Chapter 6: They are Smarter Now?

"Stay alert." Alex said while they started to ascend up the stairs to the eighth floor where Riley was.

Brian and Terry held the mop and broom in their hands tightly and nodded.

With every step they took, their hearts thumped faster.

And it didn’t take them too long to encounter some of the rats that were scurrying around looking for prey.

"Watch out!" Brian shouted and he swept the few rats that were coming for him to the side where Alex was, just as how Alex had briefed them earlier.

Alex wasted no time and he smashed his baseball bat at them.

Splatter.

Blood spurted out from the body of the rat that was hit by the baseball bat.

He didn’t stop and hit some of the other rats that were next to it.

The rats gave out a high-pitched squeak that was terrifying and they continued to come at him.

They tried to climb up from his leg, and he stomped a few of them flat, squeezing out the innards from their bodies.

As for some of those rats that had reached his knees, he took out his knife and stabbed at them with it.

He picked them off one by one until there was none left.

After he drew in a few slow breaths to compose himself, Alex lifted his head to check on Brian and Terry to see how they were doing.

Thankfully, both of them had overcome the initial shock and were doing a pretty good job taking care of the rats.

They swept the rats away with one end of their broom and mop and when some of the rats that they missed got near them, they used the other sharp end of their broom and mop to stab at the rats.

Alex quickly joined in to help them and very soon, there weren’t any left.

He wiped the blood that was on his hand onto the wall and a familiar sound erupted in his mind.

[Congratulations Host for killing off 20 mutated beasts.]

[Dispensing rewards now:]

[150x bottles of mineral water.]

[30x packets of MRE ration.]

[10x boxes of essential medication.]

[10x Pistols with ammunition.]

[All items are stored in your storage space now.]

[Current status: 52/200]

[Day 1 of 3 for SSS Level Storage Ability.]

Alex was glad when he saw that he was getting closer to the 200 required to keep the ability.

But he wished that the allocation of the rewards would be more varied.

Having only MRE ration packs every day wasn’t really a pleasant idea.

And he would prefer having more weapons.

Who knows if he would need to arm those who didn’t awaken any abilities in the future?

Alex frowned and gave out a sigh.

"Heh. They aren’t too difficult to deal with.

"Maybe this will be over very soon." Terry said and held up the mop in his hand.

Alex disagreed and shook his head at Terry, "No, I’m thinking that this is only the beginning of their mutation.

"They might become more ferocious and larger in the future or even have abilities like you.

"It’s best that we do everything to be prepared for it to happen soon."

"Although you sound like Riley right now, I do have to agree." Brian nodded his head and said.

"Then, let’s continue if you are ready." Alex said and the two of them nodded their heads.

They continued and ascended a few floors before they encountered some of the rats again on the sixth floor.

"Get them!" Terry shouted and he swung his mop at them.

But they scurried away at the moment of contact.

"Yeah. Better run while you can!" Terry got ahead of himself and he wanted to go after them.

But Alex felt something amiss.

It was the first time he saw the rats behaving in such a manner.

He wasn’t sure if the rats got smarter or it was a coincidence, but one thing for sure, it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Wait, don’t chase after them." Alex pulled Terry back before he could move.

"We have to move." Brian said and pointed at their backs.

There were sounds of the squeaks from the rats and their footsteps getting closer from behind.

Alex frowned and thought that these rats weren’t only smarter, but they were also organized, as if someone was controlling them.

"I guess we have no other choice for now." He said and they continued on their way up.

When they got to the seventh floor, they were greeted with a swarm of rats in front of them.

Brian and Terry got to work as usual.

They flicked the rats that came at them over to Alex and Alex tried to kill them off with his baseball bat.

But while Alex was doing so, some of the rats that had come from behind had arrived.

They were surrounded and things weren’t looking too good for them.

"Get into the corridor." He shouted and both Brian and Terry opened the door to the corridor of the seventh floor and went in.

Alex followed behind and he quickly closed the door.

Scratch.

After he did so, the rats scratching and biting at the door could be heard.

Then, it stopped.

Alex instinctively glanced up at the air-con duct from his past experience, and he was right.

The rats scurrying about in the air-con duct could be heard.

"Where do these rats come from!" Terry said with annoyance that they seemed to be coming at them endlessly.

"They were everywhere in the sewers, waste facilities or the trash cans you see every day." Brian said while he got ready for what was about to come for them.

Alex glanced at the air-con duct that stretched across the corridor until the end of it.

He made a decision and said, "Get to the end of the corridor so we wouldn’t get surrounded by the rats."

The three of them turned around and ran towards the other end of the corridor.

Thud.

When they did so, the air-con duct covers behind them dropped and the rats fell from above.

They immediately went after Alex and the others.