Chapter 19: The Swarm’s Breakthrough

"Ah!"

Wang Dong clutched his bleeding hand, letting out a cry of agony. He stumbled back several paces, his eyes fixed on Xia Tong with a mixture of shock and disbelief.

Seeing this, Lu Mingcheng’s expression flickered. He gripped his steel pipe so tightly his knuckles turned white; the power of a mere droplet of water was truly astonishing!

"Elemental superhumans are truly unreasonable!" he thought, though he could only harbor silent envy.

He realized, however, that this attack felt more like a warning than a deliberate act of hostility.

"Damn it! You beast..." Wang Dong, both terrified and enraged, started to curse again, only to be sharply interrupted by Lu Mingcheng.

"Shut up!" Lu Mingcheng barked, his gaze sweeping over Wang Dong with a sharp, silencing intensity before refocusing on Xia Tong.

His mind raced. While this black cat had displayed hostility and aggression, it hadn't dealt a killing blow. It felt more like a probe triggered by being "provoked." Furthermore, the fact that it could survive alone in these perilous, filth-ridden sewers—with fur that remained impossibly clean—spoke to its extraordinary nature.

Perhaps... it was more familiar with this environment than they were?

A bold thought crossed his mind. The immediate priority was to escape, not to invite unnecessary trouble.

With that in mind, Lu Mingcheng slowly lowered his steel pipe, letting one end touch the ground—a gesture intended to signal that he had no intention of attacking. He said nothing, simply staring at Xia Tong, attempting to convey a single message: they only wanted to leave and had no desire for conflict.

Xia Tong’s feline eyes shimmered with contemplation. As a cat possessing a human soul, she understood Lu Mingcheng’s olive branch and grasped his concerns. In a sewer filled with so many variables, combat was hardly the optimal choice; even if she won, it would inevitably exhaust a great deal of her energy.

These people... perhaps they could be "used" for the time being? Let them scout the path ahead or draw out potential dangers?

After weighing the pros and cons, Xia Tong made her decision.

She dissipated the mist swirling around her, though she remained vigilant. She took half a step back, clearing the narrow passage. Then, she lifted her chin slightly, gesturing with her eyes—in that direction, her water-based ability sensed that the moisture flow was relatively smooth and thinner, suggesting a likely path to an exit.

Her implication was clear; now, it was a matter of the others' choice.

Lu Mingcheng’s eyes shifted almost imperceptibly. He understood. Though he didn't know why this cat would point the way, it was undoubtedly the best option available.

"Follow," he whispered to his team members behind him. "Keep your distance, and stay alert!"

"Boss, this..." Wang Dong began, his voice filled with reluctance, but he was instantly silenced by a piercing glare from Lu Mingcheng.

Crossing the boss was likely to be more trouble than it was worth. He could only clutch his injured hand, casting a resentful, venomous look at the wretched black cat, but he dared not say another word. Liu He and Li Sishui didn't even dare to breathe loudly, trailing closely behind Lu Mingcheng.

The group cautiously squeezed through the gap where Xia Tong had stepped aside. Xia Tong followed at an unhurried pace, maintaining a distance that allowed her to observe the entire situation while remaining ready to react the moment an accident occurred.

...

The foul-smelling sewer was thick with an indescribable stench, yet no one made a sound. The group and the cat maintained this strange, fragile balance as they moved through the dark, slippery tunnels.

...Silently pushing forward.

The flickering beam of a flashlight was the only source of light in the boundless darkness, illuminating rusted pipes and the slick, viscous ground.

Just then, from deep within the passage ahead, a disturbing "scuttling" sound suddenly emerged. It was different from the "squeaking" of rats—denser, more numerous, like countless tiny, hard objects scraping against the inner walls of the pipes, enough to make one’s scalp crawl.

"What is that sound?" Liu He grabbed Lu Mingcheng’s arm, his voice trembling.

The flashlight beam swept forward. From the cracks in the walls and the junctions of rusted pipes, insects the size of thumbnails began to emerge, their bodies glistening with a dull, metallic sheen. These insects possessed hard carapaces and numerous sharp legs, their compound eyes flickering with eerie red dots in the light.

*Click-clack... click-clack...*

They emerged in a dense swarm, gnawing on the residual sludge and strange, sticky moss on the pipe walls, creating a teeth-grinding, crunching noise. Soon, drawn by the scent of fresh, living prey, they turned their direction and began to advance rapidly toward Lu Mingcheng’s group and Xia Tong!

"Damn it!" Lu Mingcheng’s face turned deathly pale. He roared, "They’re Iron-Shelled Blister Beetles! Tier 1 mutated insects—their mandibles can bite through thin sheet metal! Don't let them climb onto you! Run!"

Before he could finish, he swung his steel pipe, smashing it hard against the first few beetles charging toward them. With several muffled thuds, a few insects had their carapaces shattered and juices splattered, but more poured forth, utterly fearless. There were simply too many of them!

At the same time, a notification from the "Source Core" flashed in Xia Tong’s mind:

【Iron-Shelled Blister Beetle, Tier 1 mutated creature. Possesses hard mandibles; feeds on flesh periodically to prevent its iron shell from oxidizing and rotting. Prefers dry environments.】

"Ah!" Liu He screamed, frantically swinging his machete with little effect. Wang Dong, despite his injured hand, picked up his weapon to fight, but against the dense swarm, his efforts were futile.

Xia Tong frowned, feeling a visceral disgust toward these swarming insects. Without a moment's hesitation, she unleashed her water-based ability!

*Whoosh...*

A visible, high-speed swirling ring of water formed rapidly around her body, like a dynamic blue shield. The Iron-Shelled Blister Beetles that tried to approach her were instantly repelled and swept away upon touching the spinning water membrane, unable to get close at all. Under her precise control, the water even formed tiny vortices, pulling several beetles that dared to get too close into the spin, crushing them instantly.

Such refined control was a "gift" from her past life; otherwise, with her current Tier 1 strength, she would never have been able to master techniques that usually required a mid-tier ability level.

On the other side, as Lu Mingcheng and his group struggled to deal with the insect tide, they noticed the activity around Xia Tong. Seeing that efficient and uncanny water shield, their expressions grew complex. Wang Dong couldn't help but curse under his breath, "Damn, that ghost cat..."

In the chaos, Xia Tong’s water currents inadvertently washed away several waves of insects surging toward the humans, indirectly coming to their rescue.

"Follow its direction and charge!" Seeing that Xia Tong was advancing rather than retreating, Lu Mingcheng made a decisive call.

They had come this far; he wanted to see exactly what this cat was planning!