rpbooks Chapter 16 : Nightmare
Chapter 16 : Nightmare
NightmareRats, commonly known as "haozi," are mammals belonging to the order Rodentia, family Muridae. They are viviparous and are the fastest reproducing mammals known to date.
Just like the fear of cockroaches, many people harbor an instinctive terror toward these small creatures.
Unfortunately, the former Chen Zixuan—and now Cecilia—also belonged to this group.
At this moment, she stood atop the roof of a long-abandoned house, feeling as if she were drowning and at a loss, looking around in confusion. The ground surrounding the house was packed densely with hundreds of plump, constantly writhing rodent creatures.
A rough glance suggested there were at least several hundred of them.
If it were only three or five, it wouldn't be enough to scare her this much. However, even though Wall-eating Rats were known to be swarm monsters, for hundreds to appear at once was still utterly unreasonable.
Was this wilderness area really supposed to be a map suited for levels 5 to 10?
Judging by the current situation, even a full team of players in their teens would have no choice but to flee in panic if they encountered a rodent swarm of this size.
It's simply too terrifying.
But before Cecilia had to wait too long, system Miss soon answered the doubts in her heart.
"System notification: It has been detected that your current level does not match the map's level. The system has automatically increased the difficulty appropriately."
You call this appropriate?
Sneaking another glance at the tidal wave of rats below, Cecilia tried to hold herself together, but her legs still couldn't help but tremble a little.
If one of these things bit her, it probably wouldn't hurt much, but being disgusted for a whole week would be a given.
Damn, this is really bad...
In truth, Cecilia's fear of rats went all the way back to a psychological shadow from her childhood.
Even now, recalling the scene made her scalp tingle uncontrollably.
Back when she was still Chen Zixuan, before passing the entrance exam to a city high school and moving to Xijiang City, she had always lived in a remote mountain village called "Chenjiagou."
The saying "poor mountains breed unruly people" isn't just a baseless rumor.
At least, in Chen Zixuan's understanding at the time, the villagers were poor, greedy, cunning, lazy, superstitious, and their customs were far from honest.
Sometimes, even he felt it was a miracle to have survived and grown up in that village.
When he was just a child, for reasons unknown, there was a rat plague one year. The granaries were disaster zones, but even in bedrooms and on the beams, there were rats scurrying everywhere.
It's no exaggeration: at the peak of the rat infestation, you could lift the iron pot in the kitchen and find a whole nest of squeaking rats inside.
One morning, while half-asleep, Chen Zixuan was awakened by a rat falling from the roof. His eyes widened as he watched it scurry away in panic, quickly vanishing into a shadowy corner of the room.
When he exited the front door, his hunched grandfather was sitting on the wooden threshold, with deep-set eyes, staring blankly as he smoked homemade tobacco from a pipe. He said with a heavy sigh, "Old Wang next door is dead."
"Old Wang? How did he die?"
Closing the creaking front door, the young Chen Zixuan asked quietly.
At the same time, he glanced at the mud house next door, which was already surrounded by villagers coming for the spectacle.
In a mountain village severely lacking in entertainment, someone's death was a rare diversion.
If the deceased's family was better off, the neighbors could even expect some glossy slices of fatty pork—something everyone looked forward to.
"He was bitten by a rat last week and started running a fever the next day. Never went to the hospital, might've died a few days ago, but people only discovered him this morning."
Grandfather tapped his pipe against the stone steps, which were covered in countless pockmarks.
"They're about to carry the body out. Don't look. Go back inside and read your book."
"Study hard, get into a good city university. Your grandpa can only farm and has no real ability. If I get you out of here in this lifetime, my task is complete."
While he spoke, a few bold young men from the village came out of the crumbling house next door. The nearby onlookers erupted into chaos, followed by wave after wave of vomiting sounds.
A decade has passed; now Cecilia could hardly recall the reason. She only remembered that, at the time, he hadn't listened to his grandfather, squeezing to the very front of the crowd to witness an unforgettable scene.
Have you ever seen red bones?
.........
Later, after both grandparents passed away, Chen Zixuan overperformed in his high school entrance exam and successfully enrolled in one of the better schools in Xijiang City. Except for visiting during Qingming Festival for ancestral rites, he never returned to that detestable mountain village again.
Until today, to find the last required material for Forging [Gorgeous Vampire Advanced Flintlock Pistol], she had come to this map called Desolate Village, only to experience the game system's maliciousness firsthand.
So, what should she do now?
Beneath her feet, the constant gnawing noises came again. Thinking of the name "Wall-eating Rat,"
Cecilia suddenly had a bad premonition.
Trembling, she approached the edge of the roof and, bracing herself, looked down. Cecilia's heart instantly leaped into her throat.
As expected, her worst fears were realized.
These rats gnawed on walls.
Moreover, with this number and the speed at which they were eating through the walls, this rammed-earth house beneath her feet wouldn't last much longer.
In that moment, standing there, Cecilia's mind raced with ideas.
For example, asking someone else for help.
Her connections were still valuable.
As long as she was willing to send a message, even if others didn't respond, Dawn's Light and Yuewu would definitely rush over with their teams at top speed.
Both of them were well-equipped, their teams coordinated. Handling these hundreds of rats shouldn't be a big problem.
However, Cecilia quickly dismissed the idea of seeking external help.
It would take at least thirty minutes to reach here from the Main City. By the time Dawn's Light and Yuewu arrived, who knows what kind of state she'd be in, tormented by the rats.
Asking nearby players for help wasn't feasible either.
They were too weak—even if they came, it'd be a waste.
It seemed, for now, she could only rely on herself.
If only I could fly...
Taking a deep breath, gazing at the sky, Cecilia found herself thinking in a daze.
.