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“How’s the rat situation?” Lu Ming was unusually clear-headed for once during the day. Once he regained his senses, he immediately summoned You Yi to inquire about the progress of the operation.
“We’ve been able to hunt down over three thousand every day recently. Both the travelers from different realms and the camp residents are actively participating,” You Yi reported. “Following your orders, as soon as we capture the gray rats, we burn them to prevent the spread of the plague.”
“It’s just that there are so many rat skins. It seems a bit of a waste to burn them…”
“The Red Maple Camp has never lacked animal skins,” Lu Ming interrupted firmly. “The rat plague poses a significant threat with its strong infectivity. I want to leave no room for error.”
“Yes,” You Yi complied.
Lu Ming picked up the report from the table and began reading it carefully.
From time to time, You Yi spoke up, “There has never been any sign of rodent-type beasts near the Red Maple Camp. The sudden rat infestation is indeed suspicious.”
“I initially thought we had detected it early, and the number of gray rats wasn’t significant. But upon further investigation, we found at least two thousand adult gray rats in the wild. They are adept at hiding, and coupled with their strong breeding ability, they multiply by three to four thousand newborn rats every day.”
“If we give them more time…”
Just the thought of countless gray rats in the wild, their numbers so vast that their tracks couldn’t be concealed until discovered, made You Yi shudder involuntarily.
“The camp kills three thousand rats every day, and there are three to four thousand new ones born every day? So, there’s a net increase daily?” Lu Ming’s expression turned slightly cold, as if questioning, “What kind of management is this?”
You Yi explained, “The gray rat is a new type of beast. Initially, when we first encountered it, no one understood its habits. It’s extremely difficult to track its movements, and it’s already challenging to contain its population.”
“After a few days, once we understand their patterns, the kill count will increase. Killing more than the new births, the gray rat population’s destruction is only a matter of time.”
“We can’t wait,” Lu Ming set the report aside. “I’ll go and handle this myself.”
You Yi: !!!
“Sir, you’re not feeling well. It’s better to stay indoors and rest…”
While You Yi attempted to advise, Lu Ming had already stood up, preparing to leave.
Growing even more anxious, You Yi blurted out, “The divine doctor said, you shouldn’t get involved in this!!”
Lu Ming halted, frowning at You Yi.
With a determined tone, You Yi continued, “The divine doctor mentioned that the heavier the karma, the worse the mental state, and the less control you’ll have when the illness strikes. If you personally go to kill them, your condition will worsen.”
Lu Ming fell silent for a moment and then said coldly, “She has been very busy lately and won’t have time to take care of me. She wouldn’t know.”
Whether it was a misconception or not, You Yi felt a tinge of resentment in Lu Ming’s words.
“Step aside.”
Just as Lu Ming was about to leave the room, Yun Shan happened to enter with pastries, “Where are you going?”
Lu Ming remained silent.
“The Lord feels stifled indoors and wants to go out for a walk, to clear his mind,” You Yi cleverly rounded up the situation.
“I made mung bean rolls, try some,” Yun Shan said as she brought the pastries to Lu Ming.
The mung bean roll had a snowy white color and a delicate texture. Inside was mung bean paste, with a sweet and fragrant taste that melted in the mouth. It still carried the warmth of just being baked.
Lu Ming turned his face away, “Put it aside, I’m not hungry.”
What’s wrong? Yun Shan looked at You Yi with a questioning gaze.
You Yi remained silent.
Is it because he’s upset about not being able to go for a walk, or is it due to the divine doctor being too busy, or perhaps both? He wasn’t sure.
Amidst the confusion, Lu Ming asked, “Haven’t you already cleared your debts? Why are you still so busy?”
“Because I’m happy!” Yun Shan’s lips couldn’t help but curl up. “Pharmaceuticals, hunting, doing business, managing—everything brings me great joy.”
Lu Ming looked at Yun Shan, speechless for a while.
Yun Shan added, “In fact, making pharmaceuticals is to provide convenience for everyone when they go out. I even take my wolfhound to hunt down the gray rats. Everything is to address the rat disaster.”
“I’m also going out now to address the rat disaster,” Lu Ming said as he began to walk out.
Yun Shan, “?”
“The Lord wants to personally take action to eradicate the gray rats!” You Yi was almost frantic.
Yun Shan, “!!!”
She still remembered in the previous life, each time Lu Ming’s condition showed signs of improvement, there would be an accident at the camp. Then the Lord had to step in to quell the unrest, followed by a further deterioration of his condition.
She had advised and tried numerous ways to prevent it.
But the patient wouldn’t listen at all.
Towards the end, she became utterly hopeless.
“You can’t go!” Yun Shan tightly embraced him from behind, adamantly refusing to let Lu Ming go out.
“Just clear out a batch and then come back,” Lu Ming didn’t move, allowing her to hold him, “I know my limits.”
Yun Shan: I don’t believe you.
Starting over in this life, she didn’t want to go through the same experience of “the doctor trying hard to treat while the patient casually ruins everything.”
If you want treatment, then listen to her and get treated properly.
If you want to ruin your health, then don’t bother with treatment. She had just given up on that and was considering a new crush.
“You can’t go,” Yun Shan emphasized once again.
“I’m the Lord, I have to go,” Lu Ming said earnestly.
Yun Shan hesitated for two seconds and then changed her statement, “Unless you’re going with me.”
You Yi: Seriously, divine doctor, do you have any principles left?
***
Yun Shan, Lu Ming, You Yi, Lu Liu, Dahei, Xiao Bai, Falcons, and the wolfhound, along with nearly a hundred others, set out in full force.
The estate had provisions stored.
To prevent any mishaps, Yun Shan left twenty wolfhounds to guard the estate before setting out with the rest.
The falcons circled in the sky, quickly choosing their respective directions to scout.
The wolfhounds strolled leisurely, patiently waiting.
When the falcons found the gray rats and signaled, the lazy expression on the wolfhounds’ faces vanished in an instant. They sprinted under the lead of the falcons, swiftly approaching the targets with the shortest distance and fastest speed.
After watching for a while, Lu Ming nodded slightly, “They’re quite efficient.”
“Of course, I raised them,” Yun Shan said proudly.
During their conversation, Lu Liu picked up Dahei, and You Yi quietly led Xiao Bai away.
Dahei: ?!!
Just as it was about to howl, a tendril lightly pricked it, causing Dahei to instantly lose strength, weakly lying in Lu Liu’s arms.
Lu Liu gestured with his mouth, “Be good.”
Then, with a stretch of his hand, he forced Dahei to close its eyes and sleep.
Dahei, “…”
I don’t think you’re being good at all.
Not far away, Lu Ming was explaining to Yun Shan why he insisted on going out, “The gray rats reproduce too quickly. The fewer surviving adult rats, the better.”
Yun Shan: I understand the reasoning, I just don’t want you to go out.
…Well, since we’re already here.
Yun Shan gave up the struggle, “Go ahead.”
With her watching, the situation wouldn’t get too bad.
Lu Ming stopped and gazed ahead, walking in a certain direction.
After a while, five one-star gray rats and two two-star gray rats appeared in front of them.
***
Su Qianxue followed her cousin Lin Chuanyan as they walked in the wilderness. Their group also included Chuanyan’s college roommates, all of whom had a close relationship and were people they knew in real life.
“Be careful, there’s a beast nearby!” Lin Chuanyan’s ears twitched, immediately alerting the others.
The companions formed a circle, assuming a defensive posture.
They knew that Lin Chuanyan had awakened the talent of “enhanced hearing” as soon as he entered the game, allowing him to hear sounds that ordinary people couldn’t.
Thanks to this talent, the team could safely travel in the wilderness, avoiding the danger of team wipes several times.
After a while, Su Qianxue exclaimed with delight, “It’s a two-star gray rat! And it’s a cub!”
A two-star gray rat meant it was quite valuable.
A cub meant it wouldn’t be difficult to deal with.
Encountering three at once was considered quite lucky.
Upon hearing this, Lin Chuanyan revealed a slight smile, “Get ready to attack.”
The team quickly killed the three two-star gray rat cubs.
Su Qianxue calculated happily, “One two-star gray rat equals 5 contribution points, and 1 contribution point equals 4 points. That’s 20 points for one rat.”
“According to the exchange rate of 1 point = 70 yuan, three rats would be 4200 yuan. If we split it, we can make quite a bit of money!”
“Direct exchange is too much of a loss,” Lin Chuanyan said. “Recently, some players have been privately buying gray rats at 24 or 25 points for a two-star rat. If we sell to them, we can earn even more.”
The teammates were very excited upon hearing this. “Let’s take advantage of this wave of activities and go to the wilderness more often. Maybe we’ll have enough for next semester’s tuition?”
“Even more than that,” one of them said confidently. “We could save up enough for next semester’s living expenses!”
They were all university students from average families.
By chance, Lin Chuanyan heard from his cousin about “Doomsday Camp,” a game that was popular and profitable. So, he invited his roommates, and they all grabbed registration codes together.
His original intention was to ask for help in grabbing codes, so that if they managed to get one, he could give it to himself.
Little did he know that the registration codes had a time limit and had to be used within 3 minutes, or they would automatically lose eligibility.
In that short amount of time, he barely managed to grab a registration code for himself, let alone give it to someone else.
So they had no choice but to grab codes for themselves and use them.
But whether it was due to the good feng shui of their dorm or the quick reflexes of young people, all four roommates in the dorm managed to grab a code!
Lin Chuanyan simply brought his friends along and formed a team with all of them.
After some time, they realized that hunting in the game was more profitable than part-time work, and they became increasingly invested in playing “Doomsday Camp.”
Upon hearing his cousin complain about the hardships of working part-time, Lin Chuanyan invited them to go hunting together.
The roommates knew that thanks to Su Qianxue, they had the opportunity to make money, so they didn’t mind bringing her along.
And that’s how the group happily formed a team.
“This is three cubs, there might be a gray rat nest nearby. Let’s all look around,” Su Qianxue said as she sprang into action.
“When NPCs collect gray rats, they don’t care if they’re adults or cubs, they only look at the level! If we find a nest of two-star gray rat cubs, we’ll hit the jackpot.”
The team members became more and more excited, and their pace quickened.
Before long, Lin Chuanyan twitched his ears, parted the grass, and discovered a cave. After listening for a moment, he shouted loudly, “Quick, come here! I’ve found a nest of gray rats!”
Just as he finished speaking, three two-star gray rat cubs dashed out of the cave.
The teammates were overjoyed and surrounded them, “How did you find it? You’re amazing!”
“We’re going to make a fortune, and Chuanyan deserves the most credit!”
“Chuanyan is a hero. When we make money later, he must get double.”
As they chatted, another five two-star gray rat cubs ran out.
Su Qianxue’s smile froze, “I have a bad feeling about this.”
Before she could finish, four more emerged from the cave.
In the blink of an eye, the situation shifted from “small team hunting two-star gray rat cubs” to “the cubs, in their superior numbers, surrounding them.”
It wasn’t just about making a fortune by killing the cubs, at this point, it was uncertain if they could even save their lives.
The group looked at each other.
Lin Chuanyan roared, “What are you standing around for? Run!”
They turned around and ran for their lives.
The two-star gray rat cubs chased after them relentlessly, a fierce glint in their eyes.
“Why can’t we shake off these rats?”
“Even though they’re just cubs, their pursuit speed is so fast. Should we say they truly live up to being two-star beasts?”
“What are you chattering about at a time like this? Shut up! Focus on running!”
Just as Lin Chuanyan was about to accelerate, a two-star wolfhound emerged from the jungle. In a daze, six more peeked out.
The hunting team stopped running, their eyes glazed over.
At that moment, over twenty two-star wolfhounds emerged from the jungle, blocking their path.
“We’re finished! We’re surrounded from the front and the back!” Su Qianxue felt utterly hopeless, as if she could already foresee the tragic future of her in-game character dying and losing her game qualification.
Her complexion hadn’t fully improved, and she burst into tears.