Apocalypse Awakening

Chapter 6: Confronting the Truth

Layla was equally surprised by the sudden gunfire. It was quite a challenging task to give a gun to a person who had just awakened and instruct him to shoot an apparently innocent homeless man. What Layla intended to teach Sean was that, in this foreign world, many things cannot be understood through conventional logic. He needed to learn to distinguish disguises and become ruthless. Any hesitation or fear could be fatal when facing these distorted creatures.

So, when she handed over the gun, if Sean had shown hesitation or bombarded her with questions, she might have been annoyed but also would have seen it as a teaching opportunity, as her own mentor had taught her. However, Sean's reaction was unexpected.

He took the gun and, without asking why, immediately pulled the trigger, appearing as if he intended to empty all the bullets.

"Is he dead?" While Layla was caught in confusion, Sean was intently watching the homeless man engulfed in a mist of blood. When he first received the gun, he was conflicted about Layla's order.

He even doubted whether this beautiful girl had gone mad, abruptly asking for a murder... But as he grappled with these thoughts, he suddenly felt his heart pound heavily, a surge of intense crisis causing his thoughts to explode.

Countless thoughts and information erupted in his brain, operating in overload.

"Why kill this homeless man?"

"Is Layla joking with me?... Almost impossible, she wouldn't be so trivial."

"Then, is this homeless man really just a homeless man?"

In the nearly frozen moment, Sean scrutinized the homeless man, his appearance, movements, bedding, and wine bottles. The man's eyes were slightly sunken, filled with red veins. Such a condition might seem normal for a heavy drinker with poor sleep, but his eyes were redder than most, with dark pupils flickering in the shadow. It was a chilling detail easily overlooked.

As he noticed this, Sean also observed the man's posture. He seemed scared, tightly pressed against the wall, trembling. But a closer look revealed his legs slightly bent, ready to pounce, and his hands with tensed fingers, as if prepared to tear something apart. This man was subtly adjusting his stance, ready to attack at any moment. He was dangerous!

Even with these observations, Sean didn't feel he could immediately shoot. What made up his mind was a dark object under the man's blanket, hard to notice at first. But upon closer examination, Sean saw it was a human thumb, half-eaten!

This wasn't just a homeless man; it was a monster hiding under a tattered blanket in the subway corner, eating people. And it was poised to attack at any moment.

Layla wasn't joking; she had indeed led him to a monster and ordered him to kill it. So why hesitate?

With that thought formed, Sean immediately pulled the trigger, aiming to kill the monster before it could leap at him in its grotesque form.

The force of the bullets shook the homeless man's body violently. However, Sean's unfamiliarity with the gun's recoil caused him to miss several shots, hitting the wall beside the man instead. The homeless man then let out a strange cry. His body, punctured by bullets, suddenly tore open, revealing a slender, blood-red creature that screeched and lunged at Sean's face.

"What the hell is that?" Facing the bright red creature, Sean felt a wave of nausea, his brain turning to mush. Yet, in his heightened state of alertness, he clearly saw the creature lunging at him.

It was a human-shaped, skinless rat. It had muscular tissues, bulbous red eyes, and even a long, red tail made of bone segments. Its interlocking sharp teeth dripped with black ooze, emitting a putrid smell.

"Don't turn your back on it..." Layla, standing to the side, timely warned Sean. In fact, she had started advising even before the rat creature tore through its human disguise. She was holding a black dagger in a reverse grip, but she didn't seem intent on intervening, seemingly wanting to see how Sean would react to this sudden turn of events. As an old classmate, now a newcomer, Sean had already shown many surprising traits. But would he maintain his composure and accurate judgment when faced with the rat creature at close range?

As Layla's warning sounded, Sean's eyes widened, focusing on the creature lunging at him. He took in every detail of the monster – its deformed joints, bright red skin, and even the slime trailing from its attack – and quickly assessed the situation. This creature was terrifying; its strong body could withstand bullets unless hit in a vital spot. Its speed and strength far exceeded his understanding. At the same time, for some reason, the mere sight of it evoked fear, disgust, and cowardice within him. A part of his instinct seemed to be urging him to stay put, as most people's first reaction to terror is not to run but to freeze, losing control over their bodies.

However, Sean quickly overcame this instinctual response and made his next move. Clutching the gun with limited ammunition tightly, he stepped back swiftly to create distance from the creature and then sidestepped behind Layla.

Layla, who had been calmly observing Sean and was ready to intervene at any moment, was shocked by his reaction. Using her as a shield? Amidst her astonishment, the rat creature had already pounced towards her, its sharp fangs aiming to bite, its putrid stench reaching her nose. With a sigh, Layla lightly lifted her hand, warping the air with an invisible force that created a door-like ripple. The rat creature, now slowed as if deprived of its kinetic energy, was easily subdued by Layla with her black dagger, pinning it to the ground without even turning her head.

As Layla glanced at Sean, who had hidden behind her, her eyes seemed to question his actions. Facing Layla’s inquiring gaze, Sean briefly paused before stepping forward and firing at the struggling creature, ensuring its demise.

“Bang!” The creature wasn't quite dead yet, so he decided to fire another shot.

After finishing, Sean stepped back beside Layla, exhaling deeply and asking, “What was that thing? It was terrifying!”

“Rat people,” Layla replied quietly, observing Sean for a few seconds before explaining: “They are mutated creatures born on the fringes of the forgotten city, skilled at parasitizing human bodies and living under their guise. Rat people are common in our city but very troublesome. Once detected, they must be eliminated immediately, or else they can multiply tenfold or even twentyfold in just a few days, causing widespread disaster. They have a mental attack that instantly evokes nausea and fear. Normal people, when encountering them, often flee due to the sudden disgust and terror, which the rat people use as an opportunity to... enter their bodies through a certain opening. They then consume the host's organs and flesh, inhabiting the body and accessing its memories, outwardly unchanged but inwardly transformed into one of their kind.”

Listening intently, Sean's face displayed shock. After a brief pause, Layla continued, “I've explained my part. Now, it’s your turn to explain... why did you hide behind me?”