The Interstellar Queen of Scavengers-Chapter 971: Attack!

Ji You stopped and examined the Charging Pole—

The pole’s surface was smooth, without a single opening, and its material was a composite of thousands of metals, designed to last over 100 years with normal use. Ji You turned slightly, lowered her gaze, and saw the maintenance record sticker on the back of the Charging Pole. It had only been three years since its last maintenance.

With current technological standards, maintenance is typically needed only once every ten years. Therefore, theoretically, this Energy Pillar should still be usable for at least seven more years.

But where exactly did the Black Gold Rat come from?

Ji You circled around again and still found no trace of it.

Ji You frowned, "Strange—I clearly saw it come out from here. How could it just disappear?" She raised her hand, wanting to touch the outer wall of the Charging Pole. But Ji You restrained herself and refrained from making a sudden move.

At this moment, Shen Changqing’s voice came through the communication device: "Student Ji You, the Dock’s monitoring system has been successfully repaired. Shall we activate it now?"

Ji You said, "Activate it, and relay the feedback information to me in real-time."

Shen Changqing nodded, "Alright."

Then.

Ji You’s screen flickered, then revealed a vast Starry Sky Map. Unlike other planets, the sky over the northern hemisphere of Bee Head Star during midnight was a clear blue.

Endless, blue as the ocean’s gentle embrace.

Gazing at the tranquil starry sky, Ji You found her breathing unknowingly lighter and said to Shen Changqing, "Adjust the monitoring angle, zoom into Dock 6."

Shen Changqing immediately complied.

Then.

The view shifted back to the slightly rundown Dock 6. Besides some artificial structures, there were no other decorations in the port. The monitor offered a 360-degree view, covering all angles, stretching bit by bit along the inlet of the dock...

Everything appeared normal, without any issues. If not for the deep hole dug open by the Black Gold Rat, this place would seem very safe and sturdy.

Shen Changqing said, "So far, no third Black Gold Rat has been found, no other Star Beasts have been detected, and no other system damages in the Dock have been discovered. Current checks indicate everything is normal."

Ji You said, "The surface is clear, but what about underground?"

The absence of Black Gold Rats on the surface does not guarantee their absence underground.

Black Gold Rats excel at digging and tunneling; their claws are extremely sharp and sturdy. One Black Gold Rat, without eating or drinking for 24 hours, can dig down at least 500 meters.

It’s imaginable how proficient they are at burrowing.

Shen Changqing then extended the probe underground.

The surface and the underground are two different worlds.

The underground was pitch black, with only the occasional glimmers from the sky’s blue light casting a faint glow. The transmitted images were of dark sand.

meters.

meters.

meters.

...

As the probe kept descending, the monitoring screen showed a safe green.

At 200 meters, it was still safe.

This indicated that there were no Black Gold Rats or any Star Beasts up to 200 meters underground beneath the Dock.

Ji You didn’t call to stop, and Shen Changqing continued exploring deeper. The probe was extending continuously. Around 300 meters, suddenly, "Beep beep beep!!!!"

The alarm sounded, and four red dots appeared on the monitoring screen.

Ji You narrowed her eyes, "Mark the exact locations and continue."

This meant that they had discovered four Black Gold Rats. Shen Changqing, Chu Jiaojiao, Yue Qiguang, and others immediately became alert. Shen Changqing marked the coordinates of the four Black Gold Rats and cautiously operated the monitor’s probe to continue downward...

Then.

The alarm rang again!

"Beep beep beep—"

A new cluster of six red dots appeared on the screen. Unlike the previous four Black Gold Rats, these dots were clustered together rather than scattered individually.

Chu Jiaojiao said, "Just as expected, this group of Black Gold Rats is being led by a mother rat with her offspring." Unless during a reproductive period, Black Gold Rats usually act and live alone, only grouping with others when a mother rat leads her pups.

Thinking of this, Chu Jiaojiao couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Pups mean weakness, easier to defeat. Just as she was about to exhale, Ji You’s voice said gravely, "The probe isn’t fully complete yet. Don’t rush to conclusions."

Right as Ji You finished speaking, another cluster of red dots flashed on the screen.

1, 2, 3, 4...

in total!

Ji You, Chu Jiaojiao, Shen Changqing widened their eyes, "!!!"

Ji You gulped and said, "Don’t panic. Judging from the energy wave frequencies, there are only 1-2 matured ones here; the rest are just pups. Are you scared of pups?"

"Scared?" Yue Qiguang said, "I’ve never been scared of anything." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Are you insulting me?" Yue Qiyuan retorted, with confident assurance in his tone.

"Student Ji You, if it’s just 12 pups, leave them to me. I need to teach these pups the harsh reality of society. Without experiencing adversity, they won’t mature. If they don’t face challenges or hardships, how will they learn to behave?" Chu Jiaojiao was eager, seemingly ready to engage in battle immediately.

Ji You said, "They’re now hiding somewhere underground, at a depth of approximately 300 meters. Are you sure you can go down there and engage in combat?"

Chu Jiaojiao said, "Ahem ahem..."

Beside them, Shen Changqing suddenly asked, "Student Ji You, how do you intend to solve this problem?"

Ji You said, "Let’s brainstorm. If anyone has good ideas, please bring them up."

In the following minutes, from beneath the Dock, probing continued until no more red dots appeared. They discovered Black Gold Rats up to over 50,000 meters deep, totaling 179. Many were in groups, nests.

From the monitored images, these Black Gold Rats formed at least 7 or 8 groups, with some scattered individually. Seeing this, Ji You, Chu Jiaojiao, Shen Changqing, Sheng Qingyan, Yue Qiguang, and Yue Qiyuan all fell silent.

was quite a sizable group. If they triggered one, causing all 179 Black Gold Rats to converge, what would they do then?

After a while.

Sheng Qingyan pouted, stomped, and asked, "Damn it, are we going to fight or not?"

If not, he could at least go back to sleep, right?

Ji You was silent for a few seconds, then gritted her teeth, "Fight!"

Hmm?

Everyone was startled; Yue Qiguang asked, "How exactly are we going to fight?"

Black Gold Rats, with just one slightly more advanced among them, could swarm in an attack. Ji You and her team couldn’t possibly evade them.