"Cinders? What does that mean? Why would you throw in something so good?"

The Orcs now rely almost entirely on these coal ash for heating.

However, Jin Shu is now going to throw all this coal ash into the furnace.

What shocked Liang Xu and A Hai even more was where Jin Shu got so much coal ash! This amount was enough for the cat clan to use for generations!

"Where did all this coal slag come from?!"

Ah Hai stopped and grabbed a handful. Although his hands got all dirty, he was still amazed and couldn't put them down.

This is coal cinder, the most popular hard currency in the Beast World!

Here, they were piled up like small mountains.

"Jin Shu, are all these coal slags yours?"

"Okay, do as I say."

Although I don't know what Jin Shu really means, since she said so, I'll just do as she says.

So Liang Xu and A Hai then began refining coal slag day and night.

However, judging from their work efficiency, it was still too low.

Jin Shu turned her gaze to another species in the forest.

That evening, as soon as still time began, Jin Shu picked up a hoe and, based on her research over the past few days, began digging holes all over the mountains.

Finally, she discovered a small cave inside the trunk of an ancient tree that was thousands of years old.

Jin Shu took out a hoe and began digging down into the cave. Her digging method was quite skillful. She gradually expanded outwards from the cave, making the original fist-sized cave nearly half a meter in diameter.

Seeing that the size was about right, Jin Shu put down the hoe, transformed into a cat, and went down the cave.

The deeper you go, the more complex the cave's interior becomes. Sometimes, more than a dozen routes will appear in front of you at the same time, and each route is surrounded by the same aura, which is obviously meant to confuse predators.

However, this trick was useless against Jin Shu.

She took out her homemade fluorescent powder and sprinkled it on every path. In the end, only two of the dozen or so paths emitted a ghostly green light.

This means that both roads are stained with animal urine and feces.

Finally, Jin Shu chose the darkest shade and continued exploring.

As you explore downwards, the entire underground passage resembles a giant underground maze, its complex layout ensuring that any predator would never return.

Jin Shu spent a lot of time, but finally found what she was looking for.

At the end of this road is a huge cave. Pushing aside the barrier stone in front of you, a warm wave of heat hits you.

Inside the cave, a dozen or so luminous pearls emitting a pale white glow are neatly arranged around the cave walls, illuminating the entire cave.

Then Jin Shu looked down and saw that from her feet all the way inside, there was a very soft animal skin carpet, which was soft and comfortable to walk on.

The carpet led to a stone bed.

A huge black rat was lying on the bed, sitting leisurely with all sorts of food around it.

Dried meat, fruit, millet, and so on.

All kinds of things, everything you could want.

The outside world was freezing cold, and countless animals and humans starved to death.

These rats, however, lived a leisurely and carefree life.

Especially this queen mouse in front of us, whose fur is glossy and who is unusually fat.

Jin Shu came specifically for her.

So after finding the target, it didn't hesitate to take out a sack and put it over the queen mouse.

The journey back took Jin Shu a lot of effort, but she finally managed to get out before the time freeze ended.

As soon as the stillness ended, the Rat Queen looked on in bewilderment at herself being bound hand and foot and tied to a chair. The next second, she struggled and screamed in anger and fear.

At this moment, Jin Shu pushed open the door and walked in.

"I'm sorry to disturb your rest, but I have no other choice. This is the only way I can see you."

The rat queen stared at Jin Shu and squeaked.

She was tied up and couldn't turn back into human form; all she could do was glare angrily at her with her two beady eyes.

"Listen to what I'm about to say, and then I'll let you go."

This winter, as a member of the underground beast race, you should have already noticed that the season that should be warming up is still filled with heavy snow.

This heavy snow will last for a very long time. When that time comes, the beastmen who have difficulty hunting will all turn their attention to you rats, because you are the weakest.

You may not believe me, but I have a deal I'd like to discuss with you.

I now need a lot of manpower to help me refine coal slag.

Looking across the entire Stone River, only your rat tribe can meet my requirements.

"You only need to provide me with enough manpower, and I will provide you with enough coal to help your rat tribe survive the winter."

After saying that, Jin Shu went straight forward to untie the rat queen.

After being untied, the rat queen transformed into human form, changing from a large black rat into a short, plump, and obese middle-aged woman.

The humanoid form of the rat race is like this: less than 1.4 meters tall, with a lifespan that is exceptionally short compared to other beast races, but with an exceptionally tenacious vitality.

The Rat Queen stopped struggling and making a fuss, and instead stared at Jin Shu and sneered.

"Provide us with plenty of coal? Do you know how large our tribe is? If you make such a promise, aren't you afraid that if you can't deliver, I'll just lead my people and devour you?"

Jin Shu calmly got up and led the Rat Queen on a tour of her current mine.

"I discovered a mine that stores enough coal to last us for generations."

I need a race capable of mining to help me, and you rats are the best helpers.”

Upon hearing this, the Queen Mouse rolled her eyes and stared at the mine for a long time without saying a word.

Jin Shu saw through her thoughts and smiled slightly.

"The coal in this mine isn't something you can use right after you dig it out. It needs to go through my refining process to truly burn for a long time."

"Come, let me show you the difference between coal before and after refining."

Jin Shu lit the two pieces of coal.

The piece before refining burned out in less than half an hour, and during that time it emitted a lot of unpleasant odors, which made the rat queen feel nauseous.

But the piece of coal that Jin Shu had processed burned until the Rat Queen herself lost patience, and the smell was almost gone. The whole piece of coal was red and shiny, like a red gemstone.

"Where did you get your skills from?"

"The decree of the Beast God; without it this year, countless beastmen in our area would have perished."

Therefore, I have come with the mandate of the Beast God to help everyone overcome this difficulty.

Once the Beast God is mentioned, the matter becomes even simpler.

Who would disobey the Beast God?

Moreover, Jin Shu's demonstration had already convinced the Rat Queen of her words.

He was even grateful to Jin Shu for personally going down into the cave to tie him up.

(End of this chapter)