23. Rat People

"Ah Bing, aren't you ready yet? That Heretic Believer is getting more and more agitated, and the hostage's neck is starting to bleed. The situation is quite critical."

"Captain, that person is very professional, hiding his body well. I can't aim, so I don't have any chance for a sniper shot."

"Chen Yan, have you identified the Heretic Believer's identity yet? Contact his family as soon as possible and have them come to the scene to persuade him."

"Captain, the other side is an orphan."

"..."

Listening to the reports from the two team members, the captain of the tactical unit looked deeply worried.

He really wanted to rush in and rescue the woman being held, but he couldn't see any opportunity to intervene.

The Heretic Believer was crouched in a corner, using the hostage to shield his body, only exposing the knife at the hostage's throat, without showing any vulnerabilities.

"Captain, why don't we try using the sleep gas?"

A team member suggested quietly.

The captain of the tactical unit shook his head: "It's useless. The sleep gas is too obvious, and it could enrage the criminal before it takes effect, leading them to extreme actions."

Just when everyone felt helpless,

Suddenly!

A sharp whooshing sound erupted!

"Buzz!"

The next instant, a stone the size of an egg, moving at a speed invisible to the naked eye, flew from in front of the captain of the tactical unit and struck the Heretic Believer's hand precisely.

"Ah——!"

The Heretic Believer screamed in pain.

The stone had hit his knife-holding hand.

Moreover, the angle it struck at was extremely tricky, and the strong impact force caused his knife-wielding hand to turn outwards, moving the knife away from the hostage's neck and quickly slipping from his grasp to the ground.

At the same time, Teacher Strawberry, the hostage, finally managed to escape, her strong desire to survive making her desperately run toward the tactical officers.

The officers reacted quickly, one stepped forward to meet Teacher Strawberry, while the others rushed forward to subdue the Heretic Believer.

From start to finish, the officers had no idea what had just happened; they only knew that the Heretic Believer suddenly clutched his hand and screamed, and then the hostage had escaped from danger on her own.

Only Shen Qinghan, who had witnessed everything, was so shocked that she opened her mouth wide in astonishment.

"Xiao Chen, you..."

"Let's go, we'll talk later."

Lin Zichen had no intention of staying longer. Seeing that Teacher Strawberry was safe, he sat back on his bicycle to take Shen Qinghan away.

However, before he could ride off, the captain of the tactical unit ran over and blocked his path, panting as he said:

"Student, wait a moment, don't rush off. Was it you who threw the stone just now?"

As he spoke, the captain of the tactical unit placed a stone he was holding in front of Lin Zichen.

The Heretic Believer's hand was injured, and there was a blood-stained stone not far from his feet. Combining that with the direction from which the stone had been thrown, the captain of the tactical unit guessed that it was Lin Zichen who had thrown it.

Although the incident was hard to believe, there indeed was no more reasonable explanation at the moment.

"It wasn't me who threw it."

Lin Zichen, wanting to avoid further complications, dropped this remark indifferently.

Then, swerving his handlebars, he rode past the captain of the tactical unit and left.

The captain of the tactical unit was stunned for a moment. As he collected himself, he watched Lin Zichen's retreating figure and shouted:

"Student!"

"Student, stop a moment!"

"Student, what you did was good; why won't you admit it?!"

No matter how loudly the captain of the tactical unit called, Lin Zichen showed no sign of stopping; his figure quickly disappeared around a corner.

"This is so strange. Why would someone not admit to doing a good deed?"

The captain of the tactical unit was completely baffled.

Nevertheless, he didn't think too much about it. He planned to return tomorrow to review the security footage and confirm whether it was indeed Lin Zichen who had intervened and how.

Just then, Lin Zichen returned with Shen Qinghan and asked, "I just remembered something, is there a reward for acts of bravery?"

"Uh, yes, there is."

"That's right, I was the one who threw it, and my fingerprints are on the stone. You can take me back to compare them."

Security Chief: "..."

This change of attitude was so abrupt that it left the Security Chief at a loss for words.

Lin Zichen didn't want to act like this, but in order to start the Ghost Squid Album sooner, he had to think of every possible way to save money, bowing down for the proverbial five bushels of rice.

Security Chief: "Well then, later you come to the security station to simply make a written record and compare fingerprints. Once everything checks out, I'll apply for your bravery reward."

"Sure, no problem."

Lin Zichen readily agreed.

Hearing this, Shen Qinghan in the backseat immediately took out her phone and called home, saying she would be back later.

Meanwhile, the Security Chief returned to the park to handle the aftermath, and to bring the subdued Heretic Believer back to the station.

"By the way, Xiao Chen, I'm not sure how Teacher Strawberry is doing now; let's go check on her."

As soon as Shen Qinghan finished her call, she suggested to Lin Zichen in front of her.

Lin Zichen: "Okay."

Having reached an agreement, they parked their bicycle to the side and walked together toward the security vehicle in the park.

Teacher Strawberry had been rescued and was immediately brought into the security vehicle to treat her neck wound; she was probably resting inside the vehicle now.

Just as they were nearing the security vehicle.

Not far to the side, the handcuffed Heretic Believer suddenly started to utter a painful "heh-heh" sound.

Suddenly, his face began to crack, revealing shocking bloodstains.

The bloodstains split longer and wider until they formed eyes, evenly distributed on both sides of his face.

Including the original eyes, there were exactly eight.

The officer in charge of escorting the Heretic Believer spotted the problem, immediately drew his gun and loaded it, while shouting nervously to the Security Chief:

"Chief, there's been a mutation, the Heretic Believer is showing signs of turning into a Giant Mutant Rat!"

As soon as the words were out, the symptom-exhibiting Heretic Believer suddenly gained immense strength, broke the handcuffs with a snap, and turned around to lunge at the officer, biting ferociously.

Luckily, the officer was on guard and reacted swiftly, managing to dodge by side-stepping.

Giant Mutant Rat?!

Lin Zichen first heard these words, and then saw the eight eyes on the Heretic Believer's face. Without a second thought, he grabbed Shen Qinghan beside him and turned to sprint out of the park.

He didn't know exactly what was happening, but making distance from the scene was definitely the right move.

Shen Qinghan was still a bit dazed, but having often been carried by Lin Zichen like this as a child, she just obediently wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her face against him to make it easier for him to carry her.

"Shoot, shoot now!"

Lin Zichen had barely started running when the Security Chief, already anxious, shouted loudly to several officers.

Suddenly, a deafening series of gunshots erupted, exceptionally jarring through the quiet of the night.

"Bang!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"..."

By this time, Lin Zichen had already carried Shen Qinghan out of the park and they both hopped onto their bicycle, pedaling hard to get far from the dangerous area behind them.

However, whether it was because he pedaled too hard or for some other reason, just less than 20 meters out, the chain of the bicycle suddenly snapped with a "crack".

It wasn't just a slipped chain but a complete break, beyond repair.

"Damn!" Lin Zichen rarely cursed.

...

PS: Holding out a bowl, asking for Monthly Passes and recommendation tickets!