7: Chapter 7 The Oracle in the Cave

The wind in the old alley had just kicked up a layer of ash when Lu Jin turned into a nearby abandoned alley.

He leaned against a crumbling wall, closing his eyes to focus his mind.

The moment his consciousness plunged down, a fresh smell of burning suddenly surged up.

It was not the stale, old smell of burning that usually permeated the Dead Ash Mine.

It was live fire.

On the west side of the Dead Ash Mine, beneath an old ventilation shaft that had partially collapsed, a new fissure appeared, burned open by force. The ash and soil were still smoking, and charred support beams were falling off piece by piece. On the edge of the fissure, there were claw marks resembling those of a dog, with embers that hadn't fully extinguished still lingering in the marks.

Over a dozen Gray-tailed Burrowing Rat corpses lay across the outer perimeter.

Some had their fur burned through, while others had half their bodies crushed under rubble, their incisors still clamped tightly into the crevices of the rocks.

Deeper inside, several hot, fiery-red silhouettes were slowly advancing.

Not fast.

But very steady.

Like several red-hot blades, slicing inch by inch toward the heart of his nest.

Lu Jin's gaze sank instantly.

Lu Jingyao's dogs had arrived even faster than he had anticipated.

He didn't rush over to block them immediately.

The rats in the outer perimeter were already in chaos. The Gray-tailed Burrowing Rats near the fissure began to scurry around blindly upon smelling the fire; some mother rats were even dragging their pups in the opposite direction, nearly trampling the newly built warm pits. At this rate, he wouldn't even need the enemy to kill them; they would destroy half the nest themselves.

Lu Jin raised his hand, his divine sense pressing down like a cold blade.

"All of you, stop."

The entire mine shook.

Those scurrying Gray-tailed Burrowing Rats were pinned down as if by an invisible giant hand, all freezing in place, tails pulled straight, their squeaks cut short.

Only one large, thin male rat continued to scramble toward the inner circle, its claws kicking rapidly, knocking over a nest of newly formed warm ash pits. Two pups rolled out, squeaking faintly as they crawled away.

Lu Jin's expression remained unchanged as he pressed his hand down.

Bang.

A piece of broken wood nearby collapsed directly, pinning the out-of-control male rat to the ground.

The rat swarm went instantly silent.

All the crimson eyes turned toward him, panic, fear, and hunger all coalescing together.

Lu Jin looked down at the still-twitching dead rat, his voice as cold as the ash on the mine walls.

"Those who cause chaos, die."

No roaring, no appeasement.

One sentence was enough.

These things weren't human to begin with; they couldn't understand reason. First, he had to make them understand what rules were.

The mine was terrifyingly quiet.

Lu Jin turned and stepped directly onto the damaged altar.

Two black stone pillars flickered on and off, and the residual fire patterns spread out along the altar surface. He raised his palm, which had not yet healed from the cuts, and blood dripped into the center of the altar, flowing along the incomplete fire character, as red as an order just written down.

"Listen to me."

His voice, amplified by the altar, echoed throughout the entire Dead Ash Mine.

"From now on, this is not a rat nest."

"It is my nest."

The rat swarm crouched even lower.

Lu Jin's gaze swept over each Gray-tailed Burrowing Rat, quickly stopping on the individuals in the front row that showed the most significant changes. After receiving "Underground Tunneling," their forelimbs were thicker, their whiskers longer, and they were most sensitive to the strata and vibrations; the adult male rats further back had broad shoulders and strong endurance, making them best suited for transport; others were smaller in size but had the fiercest eyes and long, sharp teeth, suitable for squeezing into crevices and biting.

This was the first batch of seeds that could be separated.

He raised his hand and pointed to the left.

"Those with the hardest front claws, come out."

The front row of rats was in chaos at first, but then over a dozen of the quickest ones pounced out and stopped on the left side of the altar. The others followed, trying to mix in, but were forced back to their places by Lu Jin's divine sense.

"Not everyone who can dig is called a Tunneling Rat."

"Only those who are fast enough, steady enough, and can obey orders count."

He pointed three times in succession, picking out one hundred and twenty.

"You, Digging Squad."

He pointed to the right again.

"Those with hard backs, great strength, and who can drag things, come out."

This time it was slower; the rat swarm crowded and jostled, taking a long time to push out a group. Lu Jin was patient, picking them out one by one until he had gathered eighty.

"You, Transport Team."

Finally, he looked at the remaining group.

Thin, fierce, chaotic.

Sharp teeth, bright eyes, easiest to lose control, but also best suited for dirty work.

Lu Jin's voice deepened.

"The rest, Ambush Squad."

This time, a short, shrill screech suddenly rang out from the rat swarm.

It wasn't loud, but it was sharp.

Lu Jin shifted his gaze and saw a Gray-tailed Burrowing Rat crouching on the edge of the altar.

It wasn't very large, and its fur was darker than the other rats, but its eyes were intensely red, like two pieces of charcoal buried in ash. While the other rats were bowing their heads and trembling, it held its head up, staring fixedly at Lu Jin, its ears slightly pricked as if listening.

Not listening to sound.

It was listening to his divine sense.

Lu Jin locked eyes with those red pupils for a breath, said nothing, and simply raised his hand to tap its forehead with his blood-stained fingertip.

The Red-Eyed Rat shuddered all over, then stood up on its hind legs and let out three short, sharp screeches toward the Ambush Squad.

Swish.

The dozens of Ambush Rats that were previously scattered actually gathered a step toward it in unison.

Lu Jin's eyes flickered slightly.

Interesting.

He didn't worry about this Red-Eyed Rat for now, instead picking up a piece of hard bone from the side and knocking it against the edge of the altar.

Thud.

All the Tunneling Rats looked up.

He knocked twice more.

Thud, thud.

The Transport Rats became restless.

Finally, three consecutive knocks.

Thud, thud, thud.

The Ambush Squad all crouched low, tails pulled straight, teeth clicking and clacking.

Watching this scene, Lu Jin's eyes finally settled.

Very good.

In the future, when there's no time to call roll one by one, he would rely on this.

The bone clacker, that was the military order.

He didn't waste any more time, directly raising his hand and gesturing toward the outer perimeter.

"Digging Squad, open three side tunnels."

"One around the west fissure, one to the back of the Main Nest, and one passing underneath the old mine tunnel."

"Transport Team, drag all the rotten wood, black ore, and hard bones to the main tunnel."

"Ambush Squad, follow me."

The rat swarm scattered with a roar.

The first time dividing the squads, the movements were still chaotic.

A few Tunneling Rats scrambled into the Transport Team, and some Transport Rats instinctively wanted to go to the gray fungus area to snatch food. Lu Jin knocked the bone clacker seven times in a row, plus applied three rounds of divine sense pressure, before he corrected them.

One short knock, the Digging Squad charges forward.

One short, one long, the Transport Team drags materials.

Three short, urgent knocks, all Ambush Rats dive underground.

The first time was chaotic, the second time was slow, but after the third time, the prototype emerged.

The Tunneling Rats began to cut downward like the tip of a knife. They no longer dug randomly; instead, two opened, two cleared the edges, and the ones behind left supports. The speed was even faster than when they dug the altar earlier. Lu Jin followed their perception down into the ground and quickly selected the first bait tunnel.

The old main tunnel.

Wide, straight, most like the center of the nest.

And also the most suitable place to bury people.

"Stay here."

"Hollow out the upper layer, keep the bottom intact."

"Cut the rotten wood supports in half, don't break them completely."

The Tunneling Rats immediately scattered inside, their claws quickly cutting through the soil layer. The Transport Team dragged rotten wood and black ore inside, deliberately spreading a layer of freshly turned ash on the surface and leaving behind a large number of rat claw marks, making it look like the entire swarm had just fled down this path.

Lu Jin personally threw a few clumps of gray fungus deep into the main tunnel.

Fire dogs track living things and the scent of food.

This bit of bait was enough.

On the other side, the Ambush Squad had already crawled into the side wall crevices under the leadership of the Red-Eyed Rat. Lu Jin watched that rat move quickly through the narrow rock crevices, stopping at the position most suitable for an ambush, and suddenly let out another extremely short, sharp screech.

Over a dozen Ambush Rats actually followed it, each wedging themselves into different hidden crevices.

For the first time, a glimmer of genuine interest appeared in the depths of Lu Jin's eyes.

This thing didn't just understand.

It could also pass on orders for him.

He didn't praise it, nor did he interfere, simply taking the opportunity to bury several sharpened hard bones under the layer of ash.

"Remember."

"When the fire comes in, bite the legs first, then the eyes."

"If you can't drag it, make it fall."

The rat swarm, of course, couldn't understand the complete words.

But they could understand the bloodlust and killing intent in the divine sense.

The Ambush Rats' teeth ground together even louder.

Time pressed forward bit by bit.

The heat on the outer perimeter drew closer and closer.

Over by the west fissure, sparks were already burning down along the old wooden beams, illuminating the entire bait tunnel in flickering light and shadow. A few Gray-tailed Burrowing Rats responsible for guarding hid in high crevices, their whiskers trembling incessantly, sending vibrations back bit by bit.

One, two, three.

At least three fire-dog-type familiars.

And lighter footsteps.

Like human-shaped fire soldiers.

Lu Jin stood on the altar and scanned the entire mine one last time.

The pups and mother rats had already retreated into the innermost warm nest.

The gray fungus area was surrounded by newly dug low earthen walls, and the Transport Team was still continuously burying bones and mine slag inside, allowing that small ecosystem to last a few more days. The three side tunnels on the outer perimeter had been opened, two collapse layers were set, and one fake collapse was deliberately left half-finished, looking most like a path of survival left behind during a hasty escape.

It was a bit chaotic.

But at least, it was no longer a swarm of wild rats that exploded at the sight of fire.

Now, in this underground, there were paths, there was a nest, and there were orders.

And there were blades.

Beside the altar, that Red-Eyed Rat suddenly raised its head, its ears pricking toward the west, and let out a shrill, needle-like screech.

Warning.

Lu Jin turned his head to look.

Outside the west fissure, the first fiery silhouette had already stepped in.