While the wave of panic was spreading through the city,
Little Mortal called out to his glasses.
"Little glasses, come out, it's time for you to report.
Let me see if you guys are done with the research."
The black-framed glasses flew out of the backpack.
Some papers came out with it and flew into Little Mortal's hand, which he began reading seriously.
"Oh, you guys are done with the 'liquid', workout powder, and the pill formula.
Hmm, so we need someone familiar with the way of making pills on this planet?
Looks like that illegal immigrant found her opportunity to join the team."
After nodding in approval, he called out a new name.
"Little White, where are you?"
Rose and Lady Butterfly, who were worried about the second hole like everybody else, heard the new name and became interested.
What new treasure would it be?
But this time, a white creature jumped out of the backpack.
A rough male voice sounded.
"What is it, little thief?"
Just one sentence from the newcomer, and the workers' hair stood on end.
First, because this white creature talked badly to this little monster, and second, because of the beast itself.
It was a white rat with red eyes and an aura of death around it.
Just looking at it made them feel uncomfortable.
And more importantly, it was the first time for most of them (except Rose and Lady Butterfly) to see a talking animal!
Little Mortal stopped reading the papers and turned to Little White.
He furrowed his eyebrows and asked,
"Excuse me, I didn't hear you. What did you say?"
The little white rat confidently said,
"I said, What is it, big boss?"
The onlookers:
"!!!"
We all heard you say "little thief."
Little Mortal turned to the crowd.
"Did it say 'big boss' or something else? I think I heard something else."
Some of the workers were going to tell the truth, but they saw the little white rat staring at them with those bloody and threatening red eyes.
"Big boss! It said big boss!"
It was better for everyone to tell a small lie than to become a talking monster's enemy.
Little Mortal shrugged.
"Did you test the research product?"
Little White just nodded arrogantly.
"What's the result?"
"Was it for this bunch of lowly trash?"
Little Mortal furrowed his brows again and asked,
"What did you call my followers?"
The little rat confidently said,
"I said, was it for these lovely talents?"
The crowd was speechless.
This rat seemed to be on bad terms with the little monster, but at the same time, it was scared of him too...
Little Mortal scratched his head in confusion.
"Yes, it's for them."
The little mouse scanned the people around and said,
"It's fine if all of your followers are the same race as them."
"Any comments or suggestions on the process?"
The little white rat thought for a moment, then said,
"I have four suggestions for you."
"I'm listening."
"1. You should stop whatever stupid plan you have.
2. Go apply to join as a patient in a mental hospital.
3. Give my master's 'birth treasure' back to her.
4. Get rid of that ridiculous mustache."
When it was done, the whole inn fell silent.
You could hear a pin drop.
Cold sweat began to cover everyone's back.
Little Mortal frowned for the third time.
Then he looked around to see if he was the only one hearing nonsense or if it was the same for everybody.
But he saw the inn workers all looking at the ceiling or the ground, pretending not to pay attention to them at all...
Lady Butterfly nodded secretly—she was satisfied with them.
Never interfere in this little guy's inside fight with his belongings.
Little Mortal turned to the white rat again.
"Can you repeat what you said?"
The white rat nodded and repeated it once more:
"1. You should continue with whatever smart plan you have.
2. Go apply to join as a wise counselor in..."
The white rat paused, thought for a moment, and continued:
"...in Parasite's Society.
3. Use my master's 'birth treasure' as you like.
4. Keep that impressive mustache."
Hearing the nonsense (which had no use for him in this part of his plan), Little Mortal looked at the white rat suspiciously.
Then he touched his chin, pretending to be in deep thought.
The people inside the inn felt that this lying rat had some massive guts to play with this little monster.
This kid is sharp, so the rat is either an idiot or just doesn't know him well...
Lady Butterfly and Rose just shook their heads.
They were sure of one thing:
This little guy is always ready to find an excuse to joke around with people he knows—and find fault with those who are his enemies or the enemies of the people around him, punishing them without mercy...
But whatever he is, he is not stupid!
And sure enough, Little Mortal took action.
"Everyone, if you'll excuse me, there is a matter that I need to take care of."
And under the arrogant gaze of the white rat, he went inside the backpack.
The rat turned to the crowd and looked at them with disdain.
But to its surprise, everyone was looking at it with pity in their eyes!
While the little rat was puzzled as to why these lowly creatures were looking at it like this, the backpack lid opened again.
But the person who came out wasn't Little Mortal—instead, it was Judge Bredd with his small hammer in hand.
Just one glance, and the little rat's jaw dropped!
"Where did you get that hammer? That belongs to the Go—"
But before it could finish its sentence, the little judge said,
"Silence."
And the white rat's mouth closed against its own will.
Its eyes were wide open in horror, looking at the hammer with fear and confusion.
Everyone thought:
Why is this arrogant rat suddenly so scared?
Is there something special about that little hammer?
He once hit the guy who was supposed to be hell's gatekeeper with it, though...
The judge's tribunal appeared, and Judge Bredd (with his white wig and black judge's robe) went behind it.
*Knock*
"The court is now in session."
And after a moment's pause:
"Because I am in a hurry today, bring only the accused and the witnesses."
A chain appeared out of nowhere and chained the rat to a random chair.
It didn't matter how the horrified little white rat struggled—it couldn't free itself to run!
The little judge began flipping some white papers in front of him (which were completely blank) and kept nodding to himself, as if he was really reading the rat's crimes.
"Alright, the crime is obvious.
A lower-level creature, insulting and fooling a higher-level being.
Do you have anything to say in your defense?"
Then he turned to the rat, as though waiting for it to speak.
The rat (who could speak again) began denying everything:
"Big boss, these are all lies!
How could I dare to do such a stupid thing?
These are all fabricated accusations!"
The little judge, seeing the rat still talking nonsense, nodded and said:
"Enough. Your defense has been heard.
Because of your denial, I ask the witness to come and testify."
At this moment, the witness appeared with a whoosh.
The white rat, seeing the 'witness,' was at first confused—as if it didn't recognize who it was, or its brain refused to accept the truth unfolding before it.
But it didn't take long for it to accept reality—and it almost fainted on the spot.
With this kind of witness, who could hide anything?
Forget about that—why was this thing even here?
The rat's mind was in chaos.
The little judge asked the witness:
"Little Crystal, please replay the record of the conversation between the accused (Little White Rat) and the complainant (the great and mighty sect master with his imposing mustache)."
The witness, Little Crystal, showed everything that had happened in the highest quality possible, leaving no escape for the accused white rat.
The little rat was in despair.
Its two little paws were already on its head, trying to hide from reality, looking utterly miserable.
The little judge said:
"Alright, the crime has been proven.
And we should add the crime of lying before the court to the charges, as well as denying the crime."
Hearing the judge, the little white rat began crying.
It knew what would come next.
The little judge (looking completely emotionless) spoke again:
"Accusations and evidence have been presented, and witnesses, as well as jurors, have expressed their opinions."
After a pause, he continued:
"The Little White Rat is sentenced to..."
At this point, he raised the little wooden hammer, ready to slam it on the table and declare the rat's sentence.
The little crying rat raised both of its little hands toward the sky and shouted:
"THIS IS UNJUST!"
The little judge, while bringing the hammer down to strike the tribunal, declared:
"...to eternal damnation."
As the judge's hammer fell, the little rat roared at the sky:
"NOOOOOOOOOOO..."
The crowd, who were looking at this dramatic scene, were speechless.
They saw that Judge Bredd didn't really hit the tribune and just stopped his hammer a little above the surface of it.
Then he turned around and went inside the backpack.
But the little rat was still "roaring" towards the sky,
"Noooooo!"
Soon after, the little sect master came out of the backpack, and he, too, was speechless.
The silly rat was still yelling "Nooo!" while tears were falling like a river from its eyes!
Little Mortal knocked its head helplessly.
"Enough!"
The white rat suddenly went silent, looked around, and asked nervously,
"I-I'm still alive?"
"Yes, you are. Go back—remember not to mess around next time when I have serious business with you. Do you... understand?"
"Yes, big boss. I-I won't say nonsense anymore."
Then it ran back to the backpack.
But before going in, it turned around and said,
"Boss, you're so awesome! How did you steal the judge's hammer and the entertainment crystal?"
Hearing it say "steal," Little Mortal suddenly became furious and, while shouting,
"It was my birthday gift that I took away, you stupid rat! How dare you say I stole my own birthday gift!"
—he ran after it!
Then both of them dived inside the backpack, one after the other.
After a moment, the backpack began to shake.
It was apparent that a fight—probably one-sided—was taking place inside...
The inn workers started whispering to each other,
"That little rat is done for!"
"But you should commend its courage. To insult the little monster and survive? That's an achievement in itself."
"Yes, you're right. Last time Judge Bredd appeared, all those criminals were sent straight to hell!"
Meanwhile, Lady Butterfly was thinking about something else:
'I don't want to overthink. However, all the treasures surrounding this child are extremely unique in many ways. He's claiming they're birthday gifts. But the way this little rat was talking, it seems these things are really important treasures to their former owners, and he just took them away without them knowing—as a gift? The rat itself was stronger than I, and it was saying to send it back to its master... If that's the case, with the power of these treasures, how strong are the owners? And how many "gifts" did he take from these unknown owners without them knowing?'
Thinking to this point, Lady Butterfly had a bad feeling...
She wished for him to get what he wanted in their world as soon as possible and leave...
After a while, the backpack stopped shaking, and Little Mortal came out huffing and puffing.
Rose ran to his side and said,
"Sect Master, I have a question."
Lady Butterfly raised her eyebrows.
'What is she going to ask? Please don't ask about what you shouldn't.'
Seeing her favorite assistant, Little Mortal, calmed down immediately and started stroking his mustache like a senior.
"Ask away, Assistant Rose."
"Sect Master, what was the rat's crime again? The low- and high-level creatures, I mean."
The crowd became interested, too.
Indeed, when the rat heard the crime, it was horrified and tried to deny it, lying to the judge in the process.
A simple act of disrespect had almost sentenced it to "eternal damnation."
Little Mortal, after a brief pause, explained,
"That rat's power is equal to Level 2 creatures, and my original and current level is higher than It. In a certain place, if a lower-level being disrespects a being with a higher level, they will be punished. I'll share more details with you when I become the guardian."
Rose, now even more curious, asked,
"What's 'original and current level'?"
"Creatures, based on power, are divided into different levels at birth. You guys are born as Level 1. Every creature can go up by one level at most under normal circumstances. Like your grandmother—she's at the peak of Level 1, one step away from Level 2."
Rose excitedly asked,
"What's your level, Sect Master? And what's the highest level?"
The little boy's hand froze on his mustache... Then he said,
"How should I know? I'm just a child."
The crowd became silent.
'When we reached the interesting part, you suddenly remembered you're an ignorant child?'
At this moment, the head of the white rat peeked out of the backpack,
"Yo, Boss! What did you mean, I'm equal to Level 2 creatures? I am a Level 2!"
The crowd was speechless when they saw it back!
Didn't it just get beaten up?
"Little White..."
"Yes, Boss?"
"Do you think you're that kind of living creature?"
The white rat was confused.
"What do you mean? I'm a living, breathing lab rat!"
"No, you're not."
"Huh? How is that possible? I'm the last survivor of the rat race! The rest all died under the experiments my master tried on us—except me!"
Little Mortal rubbed his temple in frustration.
"Little White, who told you that?"
"Nobody. I figured it out by myself... And the needle told me I'm right."
"No, you aren't right. You figured it out wrong."
"Impossible! No, wait—what did I figure out wrong?"
"That you have a rat race and you're the only remaining one..."
The white rat suddenly turned quiet.
Then, as if having a mental breakdown, it shouted!
"Big Guy! What is he talking about, old friend? Am I not real? Am I just a dead puppet? Was I nothing but an artificially made rat with no family and friends?"
The way it was holding the two backpack straps and shouting at it gave those watching the illusion of someone grabbing their friend by the collar and begging for the truth!
And the backpack actually trembled slightly. The rat, as if receiving a reply, froze for a moment—then fell dramatically to the floor, fainting on the spot...
Little Mortal and the crowd, who now knew the backpack had told it the bitter truth:
"-_-"
Little Mortal went beside the "fainted" rat and poked it.
"Little White, don't be silly!"
The white rat answered while sobbing.
"Leave me alone, Boss... I-I was always the adopted child and didn't know..."
"What in the world are you talking about? Big Guy said you aren't a rat—when did it say you're adopted?"
"Hmmm...? If I'm not a rat, then what am I?"
"How could you not know? Aren't you able to go to the 'Mainland'?"
"So?"
"...! What do you mean, 'so'? Who else can step foot on the Mainland except those parasites?"
"Obviously, nobody... Oh, wait—the birth treasures can too. Ehhhh!?"
BANG!
The moment the white rat found out the truth, Little Mortal kicked it away into the backpack.
Only the rat's scream echoed through the inn before it disappeared:
"Needle, you traitorrrrr...!"
It seemed the truth was so evident that Little Mortal became angry and kicked it away.
A golden needle flew out at this moment, vibrating.
Little Mortal's eyes widened in shock.
"That was your prank that continued for billions of years from its birth? My goodness! Little Needle, you are awesome! Everyone, please give a round of applause for this historical moment created by Little Needle!"
While everyone clapped, Rose asked what the rest wanted to know:
"Sect Master, what happened? What was the rat's real identity? And what prank?"
But Little Mortal didn't want to answer.
"Later! Later! Just know that rats are treasures too. Anyway, today was a mess from the moment I woke up until now. First, that silly mirror with Mr. Morleone. Then that silly rice guy. Then Ronnie. Then this stupid rat. I have more important matters to take care of!"
Then he sighed helplessly.
"It certainly can't get worse than this, right?"
Rose, who hadn't received answers to any of her questions, agreed with him.
"You're right, Sect Master. It certainly can't get worse than this."
"Alright, let's get back to work. Little Pot, come out."
The little pot flew out.
But at this moment, the guardian token jumped out too, and a mechanical voice sounded from it:
[WARNING! Candidate Mortal, an event is being held in the Emperor's Garden at this moment that could negatively affect the position of the Planet Guardian. It is suggested to stop the event as soon as possible.]
Little Mortal was speechless.
The crowd was speechless, too. They thought to themselves:
'Didn't he just say today couldn't get worse...?'