The camera focused on Emperor Rat for a short while before the scene shifted to the dense crowd of spectators. Suddenly, the camera stopped, slowly zooming in. A man with short, beige hair appeared in profile. Without any warning, the man turned his head, his pair of emerald eyes sharply and precisely locking onto Xia Zhi’s direction.
The next second, the venue’s dim lights were abruptly extinguished, and chaos ensued. In mere seconds, Xia Zhi’s voice rang out, "Emperor Rat has been taken!"
The screen’s camera light was dim, and the blurry footage only showed the chaotic hubbub and screams. This was followed by Wang Cao Tian and Jiang Yue’s curses as they were jostled and separated by the panicked crowd.
Finally, there were the angry squeaks of Emperor Rat’s personal guards and soldiers. The concert hall’s lights suddenly blazed on, revealing a crowd of bewildered and frightened people, who were then confined by Emperor Rat’s guards who were missing their leader.
The video flickered out here, but the information conveyed was already substantial.
First: Emperor Rat was abducted by foreign divine envoys.
Second: Xia Zhi and a large group of travelers were imprisoned.
Then the questions arose: Why would the foreign divine envoys abduct Emperor Rat? Could it be related to the stolen painting? Where could they be now?
Suddenly, dense squeaking sounds echoed through the entire street. Countless rats with glowing red eyes, clad in armor and wielding various weapons, rustled from all directions, swarming in. The once lively street was instantly plunged into panic, but no one fled in disarray.
Most people knew that the uninhabited island was home to a large population of rodents, but these creatures had never shown any record of harming humans. The original inhabitants’ expressions changed immediately upon seeing the armored rat army. Seemingly sensing that something was amiss, their first reaction was to calm the tourists.
The entrances and exits of the uninhabited island were guarded by the rat army. At this moment, a black-furred rat darted to the central observation deck of the street, picked up a miniature communicator, and spoke in a human voice:
"Dear tourists, a very serious incident has occurred on this uninhabited island today. Our Emperor Rat has been captured by ill-intentioned individuals. To rescue our king, you must cooperate with our checks before you can leave the island!"
The tourists grumbled with dissatisfaction, but seeing the dense rat army surrounding them, they dared not harbor any significant thoughts of resistance.
Lu Zhi was astonished by everyone’s calm acceptance of talking rats.
But he soon found relief. Ever since that live broadcast of god-slaying, ordinary people had, in a matter of days, accepted another truth about the world.
As the country initiated free superpower testing points for everyone, academies also opened their doors to ordinary people nationwide. Lu Zhi and other new students had now become seniors.
The world was strange, and gods did exist. Talking rats hardly seemed surprising anymore.
"To avoid accidental harm, please tourists line up for inspection. Those without issues will be allowed to leave the uninhabited island." After the black rat guard finished speaking, a group of squirrels squeaked and gestured with their paws, indicating for everyone to follow them.
Lu Zhi and his companions stood in a corner on the periphery of the crowd, discreetly observing the appearance of those being inspected.
They discovered that the inspection method was very simple: a few rats would sniff each person, and then they would be allowed to leave. Even those who were unwilling to leave were forcibly expelled.
If nothing else, the scene looked quite amusing.
After all, the height difference between adults and rats was considerable. Yet, these people were very obedient, or perhaps they found it amusing.
Most importantly, these were not the foul-smelling rats commonly encountered. Each one had clean fur and wore armor, which was quite comical.
Even the children who had been frightened at first giggled when the rats climbed onto them to sniff.
“I’ll go check the other entrance,” Lophis whispered. “You guys should find a chance to leave here.”
Lu Zhi nodded in understanding and said, "Be careful."
They had all seen only one apostle in the concert hall. The whereabouts of another apostle with wind-elemental abilities similar to Lophis’s were unknown. If that person attacked from the shadows, they would be in grave danger.
Furthermore, that person’s strength was likely no less than Lophis’s.
“I’m going,” Lophis made an OK gesture, put on his hooded cloak, and slipped away silently under the noses of the rats.
Lu Zhi pondered for a long time and said, "Shen Qi, let’s go to the Rat God Temple."
He thought it over and over, believing that if foreign envoys came to the uninhabited island, they were very likely targeting the Rat God Temple.
After all, the uninhabited island had existed for so long, and there was only news of Emperor Rat, while information about the Rat God was confined to the Rat God Temple.
If the Rat God and Emperor Rat were indeed the light and dark sides, how could Emperor Rat be so easily captured by foreign envoys?
Moreover, whether it was Lu Zhi’s illusion or not, when he saw Emperor Rat in the video, he felt absolutely none of the subtle aura associated with "this is the Rat God."
Shen Qi tore open a rift in space behind him and directly arrived under a large, golden, imposing tree near the Rat God Temple.
The Rat God Temple was exactly as Lu Zhi had imagined, only half a meter high and occupying an area of about one square meter.
Suddenly, a faint rustling sound came from the golden, imposing tree. Lu Zhi looked up and saw three small, brown squirrels of the same color on the tree. The only difference was the white stripes on their tails.
The three squirrels poked their heads out, and one said, "Did they go in?"
"They went in."
"What should we do?"
"I don't know."
"Should we report to Emperor Rat?"
"Idiot, Emperor Rat was captured by bad guys."
"Oh no, it's over."
"Oh no, it's over."
Lu Zhi’s expression shifted slightly. Had someone entered the Rat God Temple, or had something else entered?
"I want to go in and take a look," Lu Zhi said earnestly, flipping onto the back of the red-tailed moth.
Shen Qi leaned against the tree trunk, his gaze calm, "Go ahead."
Lu Zhi blinked in surprise. "Aren't you coming with me?"
Shen Qi extended his index finger and gently caressed Lu Zhi’s little head, saying, "This is your adventure. I will only act when you need me."
Lu Zhi stared at him for a long time before humming in agreement. He gently kicked his legs, and the red-tailed moth flapped its wings, carrying Lu Zhi leisurely through the outer gatehouse of the Rat God Temple.
They were not hindered in any way.
The three squirrels on the tree were completely unaware, still chattering about how Emperor Rat could have been captured.
Shen Qi suddenly approached, looked up towards the Rat God Temple, and a familiar golden barrier appeared before him, slowly unfolding and clearly displaying a sentence:
【Mad Dogs Scatter, Scat, Scat!】
Shen Qi’s expression was blank, his eyes dark and menacing. He let out a cold laugh and murmured, "This is truly excellent..."
Lu Zhi, who had entered the Rat God Temple, was unaware that the reason a certain god did not enter was exactly the same as at the God Tower.
If he had seen it, Lu Zhi would have undoubtedly burst into laughter without restraint.
…
After escorting Lu Zhi to the entrance of the Rat God Temple, the red-tailed moth dissipated like smoke, leaving Lu Zhi with a touch of reluctance.
The grand golden gate was carved with two lifelike rat heads.
Lu Zhi observed, finding no obvious mechanisms or restrictions. He then cautiously pushed the door with his hand, and it opened easily.
He had expected to see a bright, magnificent golden hall upon first entering, but instead, it was pitch black, and he couldn't see his hand in front of his face.
Hesitating, Lu Zhi took a deep breath and entered the Rat God Temple. The door behind him creaked shut automatically, and the last trace of light vanished. Standing in the darkness, Lu Zhi slowly turned on his Guangnao (light brain).
The weak screen light illuminated his face but could not reach beyond a meter in his vision.
Lu Zhi fumbled in the darkness, taking slow, cautious steps, constantly watching his feet, fearing he might step on a trap.
In such an environment of darkness, where he could not find a light source or hear any sound for a long time, it created a mental pressure. Over time, it could lead to fear and mental derangement.
Lu Zhi didn’t know how long he had walked, or perhaps it was only a few minutes. The oppressive feeling of darkness made seconds feel like years. It was as if there were no living beings here, and anyone who entered could never find an exit, only slowly feel their proximity to death in the endless darkness. kuAiδugg
Suddenly, Lu Zhi stopped, holding his breath and listening towards his left. He heard a rapidly suppressed, hurried breathing sound.
Lu Zhi’s first instinct was to turn off his Guangnao. The surroundings plunged into darkness again, and the breathing sound became even more distinct.
It was as if something was gradually approaching Lu Zhi’s direction.