I am a full-level celestial master, you let me enter the strange talk of rules?

Zhang Yangqing changed the subject, his gaze becoming sharp and profound: "Secondly, since there are creatures here that can be eaten by rats, and judging from the remains, their flesh and blood are at least 'partially edible,' then perhaps we can look for clues to find its kind. Don't forget, the little bit of 'rice ball' we have on us won't fill our stomachs."

His thinking was very clear: if one wanted to cultivate in private, or simply to maintain physical strength to deal with danger, sufficient food, especially meat containing energy, was essential.

Since this edible creature has appeared here, we can deduce where it came from by looking at the bloodstains, signs of struggle, or the direction the remains might have fled, and thus find its nest or area of ​​activity.

Finding and hunting its own kind might alleviate the food problem.

These words made the old miner's eyes light up!
He was so hungry in his cell that he risked eating a dead rat, which almost caused him to mutate and die.

The inferior "rice balls" provided by the Qing Tong family can barely keep them alive and cannot provide enough energy and calories.

If a stable source of meat can be found, that would be fantastic news!

He was instantly filled with eagerness for Zhang Yangqing's suggestion.

Zhang Yangqing said no more and carefully observed the ground by the light of the eerie green fluorescence.

Sure enough, in the direction from which the corpse came, one could see intermittent, slightly darker trails of blood and signs of struggle.

He had made up his mind. He gestured to the old miner and planned to carefully bypass the mutated rats that were eating and follow the direction from which the tracks had come to enter the next connected mine tunnel area.

The two retreated extremely carefully, preparing to go around the other side of the rock.

However, just as the old miner turned around to catch up with Zhang Yangqing, he suddenly stepped on something extremely brittle and hard that was half-buried in the gravel!

"Crack!"

A crisp snapping sound rang out in the silent mine!
The old miner was startled. Looking down, he saw an unidentified creature, perhaps a long, thin, ossified finger bone left behind by an earlier victim.

The cracking sound wasn't loud, but in this environment, it was like a thunderclap!
"Squeak!!"

Instantly, the mutated rats that were feasting beside the corpse raised their heads!

Seven or eight pairs of dark red eyes simultaneously locked onto the direction from which the sound was coming!
They stopped eating, their mouths, stained with blood, opened to reveal unusually long, black fangs, and a threatening, low hiss came from their throats.

The next second, like an enraged black tide, they used all four limbs and rushed towards the rock behind where Zhang Yangqing and the old miner were hiding at an astonishing speed!

Swift and coordinated, with a frenzied killing intent, they left several chilling afterimages under the eerie green glow!
The scene was extremely terrifying! These mutated rats were larger than ordinary cats, with bristling fur, glowing red eyes, mouths full of blood, and sharp claws and teeth. They made a dense and rapid rustling sound as they crawled, and in an instant, they approached the edge of the rock!
Faced with this situation, the most rational and time-saving approach is undoubtedly to "sell out your teammates".

If one of the rats, such as a panicked old miner, gets entangled and eaten by the rats, the rats' attention will be temporarily drawn to the smell of blood, giving the other person a chance to escape.

Fighting so many obviously dangerous mutant rats head-on is extremely risky. If you get bitten, you could easily get infected with unknown contaminants or toxins, with unimaginable consequences.

But Zhang Yangqing did not choose to sell the old miners around him.

He made a split-second decision: sell out his "other" teammates!
Zhang Yangqing grabbed the arm of the still somewhat dazed old miner and shouted, "Run!"

He turned around and rushed back the way he came!

This time, he did not deliberately control his speed. His agility and strength after some of the restrictions were lifted were fully revealed, and he was extremely fast even in complex terrain.

The old miner was dragged along by him and instinctively ran after him.

Zhang Yangqing did not flee blindly.

He remembered that before entering this side tunnel, he had faintly heard the clanging sound of other miners hammering rocks from another nearby tunnel, not too far away. He led the old miner out of the side tunnel and headed straight for the source of the sound.

The swarm of rats pursued relentlessly from behind, their hissing echoing through the mine, sending chills down one's spine.

Soon, they rushed into another mine tunnel where miners were active.

Three miners were digging around a rock wall when they heard hurried footsteps and the hissing of rats, and looked up in surprise.

Zhang Yangqing and the old miner passed by them like a gust of wind, without stopping at all.

The ferocious mutated rats pounced on the three miners who were closest to them and were still in a daze without hesitation!

"Ah! What?!"

"Rat! It's a mutated rat! Shoot it!"

"Help!!"

A brief burst of exclamations, angry shouts, and shrill screams erupted, accompanied by the sounds of fierce fighting and chilling tearing sounds.

Zhang Yangqing and the old miner didn't look back and rushed for another dozens of meters until the screams behind them gradually weakened and the hissing of the rats seemed to be attracted by the flesh and blood and stopped chasing. Only then did the two stop at a relatively safe corner, lean against the rock wall, and pant heavily.

The old miner was pale and still shaken. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and gasped for breath, saying, "Thank goodness! Actually, buddy, I almost turned around and fought them. I think I'm pretty capable; killing a few rats wouldn't be a problem. Luckily, you pulled me away, otherwise I might have died there!"

His voice trembled with lingering fear as he said this.

In that brief glance, he clearly saw that one of the three miners who were attacked seemed to be quite strong and quick to react. He swung his pickaxe to fight back, but after only two or three exchanges, he was pounced on by several rats and had his throat bitten off instantly!

The ferocity and speed of those mutated rats far exceeded his expectations!
Zhang Yangqing's breathing had calmed down, as if his previous sprint was just a warm-up. He casually remarked, "Just watch your step next time."

The old miner's doubts deepened as he looked at Zhang Yangqing's calm and collected demeanor, as if everything was within his expectations.

At first, he thought Zhang Yangqing had made a decisive escape because he realized he couldn't win, but now it seems that it's not that simple.

He couldn't help but ask, "Dude, I'm really curious, how did you guess those weird rats were so strong?"

This was also the question on the minds of countless viewers outside the big screen in China. Generally speaking, Zhang Yangqing was too lazy to explain such questions, since he couldn't see the comments.

But when someone asked, Zhang Yangqing glanced at him and calmly explained, "You still haven't observed carefully enough. Do you remember the corpse of that strange creature they were eating?"

"Although it was gnawed to pieces, judging from the remaining skeletal structure, the tendon traces at the wing membrane connection, and the sharpness and wear of the claws and teeth, that thing was definitely strong and fast when it was alive, and may even have been good at moving and hunting quickly in complex environments."

"Do you think rats capable of surrounding, killing, and devouring this creature are ordinary? Their mutated fighting power clearly surpasses that of their prey."

After the veteran miners digested this experience, Zhang Yangqing concluded: "We've just arrived here, and our situation is unclear. We're also physically limited. There's no need to take unnecessary risks for uncertain gains."

After hearing his analysis, the old miner was even more impressed.

Goodness, in such a hurry, they can even discern the wear and tear on the bones and tendons of the corpse?
That eye for detail, that analytical ability—it's simply superhuman!
He increasingly felt that following Zhang Yangqing was the best decision he had ever made in his life.

Without further delay, Zhang Yangqing identified the direction and continued walking deeper into the mine tunnel from which the bloodstains had been found.

Time was of the essence; the countdown on his wrist had already ticked away forty minutes. In the remaining two hours, he had to find a source of "food" and manage to acquire enough ore for cultivation or to achieve his goals. (End of Chapter)