Mice dominate the dungeon

When Big Ears arrived at the park square, there were already more than a dozen scout rats there.

The plaza is the largest activity space in the mouse park, next to which are the [Barracks] and [Training Camp].

The square is usually used to summon the rat soldiers or to celebrate harvests and victories.

Big Ears slipped into the queue, and unlike before, it quietly slipped to the back.

After taking his position, Big Ears glanced around out of the corner of his eye and found that the assembly was very complete, with almost all the scout rats present!

Besides the veterans who have been serving all along, why are there even new scout rats here?!

It seems the boss has really discovered he can talk, which is why he's gathered everyone here!

Now I'm really doomed... Big Ears' ears drooped down.

Just then, a light and steady footstep came from the direction of the base camp, gradually approaching along the road leading to the square.

The footsteps were getting closer!

At this moment, Big Ears' excellent hearing turned into a countdown of despair!

Not long after.

A long-haired golden hamster wearing a crown and with fluffy fur came to the front of all the scout hamsters.

With Tucci's arrival, the atmosphere became quiet and solemn!

Just when Big Ears couldn't withstand the pressure and was about to turn himself in!

Tucci spoke up.

"A temporary mission!"

"All scout rats, proceed as planned: 'Beetle' Village!"

"Mission objective: To observe the number of beetles, their behavior, and any unusual occurrences while minimizing the risk of detection."

The reason Tucci did not immediately send troops to invade the Beetles was that almost two months had passed since he last collected detailed intelligence on the Beetles.

As to whether these beetles have undergone significant changes or developments in the past two months, Tuchi is completely in the dark!

He preferred to proceed slowly and steadily, rather than make meaningless expenditures and waste the soldiers and holy water!

Big Ears, who was in the scout rat squad, heard that Twitch had come to assign tasks.

Those droopy ears immediately perked up.

That scared me! It was just a mission! I thought it was roasting a rat!

No wonder the boss called everyone here!

The last time we mobilized such a large number of scout rats was...

Last time, in order to hunt down the burrowing ants, all of their scout rats were mobilized, and they even built a hidden stronghold near the ant nest.

"Do you understand?!"

"squeak!"

The big-eared guy standing in the back row barked especially loudly.

Just as Big Ears was feeling relieved, it suddenly noticed that Boss Twitch tilted his head slightly, his gaze passing over the other soldier rats and landing on him.

"Big ears!"

"squeak!"

Startled, his large ears flushed instantly, and even his ears turned bright red.

Seeing that Big Ears looked unusually nervous, Twitch pulled out its corresponding panel.

The status bar shows emotional states such as "startled", "anxious", and "nervous".

Why does this little guy always seem nervous whenever he sees me...? Twitch looked at Big Ears with a puzzled expression.

At that moment, Big Ears met Twitch's gaze.

Under the gaze of those black, diamond-like eyes, Big Ears felt as if every hair on his body could be seen through!

You can't hide what you're good at, how fast you can run, or what you're feeling!

Tucci muttered to himself, not understanding Big Ears' feelings.

Never mind, finishing the exploration is the priority!!

Then, Tucci asked the big-eared man:

"Weren't you in charge of the main passage leading to the 'Beetle' before?"

"Squeak~" Big Ears responded softly.

"Then this time you'll be in charge of an extra scout rat, leading them to record the beetles' movements from multiple directions!"

After all the tasks were assigned, Tucci left the square.

After the boss left completely, Big Ears felt as if his bones had been removed, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

I'm finally alive...

This is even more tiring than if it were to inspect all the main passages itself!

--------

When the largest glowing mushroom in the park emitted a pale yellow light again.

Nearly 50 scout rats were divided into more than ten teams, left the park and entered the rat trails, heading towards the beetle tribe.

As the main person in charge of inspecting the 'Beetle' passage, Big Ear knows how to get to the destination in the shortest distance!

When Big Ears emerged from a hidden passage on the south side of their territory with five scout rats, they stepped onto the edge of the beetle tribe.

Following his usual reconnaissance habits, Big Ears would press his ears to the ground to detect any movement every so often.

Not long after.

Big Ears found a passage and then walked to the cave entrance at the end of the passage.

This passage was not dug by them, but rather by the beetles themselves.

This passage was wider than the others, but it wasn't solid overall; the soil on the walls was loose and crumbled at the slightest touch.

The large-eared creature, nestled in the shadows of the cave entrance, huddled into the smallest ball of its body, its tail curled up and tucked under its belly, revealing only its two ears and a pair of eyes.

It began to observe the beetles outside the burrow.

Look around.

Dozens of insects with ferocious mouthparts and copper-green shells on their backs swayed back and forth.

These insects were only slightly smaller than the soldier rats.

What's striking is that their bellies emit a faint red glow, like a breathing gem.

It's a fire beetle!

The earth within the beetle colony is riddled with holes, countless craters—the work of these insects.

At this moment, most of the fire beetles were holding a small, sticky ball made of some unknown material in their forelegs and were using their forelegs to carry it into the hole.

Big Ears lay on the ground, intently watching everything happening within the beetle tribe, occasionally sharing the information he discovered with the swarm of rats.

He lay there like that for two whole days.

Fortunately, the scout rats brought their own dry rations before setting off, enough to last them for three days.

The beetle, which had been living a peaceful life, began to exhibit unusual behavior on the third day!

A fire beetle returned to the tribe from another passage, pushing a sphere three times its own size in front of it.

And unlike before, this fire beetle did not push the collected balls back into the hole.

Instead, it braced itself on its six legs and began to shake its elytra frantically, causing the light on its abdomen to become exceptionally bright.

"Buzz buzz buzz~~"

A slightly noisy sound rang out within the beetle colony.

The nearby beetles paused, then gathered around the unusually beetle.

Only when the fire beetle was surrounded by rings of beetles did it stop its rapidly vibrating elytra.

Immediately, he pushed the small ball he had just collected to the center of the swarm.

It uses its six legs to hold down the sphere, then uses its mouthparts to pierce inside, causing the sphere to burst open as the mouthparts enter.

A shriveled, grayish-brown monster was exposed to the air.

This monster has hands and feet similar to a human's, but it has an ugly frog-like head!

If Twitch were here, he would definitely recognize that this monster is his neighbor with the beetle!

Mad Frogman!