Destroying Rats

The muddy ground swallowed the Demon Suppression Bureau members' ankles.

After the flood receded, the air was thick with the mingled stench of feed and manure.

Standing in the mud, Mei Ye watched the rescue crews go door to door, bringing trapped civilians out and placing them in the tent area. They then scattered lime over the disaster zone, white powder drifting with the wind and covering everything in sight.

It was a complete mess.

That was Mei Ye's impression of this modern-day county town.

Just then,

he heard his teammates complaining nearby.

"Rats again. North River's rats are the most annoying."

North River's economy was prosperous. While demons were not as rampant here as they were in Liaodong, there were still minor demons around, and they gave the local authorities plenty of headaches.

Rats were one kind of demon that simply could not be eradicated. They reproduced rapidly and had their own underground kingdom.

The authorities had done the calculations and found that completely exterminating rat demons was far too costly and impractical. The losses outweighed the gains.

So even now, they only carried out periodic rat exterminations every year.

However, for the tall, powerful Demon-Suppressing Guards, this was a waste of their talents.

Rats were so small and so fast. How many could they kill in a day?

But to curb the rat demon population, the Demon Suppression Bureau could only grit its teeth and take on this exhausting, thankless work.

"The flood has already been contained by our brothers in other departments, but we need to deal with the rat infestation that follows."

After collecting the assignment from Wei Wushuang, Captain Jiang walked over. True qi carried his voice across the entire area, allowing everyone to hear him clearly.

"Follow the post-disaster rat infestation procedures... To restore order in Big Stone County as quickly as possible, let's work harder and clear out the core area before nightfall!"

Captain Jiang assigned tasks to the team.

Everyone wore raincoats and rain boots, with tools in their hands and kraft paper bags of poisoned bait tucked at their waists.

Rumble—

Wheels rolled across the muddy ground.

A large truck drove over.

It carried a full load of supplies: cement, demon-repelling poisoned bait, quicklime, iron shovels, pry bars, and more.

No one said much. They split into their assigned groups, sealed warehouses, blocked holes, laid poisoned bait, and worked together to kill rats...

[Merit Points: +30]

[Merit Points: +30]

While prying open refrigerators and equipment, Mei Ye and the others often found terrified rats inside.

Whenever that happened, Mei Ye would bring his blade down and finish the rat off.

Calling the Demon Suppression Bureau in to kill rats was somewhat beneath them, but compared to hunting cultists and fighting extremist organizations, it was an easy job.

And for Mei Ye, aside from his salary, accumulating Merit Points was also a decent reward.

"We found a minor demon in the Body Tempering Realm. It's extremely fast! Everyone, hurry to the east side of the quarry!"

One colleague sent a message to the nearby teammates.

Mei Ye, who had been burning rat corpses, froze for a moment. He exchanged a glance with the colleague carrying a bucket of cement beside him, and both put down their tools and headed east.

"Surround that rat the size of a cat!"

"Don't let it get away!"

It was hard to imagine that a group of Demon Suppression Bureau officers, most of them in the Qi Gathering Realm, could be helpless against a single rat, scrambling about in a panic.

But seriously speaking, rats really were fast. Once they slipped into the shadows, they could vanish in the blink of an eye.

If the rat they had encountered this time had not been this Body Tempering Realm Rat King, they might not have been able to do anything to it.

Swish, swish, swish!

Everyone carefully surrounded the rat, waving their blades to control its escape routes.

The Rat King was naturally timid. The presence of these Qi Gathering Realm humans especially made it feel as though the end was near.

It scurried in every direction, but the humans' encirclement steadily reduced the space in which it could move.

"Don't kill it yet. Wait until our encirclement gets smaller before making a move."

Captain Jiang arrived at that moment. Watching the fleeing Rat King, he gave instructions based on experience.

The others obeyed, merely intimidating the rat without actually killing it.

As the encirclement shrank, so did the Rat King's room to maneuver.

The Demon-Suppressing Guards rubbed their hands together, waiting for the Rat King to run toward them.

Suddenly, with nowhere left to go, the Rat King lost its mind.

It charged toward one side in a desperate burst.

The Demon Suppression Bureau officers were overjoyed and all attacked at once.

Swish!

[Merit Points: +300]

The Rat King was instantly killed. Flesh and blood splattered across the crushed stones, painfully red.

Yet among all those blades, one had anticipated the Rat King's trajectory first and cut it down.

The Demon-Suppressing Guards froze, then all turned to look at a certain young man.

The corner of Mei Ye's mouth curled upward. Slowly sheathing his blade, he cupped his fists and said, "You let me win, you let me win."

The Demon-Suppressing Guards looked disappointed and shook their heads, as though they had watched someone else win the lottery.

Captain Jiang watched Mei Ye from the side and sighed inwardly. Judging from that move alone, this boy's future is limitless. Unfortunately, his youth is both his strength and his weakness. I really don't know how he'll face the Qilin Dragon Group when he goes back.

That evening, the Demon-Suppressing Guards, having spent the entire day killing rats, found a hotel to rest in.

Mei Ye was assigned to a four-person room.

The room was filled with the smell of men's sweat and muddy earth.

After pushing the beds together, everyone sat down, exhausted.

Seeing that they were Demon-Suppressing Guards, the hotel owner politely promoted the dinner service.

They did not stand on ceremony and ordered a hot pot. Before long, the owner respectfully brought it over.

The fragrant steam rose, whetting everyone's appetite.

The Demon-Suppressing Guards pulled Mei Ye over and dug in, eating until their mouths gleamed with grease.

"Brother Mei, your Vast Blade Art really opened my eyes."

A round-faced man picked up a piece of meat and spoke to Mei Ye as he ate.

Logically speaking, teammates on the same squad should have developed some rapport by now.

But because Mei Ye had killed Deng Bai, coupled with his indifferent and solitary personality, everyone felt that the kid would not get far.

So although they were polite on the surface, they were all waiting to see how Mei Ye would be taught a lesson by society.

"Just luck," Mei Ye said flatly. "When I saw that rat, I swung my blade on instinct. It happened to hit."

"Oh? I'd like some of that luck too." The round-faced man laughed. "Little Mei, you graduated from Jiangwu University, right?"

"Yes. Some people from my class came to North River to become Demon-Suppressing Guards, while others entered different systems."

Mei Ye answered openly. His predecessor had studied and trained in martial arts at Jiangwu University. Though he had been dirt poor, he had at least managed to graduate and secure a position in the system.

"I remember Jiangwu University has some kind of ranking list, something like the Martial God Rankings, right? There's a woman on it who's been amazing these past few years. Her news is all over the internet."

"Sorry, I don't know her."

His predecessor had been a dull, withdrawn person who had used every ounce of strength just to barely graduate.

Where would he have found the time to check any ranking lists?

But after arriving in this world, Mei Ye had learned a little about something else—the Martial God Rankings.

Humanity's urge to compare and label others would never disappear.

The Martial God Rankings were like the Forbes Rich List, a ranking of publicly known powerhouses by combat strength, compiled online by professional organizations.

They represented the changing of generations among the era's powerful figures and carried great authority.

They might not have been perfectly accurate, but they were close enough.

Anyone who entered the Martial God Rankings was a powerhouse in their own right.

And naturally, Jiangwu University's ranking list could not compare to the Martial God Rankings in fame or authority.

But what the round-faced man meant was the woman ranked first on Jiangwu University's list.

Because of her, Jiangwu University's rankings had become famous.

"Her name is Sheng Zhiqiu." Seeing that Mei Ye could not answer, another teammate could not help explaining. "She graduated from your school a few years ago. She's incredible. I heard she joined the military and is now a brigadier general. The speed of her promotion is the envy of people like us."

"Her talent is probably just a little better than Brother Mei's. She was already in the Qi Gathering Realm when she was a teenager, and she even killed a tiger of the same realm by herself."

The round-faced man glanced at Mei Ye, who was eating, and said pointedly, "But aside from her talent, she's also especially polite and knows how to navigate officialdom.

By our reckoning, that girl from a fishing family managed to secure a general as a political patron."

"Peerless talent. Hardworking and diligent. Practical and capable..."

One teammate counted on his fingers and sighed. "With a genius like that, I bet East Sea Province will produce a general who defends the nation."

"Exactly! There's always a higher mountain!"

"I'm full. I'm going out for a walk."

Without warning,

just as everyone was talking enthusiastically,

Mei Ye put down his bowl and chopsticks, leaving everyone stunned.

His expression did not change as he stood up and headed for the door.

Everyone looked at one another.

After a moment, someone said to the round-faced man:

"See? Wasn't that a waste of effort?"

"I just thought that, since we're teammates, I should give him a reminder. Who knew his temper would be so bad?"

The round-faced man gave a bitter smile, faint resentment showing in his expression.

"Geniuses are just like that. Don't take it to heart."

Another teammate said this, then sighed.

"I wonder what the Qilin Dragon Group will do to that kid."

"They probably... won't kill him, right? We're government officials, after all."

Everyone present felt heavyhearted. They exchanged looks, but no one could say a word.