What does it mean when a pet evolves incorrectly?

"You may come in now, student."

A gentle voice came from the doorway. Lin Chen took a deep breath, suppressing his slight unease and anticipation, and followed the nursery staff into the room.

A refreshing scent of grass and trees wafts over you, a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of the streets outside, instantly invigorating your spirit.

This is the largest public pet breeding center in Qinglan City, and the first choice for most new pet tamers.

This place not only simulates the original habitat of various pets, allowing them to maintain their best condition, but more importantly, the prices are transparent with no hidden costs, making it extremely friendly to new pet tamers from ordinary families.

Lin Chen was interested in the latter part.

Upon entering, you are greeted by a vibrant wood-type pet breeding area.

The breeding area is separated by a transparent energy barrier, which simulates an environment where grasslands and forests intertwine. Green pastures cover the ground, and tall, leafy trees stand upright. Fine spots of light filter through the gaps in the leaves and fall on a few small and agile pets.

"Hey, look over here."

The waiter smiled and stepped aside to guide them, speaking in a friendly tone:

"This is a Blue-striped Rabbit, a wood-type pet with a low-level extraordinary racial rank. It has a gentle temperament and is good at sensing energy fluctuations. In the early stages, it can help you warn of danger."

"It is very easy to cultivate. It only needs to be fed with ordinary spiritual herbs and feed, making it very suitable for novice beast tamers to form contracts with."

"Moreover, its evolutionary direction is clear, and it can evolve into the Azure Rabbit, a low-elite species, which has considerable combat power."

Lin Chen looked in the direction she pointed and saw a palm-sized rabbit squatting under a big tree, munching on spirit herbs. Its body was covered with fine bluish-white fur, and there were a few faint green stripes on its back. Its long ears twitched from time to time, and it looked adorable.

They're already so adorable when they're alive. If you add various seasonings, stir-fry them over high heat, and garnish them with green and red peppers, they'll definitely be even more captivating.

Lin Chen subconsciously remarked, "Bunny is so cute."

The waiter nodded repeatedly: "Yes, this is a pet that many new beast tamers covet..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Chen muttered to himself, "I just wonder what it tastes like?"

The waiter standing nearby was stunned for a moment, then cast a wary look at Lin Chen.

Lin Chen swallowed hard and quickly changed the subject: "Could you please take me to the fire-type pet breeding area?"

Choosing a fire-type pet as his initial pet was a result of Lin Chen's long and careful consideration.

Fire-type pets are generally enthusiastic and lively, relatively easy to raise, and have higher initial combat power than other attribute pets of the same level, making them excellent value for money and the best choice for novice beast tamers.

More importantly, he had already set his sights on his target—the fire-type pet, the Fire Hound.

This is a common fire-type pet, with a race level of intermediate extraordinary. Not only is the breeding cost low, but its price is also much cheaper than other pets of the same level.

Thinking of this, Lin Chen couldn't help but sigh softly.

In the blink of an eye, a year has passed since I awakened to the wisdom of my past life.

In his previous life, he was just an ordinary white-collar worker. He thought he could improve his family's conditions by relying on his knowledge and vision from his previous life, but reality dealt him a heavy blow.

The technology in this completely different world is far more advanced than in his previous life, and smart devices are ubiquitous in every corner of life. His knowledge from his previous life is almost useless here.

In this world, only by becoming a Beast Tamer can one gain a higher social status, earn enough money, and truly change the family's predicament.

Lin Chen had no choice but to abandon his unrealistic ideas and devote himself to studying the theoretical knowledge related to beast taming, honing his mental strength day after day, all in order to awaken his beast taming talent as soon as possible and become a beast tamer.

Fortunately, his hard work paid off. He not only got into Qiming Beast Taming Academy, a top-tier beast taming academy in the Eastern Empire with excellent grades, but also recently awakened his spiritual power and became an apprentice beast tamer.

Now, as long as he contracts a pet beast of his own, he can truly become a beast tamer recognized by the Eastern Empire Federation.

Thinking of this, Lin Chen felt his heart surge with excitement, and his steps became lighter.

But just then, a cold, mechanical voice rang in his ears without warning:

Congratulations, Chosen Child, you have successfully arrived in the Digital World...

Lin Chen's steps suddenly stopped, and he subconsciously looked around—the receptionist beside him was still smiling and introducing the pets along the way, in a friendly tone;

The blue-striped rabbit was still munching on spirit herbs not far away, and several small wood beetles were frolicking among the branches and leaves. Everything was exactly the same as before, as if the sound from before was just his imagination.

Was I hallucinating?

Lin Chen frowned, suppressed his doubts, and continued to follow the waiter forward.

But the next second, the buzzing sound of electricity rang in my ears again, crystal clear.

This is definitely not an illusion.

Lin Chen's pupils narrowed slightly, and his fingertips clenched unconsciously, but his face remained calm and composed, as if nothing had happened.

"Dimensional anchor point lost, data lost, worldview reshaped, system reinstallation..."

The crackling sound of electricity lasted for about half a minute. Just as Lin Chen was about to lose control of his astonishment, the mechanical voice sounded again:

Congratulations, chosen child! You have successfully arrived in a fantastical world before it was shrouded in darkness. The danger of darkness lurks everywhere; the world awaits your salvation.

Go, chosen children, save this world from falling into chaos.

You will become the only savior.

Wait a minute.

What is meant by the chosen children?

In that instant, Lin Chen suddenly remembered something, and his pupils widened abruptly—in his previous life, he had been obsessed with a game adapted from Digimon, called "Digimon Adventure: Great Evolution".

The game's premise is that the chosen children, along with their Digimon, save the Digital World from darkness.

Could this sudden sound be part of his system?

But what the heck is Digimon? He's clearly transported to a fantasy world full of beast taming elements!

Lin Chen's thoughts raced, but before he could figure it out, the mechanical voice sounded again:

[New Player Mission: Obtain your first Digimon to officially begin your journey to save the world]

[Mission Rewards: 10 Experience Points, 1 Double Experience Card, 1 Small Explosive Move Learning Machine]

Experience points?

Double EXP Card?

Miniature explosives technique learning machine?

Lin Chen suppressed his doubts, his fingertips trembling slightly. He subconsciously chanted in his mind to open his personal panel, and a pale blue virtual panel that only he could see instantly appeared:

[Player: Lin Chen]

[Level: Apprentice Beast Tamer]

[Skill: Telepathy]

Pet: None

[Item: None]

[Available Experience Points: 0]

For a moment, Lin Chen looked around at the various pets and fell into a long silence.

In this world of beast taming, where will he find Digimon?

What is the significance of this system?

Lin Chen let out a shallow breath, preparing to go home first to study the sudden system, but just then, a fierce fight and the whimpering of pets came from ahead, breaking the tranquility of the area.

Lin Chen subconsciously looked up, his gaze passing through several energy barriers and landing on the fire-type pet breeding area not far away.

A sturdy canine pet covered in orange-red fur was being brutally beaten by another orange-yellow pet.

"Firehound and... Flameclaw Beast?" Lin Chen narrowed his eyes, recognizing the two.

The canine pet was the Fire Hound that Lin Chen was preparing to contract. Its tracks were found all over the Eastern Empire. It was an extremely common fire-type pet and was loved by many new beast tamers.

As for the Flameclaw Beast standing to the side, Lin Chen was seeing it for the first time.

These pets typically inhabit warm, low-latitude regions, are fierce in nature, and are rarely found in northern areas.

The Flameclaw Beast is covered in orange-yellow skin, has a triangular head, round, dark green eyes, stands on two legs, and has sharp claws.

The waiter, noticing the commotion, changed his expression slightly and quickly ran over, shouting urgently as he ran:

"Stop fighting!"

Upon hearing this, the Flameclaw Beast, which was riding on the Firehound and had its paws pressing down on the Firehound's head, finally stopped and slowly released its paws.

The Flameclaw Beast raised its head, looked down at the Firehound with disdain, and then curiously stared at the two people walking towards it.

The receptionist swiped his card to enter the training area, and Lin Chen nimbly slipped in as well.

"Aww..."

With its fur disheveled and several scratches on its body, the Firehound whimpered pitifully and quickly got up from the ground.

Trembling, it hid behind the waiter, timidly peeking out but not daring to look at the Flameclaw Beast, its tail tightly tucked behind it.

Seeing the Fire Hound's performance, Lin Chen was speechless for a moment.

According to the latest edition of the Donghuang Pet Encyclopedia, the Fire Hound is brave and fearless, with a passionate temperament, and dares to take the initiative to attack the powerful.

But what's going on with this bullied look in front of me?

Foreign pets bully native pets?

Then, as Lin Chen looked at the Flame Claw Beast with its ferocious expression, the system's cold voice rang in his mind once again:

Wild Agumon has been discovered. Players are urged to acquire it as soon as possible to complete the new player quest.

Lin Chen was immediately taken aback.

Wild Agumon?

Where? Where?

When Lin Chen noticed the Flame Claw Beast so close to him out of the corner of his eye, he opened his mouth but remained silent for a long time.

System, you call this Agumon?

System, look me in the eye!

But when Lin Chen calmed down and carefully examined the Flameclaw Beast in front of him, the figure gradually overlapped with the appearance of Agumon in his memory.

You know what, Flameclaw Beast does look somewhat similar to Agumon.

They are almost the same height, and even their skin color and shape are seven or eight parts similar. Even their claws are exactly the same sharp. If you have to find a difference, it is that Flameclaw Beast's face and eyes are more fierce, while Agumon is more like a college student's clear-headed foolishness.

At this moment, Lin Chen was confused.

Could this guy really be Agumon?

Or perhaps it has some connection to Agumon?

Lin Chen took a deep breath to expel the jumbled thoughts from his mind. He recalled the newcomer rewards mentioned by the system, and his gaze sharpened.

Even if I were to contract a Fire Hound as originally planned, my future would be completely predictable.

In this world, it's difficult for an ordinary Fire Hound to become a powerful Beastmaster, especially with limited resources, talent, and family background.

As for the Flameclaw Beast...

Lin Chen focused his mind, searching through his memory for basic information about the Flame Claw Beast.

Flameclaw Beast, fire attribute, race level mid-level extraordinary, currently has two stable evolution paths:

One of them is the Flame Spine Beast, a fire-attribute pet that evolves into a mid-level elite.

The second is the Fire and Rock dual-attribute pet beast that evolves into a high-elite, the Ember Rock Armor.

In terms of the diversity of evolutionary paths and development potential, Firehound and Flameclaw are equally matched; however, in terms of breeding difficulty and cost, Flameclaw has a slight edge.

Furthermore, the fact that Flameclaw can become a bully means that its combat strength and performance in battle are stronger than that of Firehound.

Most importantly, the system has endorsed the Flameclaw Beast.

Sorry, Firehound, we'll meet again someday.

Composing himself, Lin Chen looked at the waiter who was comforting the Fire Hound and asked, "May I ask about this Flame Claw Beast?"

He stared at the ferocious-looking Flameclaw Beast, his face full of curiosity: "I don't recall any Flameclaw Beasts inhabiting the area around Qinglan City."

The waiter stood up, his expression complex, and sighed, "This child's situation is rather special."

Lin Chen pricked up his ears and listened carefully.

"Two weeks ago, our breeding center imported a batch of rare pets from the south, and this Flameclaw Beast is one of them."

She paused briefly, her expression growing increasingly complex: "But this child has a rather unruly personality and is fond of fighting. In just two weeks, he has already injured five pet animals."

"But there are no available separate breeding rooms at the moment, so we can only place it here for now, which is tough on the other pets that are with it."

"Therefore, I do not recommend that you new beast tamers form a contract with it."

Lin Chen nodded in realization.

It turned out to be a problem pet.

This situation is not uncommon among pets, and most cases are caused by their growth environment or special experiences, which leads to extreme personalities.

As a result, the already fierce Flameclaw Beast became the bully in the breeding house.

His thoughts flashed by, and Lin Chen glanced at the Flameclaw Beast that was watching him warily, and smiled slightly: "It's alright, I'm quite interested in this child."

"And there are veterinarians specializing in pet mental health issues, who are experts at solving these kinds of problems."

The waiter nodded and added, "By the way, I heard that this child was the same way in the previous breeding center, constantly seeking out other pets to battle."

She paused noticeably at this point, her tone hesitant: "They speculate that the child might also want to improve his strength through combat and strive to become stronger."

Lin Chen nodded thoughtfully.

He gazed at the Flameclaw Beast ahead, took a step forward, and slowly walked up, a smile playing on his lips: "Hello, I am Lin Chen."

"Gaku!"

As Lin Chen approached, the Flame Claw Beast became increasingly wary. It raised its sharp, gleaming claws and opened its mouth, where a faint flame was brewing.

Lin Chen remained unmoved and continued forward.

This is a petting zoo with comprehensive security measures. It is absolutely impossible for pets to attack customers; that would be self-destructive.

If a Flameclaw Beast shows obvious signs of aggression, the security pets hiding in the shadows will immediately stop it and lock it in a dark room, or even expel it from the breeding house.

Seeing that its intimidation had no effect, the Flameclaw Beast raised its eyes and subconsciously took a half step back.

He advances, it retreats.

With nowhere left to retreat, the Flameclaw Beast leaned against the fence and plopped down on the ground.

It quickly realized its reaction was somewhat inappropriate, stood up, raised its head, bared its teeth, and roared: "Gagoo!"

Lin Chen's smile deepened.

He crouched down, bringing himself to eye level with the Flameclaw Beast, and slowly spoke, "I heard you want to become stronger?"