Without combat power and without spatial storage capability, she could only rely on a rat to barely cling to life.
Disgusting as it was, it was also quite pathetic.
The corner of Lin Yao’s mouth curved upward involuntarily, though she quickly pressed it back down.
She shot Xia Qing a disdainful glare before quickening her pace to move ahead, following tightly behind Xia Ran as if terrified of being left behind.
Xia Qing paid no mind to Lin Yao’s glance.
She looked down at her pocket—
The little mouse had quieted down, curling up motionlessly inside the cloth bundle.
Pulling down the hem of her raincoat to cover the mouse more securely, she turned her head to check on Little Chubby behind her.
Little Chubby had been standing silently by her side.
Ever since Wu Fang’s death, he hadn’t uttered a single word, executing whatever Xia Qing instructed like a emotionless machine.
Xia Qing knew this was the Charm imprint taking effect—
Though Little Chubby had awakened an ability, his mother’s death had created a crack in his mental defenses, making it remarkably easy to plant the Charm imprint.
Furthermore, being a child made it even simpler to etch a permanent imprint onto him.
The weaker and more vulnerable a target was, the easier it became to plant her imprint—
One that would remain forever inescapable.
Letting out a soft sigh, Xia Qing reached out to grab Little Chubby’s raincoat hood, fastening it securely for him.
Little Chubby looked up at her with hollow eyes, then lowered his head, trailing obediently behind her.
The group stepped into the heavy downpour.
They moved at a rapid pace.
Jin Chao took the lead to forge a path, using his mental perception to detect mutant energy fluctuations within a hundred-meter radius.
He could instantly evaluate where danger lurked and which routes remained safe.
Qiao Xiao and He Li flanked the sides to guard the team’s flanks.
Qiao Sheng and Fang Cheng brought up the rear, prepared to handle any mutants pursuing them from behind.
After walking for a short while, Lin Yao began to find the pace unbearable.
Standing water reached past her calves; every step demanded force to haul her feet out of the water before planting them down again, proving far more exhausting than normal walking.
Rain pelted her face, blurring her vision and obscuring the ground beneath her feet.
Several times she nearly tripped over submerged debris.
Fortunately, Jin Chao’s teammates shielded her throughout the march.
Qiao Xiao checked back on her periodically. Lin Yao knew full well that they weren’t protecting her as a person, but rather the supplies stored within her spatial dimension.
Still, it didn’t matter; being protected was enough, regardless of the underlying reason.
Xia Qing walked toward the middle-rear section of the group, with Little Chubby following close beside her.
She paid no attention to the others, nor did she make a deliberate effort to draw near anyone.
Her focus was primarily divided between two matters:
First, monitoring surrounding mutant movements; second, sensing the Charm energy within her body.
She had previously considered whether to charm Su Bai—reinforcing the effect to plant a permanent imprint would consume a massive amount of her mental energy.
Her current capacity allowed her to control a maximum of two charmed targets simultaneously—
The little mouse counted as one, and Little Chubby counted as the second.
After careful consideration, she abandoned the idea of charming Su Bai.
Her Charm mental energy was far too precious; at her current level, her internal reserves remained limited.
Charming an adult male required multiple consecutive applications, carrying the risk of detection or mental backlash during the process.
Charming animals was infinitely simpler—it succeeded on the first attempt with minimal energy drain.
Rather than taking the risk to charm an adult man, she was far better off conserving her mental power for when she encountered higher-value animals later.
After all, with her current capabilities, managing the little mouse and Little Chubby was already sufficient.
Adding an adult man might exceed her control threshold and trigger a backlash instead.
The rain beat down harder and harder.
Xia Qing maintained precise control over her internal energy.
Despite wearing a raincoat, her clothes underneath were soaked through.
Rain trickled in from the collar and ran down her neck, leaving her chest and back drenched, clinging coldly to her skin.
Xia Qing’s hair was half-soaked, several strands sticking to her forehead while rain dripped off the ends into her eyes, creating a stinging discomfort.
Yet she didn’t stop to wipe it away.
Everyone maintained a fast march, not daring to slow down by a single step.
The standing water grew deeper—from ankles to calves, and from calves to knees.
In certain low-lying sections, the water reached her upper thighs, making every step feel like struggling through thick mud.
Fortunately, the middle stretch of the journey proved relatively smooth.
Jin Chao’s mental perception played a pivotal role; several times he issued advance warnings, guiding the team around areas where mutants clustered.
The occasional lone mutant that stumbled near was cleanly dispatched by Qiao Xiao and Fang Cheng before it could even approach the group.
Yet good fortune never lasted indefinitely.
Jin Chao abruptly came to a halt, raising his right hand in a stop gesture.
Everyone froze instantly, holding their breath.
“Mutants approaching,” Jin Chao’s voice fell low, yet remained crystal clear against the sound of the rain.
His mental perception picked up life signatures in the vicinity, allowing him to detect mutant movements before anyone else.
At this moment, more than a dozen rapidly moving red dots appeared within his perception range, converging on their location from all directions.
The group snapped into high alert.
Xia Qing tightened her grip on her short blade, her knuckles turning pale from the force.
Rain ran down the blade, pooling into a single drop at the tip before falling off.
Instead of scanning her surroundings, she focused her attention entirely on her hearing.
With vision blurred by heavy rain, auditory perception was often far more reliable than sight.
Rather than ordering the group to stop and hold their ground, Jin Chao continued pressing forward.
The team’s marching speed remained unchanged and their footsteps stayed steady, yet everyone’s body tightened subtly like fully drawn bowstrings.
Snarling mutants leapt out from all directions, lunging forward aggressively.
The first one burst from a narrow alleyway on the left, drenched from head to toe.
Opening its mouth lined with needle-like teeth, it lunged straight for Lin Yao in the middle of the formation.
Qiao Xiao’s blade moved even faster than the creature.
A flash of cold light zipped through the air, sending the mutant’s head flying off before its torso coasted forward two more steps and collapsed with a loud splash.
A second mutant leapt from behind an overturned bus on the right, lunging at Fang Cheng.
Fang Cheng hardened his entire body to absorb the impact head-on, then drove his blade deep into the creature’s abdomen with a reverse grip, ripping it upward violently.
Black blood mixed with rain spattered across the ground.
A third, a fourth, a fifth…
More and more mutants surged out from every direction.
They snarled and roared, their eyes gleaming with hunger and manic frenzy.
In a place like this, lethal danger could erupt at any second.
You never knew which direction the next mutant would spring from, nor whether a pair of eyes was watching your back from the shadows.
Every single second could be your last.
The group retreated while engaging the threat.
It had to be said that Jin Chao’s teammates operated with exceptional, seamless coordination.