Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 122 - 122 105 Rat Village

122: Chapter 105 Rat Village 122: Chapter 105 Rat Village After obtaining the addiction cure, Xu Yang followed Guan Wancang to visit Sally.

The most important part of this trip was to try to free Sally from her stamp addiction and, secondly, to understand the current living conditions of the Ratmen.

They did not take the usual highways and aerial passages but rather the secret tunnels the Ratmen had burrowed throughout Aizu City, collectively known as the “Great Maze” or “Rat Paths,” connecting ventilation shafts, vertical wells, underground structures, sewers, abandoned subways, and parking lots, which had already turned Aizu City into a sieve.

The Ratmen racked their brains to survive, but they were unwelcome; even the local black market and gangs were reluctant to come into contact with them, leaving them in a particularly isolated situation.

To them, human society was a distant, isolated island.

The labyrinthine Rat Paths were quite hidden, offering maximum protection against prying eyes, yet they were also inconvenient for human movement.

Xu Yang bent over as he moved forward, the others following closely behind; the environment here was still a bit too cramped for them, whereas the Ratmen nimbly weaved through, their speed extremely fast, like shadows whisking past them.

If it weren’t known that the Ratmen bore no hostility, walking here would be quite a terrifying matter.

Guan Wancang held high prestige among the swarm of rats; it led the way, and the other Ratmen did not dare to disrupt.

Only a few corpulent Ratman Mothers, carrying many rat fetuses and having a voluminous presence like small hills, lay lazily in the Rat Paths, while other Ratmen continuously transported food to feed them.

Guan Wancang did not dare disturb their pregnancy preparations, preferring to take a detour.

“Newborn children are our most precious treasures,” Guan Wancang said.

“Among them might emerge a second Saint.”

“The probability must be very small,” Xu Yang had not heard of any other Rat Witch, and Sally might be the first in the world.

“But that is an important hope,” Guan Wancang sniffed the odors in the air, from which it could distinguish delicate pheromones.

“Humans constantly spy on us, and the younger generation of Ratmen has already been almost completely decimated.

Only the Saint has the power to protect us.”

“What are the odds?” From Xu Yang’s perspective, the Ratmen stood no chance of surviving against a fully equipped corporate security team.

The Rat Tide from 50 years ago was a hundred times larger than today’s scale, but it was effortlessly repelled by humans back underground, without a sound since—illustrating the great disparity in combat power between Ratmen and humans.

“We have the advantage in information, but fall short in technology,” Guan Wancang said, retaining many rat features, its whiskers constantly trembling, its voice both hoarse and sharp.

“If we had advanced technology, everything would be different.”

Guan Wancang led them away from Aizu City and after traveling through the Rat Paths for half an hour, they reached a large cavern where the roar of water could be heard, with crevices lining the surrounding rock walls, the air moist and water seeping continuously from them.

“Have we reached the seabed?” Farosa closed her eyes, breathing in the moist air.

Visions of splendid beasts roared in her mind.

Farosa had already absorbed much of the divine power, and to her, the ocean was like returning to her own palace—the sea had always been the throne of the deities until they were slain, and only then did mankind dare to sail the seas.

“Yes, beneath the sea,” Guan Wancang looked up, pointing toward the rock ceiling wrapped in darkness.

“This is where we hide, what we call the Black Abyss.”

The Archipelago Continent was made up of many scattered islands, and naturally, Anjiu City and Aizu City were also on a large island known as “White Island,” conveniently connected to Shangjing, the corporate headquarters, by a narrow land bridge.

Xu Yang looked up; right above should be the beach of Anjiu City, where while people observed ocean waste and the dim sunlight on the beach, there were also large groups of Ratmen wandering below, surviving under the seabed.

Continuing to move through the darkness, the ancestral land where the Ratmen were bred was drawing closer.

Rat Village had arrived.

Xu Yang saw the hazy light and upon closer inspection, it was the sprawling fields of giant, square-cut mushrooms, with countless hyphae-entwined fungi growing among them.

Ratmen toiled in the fields, bustling about.

“So you survive by eating mushrooms?” Xu Yang couldn’t help but be curious.

These mushrooms emitted a faint blue glow as they grew, thus especially conspicuous in the dark, like splashes of blue paint thrown across the endless darkness, instantly lighting up this underground world.

Moving forward, the view became more expansive, the air growing slightly hotter.

“It’s using geothermal energy,” Lila detected the situation ahead.

“The Ratmen rely on geothermal power facilities for energy.”

“That’s correct,” said Guan Wancang as they passed through the road amidst the mushroom fields.

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Some grey-furred male Ratmen were working hard inside, taking care of the mushrooms, picking the mature ones, but their numbers were not many.

Not a single Black-Furred Stout Rat could be seen, and a great many Ratman Mothers and young rats were needed to maintain the mushroom fields’ prosperity.

The previous fierce assault on Aizu City had drained the future of this group, and it would take an extremely long time for them to recover.

Xu Yang looked toward the rudimentary dwellings in the distance.

The Ratmen’s houses were constructed by intertwining fungal mycelium, then piecing together steel plates, wooden boards, and nails to barely form a dome-shaped hut, looking utterly shabby.

“Aren’t you afraid the sea water will collapse the caves and destroy you all?” Farosa was excited; she felt she could harness the power of the sea above to cleanly wipe out these tens of thousands of surviving Ratmen.

What fun that would be!

“If we had anywhere else to go, why would we choose to live here?” Guan Wancang flicked his whiskers in annoyance.

He led Xu Yang and the others to a huge machine unit embedded in the rock wall.

The machine, resembling a black giant cone plunged deep into the earth, was seamless and indestructible, its alloy shell forged to withstand anything.

The central orange-red light shone brightly, emitting waves of heat, as it roared continuously in operation, as if containing thunder.

Seawater poured into it for cooling while releasing a large amount of high-temperature steam.

The casing of the giant cone bore the words “Yongsen Technology.” Xu Yang remembered it was an energy company from the Archipelago Continent, but it had shut down many years ago.

This machine before him must be a large-scale underwater geothermal generator they designed, with a massive vertical shaft in the middle that connects to the underground steam and water mixture to generate electricity.

Relying on the energy and heat provided by this geothermal generator, the Ratmen established a vast mushroom field to sustain themselves and gathered waste materials from Aizu City to obtain resources for survival.

Around the bottom of the generator lay a pile of assorted valuables like silverware, circuit boards, human implants, and canned food.

There was also a small statue placed in front, shaped like a Giant Rat manipulating lightning and fire.

As time passed, some Ratmen had begun to worship this generator as a deity.

Sally’s residence was located right in the center of the Ratmen’s dwelling area, quite high off the Ground, supported underneath with huge metal tubes, a ladder being the only connection between Sally’s exclusive high-rise and the Ground.

“There she is, our Leader, our Saint,” Guan Wancang hesitated on the spot before making his way on all fours to the ladder.

Two Black-Furred Stout Rats came over holding a pistol and a vegetable knife, gesturing at him and angrily pointing their fingers at Xu Yang and the others.

Only when Sally’s voice came from up high, indicating that Xu Yang and his group could climb up, did the two Black-Furred Stout Rats stop pestering them and move aside.

However, they kept a vigilant eye on them, fearing they might do anything to compromise Sally’s safety.

The social hierarchy among the Ratmen was clear and unmistakable, Xu Yang pondered as he climbed.

The lowest rank was reserved for the grey-furred males burdened with all the hard and grueling labor, with no possibility of improving their lot, forever undertaking the most dangerous and exhausting tasks.

One rank above were the Ratman Mothers, who enjoyed the care of the grey-furred rats and received considerable favor due to their ability to bear offspring.

Above them were the Black-Furred Stout Rats, who leveraged certain physical and appearance advantages to become the backbone of Ratman society, potentially enjoying priority in mate selection.

Higher still were the White-Furred Ratmen, whose intelligence far surpassed that of other Ratmen, becoming the scholars, strategists, and key characters of society capable of advancing Ratman civilization.

At the very top were Ratmen like Sally, who, with their extraordinary Power and unique Magic Power, became the leaders of the entire Ratman society.

Xu Yang climbed the ladder and upon pushing the door open, he saw Sally lying leisurely on a tattered couch, her tail sticking up from her buttocks and swaying indifferently.

She was dressed in a simple nightgown, with quite thick body hair, especially below her abdomen.

“What do you want to do?” Sally had just taken her “stamps”, and there were two opened green plastic packets tossed on the Ground, the air filled with a sickly sweet scent that made one’s head spin.

Farosa waved her hands, trying to fan away the nauseating smell.

“I’ve brought some gifts.” Xu Yang placed the detoxifying agent on the table, “Indulging in ‘stamps’ will damage your health, and your people need you to be sober.

These detoxifiers…”

“Oh, just leave them there, I’ll have a look when I’m free.” Sally closed her eyes, took a deep breath of the remaining scent in the air, and exhaled with satisfaction.

She was immersed in ecstasy, a state she had no desire to escape from.

“Pull yourself together, humans are going to seek vengeance,” Xu Yang said, “You’ve killed too many people before, the company will not allow such incidents to happen again.”

“They once invited me to work with them,” Sally sprawled lazily on the couch, “I’ll let them extend the invitation again, and then I’ll accept it properly, and that will solve everything, won’t it?”

“That’s nonsense.” Xu Yang shook his head, “They will only exploit you, deceive you.”

“They will give me more ‘stamps’.” Sally lay limp, “…I and my people can all go to work, go to the Ground…

The Ground is better than Rat Village, Rat Village has nothing…

I have seen the Ground…

it’s so beautiful…”

“Your people going to work, or are they going to steal and rob for these ‘stamps’?” Xu Yang saw that there were still quite a few ‘stamps’ stored in a side cabinet.

“What’s it to you?

Haah…” Sally rested her hands behind her head, the ‘stamps’ making her feel blissful, “Wander around Rat Village as you please, stay as long as you want.

We can’t provide food, you’ll have to fend for yourselves.

You can smoke ‘stamps’ for one piece each, as long as you pay enough money…

And save the preaching for your own people.”

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