The delicate mycelium tentatively stretched out like tendrils, then drilled into the water droplet. In just two seconds, the oily substance on the surface of the water droplet receded, replaced by a section of mycelium that turned black and withered, breaking apart.
It was indeed poisonous.
Xu Huo shifted his gaze upward, looking into the sky. According to the recent weather, there shouldn’t have been any rain here.
He returned his attention to his mobile phone, and indeed, the rain had caused a huge commotion online because it not only covered the Special Defense Department Headquarters but also, as the rainfall grew heavier, the area of the rain clouds surpassed one-third of the entire city.
The rain didn’t take immediate effect on humans, but it was instantly disastrous for plants and some small animals—the city’s vegetation wilted on a large scale, and fish kept in artificial lakes turned belly-up en masse. Stray cats and dogs exposed to the rain went mad for a short while before dying quickly.
This was a malicious rain.
"Xu Huo." Zheng Liang and a few others had found their way into this building, climbing in through a window at the back. Only after entering the room did they say, "It took some effort to shake off the people from the Special Defense Department."
"I didn’t expect the instance to end so quickly. Gu Yu went to find Li Chun and hasn’t returned yet," Wen Xuelin said.
Xu Huo nodded, "Contact her and tell her not to come over, find a place to take shelter from the rain."
"You also noticed something wrong with the rain?" Brother Liang said anxiously, "What on earth is going on, could it be a phenomenon resulting from the fusion with the game world?"
Xu Huo wasn’t clear about the situation either, "But for now, it’s best not to move around at will. The rain is toxic."
Everyone agreed, and since they couldn’t leave for the time being, they searched the room and found some food in the fridge.
"I’ll cook," volunteered Wen Xuelin.
The sound of running water came from the kitchen, and the rain outside grew heavier. The streets and streetlights were covered in black water, and nearly everything in sight was stained black.
"Is this the end of the world?" Zheng Liang stood two meters away from the window, deliberately placing a sofa in front of him to avoid being splashed by rain—he couldn’t close the window since Xu Huo stood by the window, and if he didn’t, it would be inappropriate for anyone else to do so.
"Could such heavy rain affect the drinking water?" Brother Liang suddenly thought of this and said to Wen Xuelin, who was carrying dishes out.
"Surely not," replied Wen Xuelin, "Even if it’s affected, it won’t be this quick. The residential area has water storage."
"Let’s test it and see," Guan Zuhong said, as he took a prop like a thermometer and plunged it into the dish. The needle jumped to the number "7", and his expression changed slightly, "Anything over 5 is highly toxic."
Wen Xuelin immediately tossed the plate away, "The water is poisoned too? That’s not right, why am I not poisoned?"
"You took an antitoxin earlier," Xu Huo said. "The effects probably haven’t worn off yet."
Wen Xuelin was quite optimistic, "So that means we should be okay going out in the rain now?"
Theoretically, that was the case, but nobody could guarantee there wouldn’t be any other side effects.
As the rain continued to pour down with no sign of stopping, Brother Liang said, "Although the rain is falling within Jing City, it’s bound to contaminate the rivers and groundwater. Who knows how many places will suffer."
"There haven’t been any symptoms after getting rained on reported online yet." Zheng Liang, holding his cell phone, turned his head to see Xu Huo still standing motionless in front of the window and said irritably, "You’re planning to use yourself as a test subject..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xu Huo suddenly reached out through the window and pulled a blackened arm from above the curtain of rain into the room!
Black rainwater splattered everywhere, and by the time that thing rolled into the living room for Zheng Liang and the others to see clearly, it could no longer be called human. It imitated the posture of an animal on the ground, emitted a hunting signal, and then lunged at Brother Liang, who was closest!
Brother Liang was standing behind the sofa and kicked it out, but he didn’t expect the person to be not only fast but also very agile, twisting in mid-air, and instead using the sofa to gain momentum and speed, pouncing on Brother Liang in the blink of an eye!
Just as he had placed a Defense Prop in front of himself, Brother Liang was knocked flying against the wall. Guan Zuhong and Zheng Liang used a rope-like device to loop around the Alien and pulled it backwards.
The Alien’s abnormally bulging eyeballs were full of bloodshot veins; it looked like it had lost its reason, but its instincts hadn’t disappeared. It glanced left and right then suddenly pulled on the rope, almost dragging Zheng Liang and Guan Zuhong over with it.
Fortunately, the two let go in time to avoid collision, but the Alien dragged the rope towards Brother Liang. Wen Xuelin quickly grabbed a paintbrush and drew in the air, and something that looked like a half-transparent wall materialized out of nowhere, bouncing the Alien back!
"123 Eggplant!" Zheng Liang mimed a frame with his hands, and the Alien just froze in place, allowing Guan Zuhong, who came in later with a finishing blow, to stab it through the heart!
Bright red blood flowed down from the blade, and the Alien knelt on the ground, lifeless.
"This looks like a Special Defense Department uniform," Zheng Liang noted, looking at the deceased, "How could a Special Defense Department player turn into an Alien?"
Before anyone could answer his question, Xu Huo at the window suddenly slammed it shut, placed a Severance Gate in front of it, and then they heard "bang bang" impacts from outside, along with the sound of glass shattering not too far away!
Screams of terror could be heard from somewhere, but Zheng Liang and the others could no longer care about others, as the glass of the suite they were hiding in was also smashed!
Zheng Liang and Brother Liang spoke at the same time, quickly exchanging glances before heading to secure the bathroom and bedroom doors.
But Zheng Liang was a step too late; an Alien that had squeezed in through the bathroom window was already in the hallway, looking around. Its numb expression turned fierce as it lunged at him without a trace of humanity!
"123 Eggplant!" Zheng Liang first immobilized its body with his ability, then a disc-like prop dropped from above. While holding the Alien still, he kicked the disc toward it, and upon contact, the disc sprayed out hundreds of needles with such force that it turned the Alien’s legs into a honeycomb!
Zheng Liang took the opportunity to run away, but to his shock, the Alien ignored its leg injuries and still chased after him at incredibly high speed!
"Shit!" Zheng Liang crouched and ducked to avoid the Alien’s pounce. Just in front of him stood Guan Zuhong, who shielded himself with a piece of foil. When the Alien collided with the foil, part of its body also stuck to it, and as it rolled to the ground, its limbs were inseparable. Zheng Liang then decapitated it in one swift strike.
"Block the windows!" he said to Guan Zuhong, but before they could move to the bathroom, Brother Liang also emerged from the bedroom, and multiple Aliens entered the narrow living room from different directions.
Xu Huo had nearly finished his preparations; he stretched a "Harmless Whip" across the window and then picked up the Severance Gate. After seeing several Aliens sliced into pieces by the wire blades, he turned around and blew the heads off a few Aliens with his gun.