Chapter 88
Chen Huai'an brought over a shoebox and compared its size to Ba Ji's. He thought that closing Ba Ji inside the shoebox would be quite uncomfortable, so he switched to a storage box instead. Gently, he lifted the motionless Ba Ji and placed it inside the storage box, apologizing, "Sorry, Ba Ji, but you'll have to stay in here for now. Once this is over, I'll get you a cat carrier."
Ba Ji looked at the closed storage box, feeling a chill in its heart, but quickly regained its composure.
No worries, even if it was confined, it was still an opportunity.
This storage box was inconvenient to carry; the boss would definitely just take it in hand.
So, as soon as the boss left the room, it could jump out and make a run for it. At that point, the sky would be high and the birds would fly free, the sea vast and the fish would leap—kekek!
Just as this thought formed, the storage box opened, and a large blue fish was tossed inside.
Ba Ji: "???"
The large blue fish: "..."
The lid closed again.
Outside, Chen Huai'an's voice rang out, "Sigh, this fish is too troublesome to take along. Better to leave it in the box for Ba Ji to eat."
Ba Ji and the large blue fish exchanged glances.
The large blue fish quickly flopped around, its big fish eyes filled with pleading.
【Forget it, since I'm going to escape anyway, I won't eat it.】
Ba Ji suppressed its appetite once more, thinking:
【A cat of my size shouldn't be able to eat such a big fish. Hold on!】
Just a little longer, and freedom would be within reach.
The next moment, Chen Huai'an continued, "Take the talismans from the windows and doors too; that's 200,000 kuai. Kekek, what a waste of money."
Bang—!
Someone pressed down on the storage box.
Ba Ji's heart skipped a beat, and it trembled as it looked up.
Through the not-so-thick lid, it could vaguely see two vertical strips of paper stuck on top.
They were talismans, freshly taken from the windows and doors!
The boss had 'casually' stuck them on the box!
【Ha, how naive of me.】
Ba Ji gazed up at the lid at a 45-degree angle, tears welling in its eyes.
【That’s the boss! How could he not know my little thoughts?】
【Even if he doesn't, that dazzling aura will suppress me!】
【I can't escape; there's no way out...】
Unbeknownst to Chen Huai'an, his casual actions had sent Ba Ji into a spiral of despair.
He had finished packing, with clothes and a potted plant in his suitcase, and the storage box taped to the top.
He wore a faded tracksuit.
Though it looked a bit shabby, he was used to it.
It didn’t stop various girls from asking him for green bubbles when he went out.
However, just as he opened the door, a sudden scream pierced the air.
"Ah! A monster! A monster!"
It was the voice of the cleaning lady.
He glanced to the side and saw the lady had fallen to the ground, huddled against the wall, trembling in fear.
In the carpeted hallway, a massive black-furred rat was slowly approaching.
The sound of its coarse fur scraping against the wall was ominous, revealing its formidable presence.
It didn’t even glance at the terrified cleaning lady, its blood-red eyes locked onto the end of the hallway.
Locked onto Chen Huai'an!
Step by step.
One step after another, like a minion.
Like the steps of a demon.
"An mutated rat?" Chen Huai'an stared at the enormous black rat, feeling no fear for some reason. Instinctively, he compared it to the Qing Xuan Daoist and found this rat to be nothing, even less intimidating than the mutated wolf he encountered on Tianmen Mountain.
But reason told him he should grab something for self-defense.
Before he could think further, the black rat suddenly accelerated!
"Roar—!"
It lunged left and right, howling,
Like a black whirlwind, it charged at him with incredible speed.
Too fast!
Chen Huai'an had no time to dodge.
He could only instinctively raise his hands to shield his face, his mind still in a daze.
But the black rat didn’t pounce.
Hearing no noise, Chen Huai'an slowly lowered his hands.
He saw the black rat had stopped two meters away, frozen in place.
Even though they were different species, he could clearly see the deep fear in the rat's trembling eyes and quaking body.
"It’s afraid of me?" Chen Huai'an steadied himself, confirming his judgment.
A puddle of yellow liquid pooled beneath the rat.
Had it really scared itself?
He took a couple of cautious steps forward.
As he approached, the rat remained motionless.
"Wow, you really are scared of me? Just this? Kekek~"
Chen Huai'an swelled with confidence, hands on his hips, striking a pose in front of the black rat, oblivious to the fact that the rat's fearful gaze was fixated on the storage box that lay tipped over to the side.
"Is this the fear brought on by a higher life force?"
"My goodness, I've never seen such a huge rat before."
He circled the black rat.
Seeing it standing there, dazed and unmoving, like a zombie stuck by a talisman in a TV show, he couldn’t help but feel mischievous.
He pulled out a Thunder Fire talisman from his pocket and pressed it against the rat's forehead.
"Kekekek~"
"Today, I’ll let you cosplay as a zombie rat!"
...
...
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Chapter 94: What Price to Pay?
Just as the talisman was about to touch the black rat's head, the rat seemed to finally react, its head shrinking down into its chest.
But the talisman in Chen Huai'an's hand had already slipped from his fingers, guided by his will, and landed precisely on the rat's forehead.
This scene happened to be witnessed by the bearded man who had arrived late at the end of the hallway.
"Shit! No!"
His pupils constricted, a chill running up his spine.
It was too late.
He watched as a coin-sized orb of light appeared where the talisman met the rat's forehead, accompanied by a crackling sound that grew brighter.
The bearded man grabbed the limp hotel staff member and rolled through the nearby door, both tumbling inside.
Chen Huai'an stared at the distorted orb of light on the rat's head, his smile frozen.
"Damn it!"
Boom—!
A bolt of lightning shot through the entire hallway, shaking the hotel with the sound of thunder.
The bearded man looked on in horror at the door that had been blown to pieces; it was fifty meters away from the explosion point, yet the shockwave had still torn it apart, showcasing the talisman's immense power. The hallway, shaped like a pipe, meant that once an explosion occurred, it would be indiscriminate!
"Oh no, Chen Huai'an can't have been killed in that blast, right?"
The bearded man peeked out; the entire hallway was now shrouded in thick smoke, the air filled with the smell of burning, and several room doors were already on fire.
At the end of the hallway, Chen Huai'an sat against the wall, head down, unaware of his fate.
His suitcase and storage box were blocking his side.
To his left, the charred hallway was splattered with burnt flesh, while to his right, the small area belonging to Chen Huai'an was the only clean spot in the entire hallway.
Was this the power of that mysterious talisman...
The bearded man had witnessed it firsthand.
He hurried over to Chen Huai'an, cautiously extending a hand to check if he was still breathing.
However, before his hand could reach Chen Huai'an's nose, it was stopped by a charred finger.
The bearded man froze.
The young man before him still had his head down, the burnt finger still smoking.
A beam of light fell on his strikingly handsome profile, where a smirk curled at the corner of his mouth, forming a wicked arc.
"Hehe, hahaha! So that's it! Turns out, I'm not the Tumor Superman..."
Chen Huai'an looked up at the bearded man, grinning, black smoke seeping from between his teeth.
"Turns out, I am the King of Thunder!"
The bearded man: "???"
...
...
"So, this world has already collapsed, right?"
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