["I'll ask just in case… but weren't you all supposed to be looking for the army base or something?"]
I turn around, already half-exasperated and resigned, to complain to the group of assholes.
The rat kid is tired and in pain. I'm pretty sure I broke a rib or two.
Those damn crystal clusters—which, clearly, I defeated all by myself—hit hard.
Bastards… As soon as I get a bazooka and learn how to kill living glass, they're going to get it.
But not this month, because I'll be bedridden, debating between life and death.
The point is:
I'm sure I heard them say they were going with the army.
But here they are, as clingy as a YouTube ad you can't skip.
Now that I think about it…
["…Are there fewer of you?"]
Not that I'm complaining.
The number of annoyances has dropped to just 8 boys and 10 girls.
It's a considerable improvement.
["Ahem… well… the group had divided opinions… Especially after you mentioned the Alba Ambulatis,"] - Four-eyes said.
His appearance has changed a lot in just one near-death experience.
Now he looks like an actor from a cheap post-apocalyptic series: frayed sports padding, a dented cyclist helmet, a golf club on his back.
The others look the same: a flea market version of a post-apocalyptic catalog.
["Well, the original plan was for ALL of you to regret following me."]
Is it that hard to take a hint? Are they stupid?
["So you admit that was your intention from the beginning."]
["Got a problem, four-eyes?"]
["…None…"]
[[[[…..]]]]
Silence falls.
We look at each other.
What's with these complicated looks?
Where's the hatred? Where's the resentment?
Do they want me to adopt them now because they saw me defeat those broken mirrors by myself?
Absolutely not.
The rat kid has standards.
I only adopt pets with at least 1% of my charm.
So, without looking away, I pull out the spray-on pest repellent and spray it in their direction.
I've already done this several times without success, but the rat kid still holds out hope that it's just slow-acting.
psssss… piss… pi…
Finally, the spray can runs out.
["THIS PIECE OF CRAP DOESN'T WORK, I'M GOING TO SUE YOU!"]
I complain with outrageous indignation as I throw the stupid spray can on the ground.
You bastards, don't think I won't sue you just because I stole the spray instead of buying it.
The rat kid will sue.
["Still, this is surprising… How many times did you all criticize Astrad for being an individualist? And when your group's vote takes an unfavorable turn, you just abandon him?"]
[[…]]
The genius girl's comment cuts like a rusty knife.
The group winces in shame.
["Brat, welcome to the Rat Kid Network."]
The rat kid knows talent when he hears it.
And this girl has proven it more than once.
["You will be Rat Kid 15."]
["What the hell is that?"]
…..
There wasn't much to highlight on the rest of the way.
Well…
Somehow we ended up killing a giant mosquito.
If it had attacked the group behind me, I would have ignored it.
But the bastard attacked me.
When I shot its abdomen, I surprisingly went right through it.
The good thing is the genius thief explained to me that their bodies were weak.
On the other hand, I spent too much ammo and gas on this shitty expedition.
It's true that I came home with some extra ammo, thanks to the supermarket.
But if this happens again, it will eventually be a problem.
I also used up the three special CO₂ canisters.
Although I can recharge them at home, they're insufficient for prolonged combat.
And besides, they don't have great penetration power.
Anyway, this trip was productive: I understood that I should never go out again.
I plan to learn from my mistakes: going out is a… no, no.
The rat kid learns, the rat kid evolves.
["So, you all stay on your side, and I'll stay on mine. If you cause me any trouble with the white guys, I'll kill you. That's all."]
I bid a friendly farewell to the stalking group and head for my house.
The girls I've semi-accepted as companions follow me.
["Wait… I was hoping we could have a conversation later…"]
["Good idea, NO."]
Come back when you have tits. How many times do I have to repeat myself?
It was then that I opened the door to my house…
["UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"]
KUAAAAAAAAA
A tackle. Brutal. No time to react.
It knocked all the air out of me. I think my rib is really broken now.
["BROTHEEEER, BROTHEEEEEEER!"]
WOOF
["Did you bring my beer?"]
Since I had no air left in my lungs, I couldn't answer the vixen.
Damn them…
They're going to pay for this one…
I think my rib really is broken now.
["UWAAAAAAAAAAA"]
Woof
Unable to stop myself, I patted the brat's head while trying to catch my breath.
The older sister just took the bag with the beer and went back inside happily.
The group, from across the street, watched the scene.
And the women in general were looking at me as if I were trash.
For some reason, I feel like this isn't the kind of hatred I'm looking for.
To begin with… It seems they don't even recognize me as human.
["Who are they?"] –Louise–
The rat kid senses danger.
The rat kid wants to flee.
But the rat kid is being held down.
Could this be the end of the rat kid?
......
JOURNAL ENTRY NO: 520
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Culex Sanguinis Major
REGIONAL ALIASES:
Latin America: El Moscote / El Dron de Malaria (The Big-Ass Fly / The Malaria Drone)
Swamp Zones (Anglo): The Blood-Sack
Survivor Nickname: The Red Buzz
NICKNAME (ASTRAD): The Blood Tax
📊 THREAT ASSESSMENT
CLASSIFICATION: PARASITUS / VENATOR
Its nature is that of a hemophagic parasite, but its conduct is that of a relentless aerial hunter. It's not a subtle thief that bites and leaves; it's a coordinated air strike that comes to collect a resource by force: your blood. It is the brute force of nature in its most numerous and fucking annoying form.
DANGER LEVEL: YELLOW (1 – 5 stars)
The undisputed king of the Yellow category and proof that 'fragile' doesn't mean 'weak.' A single one is a joke (a joke that can impale you if you're not careful), but a swarm is death by a thousand straws. You don't need armor-piercing rounds; you need a flamethrower or a miracle. Its danger is not in its quality, but in its overwhelming, suffocating quantity.
AGGRESSIVENESS LEVEL: RELENTLESS
There is no strategy or malice, just a pure, absolute, and incessant instinct: find blood and drink. They will not be stopped by bullets, screams, or common sense. They are a biological algorithm with a single directive. Their relentlessness is not that of a murderer; it's that of a flood, a plague, or a tax audit.
🧬 COMBAT FILE (TL;DR)
TYPE: Beast (Insectoid)
AFFINITY: Air / Toxic
🎯 PRIMARY WEAKNESSES:
Extremely fragile body, Dense smoke, Strong chemical repellents, Hurricane-force winds.
📌 KEY STRENGTHS:
Massive swarms, Extreme aerial agility, Spear-sized piercing proboscis, Saliva with analgesic and anticoagulant properties, Rapid suction (sucks you dry down to the soul in a few seconds).
📚 ORIGINS AND COMPARATIVE MYTHOLOGY
Prehistoric Biology: It's not a mutation; it's a devolution. It's likely a species of prehistoric mosquito. It's the Earth's original fauna, with no balance patches.
Biblical Accounts: Compared to the plagues of Egypt, but stripped of any divine meaning. It's not a punishment from God; it's just a Tuesday afternoon near a swamp.
Astrad's Analysis: People say they're mutants. Mutants of what? Of being pissed off? No, this is the original version, the one nature designed before deciding it was perhaps a bit too much. This is Earth reminding us how things were before we invented air conditioning and bug spray.
📝 DETAILED ANALYSIS
PHYSICAL AND SENSORY DESCRIPTION:
An insect the size of a small bald eagle. Its body is thin and brittle, with six long, wire-like legs and a pair of membranous wings that produce a deep, maddening buzz. Its most prominent feature is its proboscis (stinger), a chitinous tube the thickness of a finger and the length of an arm, sharp as a hypodermic needle. In a swarm, they are not just a visual threat but an auditory one, creating a deafening wall of sound.
BEHAVIOR AND ECOLOGY:
They reproduce in large bodies of stagnant, dirty water. They are pure swarm hunters. An individual or a small group will act as a scout, distracting the prey with its erratic flight, while the bulk of the swarm approaches from blind spots. Their "bite" is an act of extreme violence: the proboscis doesn't bite, it impales, piercing through clothing and flesh with ease. Their saliva contains a potent analgesic, so the victim often doesn't feel the initial perforation, only a sudden paralysis followed by rapid blood loss. They are insatiable gluttons and often suck blood until their abdomens burst in an explosion of fluids.
☣️ PROTOCOLS
RECOMMENDED ENCOUNTER PROTOCOL:
DO:
Seek enclosed shelter immediately.
Use dense smoke (burning rubber, plastics) to create a barrier.
Use area-of-effect weapons (flamethrowers, shotguns with birdshot) instead of single-projectile weapons.
DON'T:
Try to kill them one by one with a melee weapon (very difficult).
Stay in an open field.
Underestimate them for their fragile appearance.
Let a single one get close enough to use its stinger.
FIELD REPORT (Last transmission from a soldier in the Catatumbo wetlands):
"The soldier turned on a flashlight to check his wound. The only thing he saw was a black tube connected to an atrocity. He froze for a few seconds from the shock. Unfortunately, that was enough to seal his fate."
🎤 ASTRAD'S NOTES (THE ONLY SHIT THAT MATTERS):
I always thought the worst things in this world came from other dimensions, from magic or mad science. But sometimes, nature just looks at you and says, "Oh yeah? Hold my beer." And then it throws this at you. The Culex Sanguinis Major isn't an anomaly; it's the beta version of a mosquito that Earth never nerfed.
It's the planet's answer to all the cosmic and fantastical bullshit. A reminder that long before there were demons and glitches, there were already things here perfectly designed to suck the life out of you in the most literal and fucking noisy way possible.
They're like your ex: loud, annoying, they show up in a group when you least expect it, and all they want is to drain you dry. And you can't beat them in a slapping contest. If you don't have a flamethrower, burn your clothes, your shoes, your dignity if you have to. Smoke is your only friend. Either that, or you end up like a human juice box with a hundred straws stuck in you.
......
Chat - Rat Kid Network —
NR2: bro… got a buzz in my ear yesterday and thought "ah, a mosquito"... LOL, NOPE. It wasn't just "a mosquito." It almost sucked a liter of blood out of me like it was a soda refill.
NR4: lol, they literally turned you into a fast-food Pepsi dispenser.
NR7: shut up asshole, those things are drones with stingers, not mosquitos.
NR8: confirmed, they look like a Minecraft raid boss but the 'mosquito with a steroid mod' version.
NR3: I tried to kill it with a sandal… The bastard dodged it. In the end I shot it… many more came. Now I get chills whenever I hear a buzzing sound.
NR5: We saw one on the way to Rat Leader's base. Am I supposed to hit that thing with a bat? It'll turn me into Swiss cheese before I can even take the first swing. It's too fast. If you don't have a weapon, find a way to make smoke or move erratically to scare them off. I don't think attacking will work.
NR1: Then just throw yourself at them. It'll count as if you hit them with a plank.
NR5: REPEAT THAT, YOU MORON.
N2: HAHAHAHA.
N3: HAHAHAHA.
N8: HAHAHAHA.
N7: HAHAHAHA.
N1: GYAHAHAHAHA.!"$#%#%$&#$#
N2: What the hell?
N3: Remember they share a base now.
N7: She must be beating the shit out of him.
N4: Lol
N8: Lol
N2: Lol
N7: Lol
N3: Lol