85: Such a good mouse, keep it.

The ground was covered with large rats, all of them head-shot by Tian Ming. He picked up a rat carcass; it weighed a good three to four catties. Tian Ming used his ability to investigate and found that these rats were very healthy. Their stomachs were full of plant fibers, indicating they probably ate plant roots and stems.

Although Tian Ming had never eaten this kind of rat before, these rats were different from those in the sewers; they were like bamboo rats and should be edible.

Currently, the Shelter has a large population, and fresh meat resources are scarce. The appearance of these rats could be a good supplement.

Tian Ming conjured a large box and loaded hundreds of rats into it. Over 500 catties of rats floated beside Tian Ming. He walked towards the cave entrance, manipulating the airflow to carry the box of large rats directly upwards.

"Boss."

Mr. Yuan and the others quickly gathered around when they saw Tian Ming emerge. The rats in the large box were placed on the ground by Tian Ming, and everyone looked at these creatures with curiosity.

"These are rats?" Chen Hu looked at the rats, feeling his scalp tingle.

"That's right, there's a cave down there with a lot of rats. I only killed about a hundred of them. I've checked; these rats eat plant roots and stems, so they should be similar to bamboo rats. Their meat is very delicious. Today, we'll have an extra meal. A few people, come and take these rats to the kitchen to process them," Tian Ming said.

"They're so big, could they be genetically mutated rats? What if we eat them and mutate?" Mr. Yuan asked, somewhat doubtfully.

Shen Yi walked over and looked at the rats: "Boss, I think I've seen these somewhere before? They're a type of bamboo rat, oh, I remember now."

"Remember what?" Tian Ming asked curiously.

Shen Yi said: "Two years ago, a biological research institution cultivated an improved variety of meat-producing bamboo rats, which should be these. Their meat quality is the same as ordinary bamboo rats, but their size is larger. They were originally intended for large-scale farming, but because these bamboo rats, in addition to eating plant roots and stems, become extremely aggressive when startled, several pilot breeding sites had incidents. Later, no one raised them anymore. Although the economic benefits were quite high, the danger was too great."

"You're saying people were raising these things two years ago?"

"Yes, they grow fast, reproduce quickly, and have high economic benefits. But their teeth are too formidable; they can even bite through rock, so the hardware cost for raising them was too high, meaning the initial investment was too high. There's no discernible difference in taste between these rats and ordinary bamboo rats, but their price is higher. They couldn't be promoted in the market, so many breeding sites abandoned them," Shen Yi explained.

Mr. Yuan looked at the rats, frowned, and said: "Now that Shen Yi has mentioned it, I think I also have an impression. Last year, I even ate these at a farm. And honestly, they were quite tasty. Then the farm owner took me to see them; they only raised thirty or forty, all kept in high-carbon steel cages."

Tian Ming finally understood. He waved his hand and said: "So they're edible then? What are we waiting for if they're edible? Get them to the kitchen quickly."

The others quickly called for a few people to carry away the box of rats.

Tian Ming instructed: "Call a few more people to help. Dig out all the internal organs of these rats and clean them thoroughly. It's so cold now, freeze them for me. We can't eat all of them at once."

Those few people nodded and carried away the box of rats. Tian Ming glanced at Mr. Yuan and said: "Don't fill this pit for now; there are still many rats that escaped inside. If you're transporting earth, do it on the side. Fence off this area and don't let anyone get close. Those rats shouldn't be able to come up for now."

Mr. Yuan nodded and said: "Okay!"

"Gouzi, come here for a moment," Tian Ming called out to Gouzi, who was not far away.

Gouzi heard Tian Ming's call and scurried over: "Boss, what's up?"

"You and a few people go to Factory Building No. 3 and clear out an area of about 100 square meters for me."

Gouzi looked bewildered: "Boss, what are you going to do?"

"What am I going to do? Of course, I'm going to raise rats."

Gouzi's eyes lit up when he heard Tian Ming: "Boss, I'll go right now."

Shen Yi, however, said: "Boss, we don't even have enough food for ourselves. Where will we get food to raise rats?"

Tian Ming, however, said: "Later, I'll go to the warehouse and replicate over ten tons of crude starch. Starch isn't very palatable for humans, but for rats, it's not a big problem. I'll process it into feed. When our greenhouse is built later, it will be a perfect transition."

Shen Yi nodded: "Boss, you're planning ahead, aren't you?"

Tian Ming glanced at Shen Yi and said: "There are many things the Shelter needs to build in the future. Being full is just the most basic requirement. Without meat, how can everyone have the strength to work?"

Tian Ming arrived at Factory Building No. 3. The south side of this factory building housed the bathrooms and hydrogen fuel generator. On the north side, there was a small area where chickens brought from surrounding villages were kept. There was also a large area that Tian Ming planned to transform into a rat breeding base.

He didn't need to consider the cost. These rats could bite through rock, right? He would make all the rat cages out of high-carbon steel and then cover them with thick Graphene. Even if they had diamond teeth, these rats wouldn't be able to bite through.

Gouzi brought over a dozen people, and in no time, they had cleared out the area.

These large rats seemed to be social animals. Bamboo rats should be solitary, though, Tian Ming wondered. Perhaps due to the arrival of the Apocalypse, the cold weather, and food scarcity, they gathered together. Tian Ming didn't think too much about it; since they wouldn't attack each other when together, he would just raise them all.

Circles of steel frame structures enclosed the entire 100 square meter area. The entire environment, apart from the hollowed-out ventilation openings, was completely sealed. The ground was also made into a semi-sloped shape, completely covered with high-density carbon steel, and topped with Graphene. Because it was too smooth, a granular structure was created on a microscopic level for anti-slip, but to the naked eye, it still looked very flat.

The ground was modified mainly to prevent these large rats from digging tunnels. It took over 5 hours to complete the construction of this 100 square meter rat cage.

If five rats were kept per square meter, at least 500 could be raised. There were also some small compartments inside, serving as breeding areas for the rats.

Tian Ming directly used high-boron glass to create observation windows and feeding ports on the outside of the breeding enclosure. Two capture channels were set up, leading directly into this giant rat cage. If all else failed, he would use some barbed crossbow arrows to catch these large rats. After finishing all of this, Tian Ming stretched.

The cage was built. Next was catching rats. He needed to catch them alive, both males and females. Whether the Shelter could have a long-term supply of meat depended on how well these rats performed.

"Gouzi, take a few people and come down into the cave with me to catch rats," Tian Ming said.

Gouzi was a bit scared, after all, the person who went down earlier was bitten to a bloody pulp. But with the Boss there, those rats wouldn't be able to cause any trouble. Thinking this, he didn't hesitate, nodded, and said: "Okay, Boss."

[]

For breeding, temporarily put it here. Welcome professionals to help me plan the location. Next time, let the protagonist move it.