Chapter 14 - 13: Delivering the Baby via C-Section

Once she got a clear look at the two combatants, Sev Steele held her breath in fear. She pressed herself tightly against a thick purple bamboo stalk, her eyes locked on the battle below.

These were both creatures she couldn’t afford to provoke. The mutant bamboo rat was nearly a meter and a half long, its silver-gray fur standing on end like a heavy suit of armor. Its most striking feature was its pair of large, orange-yellow incisors. They had grown to nearly twenty centimeters long, gleaming with a cold, metallic luster in the sunlight like a pair of sharp scimitars.

Its opponent—the Mutant Snake—was equally terrifying. Its orange and black patterns stood out starkly in the bamboo forest. The snake’s body was as thick as a bucket, and it was at least four meters long. Its triangular head was raised high. As its scarlet forked tongue flicked in and out, Sev could even see venom dripping from its maw, landing on the bamboo leaves with a corrosive HISS.

"SQUEAK—!"

The mutant bamboo rat launched the first attack. It lunged forward with astonishing speed, its incisors aiming straight for the Mutant Snake’s vital spot.

But the Mutant Snake was prepared. It twisted its body, dodging the fatal blow by a hair’s breadth, and simultaneously whipped its tail toward the bamboo rat like a steel lash.

THUD!

With a heavy impact, the bamboo rat was sent tumbling backward, snapping several bowl-thick purple bamboo stalks in its wake. However, with its tough hide, it simply rolled over and sprang back up. Only its left front paw was visibly injured, hanging at an awkward angle.

"HISS—"

The Mutant Snake pressed its advantage. Its body darted forward like lightning, instantly catching the mutant bamboo rat in a deadly Entanglement.

Sev could see the mutant bamboo rat’s fur sinking deeply under the immense pressure, its bones letting out a grating CRACKLE.

"Is it going to be crushed to death by the Mutant Snake?" Sev wondered, her heart tightening.

But in the next second, the mutant bamboo rat suddenly opened its jaws and bit viciously into the snake’s body!

CRUNCH!

Those orange-yellow incisors actually pierced right through the snake’s scales, embedding themselves deeply into its flesh.

The Mutant Snake writhed in pain, the force of its Entanglement loosening slightly. Seizing the opportunity, the bamboo rat thrashed wildly, violently tearing off a huge chunk of Snake meat!

Watching from the sidelines, Sev winced in sympathetic pain. The battles between wild beasts were simply too gory and cruel. She couldn’t help but shiver again at the thought that if she hadn’t promptly climbed to high ground, she might have already become a meal for one of them.

"HISS—!"

Blood splattered. The heavily wounded Mutant Snake instantly flew into a rage. Its head struck out like a bolt of lightning, sinking its fangs viciously into the mutant bamboo rat’s shoulder.

"SQUEAK—!"

The mutant bamboo rat let out a shrill, miserable shriek, but its counterattack was just as ferocious! Ignoring the damage from the venomous fangs, it wrapped its limbs around the snake’s body and began biting and tearing frantically with its incisors!

For a moment, flesh and blood flew everywhere.

Although the Mutant Snake’s scales were tough, they were still fragile against the mutant bamboo rat’s massive incisors. Every bite tore away large chunks of flesh. Meanwhile, the snake’s venom was rapidly spreading through the mutant bamboo rat’s body, causing its movements to grow sluggish.

"Mutual destruction..." Sev rejoiced inwardly.

Just then, a sudden change occurred!

The Mutant Snake suddenly released its Entanglement. With a violent flick of its body, it hurled the mutant bamboo rat toward a thick purple bamboo stalk. The mutant bamboo rat crashed heavily against the wood. Before it even hit the ground, the snake’s tail whipped toward it once again!

THUD!

This strike carried immense power. The mutant bamboo rat was sent flying over a dozen meters, snapping several purple bamboos before slamming heavily into the dirt. Blood oozed from its mouth and nose. It struggled several times but failed to get back on its feet.

The Mutant Snake reared its head. Flicking its scarlet tongue, it slowly slithered toward the dying bamboo rat.

"Is it over?" Sev sighed inwardly. It seemed the mutant bamboo rat was still slightly outmatched.

However, just as the Mutant Snake was about to deliver the fatal blow, the mutant bamboo rat suddenly leaped up! Using the very last of its strength, it lunged fiercely at the snake’s head, driving its incisors deep into the serpent’s eye!

SQUELCH!

Blood sprayed outward. The Mutant Snake let out a miserable hiss, its body thrashing wildly as it flung the mutant bamboo rat away once more. But that previous strike was clearly more fatal—one of the Mutant Snake’s eyes had been completely blinded, and blood poured from the socket like a fountain.

The snake’s body twisted and writhed. It seemed to want to flee but had completely run out of strength. At the same time, the mutant bamboo rat collapsed on the ground, unable to stand back up.

It looked like this time, it really was mutually assured destruction!

Sev’s eyes lit up. "Here’s my chance!"

She slowly slid down the purple bamboo stalk and cautiously approached the battlefield. The Mutant Snake was already on its last breath. Its body twitched weakly; it obviously wouldn’t live much longer.

As for the mutant bamboo rat—wait, why was its abdomen twitching so violently?

Sev’s heart jolted as she immediately realized something. "It’s pregnant?!"

She hurried forward, only to see the mutant bamboo rat’s abdomen contracting intensely. Blood continuously seeped from its lower body. It seemed to have exhausted all its strength. It merely clawed at the ground instinctively with its front paws, letting out a faint SQUEAK from its throat.

"It’s giving birth... and it’s a difficult labor..." Sev felt a complex mix of emotions.

Back in her hometown, she had seen mother bamboo rats give birth. She knew this was their weakest yet most dangerous moment. But the mutant bamboo rat before her had just gone through a life-and-death battle and was now going into premature labor.

"Forget it. It’s not going to survive anyway," Sev muttered, shaking her head as she prepared to harvest the Mutant Snake’s corpse.

Right at that moment, the mutant bamboo rat suddenly forced its head up, staring straight at her with its beady black eyes.

Sev froze.

There was no ferocity or hostility in those eyes. There was only deep pleading—like a mother desperately begging a stranger for help. It wanted to beg her to save its child!

"SQUEAK..." the mutant bamboo rat cried out weakly, then gently nudged its own abdomen with its paw.

Sev bit her lip. She was no bleeding heart. In The Wasteland, being soft-hearted usually meant death. But facing a dying mother, she found she just couldn’t harden her heart.

Having been abandoned by her parents at a young age, she had fantasized countless times that her mother would one day descend from the clouds, embrace her gently, and softly say, "Mommy loves you!" But her mother never came for her.

The dying mutant bamboo rat before her might not be of the same species, but a mother’s profound love for her child still moved her.

"Sigh... What a hassle." She sighed, crouched down, and pulled a small knife from her backpack. "I’ll give you a C-section, but whether your Baby survives or not will depend on its own luck."

The mutant bamboo rat seemed to understand, blinking at her gently.

Sev took a deep breath and swiftly sliced open the bamboo rat’s abdomen. As blood welled up, she suppressed her discomfort and carefully extracted a wet, slippery little thing from inside.

It was a palm-sized baby bamboo rat. Its silver-gray fuzz was matted together, and its eyes weren’t even open. Its limbs kicked weakly as it let out a faint SQUEAK.

"It’s alive," Sev breathed a sigh of relief. She used a cloth from her pack to gently wipe the mucus off the pup, then held it in front of the mother rat’s eyes.

The mother rat struggled to gently nudge the pup with her snout. Then, she looked up at Sev, letting out a weak cry. Her eyes were filled with gratitude, as well as a profound plea.

Though they were of different species and Sev couldn’t understand her cries, she surprisingly understood the meaning in her eyes.

She was... entrusting her child to Sev’s care.