44: Chapter 44 Opening of the Hatchery

The grey fire in the Reception Corridor hadn't yet cooled, but the feed troughs in the Breeding Cave were already bottoming out.

The outer layer of mother rats squeezed inward with red eyes, but the white shadow at the bottom of the pool continued to consume heat.

Lu Jin grasped the Sun Gold seal piece and returned to the Black Well; once the door was shut, his divine sense pressed into the Dead Ash Mine.

The Breeding Cave was stiflingly hot.

The half-open incubation pool rose and fell, like a mouth that hadn't yet bitten down firmly.

The three heat transmission trenches were glowing white, but two of the feed troughs were already empty.

Dozens of adult mother rats were crowded into the outer preparatory nest chambers, their bellies all swollen.

The group of Red-Eyed Rats in the outermost circle crouched behind the fire line, low squeaks suppressed in their throats, the red in their eyes already beginning to drift.

Grey Pupil stood by the pool, his sacrificial staff still stained with the freshly crushed shells of grey fire fungus.

"The clean feed we have on hand is only enough to hold out for another half round."

"There are four clusters of grey fire fungus nuclei left, three carts of iron sand, two boxes of crushed bone, and one and a half boxes of brood nest powder."

"If we keep feeding it, the rear warehouse will be empty."

"If we stop now, the pool will shrink right back."

Lu Jin glanced at the center of the pool.

The White-Bellied Mother Rat lay still, but the white patterns beneath her belly were sending out ripples.

That crystal nucleus pulsed steadily, and the pale white shadow at the bottom of the pool, called Wu Fu, remained curled in the deepest part.

She hadn't opened her eyes, nor had she raised her head, yet the entire pool was moving with her.

This pool was almost at the final step.

Lu Jin spread his hand open.

The Sun Gold seal piece had been burned by the Sacrificial Fire once; its edges were blackened, but the string of fine serial numbers in the center was glowing steadily.

When placed together with the main position fragment, even the transition points could lock together.

He understood immediately.

The incubation pool's calibration patterns were responsible for paving the way, while the Sun Gold seal piece was responsible for recognizing the gate.

The former set up the pool, while the latter could truly lock it down.

Once the gate was recognized, the heat and feed wouldn't leak out along the way.

"Seal the Breeding Cave."

As Lu Jin's voice fell, the entire mine tightened in unison.

"Guard the three rings of the sacrificial array."

"The outer ring suppresses the Red-Eyed Rats, the middle ring guards the feed troughs, and the inner ring only watches the pool."

"Cart-pulling Rats, move all the remaining iron sand, crushed bone, and repair paste inside."

"Tunneling Rats, open six auxiliary troughs to channel feed to the new nests."

"Grey Pupil, whoever crosses the fire line, kill them on the spot."

Grey Pupil knelt on one knee.

"Understood."

As soon as the order was given, the Breeding Cave immediately sprang into action.

Eight Cart-pulling Rats dragged bone ropes, pulling the grey-black iron sand into the inner ring, one cart after another.

A dozen Tunneling Rats dug frantically along the foot of the walls, carving out not escape tunnels, but thin, straight auxiliary troughs.

The auxiliary troughs connected to the heat transmission trenches and then out to the small chambers, allowing the feed to be diverted as soon as it came in.

Two Fire Oil Throwers guarded the fire line, keeping the grey-red flames very low, burning only the ground and not the walls, firmly isolating the entire group of Red-Eyed Rats on the outside.

Lu Jin himself did not stop.

He poured the last half-tube of stabilization fluid into the warming trough, smeared the repair paste that had just arrived in the warehouse onto the cracks in the main position fragment, and crushed two star-patterned bricks, sprinkling them directly into the white patterns on the edge of the pool.

As soon as the white patterns touched the star-pattern powder, they immediately stabilized, glowing more solidly.

Finally, he raised his hand and pressed the Sun Gold seal piece into the gap in the center of the main position fragment.

Click.

The sound was very soft, but the entire incubation pool sank abruptly.

The calibration patterns on the edge of the pool lit up the outer ring first, then the inner ring, and finally pressed all the way to the center of the pool.

The three originally loose heat transmission trenches tightened instantly, like three tangled ropes finally twisted into one.

The layer of white patterns beneath the White-Bellied Mother Rat's belly contracted, and the fine lines on the surface of the crystal nucleus began to close in circles.

Grey Pupil's eyes narrowed.

"The seal piece has connected. The pool is recognizing this serial number."

"Keep feeding." Lu Jin stared at the center of the pool. "We cannot stop now."

The first round of feed was quickly pushed in.

The iron sand went into the auxiliary troughs first.

That stuff suppressed heat and stabilized the walls; as soon as it entered the trench, it sank along the bottom of the pool, pressing the originally drifting white heat color into something thicker.

The crushed bones followed, bitten into pieces by the Cart-pulling Rats and filled into the side troughs.

The repair paste crawled into the cracks of the calibration patterns, as if patching the entire pool with a layer of living shell.

It was eating very quickly.

Terrifyingly fast.

The three carts of iron sand had just emptied, and the two auxiliary troughs were already glowing full.

The two boxes of crushed bones hadn't yet hit the bottom when the six outer preparatory chambers began to swell one after another.

The adult mother rats guarding the outer circle twitched their nostrils wildly, their claws digging into the ground incessantly, the white patterns beneath their bellies flickering—they were clearly about to enter the nest.

Grey Pupil suddenly gave a low shout.

"The outer ring can't hold them back; the Red-Eyed Rats are about to rush in."

The group of Red-Eyed Rats in the outermost circle had ultimately been hooked by the heat in the pool.

A large Red-Eyed Rat at the very front suddenly raised its head and charged straight at the fire line.

Seven or eight others followed, baring their teeth, all targeting the newly opened auxiliary troughs and side chambers.

"Suppress."

Lu Jin said only one word.

The fire oil rose first.

Two balls of grey-red fire paste smashed open along the ground, and the fire line instantly grew by two feet.

Grey Pupil had already rushed up, sweeping his sacrificial staff horizontally; the Red-Eyed Rat at the front was knocked over on the spot, half its face split open.

It tried to crawl up again, but Grey Pupil raised his foot and stepped on its neck, staring at the agitated group of Red-Eyed Rats behind, his voice as cold as stone.

"All of you, get back."

"Whoever dares to rush in again, I will slaughter them right now."

The outer ring froze instantly.

The few Red-Eyed Rats behind still had sounds suppressed in their throats, but in the end, they didn't pounce forward again.

They weren't afraid of Grey Pupil's words; they were afraid of the fire beneath their feet and the kin beside the pool whose throat bone had been crushed.

Lu Jin didn't even glance at them, his palm pressing toward the center of the pool again.

But just then, the whispering began.

First, the faint grey-red light in the conduit jumped, and immediately following that, fine, fragmented murmurs sounded simultaneously from the four walls of the Breeding Cave.

It was like someone panting against the stone layer, and also like many mouths chewing bone, bite by bite, in the feed troughs.

The White-Bellied Mother Rat's spine slowly tensed, and the few adult mother rats in the outer layer crouched even lower; their bellies were swelling too fast, so fast that their skin was beginning to shine.

Grey Pupil's expression changed.

"The fungus nuclei are starting to become chaotic; the whispering is about to become unstoppable."

Lu Jin raised his eyes and scanned the area, his heart sinking half an inch immediately.

The clean feed had been eaten up.

The only thing left that could be used was that box of brood nest powder that had been sealed for several days.

The box hadn't even been opened, but the cloyingly sweet smell was already leaking out through the cracks.

He was too familiar with that smell.

It was that sweetness in the resource warehouse that made people panic.

It was useful, but also dirty.

Once fed in directly, the pool would rush forward a notch, but the hidden dangers would also be planted along with it.

Grey Pupil looked at the black box, his voice very low.

"This feed is too dirty."

"If we really send it in, the whispering will only get worse."

"I know." Lu Jin took the black box. "If we don't open it, this pool will die today."

His movements were very fast.

He lifted the box lid, scraped out the sweetest and stickiest top layer of powder, and pressed it directly into the Sacrificial Fire of the basin.

The grey fire rolled, and the cloyingly sweet smell was immediately burned into a wisp of black smoke.

He mixed the remaining half box of grey-white base powder with iron sand and repair paste, forcibly pressing it into six auxiliary feed bricks.

"This batch of feed is only allowed to go through the auxiliary troughs; it is not allowed to touch the center of the pool."

"The first batch of new rats to emerge must all stay in the Court; don't push them to the battle line yet."

Grey Pupil was startled, then nodded.

"Understood."

The auxiliary feed bricks went down one by one, and the whispering indeed became heavier instantly.

The entire Breeding Cave seemed to be plastered with murmurs, and even the Red-Eyed Rats behind the fire line began to grind their teeth.

But the incubation pool also changed along with it.

The outer chambers, which had originally been only half-lit, were all pushed open by this stimulating force.

The six auxiliary troughs turned white simultaneously, and the layer of white patterns beneath the White-Bellied Mother Rat's belly spread along the edge of the pool, crawling all the way into every preparatory nest chamber.

Lu Jin seized this moment and immediately started the second round.

"White-Bellied Mother Rat, enter the main position."

"Crystal nucleus, sink."

"Calibration patterns, close."

As his voice fell, he pressed the black fire in his palm downward.

The White-Bellied Mother Rat seemed to understand; she slowly moved into the center of the pool, pressing her belly against the sinking crystal nucleus.

The main position fragment, the Sun Gold seal piece, the white patterns beneath the White-Bellied Mother Rat's belly, and the egg-shaped main pattern deep within the crystal nucleus locked into one entity on the spot.

Boom!

This time, it wasn't just the Breeding Cave that resonated.

The entire Dead Ash Mine shook along with it.

The black fire beside the Return Fire Well sank abruptly, and the heat from the fire room ran along the heat transmission trenches toward the Breeding Cave by itself.

The string of newly opened small chambers beneath the outer wall lit up one after another, and even the two spare transport troughs beside the rear warehouse opened on their own.

The Cart-pulling Rats, almost without needing Grey Pupil to point them out, sent the grey fire fungus, bone powder, and soft ash inside along the troughs.

The Tunneling Rats also changed their digging method; they no longer dug deep holes indiscriminately, but continued to expand outward according to the side chambers and auxiliary troughs, circle by circle, as if growing a breathing courtyard in the ground.

Grey Pupil stared at this scene, his grey eyes truly lighting up for the first time.

"Master."

"It's not just the pool that has come alive. These nest chambers and transport troughs outside have also come alive."

"Yes." Lu Jin's voice was very low. "It is the Brood Nursery Court."

The so-called Court is an entire set of nest courtyards that can distribute feed, send heat, raise young, and replenish troops.

The pool is in the center, the troughs are underfoot, the chambers are all around, the sacrificial array guards the outer ring, the Cart-pulling Rats handle logistics, and the Tunneling Rats expand the nest chambers.

As long as the feed doesn't stop, this place can run on its own.

The dozens of faith lines in the mine sank almost simultaneously.

This time, they were heavier and more stable.

What the rat swarm saw was no longer just the pool in front of them.

They saw the next brood, the brood after that, and the lives that could be replenished after the war.

The first batch of things came out very quickly.

The first to swell were the six side chambers.

The white membrane at the chamber entrances expanded and contracted; after a few breaths, the membrane surfaces split open simultaneously.

Six new rats crawled out from inside, bit by bit.

They were not large, a size smaller than an Ambush Rat, with grey-white fur, and a faint white line pressed along each side of their bellies.

Their front claws were long and slender, with thin membranes between their toes; the first thing they did upon landing was not to squeak or run, but to pounce directly onto the feed troughs, beginning to turn the feed, tidy the troughs, and smooth out the white paste on the edges of the nest chambers.

Grey Pupil watched those new rats, lowering his voice.

"Can this batch of little things go to the battlefield?"

"They can live, they can raise, they can replenish." Lu Jin glanced at their actions. "We don't count on them for the front line. But with them, the Cart-pulling Rats can save half their effort, the mother rats can lay two more broods, and the injured rats will return to the nest faster."

These are Brood Nursery Rats.

They don't go to the front, don't charge the first line, but they can raise the stamina of the entire mine by a notch.

After a battle, while others were still catching their breath, Lu Jin's side could already more quickly turn feed into nests, and nests into soldiers.

The rear warehouse was also eaten empty by this pool.

Three carts of iron sand, two boxes of crushed bones, one and a half boxes of brood nest powder, plus half a box of dirty feed that had been pressed with fire—almost all consumed in one gulp.

Only half a trough of soft ash and a few bundles of spare bone ropes remained in the warehouse, and even the grey fire fungus nuclei had been whittled down to only two clusters.

The second batch also began to show signs of activity.

The adult mother rats in the outer layer were guided into the preparatory small chambers; as soon as the white patterns beneath their bellies connected with the auxiliary patterns at the bottom of the pool, their aura immediately stabilized.

The Brood Nursery Rats in the side troughs shuttled back and forth, separately pressing the grey fire fungus fragments, bone powder, and soft ash into different feed trays, moving as quickly as if they had learned it long ago.

Lu Jin stood by the pool, understanding at a glance.

What Grey Pupil suppressed was the priest line and the battle line.

What this Brood Nursery Court pulled up was another root.

Only when the workshop, war nest, and brood nest all run together later will the Dead Ash Mine truly have a chance to advance toward becoming a fortress.

But his gaze soon sank back down.

Among those newly formed Brood Nursery Rats, two had extremely fine grey-black dots beside the white patterns on their bellies.

They were very faint, invisible unless looked at carefully.

The cloyingly sweet smell in the auxiliary troughs hadn't dissipated either, still hanging beneath the heat, like a thorn that hadn't been pulled out.

High-pollution feed had indeed pushed open the pool gate.

But the debt was also recorded.

Lu Jin raised his hand and pointed at those two Brood Nursery Rats.

"Keep this batch in the Court for now, and record them separately."

"In the future, any nest chamber that has been fed with dirty feed must be separated for me."

Grey Pupil lowered his head and agreed.

"Understood."

"If it's still not enough later, should we use this batch of dirty feed to hold out?"

"If we can avoid using it, we won't." Lu Jin stared at the auxiliary troughs. "When it truly comes to a life-or-death moment, we'll calculate the second time then."

The Breeding Cave finally stabilized.

The Red-Eyed Rats behind the fire line slowly lay back down.

The sacrificial array guarding the outer ring began to rotate, the Cart-pulling Rats went back and forth along the new troughs, and the Tunneling Rats were still opening small chambers outward.

The six Brood Nursery Rats lay on the edges of the feed trays and nest chambers, never stopping for a moment as they tidied feed, smoothed walls, and transmitted heat.

The entire Brood Nursery Court was like an old machine that had just been started; the sound wasn't loud, but link by link, it had truly begun to turn on its own.

Lu Jin watched this courtyard, which was truly operating for the first time, his palm tightening slightly.

What had grown this time included post-war supplies, breeding speed, and the roots that allowed for faster recovery with every additional battle fought.

The White-Bellied Mother Rat by the pool finally lay still.

The crystal nucleus pulsed deeper and more heavily.

But the curled white shadow at the bottom of the pool hadn't moved at all.

She was much quieter and much colder than the first batch of Brood Nursery Rats.

All the heat transmission trenches, side chamber patterns, and feed trough white lines were ultimately gathered beneath her, as if the entire Brood Nursery Court were just a shell that had grown outside of her.

Grey Pupil saw it too, his voice lowering even further.

"Master."

"She and those that just came out are not the same thing."

Lu Jin understood at a glance.

Wu Fu was half a level above ordinary troop types.

The Brood Nursery Rats belonged to the troughs and chambers; she belonged to the main position of the entire Court.

"I know."

Just as Lu Jin's voice fell, a very soft cracking sound suddenly came from the bottom of the pool.

Click.

A fine white line slowly split open in front of that white shadow.

It was like a shell cracking open a thread.

It was also like an eye, opening a slit first.

Lu Jin stared at the bottom of the pool, his gaze sinking bit by bit.

Wu Fu, is about to open her eyes.