"By the way, are any of you cultivators answering the call? Don't tell me all of you are martial artists?" Zhang Gu asked.
"Yes, yes. Zhu Yuanhua answered our call, but he's the only one. At the moment, these cultivators are too afraid of death. It's really difficult to invite them."
Wang Yuande sighed.
The country had just begun to nurture its own cultivation talents. The cultivators who existed now were all passed down from ancient times. These people might not be capable, but they were really timid. They would not participate in anything that was dangerous.
But on second thought, it was no wonder. Without such a thought, it could not have been passed down for hundreds or thousands of years.
"Zhu Yuanhua? Oh, I know. It's that corpse controller, Zhu Yuanhua, right? With him around, we can relax a little this time." Zhang Gu smiled. He turned his head and searched the Supernatural Supervision Bureau team.
He hadn't looked carefully before, but now that he was searching with a purpose, he quickly found his target.
A middle-aged man was wearing ordinary training clothes. At first glance, he looked no different from an ordinary martial artist, but if one observed carefully, one would discover that there were two people following behind the middle-aged man.
The two of them were wearing hats, sunglasses, masks, and thick cotton clothes. They covered themselves tightly. It was spring, but they still seemed to be in winter. Moreover, they moved stiffly and walked with a stutter. There was nothing human about them.
Zhu Yuanhua smiled and said nothing, noticing Zhang Gu's gaze.
The group expanded across the mountain ridge in front of them and saw their destination. It was a mountain peak with obvious lush vegetation.
Green mountains and clear waters were originally a beautiful scene in the world, but once they were mixed with the hissing of countless rats, it made people feel the anger of something pure being tainted.
Sensing the traces of humans, the cries on the mountain stopped and instantly became calm.
If they had not heard that voice earlier, they might have really been fooled.
Zhang Gu ordered the team to stop a few hundred meters in front of the mountain. He used his binoculars to observe the situation in the mountain. Not only was the mountain silent, but even the feral rats had disappeared.
However, the countless caves on the ground could not be hidden. Zhang Gu could still see a few impatient feral rats poking their heads out of the caves.
His expression was solemn. It was obvious that there was a Rat King in this group of feral rats. Moreover, this Rat King's prestige was very strong. Otherwise, this group of animals would not be so obedient.
"We can't go up the mountain. This mountain is home to feral rats. We can't fight them on the mountain."
After Zhang Gu had an idea, he immediately carried it out. Everyone prepared for battle on the spot by digging traps and making simple protective walls.
No one objected. They all got to work.
After assigning the mission, Zhang Gu walked to Zhu Yuanhua's side. "Spiritual Master Zhu, after we are done with the combat deployment, we will need these feral rats to take the initiative to attack. I will shoot and try, but if it doesn't work, I hope you can help."
Zhu Yuanhua nodded in agreement but made his request. "My two walking corpses were painstakingly refined by my sect. If they are damaged, it will severely damage my strength. It's fine for me to help, but if there really is a Rat King, I want its corpse."
Why didn't the other cultivators come? It was because to the other cultivators, this operation was dangerous and the remuneration was uncertain. Who knew if those resources had been eaten by the feral rats? If they spent a lot of effort but only obtained one point in the end, it would be a huge loss.
However, it was different for Zhu Yuanhua. His goal was very clear—the Rat King's corpse.
The corpse-driving school could not only drive the corpses of humans, but also the corpses of animals. Moreover, the stronger one was when they were alive, the stronger the corpses they could refine. The corpse of the Rat King was very attractive to them.
"Alright, if Spiritual Master Zhu is willing to help, the Rat King's corpse will be yours. But before that, we need to collect some body fluid samples. This is an order from the Research Institute."
"Of course," Zhu Yuanhua agreed with a smile.
They all had some cultivation foundation and were very fast at building fortifications. After a while, a thick earth wall rose from the ground. In front of the earth wall was a simple trap covered by straw.
"Everyone get ready."
Zhang Gu ordered, "Try a shot. Aim halfway up the mountain."
Bang. Gunfire rang out in unison.
The trees and grass halfway up the mountain were broken by many bullets, and a few impatient rats were killed.
The silent forest immediately became noisy after the gunshots.
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
From the cave came the sounds of countless rats. It was obvious that the feral rats were enraged.
Looking at their dead companions at the mouth of the cave, several of the feral rats scuttled out and hissed at the humans at the bottom of the mountain. Then they rushed down quickly, determined to fight to the death.
"Done." Zhang Gu looked delighted. It was too easy to be lured out with a random shot.
"Squeak!"
However, at this moment, a series of powerful rat cries came from the depths of the forest. The ferocious rats that were charging down had ferocious expressions, but they still hid in the nearby caves unwillingly.
"Locate the sound direction and fire the mini-rockets," Zhang Gu ordered immediately.
The fighter in charge of the drone shook his head, looking aggrieved. "UAV locator successful. Target detected. Launch… missed. Target gone."
"Battalion Commander, this Rat King is too fast and can't be hit at all. However, I've taken a photo of the Rat King. Its size is similar to an ordinary vicious rat, and its fur is golden."
Zhang Gu looked at the photo and nodded. He wasn't sorry.
Understanding that the gun was ineffective, he turned to Zhu Yuanhua and said, "Spiritual Master Zhu, I'll have to trouble you."
"You should." Zhu Yuanhua nodded and muttered. He made a hand seal and the two zombies stepped out of the crowd. They avoided the trap and rushed into the mountain without hesitation.
Everyone in the team looked at Zhu Yuanhua, who was forming hand seals, with envy. Even though martial arts was magical, it was far from this level. They really wanted to become immortal cultivators.
The two zombies were domineering and fearless. The vicious rats stared at them from inside the cave with bright red eyes that seemed to be filled with blood. They rushed straight into the cave and used their sharp nails and sharp teeth as weapons to kill the vicious rats wantonly.
The rats tried to fight back, but their teeth could only leave two rows of small marks on the walking dead. They couldn't even break the skin. Instead, when the walking dead poked them with their nails, even if they didn't die immediately, they looked green and fell to the ground crookedly.
However, this underground cave was connected in all directions. A steady stream of ferocious rats rushed over from other places. The speed at which the two zombies were killed was not as fast as the speed at which they provided support.
Soon, the two zombies were covered by a gray tide of feral rats.
"It's about time." Sensing the extent of the gathering of rats, Zhu Yuanhua's eyes shifted and his gestures changed quickly. The two undamaged zombies grabbed forward with both hands, then instantly broke free from the tide of vicious rats.
They caught a few of the feral rats that couldn't dodge in time.