Mice dominate the dungeon

Inside the mouse enclosure.

The triumphant rats, relieved of the pressure of their expedition, nestled in twos and threes on the plush blankets. Some were still chattering about their adventure, while others had already begun to doze off.

After the initial excitement wore off, the support mice that stayed behind in the park finished their tasks and went back to their nests to rest.

As the male burrowing ants nestled in the shallow pits under the grass curtains, and as Korgan laid down his cleaned battle blades, the mouse enclosure gradually quieted down.

Warehouse manager Iron Claw put down the jade-green ore he was holding, checked the quantity of supplies on the wooden board one last time, and then used his tail to curl up the ore and place it on the table.

Iron Claw then slowly strolled to the warehouse entrance, glanced back at the neatly stacked eggs and ore, and wore a satisfied expression.

Iron Claw closed and locked the warehouse door, then walked towards its own little den.

As Ironclaw passed by the logistics rats' hut, he saw a fuzzy mess of rats huddled together, all crooked and sprawled out.

Iron Claw's serious expression softened as he pulled at the blanket and rags that had been kicked to his feet and covered the mouse with them.

The glowing light from the fluorescent stones and luminous mushrooms gently enveloped the entire mouse enclosure, illuminating the tired yet excited faces of the mice.

An invisible magic force swept through the park like a gentle breeze, resonating with the light.

One light, one dark; one contraction, one expansion, all in sync with the mouse's breathing.

The sleeping mice's whiskers trembled slightly, their mouths opening and closing as if they had entered a dream filled with murmurs...

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The underground city is deprived of the sun's warmth.

But the mice in the park have their own set of "dawn" standards.

When the largest glowing mushroom in front of the base camp began to emit a soft, pale yellow light, and when the fluorite embedded in the dome sharpened its glow...

The mouse's morning has begun...

Scout Big Ears is one of the first mice to wake up today.

Big Ears slowly awoke from the scout's private cabin.

Big Ears has been sleeping very comfortably these past two days, having sweet dreams every night. In his dreams, he encounters many monsters and humans, and happily explores the dungeon with them!

The large ears slowly emerged from the small nest covered with hay, wood shavings, and rags. The ears stood up first to make sure that the other hamsters were not disturbed before peeking out its little face.

Big Ears yawned, revealing two front teeth and a pink little tongue. He then rubbed his eyes with his front paws and rubbed his nose.

As it gradually regained consciousness, it looked around and saw other mice curled up in their nests, dreaming sweet dreams.

In the past, the scout mice would have been up long ago, but a few days ago, Boss Tucci specifically ordered that the mice in the park be allowed to sleep a little longer.

It's probably because they just returned from a long expedition, and the boss wants them to rest and relax more.

Brilliant boss!

Although the eldest gave them leisurely rest time, Big Ears had already developed a fixed routine.

After resting for two days, it's ready to find some easy work to do today...

Today it plans to check the rat trails it's responsible for and also visit the 'mining area'.

Other scouts said that many adventurers have recently gathered in the mining area, which means that new ore has likely been discovered.

Let's see if we can find a safe route, and then dig a mouse tunnel that leads directly to the deep core of the mine, and then mine with the other mice!

Because it had previously seen that the boss seemed to really like shiny minerals!

With that thought in mind, Big Ears quickened its pace, passed through a naturally formed narrow crack, and left the mouse enclosure.

Rat trails are important passageways for transportation and various activities in the park, and rats are usually sent to inspect them regularly.

If any problems are discovered, they must be reported to the park immediately!

After patrolling the rat trail he was in charge of and finding nothing unusual, Big Ears began heading towards the mining area.

Compared to the rat trails, the naturally formed passages in the mining area are much darker, since this area is quite far from the main light source.

Only a few malnourished glowing mushrooms emitted a faint white light.

But this is exactly the environment that Big Ears likes best; darkness is the best camouflage for it, and it can rely on its sensitive ears to detect things.

After walking through the mine passage for a while, Big Ears suddenly lay down and pressed his two big ears to the ground to listen carefully.

There was a clanging sound of mining coming from the left front, roughly on the other side of the passage wall, not far away.

The large ear stood up its left ear and pressed its right ear into the soil, like a precise positioning device.

The sound was heavy and accompanied by a metallic knocking sound.

Most likely a human adventurer!

The mining pace is steady, and the breathing sounds are relatively heavy.

This human is probably mining alone, and is either fat or middle-aged!

After a quick assessment, Big Ears continued crawling towards the direction of the sound, its movements as light as a feather drifting across the ground.

Finally, we arrived at the end of the passage, where there was a newly dug hole in the wall.

Big Ear cautiously poked its head out.

Just as it had predicted, a middle-aged man wearing a tattered vest was seen struggling to chisel through the mine wall with a pickaxe.

The middle-aged man turned to the side, his gaze fixed on the ore, which gave the big-eared man more room to observe him.

After observing for a while, the big-eared man's gaze fell on the middle-aged man's eyes.

From the very beginning, it felt a sense of familiarity with the middle-aged man in front of it.

After a brief recollection, Big Ears' eyes widened immediately.

It remembered!

We've been busy hunting burrowing ants lately, so it hasn't had much contact with humans. The only thing it feels familiar with is...

The middle-aged adventurer who had previously spied on the mining team from outside the mine walls!

Now that I've run into you here, I'm going to get my revenge for that scare!

Thinking of this, Big Ears scratched the tip of his ear and began to make a plan.

I'll go around to the next one first... then dig a small hole... and when you break through the mine wall... I'll jump out and poke you in... and then...

"You'll scare me to death!"

Big Ears became more and more excited as it thought about it, and suddenly a crisp and excited short sentence popped out of its mouth!

In a short time.

The echo of "I'll scare you to death!" reverberated through the empty mine!

"Who?!" George, who had been quietly mining, jumped in surprise, immediately grabbed his pickaxe, and looked around warily, saying, "Who's talking?!"

"Are you asking me?!" Big Ears, hiding in the mine, was stunned.

The mine was a maze of tunnels, and the sound scattered in all directions as soon as it was emitted, making it impossible for George to pinpoint its source.

"It's you!" Alone, George was starting to panic, swallowing hard as he asked, "Who are you?!"

"I have big ears..."

Realizing that it seemed like the sound was coming from its own mouth, the big ear quickly covered its mouth to stop itself from speaking further.

"Daldo?! Who's Daldo? I don't know you!" George was slightly taken aback. "Why are you scaring me?!"

The big-eared creature behind the mine wall panicked completely. It dared not linger in the same spot any longer and covered its mouth as it scrambled away from the mining area.

The sound of Big Ears running echoed through the mine tunnels, turning into a strange and jarring noise.

This terrified George so much that his hair stood on end. He dared not ask any more questions and fled out of the cave with his wooden basket on his back.

The man and the rat simply vanished...