If you were made a mascot, you would become a legend in the police force.

The air in the sewer was as thick and sticky as a pot of overcooked preserved egg and lean pork congee that had been sitting for three months.

Li Tuantuan felt that every step he took with his bear paws was a life-or-death struggle against the thick layer of mud. The slippery, cold sensation, seeping into his bones from the fleshy pads of his feet, made the hair on his body stand on end.

He is now filled with regret.

If he had known he would have to suffer like this for a stupid task from the system, he should have just rolled around in the director's office and refused to come out no matter what.

"This smell is too strong." Lin Wan's voice came from behind the gas mask, muffled and a little distorted. "Everyone watch your step, don't slip."

Li Tuantuan walked at the front. Although he couldn't wear a gas mask, he cleverly used his merit points to exchange for a [basic air filter membrane]. This thing was like stuffing two invisible cotton balls into his nostrils. Although he could still smell the stench, at least he wouldn't be knocked unconscious by the stench.

He glanced back at the SWAT team behind him. These fully armed men weren't having an easy time either, moving forward with uneven steps, the beams of their powerful flashlights flickering in the dark pipes, illuminating the walls covered in filth.

"Coal Ball, is it dead yet?" Li Tuantuan shouted in her mind.

"Brother, thanks to you, I almost got roasted like a crow from the smoke." Coal Ball's voice boomed in his head. "This road ahead is weird, it's like a maze."

Just then, a jet-black crow fluttered its wings and flew back from the depths of darkness, landing steadily on Li Tuantuan's broad forehead. It raised a claw in disgust, seemingly unwilling to touch Li Tuantuan's dusty hair.

"What's going on up ahead?" Li Tuantuan wondered to herself.

"Several intersections ahead are blocked." Coal Ball pointed ahead with its wing. "The manhole covers are all covered with some strange stuff, hard as cement, or some kind of secretion. We're like chickens being herded into a cage, only able to walk on the designated path."

Li Tuantuan's heart sank.

Being forced to leave? This means that what's below is not only alive, but also has a brain.

The SWAT team captain, Zhao Gang, was a seasoned veteran detective. He stared at the tactical tablet in his hand, his brow furrowed so deeply it could trap a fly: "Captain Lin, the compass is malfunctioning, and the electronic map doesn't match either. The magnetic field around here is a complete mess; we might be going in circles."

Lin Wan stopped and reached out to touch the wall beside her. The wall was covered with dense scratches, as if it had been chiseled out by countless small chisels.

"This doesn't look like any naturally formed mark," Lin Wan said, shaking the mud off her gloves. "It looks like it was made by rodents."

Li Tuantuan rolled her eyes. Did she even need to guess? What else could that smell but rat?

Just then, Li Tuantuan's nose twitched twice.

Beneath the nauseating stench, a faint but distinct scent wafted over to him, as clear as a searchlight in the darkness.

That's the smell of metal.

To be precise, it was the metallic odor emitted after the high-purity copper cable was bitten open, mixed with a sweet scent that made every cell in his body cheer with joy.

Spiritual energy!

Moreover, it's the kind of spiritual energy that's plentiful and filling!

Li Tuantuan's mouth watered instantly. It felt like someone who hadn't eaten for three days suddenly smelling the aroma of freshly cooked braised pork.

His previously lazy gaze instantly turned sharp.

Forget about mazes or anything like that; when it comes to foodies, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line!

Li Tuantuan suddenly changed direction and walked towards a dirty-looking concrete wall covered with moss on her left.

"Gun Gun, don't run around! That's a dead end!" Zhao Gang shouted hurriedly.

Li Tuantuan completely ignored him. He walked to the wall, straightened his upper body, stretched out a bear paw, and patted the wall.

The flavor is strongest here!

Without wasting words, he channeled the immense power within his body and concentrated it in his palm.

【Bear Overlord - Basic Attack】!

"Snapped!"

A muffled thud.

To everyone's astonishment, the seemingly solid concrete wall, like a crispy cookie, cracked open instantly, centered on Li Tuantuan's bear paw.

Immediately afterwards, with a loud "boom," the entire wall collapsed.

Smoke and dust rose everywhere.

"Cough, cough, cough!" Zhao Gang waved his hands to disperse the dust. "Is...is this wall made of paper?"

Lin Wan, however, saw through the trick: "It's not that the wall is brittle, it's that it was built later. The back is hollow!"

As the dust settled, the beams of powerful flashlights shone directly into the space behind the wall.

Everyone gasped in shock.

This is a huge underground cavity, and judging from its structure, it should be some kind of abandoned air-raid shelter or unfinished underground facility. But now, it has become a garbage dump.

Countless manhole covers, broken steel bars, cable sheaths chewed to pieces, and various scrap metal stolen from the city are piled up here into small mountains.

And in the gaps between these mountains of garbage, countless pairs of red eyes gleam.

Densely packed, thousands upon thousands.

When the flashlight beam swept across, it looked like a sea of ​​red stars.

"Squeak squeak squeak..."

A chilling scrambling sound rang out.

That was the sound of countless mice grinding their teeth.

These rats were ridiculously large, the smallest being the size of a house cat. Their fur was a sickly grayish-black, and their teeth gleamed with a metallic sheen under the light.

They didn't scream or scatter; instead, they stared intently at the group of people who had broken in.

That look in their eyes wasn't the fear of prey seeing its predator, but the excitement of diners seeing their food being served.

"Alert! All personnel on alert!" Zhao Gang roared and pulled back the bolt of his gun.

The special police officers quickly formed a circle, protecting Lin Wan and Li Tuantuan in the middle, with their guns pointed outwards.

But there were too many rats. They surged down the garbage mountain like a black tide, silent yet carrying a suffocating sense of oppression.

"How many are there? Ten thousand? Twenty thousand?" A junior SWAT officer's voice trembled.

"Stop counting, it's giving me trypophobia." Lin Wan drew her sidearm from her waist, even though she knew that this small pistol was no different from a fire poker in the face of this swarm of rats.

Looking at the overwhelming swarm of rats, Li Tuantuan had only two words in her mind: experience!

The system panel flashed wildly in front of his eyes:

[Triggered an encounter: a horde of mutated rats.]

[Mission Objective: Survive and clear the area.]

[Reward: 10 Merit Points for each common mutated gray rat killed.]

One at 10 o'clock?

Looking at the sea of ​​red before him, Li Tuantuan realized that these weren't rats at all; they were clearly merit points beckoning to him from all over the place!

A slightly larger rat was the first to attack, leaping down from a beam and aiming directly at a special police officer on the outermost perimeter.

"Bang!"

A shot rang out.

The bullet hit the rat, sending sparks flying! The rat was knocked over, but quickly got back up. Its stomach was pierced, but it seemed unharmed and not seriously injured.

"This thing has such thick skin?!" Zhao Gang exclaimed in surprise.

Before anyone could react, even more rats pounced on them.

Li Tuantuan moved.

He disdainfully pulled Lin Wan behind him, as if he were protecting his own rice bowl.

Then, the black and white fat body rushed to the front of the defensive line with an agility that defied the laws of physics.

Faced with a dozen or so rats rushing towards her, Li Tuantuan didn't use any fancy moves.

He simply raised his right arm and swung it horizontally as if sweeping up trash.

"call--"

That was the sound of a heavy object breaking through the air.

"Clap clap clap clap clap!"

A series of popping sounds rang out.

Those dozen or so rats, which had been so ferocious just moments before and could even withstand bullets, were as fragile as water-filled red balloons in the face of Li Tuantuan's slap.

They didn't even have time to scream before they were slapped and sent flying against the wall next to them.

"Smack."

A dozen or so red and black "rat cakes" appeared on the wall and slowly slid down.

Merit Points +10

Merit Points +10

[Merit Points +10]...

The pleasant system notification sounds echoed in Li Tuantuan's mind.

Li Tuantuan withdrew her claws and disgustedly rubbed the bloodstains from her palms on a relatively clean rock.

He glanced back at the dumbfounded SWAT officers, his eyes filled with contempt:

What are you looking at? Let's get them! You think you can kill me with exhaustion?