Mutant Rats

Alice couldn't shake the feeling that storing the food in the warehouse was unsafe. "Don't put all your eggs in one basket. It's better to store the food separately."

After some contemplation, Hurley said, "I'll talk to the higher-ups at the base about it."Relocating the food was a significant undertaking, and there was no guarantee they would listen to him, but Alice's reasoning made sense.

"Okay," Alice could only remind him to that extent.

After Alice left, Hurley immediately went to find the base's management and shared the idea of relocating the food with them.

The base's leader called for a high-level meeting, and discussions were ongoing.

"The base is under attack by rats. As long as we enhance the defenses, it doesn't matter where we store the food. There's no need to move it."

"The entire food storage is tens of thousands of tons. Not only do we lack suitable storage for separation, but the operation would also be extremely troublesome."

"Instead of wasting manpower on moving it, it's better to station more people to guard the granary. If rats appear, shoot them on sight."

"Splitting up the food storage would require even more manpower. I suggest we don't relocate."

Hurley's brows furrowed as he continued to explain, "Those rats already know there's food in the granary. They will come back next time, and it might even attract more rats. Base leader, I believe it's safer to relocate everything."

Others weren't pleased, "You say it lightly. Tens of thousands of tons of rice, abandoning the well-built granary, where would be a suitable place?"

"Your idea is good, but I don't think it's necessary. The rats may be mutated, but humans can still eliminate them. We are their natural enemies."

"If the meat of mutated rats is edible, those who haven't had meat for a long time will turn into wolves and can definitely wipe out the rats."

"Just a few small rats have frightened you like this. Tonight, I'll send two people over."

The disagreement among the higher-ups continued, leaving the decision on whether to relocate the food in limbo."Hurley, your idea is good, but it's not applicable. The base has its own arrangements for this matter. What you need to think about now is how to deal with the haze."

Seeing that they weren't receptive to persuasion, Hurley didn't insist any further.

...

In the evening, Alice checked the electric fence again to ensure there were no vulnerabilities before heading back for dinner.

After the sudden rat attack last night, many people downstairs were cursing as the food had been completely devoured. To avoid drawing attention, their meals today were light: minced eggplant, cold shrimp with broccoli, bitter melon with pork slices, and seaweed egg soup.

After the family finished their meal, Blanche, looking at the stacked food against the wall, called Alice over. "What if we put the food into the space? In case the electric fence can't stop the rats, it would be too late to collect it."

Atticus nodded, "Yes, leave a small portion here; that should be enough. Bring it out after we finish eating."

Although Alice didn't believe the rats could break through the electric fence and enter, she decided to put away most of the supplies to ease their minds.

Late at night, Alice lay in bed watching a horror movie, waiting for the rats to come.Having seen so many terrifying things, she found horror movies increasingly fake, and her mind remained calm from start to finish. 

As soon as she put her phone down, she heard the sound of rats crawling outside the window, getting closer.Before Alice could sit up from her bed, she heard the ping-pong sound of beating rats coming from downstairs.

Almost simultaneously, the surrounding apartment buildings lit up, and curses echoed one after another.Clearly, Alice wasn't the only one waiting for the rats.

Alice focused her attention on the electric fence. The sound of rats grew louder, and a dark shadow appeared at the window.

Two rats sniffed around, stretched out their paws, and started scratching the electric fence."Sizzle~"

In the next second, the electric fence flickered with blue-purple electric currents, and several rats let out a cry before falling off. More and more rats climbed onto the electric fence, ultimately getting electrocuted into roasted rats. The smell of grilled meat permeated the air, attracting even more rats. Those exhausted from beating the rats could finally catch their breath.

Giant rats continued to pour in, and the windows and doors of the houses constantly rattled. The scent of burnt flesh lingered in the air.

Alice went to check the other windows. Outside Alexander's room, the windows were covered with rats, blocking them tightly. Seeing the rats continuously pouring in, Alice increased the electric current. 

Seeing the rats coming one after another, Alexander yawned, "They can't come in with the electric fence blocking them. It's late; let's go back to sleep."

These rats couldn't be eliminated in a short period, so they might as well go about their business.

Alice thought the same and turned back to her room. The Allen family's routine remained unaffected, but the situation was dire for others in the base.

With limited resources, they could only use wooden boards, iron wires, and other materials to barricade the windows. However, the sharp teeth of the giant rats bit through everything. Dozens of rats were running rampant in the houses, biting anyone they encountered. Many people were injured but dared not stop to tend to their wounds, wielding weapons to fend off the rats.

Some people, in their frenzied state, recklessly attacked, resulting in shattered items in the house. Despite this, many rats still managed to escape, and the food in the house was nearly consumed.

At this moment, the advantage of living together became apparent. In the dormitories where people were clustered, rats were not a cause for fear. Armed with shovels, each person could eliminate the rats that entered. Those living in tents were concerned about the rats damaging their tents; they dared not set up the tents at night. When they saw the rats coming, they would run away, fortunately with few consequences.At the same time, the sound of gunfire echoed continuously from the base's granary. However, there were too many rats, and the rate of shooting couldn't keep up with the speed at which the rats were devouring the food.

More and more rats emerged from the underground of the granary. Before the people could react, a section of the ground collapsed, revealing a hole about twenty centimeters in diameter. Countless rats swarmed out of the hole, and the sight alone made people's limbs weak.

"Part of you eliminate the rats, and the rest move the food onto the train, quickly."

The food was crucial for the survival of the entire base. Everyone with a gun rushed over, and people nearby also wielded weapons to support.

"There are too many rats, we can't beat them. Hurry up, everyone!"

People's faces were grave, and their actions didn't dare to pause. Even next to the trucks, there were rats, requiring another group of people to handle the rats.

The giant rats ate quickly, tearing open bags of rice and diving in. Every rice bag in the granary was now swarming with rats.

Fortunately, more and more people came to assist, and the speed of moving the food increased significantly. However, those in charge of eliminating the rats had to be cautious not to accidentally injure people, slowing down their actions.

Five hours later, the rats in the granary were either eliminated or escaped, leaving behind a mess. Only a small portion of the rice remained intact; the rest of the rice bags were torn open, and grains scattered in every corner of the granary. Many people felt distressed at the sight.

There were still many people in the base who couldn't get enough to eat. The food had been ruined by the rats, and the people present were infuriated.

Dead rats piled up on the ground, emitting a nauseating stench. The commander of the base, looking at this scene, had a grim expression, regretting deeply. If they had listened to Hurley from the beginning and stored the food separately, they wouldn't have suffered such great losses.

"Take stock of the remaining food. Separate the intact rice from the rest," the base commander said coldly.