How can you become stronger if you don't build up bonds?

Although Lin Wei was reluctant to admit that a rodent-like creature was very anthropomorphic.

But what he saw before him forced him to face reality.

The purple rodent-like creature was trembling and crawling in front of him, its mouth touching the ground, its paws raised and clasped together, its eyes filled with a vivid expression of hope that Lin Wei would spare its life.

What's going on?

A highly intelligent monster?

Lin Wei remained vigilant, maintaining the cold wind spell, and took two steps forward, reaching a distance of three meters from the [panel detection] distance.

[Target: Unknown rodent species]

[Level: 29]

HP: 1790/2210

[MP: 788/1376]

Such a high level? It far exceeds the average level of an adult Giant Wind Eagle.

Lin Wei was somewhat surprised.

Its intelligence capabilities must not be simulated.

In the current mainstream theories of monster and beast research, rodents are considered a very low-level race. Most rodent creatures are difficult to develop intelligence, and their levels rarely exceed 15.

Lin Wei's intuition told him that this purple rat was no ordinary creature and was very likely a top species in the "rat" category.

Lin Wei could sense that this rat did not carry the blood plague, and its aggressive desire had dropped to zero. In addition, there was still a trace of survival instinct magic on its body.

Was it infected by other blood rats?

Lin Wei felt it would be a waste to kill it directly, so he decided to study it first.

Lin Wei called upon Fengliu to bring Shuliya and Tina down.

"Your Highness..."

"Why is Shuliya's face so red? Are you feeling unwell?"

"No... Shulia, I'm not feeling unwell..." Shulia's eyes darted around.

Did Tina say something strange to her?

Never mind, it's not important.

"Does Shuliya recognize this kind of purple rat?" Lin Wei asked, pointing to the purple rat.

"Huh..." Shuliya's gaze was immediately drawn to the purple rat.

"The magical energy emanating from its body is so strong, and its intelligence is also so high..."

Shuliya's reaction was unlike anything I'd ever seen before.

Lin Wei then asked Tina, who was still recovering from the discomfort of landing.

"What?" Tina glanced in that direction:

"Wow, what a beautiful mouse."

Tina appeared in front of her in a flash:

"What did you do to it? Why is it like this?"

"It attacked me, so I definitely have to control it."

"It's so scared, how could it attack you?" Tina looked incredulous.

"Tell me, do you really like this kind of thing?"

"It's cute, and not dirty at all. It's much more pleasing to the eye than those rats."

Tina's words are true.

This purple rat's appearance is basically in line with human aesthetic standards: it has a round body, big eyes, a short snout, bulging cheek pouches, and a short tail.

Compared to the blood rat, this thing is practically an adorable, harmless creature.

The more Lin Wei looked at it, the more he felt that this thing resembled an enlarged version of a hamster, or one of those specially bred pet hamsters from his previous life.

"Didn't you notice it was affected by the survival instinct spell?"

"I haven't even asked you how you secretly learned it yet!" Tina's eyes widened.

Lin Wei waved his hand, not wanting to continue the conversation with Tina, and turned to Shuliya instead:

"Shuliya, do you think it should be spared?"

"this..."

Before Shuliya could respond, the purple rat on the ground suddenly squeaked a few times.

Its expression became even more human-like than before, and its pitifulness doubled again, with a few tears even welling up in its eyes.

"It can understand human speech, why did you kill it?!"

Tina was the first to be moved and captured.

However, Lin Wei still preferred to take Shuliya's opinion a little more seriously, since the duties of a nature mage inherently include interacting with natural creatures.

"Let's spare its life for now... I'll make a rattan cage right now, and I'll make sure it can't hurt anyone once it's inside." Shulia also agreed to spare its life.

"Okay then."

Upon hearing that Lin Wei was no longer going to kill it, the purple rat immediately began to tap its furry head repeatedly on the ground towards Lin Wei, seemingly imitating a human's bowing motion.

Isn't its intelligence a bit too high?

Lin Wei slapped away Tina's hand, which was trying to get closer to pat its head.

"What are you doing—"

"Don't let your guard down."

Tina wanted to argue with Lin Wei, but seeing his uncompromising expression, she could only sulk to the side.

"I'm an experienced assassin, how could I possibly be ambushed by a small animal..."

While Shuliya was making the rattan cage, Lin Wei called Fengliu over to conduct a small experiment.

Eagles are one of the natural enemies of rodents, not to mention the giant eagle, which is the king of eagles. Ordinary rodents are so frightened by the sight of the giant eagle that they lose control of their bladder on the spot.

Lin Wei wanted to see how the purple rat would react when faced with the giant wind eagle.

Fengliu tilted his head and glanced at the purple rat on the ground. The purple rat didn't react in any special way. It still focused all its attention on Lin Wei and tried its best to be cute and ingratiating.

"Not afraid at all..." Lin Wei muttered.

Then, Lin Wei squatted down, intending to speak directly with the purple rat:

"You can understand me, right?"

The purple mouse nodded vigorously.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions now, and you'll respond with nods or shakes of your head."

The purple rat continued to nod.

"Were you a mutation from a blood rat?"

Shake head.

"Can you use magic?"

This question made Purple Mouse hesitate for a moment, but in the end, she nodded.

"Have you ever harmed humans? If you dare to lie about this, I guarantee you will die!" A cold glint flashed in Lin Wei's eyes.

The purple mouse's face showed an expression of extreme terror, but it still shook its head very resolutely, with a hint of grievance in its eyes.

"Then why did you attack me just now?"

This question cannot be answered with a nod or a shake of the head, but the purple rat's answer was quite ingenious.

It pointed to its head with its paw, then stood up and pretended to be unsteady on its feet.

Lin Wei realized that it was trying to express that it couldn't control its own behavior.

Lin Wei paused and thought for a moment:

"Do you know Quilon and Lanzhu? One is a male mage who uses earth element, and the other is a female mage who often wears purple and experiments on blood rats."

It started nodding almost as soon as Lin Wei mentioned Kui Long and Lan Zhu, and it became even more emotional and tearful when Lin Wei talked about the experiment.

"Did they bring you here?"

Shake head.

"This is your home. Were you captured by them?"

The purple mouse nodded vigorously.

"Are you useful to them?"

Purple Rat nodded and pointed specifically to its own fur, then pointed to Shuliya.

"You mean you're only useful to Lan Zhu, and Que Long doesn't care about you?"

nod.

After asking these questions, Lin Wei had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

"Can you help me find the remaining Mad Blood Rats?"

This question brought tears to Purple Mouse's eyes again.

It then pretended to be dead on the ground.

"You mean there aren't any left, that I've killed them all?"

The purple mouse wiped away its tears with its paw and nodded.

"What about the blood rats that weren't driven mad?"

Lin Wei asked a question that made the purple rat tremble violently.

Then it frantically made various movements, but this time Lin Wei couldn't understand them.

"Your Highness, it seems to be saying that the remaining blood rats do not carry the pathogenic factors, and those pathogenic factors were brought from the outside world by the Orchid Spider and the Kui Dragon."

It begged you to spare its brethren who had miraculously escaped the clutches of the Quilon and the Orchid Spider, offering to do anything for them, whether it meant killing it or signing a slave contract.

Shuliya translated Zishu's words for Lin Wei, her voice already carrying a clear sense of pity.

Lin Wei was shocked by this translation. How could a rodent be so affectionate and loyal?

But Lin Wei, adhering to the principle of caution above all else, continued to ask questions:

"What makes you say the remaining blood rats pose no threat of spreading disease? Can you provide any evidence?"

This time, Purple Mouse's complex answer was translated by Shuliya again:

"It said that the blood plague was also a devastating blow to the blood rat population. It was the organization that eradicated the local blood plague ten years ago. In the process, it also actively helped the people around Scar Town. Since then, the local blood rat population has never bothered humans again."