What does it mean when a pet evolves incorrectly?

The car headlights pierced through the thick, dense rain, illuminating a short stretch of bumpy, slippery country road ahead.

The vehicle turned off the main road and began to move slowly along the narrow, bumpy country lanes.

The world outside the car window was dominated by rain.

The rolling farmland was shrouded in mist after being washed away by the torrential rain, and the greenery became indistinct and blurred.

Scattered farmhouses stood silently behind the curtain of rain, the lights shining from their windows appearing faint and indistinct.

Finally, the vehicle stopped in front of a farmhouse with mottled exterior walls and a small courtyard.

The car headlights illuminated the continuously cascading water curtain under the eaves and a figure that had been waiting at the door for some time.

Uncle Wang was wearing a heavy black raincoat with the brim of his hat pulled low.

Before the car had even come to a complete stop, Uncle Wang hurriedly jogged over, the rain pattering against his raincoat.

He didn't even wait for the other passengers to get out of the car before reaching out to help open the passenger and rear doors. His voice, carried through the rain, was clearly anxious.

"Officer Zhang! Officer Liu! Officer Lin! You've finally arrived!"

"Uncle Wang, don't rush, tell me slowly."

Sitting in the back seat, Lao Liu calmly responded and nimbly climbed out of the car, tightening his raincoat hood as he did so.

Zhang Zhi and Lin Chen then got out of the car.

"Go inside! Go inside!"

Uncle Wang greeted them repeatedly, wading through the muddy water, and led the three hurriedly toward the bungalow.

Pushing open the slightly drafty wooden door, a blast of air mixed with the dampness of the earth hit me.

The room was simply furnished, the living room was small, and the lighting was dim, with only one energy-saving lamp emitting a cold white light.

"Sit down, please sit down! Let me pour you some tea to warm you up!"

Uncle Wang frantically grabbed the thermos and teacup, his fingertips trembling slightly.

"Old Wang, don't rush to drink your tea."

Old Liu raised his hand to stop him, the wrinkles on his face appearing even deeper under the light, but his tone was unusually calm: "Take us to the scene first to see the situation."

"Okay, okay! This way, please!"

Uncle Wang seemed to have found his pillar of support. He quickly put down the thermos and turned to walk outside: "It's just in the livestock pen behind, not far."

The group stepped back into the torrential rain.

The cold rain instantly soaked my trouser legs and shoes.

Beyond the main house is a small courtyard enclosed by a simple wooden fence and asbestos tiles, with a low livestock shed in the corner.

The rainwater turned the muddy ground into a muddy mess, and every step made a crunching sound, kicking up sticky mud.

Uncle Wang led them straight to the entrance of the livestock shed.

The wooden gate was ajar, and it was dark inside, with only the echoing sound of rain hitting the asbestos tile roof.

"It's...it's inside..."

Uncle Wang's voice sounded a little faint in the rain. He reached out as if he wanted to push the door open, but hesitated. In the end, Old Liu stepped forward and pushed open the creaking wooden door.

A strong, pungent smell of blood, mixed with the sour odor of animal manure and fermented hay soaked in rainwater, suddenly burst out of the shed and assaulted everyone's faces.

Even standing at the entrance of the shed, the smell made me frown.

The shed was dimly lit, with only the sunlight filtering through the doorway and the faint light reflected from the rain.

But even in this dim light, one could still see what was inside—a blinding dark red as far as the eye could see.

The muddy ground was covered with pools of blood, large and small, that had not yet been completely washed away and diluted, which gleamed with an ominous dark luster in the dim light.

Four stiff bodies lay in a pool of blood.

Those were three medium-sized pets, which should have had fluffy, curly white fur—kapok sheep.

This gentle, almost non-combatant awakened-level pet is one of the most common economically bred pets among farmers around Qinglan City because of its fine, warm wool and ease of care.

However, at this moment, their once pure white fur was now a filthy mess, soaked in blood, mud, and their own bodily fluids.

The four corpses lay sprawled on the ground in various contorted positions, their necks limp and their limbs stiff.

"It's...it's them..."

Uncle Wang's voice rang out behind the crowd, filled with suppressed sobs and agitation. He pointed to the horrific scene on the ground, speaking incoherently:

"I've been raising my kapok sheep for over two years, and they've always been doing well."

"I came to feed them this morning, and when I opened the door, this is what happened! They're all dead! They're all dead!"

He became more and more agitated as he spoke, slapping his thigh violently. Rainwater streamed down his dark cheeks, indistinguishable between rain and tears.

"Last time it was the crops! This time... this time it's going to kill me! It must be those damned creatures in the mountains! They're not letting me live in peace!"

"Old Wang, don't get agitated, don't get agitated, speak slowly, and tell me everything you know."

Old Liu stepped forward, using his body to slightly block Uncle Wang's overly excited gaze. His voice remained calm, and at the same time, he subtly gave Zhang Zhi a wink.

Zhang Zhi understood and whispered to Lin Chen, "Chen, come with me."

The two men bypassed the agitated Uncle Wang, carefully avoiding the large pool of blood on the ground, and approached the three corpses of kapok sheep.

The intense smell of blood and death was almost suffocating.

Zhang Zhi crouched down. Instead of touching the corpse rashly, he first summoned the Azure Hound.

Zhang Zhi said, "Zhuifeng, smell carefully. What else is there besides the scent of the cotton sheep and Uncle Wang?"

The Azure Hound responded with a low growl and began to sniff around the three corpses with extreme caution, pausing occasionally and looking up at the rain-shrouded mountains outside the shed.

Lin Chen suppressed his discomfort and squatted down next to another corpse.

As a prospective college student, it's understandable that he felt uncomfortable seeing something like this for the first time, but fortunately, he adapted well and recovered quickly.

His solution was simple: the carcass of the kapok sheep doesn't have to be bloody and horrific, after all, it can be turned into delicious lamb skewers.

But the scene before us was still a terrible sight.

Each of the kapok sheep was covered with crisscrossing scratches of varying depths.

Some wounds were extremely deep, almost exposing the bone, with the skin and flesh rolled back and turned white from being soaked in rainwater.

The pure white wool was torn and disheveled, with dark red scabs and mud clinging to it.

Their deaths were painful, clearly indicating that they had endured terrible torment in their final moments.

Pure torture and slaughter.

This judgment, like an icicle, pierced Lin Chen's mind.

If a wild animal is a hungry animal that comes down from the mountain to hunt for food, it will usually eat as soon as possible after successfully hunting, or drag its prey away.

Such behavior, bordering on venting anger, would never occur; it doesn't align with the survival instinct of the vast majority of wild pets.

"What did you figure out?"

While observing the Qinglan Hunting Dog's reaction, Zhang Zhi asked Lin Chen in a low voice.

Lin Chen did not answer immediately. He frowned and shifted his gaze from one sheep carcass to another.

"Brother Zhang."

Lin Chen's voice sounded exceptionally clear amidst the noise of the rain hitting the roof: "I feel something is very wrong."

"A starving predator wouldn't waste food like this. It's more like..."

Before he could finish speaking, the Azure Hound suddenly looked up at the rain curtain in the distance, its tail standing straight up, its eyes alert, and it barked incessantly.

"Woof woof woof!!!"