Reincarnated as a bamboo rat, it begins its extreme survival struggle.

"Huh? You're right."

As Amat walked away, Bell muttered this to Edu.

A vampire and a demon scholar—this combination of professions that doesn't look like good people at first glance—when it appeared in the city guard, only one thought came to Bell's mind.

This guy has connections, and he's most likely a vampire like him.

The city guard is not a loosely structured organization like adventurers. Azure Star City is not just a city, but an area of ​​hundreds of kilometers around Azure Star City, with the city proper as the main body.

The tasks of the city guards are not simply city management, but include a series of issues such as monster extermination, the neutralization of dangerous areas, and the production of weapons. Some special city guards also have expeditionary missions, and there are also city guards stationed in other cities to assist in diplomacy.

The talent assessment in this department is quite strict. For an adventurer to be selected by the city guard, they not only need to be highly skilled, but also have a clean background. They must pass the city guard's rigorous screening process.

"It feels like this guy was parachuted into the city guard. Someone in the city guard is vouching for him, so that when he becomes famous, his hidden profession won't be investigated."

Following this line of thought, Bell asked Edu all sorts of questions related to the history and development of Azure Star City.

As the person being questioned, Edu obviously couldn't answer all of Bell's questions, but his answers from an ordinary person's perspective were enough to help Bell deduce a lot of things.

The more he calculated, the more alarmed Bell became.

Cangxing City has only been around for a little over three hundred years, and it is a newly emerging city that rose from a harmless and dangerous place.

The city is rife with various powerful factions, but only three have the power to make decisions regarding its development:

Church, Supreme Court, Mayor's Council

Needless to say, the church has veto power in any large human settlement.

The Supreme Court is responsible for setting city rules and adjudicating various disputes within the city, and is key to maintaining urban order.

The mayor's council determines the direction of the city's development, and the mayor handles various city affairs by coordinating councilors from different departments.

"That's where the problem lies. The mayor, who should have the highest level of intervention in urban development, is actually the most mysterious of the three decision-making forces."

Rumors about the mayor circulated throughout Cangxing City, such as that the grand theater was built with his approval, the city roads were planned by him, and the agricultural security strategy was implemented by him...

But if you ask in detail, what kind of person is this mayor who has done so much?

Edu didn't know, and neither did the aunties and grandmas in the market.

Many people have only heard that there is a mayor in Cangxing City who has done many impressive things, but they are not very clear about the mayor's specific name or appearance.

"To be able to deliberately hide himself under these circumstances, so that ordinary people in the city know that he exists but can never get any specific information about him, that's quite a clever tactic."

Logically speaking, the city

A leader's position should be watched by countless people, and any achievements should be exaggerated to enhance personal prestige.

Even though there's no such thing as a term of office in Cangxing City, Bell believes that a position like mayor, which wields great power and has the authority to mobilize a large amount of resources, must be under the watchful eyes of many.

Given humanity's desire for power and profit, if this mayor were easy to deal with, he would have been taken down long ago.

"I haven't heard any news about a change of mayor. It's possible that the mayor was secretly replaced without outsiders knowing, but it's more likely that the mayor of Cangxing City has never changed since the city was built."

Previously, Bell wouldn't have thought of it this way.

But after seeing the perfect combination of vampire and human today, Bell is a bit overwhelmed. There's a high probability that Amat is not the only vampire in Azure Star City.

If this city has existed for over three hundred years under the control of vampires, Bell can hardly imagine how vast their power truly is.

Perched on Edu's shoulder, Bell glanced at the guy who had been so happy walking to school, but now his big face was all sour again.

In just a few days, Bell encountered demi-humans and vampires. This world is unlike Earth; here, the difference in individual strength is enormous, and multiple intelligent races exist. With all these things combined, the situation Bell faces will be far more complex.

"Let's take it one step at a time. At least Cangxing City is still peaceful, and there hasn't been any large-scale chaos."

Bringing his wandering thoughts back to his study mode, Bell decided to read all the books in the music academy's library this morning. Although he couldn't say he had completely mastered them, he could at least have them etched into his mind.

While reading, Bell needed to adjust his state of mind. Tonight, he planned to set off again for the Bamboo Sea to see how the tug-of-war between the adventurers on the front lines and the [White Bone City] was progressing.

Meanwhile, on the other side, which Bell couldn't see, Amat, who had resolved the dispute at the market that day, finally returned home.

Since a large influx of people from other places started arriving, he's been exhausted every day. He even worked the night shift yesterday, and now he's completely sleepy.

"At this moment, if I could have a mouthful of high-quality fresh blood, I would be full of energy."

Amat threw all his gear on the ground, lay down on the bed, and muttered something to himself. He wasn't talking to himself, but to the person in his room.

Amat, who always lived alone, felt a familiar presence the moment he stepped into his home; an acquaintance had come to visit him today.

Sure enough, after a soft sigh, the shadows in the room shifted, and a figure emerged from them.

"High-quality blood is a strategic resource; we can't just let you drink it for fun."

The newcomer was shrouded in shadow, making it impossible to see his exact appearance, but judging from the docile shadows following him, his strength should not be underestimated.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Amat showed no defensiveness whatsoever, instead flashing a wide smile and saying to him:

"When you hide in the shadows of the room, are you thinking of suddenly jumping out and giving me a big fright, just like when we were kids?"

"But you don't fall for that anymore, do you? When you were little, you would be so scared that you would cry."

Upon hearing the answer, Amat burst into laughter, completely oblivious to the embarrassment of his past embarrassing incident.

The visitor was his own brother, who was 117 years older than him.

Typing mode activated!

Chapter 117 The Vampire's Scheme

"Dad sent you, didn't he? Otherwise, with your habit of rarely leaving the house, you might not even know if I got beaten to death outside."

Amat jokingly shook his head, clearly enjoying himself, while teasing his much older brother.

Although he is a vampire, he is indeed only seventeen years old, and his mature actions do not contradict his childlike mentality.

After his mood improved, he no longer felt tired. In fact, vampires have very strong constitutions; they can work for seven or eight days straight without necessarily getting tired. Most of the time, the fatigue came from Amat's mindset.

"Why would a mage like me go out for no reason? Unlike you, I'm not a perfect blend of human characteristics, so my physical condition is basically unaffected by the sun. Besides, just to defeat you, I would need at least a team of well-coordinated and well-equipped high-level adventurers, let alone kill you."

Amat's brother handed over a letter, which was the main purpose of his trip.

Amat opened the letter, infused it with magic, and illuminated the strange runes engraved on it.

This is the script used by demons in ancient times. Few people know how to use it now, so it is extremely safe to hide information in it.

"Waaah... Father is going to send the city guards into the City of Bones right now, instead of letting those church people leave for a few days and clear out a few more pits first?"

With a flick of his fingers, the letter in his hand turned to ashes. Amat didn't quite understand the orders in the letter.

“The church people aren’t stupid. They’ve already negotiated with Father. The mobilization of the city guards is inevitable. Cangxing City is not the Cangxing City of two hundred years ago. This is no longer Father’s one-man show.”

"Damn it, those outsiders and churches, aren't they just people we deliberately brought here to test the waters?"

The order from his father was that the main force of the city guards would be transferred to [White Bone City], and he would be assigned to several elite squads as commanders.

These squads will venture deep into the [City of Bones], and his mission is to lead them in searching for the most prized treasure within the [City of the Dead]—the [Fountain of Youth].

My father was one of the first powerful individuals to explore the City of Bones three hundred years ago, before the Bamboo Sea appeared. He not only knew of the existence of the Fountain of Youth, but was also one of the first humans to drink from it.

This thing is very important to Dad, but Amat thinks it's too dangerous to get involved now.

He wanted the adventurers and church members to go and test the waters first, and then he would follow the city guards to enter the fray once the situation stabilized.

After all, it was a foregone conclusion that he would become the commander of the city guards; it was only a matter of time.

Entering now would increase the casualties of the city guards, and Amat didn't want to damage his power.

Moreover, as a vampire, Amat is still very young, with at least a thousand years of life left to squander, so he doesn't have a strong craving for the Fountain of Youth.

"We're going to have to run into those dangerous places again. It's exhausting. Speaking of which, this map that Dad carved back then is still usable after three hundred years..."

Amat muttered something, while his older brother, having delivered the letter, was already preparing to leave.

Amat knew that his father had initially rated the City of Bones as a highly dangerous place; back then, the outer perimeter of the City of Bones was...

The bone cemetery produces a massive amount of living remains every night.

After the deadly energy of the bamboo forest, a man-made perilous place, was diluted and transformed over three hundred years, the City of Bones fell to a medium-danger zone. Although the remains inside did not weaken much, the environment was at least not as dangerous as it was three hundred years ago.

"Never mind, I'm going to sleep."

He wrapped the blanket around himself. It was still early before the city guards sent their orders, so he could sleep comfortably for a while. But once he entered the bamboo forest with the city guards, he wouldn't have much of a chance to sleep.

He slept very comfortably, but fifty meters directly below, undetectable to Amat, Bell was also lying in his minecart, swaying and heading towards the bamboo forest.

The city of bones is now being watched by various forces, but compared to these slow-moving behemoths, Bell's mobility can easily overwhelm them.

Without needing to carry extra supplies, Bell arrived at the outer edge of the bamboo forest with his newly forged iron sword, a fully repaired iron pickaxe, a bucket of water, and a bucket of milk.

This time, Bell didn't plan to search for the Bone Spire in the bamboo forest, but rather to check on the situation of the human adventurers around him.

Bell had heard news of the adventurers' heavy losses at the market, but he never expected that the adventurers would be driven back by the undead to this extent when he arrived in person.

On the outskirts of the bamboo forest, as Bell traversed the woods, he could see many human adventurers. They were gathered together and had set up camp. Many of them were injured, and it seemed that they had been evacuated from the inner part of the bamboo forest.

Previously, these adventurers had camped inside the bamboo forest. After all, apart from the Fire-Chewing Hyenas, other magical beasts in the bamboo forest did not pose much of a threat to adventurers of intermediate or higher level, and the Fire-Chewing Hyenas dared not easily provoke groups of adventurers.

But now, the vast majority of adventurers have withdrawn, and the reason is self-evident.

As soon as I entered the inner part of the bamboo forest, the green bamboo I remembered disappeared. All that remained were bamboo poles that looked like they had been burned. As far as the eye could see, there were bare, pale bamboo poles and grayish-white earth exposing the withered bones.

The bone spires that Bell had seen before could at most wither the bamboo within a radius of a hundred meters, but the current situation was definitely beyond the capabilities of bone spires.

"Those are human corpses? They've turned into zombies?!"