 now…far from enough.

"They keep coming!" Nian Qing said, panting as he conjured another wall of wood to block off another corridor.

"That way," I said, noting the direction from which the greatest concentration of Cyclops Rats came from. "Nian Qing, block off all the other corridors, but leave a mark so that we know where to escape through later."

"Understood."

"Everyone else, focus your attacks there."

"Roger!"

"All right."

"Will do."

Wind, lightning and ice combined to blow a hole through a crowded passageway, and the Cyclops Rats' bodies littered the place in pieces, their blood caking the walls and floor. We ignored the sticky fluids and ran through it. I could sense an ominous presence right ahead.

"We're close!" I warned.

A few moments, we burst out of the relatively narrow corridor and into a wide, cavernous space underground. Skeletal remains of both humans and mutants lay about everywhere, while countless Cyclops Rats clambered about them, feeding or rolling about. In the center of it all, upon a throne-like structure constructed from fused bones, was a colossal rat. And I was being literal.

It was larger than all of the other rats, about the size of an elephant. It shrieked and glared at us with three red glowing eyes, its gleaming claws slicing through bone as easily as if they were little more than paper. Its rotting tail whipped out, shattering stone and skeletons in a single stroke. Snarling shrilly, it hopped down from its throne to glare at us.

"I'll handle the Colossal Rat," I told the others. "You know what to do."

"Yeah!" Pang Fei was crouching, holding his hands close to each other. A small ball of wind was gathering between his palms, and the pungent smell told me that he was collecting the methane we needed. "Give me fifteen minutes! No, ten!"

"Got it. I'll leave him to you guys then."

I charged toward the Colossal Rat, who arrogantly stayed where it was. Squads of Cyclops Rats served as its guards, hurling themselves forward to protect their commander, but I blew their heads open with my guns. Now my Kill Count was rapidly rising. I was glad I had chosen to be patient.

Then the Colossal Rat batted its guards out of its way to hit me. Its black silhouette disappeared into a blur, and the next thing I knew, it was pouncing on top of me. I quickly dove to the side and rolled away in the muck, avoiding getting crushed by its bulk.

Goodness, but the Colossal Rat was fast. Even with my Agility stat of 33, I almost didn't see it coming. Heaving, I fired a couple of shots at the Colossal Rat, but it nimbly bounded away, evading the bolts. A few of them grazed it, eliciting a hiss of pain, but didn't do more than singe its fur.

The Colossal Rat swiped at me with its claws, forcing me to skid back. I ducked under its tail, watching it with wide eyes when it smashed a chunk of concrete away from the wall. Flipping myself back, I avoided another slash, and then escaped being bitten by its razor-sharp fangs.

Yuck. Watching the filth that stained its teeth and claws, I knew that I would suffer from an infection if I got hit by them. Hell, this sewer wasn't exactly a sanitary place. Infections and diseases would be easy to catch if we got grazed or hurt here.

No wonder the authorities wanted the damned rats exterminated. They might not be the strongest, but their ability to spread diseases made them one of the most dangerous.

I hit the ground and allowed the Colossal Rat to fly over me, its claws whisking the air just millimeters away from my back and head. Lashing out with my guns, I fired, but my target was already flipping itself in midair, landing on a wall and propelling itself away. Perhaps a single bolt grazed its fur, but otherwise it largely escaped. With a snarl, it pounced on me again, its body a blur. I fired, but it zigzagged across the air, making use of its speed to evade effortlessly.

I then dropped onto the ground and kicked upward just as it swung its claws at me. The claws missed, but my foot caught it in the chest and sent it flying. Exhilaration filled me when I felt something gave way underneath my kick – that blow must have broken a rib or two. Judging from the pained hiss, I did some damage.

Raising my guns, I fired, but the Colossal Rat noticed. Its tail whipped out and wrapped around a crumbling ledge, altering its trajectory in midair and yanking it aside, causing my bolts to miss. I rolled to my feet and pumped a few shots into a few Cyclops Rats that were racing toward me in order to take advantage of my supposedly lowered guard.

Some distance away, I could hear elemental thunder, stiffening of ice, and the gentle thrum of wood as my teammates drew the bulk of the Cyclops Rats away from me. Even though they were felling dozens or over a hundred, countless more remained. Lou Qian was right. The Colossal Rat had recalled every single Cyclops Rat it could muster to defend itself and its nest.

Kicking a Cyclops Rat away with such force that its spine snapped, I continued rushing forward, intent on pursuing the Colossal Rat. It spun about on another ledge and snapped at me, causing me to retreat. I fired, but it was already jumping away, its body a blur. I took a step back and escaped a lethal slash by mere millimeters, but I wasn't able to evade its tail that struck me like a truck.

"Ugh!"

I hit a wall and fell. Then I rolled away when the Colossal Rat pounced on me. Unable to resist the momentum of its charge, the Colossal Rat crashed into the wall and pulverized it. Even so, it was back up on its feet, kicking and hurling debris in my direction.

I weaved through them, occasionally hopping onto some of them and using them as mobile platforms to draw closer to the Colossal Rat. Even though my vision was obscured by dust, I relied on my lenses to assist my aim and fired.

The Colossal Rat ducked back behind the broken wall and then smashed through another portion in an attempt to take me by surprise. I twisted around and let it fly past me, and then drilled a couple of bolts into its rear. Sizzling flesh filled my nostrils and I gagged, but I continued to pummel the retreating Colossal Rat with a volley of energy blasts.

Shrieking, the warrior-class mutant dragged itself away, but half of its body went limp due to the wounds I had inflicted on it. Its attempt to ambush me had backfired and I had used the chance to turn the tables on it. It had not anticipated that I could see its heat signature behind the wall, having used the infrared setting on my glasses.

Whirling around, it tried to slash at me, but I stayed out of range. It kicked off the ground and tried to flee, scampering for cover, but its speed was clearly reduced. Despite the disadvantage, it was able to dodge half of my shots. The rest of the bolts thudded into its hind legs, blowing cauterized holes in its decaying flesh and sending it crashing to the ground. It skidded to a half, flailing desperately.

Heaving, I pressed on, shooting a couple of Cyclops Rats who flung themselves at me to protect their leader. Once I got a clear shot on the commander, I raised my guns and aimed at its head.

"Checkmate," I said and pulled the trigger.

The two bolts pierced through fur and skill to incinerate its brain. The Colossal Rat screamed one last time, its head snapping back, and then it fell limply.

And my Kill Count increased by 50, going up to 73.