Is the Leader Mute?

The next day, Alice turned off the power to the electric grid and opened the door. To her surprise, she found a small mountain of charred mouse corpses outside, numbering at least a hundred.

Arnold came out with a broom and a dustpan, sweeping while saying, "Did someone disturb the mouse nest? So many rushed out all at once."

Alexander, helping to open the trash bags, added, "It was extremely hot before, and now it's extremely cold. In the alternating cold and heat, not only have the mice mutated, but they also lack food. They have no choice but to attack the human base."

Alexander muttered, "It's a pity that mutated mice are too scared to eat. Otherwise, they would be a good source of meat."

It wasn't just Alexander who thought this way. Many people in the base looked at the mouse, as big as a cat, and wished it was a piece of pork in front of them.

Alice carried several large bags of mice downstairs to throw them into the garbage bin. Residents who were also coming down to dispose of dead mice complained, "The mice that got into my house yesterday were from the sewer, so dirty and smelly. Our family almost couldn't stand the stench."

"The mice we caught last night came out of the cesspool. Just thinking about that smell now makes me sick."

Upon hearing this, Alice silently distanced herself from that person.

Before going upstairs, she heard a lively discussion among a dozen people.

"Last night, the granary was breached. I heard that the rice is almost gone. It's going to be tough for a while. If you still have some reserves at home, better save them. If this continues, even with work points, there won't be any rice to eat."

"How could this happen? What are the people in the base eating? So many people couldn't defend a granary?"

"Not just the granary. I heard that the warehouse at the supermarket was also attacked, and there's hardly anything left inside."

"The news hasn't spread widely yet. You can still go to the supermarket to buy things now. In another two hours, it'll be a mad rush to grab things from people."

"..."

Upon hearing this, the faces of the people changed, and they turned and ran, afraid of being too slow to buy necessities.The people who were downstairs throwing away dead mice couldn't care less about anything else and followed suit in a sprint. Those who hadn't received the news remained in confusion, watching them run wildly with a bewildered expression.

Alice frowned. It seemed that the higher-ups in the base didn't heed Hurley's advice to store the rice separately. Moving several tons of rice would take almost a day, and it was impossible to do it in time during the mouse invasion. People with common sense wouldn't overlook this.

Unless those in authority were too arrogant, thinking that having guns in hand would enable them to kill as many mice as they wanted. But no matter how fast they shot, there would be pauses, and the mice would swarm out. Even firing with both hands simultaneously wouldn't keep up!

Alice sighed with regret. The good rice was gone, all fed into the stomachs of the mice. The news couldn't be kept secret, and soon the entire base knew about the dwindling rice supply. Panic ensued, and everyone rushed to the supermarket or office building.

"Have the people in the base's leadership become mute? Is the news really true? Can't they come out and explain?"

"No need to ask. The base's supermarket has already closed its doors. Many people can't buy anything and are banging on the doors outside."

"The staff inside even threatened to take note of those causing trouble. They said they wouldn't sell anything to them in the future. What a show of authority."

"I suspect they've already divided up the remaining food among themselves and are using various excuses to stall us."

"Let's charge together. Grab as much as we can. If we wait any longer, not a single grain of rice will be left for us. Only what's in our pockets will be truly ours."

The crowd's emotions were intense, and it seemed like they were about to clash with the guards. The base leader, with no other choice, stepped forward to address the situation.

"The granary was indeed attacked by mice, but the damage is not as severe as everyone thinks. We are temporarily closing the supermarket for these two days. Once we organize the supplies, it will reopen. We hope everyone stops spreading rumors, doesn't believe in rumors, and gives the base a bit more confidence."

A person from the crowd responded, "I don't believe it. Unless you open the granary for us to see, and if there's enough food, we'll leave."Citizen B: "Exactly, words alone are not enough. You're holding guns, and you're still worried we'll go and loot?"

Citizen C: "Hope the base does something sensible. We're not fools; don't try to fool us with your talk."

The base leader's expression darkened, "I'll say it again, the food loss is not significant. Currently, the most important thing is to eliminate the mutated mice. Whoever dares to incite trouble, deliberately disturb the base, will be expelled."

After saying this, the base leader turned and walked into the office building. The crowd outside instinctively wanted to follow, but the armed guards immediately aimed their guns at them, "Step back."

The faces of the people changed, and none dared to gamble with their lives. After a stalemate for a while, the crowd chose to leave.

The food incident still caused panic among the base's citizens, especially because the base did not show the expected attitude. Instead, there were more verbal threats, making everyone even more anxious.

People with food at home began to tighten their belts. Some were worried that their efforts were in vain; even with work points, they couldn't buy supplies. Some even decided to quit their jobs altogether.

The base leader sought out Hurley and asked him to find a way to eliminate the giant mice. "Those mice are too big, very aggressive, not easy to catch. The base has tried setting traps. Initially, it worked, but later the mice learned to avoid them. Have you researched any available antidotes?"

Hurley: "… Are you talking about poison?"

"Regular mouse poison doesn't work. It's better if it's poison," said the base leader.

"I suggest you go to a hospital. After all, the research institute focuses on research, not medicine," Hurley retorted nonchalantly.As if he were an all-knowing being, tasked with everything. He managed to create a temperature-controlled greenhouse, cultivate cold-resistant seeds, and now they wanted him to research poison, with a sufficient reward, of course.

The base leader choked on his words for a moment, glaring at him, "Then figure out how to secure the granary. There's only about two tons of rice left. It can't be invaded again, or the base will truly be in chaos."

Without food, people won't be restrained, and there won't be any way to suppress them when the time comes."Try using electric fences," Hurley suggested. He had finally found a place to settle down, and he didn't want the base to descend into chaos.