Cthulhu America, I can see the kill line.

Even after stepping back into the blood-stained office, Wintert was still somewhat dazed, unable to believe that the Rat God had so easily pardoned him.

"Why did the Rat God forgive you? Don't ask me that kind of nonsense. I've only known that rat for less than three days."

Faced with Wendart's cautious questioning, Kong Jiu didn't even glance at the veteran, swiftly dismantling the barrier erected by Squich, reconnecting the house to the outside world.

The moment the barrier vanished, a delayed gunshot suddenly rang out, piercing the entire Sea Dragon Society.

Then, he bent down to pick up the blood-stained jade pendant and turned to return to the subspace.

"Dr. Kong, if you're not in a hurry, would you mind having a chat for a bit?"

Wintert cautiously extended an invitation to the immortal monster.

"No interest, it's inconvenient."

Kong Jiu glanced at the gang leader, oblivious to the dark red bloodstains covering his own body; his gaze was chilling.

"Right now, all I want to do is go back and report to that rat, take a shower, and then go to the Prophet's Church to deal with the bodies that you and Farah, those two bastards, indirectly caused to die this winter."

Winter was speechless after being rebuked, but still humbly pressed on:

"I have a question, it will only take you a few seconds..."

Before he could finish speaking, Kong Jiu's figure had already disappeared into the subspace, leaving no trace.

Wintert was left dumbfounded.

The blood-soaked office remained silent for a full half minute until several heavily armed men burst through the door.

"Boss! Are you alright?"

The men who rushed in at the sound of the commotion were stunned to see Windat standing unharmed amidst the bloodstains on the floor.

"Beretta 9".

Winter leaned against the table, having regained the majesty of the Great Vortex leader, and announced the name of a gun in a deep voice.

"Beretta 9, do you remember anyone in the Hills Veterans Club who carried this gun?"

The group looked at each other, and the leader timidly replied, "Boss, the Beretta is a mass-produced model; almost everyone has one."

"What about the veterans who didn't join a gang?"

In short, the scope was suddenly narrowed down to just a handful of people.

"Go check."

Wintert gave his men a look. "Give me the detailed list by today."

"Yes."

……

"Hey, Kong, wasn't my blessing pretty good? Why don't you keep it if you like it..."

"Really? Then I won't stand on ceremony. But by the way, the water purified by the dimensional stone is so clean, and it's even hot?"

"Of course, those dimensional stones are the culmination of my psionic technology. By the way, Kong, don't you want to hear what the next step in the plan is?"

In the sewers, there is a simple bathhouse carved out of the stone wall.

The top is connected to a sewage source, but after being purified by the dimensional stone, clear, warm water flows out.

It seems that the ratmen are not without their own strengths in surviving in this dark underground world.

Kong Jiu used hot water to vigorously scrub his body of dried, sticky blood and his own brain matter.

Squichet lay outside the bathhouse, peering out to discuss the next steps with Kong Jiu, who was showering.

"Planning the next step? I have a question I don't understand. Since Farah and Wintert are both your people, why instigate a conflict between them and create chaos in the lower city?"

Amidst the rising steam, Kong Jiu painstakingly rubbed off the brain matter and blood from his body and asked.

"Isn't it obvious that the vassal of my vassal is not my vassal?"

Squich rubbed his head with his paws and grinned.

"I can't completely control those people. The two factions in the lower city are like a hot water tank. If the temperature is too high and there's no opening to let it out, it's going to explode."

Under the Iron Curtain, the population will, as the gentlemen predict, undergo a rapid, short-lived metabolism. The harsh winter has accelerated this process; as a corpse collector, you should understand this all too well, right?

Squich spoke without a trace of shame, as if it were all perfectly natural, devoid of any humanity.

But he's a rat, so it's normal that he lacks humanity.

Kong Jiu frowned even more deeply: "So?"

"So, the gentlemen are very happy, very happy that the lower city is in complete chaos."

A sinister glint appeared in Squich's eyes, and a hint of malice flashed in his rat-like eyes: "The moment they're happy, our opportunity arrives."

"You know what, Kong? There are three easiest times to kill a person: in their sleep, at the climax of intercourse, and... while taking a bath."

In the bathroom, Kong Jiu's scrubbing motions suddenly stopped.

"What? Am I going to die here?"

Just kidding.

That sinister glint was fleeting, and Squich reverted to his憨厚 (honest and simple) hamster demeanor: "I mean, the time when the gentlemen are watching the power struggle in the lower city is when they're most relaxed."

"This winter's suffering will become an opportunity to break free of shackles and shatter the Iron Curtain."

Squich rubbed his paws like a fly, not a rat.

"I suddenly think you're a bit like Farah, Arthur."

Kong Jiu washed himself clean, gently picked at the scab left by the bullet hole between his eyebrows with his fingers, revealing the tender new flesh underneath, his tone nonchalant.

"They all believe in necessary evil, and in order to overturn the Iron Curtain, they don't care if more people at the bottom die in the cold winter."

"No, that's not how it is, Kong."

Squich shook his head. "I never wanted more people to die; from beginning to end, I only wanted more people to live."

"Then why allow these two major gangs to disregard human life?"

Squich sighed.

"Your biggest misunderstanding of me is that you think of me as a human being."

"It is true that I am from the other world and have memories of my past life."

"But what I didn't make clear is that I've been in this world for eight thousand years, and rats are the part of me that makes up the majority."

Kong Jiu stopped picking at the scabs.

A green light appeared in Squich’s eyes as he activated his psychic powers and sent the washed and dried clothes into the bathroom.

"Eight thousand years ago, I was a clueless mouse. Then I regained my memories of being human for 60 years in my previous life. After that, I wandered around this world learning psionic skills and absorbing the will of countless people who wanted to live before they died. I became the Lord of Calamity, the Grey Prophet, the Rat God..."

"Human memory is only about sixty years old, but my main body is the experience of coexisting with the weak and struggling to survive for eight thousand years. As the ruler of the 'rat colony,' I am like a beehive or an ant colony, the embodiment of collective consciousness."

Kong Jiu took the clothes. The clothes, which had been covered in blood a few minutes ago, were now clean and dry, as if they had never been wet.

He looked at Squich with a complicated expression, his eyes glowing with a faint green light.

"Fara's concept of necessary evil is nothing more than his personal conjecture."

Squich's dark eyes were fixed on Kong Jiu, his gaze utterly sincere.

"But if it were me, sacrificing some people to save the majority, or committing some evil act due to circumstances, I'm sorry, that's not a necessary evil, but a choice of collective will."

Its eyes shimmered with green light, slowly recounting the past.

"There was once a city ravaged by the plague that called upon my name, offering a bag of gold and all the children in the city as my subjects in exchange for purification."

I agreed, and blowing my rat whistle, I led my kind out of the city, isolating the source of the disease and preventing the plague from spreading among my fellow human beings.

But when I went to demand my payment, I was met with a torrential downpour of rocks.

At that time, I was still weak and had little psionic power, so I could only hurriedly flee back to the rat swarm.

"Kong, guess how I got my revenge on that city lord?"

Squich smiled slyly; it was hard to imagine that rat-like face could have such a rich range of expressions.

It stretched out its front paw, on which was a brand.

XIII.

"I met a psionicist who could foresee the future. He said that the sacred number 13 would guide humanity for a long time. In some distant, dark future, that psionicist would use this sacred number to save humanity."

"But before that, he asked me, a guest from the other world, a mouse, to safeguard this sacred number for him, and to protect the weak and innocent humanity toward the future at all costs."

Arthur Chou Ke'er, King Squich, this giant hamster, has a brand on its front paw that shimmers with a faint green light.

In the instant the green light burst forth, the phantom of a skeletal rat head and ferocious fangs flashed into Kong Jiu's eyes.

Squich's aged voice finally matched its appearance.

"Did you know, Kong, that the animal that kills the most humans is not a rat, not a mosquito, but humans themselves?"

"The mark of the Holy Number acknowledges my human nature; I have mastered all the powers unique to humanity. Intrigue, deception, betrayal, manipulation, easy evil deeds, meticulous planning..."

"This power allowed me to bewitch the city lord's attendant, and while serving him as he changed and bathed, I stabbed to death the powerful man who broke his promise."

"But that's not what I wanted."

"It was the people of the whole city who were already dissatisfied with the city lord who often broke his promises. Their long-accumulated discontent finally erupted from the fact that he owed wages to a rat."

"I merely gave them an opportunity, an opportunity for a servant to find a dagger made from rat teeth under his pillow..."

"The new lord has restored my name and has made the children my subjects."

A glint of light flashed in Squich's eyes.

"From now on, I will keep my promise to ensure that as many people as possible survive and move towards the future, as always."

Even if it means becoming an evil god.