Plotting with You: The Forensic Scientist in Ancient Times!-Chapter 431 - 430: Quick Reflexes

Zhu Yu instinctively stopped in her tracks, clutching the iron needle in her hand a bit tighter.

She didn’t know what those red dots were, but instinctively felt a deep unease rising within her.

The two red dots flickered, began to move, and were getting closer and faster.

Zhu Yu’s heart was almost in her throat. As the thing approached, she could finally make out its outline in the dim light, surprised to discover a large rat running toward her.

Though called a rat, its size was about as large as a cat, with tawny fur. Even its tail was thicker than Zhu Yu’s thumb.

The two red dots were the reflections of the dim light in the corridor’s eternal lamp in the giant rat’s eyes.

The giant rat charged at Zhu Yu with speed, as if it had seen its favorite food while starving.

Zhu Yu instinctively took two steps back as the giant rat leapt toward her, pushing itself off with its hind legs. In that instant, she dodged to the side and raised her hand to stab the iron needle into the rat’s abdomen.

After the giant rat leapt, it couldn’t change its direction mid-air, and in that moment of a missed pounce, its belly was pierced by the needle. In a split second, the sharp iron needle slit its belly open, and a spray of blood erupted.

The dead rat fell to the ground with a thud, its guts and blood spilling everywhere. It twitched a few times, let out a painful cry, and then fell silent.

Zhu Yu, panting heavily, looked at the dead rat on the ground.

Upon closer inspection, it was even larger than a cat, as if it were the size of a small mongrel.

Seeing the rat’s lifeless, slightly open mouth and its shiny, sharp teeth, Zhu Yu could well imagine how dire her situation would be if she hadn’t dodged in time.

She quickly steadied herself, tightening her grip on the iron needle.

Ordinary rats aren’t solitary animals; they live in groups.

When one rat is seen moving about, it means countless others of various sizes are hiding nearby.

This giant rat, though intimidatingly large, was still a rat at its core. Its habits were likely not too different.

This probably means... ahead, who knows how many more giant rats the size of a small mongrel are waiting.

This guess was soon proven correct.

The blood scent from the gutted giant rat quickly attracted some spiders lurking at the corridor’s entrance. They crawled over and swiftly began to bite and suck on the dead rat’s blood and flesh.

Zhu Yu took the opportunity to move a few steps forward, trying to put some distance between her and the spiders.

She hadn’t gone far when a shadow swiftly charged towards her, so fast she didn’t even have time to clearly see those small, red-glowing eyes before a gust of stinky wind swept past her legs.

Soon, a few more shadows rushed past in the same manner.

Zhu Yu quickly turned her head and saw three giant rats heading straight for their dead companion, without the slightest hesitation, gulping down the flesh along with the feasting spiders.

No empathy for their dead kin, just a ravenous hunger for blood and flesh.

The enormous, fat dead rat was swiftly devoured by those three, not only the organs and meat but even the bones were crunched up to crumbs, the grating sound making Zhu Yu’s scalp tingle.

In the blink of an eye, the massive rat was eaten so completely that not even bone fragments remained.

Where there once was a big heap on the ground, only an incomplete paw was left.

Then, the three pairs of scarlet eyes simultaneously fixated on another edible living creature they hadn’t noticed before—Zhu Yu.

It was as if the one rat was just an appetizer for them, and they lunged at Zhu Yu with alarming speed.

Zhu Yu had no time to think, reacting purely by instinct.

Perhaps it was thanks to practicing self-defense with Lu Qing for a while, her reflexes were incredibly quick. She instinctively kicked at the first rat that got close, sending it crashing into a nearby stone wall with a shrill squeak.

Then, disregarding the sharp pain of her wound, she thrust the iron needle forward, dodging one leaping rat while stabbing another.

The injured rat fell to the ground, blood spurting out.

Smelling the blood, the two remaining rats immediately lost interest in the "tough bone" that was Zhu Yu, quickly turning to pounce on the injured rat, starting to bite and chew.

This time, Zhu Yu was smart; she didn’t just stand by or attempt to flee on impulse.

Seizing the moment when the two giant rats were focused on gnawing their struggling companion, she swiftly approached, stabbing both rats decisively.

She was utterly terrified, pulling out the needle and stabbing again and again, fearful of hesitating only to be bitten in return.

Not until both rats had been stabbed into more holes than a sieve did she, trembling, stop her hand. Seeing the three lifeless giant rats, she finally caught her breath, gripping the iron needle in one hand and mustering the courage to stoop down and grab the tails of those rats, lifting their bodies from the ground.

The three giant rats were indeed heavyset; even using one hand, Zhu Yu couldn’t lift them all.

She had to use both hands, hefting the rat corpses as she limped forward.

At this point, Zhu Yu wasn’t worried about traps or contraptions ahead, thinking that such hefty rats would set them off before they endangered her.

She couldn’t imagine the designers here being foolish enough to pit their spear against their own shield. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

A few steps later, she heard that familiar sound of massive rats scurrying ahead.

Zhu Yu focused and held her breath, waiting. As soon as she saw several rats charging toward her, without waiting for them to get close, she flung the dead rats in her hand forward as hard as she could.

The corpse of the giant rat was flung out, striking the oncoming rats.

After a brief evasion, the rats quickly caught the scent of blood, irresistible to them, and immediately ignored Zhu Yu, eagerly burying their heads to feast.