```
"Wow!"
"Is this the racial advantage that non-human Transcendents inherently possess?"
"In a world devoid of Spiritual Energy, can they really dominate their kind so easily just with their Transcendent charm?"
"They're even stronger than I expected."
Su Ping, perceiving the messages from the two Spiritual Rats, White and Grey, sighed with relief while feeling impressed.
The outstanding performance of the Spiritual Rats had given him self-preservation abilities quicker than he had anticipated.
From the current information, however, White and Grey's control over the rat horde wasn't yet solid, and a command structure had not been established.
For now, the rats were merely acting on instinct.
To make full use of them, he would need to personally intervene, applying techniques learned from the Immortal Cultivation World and providing resources.
After all, what Su Ping wanted was an army built by a horde of rats!
And to establish and maintain an army, one needed not only will but also food!
Fortunately, Water Blue Star had long since entered the Information Age, with a highly developed productivity, so basic resources were plentiful.
The supplies needed to sustain a rat army wouldn't cost much.
As Su Ping was contemplating this,
the rats, due to their sheer numbers, began to be directed slowly out of the sewers, heading towards the suburbs of the city.
Tonight, the moon shone brightly, but the stars were sparse.
A few drunken men didn't rush back after finishing their skewers at the night market. Instead, they strolled to the nearby riverbank park, sobering up with a walk and boasting about their past glories.
Suddenly!
A scream not far away startled them.
Then, a high-pitched female voice shouted, "There are rats!"
The drunken men's courage surged, and they quickened their pace, ready to heroically save the damsel in distress from the rats!
"Don't be afraid, just a few rats, take what old Sun..."
The tallest among the drunkards, a middle-aged, bald man who looked like he worked out regularly, ran the fastest.
He reached the small woods and saw the sisters huddled together, screaming.
He also saw, under the moonlight, a swarm of rats continuously crawling out of an opened sewer manhole!
The sight of the dense, indistinct, squirming mass of rats was like a nameless monstrosity brandishing its claws under the moonlight.
Just one glance was enough to sober up the middle-aged man completely.
As proactive as he had been in his cry, he now carefully tiptoed, fearing to disturb the rats ahead.
"Old Niu, how come you're running so fast today!"
"Ow, crap! You call this 'there are rats'?!"
The middle-aged man wanted to keep a low profile, but the friends who arrived later each made a racket.
And while the middle-aged man, sweating bullets, was yelling at them to keep quiet,
suddenly, there was a stir within the horde of rats. At least more than half of the rats stopped moving and turned to stare with their gray or red eyes, coldly fixed on the men.
A single rat is undoubtedly scared of humans.
But when they form a tide of rats,
it's the humans' turn to be afraid.
And whether it was an illusion or not,
The same observant middle-aged man noticed the white rat surrounded by the horde, staring back at him—it seemed to have a human-like intelligence and spirit light in its eyes!
And their gazes seemed filled with contempt?
"These rats might well be possessed!"
Suddenly, the middle-aged man had this terrifying thought.
He quickly remembered snippets from trivial books he had read in recent days about rats becoming possessed and turning into has Divine Power beings.
"Blessed Infinite Heavenly Venerate protect us, Jade Emperor protect us, Bodhisattva protect us, Our Father, Our Lady, Saint Heir protect us!"
```
The middle-aged uncle was in a panic, already unconsciously muttering every deity's name he could think of, seeking their protection.
The Spiritual Rat White stared coldly at the mortals who were screaming and shouting.
Although it was compliant and respectful in front of Su Ping,
it felt superior to mere humans.
It bared its sharp teeth, intending to teach these humans who were disturbing its leadership of the rat swarm a lesson.
But suddenly, the latest instruction from Su Ping came to its mind.
Squeak!
White's body jolted, and it let out a piercing squeal that to the surroundings sounded like thunder.
Instantly, the turning rat swarm rejoined the tide as streams merge back into a river, heading towards the outskirts.
It took a while before no new rats emerged from the sewer entrance to join the tide.
The park by the riverbank finally regained its peace.
And the row of people who had watched the whole event in stunned silence, hardly daring to breathe, let out a long sigh of relief.
"Lao Niu, was that white rat looking at us just now?"
"You noticed too? I suspect that rat has become a spirit!"
"It must have! Normal rats don't make such loud noises!"
"So creepy! I'm going to the temples and Taoist temples to pray tomorrow..."
They quietly discussed this mysterious incident, slowly regaining their liveliness.
Meanwhile, on the internet, news of rat swarms emerging from several drains in the park and then converging and moving away from the urban area began to gain attention, with footage captured by passersby and surveillance cameras.
In the residential complex where East King Temple was located, inside a bustling apartment building,
a middle school student who had just been scolded by his parents because of a teacher's complaint laid back on his bed with a sigh.
Picking up his tablet that he had secretly registered using his grandfather's ID, his eyes were suddenly drawn to a message in his class group chat.
"Wow! Rats, so many rats!"
The excited middle schooler clicked on the message to view the video and immediately noticed the conspicuous Spiritual Rat Grey standing out like a crane amongst chickens.
His face flushed with excitement at the sight of it, especially since he was at the age when he loved heroic tales:
"It's that one! It has to be the same rat that chased away Yellow!"
Seeing Spiritual Rat Grey again, confirming it wasn't his imagination and realizing the commotion it had caused,
the middle school student grew unsettled.
He began to fantasize that maybe he was the chosen one, destined to embark on a legendary path with the help of this magical mouse!
The more he thought about it, the more captivated he became, watching the video over and over again with his tablet in hand.
Tonight was bound to be a sleepless one for the middle schooler.
Unaware of the insomnia he had caused the youngster, Su Ping was doing his best to command White and Grey, utilizing their abilities to minimize the impact as much as possible.
Unfortunately, White and Grey couldn't fully control the rat swarm as if it were an extension of their limbs, yet they followed closely behind him.
At first, it didn't matter much, but as their numbers steadily grew, it became somewhat unmanageable.
He had to hurry and lead them out of the urban area to the suburban forests to find a place to settle down.
Otherwise, when Su Ping no longer had the time to pay attention,
they might once again cause major trouble.
Su Ping certainly did not want anyone to come to the site in the future to take inspiration for a horror movie about a rat plague.
Fortunately, his hometown of Yushu City was just a small city known for its simple folk customs and beautiful scenery, which also meant there was an abundance of mountains and forests and many secluded areas.
As long as no casualties occurred, the incident wouldn't blow up.
Even if it drew some people's attention and experts were assigned to study it, it wouldn't be a top priority.
The world is so vast, and every year there are numerous strange and extraordinary events, both real and fake.