The Red Kestrel darted through the heavy snow.
Once it reached the hilly area where Mao Valley Town was located, Zhou Yi saw the Hunter had switched to its spheroid form and was diving towards a steep cone-shaped hill behind Mao Valley Town.
The drone followed closely.
That hill resembled a giant stone stalagmite that had been hollowed out, with a vent at the top through which Lie Hai illuminated the interior, revealing everything below in plain sight.
Inside the vent, there were over a dozen clawed pigs still wildly swinging their talons and furiously digging at something. As soon as the Hunter arrived, they immediately scattered in every direction, desperately fleeing for their lives. Official source ıs ⓝovelFire.net
Lie Hai, facing the Red Kestrel, its spherical body displaying dual-tubular red glowing eyes, said, "Chairman, I knew it was these wild flavors causing trouble, I sensed their presence from afar."
"I don't know if there is something wrong with their brains, they dig here tirelessly, and some have already burrowed deep underground."
Zhou Yi noticed that the mouth of the vent was full of exposed burrows and pits.
A square frame appeared on the screen at this moment, scanning the surroundings.
The Red Kestrel then concluded, "This is a dead volcano, with the volcanic cone severely eroded, showing irregular traces of lava flows and volcanic ash. In the past, when I was in the rescue team, I saw many dead volcanoes."
"From its external conditions, it won't erupt again any time soon, but over a longer period, there's still a certain geological risk."
Zhou Yi called Gong Zheng to ask if he knew anything about this mountain.
Gong Zheng studied the vent displayed on the screen carefully before speaking, "This is the 'Grey Mountain' behind Mao Valley Town, it produces volcanic soil ash."
"It's said that when people in the town first started cultivating mushrooms, they would go to Grey Mountain for some volcanic ash, scattering it in the mushroom caves to make the mushrooms grow better and in greater abundance."
"But Grey Mountain is high and steep, and at night the path is difficult to traverse. A slight misstep could be fatal. Even if you safely make a round trip, it would be dawn, making it very dangerous. Plus, with clawed pigs lurking around, no one goes there anymore."
"I don't know if it's a volcano, but in the winters of Mao Valley Town, indeed you can hear noises from underground or within the mountain, as if something is bumping into the mountain or knocking on rocks. It's just not time, where the scale is especially large, and it lasts for an extended period."
His words further confirmed Red Kestrel's assessment.
Volcanic ash is a natural fertilizer that can improve soil and increase fertility, aiding in plant growth and development.
Now, it was necessary to figure out what exactly the Claw Pig Group was digging on the dead volcano.
Zhou Yi called Ye Zhao.
This local clawed pig blurted out, "Master, they're looking for something to eat."
"Winter has come, Death Light is insufficient, so they need to find food reserves. There's not enough to eat in the north, so they have to hunt on this side. That mountain hides sand rats, which often burrow inside it to hibernate, I've also hunted sand rats there before."
Zhou Yi was surprised.
Despite a fruitless search, it turned out the sand rats were hiding in the hill behind Mao Valley Town.
He had neglected to consult Ye Zhao for information; sand rats were already part of the clawed pigs' diet, so it made sense that this local was familiar with the creatures.
However, Ye Zhao was not surprised to hear about the Underground Sand Rat Kingdom.
It said, "Master, in this place, sand rats are the most ancient species. They've been living here long before the clawed pigs migrated, and it's normal for them to dig burrows everywhere."
"These creatures are actually very cunning. During winter, they hide in the caves on the mountain, and to catch them, we have to dig. They, in turn, hide deeper inside. Eventually, the holes we exhaust ourselves to dig with our talons then become their new foundations, and they dig further inward. These creatures are exploiting us to dig into the mountain."
Zhou Yi frowned, "Digging into the mountain for what?"
"I don't know either, probably for hibernating."
Ye Zhao glanced at the dead volcano on the screen, "This mountain is the largest among those hills, the deeper you go, the warmer it gets. They probably want us to dig a big hole for them so they won't freeze to death. The stones there are very hard; even we have a hard time excavating them, and our talons often get dulled."
It raised its right front leg, showcasing the curved talon with a notch, "See, this leftmost claw here broke off while digging."
"But it can't be helped, in winter when we are hungry for food, although we are digging holes, we can also catch some sand rats. Speaking of which, those sand rats are basically very old and were intentionally thrown out to die."
"In this way, we have something to eat, they can reduce their own consumption, and since those sand rats were already not going to live long, both sides can accept it."
As to why this year, in particular, the clawed pigs' digging operation was especially massive, and they were relentlessly pursuing the sand rats, Ye Zhao was not clear.
It said it would go find out more.
About an hour later, Ye Zhao returned, panting and steaming with heat.
"Master, master, I found out!"
Zhou Yi corrected, "Call me Chairman; you are also an employee of the company."
Ye Zhao corrected himself, "Chairman, I found a clawed pig I know, and from it, I learned that a major event happened this winter."
"For the first time in history, the sand rats launched an attack on the Claw Pig Clan."
Zhou Yi listened with a face full of question marks.
Sand rats fighting clawed pigs?
Ordinary small animals taking the initiative to attack an E-grade Guangna Species?
How could they fight?
"Here's what happened."
Ye Zhao took a moment to catch his breath. "About a month ago, a strange incident occurred in the territory occupied by the northern clawed pigs. A tribe of them started experiencing severe vomiting, convulsions, and comas, and nobody knew why."
"Their leader found that all the adults who had licked the piglets were showing these physiological abnormalities. The clawed piglets slept in burrows lined with dry hay for long periods, and the adults would check on them by licking their bodies to ascertain their condition. The fur on these piglets contained a toxin that poisoned the adult clawed pigs."
"After investigation, it was found that this toxin had been secretly applied by the sand rats. They would approach the sleeping piglets by burrowing underground when the adults were away, and then smear poison on their fur using decayed leaves and soil, disguising the scent and making it difficult to detect."
"It was the toxin from the giant mushrooms, collected by the sand rats from the Mushroom Forest."
"This large-scale poisoning dealt a serious blow to that tribe. They struggled to hunt, their territory shrank, and two of them died from severe poisoning."
"Then, this tribe started a mad retaliation against the sand rats, not just in the north but also at the Oasis Side, outside the Mushroom Forest, and in Mao Valley Town—they were hunting sand rats everywhere. The sand rats were very clever, though, each of them hiding away. So, the tribe continuously attacked Hidden Mouse Mountain, intending to kill the Mouse King of this group of sand rats."
Zhou Yi thought to himself, so that's what happened.
He had a question, "You said, the sand rats only poisoned this particular tribe?"
"Why them specifically?"
"This tribe itself was quite cruel. They would twist off the sand rats' heads and pile them up. The sand rats would attempt to rescue these bodies. Those heads and bodies became their bait; many sand rats were killed ... They did it first. The retaliation and counterattack from the sand rats came afterward."
Ye Zhao's small eyes contained a mix of complex emotions, "Actually, there's no need for this, everyone is just trying to fill their stomachs."
Zhou Yi immediately thought.
The sand rats' collective move from the Underground City was to avoid the retribution from the Claw Pig Tribe.
At that moment, suddenly, a light flashed on the remote control screen.
A series of explosions occurred at the mouth of the dead volcano.
Plumes of smoke jetted out from inside, like gaseous fountains.
The glare dissipated, and the dust gradually settled.
The camera regained clarity.
Across the ground inside laid numerous mutilated carcasses of clawed pigs, most charred and lifeless.
The Red Kestrel's frame blinked and captured, "Number of clawed pig deaths over 28, a large amount of sulfur and dust discovered at the scene, probably ignited dust caused the explosion."
"There are several detonation pits at the scene, this isn't an accidental incident but an engineered explosive environment, specifically waiting for the Claw Pig Group to dig into the underground before detonation. This area itself has a significant presence of sulfur; a pit-like, closed underground environment suffices for creating a violent explosion."
"A comprehensive deduction would be that this trap was created by the Sand Rat Group."
Ye Zhao was stunned, "So many dead... This tribe is basically non-existent now, the remaining members will either migrate or be absorbed by other tribes. The sand rats, capable of destroying a tribe... this is truly unheard of."
On the other end of the screen, Lie Hai's eyes suddenly blazed with light, "Found you!"
It shifted into its combat trapezoidal prism form, releasing a strong light that cut open a deep fissure inside the dead volcano.
When it emerged, its sharp claws were clutching a small white mouse.
Sand rats scurried out of the underground fissure and holes, frantic on the ground, but unable to save their leader.
Through the lens of the Red Kestrel, Zhou Yi saw that the little white mouse was composed of slender white plastic, with red, black, and yellow wires in the chest cavity, and its limbs and simple mechanical inner workings clearly visible.
Another electromechanical lifeform.
It was the commander who led the sand rats in their attack on the Claw Pig Clan.
The birth of the Sand Rat Underground Kingdom was probably also related to it.