What does it mean when a pet evolves incorrectly?

At eight o'clock in the morning, the sunlight was already shining brightly on the Qingyang Town Anti-Drug Station.

With droopy eyelids, Zhang Zhi staggered as he pushed open the heavy glass door of his workplace, letting out a large yawn and squeezing out two physiological tears from the corners of his eyes.

He played online games with his college classmates until 2 a.m. last night, and now he feels like his brain is filled with lead, and every cell in his body is screaming to get back to his pillow.

As he rubbed his sore eyes and made his way toward the cafeteria, he made his thousandth and first vow to himself: I will definitely go to bed early tonight!

As soon as I stepped into the cafeteria, the aroma of food wafted over me, dispelling some of my drowsiness.

Zhang Zhi squinted, his gaze sweeping across the cafeteria where a few early-rising colleagues were sitting sparsely, until it stopped on a familiar figure by the window.

Zhang Zhi blinked, then rubbed his eyes hard to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

He strode over and plopped down in the empty seat opposite Lin Chen, looking utterly bewildered. "Chen? Why are you here so early?"

According to the institute's regulations, temporary assistants like Lin Chen have relatively flexible working hours. They only need to complete the assigned tasks and patrol shifts, and there are no strict requirements for clocking in or out.

At this time, many full-time employees haven't arrived yet, let alone temporary workers.

Lin Chen looked up at the sound: "Since I have nothing to do anyway, I might as well come over sooner."

The reason he came so early was simply because of a company benefit—at fixed times every morning and evening, the company cafeteria would prepare free energy drinks for employees who needed to go out on fieldwork or training, for their pets to use.

It's free, might as well take advantage of it.

Every little bit helps, and the money saved can be used to buy better training resources for Flameclaw Beast, or saved for unforeseen circumstances.

Thinking of this, Lin Chen felt secretly annoyed.

Last night I was so busy cooking dinner and figuring out the next steps for raising the beast that I forgot about it. I should have stayed out later and let the Flameclaw Beast eat and drink its fill before leaving.

"Damn it, utterly damn it."

Thinking about how he had missed out on the free energy liquid, Lin Chen took a vicious bite of the steamed bun.

"Young people have so much energy," Zhang Zhi said, giving a thumbs up.

The two finished their breakfast in silence and then went to the office area on the second floor one after the other.

"Brother Zhang, what are the plans for today?" Lin Chen asked while wiping his hands with a wet wipe.

Zhang Zhi gulped down a large mouthful of strong tea, trying to shake off the last bit of drowsiness. Hearing this, he opened the internal duty system on his computer and looked at today's patrol schedule:

"Hmm... We'll be a team, and today we'll be patrolling the East District, from the central commercial street to the old street area."

"The patrol focus is on Qingyang Town Middle School, the small park, and the battleground near the old street."

He paused, his expression becoming more serious:

"This period is when a lot of new beast tamers are emerging, and you know these guys will get into conflicts over all sorts of trivial things."

"The other day in the city, didn't two students burn down the bus stop sign because they had a fight at the bus stop?"

"Although we don't have that many students in Qingyang Town, it's summer vacation after all, and many young people are coming back to play. We need to keep an eye on them and prevent any problems before they arise."

Lin Chen nodded thoughtfully.

Becoming a Beast Tamer is not something everyone can do. First, one needs to be born with the spiritual talent to awaken a Beast Taming Space, which already filters out most people.

Secondly, it is necessary to systematically learn the basic knowledge related to pets and pass the theoretical examination, which places demands on the family's economic conditions and educational background.

Generally speaking, the more economically developed and educationally concentrated a large city is, the higher the proportion of Beast Tamers.

In suburban areas like Qingyang Town, especially in more remote rural areas, many young people go out to work, leaving behind a small number of beast tamers.

This is why when farmer Lao Wang discovered the trail of a wild pet yesterday, he could only call the police for help—he himself is not a beast tamer, and there are few beast tamer neighbors around who can immediately help.

The morning patrol was uneventful.

They walked slowly along the planned route, keeping an eye on the street conditions.

Occasionally you can see a few young people with their pets, mostly just strolling around or doing basic training, without any conflicts.

The summer sun gradually became scorching. During a break from patrol, the two found a shady spot under a tree to rest for a while, and Zhang Zhi took the opportunity to doze off again.

At noon, with the sun high in the sky, the two men finished their patrol and returned to the police station.

As soon as you push open the office building door, a cool breeze carrying a sweet and cloying fragrance hits you.

In the lobby on the first floor, a tall young man wearing a trendy T-shirt and with his hair styled in a slightly unruly way was carrying a large takeout insulated bag and handing out milk tea to his colleagues who were coming in and out with a grin.

Hearing the noise at the door, the young man turned around, his gaze immediately locking onto Lin Chen, and a bright smile instantly bloomed on his face.

He shoved the last cup of milk tea into the hand of a female office worker passing by, then rushed over in a few strides, patted Lin Chen's shoulder forcefully, and said in a clear voice:

"Well, you haven't called or texted me a single day these past few days, forcing me to hire others to aggressively attack the aerospace sector, resulting in a loss of tens of millions in just three days!!!"

"Do you know how I got here?"

"How could you do this to me?"

"You have to come to the internet cafe with me today..."

Once he opened his mouth, Li Heng's words came out like a machine gun, chattering non-stop for almost a minute before he stopped.

Lin Chen was already used to Li Heng's talkative nature. He waited quietly until Li Heng stopped before speaking:

"I've been busy raising pets these past few days and haven't had time to play games."

Li Heng raised an eyebrow, immediately perking up: "My dad said you contracted a Flameclaw Beast, right?"

Lin Chen nodded.

"Let's go, let's go!"

Li Heng grabbed Lin Chen's arm and pulled him toward the stairs, his face full of eager anticipation.

"Let's go, let's go to the training room!"

"Now that we're both Beastmasters, it's time for a thrilling and intense pet battle!"

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow and teased, "You're not playing games anymore?"

"Hey, what game is more fun than pet battles?"

Li Heng turned to look at Lin Chen, clenched his right fist to his mouth, coughed lightly, and raised his eyebrows:

"Since you've asked so sincerely, I have to talk about winning ten consecutive pet battles these past few days..."

Lin Chen chuckled to himself.

Who asked? Who asked?

【Ding. 】

A match request matching the criteria has been detected.

[Triggering Quest: First Win Challenge.]

[Mission Objective: Accept and defeat the first challenger]

[Task Rewards: 15 Experience Points, 2 Double Experience Cards]

The familiar system notification sound rang in Lin Chen's mind.

Fifteen experience points, and two double experience cards...

Lin Chen immediately refused Li Heng's challenge, instead turning to Zhang Zhi and asking, "Brother Zhang, is it okay to fight during work hours?"

"Don't rush."

Zhang Zhi didn't answer. Instead, he took out his phone, tapped the screen, and then looked at Lin Chen: "Alright, I just bought popcorn and snacks. You guys warm up, and we can start the battle when the delivery arrives."

Lin Chen: "..."