What does it mean when a pet evolves incorrectly?

[Daily task "Basic Training" completed.]

[Rewards: 5 Experience Points, 1 Double Experience Card]

As the cold system notification finished ringing in his mind, Lin Chen looked up from the simple notebook recording the Flameclaw Beast's training data and let out a long breath.

He looked to his side.

After an hour of intense training that included multiple activities, Flameclaw was only slightly tired.

This was certainly due to the Flameclaw Beast's excellent physical foundation, but Lin Chen knew that the expensive energy cube also played a significant role.

This item can continuously replenish energy and maintain the pet's optimal training condition, so the expense now seems worthwhile.

"Alright, let's take a break." Lin Chen closed his notebook.

"Gag?"

The Flameclaw Beast blinked, trotted over to Lin Chen's legs, and waved its claws.

It's in good spirits and can keep going!

Lin Chen crouched down, looked directly into the Flameclaw Beast's excited eyes, and reached out to rub its warm, smooth head.

"Training requires a balance of intensity and rest. Rest and recovery are equally important; they are essential for more effective training next time, understand?"

"Gag?"

The Flameclaw Beast repeated the unfamiliar phrase, a thoughtful glint in its eyes. It looked at Lin Chen's serious expression, then looked down at its own claws, which were slightly warm from continuously casting spells, and nodded as if it understood.

Oh...so, train for a while, then play for a while, eat something nice, and then train again?

"That's roughly the idea." Lin Chen was amused by its simple summary.

"Gag~"

The Flameclaw Beast's eyes instantly became bright and sparkling. It moved closer, and there seemed to be a suspicious glint of light at the corner of its mouth.

It started to miss the delicious grilled skewers from yesterday.

Lin Chen asked, "Didn't we just eat that yesterday?"

The Flameclaw Beast tilted its head in confusion: "Gagu?"

What does what we ate yesterday have to do with today?

If you have this kind of thinking in the wild, you will definitely starve to death!

Lin Chen was speechless for a moment, then replied seriously, "Flame Claw Beast, eating kebabs isn't as simple as you think."

"It's not that we don't eat, but that we eat slowly, carefully, and in an orderly manner. We let the pets with the best appetite eat first, and let the well-fed pets eat first, so that the pets that eat first can motivate the pets that eat later."

The Flameclaw Beast stared blankly, "?"

"all in all."

Lin Chen spread his hands and gave a final summary, "Our economic situation is not optimistic; we are far from being able to eat barbecue skewers every day."

The Flameclaw Beast nodded thoughtfully, then stared wide-eyed at Lin Chen: "Gagu?"

But last night it clearly saw Lin Chen's parents return the money to him.

Lin Chen glanced sideways at the Flame Claw Beast, alarm bells ringing in his mind.

Well, you big-eyed Flameclaw Beast with thick eyebrows, you've actually set your sights on this money.

But when Lin Chen met the expectant gaze of the Flame Claw Beast, he fell silent for a moment.

Seeing Lin Chen remain silent, the Flameclaw Beast pressed its advantage: "Gagu!"

And aren't they friends now?

Friends should share delicious food!

Lin Chen glanced at the Flameclaw Beast and teased, "Aren't you worried I'm a bad guy now?"

The Flameclaw Beast grinned, its eyes sparkling: "Gagu!"

You are my friend!

"walk slowly."

Lin Chen admitted that he had underestimated the Flameclaw Beast's psychological resilience. He quickly calculated today's expenses and nodded, saying:

"Let's go get some barbecue skewers after training."

"Gaku!!!"

The Flameclaw Beast immediately cheered and pounced forward, using its short forelimbs to try to hug Lin Chen's calves. It then tilted its head back, grinned, and revealed a dazzlingly bright smile.

Lin Chen silently patted the Flameclaw Beast's head, his desire to make money growing even stronger.

Before that, let's briefly summarize today's training.

While this hour of basic training was far from enough to bring about a qualitative change in the Flameclaw Beast's strength, it had already achieved Lin Chen's primary objective: to conduct a preliminary assessment of the Flameclaw Beast's current strength baseline.

The conclusion is encouraging.

First and foremost is physical fitness.

The Flame Claw Beast's physical abilities, strength, especially its burst of power and short-distance sprint speed, all exceed the average level of a first-tier extraordinary pet.

In targeted grip and tearing training, the Flameclaw Beast's claws exhibited astonishing sharpness and hardness.

In actual combat, the claws, combined with the Flameclaw Beast's agile movements, are enough to inflict fatal damage on unprotected opponents.

In terms of skills, Flameclaw currently possesses two basic skills: [Flame Breath] and [Sharp Claws].

The so-called basic skills are the skill levels that pets in the awakened and transcendent stages of their species most often master and use.

Basic skills have relatively limited power and simple effects, but they are easy to master and consume less resources, making them the most reliable tool for beginners.

Above these, there are "intermediate skills" and "advanced skills," which are even more powerful, have more complex and varied effects, and are exponentially more difficult to learn.

That's usually the domain of elite or even higher-level pets, which is still quite far from the current Flameclaw Beast.

But Lin Chen's gaze had already turned to a more distant place.

"Improving both physical fitness and skill proficiency is fundamental and must be done steadily and surely."

He quickly sketched out a roadmap for the subsequent cultivation in his mind:

"The Flameclaw Beast's proficiency in both skills is only at the beginner level; it needs to be upgraded to the proficiency level as soon as possible."

In this world, the proficiency levels of pet skills, from lowest to highest, are: Beginner, Proficient, Master, Perfect, and Ultimate.

The higher the skill proficiency, the higher the combat power.

"Flame Breath Bullets aim for faster, more accurate, and more flexible attack methods, and can even attempt to control the shape of the flames, such as concentrating them on a single point or firing them in short bursts."

"The Sharp Claws should be enhanced to break through enemy defenses, and combined with the Flame Claw Beast's speed, aim to defeat the enemy in one strike."

"In addition, we need to let Flameclaw try to learn and master new skills, even basic skills of other attributes. A wide skill pool and coverage are key to gaining an advantage in complex battles and even in future wilderness survival."

In addition, through this hour of training, Lin Chen also discovered something else—the training itself could yield growth experience points.

This experience value does not come from the task, but from the training itself.

This is similar to the real-time feedback mechanism in a game. One hour of training is roughly equivalent to one point of experience. Lin Chen can also monitor the training effect of the Flame Claw Beast in real time by observing the acquisition of experience points.

In this way, the ways to gain experience points are not limited to defeating pets and completing tasks.

"So, are double experience cards effective for training?"

Just as Lin Chen was pondering, Lin Jianjun called.

"Hello, Dad."

"Xiao Chen, come back early after training. I have something to tell you."

"Okay, I'll be right back."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Chen took the Flameclaw Beast home.

Lin Jianjun was already sitting on the living room sofa. On the coffee table in front of him was a cup of steaming tea and several documents stamped with a red seal.

"dad."

Lin Jianjun nodded, his gaze sweeping over the spirited Flameclaw Beast, then pointed to the single sofa next to Lin Chen: "Sit."

Lin Chen sat down without speaking first.

Lin Jianjun didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point: "I've arranged the summer job for you."

Lin Chen's eyes lit up, and he sat up straight.

As an apprentice beast tamer who has to spend money everywhere, he had long planned to earn breeding resources on his own, but it is not easy for a high school graduate to find a suitable job with good pay.

Lin Jianjun said calmly, "As you know, the bureau has always had an unwritten welfare policy for its internal employees."

"Every summer vacation, if an employee has a child who has just become a beast tamer, they can apply to work as a temporary patrolman in the bureau as a summer social practice, and they will also receive a stipend."

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said slowly, "This policy is, firstly, to give us children of employees from poor families an opportunity to earn money legitimately and accumulate some social experience; it can be considered a form of organizational care."

"Secondly, as you know, summer vacation is the peak season for new beast tamers. A bunch of teenagers, having just gotten their own pets, are full of enthusiasm and either cause trouble in the streets and alleys or recklessly try to go on adventures in the wild, resulting in several times more trouble than usual and putting a lot of pressure on public security. Having you new temporary workers assist in patrols and handle some simple tasks can also alleviate the pressure of insufficient manpower at the grassroots level."

Lin Chen listened attentively, his mind racing with calculations.

He had known about this welfare policy for a long time; his sister, Lin Yue, had applied to work as a temporary patrolman for two months after graduation.

This is far more meaningful than working in an ordinary store or becoming a low-level sparring partner in a gaming club.

Not only can you earn money, but you can also get involved in more matters related to beast tamers, broaden your horizons, and even encounter various situations, thus honing your and your Flame Claw Beast's combat adaptability.

Moreover, being backed by the Criminal Investigation Bureau provides a certain level of security and access to information and resources that are inaccessible to ordinary people.

"I've already taken care of all the paperwork for you this morning."

Lin Jianjun picked up a stamped document from the coffee table and handed it to Lin Chen. "Report at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. The location is Qingyang Town, which is under the jurisdiction of your Uncle Li."

Lin Jianjun paused, his expression turning slightly serious:

"Don't act disobediently just because you have a good relationship with your Uncle Li. Once you get there, observe, listen, and learn more, and don't try to be a hero. If you encounter a situation you can't handle, report it immediately; don't try to tough it out yourself. Your task is to assist in patrols and maintain basic order, not to charge into battle. Understand?"

"I understand."