Published: February 11, 2025
Ye Zhongming almost burst out laughing; these rats actually understood these concepts.
“Ask it what its protection fee is?”
In fact, the Rat King could basically understand human speech. Upon hearing Ye Zhongming's question, it began to communicate with Red Hair.
This communication lasted for quite some time.
“It said that they won't attack people from Cloud Summit Villa, and they won't attack the evolvers in Ying City either. They can go somewhere else to find food,” Red Hair began to explain the Rat King's meaning. “It even mentioned that it could provide you with a batch of magic crystals and materials every once in a while, and the quantity would satisfy you.”
Is that all?
Ye Zhongming pressed for more, but the Rat King didn't know how to respond, only able to communicate with Red Hair for assistance.
But why would Red Hair bother with it? Although her personality had softened and was no longer as cruel and cold as before, she was only nice to Ye Zhongming. She treated others from Cloud Summit decently, but that was mostly for Ye Zhongming's sake.
When dealing with enemies or outsiders, she had never shied away from slaughter; deep down, she was still that killing machine.
“Let’s do this. I’ll propose a few conditions. If you agree, I can guarantee that Cloud Summit Villa won't kill you within two years, and I won't instruct anyone or any force to kill you in any way. You can also stay in Ying City.”
Upon hearing this, the Rat King hesitated. It looked back at its partner of the same evolutionary level, and after contemplating for a moment, decided to see what Ye Zhongming would say.
“First, you need to expand your active range to a radius of three hundred kilometers centered around Cloud Summit Villa.”
Upon hearing the first condition, the Rat King began to screech, but was silenced by a glare from Ye Zhongming.
“Second, within this active range, besides not attacking people from Cloud Summit and Ying City, you must also be responsible for gathering intelligence and providing early warnings. I need to know everything that happens in this area, including what life forms arrive and leave and their purposes.”
“Third!”
Ye Zhongming raised his voice slightly, interrupting the Rat King's next outburst.
“The first layer of underground defenses in Ying City and Cloud Summit will be constructed by you. Unless you all die, the underground of Ying City and Cloud Summit must never face a sudden attack.”
After listing three points, Ye Zhongming paused briefly before continuing, “I also need the right to borrow troops from you at necessary times. You have the responsibility to defend Cloud Summit and Ying City, and when we face a crisis, you must ensure your loyalty and provide full support.”
The first few points were difficult for the Rat King to agree to; for instance, expanding its territory was a challenging task.
In the apocalypse, mutated life forms had their own activity zones, especially higher-level beings.
If the Rat King expanded its territory, it would inevitably provoke local mutated beings, leading to conflict that was almost unavoidable.
Moreover, if it was just the ground-dwelling mutated life forms, that would be one thing, since the rats lived underground.
But don’t forget, the underground wasn't just inhabited by rats; there were other species as well. Even among the rats, there were divisions within their groups. If the Rat King wanted to expand, it would first have to fight with other rats, and the price of that would be high, as one could easily imagine.
But in order to survive and gain permission to live in Ying City, the Rat King gritted its teeth and decided it could agree to this condition; it could consider it as opening up a new feeding ground. In the end, when prepared, it might take some advantages.
However, when Ye Zhongming presented the third condition, the Rat King felt like the ground was about to collapse beneath it.
If it agreed, it would almost mean becoming Ye Zhongming and Cloud Summit Villa's subordinate. While there might be some freedom, once battles commenced, it would have to follow orders, sending its entire group to become someone else's pawns.