The spider squad sped across the snow, countless spider legs rising and falling, kicking up soft snow powder.
Night had fully descended. Every spider vehicle had its headlights on, casting pale yellow beams that illuminated vast expanses of the snowy wilderness.
Jiang Ye had set up automatic following and leaned back comfortably in his seat, watching the scenery.
Large tracts of wasteland, which might one day become farmland or bustling cities.
That is, if the Mill people didn't invade. Once war broke out, everything would be destroyed.
He wondered how Li Nannan was doing on the front lines. Jiang Ye sincerely hoped for her triumphant return, especially after spending so much money on her. If she died, all that money would be wasted.
"Report, there's light ahead," a voice suddenly crackled over the comms channel.
Jiang Ye snapped his head up, his eyes widening.
In the darkness of the desolate plains, faint blue-green lights began to float, like will-o'-the-wisps.
The spider units pressed forward, their distance to the lights decreasing. Exclamations of awe echoed through the comms.
The illuminated area became fully visible, appearing almost endless, a spectacular sight like a glowing sea, with a luminous zone spanning at least several kilometers.
The blue-green lights flickered across the snowfield, with thousands of glowing points per second. The snow seemed to hold cumulonimbus clouds charged with lightning, and those lights were undoubtedly electric light rats rubbing their fur. The brighter their fur, the more favor they'd gain from the opposite sex, leading to more little rats.
"Report, Commander, this is the rat territory," Che Zhen said.
"The electric light rats are indeed very bright at night, more than enough for streetlights," Jiang Ye remarked. "Everyone spread out and try to capture some alive. Don't bring them into the cabins immediately. Pin them down with your spider legs and let them discharge their electricity, draining all the power within them."
"Yes!"
The spiders fanned out, scurrying across the snow, their legs reaching for the illuminated spots.
Jiang Ye wasn't idle either. He activated the spider's recording function, filming as he advanced, conducting a carpet search.
Many holes dotted the snow. Scanning them revealed their depths, reaching five meters underground, but not the bottom. Further scanning was impossible.
The diameter of these holes was just enough for the electric light rats to enter and exit, and the cave walls were smooth, clearly worn by frequent passage.
The underground rat tunnels were quite complex, resembling tree roots, crisscrossing in a chaotic yet orderly fashion.
Jiang Ye opened the comms channel. "Has anyone caught any rats?"
"No," came the uniform reply.
It wasn't that they were stupid, but the rats were too cunning. As soon as they lit up on the snow, they'd burrow underground, escaping through tunnels, making them impossible to catch.
"Stop trying to catch them randomly. Conduct a carpet scan of this entire area, consolidate the data, and I'll examine the overall structure of the rat tunnels," Jiang Ye ordered.
The spiders quickly regrouped, forming a long, serpentine line, scanning as they advanced.
Jiang Ye remained stationary, watching the screen.
Inch by inch, the underground structures were compiled. More and more rat tunnels appeared, like a river's water receding to reveal dense aquatic plants in its bed.
Jiang Ye remained silent, but his astonishment grew.
He had initially assumed the underground rat tunnels were dug randomly by the electric light rats, and should have been a chaotic mess.
However, as the large-scale underground rat tunnels were revealed, the patterns were remarkably regular, almost like a city with clear planning. Every so often, a thick tunnel ran through, interspersed with thinner tunnels at different locations, winding and connecting in a dizzying array.
Such extensive construction indicated that the electric light rats likely possessed a considerable degree of intelligence and social behavior.
Jiang Ye felt it was sufficient.
He tapped the screen, drawing a circle along a pattern, and issued a voice command:
"Everyone gather around the circle I've drawn. Use your spider legs to block the outer rat holes, and gradually force your way inwards. Let's see if we can drive out a few rats."
The spiders converged again at the designated location and began working busily.
Within two minutes, a flurry of shouts erupted over the comms:
"They're popping out! Caught one!"
"It got away! Forget that one, there are more behind!"
"Pinned it down! I've got one!"
"I've got one too!"
Jiang Ye waited for the clamor to subside, and Che Zhen's voice immediately came through:
"Report, Commander, we've caught 3 rats. One was accidentally crushed to death by excessive force, and the other two are alive."
"Have them discharge their electricity, then collect them and bring them back," Jiang Ye said, satisfied. "Send me a couple of photos first."
Several photos were transmitted in quick succession.
The three captured rats were large and plump, with shifty eyes... as if they were naturally rats.
Their fur was blue-green, occasionally sparking with electricity. Certain areas were exceptionally bright, as if their internal organs were equipped with high-wattage light bulbs.
The rat that had been crushed was no longer glowing, like a broken luminous toy. Its internal organs and blood had spilled out, bright red and viscous like ketchup. Its ping-pong ball-sized eyes had rolled out, with three large nerves still attached to the whites, looking quite pitiful.
Jiang Ye took out his phone, bundled the photos and the scanned data of the rat holes into a file, and sent it to Li Nannan.
Jiang Ye: "I've discovered a large-scale population of electric light rats here, numbering no less than ten thousand, suspected to be social. I'm requesting the establishment of a laboratory and the allocation of research personnel and funding from the military."
He expected Li Nannan to be too busy with the intense fighting on the front lines to reply immediately, perhaps waiting for several messages before getting a response.
However, before the spider squad had even returned to base and Jiang Ye had a chance to enter his office, his phone vibrated with a reply.
Li Nannan: "Okay, I'll inquire about how much funding can be approved. Please wait a moment."
Jiang Ye felt a surge of excitement and jogged back to his office.
The air conditioner and lights switched on simultaneously, bathing the room in warm air and yellow light. Jiang Ye kicked off his sweaty boots and stood barefoot by the window, clutching his phone as he waited.
Li Nannan: "The Electric Light Rat Research Institute, with a total area of 4,000 square meters, including multiple laboratories and dormitories, will be allocated a total of 1.6 billion. It will cost one billion to build the institute and hire research personnel. You can have six hundred million."
Jiang Ye: "Excellent! Thank you, Commander!"
Li Nannan: "This six hundred million isn't free. You'll need to provide some manpower to assist the researchers. Protect them, help them with minor tasks, and so on."
Jiang Ye: "Understood, understood. I'll take good care of them. Who will construct the laboratory? Where will the researchers come from?"
Li Nannan: "Termite Real Estate will undertake the construction. Once it's built, people will be dispatched from other planets. You don't need to worry about that. Also, if the institute makes progress in its research on electric light rats, a portion of the research results will belong to you. You'll receive patents and usage rights, and possibly future income."
Jiang Ye's mood soared. These rats were practically golden mice, bringing in six hundred million yuan at once, and who knew, they might even become a source of income in the future.
Jiang Ye: "Commander, how are things on your end at the front? The fact that you can message me means the fighting has eased up, right?"
Li Nannan: "Eased up my foot! In four hours, we launch a full-scale assault, attempting to blow up one of the Mill people's mother nests. This operation has gathered a million troops. If it fails, the entire defense line will collapse, and the Mill people will advance unchecked. Pray for me. I have to board the ship now."
Jiang Ye was shocked. The situation on the front lines was far more serious than he had imagined. The hairs on his back stood on end, pressing against his clothes.
He looked up at the dark sky.
It was a clear night, filled with stars, but which star was the battlefield where millions were about to charge? Perhaps none of them?
Were these millions human soldiers, or mostly robots?
Human wave tactics were a thing of the past. What kind of battle required such a massive troop deployment? What scale of combat was about to commence in four hours?
Jiang Ye didn't know.
He was an ancient man. When he was a child, the universe was merely a backdrop, and almost no one looked up to glance at it.
But now, the vastness and liveliness of the universe filled him with dread.