Neighbors Stockpile Food, I Stockpile Guns

Chapter 11: Neighbors Hoard Food, I Hoard Guns

Bang!

A dark shadow fell from above, crashing heavily into the sewer filled with foul water and mud. The huge commotion instantly attracted the attention of many sewer residents, who all turned to look at the figure struggling to get up in the muck. With every struggle, the figure let out a pained, suppressed roar, but even so, it managed to stand up with difficulty.

"Cough, cough. I finally escaped?"

Covered in wounds, with even his arm clearly twisted and deformed, Diri endured the pain in his body and struggled to lift his head to survey his surroundings. His swollen face made it difficult to see clearly, but the stench filling his nostrils and the slippery mud beneath his feet told him where he was.

"I need to leave quickly, or those monsters will definitely catch up soon!"

As he said this, even though Diri had forced himself to stand with his battered body, his eyes involuntarily showed fear and despair. He struggled forward into the dark sewer, having barely escaped that hell. He swore he would never be captured again, even if it meant death.

Or rather, he would rather die than die in that hell. After all, dying there didn't mean losing his usefulness. Some of those monsters, wearing human skin, would even deliberately kill many like him every so often.

Just as Diri was thinking about how to escape this place as quickly as possible, a rustling sound came from all directions. The sound was fast and urgent, and Diri noticed ripples constantly forming on the water surface beneath him. The situation of the water, combined with the sounds from all around.

It was clear that what was surging towards him was not just one, but a group. A very large group.

When he realized this, the look of terror on Diri's face became even more pronounced. He leaned against the wall with his shoulder, using it for leverage to speed up his progress. Even though the flesh on his shoulder was constantly being scraped by the rough, uneven wall, Diri still tried to accelerate as much as possible.

However, even with Diri's efforts, it wasn't of much use. Soon, in the endless darkness ahead of Diri, pairs of scarlet eyes lit up. In the blink of an eye, Diri realized that it wasn't just in front of him, but also behind, above, and below him – all filled with pairs of scarlet eyes.

In the darkness, Diri could clearly hear his own rapidly beating heart and his increasingly heavy breathing. The rustling sounds around him grew closer. Finally, in the faint light of the sewer, Diri finally saw clearly what had surrounded him.

Giant Rats, one of the lowest-level monsters, only slightly stronger than Slimes, and that was only in some situations. Now, Diri saw countless Giant Rats surging out of the darkness like a tide. In just a few seconds, everything in front of him was submerged by them.

The last image Diri saw was being completely engulfed by the overwhelming swarm of Giant Rats. When everything was over, a bundle wrapped by numerous Giant Rats was lifted by them and carried deeper into the sewer.

"Another human, and one severely injured at that. And those strangely acting Giant Rats too."

From the shadows not far away, Lu Minghao's figure gradually emerged. He watched calmly as the tide-like swarm of Giant Rats departed. He had heard the commotion when Diri fell into the sewer from several culverts away. Having just finished a hunt, he had a large number of Lesser Demons digesting within him.

Lu Minghao, having nothing else to do, became curious and quietly came over. Fortunately, his naturally cautious nature kept him hidden in the shadows, allowing him to safely witness the scene of the Giant Rats engulfing everything like a tide.

In that situation, let alone the already severely injured human, even if Lu Minghao, who had successfully advanced to a Lower Demon, were in his place, he would have no other option besides poisoning to delay them, blending into the shadows, and escaping.

"But what are those Giant Rats doing with that human? Are they farming humans?"

Looking at the nearly two-meter-tall bundle formed entirely by Giant Rats in the center of the swarm, Lu Minghao's doubts grew. Although those Giant Rats had swarmed and engulfed the human earlier, they hadn't actually harmed him. They had merely wrapped him completely with their bodies to restrain him, even leaving space for him to breathe before carrying him away.

But this was also the most confusing point for Lu Minghao. He knew that due to his post-advancement hunger, he had hunted many monsters living in the sewers in the past few days, with Giant Rats being the most common, found everywhere. Those Giant Rats were at most only slightly smarter than ordinary rats.

Their intelligence was roughly equivalent to that of a five or six-year-old human child. Despite showing some intelligence, their instincts for feeding and killing still dominated them. It was impossible for them to do what they did earlier – transport the human without harming him at all.

Also, while the sewer environment was indeed suitable for low-level monsters like Giant Rats, there shouldn't be so many of them, right?

The sheer amount of food these numerous Giant Rats would consume daily was a terrifying number. Combined with the fact that the Giant Rats had clearly taken the human away with a purpose, Lu Minghao began to suspect they were taking him back for farming.

Just like how humans raise livestock, once a human grew to adulthood, they would be enough for the numerous Giant Rats to feast on. With reasonable farming, it might even solve the Giant Rats' food problem.

"...Forget it. Thinking about it, it's not worth it. After all, the time and food required to raise a human would mean the cost of investment far outweighs the return."

The next second, Lu Minghao cast aside the wild speculation in his mind. After all, he was once human himself, and he knew a thing or two about how long it took for a human to grow and how much food they needed. Compared to Giant Rats, which could have several litters a year with seven or eight pups per litter, humans were completely uncompetitive in this regard.

"However, the more unusual this situation is, the more interested I become in those Giant Rats."

As he spoke, Lu Minghao's body gradually merged into the shadows beneath him. He then began to move in the direction the Giant Rats had left. This time, his goal was to figure out what the Giant Rats were up to, and also to gather some food along the way.

After all, with so many Giant Rats, as long as he used his Shadow Escape for sneak attacks and combined it with Gluttony for instant consumption, he could quietly hunt a large amount of food with careful execution. To Lu Minghao, who had advanced to a Lower Demon, those numerous Giant Rats were a massive granary. As their good neighbor, he naturally had to take good care of them.

After all, as the saying goes, "Neighbors hoard food, I hoard guns. Neighbors are my granary."