The Caffeine System: Critical Heart Protocol

Chapter 14: Harnessing Creativity

[There's no gap, you idiot. This is a sea of ​​flesh. Your running speed is useless if there's no ground to stand on. You'll slip on top of their bodies and be eaten alive in seconds.]

"So what should I do?! Fly?!" Raka shouted in frustration.

A mutant rat jumped from the front row and lunged at Raka's calf. Its sharp, yellow teeth ripped through Raka's pants.

"Ah!"

Raka kicked the rat reflexively. The rat's body felt solid and heavy as it flew off his feet.

"Get away from me, you damn pest!"

The situation quickly deteriorated. The rats weren't just biting. They were climbing. They crept up Raka's shoes, trying to reach his thighs and waist.

On the other hand, Baginda was also struggling hard. Three mice had jumped onto the swan's back. Biting its wings and neck.

"KWARK! HONK!"

Baginda screamed in anger. He pecked one of the mice with his beak as hard as steel until the mouse was thrown far away.

"Baginda!" Raka saw his swans in danger. "Hold on! Don't let them overwhelm you!"

Raka swatted away a rat that tried to bite his shoulder and then turned to face Baginda. He saw blood starting to drip from the swan's leg.

"System! Weapon! Give me an area weapon! Anything!" Raka shouted.

[The Shop feature is offline. Use your brain, Barista. You have inventory in your bag. Get creative or you'll be a corpse.]

"Inventory?"

Raka thought quickly amidst his panic. His hand reached into the backpack he had stolen from the minimarket earlier. His fingers touched a cold plastic bottle and a lighter.

"Alcohol! I have medical alcohol!"

A crazy idea popped into his head. Raka grabbed the bottle of 70% alcohol and the cheap lighter.

"Baginda! Listen to me!" Raka shouted over the squeaking of the mice. "Use your wings! Spin! Like a propeller! Get them away from us!"

Baginda stared at Raka for a moment. The swan understood its master's instructions, or perhaps it simply wanted to destroy everything.

"HONK!"

The swan spread its wings wide. Its sharp feathers glistened in the afternoon sun. The swan began to circle in place at high speed.

WOSH! WOSH! WOSH!

The rotation created a strong wind. His wings hit the rows of rats surrounding them.

The sound of bones cracking could be heard as the rats' bodies were thrown back and created a safe distance of about two meters around them.

"Good! Keep doing that, Baginda! Don't stop!" Raka exclaimed.

Taking advantage of the gap created by Baginda, Raka opened the cap of the alcohol bottle with his teeth.

He splashed the clear liquid in a semicircle on the asphalt in front of them, wetting the bodies of the rats in the front row.

"Sorry, Jerry. This isn't cheese," Raka muttered.

CRACK!

The lighter is lit and thrown into the pool of alcohol.

WOOSH!

Blue flames mixed with orange flames erupted. The smell of burning flesh and singed fur filled the air.

The rats caught in the flames screamed, scurried backward, and crashed into their own pack.

"Step back, Baginda! Get behind the fire!" Raka ordered as he pulled the goose's neck away from the flames.

Baginda stopped spinning, his chest heaving rapidly. The two of them stood in the center of the small circle, now fortified by a knee-high wall of fire.

"Did you see that, System? We're not dead yet!" Raka exclaimed with a triumphant smile, even as sweat trickled down his forehead.

[Creativity: 6/10. Effectiveness: 8/10.]

[You forgot one thing, Genius. Fire needs fuel. That alcohol will burn out in less than a minute. So what's your plan?]

Raka's smile faded as he saw the flames begin to shrink. The alcohol burned quickly.

Meanwhile, across the wall of fire, thousands of red eyes still stared hungrily at them. The rats hadn't left. They were waiting.

"Damn..." Raka cursed softly. "They know this fire won't last long."

Suddenly, a half-burned rat leaped through the flames. It landed right at Baginda's feet, then sank its teeth into the goose's webbing with the last of its strength.

"KWAARKK!" Baginda staggered, almost falling from the pain.

"Don't touch my goose!" shouted Raka.

Without any regard for his own safety, Raka leaped forward. He didn't use his super speed, but rather an emotional kick.

His sneaker hit the rat's head so hard that it released its bite from Baginda's leg.

Raka then stomped on the rat's head repeatedly until the creature stopped moving. Raka's breathing was labored. He knelt down, examining the King's feet.

"Are you okay, friend?" Raka asked. His hands trembled as he touched Baginda's fur. "The wound isn't deep, but it must hurt."

[AnimalLover12: Ah, I love your interactions.]

[User666: Hey Noob, watch out if the goose gets hurt!]

Raka didn't pay any attention to the comment that suddenly appeared.

Baginda snorted softly, then nudged Raka's shoulder with his head. It was a gesture of thanks.

Their partnership grew stronger. Raka was no longer a fearful master and Baginda was no longer just a pet. They were partners in survival.

"We must prepare, Baginda," Raka said. He stood back up and stared at the wall of flames, now reduced to thin smoke. "When this fire dies down, they will attack all at once."

[Warning. Fire barricade extinguished in 3... 2... 1...]

The fire disappeared.

Only a thin cloud of smoke drifted in the wind. The line of rats squeaked in unison, a sound that sounded like thousands of forks scraping against plates.

The largest rat among them with a scar on his face that seemed to be the leader of the group, took a step forward then let out a loud screech as if giving the command to attack.

"This is it," Raka clenched his fists, ready to trigger his heart. "Baginda, protect my back. I'll kick as hard as I can."

"HONK," Baginda replied weakly but firmly.

The leader rat leaped. Raka held his breath. Time seemed to slow down. He prepared for an impossible close-quarters battle.

However, the attack never arrived.

WOOSH!

A soft whirring sound cut through the air, barely audible above the din of the mice.

THWACK!

The leader rat that was floating in the air was thrown backwards.

A black, carbon-coated arrow pierced straight through the center of its head, nailing the creature to the asphalt with precision.

Black blood spurted onto the street. The leader rat died instantly, its body convulsing once before going still.

Silence fell over the battlefield. The other rats stopped moving. They were confused and afraid as their commander was killed in the blink of an eye by an unseen attack.

Raka stared, his mouth hanging open. He hadn't heard the sound of gunfire. The attack was silent, swift, and deadly.

"What was that?" Raka asked into the empty air. His eyes searched for the source of the attack.

[Oh, looks like an uninvited guest has joined the game. The plot is getting more and more interesting.]

"Who shot?" Raka shouted hoarsely. "Who's there?!"