"Brother Zhu, Brother Xia, why isn't my brother back yet? His phone is off too," Xiaoyu-di asked Zhu Da and Xia Huren as she came downstairs.

Zhu Da, just back from outside, collapsed onto the sofa. "Forget about him, he's probably sneaking off to meet some girl again. I was exhausted from buying that car today. Are we done with dinner, or should we just eat out? At worst, Commander Zhao can reimburse us."

Zhang Ersha giggled vacantly from the side, "Hehe, going to big jail, hehe, going to big jail..."

Li Tieniu walked in from outside. "Who's going to big jail?"

Zhu Da said, "Ersha-ge is talking nonsense. Come on, Village Chief, Brother Hu, let's go eat."

Taozi jumped down from the room onto Xiaoyu-di, sending a mental message: "I've felt uneasy all day. Has something happened?"

Xiaoyu-di replied, "Yes, me too. But I can't reach my brother, his phone is off. It’s making me anxious. Hurry up and figure out a way to find him."

Taozi responded, "He usually doesn't let me have the rat soldiers follow him. The Capital is so huge, where would I even start looking right now?"

Zhu Da's phone suddenly rang. "Oh, Miss Hua, for you to call me during your busy schedule is truly humbling for this little brother. What! Zhao Qian was arrested! Are you joking? What exactly happened? ... Damn it, you don't need to say any more, I know what to do!"

Xia Huren and Li Tieniu, who had been heading for the door, turned back. Xiaoyu-di and Taozi also leaped down from the second floor and landed swiftly in front of Zhu Da. Everyone's tone was extremely urgent: "What happened to Zhao Qian?"

Zhu Da slammed the phone down. "Damn his entire eighteenth generation ancestor! Some bastard framed Commander Zhao for leaking state secrets! The National Security Bureau people arrested him this morning."

"Tiger, Village Chief, grab your gear! We’re breaking him out of jail!"

Li Tieniu looked around, then darted into the kitchen and pulled out two cleavers, handing one to Zhu Da. "These are the sharpest things we have at home."

Zhu Da brandished the cleaver. "Everyone, let’s go! I know Commander Zhao better than anyone. Besides having a bit of a wandering eye, he would never do anything to betray the country. Even though I only have a cleaver, it can cleave through all injustice under heaven!"

"National Security Bureau? Taozi, immediately gather all your forces! We are going to rescue Brother! I absolutely will not allow anyone to harm him! Even if it means confronting an entire nation!" Xiaoyu-di said, word by word, sending a chill down Zhu Da's spine.

Taozi leaped off Xiaoyu-di’s shoulder and shot out to stand in the center of the courtyard, letting out a long cry to the sky. Within seconds, giant rats and giant snakes, seemingly emerging from nowhere, crowded the yard. It was a good thing the place was large enough, or the courtyard walls would have surely burst. Most of the giant snakes remained on the street outside.

Taozi had spent time training the snakes and rats to understand its basic bio-electric signals. "Little ones, my boss, your supreme commander, has been captured! As they say, raise troops for a thousand days for one day of use! Gather all your manpower; we march on the National Security Bureau! (Read novels on mobile site wap.16k.cn)"

Except for Xiaoyu-di and the Village Chief, everyone inside the house was stunned—what kind of spectacle was this! Xiaoyu-di ignored Zhu Da and Xia Huren’s astonishment and addressed the group: "Who knows the way to the National Security Bureau? Let’s leave immediately."

Zhu Da waved his cleaver. "I know! Everyone, move! Damn it, today we’ll let those sons of bitches know how tough we are!"

Xia Huren ran back inside to grab a satchel. Zhu Da asked, "What’s that?"

Xia Huren pulled out a steel spike about the length of an index finger. "If I don't have a gun, I’ll use this as a weapon."

When the group reached the street, the rat soldiers had swelled to an unprecedented size. Although the formation was somewhat disorderly, they generally had their own platoons, each commanded by a Giant Rat Soldier.

Xiaoyu-di instructed Taozi, "Assign five intelligence squads to scout ahead, two intelligence squads for flanking support on both sides, and three intelligence squads to cover the rear. I’ve already notified Xiaohui to mobilize all ten thousand mechanical soldiers. Let’s go!"

Taozi quickly relayed the order. The ten intelligence squads, leading their subordinate rat troops, vanished. Next, the grand army, escorting the five people and one cat, advanced toward the National Security Bureau.

It was just past eight in the evening. Because the weather had turned quite cold, not many people in the villa district witnessed this spectacular scene. But when the army turned onto the main road, the situation became sensational.

The outermost layer consisted of a dense mass of common house rats—thousands of them, organized into platoons each led by a Giant Rat Soldier Captain, with new forces constantly streaming in from surrounding dumpsters, residential buildings, and sewers. The second ring was composed of mutated giant rats the size of dogs mixed with mutated giant snakes as thick as oxen. They constantly snarled, flicking their forked tongues, directing the newly joining common house rats and a small number of wild snakes into formation. The third ring comprised a small number of high-grade giant snakes and giant rat guards, protecting the core group of five people and one cat. Taozi was riding on a giant snake marked "King," directing the pace of the entire brigade.

Zhu Da had never seen such a grand scene; he babbled excitedly, eventually devolving into mimicking Zhang Ersha’s silly giggling.

Pedestrians and vehicles on the road scattered in terror, fleeing this spectacle. A few drivers, completely bewildered, slammed head-on into the advancing army. Their wheels ran over the bodies of house rats before they even reached the second ring, only to have their cars smashed away by the head of a giant snake.

Some quick-witted individuals immediately pulled out their phones to call news tips into the television stations, while more people simply ran home to lock their doors and windows. Other cars that tried to turn around collided with oncoming traffic, leaving behind a trail of wreckage where the army had passed.

The traffic police detachment in the East District of Capital City had been setting up checkpoints at intersections for three consecutive nights to meet economic quotas assigned by higher-ups, primarily catching unlicensed, drunk, or otherwise violating vehicles. Captain Kong Sheng was leading the patrol tonight.

At this moment, over a dozen traffic police officers had blocked all incoming and outgoing vehicles at four intersections, quickly leading to congestion. Kong Sheng sat in a police car, watching his staff register the violating vehicles.

"You, illegal use of lights, fine XX. You didn't bring your helmet, fine XX. You haven't paid compulsory insurance, fine XXX. You haven't paid vehicle and vessel tax, fine XXX. You haven't paid..."

"Captain, something huge is happening!" an officer ran over and shouted, leaning into the car window.

Kong Sheng angrily snapped, "What are you yelling about? Have some police presence! Has the sky fallen? Has the earth split open?"

The officer gasped for breath. "Neither, sir. The rats have started their counter-attack against humanity! I told my wife before that animals have consciousness, never provoke them, or they will inevitably strike back against humans, but that stubborn woman never believed me..."

Kong Sheng slammed the car door open and kicked the traffic officer. CRASH! A massive sound echoed behind him. Kong Sheng turned back to see that the police car he had just been sitting in had been crushed into scrap by a Mercedes falling from the sky!

The traffic officers who had been blocking cars in the acceleration and driving lanes had vanished. Under the streetlights, a massive, dark mass of rats openly occupied the road. A group of creatures resembling 'wolves' and legless water buffalos were escorting a few people as they moved swiftly down the road. Whenever they encountered an obstructing vehicle, one of the long 'water buffalos' would step forward and sweep it aside with its tail.

To be honest, Kong Sheng had only become a captain through his father’s connections. He hated hardship and never participated in training at the police academy, failing to even get a graduation certificate in the end. Calling him powerless wouldn't be an overstatement. Seeing this terrifying scene, he took off running. Later, seeing the ground covered more and more in rats, he panicked and scrambled up a lamppost, climbing several meters high to take refuge.

The procession happened to pass directly under Kong Sheng’s lamppost. Illuminated by the bright light, Kong Sheng clearly saw the girl at the center of the rat swarm—the one who was stunningly beautiful—was none other than the sister of Zhao Qian who had made a grand entrance at the alumni association by presenting diamonds!