You were given the authority to tame beasts, not to raise unspeakable animals.

Zizizi!

Before Zhao Tiemian could even get close, a burst of dazzling sparks suddenly erupted from inside the multi-million dollar precision analyzer.

The data stream on the screen instantly turned into wildly jumping gibberish. Then it switched to a screen full of bright red ERROR messages.

Bang!

The monitor exploded with a loud bang. Black smoke billowed up.

The entire testing room fell into a deathly silence.

Zhao Tiemian glanced at the smoking equipment, then at his terrified subordinates on the ground. His Adam's apple bobbed nervously.

He turned to look at Chen Mo and shouted angrily.

"What the hell did you bring with you?!"

Chen Mo stood at the edge of the stage. He stretched out a finger and gently poked the little black figure on the stage.

"Pfft."

Little Black made a strange sound, like a rubber duck being squeezed flat, in perfect coordination.

Then, its body shrank, transforming into a round, black sphere. It bounced twice on the stainless steel tabletop.

Boom, boom.

It looked exactly like a large, black stress-relieving ball. To add to its credibility, several crystal-clear air bubbles were even squeezed out from its surface.

Wave. Bubble bursts.

Chen Mo looked up. His face was completely innocent.

"Isn't it obvious? A mutated aquatic mollusk. Its scientific name is probably... Abyssal Black Jellyfish?"

"Jellyfish?"

Zhao Tiemian's eye muscles twitched violently.

"Jellyfish can scare a dragon crazy? And cause an analyzer to self-destruct?"

"This involves professional knowledge."

Chen Mo pushed up his non-existent glasses and began to ramble on with a straight face.

"Although this mutant species has no offensive capabilities, it has evolved a special defense mechanism due to its long-term life in the abyss: high-frequency sound wave intimidation."

"Infrasound?"

"Yes. It was startled just now and let out a scream that humans can't hear, but dragons can. That was a physical attack, just a loud scream, and had absolutely nothing to do with poison. As for the equipment..."

Chen Mo pointed to the still-smoking machine and said helplessly.

"It's probably because your probes are statically charged. After all, they're aquatic creatures, so good conductivity makes short circuits quite normal."

This statement is logically flawed. It's riddled with holes.

But under the dual pressures of undetectability and the fear of the unknown, this became the only explanation that sounded plausible.

Zhao Tiemian opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but found he couldn't find a starting point.

Test for toxins? No results were found.

Genetic testing? The machine malfunctioned.

Is it some kind of evil spirit? This thing is blowing bubbles and acting cute. It even made a heart shape with the tips of its tentacles.

Behind the one-way glass.

A middle-aged man in a dark gray suit stood with his hands behind his back.

He wore an exquisite gold badge on his chest. It was the insignia of a first-class deacon of the Glorious Church.

He stared coldly at Chen Mo on the stage, and at that seemingly harmless black sphere.

"A water-type mollusk?"

The middle-aged man let out a very soft, cold laugh.

"This kind of nonsense can only fool those idiots outside."

He could feel it. The instant the probe touched that thing, all the light elements in the room trembled and fled. It wasn't some mutated creature. It was some ancient, more filthy essence.

"School board member, are you going to detain someone?"

The assistant behind him asked in a low voice.

"Release them."

The middle-aged man turned around. A glint of fanatical greed flashed in his eyes.

"Detaining the champion at this critical juncture will make it difficult to control public opinion. Besides... if that's really what we're looking for, keeping it in a cage will only obscure its full picture."

"Have the hounds keep an eye on him. I need to know what he feeds this thing, where he lives, and who he's been in contact with."

The door to the testing room opened.

Zhao Tiemian walked out with a dark expression. He clutched a freshly printed appraisal report in his hand. His knuckles were white from the force of his grip. The pen almost tore through the paper.

"You can leave now."

He slammed the report, which read "Test Result: No Abnormalities," onto Chen Mo's chest. He gritted his teeth and muttered under his breath.

"Don't get cocky. Whatever that thing is, if it goes out of control again, I'll kill it with my own hands."

"Thank you for your concern, Chief Referee."

Chen Mo slowly and methodically put away the report. He then stuffed the still-whimpering little black dog back into his backpack.

"It's actually quite well-behaved, as long as no one bothers it."

Step out of the arena.

The evening breeze carried a slight chill, dispelling the lingering smell of disinfectant from the collar.

Chen Mo touched the bank card in his pocket. It contained 50,000 Federal Dollars that had just been deposited into his account.

This is my first pot of gold. Enough to buy some decent snacks for Xiao Hei. Or maybe I can go to the black market and buy some cursed items imbued with resentment.

"grumble!"

A disgruntled protest came from inside the backpack.

Clearly, that low-level attempt at cuteness just now insulted the great Lord Cthulhu. He needs extra food to appease him.

"Okay, I'll buy you something delicious when we get back."

Chen Mo patted the bag reassuringly.

He walked home along the shadows outside the stadium.

This area is the staff passageway. Now that the competition has ended, it's completely deserted. Only the streetlights cast long, distorted shadows of the roadside trees, resembling menacing, ghostly hands.

Chen Mo walked on, his pace gradually slowing down.

Not right.

It was so quiet. Even the sounds of traffic on the distant road seemed to be blocked out by an invisible membrane.

The little black dog inside the backpack stopped wriggling. That familiar, cold, slippery feeling seeped through the fabric, clinging tightly to Chen Mo's back. It was giving a warning.

Chen Mo stopped in his tracks, standing under a dim streetlamp.

"Come out."

No one answered.

But the shadow beneath his feet shifted slightly, defying the principles of optics.

Then, as if it were alive, the shadow climbed and rose along the ground, coalescing into a human-shaped silhouette on the wall behind it.

A strange figure, clad in a tattered black robe and wearing a half-silver mask, suddenly emerged from the shadows.

He was very close to Chen Mo.

Chen Mo was so close that he could smell the stale, strange odor emanating from the other person, a mixture of old book pages and dried bloodstains.

Chen Mo did not turn around. He merely glanced sideways. His All-Knowing Eye quietly activated.

Race: Human (Abyssal Corruption State)

[Identity: Former fanatic/Yellow Shirts Brotherhood observer]

[Danger Level: B+]

The man in black robes slowly knelt on one knee.

The gesture was imbued with an ancient and elaborate sense of ritual, as if one were paying homage to a king.

He raised his head. His eyes behind the mask were cloudy yet fervent. His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper grinding against bones.

"Praise be to the Abyss... You have finally descended."