Trembling At A High Altitude

Li Teng stepped out of the door.

The outside was shrouded in a dense fog, with very low visibility.

Li Teng closed the anti-theft door behind him and bent down as he took a few steps forward.

Some strange sounds could faintly be heard through the fog, sounding very unnerving.

Li Teng tried not to pay attention to those distant sounds, instead focusing on the sounds close to his body.

A giant rat suddenly burst out of the fog at Li Teng's side, leaping into the air, its mouth full of sharp fangs opened wide as it prepared to take a vicious bite at the side of Li Teng's thigh.

The so-called giant rat wasn't actually a real rat; its body resembled that of a rabbit, its tail that of a mouse, and its head that of a hyena, with teeth that looked even more dreadful than those of a hyena.

Although Li Teng had made ample preparations, he still didn't hear the giant rat approaching until it had appeared by his side.

Li Teng quickly placed the frying pan he was holding in front of his thigh, successfully blocking the rat's bite before its sharp teeth could reach him.

The giant rat 'thud!' struck the frying pan, emitted a shriek, and after falling to the ground, it turned and fled back into the fog.

The thick frying pan had been dented with a crater!

One could imagine how fierce its jumping force was.

In the narrative setup, the giant rat should be attacking the thighs.

Li Teng protected one leg with a pot lid and the other with a frying pan, and continued to walk through the fog.

He had no clear destination and decided to walk straight ahead for now.

The ground was solid and hard, neither like cement nor like compacted earth; he couldn't figure out what material it was.

He had walked dozens of meters without seeing any trees.

Then, another giant rat darted out from the fog.

This time, Li Teng blocked it with the pot lid.

But the aluminum pot lid was pierced with a hole.

Fortunately, the hole that was punctured trapped its mouth, preventing it from biting Li Teng.

Li Teng tried to pin it to the ground with the pot lid, but the creature was too agile and escaped as soon as it landed.

Perhaps because it hadn't been hurt, the giant rat didn't take long to charge back and launch a second attack on Li Teng.

Fortunately, Li Teng was well prepared this time and caught it squarely as it jumped, smacking it away with the frying pan.

It must have been smacked hard because this time it did not return.

After two encounters, Li Teng's courage grew; he held the frying pan in front of him and quickened his pace. After walking several dozen meters more, a small house appeared in front!

The small house was closed, but when he turned the doorknob, the door opened.

The interior of the small house also had a dark decor style.

But there was no fog inside.

Peering inside to confirm that there were no giant rats or any other people or creatures, Li Teng then entered the small house and closed the door behind him.

On the walls of the small house were the same countdown clock and gender time indices as on the walls of the big house.

It seemed to be a part of the big house.

He drew back the curtains, and with the help of the dim light outside, he could roughly see the room's interior.

There was a large box by the wall with a screen on the outside, which lit up when he touched it.

Inside, there were items for sale, but most importantly, there was a Biological Energy Sensing Detection APP!

According to the instructions, it could be downloaded and installed on a phone or a smartwatch to detect biological presence within a ten-meter radius, exclusively for use in this storyline.

"Damn! Advancing to Minor Special Engagement really does come with its perks, such privileges!" Li Teng was thrilled to see the APP.

Being in the mist, he felt blind as a bat.

After installing the APP on his smartwatch, he could detect any biological movements within ten meters. This way, if a Giant Rat attempted to charge out from the mist to attack him, he would know in advance.

The trial version was free to download but could only be used for one hour.

To buy the full version, he had to spend 2,000 Time Index points.

Extended detection ranges were also available; expanding from ten to twenty meters cost an additional 4,000 Time Index points, and twenty to thirty meters cost another 8,000 Time Index points. For each ten-meter increase, the expansion cost doubled.

Besides the APP, there were also shin guards for sale specifically designed to protect from Giant Rat bites. Made from a special material with cone-shaped protrusions, a full set of these shin guards weighed only one kilogram and wasn't too heavy. Due to the special material, they were extremely hard and impact-resistant, enough to withstand the sharp teeth of the Giant Rats.

However, the price was steep, a set of shin guards valued at 20,000 Time Index points.

In terms of RMB, they weren't expensive, only worth 200 yuan, but earning Time Index points was difficult.

There were also arm guards for sale, without the cones, and their price was half that of the shin guards, at 10,000 Time Index points.

Besides the shin guards, a Wolf Tooth Hammer designed to hunt Giant Rats was also on sale for 10,000 Time Index points.

Li Teng couldn't afford any of them.

Running on the treadmill could barely earn him enough Time Index points to stay fed and clothed; getting enough to buy this equipment was utterly impossible.

Li Teng pondered that the storyline shouldn't have set up such useless tools that could only be seen but not afforded.

Therefore, he guessed a very likely possibility.

That was... hunting Giant Rats could possibly earn a lot of points!

Once he had gathered all the equipment, Li Teng felt he might even try to ambush the soldiers attacking the house before noon arrived.

If he could successfully hunt down a soldier and grab the firearms from him, maybe he could find a chance to turn the tables on them.

But first, he had to get his hands on the equipment.

As for how to hunt the Giant Rats without any equipment, Li Teng already had an idea.

He opened the door and stepped outside, intentionally making some noise. Soon, his smartwatch displayed a light point representing a Giant Rat attracted by the noise, charging straight towards him.

Li Teng retreated back into the doorway, and when his smartwatch showed that the Giant Rat's light point was about to reach him, he swiftly stepped aside, ducking behind the door.

The Giant Rat, carried by its momentum, rushed into the room and crashed directly into the opposite wall.

Quickly closing the door, Li Teng lifted a frying pan and, as the Giant Rat hit the floor, he smashed it hard onto the creature.

The Giant Rat let out a pained squeal and tried to escape, but the door was now shut. The cramped room clearly wasn't suitable for it to leverage its speed, and after another hit by Li Teng's frying pan, the cornered Giant Rat turned around, hissing and attempting to forcibly attack Li Teng.

But without the fog's cover and the advantage of speed, it became a perfect target for Li Teng's frying pan as it leaped into the air, only to be smacked hard by Li Teng and sent flying into the wall.

This time, the Giant Rat was severely injured by the blow, and its movements became awkward as it landed.