Chapter 540: Chapter 437, Collective Consciousness (Seeking Recommendations, Subscriptions…)._2
They’ve been walking for over ten minutes.
Suddenly, the path ahead splits into multiple directions, ahead and to the left and right, with corridors all of the same design in three directions.
For a moment, everyone was unsure about which direction to explore.
It seemed that descending into a burrow to catch a rat wasn’t an intelligent decision to begin with.
Squeak!!
Just when everyone was hesitating, unsure of which path to take, a noise sounding like a rat’s squeak came from the left corridor.
Shining the Nightstone to the left, they saw a white-haired rat standing upright at the end of the corridor, looking in their direction.
With the illumination from the Nightstone, Fang Hao saw its Mediterranean hairstyle.
The middle part of its head was completely bare, a comical sight.
This type of rat was the same as the one they encountered in the cave before, who was carrying a Nightstone and hurrying along.
“Let’s go, take the left path, and be careful,” Fang Hao said.
The group immediately began walking towards the left corridor.
At the same time, the rat that had squeaked spun around and ran away.
When Fang Hao and the others reached the spot where the rat had just been…
Squeak!!
The rat was once again not far ahead, squeaking at them.
“Let’s go.”
Squeak!
This was the third time, Fang Hao and the others started feeling something was off.
This rat seemed to always be waiting at a fork in the road for them.
As if it intentionally guiding them.
This made Fang Hao and the others even more suspicious of potential dangers ahead.
After the rat had squeaked three or four times, they still stood on the spot, not moving forward.
Squeak!
The rat continued to squeak, its impatience making it hop up and down.
“Let’s go, see what the hell it’s up to,” Fang Hao decided to continue on.
This time, the group didn’t get lost but just followed the rat.
They walked for over half an hour.
Fang Hao had a good sense of direction, several also caught references with a map in hand.
He was fairly certain that they were now nearing the northern edge of the city.
Continuing to follow the rat, they crossed through a round tunnel.
Suddenly, a surprising scene appeared before them.
On either side of the dried-up paddy fields were cleared farm lands. Even though they weren’t vast, the plants in the field had already sprouted tender buds.
On the other side, several grey rats were organizing utensils they’d stolen or picked up from humans.
Bottles, cans, and even some discarded heels and forks.
Each of these rats seemed to have its own role.
This place was more like the miniature version of a human city, a small city established underground.
Not just Fang Hao, everyone was surprised.
Ordinary grey rats obviously did not possess the intelligence of the balding white-haired rats. Upon seeing Fang Hao and his group, they started to flee into the dim corridors.
Squeak!!
Not far away, the Mediterranean rat that was their guide was still squeaking.
Fang Hao followed it forward.
After passing through another round tunnel, Fang Hao confirmed they had reached the end.
Upon seeing the scene before him, Fang Hao’s pupils suddenly contracted, even more surprised than when he saw the rat city outside.
This place was a semi-elliptical plaza.
In front of Fang Hao and the others were stands that looked like an audience area of a stadium, tier upon tier.
Each seat was occupied by a white-haired rat, amounting to at least ten thousand.
These rats, similar in size to wild rats, had one unique characteristic – the middle of their heads were hairless, replaced with a translucent membrane which revealed a pulsating brain beneath.
A Tier 1 Cranial Rat.
He observed their name when he was close enough.
Fang Hao had indeed a deep impression of this name, Cranial Rat.
So, these rats were the Cranial Rats.
At this moment, tens of thousands of these Cranial Rats started to pulsate their brains in unison.
The rat at the front suddenly spoke, “Welcome to the Grey Maze, human Fang Hao. Why are you here? What are you looking for, or are you partaking in the troublesome treasure hunt that your kind seems to enjoy?”
Shua shua shua!!
The human language spewing out of the Cranial Rat left the soldiers momentarily stunned; then they all drew their weapons and took a fighting stance.
The atmosphere within the vast hall immediately took a chilling turn.
When the leading Cranial Rat spoke, all other Cranial Rats’ brains, covered by the membrane, started to vibrate in unison. It seemed as if it wasn’t just one rat speaking, but the entire group that was communicating simultaneously.
Fang Hao was taken aback by the strange spectacle in front of him.
It wasn’t the right time to inquire about that, so he said, “The Temple said there had been some strange noises coming from down here, so I was sent to investigate any potential dangers.”
Fang Hao spun a lie. Apparently, the rats that Miriam had mentioned, the ones who had the habit of reading books, were these Cranial Rats.
“Oh, it might have been some wild ones who had sneaked up. We will rein them in; such incidents won’t happen anymore,” the Cranial Rat continued in its thin, high-pitched voice.
Fang Hao was equally surprised at this reply.
The rats proved to have a strong ability for diplomacy.
They had given an analysis based on Fang Hao’s and his companions’ background and demands and offered a peaceful resolution that both parties could accept.
“I’m satisfied with this answer,” Fang Hao signaled his guards to withdraw their weapons, then continued, “I’m curious, how do you know my name is Fang Hao?”
The brains within the Cranial Rats started to quiver in unison again.
“In this city, we can see and hear everything, including you, human Fang Hao. Many people have mentioned you in secret, calling you a latent threat, the top one, and some even a dandy…”
This…
The Cranial Rat quoted three descriptions of Fang Hao that people said behind his back.
These comments came from three different types of people: faceless ones, transmigrators, and some merchants who had lost business to him.
The Cranial Rat didn’t continue, hinting that there must be more interesting remarks about him.
“What you’ve said is well-known among many people outside, which doesn’t mean you know everything about what’s happening in the city. Unless you can reveal something that even I…”
Before Fang Hao could finish, the Cranial Rat interrupted him, “We know what you need. The faceless ones have a clear plan for you and Rebecca, but you, human, should understand that information has its value. It requires goods or information of equal value in exchange.”
The intelligence of these Cranial Rats was no less than that of a human.
And, using their convenient location in the underground world, they seemed to have procured many secrets within the city.
They not only knew about his alliance with Rebecca against the faceless ones, but also knew that the faceless ones had already laid a concrete plan for them.
Suppressing his surprise, Fang Hao asked, “So, Mister Cranial Rats, what should I offer in exchange for this information, or have you already determined your need?”
They could no longer be looked at as mere rats.
A righteous exchange was a primary condition for any cooperation.
Woo woo woo!!
The brains of the Cranial Rats under the membrane started to shake violently.
Then, the Cranial Rat spoke again, “For ordinary information, we need materials, resources, and supplies to build an underground city. But this time, the information we will show you is very important to you, so we need something of equal value to your life.”
A thing of equal value to his life?
Fang Hao was unclear about what it meant.
The Cranial Rat probably wanted to stress the importance of this piece of information.
“Tell me, what do you need?”
“We require means to survive. You, possessing a different mindset from the surface world humans, might offer some way to alter our current state,” the Cranial Rat explained.
Fang Hao frowned, “What do you mean?”
“We are weak, but when we gather, we can have the wisdom of a human. We have always been hiding in the underground world of this city, avoiding any conflicts or frictions with the surface humans so as not to reduce our already small numbers.”
The Cranial Rat looked back at his companions, and it seemed that within a short period, they had reached some consensus, “We need higher-grade test subjects, specifically from related species, to alter the genetic barrier within us.”
“Genes?”
This was insane; the rats were now researching genes.