Published: February 12, 2025
The ones that came were the Rat King couple, along with a tiny first-level mouse they had with them.
Looking at the enormous size of the Mutated Rat King, which was bigger than an elephant, Ye Zhongming showed a puzzled expression.
Currently, the Mutated Rat King and its primary mate (this guy wasn't exactly a monogamous rat) had both reached level seven in their mutation level and were progressing towards level eight. Ye Zhongming could even sense immense power radiating from them.
They should be able to evolve to level eight at any moment, but the reason they weren't was due to a deliberate suppression!
This left Ye Zhongming somewhat baffled. Mutated life forms had an insatiable desire for evolution and power that was no less than that of an evolver. In fact, given their harsher living environment, these were fundamental to their survival. Humans had various desires, but for mutated life, there were only two meanings to living: evolution and reproduction. The things they did daily could be boiled down to two actions: eating and mating.
So, what was it that made these two large rats suppress their levels?
Previously, when Ye Zhongming was crafting equipment, he suddenly received a mental signal from the Rat King transmitted from underground outside the villa. He initially thought that there was a problem with their expansion, and they were asking for help, but now it seemed that wasn’t the case at all.
The Rat King couple lay in front of Ye Zhongming, and apart from the tiny first-level mouse beside them, there were no guards at all. This was undoubtedly a show of attitude. For a timid race like theirs that usually had hundreds of little subordinates following them even to the bathroom, this was quite rare.
The Rat King lay there, its tiny, almost invisible eyes occasionally glancing at the expressionless Ye Zhongming, trembling all over.
Ye Zhongming couldn’t help but chuckle. The mutated rats inherited some traits from their original species, such as timidity, but that was relative. Especially for a Rat King of this level, it was hard to imagine how many battles they had fought to reach their current status. If they were afraid, Ye Zhongming believed it. After all, whether it was he, Xia Bai, or the Yangos and earth yellow pill in the sky, any of them could easily kill them without protection. But to say they were so afraid that their bodies were trembling—Ye Zhongming didn’t buy it.
This was an act put on for him.
“This... is for you.”
A vague mental communication entered Ye Zhongming's consciousness, directing his gaze toward the tiny mouse that had been pushed in front of him by the Rat King, which was now looking around with its small eyes in a carefree manner.
“Hmm?”
Initially, he hadn’t paid much attention, thinking this was just a somewhat special descendant from the Rat King couple’s group. But upon closer inspection, Ye Zhongming noticed something different.
He picked up the palm-sized little mouse and examined it closely, feeling a bit surprised.
Ye Zhongming discovered at least three types of life characteristics from this little mouse.
One was from the Dragon Race, which was the one Ye Zhongming was most familiar with. Having spent so much time with the Yangos, who had repeatedly evolved to level eight, he was well aware of the aura and traits of the Dragon Race. He felt the Dragon Wings beneath the skin on the sides of this little mouse!
The shape was definitely that of Dragon Wings, almost identical to those of the Yangos!
A mouse with dragon genes?
No matter how mutated it might be, that was impossible. The only explanation could be that it was either a descendant of Liu Zhenghong's experimental subjects or that these rats somehow absorbed the genes of Yangos or other dragon race lifeforms.
Regardless, Ye Zhongming had to show some respect for these rats.
Their ability to integrate and their open-minded attitude towards changing their essence was something other life forms did not possess.