# 387
Chapter 387 – Journey to the West on the Offensive
A tide of rats?
Lin Qiye stared at the scene in surprise and immediately thought of the rat swarm he’d seen in the underground cavern beneath Cangnan City.
He knew An Qingyu had extracted the “Fish Seed” ability from the Nanda Serpent Demon, but he hadn’t expected that in just one year An Qingyu could expand the rat tide to such a terrifying scale.
Under An Qingyu’s guidance, dense gray rats poured into the surrounding streets and buildings like a spreading net, slowly merging into the fog.
“With the rat tide, things will definitely be easier… but it’s still not enough.”
Lin Qiye’s lips curled slightly. He looked up toward the top of the fog, a hint of darkness flashing in his eyes.
Beneath the night sky, bats and owls rose from the city’s edge, flew through the purple mist, and circled above Lin Qiye like a black storm cloud.
He studied the dark cloud for a moment, then waved gently. The circling bats and owls received their orders and scattered in all directions.
After advancing to the “River” realm, the ability granted by [Starlit Dancer] to communicate with nocturnal creatures had greatly strengthened. Not only could he forcibly read the minds of worker ants as before, he could now actively summon nearby nocturnal beasts.
Baili Pangpang gaped at the sight and laughed, “Rats below, birds above—this is a sky-and-earth dragnet!”
Lin Qiye smiled. “Luckily this mental pollution only affects humans. With this net, finding Bell Cranel won’t be hard.”
An Qingyu nodded. “But we still have to watch out for its attacks. This fog is its creation; the moment we stepped in, it probably sensed us. A year ago we ruined its ascension ritual. Now that it’s fully recovered, it’ll likely come for us.”
“If it shows up, great—exterminate it and we’re done,” Baili Pangpang said confidently.
“It’s not that simple,” An Qingyu replied. “Don’t forget: the local Night Watch team, 017, entered the fog ten-plus hours ago. Aside from their captain, they’ve probably all fallen.
So we’re facing not only a Sea-realm entity but an entire puppeted Great Xia Night Watch squad.”
Cao Yuan’s expression turned grave.
“That is tricky…”
“If that team pins us down, we’ll be stuck in a passive fight,” An Qingyu said seriously. “Five-on-five we probably won’t lose, but while we’re tied up it could herd innocent civilians over, tying us down with sheer numbers.”
“It knows we won’t hurt civilians? It’s that smart?!” Baili Pangpang grimaced. “What sounded simple suddenly got complicated…”
“This thing plotted a disaster that endangered tens of thousands even while dying. Don’t underestimate it,” Lin Qiye said.
“This whole operation is a psychological game,” An Qingyu added calmly. “From the moment we entered the fog, the match that paused a year ago resumed.”
“So you already have a plan?” Lin Qiye raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, but it’s risky.” An Qingyu adjusted his glasses. “The best move now is… split up.
Qiye and I were the ones who wrecked its ritual; if we leave the main group, we’ll draw most of its attention and aggro.
I’ll leave one rat with you three. When my swarm locates Bell Cranel, the rat will guide you to carry out the extermination.”
“Split up? But if you two are bait, can the three of us actually kill a Sea-realm entity?” Cao Yuan frowned.
An Qingyu smiled. “Simple—Qiye, just lend them a blade.”
Lin Qiye blinked, then his eyes lit up as he caught on. “You mean, once they find Bell Cranel, I reverse-summon over and join their fight?” He nodded. “From decoy to feint—nice plan.”
Baili Pangpang finally pieced it together and stared at An Qingyu in envy. “How does your brain even work?”
“What about you?” Cao Yuan asked An Qingyu. “If you’re in danger and Qiye teleports away, what happens to you?”
An Qingyu waved a hand. “Relax, I have a backup.”
Seeing his certainty, Lin Qiye nodded. “Then we follow Qingyu’s plan: split forces, feint east, strike west!”
“Wait!” Baili Pangpang suddenly raised a hand.
Everyone looked at him.
“I have a question,” he said solemnly. “You said we might end up fighting 017 head-on. If we beat them up… and they see our faces afterward, what then?”
Lin Qiye: …
“How do you even think of something that bizarre?” Cao Yuan couldn’t help but complain.
Lin Qiye glanced around, spotted a shop, and his eyes lit up. “Easy—we hide our faces.”
He walked straight across the street to a children’s toy store. The once-bustling road was now deserted; every shop stood empty.
Inside, he took several plastic masks from a rack and handed them out.
Baili Pangpang got a Zhu Bajie mask; Cao Yuan, a Sha Wujing; An Qingyu, a Tang Monk; Lin Qiye kept a Sun Wukong for himself. Finally, he offered Jialan a bearded, black-faced Li Kui mask…
Jialan: (`皿′)!
Lin Qiye’s hand froze; he silently returned the Li Kui mask.
After a moment’s thought, he picked a Red Boy mask and gave it to Jialan, then lowered his head to don his own.
Surveying his companions now transformed into the Journey to the West crew, he nodded in satisfaction.
“Perfect.”