New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 14: Shushu is so cool, why don’t you buy one?

After hearing Yuan Zhu mutter "rat" in the dark, the middle-aged man suddenly turned to look at him and asked jokingly, "Why, you don't know what rat means?"

The "rat" he mentioned in his question clearly didn't refer to rats in the common sense. This seemingly casual question was also intended to test him.

The elf spoke simultaneously on the mental channel: "Master Lao, this fat man is deliberately testing you. He must have been influenced by the instigation of that young man and has become suspicious of you. That guy is targeting you at every turn. I think it would be better to write him down in my little notebook and find an opportunity to take revenge on him later."

Yuan Zhu ignored the gossiping elf.

He'd discovered that this little creature was always talking nonsense, and what it said was particularly to his liking. If it were replaced with a host with poor self-control and no control, it would be like watching short videos: the more you listen, the more addicted you become, ultimately leading to cognitive bias.

In plain English, it means overconfidence, a lack of common sense, frequent misjudgments of real situations, and paranoid self-confidence. It's like the general manager of a certain Kaishen Express. His advantage lies in his mastery of micromanagement. He has the ability, but he lacks any real operational skills.

So Yuan Zhu decided: "From today on, I will stop using the elves!" He could only listen to her reasonable opinions appropriately and remember not to get lost in the saturated bombardment of her flattery.

Facing the middle-aged man's question, Yuan Zhu frantically activated his brain and asked the elf to search his memory bank. Finally, the relevant knowledge points that were about to come out successfully gushed out.

"Ha, you mean the Rat King, right? How could I not know that? Strictly speaking, the Rat King is one of the twelve deities of the year, the first of the twelve zodiac animals. He is also the source of the mystical 'Moon of Wisdom'."

After hearing Yuan Zhu's answer, the middle-aged man smiled noncommittally and said jokingly, "It seems that your mental sequelae are not serious. You even remember these common sense. So what's your birthday and zodiac sign? Do you remember it?"

Yuan Zhu realized they were conducting another covert investigation of him. The previous questioning had been aimed at understanding the details of the murder. Now, it was a personal test. They still suspected he had been tampered with in the sacrificial ritual.

"My zodiac sign is spider, and my birth date is March 3, the month of sleep."

More strange knowledge emerged, and Yuan Zhu also learned that the Duling planet also had a set of 12 zodiac animals. Speaking of which, the early ancient version of the 12 zodiac animals was the same as the Earth version, but the order was sometimes messed up. It was only circulated within the ancient Eastern country of [Gen Continent] and lasted for thousands of years.

The new version of the 12 zodiac signs was initiated 150 years ago by the current Great Emperor of the Red Dragon Empire, who called on all the major countries and religious forces with regional influence around the world to jointly compile it.

The old version of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals only has cultural attributes and no other meaning. It has a limited circulation range and low influence.

The new version of the 12 zodiac animals is different. They are the result of a compromise between various forces, and 12 real gods who can represent a certain natural phenomenon were intercepted from inside and outside the Duling Star.

Therefore, the new version of the 12 zodiac signs integrates multiple meanings such as "year god, moon phase", etc. In addition to the ordinary cultural attributes, it is also a genuine open source foundation of mysticism with extraordinary elements.

This is a set of basic ritual materials available free to all humans (intelligent species). Anyone interested can try divination using their birth date and eight characters, combined with the functions of the twelve life-destiny zodiac signs. Whether predicting fortune, career, or relationship, it's guaranteed to yield results, not simply a game of superstition or a scam.

In this world, the first of the twelve zodiac animals is a deity known as the Rat King. Yuan Zhu, after reviewing his life, confirmed that he had never seen a temple dedicated to the Rat King. Nor had he heard of any shrines or temples dedicated to the Rat King in Running City.

However, as a universally recognized deity, the Rat King's influence is ubiquitous. Its greatest presence among the common people is the custom of hanging rats outside homes throughout the New Federation to pray for good luck and welcome the new year.

Because the [Rat King] is not only the first of the Chinese zodiac signs, he also influences the first month of each year, the Month of Wisdom.

It was June, the Corpse Moon. The concept of the Corpse Moon was used several times during this sacrificial ceremony to enhance the effect of the sacrifice.

...

As pests that steal food and spread disease, rats are naturally disgusting. However, if we break them down, we can also divide them into many categories:
For example, the adorable, miniature northern mice cower in a corner with their eyes wide open: "Auntie, I'll just have two grains of rice." Another type is the southern rat, larger than a cat, with a bulging physique, roaming precariously under the streetlights, fearless of humans and rubbing shoulders with southern cockroaches, even barging into restaurants together: "Old Deng, cook me two dishes! Meat!" Ordinary residents of the New Federation proactively select attractive mice and hamsters. They kill them, gut them, extract their fur, air-dry them... Finally, their bodies are filled with spices and sewn together, and their eyes are filled with cheap gems or glass, creating lifelike "sachets" (small specimens) that are hung on doorsteps during the New Year to bring good luck.

Often, these dried mice are dressed in small clothes, topped with hats, and whipped in various ways, resembling cartoon dolls, which only makes them even cuter. Some people also use them as pendants, hanging them from luxury bags or belts to show off.

The custom of hanging rats among ordinary people originated from wealthy families, large companies, and high-end roadside shops, which usually hang rats at their doors.

Poor people follow suit, thinking they can get some traffic and share some of the luck of the rich.

What the common people did influenced the indigenous people of the New World, who followed suit.

When most of the indigenous people also started hanging rats, Western immigrants on the East Coast and aliens from the magical universe also followed suit without knowing why... and thus, the trend came.

Nowadays, it has become common sense to kill the damned rats you see on the roadside, and to hang up cute mummified rats for the New Year.

No one objects to the "rat mummified pendant" because rats are hateful and deserve to die, and no one sympathizes with the damned rats because of the popularity of the "rat pendant".

The humans on Duling Star have normal mental states, but their common sense and customs are very abnormal.

...

Those genuine rats, held high by Brother Fu, truly dabble in the realm of occultism, forging a transcendental connection with the Rat King. Furthermore, their purpose isn't to pray for blessings, sachets, or bless one's children with intelligence and health, but rather simple surveillance!
The genuine rat mummy was invented, and it was very expensive. It was a "biological mummy monitor" whose operating principle was unknown and involved gods and the supernatural realm.

The bodies of these rats are insignificant, preserved solely for aesthetics and integrity. Their truly valuable part is their heads, which, after undergoing a mysterious transformation, can record images with their eyes (available in the Plus infrared night vision version or the Max thermal sensing version), storing them in their brains. This information can be accumulated for up to a week, and can be read, played, and erased through special means.

The larger the rat, the larger its brain capacity, and the more information it can store. Therefore, wealthy families and high-end stores hang rats at their entrances, acting as both a monitor and an alarm device.

Furthermore, these rats, blessed by the power of the God of Destiny and transformed by mysticism, can also serve as home video recorders, capturing moments of happiness. On a little boy's birthday, his father held a dead rat against his son's chest and filmed him, capturing the joys of life. A strange light flashed in the rat's eyes, and the whole family smiled happily.

Finally, some high-end professionals also carry a "pocket sachet mouse" in their pockets. Its specific function is similar to a biological USB flash drive, storing work information and confidential information in the brain and using the mouse tail interface to complete the transfer of biological data.

Two spies sneaked into the same toilet of the same store, took out a little mouse from their pockets, inserted their tails into the back of each other's mouse head, completed a satisfying exchange of intelligence, and then left without taking a single cloud with them.

Ordinary people cannot access these high-end mystical products, so they imitate the external forms and develop rat-shaped sachets that embody good wishes, or genuine leather rat pencil cases with zippers sewn on the belly.

When Yuan Zhu was in elementary school, he was the coolest kid in the class. Every time he went to class, he would pull out a large dead mouse from his schoolbag. Then, he would unzip it from his chin all the way to his penis, and leisurely pull out a pencil, ruler, and eraser from his stomach. He was so envious of him that he vowed to buy a bigger one in the future!

Unfortunately, until today, he has never spent money to buy a mouse pencil case, and his younger brother certainly does not have this blessing either.

After flipping through his memories, the elf commented scathingly, "Hey, Brother Yuan Zhu is still way too stingy. Not only is he a labor scab, but he's also unwilling to spend his salary on enjoying life. He can't even afford the coolest, most fashionable mouse pencil case. Really lame! Lao Da, you have to buy me one. I want the pink one!"

Hamsters are so cool, why not buy one?

　Rat is so cool, why don’t you vote for him?
　　
　
(End of this chapter)