Listening to the rat’s story, Dupu still looked skeptical and asked again, “Little one, where is your home? How many people are in your family?”

The white rat stuck out its chest proudly. “I live on Coral Island, East 12th District, Number 158. My father’s name is Oliver, he’s a doctor, and my mother’s name is Olivia. I’m 11 years old, a girl. Humph! Do you believe me now?”

Sailor Dupu was about to say something else, but Charles held him back. He didn’t care where this little creature came from; he was more concerned about the dangers outside.

“Lili, I can take you back, but first, you need to tell me what those things were?”

The white rat Lili shook her head. “I don’t know, Uncle and the others don’t know either. I call them big fat worms. If you encounter them, you must scatter and run. They’re very powerful, they can turn invisible, and they spit saliva. None of my friends who were caught by it have come back.”

“Are there many of them?”

“Yes, very many. Beyond the rocky ground is a mountain, and they’re everywhere inside it.” Lili spread her rat claws and gestured wildly.

After briefly assessing the strength of both sides, Charles pondered. This island had no path to the surface and was filled with dangerous creatures. It seemed there was no need to explore further.

“Lili, we’ll go back to Coral Island now. If you want to go home, you can follow us.”

He could sense the friendliness of the white rat, and he empathized with her desire to return home.

Just as Charles turned to leave, a chorus of squeaks erupted, and a large group of rats bared their teeth, blocking their path.

“Wait, wait! Uncle and the others need your help. Can we help them first and then leave?”

Charles shook his head, not wanting to complicate matters. “Sorry, we can’t help them. Tell the rats to clear the way.”

The innocent Lili seemed not to understand Charles’ meaning and pleaded, “Oh, please agree. It’s really important to Uncle and the others. Look, Uncle is coming out.”

They turned to see a giant rat the size of a small dog emerge from the shadows, its bright yellow eyes scanning the humans.

This large rat was clearly not as friendly as Lili, its eyes filled with hostility.

“Hisss!” The giant rat suddenly cried out, and the surrounding rats instantly surged, their aggressive postures suggesting they were about to devour Charles and his crew.

Charles and his team quickly drew their weapons, aiming at the rat king.

Seeing the tension between the two sides, Lili’s furry face showed anxiety. She ran to the side of the large rat and started squeaking, as if communicating with it.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

After a while, it seemed that Lili and the giant rat had reached a conclusion. Lili said with a hint of apology, “Sorry, Uncle says that he has sent rats to block the beach. If you don’t help him, he won’t let you get on the ship…”

Charles chuckled softly, unexpected that he was being threatened by a rat.

“Hisss—” The fuse of a small blanket-sized explosive was lit.

Lili recognized what Charles was holding and her fur stood on end. She shouted loudly, “Don’t light it, don’t light it! Uncle will give you a reward! It’s a treasure, a great treasure.”

Charles pinched the lit fuse between his fingers, extinguishing it. “What treasure?”

Charles didn’t want to fight these rats to the death. If the reward was suitable, he was willing to consider it.

Next, he saw two rats dragging two items over to him: a mask and a piece of white paper.

When Charles picked up the paper and saw the writing on it, his eyes widened slightly. The content recorded on it was quite unexpected.

“Project Number: 096”

“Project Name: ‘Clown Mask’”

“Containment Level: Level 3 containment, currently housed in Laboratory 3.”

“Description: 096 appears as a clown mask with a red nose and snow-white exterior, featuring an expression of ecstatic joy. It was discovered at the [data deleted] circus on Redwood Island. The previous owner of 096 has gone insane. After psychological evaluation, this 27-year-old female showed significant personality changes and dissociative identity disorder.”

“Experiment Record 1: ‘Have test subject 654 wear 096.’”

“After ten minutes of wearing, the test subject’s body became unusually flexible and agile, with a significant increase in strength. All physical metrics approached the limits of human potential, capable of performing all circus acts, including but not limited to: aerial acrobatics, blindfolded knife throwing, and bone shrinking to fit into a box.”

“After thirty minutes of wearing, test subject 654 became emotionally excited and attempted to communicate with Dr. [data deleted] outside the blast-proof glass, trying to tell poor jokes to make the doctor laugh.”

“After one hour of wearing, test subject 654 began to talk to themselves, contents involving mutual accusations with another person inside their body, accompanied by neurotic laughter.”

“After three hours of wearing, test subject 654 attempted to cut their own trachea with their nails. Security personnel injected anesthetic gas and removed 096. Three days later, the test subject’s physical and mental abnormalities did not disappear. Test subject 654 was deemed worthless and has been destroyed.”

This seemed to be some kind of report, an attempt by some individuals to scientifically understand a relic called the Clown Mask.

Charles looked up from the paper and glanced at the mask on the back of a rat in the distance. That must be the Clown Mask described in the document.

After a moment’s hesitation, Charles picked up the mask and placed it on his face. Instantly, he felt his body become half as light, as if stepping on cotton.

With a gentle push from his feet, his body nimbly twisted in the air for two and a half rotations before landing steadily.

“Wow, this thing is amazing. I could go back in time and win Olympic gold medals easily with this.”

The next second, Charles quickly removed the mask from his face and stared fearfully at the pale, smiling face.

Although the words had come out of his own mouth, neither the tone nor the pitch sounded like his usual self. It was as if he had suddenly become a different person.

“How about it? Will you agree? I just persuaded Uncle for a long time,” Lili jumped onto Charles’ foot and tugged at his trouser leg, shaking it vigorously.

After a moment’s hesitation, Charles lifted Lili into his hands. “Why do you need our help? These rats seem highly intelligent and should be more useful than us, right?”

“We don’t have hands. The thing is in a room, and Uncle says it can only be opened with hands. Don’t worry, it’s very easy and not dangerous at all. I’ve been there several times.”

Charles pondered for a moment and then said, “Alright, I agree.”

Although the mask relic was eerie, it could be incredibly useful if the wearing time was controlled, whether for escape or combat.

Even if he didn’t use it himself, he could sell it to other captains.

Hearing Charles’ answer, Lili jumped up and down in excitement. “Great! I knew you were a good person!”