246: I'm hungry too.

Chapter 246: I'm Hungry Too "Cough, cough, cough..."

Not knowing how long he had been sliding, Chen Mo felt like he had been stuffed into a tumble dryer.

Until a glimmer of light appeared ahead.

That was the end of the ventilation vent.

Chen Mo instinctively protected his head, shielding Ruan Qiushui in his arms.

Bang!

The two of them burst out of the pipe and fell onto a pile of soft, foul-smelling things.

Chen Mo struggled to sit up.

Everything was pitch black, and the pungent smell of rotting garbage and chemical waste filled the air.

This was the underground waste treatment plant of the Lighthouse.

Or somewhere even deeper.

"Still alive?"

Chen Mo nudged the woman in his arms.

Ruan Qiushui didn't move.

But her chest was still rising and falling slightly.

Chen Mo breathed a sigh of relief, then immediately felt a wave of intense dizziness.

Wang Daoming's toxin was taking effect.

His heart beat slower and slower, and his hands and feet were as cold as if he were already dead.

He had to detoxify.

Chen Mo fumbled in his pocket, where there was an emergency needle he had previously swiped from White Dove.

It was empty.

The syringe had shattered during the fight just now.

"Crap."

Chen Mo cursed under his breath, his vision beginning to blur.

Just then, a hand was placed on the back of his hand.

Cold and soft.

Ruan Qiushui had opened her eyes at some point.

Those eyes still lacked pupils, pure black, but the previous madness was gone.

"Hungry..."

She uttered a weak syllable.

Then, she leaned in and bit down on the wound on Chen Mo's poisoned arm.

Chen Mo wanted to push her away, but he didn't have any strength at all.

"Don't... that's poison..."

He felt Ruan Qiushui's tongue licking the wound, as if she were sucking on jelly.

Strangely, as she sucked, the feeling of paralysis began to recede rapidly.

She was sucking out the poison.

No, for her current self, this high-concentration biological toxin might be her only "food."

A few minutes later.

Ruan Qiushui let go.

She licked her lips, a trace of color returning to her pale face.

"Tastes bad."

She commented with disdain, then her head tilted, and she completely fainted.

Chen Mo leaned against the garbage pile, looking at the ventilation vent above that only let in a sliver of light.

The faint sound of sirens could be heard outside.

The Jiangcheng Security Bureau, or people from other factions, had arrived.

This farce was over.

But the score between him and Wang Daoming wasn't settled yet.

Chen Mo touched his chest.

The heartbeat there was steady and powerful.

When he reversed the array just now, he felt that the heart known as the "Pump" seemed to have undergone some changes.

It had become... hungrier.

Chen Mo picked up a sharp piece of glass, cut off a corner of Ruan Qiushui's qipao, and briefly bandaged his wound.

"Get up."

He patted the woman's face, "Don't sleep here, or you'll be eaten by rats."

Ruan Qiushui didn't react.

Chen Mo sighed and resignedly used his unbroken arm to hoist up the woman who had once tried to kill him and then saved him.

In the darkness, two pairs of glowing green eyes lit up.

Mutant Rats.

They were as large as cats, staring at these two weak pieces of prey.

Chen Mo pulled out the chipped dagger.

"Just in time."

He looked at the two rats, his stomach growling.

"I'm hungry too."

...Outside the ruins of the Lighthouse.

A black stretch limousine stopped outside the cordon.

The window rolled down, revealing half a face wearing a mask.

"Is Wang Daoming dead?"

The person in the car asked.

"Uncertain. The Core Furnace exploded, so the chance of survival is slim."

A subordinate in a black uniform reported, "However, we detected energy residue of the 'key' at the scene."

"The 'key' isn't dead."

The eyes of the person in the car narrowed.

"Blockade all sewer exits."

The person pulled a photo from their coat.

The photo showed a young man in a patient's gown with hollow eyes.

"Also, find this man named Chen Mo."

"The Doctor said his surgery isn't finished yet."

...Squeak—

In the darkness, two points of green light suddenly pounced.

It was a Mutant Rat, comparable in size to an adult Corgi, its buckteeth glinting with a metallic yellow light.

It clearly didn't think much of this blood-soaked human missing an arm.

In its eyes, this was a piece of walking pork belly.

Chen Mo didn't dodge.

He couldn't dodge.

The corner behind him was piled with rotting industrial waste, and he had a half-dead woman hanging onto him.

Pfft.

A dull thud.

The chipped dagger was accurately plunged into the rat's eye socket, buried up to the hilt.

The rat struggled frantically, its sharp claws scratching three bloody gashes on Chen Mo's forearm.

"Don't move."

Chen Mo whispered.

His voice was very hoarse, as if he had a mouthful of gravel.

The heart in his chest suddenly contracted.

A weird suction was transmitted through the dagger.

The massive rat corpse that had been struggling violently just now instantly shriveled up like a deflated ball.

A few seconds later, only a skin bag covering bones remained.

A weak but warm current surged through his arm and into his chest.

The pain lessened slightly.

A numb, itchy sensation came from where his left shoulder had a comminuted fracture.

"Just like that... digested?"

Chen Mo shook off the shriveled rat corpse from the tip of his knife, his expression complex.

Previously, he could only plunder 'Life Force' through specific rituals or mediums.

But now, this process had become an instinct.

As natural as breathing.

Although the energy provided by one rat was pitifully small, not even enough to fill the gaps between his teeth, it meant he no longer needed that damn array.

He himself was a mobile black hole.

"Hey."

Chen Mo patted the woman's face in his arms with the back of his knife, "See that? If I eat you, I'll be fully recovered."

Ruan Qiushui's head drooped, her long hair plastered over her face, without any reaction.

"How boring."

Chen Mo hoisted her up a bit, avoiding a puddle of fluorescent green wastewater on the ground.

This was the underground drainage system of the Lighthouse, also the "intestines" of all Jiangcheng.

From time to time, dull vibrations came from overhead.

It seemed the demolition work above was being carried out very thoroughly.

Chen Mo was in no hurry to find an exit.

A person like Wang Daoming always did things flawlessly.

Since he could install that 'Sky Eye' array on the rooftop, it was impossible for him not to have arranged back-up measures in the sewers.

Going out now would be walking right into a trap.

Splash.

From the corner of the waterway in the distance came the sound of footsteps treading in water.

Very light, very rhythmic.

Not a rat, nor a vagrant.

It was someone trained.

Chen Mo immediately held his breath, dragging Ruan Qiushui as he shrank into the shadow of an abandoned concrete pipe.

A beam of light cut through the darkness.

Three figures appeared in his field of vision.

They wore fully enclosed black combat suits and gas masks, holding short assault rifles equipped with silencers.

There were no markings, no armbands.

Only that cold, murderous aura.

"Area 3 cleared."

The leader pressed his earpiece, his voice processed through a changer, sounding like a robot, "Target's corpse not found."

"Continue searching."

A man's voice came through the earpiece; although it was very soft, Chen Mo's hearing was excellent.

That voice made the hair on his back stand on end.

It wasn't Wang Daoming.

That tone was more rational, more... devoid of human touch.

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