Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Bat Swarm

Looking at the large bats hanging down from the passage above, Xu Xin’s teeth were chattering a bit.

At this moment, the distance between him and the bats was not too far.

Fortunately, the candelabras burning on both sides did not wake up the bats; they remained hanging motionless in groups above the passage.

Each of these bats had faint blood-red patterns on them, lighter than the toad that had previously guided Xu Xin, but there were too many of them.

This quantity, even if they were not mutant bats, would be intolerable for Xu Xin. Not to mention that blood-patterned creatures have a strong desire to attack.

Now Xu Xin had two choices: sneak past without disturbing the bats, or put on iron armor and charge directly through, possibly killing a few bats to earn some points and materials.

After just a moment of thought, Xu Xin opted for the former. Whether his iron armor could withstand them was another matter; if these bats relentlessly pursued him, the likelihood of accidents in this damp and slippery passage was too high. The little one had no defensive capabilities, and although Keke had not been actively targeted so far, who knows about this time, even if not, so many bats might accidentally hurt her.

Moreover, if any of the bats managed to bite him, even lightly, the virus on the bats…

He absolutely couldn’t wake up this group of bats.

Fortunately, Xu Xin was clad in a blue-grade leather armor set, and he was rather confident in its stealth capabilities.

To reduce the chances of being discovered, Xu Xin lifted Keke onto his shoulder and whispered, “Keke, don’t make a sound, we’ll sneak through.”

“Ying.” Keke mimicked Xu Xin, lowering her voice, then obediently lay on his shoulder.

Xu Xin slowed his breathing, moving quietly, step by cautious step, downward. The surroundings were silent, with only the occasional drip of water echoing with a “tick-tock” sound.

After descending several dozen steps, Xu Xin was directly below the hanging bats, only a few meters from those overhead.

At close range, these blood-patterned bats appeared even more terrifying, their sharp claws dug into the crevices above. Each one wrapped itself in its wings, exposing only its furry head, with eyes tightly shut.

Xu Xin no longer breathed through his nose, switching to mouth breathing, trying to minimize the noise, advancing gently, step by cautious step.

The number of bats was immense; at a glance, at least a hundred meters of passage were filled with bats.

As the only mammals capable of flight, bats carried many viruses and bacteria harmful to humans, with extremely high fatality rates from Ebola and rabies viruses, as well as various coronaviruses with lower fatality but high transmission rates, and even some ancient viruses never discovered by humans.

These viruses didn’t affect the bats themselves but could cause severe disasters to other mammals. Xu Xin didn’t want to be bitten by such a poison; if he caught a virus in this desolate jungle, he would only be left to die.

Siding down the steps, Xu Xin chose positions without water to avoid making noise with his leather armor.

Quickly, Xu Xin found himself in the middle of the entire bat colony.

Looking slightly upward, the bats hung overhead like an oppressive force.

On his shoulder, Keke had already buried her head in fear.

Suddenly, a bat right above him moved, its claws scratching the stone wall with a slight sound.

Xu Xin gritted his teeth, not daring to breathe loudly.

Fortunately, that bat merely stretched its wings before continuing to hang motionless.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Xu Xin cautiously continued moving downward.

Because he had been too tense earlier, he hadn’t noticed that he could now actually see the exit of the stairway passage.

The exit was less than a hundred meters ahead, a door similar to the entrance to the underground city, tightly closed as if waiting for someone to push it open.

Xu Xin’s breathing hastened slightly, but he quickly controlled it. Now, he was in the middle of all the bats; if he alarmed them now, he’d be directly engulfed into a ball of bats.

Continuing to advance slowly and gently, Xu Xin drew closer to that door, moving to the periphery of the bat group.

Almost out of the woods!

Xu Xin couldn’t help but speed up his pace slightly.

Just as he accelerated, stepping forward more quickly, suddenly, a “crack” sounded beneath his feet.

Xu Xin’s body stiffened and he stopped in his tracks. He felt as if his right foot had pressed a step down by a few centimeters.

“Is this… a trap mechanism?” Xu Xin froze in place, with a premonition that if he lifted his right foot, something bad would happen.

On his shoulder, Keke suddenly raised its buried little head, looked up at the bats hanging upside down above. It didn’t dare make a sound, simply tugged at Xu Xin’s clothes, and pointed upwards with its little paw.

Keke meant that danger was about to strike from above?

Xu Xin glanced at the exit only a hundred meters away, turned back to look at the bats hanging all the way, took a deep breath, and suddenly charged forward.

The moment Xu Xin’s right foot left the step, there was a “click” sound, and it returned to its original position. At the same time, the entire passage began to shake violently.

With such a huge disturbance, the bats were alarmed; behind him, countless bats spread their wings, making noises like mice. The sound was sharp and piercing, possibly mixed with ultrasound, making Xu Xin’s head feel swollen.

Run! Run fast!

Slipping didn’t matter anymore, he had to get out of this passage immediately!

Before the bats could react and come off the cave walls, Xu Xin had already dashed out of their range. At this moment, he used his body weight to speed up his sprint.

The bats’ calls behind him merged into chaos, and Xu Xin could hear the flapping of wings.

He slightly turned his head and glanced with his peripheral vision, countless bats had spread their wings, the blood patterns inside their wings were clearly visible, like lines of blood vessels.

They were swooping towards Xu Xin!

In swarms, they were swooping towards him!

Xu Xin sprinted down the stairs at high speed, unable to stop due to his own momentum!

Human ears can’t hear ultrasound, but not being able to hear it doesn’t mean it’s not affecting them. Xu Xin’s head was aching as if it would explode!

He grabbed small pieces of mutant rabbit meat from his backpack and threw them back without looking, trying to distract the mutant bats.

The pieces of meat did indeed catch some of the bats’ attention, but they were too small. A swarm of bats quickly devoured them, slightly slowing the pace of the bats, but making them even more frenzied.

The mutant bats ate this meat and didn’t die!

“Damn!” Xu Xin threw another piece of meat back to distract the bats, running wildly.

The candlelight in the stairway passage flickered due to the airflow from the bats’ movements, and amidst the tremors, not only water dripped down, but small stone fragments also hit Xu Xin’s face, leaving a few blood marks. Xu Xin didn’t care at all, still rushing towards the half-open door.

Just as the bats’ squeals resembling mouse squeaks approached him, Xu Xin slammed into the tightly closed door!

Using his current mighty strength as a buffer, he didn’t suffer any injury. Instead, the door was forced open, creating a gap wide enough for one person to pass through.

The bats’ screeching and flapping sounds nearly stuck to his back, Xu Xin kicked off and slipped through the gap in the door.

Countless bats slammed into the door, producing “thump thump” dull sounds and sharp bat screeches.

Struggling at the door, Xu Xin slammed it shut, after three bats squeezed through the gap, even crushing a few bats in the door gap, thin blood streaks seeped through.

Outside the door, the constant banging and bat screeching continued, but Xu Xin no longer cared.

He panted heavily, enduring the headache, pulled a crossbow from his backpack, and shot at a bat trapped on this side of the door.

The crossbow bolt penetrated the bat’s head, instantly killing it.

[Killed mutant bat, gained points: 10.]

The two remaining bats, seeing their companion killed, shrieked and charged forward, their sharp calls intensifying Xu Xin’s headache.

Xu Xin swung his iron sword fiercely in the direction of the charging bats, slicing them into four pieces instantly.

[Killed mutant bats *2, gained points: 20.]

Having dealt with the three that slipped through, Xu Xin leaned against the door still under continuous impacts, clutching his throbbing head as he slowly sat down.