Chapter 14: Mouse is So Cool, Why Don’t You Get One?

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Upon hearing Yuan Zhu, who was hiding nearby, mutter "rat" under his breath, the middle-aged man suddenly turned to look at him and jokingly asked, "What, you don’t know what ‘rat’ means?"

The "rat" he referred to was clearly not the ordinary rodent. This seemingly casual question was actually a test.

The little sprite spoke simultaneously through their mental channel: "Laoda, this fat guy is deliberately probing you. He must have been influenced by that young man’s instigation and has started doubting you. That fellow is targeting you everywhere. I suggest we keep a record and find a chance to get back at him."

Yuan Zhu ignored the sprite’s relentless gossip.

He realized this little creature often babbled nonsense that coincidentally aligned with his own inclinations. If the host lacked self-control and didn’t restrain it, it would be like endlessly scrolling through short videos—addictive and ultimately distorting one’s perception.

In plain terms, it meant an overinflated ego with little self-awareness, prone to misjudgments and stubborn confidence. Much like a certain express delivery general manager named Kaishen, whose strength was his micro-management skills. He had ability, but no real operational skill.

Thus, Yuan Zhu resolved: "From today onward, no more spoiling the sprite!" He would only heed reasonable advice and avoid getting lost in the euphoric bombardment of flattery.

Faced with the middle-aged man’s question, Yuan Zhu racked his brains, coordinating with the sprite to search his memory database. Finally, the relevant knowledge surged forth vividly.

"Ah, you mean the ‘Rat King,’ right? How could I not know! Strictly speaking, the Rat King is one of the Twelve Fate Lords of the Zodiac, the head of the twelve zodiac animals. It is also the origin of the occult ‘Moon of Wisdom.’"

The middle-aged man smiled ambiguously after hearing Yuan Zhu’s answer and teased, "Looks like the aftereffects on your mental state aren’t too severe if you still remember such common knowledge. So, what’s your zodiac sign? Do you remember?"

Yuan Zhu sensed this was another subtle inquiry. The previous questions aimed to uncover details about the murder case; now they were testing him personally. They still suspected someone had tampered with him during the sacrificial ritual.

"My zodiac is the spider, born on the third day of the third month—the Month of Slumber."

More strange knowledge flowed forth. Yuan Zhu also learned that the planet Dulings has its own version of the twelve zodiac signs. The ancient version closely matched Earth’s zodiac but with some order rearrangements, circulating only within the Eastern Ancient Kingdom of the Geng Continent for a thousand years.

The new version of the twelve zodiac signs was compiled 150 years ago, initiated by the current Emperor of the Crimson Dragon Empire. He rallied influential nations and religious powers worldwide to collaborate on this.

The old version was merely cultural, with limited circulation and influence.

The new version, however, was different. It involved compromise among various powers, extracting twelve genuine gods from inside and outside Dulings—each representing a natural phenomenon—to serve as the zodiac signs.

Therefore, the new twelve zodiacs integrate multiple meanings such as ‘Year Gods’ and ‘Moon Phases,’ forming a genuine mystical foundation that goes beyond mere culture.

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This is a foundational ritual material freely accessible to all humans (intelligent species). Anyone interested can use their birth date in conjunction with the functions of the twelve Fate Lords to perform divination. Whether for fortune, career, or romance, it produces tangible effects, not mere superstition or fraud.

In this world, the head of the twelve zodiac signs is a deity called the Rat King. Yuan Zhu traced his life history and confirmed he had never seen a temple dedicated to this deity. In Runing City, there was no shrine or temple specifically worshiping the Rat King.

Yet, as a universally recognized ‘righteous god,’ the Rat King’s influence is everywhere. The most visible folk presence is the tradition across the New Federation of hanging rat charms at one’s doorstep to pray for blessings and a prosperous new year.

This is because the Rat King, as the zodiac head, also governs the first month of the year—the Moon of Wisdom.

Now it is June, the Month of Corpses. This sacrificial ritual made extensive use of the concept of the Month of Corpses to enhance its effect.

...

Rats, as pests that steal grain and spread disease, naturally evoke disgust. But if you classify rats more finely, many types emerge:

For example, the cute, tiny northern field mouse, with big eyes shrinking in a corner: “Auntie, I only ate two grains of rice.” Or the southern rat, larger than a cat, muscular and arrogant under the streetlamp, unafraid of humans or southern cockroaches, brazenly barging into restaurants: “Old Deng, fry me two dishes! Meat ones!”

Ordinary New Federation residents select aesthetically pleasing little rats or hamsters, kill them, skin and debone them, dry and stuff them with fragrant herbs, then sew them up. Their eyes are filled with cheap gems or glass to create vivid ‘sachet specimens’ that hang at doorways during New Year for good luck.

Usually, these dried rats are dressed in little clothes and hats, whipped into all sorts of shapes—like cartoon dolls with cuteness levels soaring. Some even use them as pendants on luxury handbags or belts to flaunt status.

This popular rat-hanging custom originated among wealthy families, large companies, and upscale roadside shops, which typically hung rats at their entrances.

The rich do it, so the poor follow, hoping to catch some of the fortune’s flow.

The common folk’s practice influenced indigenous peoples of the New Continent, who imitated the trend.

When most natives began hanging rats, Western immigrants on the East Coast and aliens from the magical universe also blindly followed... and thus the trend took off.

Nowadays, it’s common sense to kill the damned rats on the street while simultaneously hanging cute rat corpses at New Year.

No one opposes the rat corpse charms because rats are hated, nor does anyone pity the dead rats because people crave the charms.

The humans of Dulings have normal mental states but peculiar customs and common knowledge.

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The genuine large rats hung by the wealthy are truly involved in the occult, connecting supernaturally with the Fate Lord Rat King. Their purpose is not for blessing or sachets or child protection, but pure surveillance!

The authentic rat corpse specimens are expensive. They are a kind of ‘biological corpse monitor’ whose operating principle is unclear but involves divine and supernatural realms.

The rats’ bodies are insignificant and preserved mainly for appearance and completeness. Their true value lies in the rat heads, which are occultally modified to record images with their eyes (optional Plus infrared night vision or Max thermal sensing versions). These images are stored in the brain, accumulating up to a week’s worth of data, which can be accessed, played back, or erased by special means.

The larger the rat, the bigger its brain capacity and the more information it stores. Hence, wealthy households and upscale shops hang these rats as monitors and alarms.

Additionally, these rats, blessed by the Fate Lords and occultally enhanced, can serve as home video recorders, capturing happy moments. For example, on a child’s birthday, a father might hold a dead rat up to his son and film the celebration. A strange light flickers in the rat’s eyes as the family smiles happily.

Lastly, some professionals carry ‘pocket-sized sachet rats’ in their pockets. Their function is akin to biological USB drives, storing work information and confidential data in the brain, using the rat’s tail connector for biological data transfer.

Two intelligence agents sneak into the same shop’s restroom, each pulls out a small rat, inserts their tails into the other’s rat head connector on the back of the skull, and exchange information thoroughly before leaving without a trace.

Commoners cannot access such high-end occult products, so they imitate the external appearance and produce rat figurine sachets or genuine leather rat pencil cases with zipper bellies.

When Yuan Zhu was in elementary school, the coolest kid in class would always pull a large dead rat from his backpack, unzip its belly from chin to groin, and nonchalantly take out pencils, rulers, and erasers. Yuan Zhu envied him greatly and vowed to buy an even bigger one someday. A marten one!

Unfortunately, to this day, he has never wasted money on a rat pencil case, nor has his younger brother been so lucky.

The sprite finished browsing the memories and scolded, "Ah, Brother Yuan Zhu, you’re too stingy. Not only do you compete fiercely at work, but you also won’t spend your salary enjoying life. You won’t even buy the coolest, most fashionable rat pencil case. So lame! Laoda, you have to buy me one. I want the pink one!"

If rats are so cool, why not buy one?