“Run!”
Cheng Qian suddenly shouted, turning and sprinting back the way they had come, carrying his son on his back.
Ke Bei immediately followed, desperately running as fast as she could.
The group of students only came to their senses then. Screaming in panic, they started running wildly after Ke Bei and the others, not caring about anything else.
Behind them, several dogs finally reacted, barking as they charged in pursuit.
The barking grew closer and closer; Ke Bei could even hear the heavy panting of the mutant dogs.
Among the students running behind them, two who had fallen back could no longer control themselves and began sobbing uncontrollably.
They wailed while still trying to keep up with the group, but their pace clearly couldn’t match the speed of the dogs chasing them.
With a sharp scream, one student was thrown to the ground by a mutant dog!
What followed was a horrifying chorus of screams, struggling, thrashing, and the terrifying growls of wild dogs fighting for food.
The sounds carried on the wind, chilling anyone who heard them to the bone.
Ke Bei didn’t look back, running with everything she had, putting more and more distance between herself and the students.
In her mind, there was only one thought, run!
She had to survive this, to escape with her husband and son to a safe place.
If it had been one or two mutant dogs, she might have considered fighting back.
But this was clearly a pack!
And after being confined in the research facility for six months, her physical fitness and stamina had decreased. She had also been injured just yesterday.
She wasn’t confident she could handle that group of beasts.
In this situation, there was no way she could risk her own life or that of her family.
The student who had been killed finally slowed down the mutant dogs, giving the runners a brief moment of relief.
“This way!”
Cheng Qian, running at the front, suddenly pointed to the side of the road and grabbed Ke Bei, pulling her toward a thicket of bushes on the left.
Ke Bei then noticed an abandoned little restaurant by the roadside that they hadn’t seen before because it had been hidden by the overgrown bushes.
The restaurant looked like it had been closed for a long time; even the door lock was rusted.
Cheng Qian ran up and kicked the front door with all his strength, and it burst open with a loud bang.
“Everyone, get inside!”
He pulled Xiao Tian off his back and shoved him into Ke Bei’s arms, then pushed both her and her son deep into the back of the room.
Then he turned and ran back toward the rest of the road.
“Cheng Qian!” Ke Bei shouted anxiously.
Cheng Qian didn’t look back.
He only waved his hand at her, signaling her to stay put, then rushed to the girl at the rear, grabbed her arm, and led her past the remaining students, running ahead of everyone else.
His sudden assistance gave the other students hope; they regained their spirits and followed behind Cheng Qian.
Seeing them approaching, Ke Bei finally exhaled in relief.
She stood by the door, grabbed Yang Lele, who had been held by Cheng Qian, and pulled her inside.
Then, together with Cheng Qian, she began moving the tables and chairs in the room, preparing to block the door once all the students were inside.
But in just a few seconds, another piercing scream came from outside: “Ah!”
The couple jolted and quickly rushed to the door.
They saw Zhao Yan, the boy, stumble over a tree root around the corner and fall heavily to the ground.
Hearing his cry of pain, Yang Lele, who had already made it inside, didn’t hesitate and ran back out.
“Zhao Yan, get up! I’ll help you!” she bent down, grabbed her boyfriend’s arm, and struggled to pull him to his feet.
At that moment, a mutant dog came charging from behind, leaping straight at the two of them!
“No! Help!”
Zhao Yan, who had been lying on the ground, somehow found a surge of strength the moment he saw the dog and suddenly jumped up.
A flicker of hesitation crossed his face as he faced the massive dog, but his hands didn’t hesitate for a moment, he forcefully shoved Yang Lele, who was still holding onto him, toward the mutant dog!
“Zhao Yan! Zhao Yan!” Yang Lele screamed in a piercing, heart-wrenching cry.
She had already been knocked to the ground by the mutant dog, struggling desperately, unable to believe what Zhao Yan had done. Tears filled her eyes, her pain and despair deep and overwhelming.
“Beast!”
Seeing this, Cheng Qian swore and dashed out of the room, swinging his machete with all his strength straight at the mutant dog’s head!
“Argh!”
The dog yelped in pain and, enraged, turned its attention from the bloodied Yang Lele and lunged at Cheng Qian.
Cheng Qian dodged, and the dog missed.
The failed attack only fueled its fury further.
It roared, arching its massive body, its enormous head crowned with glowing green eyes that gleamed with bloodlust, looking both savage and terrifying.
Cheng Qian gripped the machete tightly with both hands, his gaze sharp and unwavering as he stared down the mutant dog, showing no hint of retreat in his stance.
He watched the dog’s movements without blinking, his entire body radiating an unyielding, commanding presence.
Even a dog, faced with such an aura, couldn’t help but feel a measure of caution.
The two stood in a tense standoff, neither making the first move.
Then, from the road, more barking erupted, clearly, other mutant dogs that had failed to take the student were now joining the chase.
At that exact moment, the dog that had been poised to strike lunged at Cheng Qian, sinking its teeth into his arm!
But Cheng Qian, who had been ready, drove his machete forcefully into the dog’s throat!
“Argh!”
The mutant dog let out a sharp, piercing howl.
With a sudden “thud,” hot, stinking blood gushed from its throat, splattering all over Cheng Qian’s face and body!
A heavy crash followed.
The mutant dog collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain.
It twisted its body frantically, rolling violently.
Because the beast had never let go, Cheng Qian was flipped onto the ground beneath it, pinned under its weight.
The creature was massive, and Cheng Qian was already injured; with his wound pressed down like that, no matter how he struggled, he couldn’t break free.
At that moment, another mutant dog lunged forward!
“Daddy!”
“Cheng Qian!”
Seeing this, neither Ke Bei nor Xiao Tian could hold back.
Without a moment’s hesitation, they both rushed out of the house.
Ke Bei charged straight at the dog pinning her husband, raising her combat knife and driving it hard into its eyes, stabbing straight into the brain!
The eyes are the most vulnerable part of the body; the dog only managed a blood-curdling scream before convulsing a few times and then went completely still.
Ke Bei pushed the dog off her husband, then charged at the other large dog.
Meanwhile, Xiao Tian was grappling with that dog.
Although he hadn’t grown taller, it was obvious that his punches carried the force of his ability.
One small hand gripped the dog’s mane tightly, holding its head still, while his other fist slammed down again and again onto its nose and eyes with tremendous force.
The dog was slightly taller than Xiao Tian and many times more muscular.
Even though it was stronger than him, it showed no sign of backing down.
It bared its teeth, jaws wide and dripping with blood, thrashing its head wildly, flinging saliva mixed with the previous student’s blood everywhere.
A strong, metallic scent of blood filled the air.
Ke Bei rushed between her son and the dog, decisively stabbing her combat knife into its abdomen!
Then she shoved Xiao Tian out of the way.
The dog let out a pained scream and fell onto its back.
But just as Ke Bei stepped forward to strike again, it twisted and dodged, then staggered to its feet and lunged straight at her.
The dog was clearly enraged!
Its eyes glowed red, and it hurled itself with all its strength into Ke Bei’s stomach!
The impact knocked her backward, and the dog seized the momentum to leap onto her, opening its jaws to clamp down on her neck!
“No!”
Bang!
Cheng Qian, already struggling with the third dog, saw this and felt his rage boil over.
With all his strength, he swung the watermelon knife at the dog on Ke Bei with a vicious strike!
At the same time, Xiao Tian, rushing to help, thrust his clenched little fists straight into the dog’s gaping mouth without hesitation!
His small hands were pierced instantly by the dog’s fangs, and blood spurted from its mouth, splattering onto Ke Bei’s face.