Chapter 9

Chapter 9

More people gradually arrived in the area, livening up the surroundings. After changing his own clothes from head to toe and selecting a spare set, Feng Chen took Yan Bubu to the children's clothing section.

His finger trailed across a row of children's clothes, picking up a pair of denim overalls and handing them to Yan Bubu: "Hold onto these for now."

Yan Bubu took the overalls, examining them curiously: "Who are these for, Master Chen?"

As Feng Chen picked out a yellow long-sleeved T-shirt, he replied: "They're for you to wear."

"For me?" Yan Bubu looked at the overalls, then at Feng Chen, puzzled. "But, I might not fit into them."

Feng Chen hesitated: "This is children's clothing. Don't you usually wear children's sizes?"

"I don't know," Yan Bubu said, observing Feng Chen's expression, slightly unsure: "But maybe I can squeeze into them."

"Let me check." Feng Chen took the overalls and held them up to Yan Bubu's body. Indeed, they were too short. He then checked the tag, seeing the words: 'For 1-2 year old boys.'

Feng Chen hung the overalls back up and carefully selected another set, paying close attention to the tags and measuring them against Yan Bubu's size.

However, when choosing T-shirts, Yan Bubu became picky.

"I like the color of this one, like a clear sky, all blue, but it doesn't have Bi Nu Nu. That one over there has Bi Nu Nu."

Feng Chen, holding several long-sleeved T-shirts, replied expressionlessly: "You already tried that one and said you didn't like it."

"That one's Bi Nu Nu looks just like the one in the cartoon. I really like it, but I don't like its color. It's like the blue of an approaching storm, all dark."

"So, which one do you actually want?"

"Hmm… let me think. This yellow one looks nice, but it has Sa Sa Ka. I don't like Sa Sa Ka; he always steals Bi Nu Nu's popcorn. But he's better than the Dark Wizard, who is really bad."

Feng Chen felt a twitch in his forehead.

"Bi Nu Nu is like a round little person, plump and with round eyes and mouth, looking like a potato with limbs and facial features." Feng Chen decisively stuffed both T-shirts into Yan Bubu's large tote bag, handing him another one: "Put this on and throw away the suit you took off."

Although Yan Bubu was picky during the selection, he was overjoyed to keep all the items, touching them fondly and incessantly.

Once he changed into the T-shirt and overalls, Feng Chen tried to pick out shoes for him, but Yan Bubu withdrew his feet, shaking his head: "I don't want new shoes, I want to wear these."

Pointing to his mud-covered sneakers, he explained, "These are the shoes you used to wear, given to me by Tai Tai. She said you won first place wearing these shoes."

His words radiated pride, his chin lifted as if he had won the race himself. Seeing the shoes were still fairly new, Feng Chen didn't insist further.

As they were about to leave the children's section, sudden commotion erupted ahead. People screamed and ran out of several outdoor supply stores.

"Rats are biting people! Hit them, quick, oh my God!"

"There's another one here, it's trying to bite me, hit it, ah..."

The scene was chaotic, with dim and flickering lights revealing around a dozen large rats scurrying and leaping at people.

From a nearby store, a man emerged screaming, his right index finger shortened and bleeding profusely.

Amidst the chaos, a rat longer than a chopstick charged at them. Feng Chen had just picked up a clothes hanger when a small figure darted out.

Yan Bubu, holding a clothes hanger too, frantically hit the rat, shrieking, "I'll kill you, I'll kill you." His aim was off, mostly hitting the ground.

As the rat was about to escape, Feng Chen pulled Yan Bubu behind him and struck the rat hard with the hanger.

The rat lay motionless, guts spilled.

"I killed you," Yan Bubu kept shouting excitedly at the rat, then turned to Feng Chen, panting, "Don't worry, I'll take care of the rats. In our storage room at home, I always chased them away because my mom and Grandma Liu were afraid."

Others in the area also started killing the rats, leaving a pile of rodent corpses on the ground.

"Damn it, as if the earthquake wasn't enough, now these rats are bullying us," a man grumbled after smashing a rat with a stone.

Suddenly, someone screamed in terror: "Why are there so many rats?"

The chaotic beams of light revealed hundreds more rats peeking from the shadows and ceiling cracks, their sharp teeth bared menacingly.

Sensing danger, Feng Chen tightly gripped Yan Bubu, who was still brandishing his hanger, and pulled him away.

"Young Master, watch this—"

"Let's go, quickly."

Chen Feng grabbed Yan Bubu and ran, and the others, snapping to their senses, followed. But at that moment, the rats also stirred, squeaking and chasing after the fleeing crowd.

In the shaking beam of the flashlight, the walls and floor were swarming with rats. They moved swiftly, surging forward and quickly catching up to the person at the back.

That person was instantly overrun by rats, which began to gnaw and tear at him; he screamed in agony, falling to the ground and writhing in pain.

Continuous screams filled the air as more people were attacked, and some rats even reached Chen Feng and Yan Bubu.

Chen Feng handed the flashlight to Yan Bubu and shouted, "Light the way and call out the rats' positions!" He then began to swing his clothes fork, knocking a rat flying into the wall with a thud.

Holding the flashlight, Yan Bubu called out the rats' locations: "One there by you, one here by you, another there—"

"Just say left or right."

Yan Bubu paused for a second: "But I can't tell left from right… One over there!"

Chen Feng swung his clothes fork like a baseball bat, batting away another rat, and said, "Keep it short then."

"There, here, stomach, back, there."

Fighting off the rats, they continued running until they were about a hundred meters from the main door, where the walls were lit by petrol lamps, brightening the surroundings.

Chen Feng glanced back to see the floor and walls submerged by a sea of rats. Some people, covered in rats, stumbled towards the exit. Others had fallen, and the rats swarmed over them, gnawing voraciously, the sound of teeth grinding against bone chilling the air.

"Ah, those rats, rats..." Even Yan Bubu, normally unafraid of rats, was petrified by the sight.

Chen Feng tore a petrol lamp from the wall and grabbed some scattered clothes, unscrewing the lamp's cap to douse them in gasoline.

The clothes burst into flames with a whoosh, startling the advancing rats into scattering again.

Chen Feng, wielding his clothes fork, ignited the clothes and yelled at Yan Bubu, "Get out of here now!" He then charged towards the people at the forefront, driving the rats off them.

They were already bleeding profusely from the bites, but once the rats scattered, they braved their pain and ran towards the exit.

The people behind had fallen and couldn't be saved. Chen Feng, not daring to linger, retreated towards the main door, swinging the burning clothes to fend off the rats that were eagerly trying to pounce.

"Young Master, be careful, there's a stool behind you," Yan Bubu's voice came from behind.

Feng Chen turned his head in shock: "You haven't left yet?"

"I'm waiting, waiting for you," Yan Bubu said, his face pale but determined, wielding a flaming garment on a clothes fork. "Don't worry, I always handle the rats at home; I'll protect you."

The rats, fearing the fire, hesitated to approach. As they reached the door, the rumble of armored vehicles could be heard outside.

The heat from the burning clothes intensified, making the stainless steel hanger almost too hot to hold. Feng Chen saw several West Union soldiers jump from the vehicle. He hurled the flaming clothes into the swarm of rats and, clutching Yan Bubu, dashed outside.

The rats, vicious and relentless, followed them out. One of the soldiers raised a flamethrower, aiming at both the rats and them, ready to unleash the flames.

The soldier appeared determined to press the fire button without hesitation.

Without delay, Feng Chen dived to the right just as the flames burst forth. Yan Bubu, tucked under his arm, felt the scorching heat as the flames roared past them.

They rolled upon landing. Looking up at the door, they saw a horde of rats being engulfed by the flames, shrieking and turning into charred remains.

Sitting up, Feng Chen gasped for breath and asked in a low voice, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Yan Bubu, still dazed, mechanically shook his head.

Seeing no burns on Yan Bubu's exposed skin, just a few singed curls on his head, Feng Chen stood up and said, "Let's go, we need to leave this place."

If they didn't leave quickly, the West Union soldiers would finish with the rats and start checking identities, which could spell trouble.

Picking up the fallen backpack, they hurried away from the fashion city.

A few streets away, they saw huge fires and heard explosions. The flames illuminated half the sky and the towering Haiyun Tower in the distance.

Behind them, the sound of motorcycles grew louder. Several heavy bikes, blaring loud rock music and with blinding headlights, sped towards them.

Despite the road being littered with rubble, the motorcyclists sped by rapidly. Feng Chen quickly pulled Yan Bubu aside to avoid them.

The motorcyclists were a group of young people, screaming excitedly and cheering at the ruins on both sides of the road as if celebrating a festival.

Suddenly, one of the youths threw a glass bottle at a standing shop.

The bottle shattered against the wall, and with a muffled explosion, the shop caught fire. A person, ablaze, rushed out, frantically stripping off their coat and rolling on the ground to extinguish the flames.

"Haha! Celebrate the apocalypse! Haha," the youths shouted wildly, continuing their rampage on their motorcycles.

A helicopter's sound came from above, its bright beam sweeping over the broken walls. The loudspeaker repeatedly warned, "Motorcyclists, you have been targeted. Pull over immediately, or severe measures will be taken."

Unfazed, the motorcyclists arrogantly sped on as the loudspeaker began a countdown.

"Ten, nine, eight... three, two, one!"

As the countdown ended, a missile launched from the helicopter, trailing thick smoke, homed in on the last motorcycle.

At that moment, the motorcycle gang was passing right by Feng Chen and Yan Bubu, who were swiftly pulled behind a broken wall by Feng Chen.

Bang!

The motorcycle was blasted into the air.

Yan Bubu momentarily lost his hearing, his head buzzing. As he reflexively tried to look up, Feng Chen pushed his head down, and they were showered with falling debris.

After a while, Feng Chen pulled him up, dusting off the debris, and they emerged from behind the wall.

The motorcycles and the helicopter had disappeared, leaving a new pile of twisted metal and wreckage on the chaotic street.