Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Mouse Queen

[You are born with six Worker Rats to serve you, providing you with food and water, licking your body to keep it moist, and carrying away your waste to keep you clean.]

[Under the care of the mole colony, you have gained some mobility. Please make your choice—]

[1. Continue to develop and grow.]

[2. Explore in the direction of the dry areas.]

[3. Explore in the direction of the damp areas.]

[4. Explore outside the burrow entrance.]

[5. Challenge your mother.]

It’s changed!

A lot of the information has changed!

Seeing this new information, Zhu Ge took a deep breath.

This colony, like an empire, was in its final days.

The Mouse Queen was birthing fewer and fewer offspring each time, the number of Worker Rats was growing ever larger, and the network of tunnels in the entire Underground Kingdom was being updated and expanded at an accelerating pace.

New tunnels were being created every day, with vast numbers of Worker Rats digging for and transporting food. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to sustain the consumption of the entire Underground Kingdom.

Zhu Ge had surmised all this from his previous simulations.

And now, since a decline had begun, he had to seize the opportunity.

’I choose three!’

Zhu Ge chose to explore without hesitation.

From his past experiences, Zhu Ge understood that for a mole, life was short and precious.

The initial juvenile period was different from the Swordfish’s egg stage.

For a mole, as soon as it could move, it had to start exploring immediately!

[You break free from the care of the Worker Rats and begin to explore the damp tunnels.]

[Your actions cause the Worker Rats serving you to emit an excited scent. The Mouse Queen is also surprised by your behavior. You have gained the trait: Survival of the Fittest.]

’Survival of the Fittest?’

Zhu Ge felt a little more at ease.

’Survival of the Fittest!’

This was the summary of the mole’s actions this time.

A Swordfish has its own rules for survival, and a mole has its own as well.

There is no one certain path, only the one that is suitable.

It was especially important to judge the situation based on one’s environment and personal condition.

After these two simulations, coupled with his experiences in reality, Zhu Ge understood the importance of "survival of the fittest" even more.

’I wonder what effect this trait will have...’ Zhu Ge felt a faint sense of anticipation.

But the simulation had to continue.

[Your young claws and teeth are worn down as you walk through the tunnels, but they grow harder. Your muscles tear as you move, but they grow stronger. You are exploring a whole new world. You have gained the trait: Learning.]

’I got another trait?’

Zhu Ge was a little surprised.

Choosing the damp tunnels was also based on his experience from previous simulations.

The dry tunnels were mostly abandoned burrows with no food or water, leaving only some refuse areas used for dumping waste.

That was why he had chosen the damp direction.

He just hadn’t expected the simulation’s content to be unrelated to the dampness or dryness, but rather tied to the mole’s own growth.

[You explore the damp tunnels, learning about all the new things around you, and thus learn to distinguish smells—that is, pheromones.]

[As you explore, you can smell the Mouse Queen’s old age, the dwindling food supply, and the decline of the colony.]

[The Underground Kingdom is gradually decaying, and the colony grows weaker by the day. You instinctively feel uneasy. Then, the Mouse Queen summons you with her pheromones, and you arrive at her nesting chamber.]

[The Mouse Queen licks your body, sensing your changes through the act. She then removes the inhibitor in your body. You have gained the trait: Pheromones.]

[You now have the ability to release a type of pheromone exclusive to a Mouse Queen. Your choice is—]

[1. Resist the Mouse Queen’s rule.]

[2. Lead your loyal followers away from the colony and develop a new Underground Kingdom.]

[3. Coexist with the Mouse Queen and remain a Princess Mole.]

’The choices are here again!’

Moreover, the lead-up to this choice revealed some unusual signs.

For example, the Mouse Queen had removed the inhibitor from this mole’s body, allowing the Princess Mole to reproduce and emit pheromones.

’A queen!’

’This is undoubtedly the path to becoming a queen!’

And the three choices before him gave Zhu Ge hope of obtaining a unique trait.

’The "Hatching" theme simulation was about hatching in a deeper sense, not just breaking out of an eggshell.’

’The "Queen" theme simulation is probably also about being a queen in a deeper sense, not just becoming a Mouse Queen.’

’But at the very least, I have to become a Mouse Queen first to know how to become a true queen.’

’The first and second options...’ Zhu Ge stared at the two choices.

The third option, remaining a Princess Mole, was clearly too slow.

The first and second options both led to becoming a Mouse Queen. The first was to resist the current Mouse Queen’s rule and become the new one.

The second was to leave and become independent.

’No, I can’t choose the second one.’

Zhu Ge analyzed it for a moment and immediately saw the problem with the second option.

If he were to lead other moles out, few would ultimately be willing to leave.

Besides, no one could say for sure what the outside environment was like.

The previously failed Princess Moles had all been exiled.

And for a species like moles, the underground was their comfort zone.

’I choose one! Confront the Mouse Queen and resist her rule!’

Zhu Ge calmly selected option one.

[In the Mouse Queen’s nesting chamber, you broadcast the pheromone signal that you intend to become the next Mouse Queen. The colony is in an uproar.]

[All the Worker Rats have grown comfortable in this vast and ancient Underground Kingdom and are unwilling to change. However, they can all sense the decay and old age in the Mouse Queen’s pheromones and also long for change.]

[Surrounded by the colony, you defeat the Mouse Queen, devour her body and glands, and release your own pheromones to the colony. You have gained the trait: New Queen.]

[You may choose the direction of the colony’s development—]

[1. A more massive Underground Kingdom.]

[2. A small but elite Underground Kingdom.]

’That’s it? I succeeded?’

Zhu Ge was stunned for a moment, but then he came to his senses.

’There’s still no unique trait!’

’Then I’ll just keep going!’

Zhu Ge wasn’t discouraged. It didn’t matter if there was a unique trait or not; what mattered was whether it was useful.

Right now, the most important thing was facing the Raincoat Fisherman. Therefore, it would be best to have a unique trait. He had survived the Fungus God’s hunt entirely thanks to "Kunpeng."

Of course, if there was no unique trait, he would just choose a useful one.

’I choose one, massive.’

A large and complex power might hide potential disasters, but it could also be said to have enhanced resilience.

Singapore could never become a superpower, no matter what.

Cancer in humans is nothing to a whale.

In short, the larger the empire, the stronger its resistance and the greater its fault tolerance.

[Your Underground Kingdom grows ever larger. You begin to produce your first batch of offspring. What kind of offspring do you wish to produce—]

[1. Explorers]

[2. Producers]

[3. Fighters]

’Here it comes!’

Zhu Ge had suspected this before, and now his guess was confirmed.

’To be a queen, it wasn’t enough just to claim the title. How one acted as a queen was also very important.’

’Explorers? Producers? Fighters?’

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