Chapter 134: Kill Him

The fatty’s roar echoed through the mine tunnel. All four of them stared at the wall, but there was nothing there, as if the scream from a moment ago had been a hallucination.

Zhou Yi reached out and poked the fatty in the waist, whispering, "Do it again. Throw more stones at the surrounding walls. We have to catch this thing, otherwise, we won't be able to mine in peace. Plus, it seems to be able to manipulate water; if we're not careful, we might all end up drowned here."

The fatty cherished his life and was not exactly a brave man. However, Zhou Yi’s threat was effective. He squeezed his eyes shut and began rapidly throwing stones at the walls, hitting them here and there with a constant clatter.

Just as he threw the third stone, the creature fell into the trap again. Even Zhou Yi was amazed by this stroke of luck. Sophia’s fireball struck simultaneously, causing the creature to leap high into the air. It spat out a jet of water, extinguishing the fireball.

Cheng Zhi’s vines reached the creature at that moment, binding it tight. But before they could rejoice, the creature gnawed through the vines and broke free. Zhou Yi’s six ice spikes darted toward it.

The creature seemed infuriated. It stepped on the ice spikes and lunged at Zhou Yi. Zhou Yi held a dagger in his hand, slashing rapidly, but the creature was too fast. It circled around Zhou Yi, and because they were all in such close proximity, the others couldn't use their spells, making everyone anxious.

Zhou Yi finally saw it clearly: the thing was a giant version of a rat. Its body was over thirty centimeters long, and its tail was another twenty centimeters. It was a brownish-red color all over, with a flat, black tail. Its fur was standing on end; it looked like it was desperate.

Could it be that this creature lived in the mine, and he had just demolished its home, which was why it was fighting so desperately? However, there was no way he was going to walk away from such a massive vein of ore. Zhou Yi still adhered to the basic principle that a thief shouldn't leave empty-handed, so without further ado, he just had to kill it.

Ice spikes and the dagger flashed back and forth, repeatedly striking at the water rat. Seeing that it couldn't best Zhou Yi, the rat turned and lunged at Cheng Zhi. The angle was too devious and the speed too fast; Cheng Zhi had no time to defend himself.

In an instant, three bloody gashes appeared on his chest and arm, and his hand was bitten, his palm pierced through by sharp fangs.

Afterward, the water rat darted toward the fatty. Having learned from Cheng Zhi’s experience, the fatty was quite cunning; he hid directly behind Sophia. Sophia’s fireballs were unleashed in rapid succession this time, surrounding the water rat. Although water counters fire, the intensity of the assault left the creature exhausted.

A smell of scorched pig hair filled the air. The water rat jumped around frantically, its fur singed in many places. Even so, as it turned, it managed to bite the fatty’s arm. The fatty panicked and let a stone slip from his hand, which struck the water rat square on the head.

At the same time, Zhou Yi’s ice spike pierced the water rat’s rear. The creature slumped to the ground, motionless. It didn't die immediately; blood trickled from its mouth, and it let out a faint, dying squeak.

The fatty walked over, wincing in pain, and upon seeing where the ice spike had pinned the rat, he burst out laughing.

"The boss really knows me! I like this way of dying; this kind of revenge is the most satisfying. Come, come, let me send you on your way!" He raised the stone in his hand, ready to smash it down.

Zhou Yi reached out and stopped him. It wasn't just the fatty—even Sophia was confused. This water rat had almost wiped them all out; why not kill it now?

"What’s wrong?" Zhou Yi glanced at the water rat and then looked at Sophia. "When I gave you the book on fire-element spells earlier, I saw some talisman arrays inside. Check and see if there’s anything we can use. It would be best to seal this ice spike inside it so it doesn't melt and can't be pulled out."

The fatty felt a chill run down his spine. "Boss, what are you doing?"

Zhou Yi rolled his eyes at him and glanced at Cheng Zhi. Cheng Zhi was the most severely injured; his chest, arms, and hands were all covered in blood, either clawed or bitten. "Go look after Cheng Zhi. He’s hurt pretty badly—bandage him up. I have a use for this rat."

Seeing that Zhou Yi wasn't offering an explanation, the fatty didn't waste words. He grabbed the medical kit Sophia handed him and hurried to treat Cheng Zhi’s wounds. Cheng Zhi looked a mess, but his injuries were mostly superficial, except for the bite on his palm, which had two clean holes right through it.

Sophia found a talisman. She had actually looked at it before; during the ten-plus days on the road, she had nothing better to do than study the book, so Zhou Yi had an impression of it. Sophia pulled one out, held it between two fingers, and muttered something under her breath. Then, she pressed the talisman directly onto the water rat’s rear.

A magical scene unfolded. The talisman seemed to melt, instantly sinking into the water rat’s body. Zhou Yi, who still had his foot on the rat’s tail, squatted down and said, "You’d better not play dead, and don't pretend you don't understand. I know you can understand us. Now answer me: do you want to live?"

The water rat appeared to be on its last breath, eyes closed, not moving. Zhou Yi lifted his dagger and drove the blade directly into a crack in the stone wall next to the rat.

The unexpected move startled the water rat into opening its eyes. Its small, black eyes darted around, looking aggrieved, and it nodded hurriedly.

Zhou Yi was satisfied. Playing dead wouldn't work; what he needed now was cheap labor.

"If you want to live, it’s simple. You can't get that ice spike out of your rear. If you have the guts, try to run. You won't be able to die, you won't be able to live, you won't be able to eat, and you won't be able to pass it—that’s a miserable existence, isn't it? There’s only one way for me to remove the talisman seal and take out the spike: help me dig out the light blue stones in this vein. I know this is your nest; I’ll leave some for you. You should know that I’m just too lazy to do it myself; otherwise, I could kill you and take them anyway, it would just take more effort. Think about it. I keep my word. Once you finish digging, I’ll let you go. How about it?"

The water rat seemed to think it over. It turned to look at Zhou Yi, then raised a claw to point at its rear. Zhou Yi smiled and waved his hand.

"I keep my word, and I don't hold grudges. Go dig!"

The water rat slowly climbed to its feet, looked at Zhou Yi and then at Sophia, before heading toward the end of the tunnel. It wiggled its flat black tail, cast a glance at Zhou Yi, and began digging around the light blue stones with a flurry of motion.

Its speed was astonishing. It circled the stones, hands and feet moving like an electric drill, and it even knew to spray water to keep the stones from shattering.

Before long, it had dug out seven or eight light blue stones. Sophia followed behind, quickly collecting them. Zhou Yi patted Sophia, signaling her not to rush.

"Don't be in such a hurry to collect them. Let it dig them all out, then we’ll pick the good ones and take them. We’ll leave behind whatever we can't carry or whatever isn't of high purity. We need to be selective. Fatty, once you’re done with Cheng Zhi’s wounds, come over and clear out the rubble."

Sophia stopped what she was doing. The fatty ran over; though he wasn't great at extracting large stones, he was fast at clearing the debris. The water rat’s speed in digging and their cooperation were quite efficient.

Time ticked by. Half an hour later, the water rat retreated, leaning against the stone wall, panting heavily. Zhou Yi looked at the water rat and waved at the fatty.

"Look up what species this water rat is. Calling it that all the time doesn't sound right."

The fatty pulled out his phone. For him, the strength of the signal didn't matter much. After taking photos and searching, he finally found the information.

"Boss, you guessed right! This thing is called a muskrat. They’re good swimmers and live in aquatic areas. Some people call them water rats, but they’re a relatively rare species. I never expected one to become a spirit creature—not only does it understand human speech, but it knows how to steal spirit stones. We can't let this thing go! Kill it!"

The fatty muttered on and on. Hearing the word "kill" at the end, the water rat bared its teeth at him and waved its little claws, but when it saw Zhou Yi looking, it immediately stopped, looking aggrieved.

Zhou Yi waved his hand at the fatty. The guy was too talkative, but it served as a threat to the rat.

"Are the spirit stone veins all dug out? Any left inside?"

The water rat shook its head repeatedly, pointing at the pile of light blue stones on the ground while squeaking, as if pleading its case. Zhou Yi nodded.

"Alright, I get it. You're saying this is all there is, right?"