What does it mean when a pet evolves incorrectly?

"Eek!"

The cool evening breeze instantly filled the fur of the pineapple.

It landed lightly in the soft green belt downstairs, rolled over to dissipate its strength, and without caring about the grass and mud covering its body, immediately raised its head, its moist nose sniffing the air rapidly.

A distinctly familiar scent lingered in the air.

It lowered its head, its nose almost touching the ground, and began to follow the familiar scent, trying its best to identify and search for it on the bustling street.

As night slowly falls, the streetlights of Qingyang Town light up one after another, and neon lights begin to flash, rendering the town's night scene dazzling and bizarre.

For a small animal accustomed to the tranquility of the mountains and forests, this noisy, bright environment, filled with unfamiliar atmosphere and potential danger, instinctively makes it feel uneasy and nervous.

The dog clung tightly to the shadows of the wall, avoiding the footsteps of pedestrians and dodging the occasional bicycles and electric bikes that passed by. Its small figure moved quickly through the interplay of light and shadow, its gaze both alert and determined.

It crossed the main street, bypassed the food stalls wafting with the aroma of food, dodged a few children chasing and playing, slipped into the narrow alley, and ran up the relatively quiet back street.

The smell became noticeable near the intercity train station.

It didn't see Lin Chen, only the bustling crowd, but it could smell a familiar scent mixed in with the crowd, a scent that pointed to the depths of the platform where the turnstiles had already been closed.

However, it was politely stopped by the staff outside the waiting hall.

"Pets are not allowed here."

"Mmm..."

It paced anxiously around the station entrance, watching brightly lit trains roar in and out, carrying countless people away.

Which car did Lin Chen get on?

Which direction did you go?

It forced itself to calm down and carefully distinguish the matter again.

The faint scent of Lin Chen still lingered in the air. Although it was very faint, it had taken a long time to finally detect it.

The breath pointed in a distant direction.

Without the slightest hesitation, it began running towards the city along the road beside the railway line.

As night deepened and we moved further away from the town, the surroundings became dim, with only the railway tracks gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

Occasionally, a train would rumble past not far away, bringing with it strong air currents and a huge noise, which would frighten it so much that it would lie tightly on the ground, only to get up again and continue running once the train had passed.

My strength is rapidly waning, the roaring train guides my way, and the moonlight paves the path forward.

It dared not stop.

Meanwhile, Lin Chen arrived home.

The living room was filled with the aroma of home-cooked dishes, and the evening news was playing on the television.

Mother Liu Hui was serving rice, while Father Lin Jianjun, who rarely got off work on time, was flipping through channels with the remote control.

Lin Chen washed his hands and walked to the table, still thinking about his weekend plans.

Tomorrow is Saturday, and he's not working. He plans to go to the breeding material market in the city to see if there are any suitable breeding resources for the Flameclaw Beast.

The day after tomorrow, Sunday, you can take your Flameclaw to the Battle Club or an open battle arena for some simulated battle training...

"I haven't visited the little guy for two days, he should be alright, right?"

Lin Chen didn't plan to return to Qingyang Town over the weekend; he still had a lot to do, and his schedule was already packed.

Songsong is being cared for by nurses at the treatment center, and Uncle Wang also visits him whenever he has time, so he should be fine.

I'll visit Songsong again in two days and see how she reacts. If she's okay with it, I'll take her home.

After all... after all, I paid for all the nutrition expenses these past few days myself.

Just then, the phone on the coffee table suddenly vibrated and the screen lit up.

Lin Chen's heart skipped a beat for no reason. He walked over, picked up his phone, and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Are you Mr. Lin Chen? This is the Qingyang Town Pet Treatment Center!"

The anxious voice of the nurse on duty came through the phone: "The Satsuki dog you brought in earlier is missing!"

"We checked the security footage; about an hour ago, it jumped out of the ward window by itself. We've searched the neighborhood, but haven't found it..."

The smile on Lin Chen's face suddenly froze.

The Satsuki dog is missing?

What does it mean to jump out of a window?

"At what exact time, and in which direction did it run?"

His chaotic thoughts and intense worry intertwined, so he took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

"Around 6:10 p.m., we saw on the surveillance footage that it jumped out of the window and ran along the street toward the west of the town at a very fast speed."

Upon hearing this, Lin Chen's eyes flickered, and he quickly recalled the map of Qingyang Town.

Go back to Uncle Wang’s house?

No, the direction is wrong.

Uncle Wang's house is in the northern suburbs of the town. It runs eastward. What's to the east?

The east side leads to the city center!

The moment this guess came to mind, a voice came from the other end of the phone again: "That's right, as soon as you left the treatment center, Songsong jumped out of the window."

Lin Chen's pupils contracted, and a thought instantly arose in his mind: Could it be that it came to find me?

That's not right. It didn't do anything when I was there, so why did it follow me as soon as I left?

There can't be a pet whose words and actions are completely inconsistent, where the pet doesn't verbally express any intention to leave, but its body gives the most honest reaction.

No, that's impossible; there's no such pet.

Lin Chen shook his head, decisively denying the idea.

But the absence of the Satsuki dog still made him frown.

Even if Satsuki isn't a Digimon and has nothing to do with the mission, as a wild pet that has just recovered from its injuries, Lin Chen still needs to keep track of its movements.

To be on the safe side, he dialed Uncle Wang's number first.

Soon, Lin Chen, with a serious expression, hung up the phone.

Uncle Wang said that Songsong hadn't come looking for him, but he immediately followed the road leading to the treatment center to look for Songsong.

Immediately afterwards, Lin Chen contacted Wang Zhi, who lived in town, and quickly told him about the matter.

Zhang Zhi said over the phone that he would immediately coordinate with the on-duty personnel and patrol teams to focus on checking the eastbound roads.

If it's just a regular wild pet, there's no need to use public resources.

But the Squirrel's situation is rather special. It was a victim of the Swift Finch incident, and it even contributed to the incident.

Both logically and emotionally, we must find it.

While Lin Chen kept making phone calls, Liu Hui cast a worried glance at him, but Lin Jianjun remained calm and shook his head at Liu Hui.

As children grow up, they can handle many things on their own.

What they need to do is simple: let go, and then lend a hand when the child is in trouble.

"Gaku~"

The Flameclaw Beast ignored Lin Chen, sitting alone on the sofa watching a pet TV series, occasionally reaching out its paw to grab a handful of small fruits and stuffing them into its mouth, making a contented purring sound in its throat.

What a delightful weekend!

Lin Chen waited for a moment, and then Zhang Zhi finally called:

"We have news."

"What news?" Lin Chen stood up.

"The dog, Songsong, appeared on the intercity train platform half an hour ago and was chased away by staff."

"Subsequent monitoring indicated that it traveled along the road next to the tracks towards the city center."

Lin Chen remained silent for a moment.

After confirming that the dog was running towards the city along the intercity train route, Lin Chen frowned deeply.

With such a clear direction, it's certain that it's coming to find me.

It only takes half an hour to travel from Qingyang Town to the city center by intercity train, but that's the speed at which the train travels on a dedicated track.

The actual distance between the two places is several tens of kilometers.

What do these tens of kilometers mean for a small, newly recovered pet that has been suffering from malnutrition?

This means it needs to run continuously for several hours in the dark along roads with roaring traffic, flying dust, and complex terrain!

This is only the most ideal scenario, without considering the possibility that it might get lost, run out of energy, encounter danger, or have its wounds reopen.

It is nighttime now, and the road connecting the town and the city is dimly lit. Large trucks frequently travel at night, making the road conditions complex.

A small figure running in the darkness could be run over by a speeding car at any moment, attacked by a stray pet, or even collapse from exhaustion in some unnoticed corner...

Can't wait any longer!

Lin Chen pulled the Flameclaw Beast, who was watching TV, and left the house, saying, "Mom and Dad, I'm going out for a bit. I'll be back later."

The motion-activated lights in the hallway lit up one after another in response to the hurried footsteps.

He ran quickly to the entrance of the residential area, stood by the roadside to hail a taxi, and suddenly remembered a crucial question.

The two places are dozens of kilometers apart, with a complex network of roads and numerous intersections.

The Satsuki is not a pet known for its sense of smell; it could never accurately track a dog all the way from Qingyang Town to the city center, or even pinpoint its own home.

What if it loses its scent at some fork in the road and gets lost? Wouldn't it be a waste of time to search aimlessly along the main road like this?

We must first determine its exact location!

Is there any way to locate a lost pet?

Lin Chen's brain was working at lightning speed.

Suddenly, he remembered the vital signs monitoring ring hanging around the neck of the dog. This device could monitor data such as heart rate and body temperature in real time. If any abnormal fluctuations occurred, the system would automatically alarm, allowing medical staff to intervene in a timely manner.

In this technologically advanced world, this thing should have location tracking capabilities, right?

This thought was like a match struck in the dark; though faint, it brought hope.

As soon as the thought arose, Lin Chen shared it with Zhang Zhi.

A moment later, Zhang Zhi called back: "Okay, I've got the real-time location sharing link, I'll send it to you right away!"

Lin Chen was delighted upon hearing this.

Soon, a location sharing link was sent over.

Lin Chen immediately clicked on it and saw a flashing blue dot moving slowly.

Zoom in, and zoom in again.

Lin Chen quickly determined that the blue dot was located on the road next to the intercity train and was slowly moving towards the city.

It really is heading towards the city!

Lin Chen pursed his lips and immediately took a taxi to the location of the blue light.

The city lights outside the car window rushed past, their neon lights creating a vibrant and bustling cityscape at night.

But Lin Chen's gaze was fixed on the flashing blue dot on the phone screen, and at the same time he could see the red dot representing himself rapidly approaching the blue dot.

After an unknown amount of time, the car left the main road and turned onto a side road that was noticeably narrower and more dilapidated.

The streetlights became dim and sparse, and on both sides were vast stretches of undeveloped wasteland, abandoned factories, and mountains of construction waste, which looked like the shadows of crouching giants in the night.

The number of vehicles decreased significantly, and the surroundings quickly quieted down, with only the roar of engines and the sound of tires rolling over gravel.

On the phone screen, the two dots of light are almost touching, nearly overlapping.

"Driver, pull over here!" Lin Chen said urgently, having already scanned the payment code, and rushed out of the car.

The night wind carried the earthy smell of the wasteland and the dampness of the wild grass. All around was silent, with only the rustling of the wind through the wild grass and the faint chirping of unknown insects.

Lin Chen stood by the rough asphalt road, the light from his phone screen illuminating his anxious face.

He looked around, trying to find the small figure in the dim and messy environment by the faint light of day.

"A Tsumugi? A Tsumugi!"

He raised his voice and called out, the sound carrying far across the open field, echoing back.

no respond.

But when he looked around, he quickly spotted a small figure lying on the other side of the road. Without hesitation, he ran towards it.

The Flameclaw Beast stood behind, its paws folded, staring intently at Lin Chen's figure, inexplicably feeling agitated.

"Gagoo gagoo..."

Upon crossing the street, Lin Chen finally saw Songsong Dog.

It lay on its side on the ground, its once-white fur now gray and covered with dust, grass seeds, and stains from who-knows-where, making it look rather disheveled.

Her small chest heaved violently, each breath accompanied by a rapid, hissing sound like a bellows, her tongue drooping limply at the corner of her mouth.

It was tired, extremely tired.

But its ears twitched very slightly when it heard footsteps approaching.

"Songsong Dog!"

Lin Chen lowered his head and shouted loudly.

Hearing the familiar voice, the tired Pssou dog opened its eyes.

In the dim starlight and the afterglow of a flashlight, Lin Chen's face was reflected in those obsidian-like eyes.

In an instant, its eyes lit up.

"Mmm..."

It let out a low whimper, instinctively trying to look away, yet also trying to cover its body with its paws to prevent Lin Chen from seeing its disheveled state.

But a surge of courage burst forth from within it, causing it to raise its head, push off with all four limbs, leap into the air, and land precisely in Lin Chen's arms.

The Flameclaw Beast behind it narrowed its eyes and clenched its claws: "Gagu..."

When that warm embrace enveloped the Satsuki, when those gentle yet firm arms supported its limp body, the Satsuki's taut string finally snapped.

Her small body completely relaxed, limply nestled in Lin Chen's arms, her head resting weakly against his chest, her nose gently brushing against the fabric that smelled of laundry detergent.

A whisper, carrying a magical, soothing power, reached my ear:

"It's okay, it's okay, go to sleep, get a good night's sleep."

Darkness, like the warmest and most comfortable blanket, gently enveloped me.

It fell into a deep sleep.

Lin Chen looked down at the little guy in his arms who had instantly fallen asleep and was even snoring softly, and couldn't help but chuckle.

It turns out that there really are pets whose words and actions don't match.

If you want to come with me so badly, why didn't you say so before? Why did you have to wait until I left before taking any action?

Unable to understand these questions, Lin Chen adjusted his position to make it more comfortable to sleep in his arms.

Now that we've found the Satsuki, it's time to go home.

He got up and looked around.

The boundless night, the desolate wilderness, the distant headlights of cars on the highway, and the silent starry sky overhead.

All I could hear was the mournful sound of the wind blowing across the wilderness.

He held the sleeping Pinepie in his arms, with the Flameclaw Beast standing beside him, in this desolate wilderness where there was no village in front, no shop behind, and not even a streetlamp.

A very real question belatedly surfaced in my mind:

Uh……

How can he go back now?