What does it mean when a pet evolves incorrectly?

Zhou Ming pushed open the back door of the villa and slowly walked into his training ground.

The evening breeze carried the fresh scent of the garden plants, ruffling the strand of hair he had deliberately dyed blue. His brows furrowed slightly as his gaze quickly swept across the center of the area.

There was already someone standing there.

A boy who looked to be about the same age as him was tall and straight, dressed in simple casual clothes, with a small canine pet beside him.

Is this a Satsuki dog?

Zhou Ming frowned even more deeply. Although they hadn't fought yet, he had already given up hope on his opponent.

How could a weak pet like a pineapple possibly help its owner test the results of its training?

He didn't say much, but his gaze was scrutinizing as he asked directly, "You're the sparring partner who came for the interview today?"

Lin Chen nodded: "Yes."

He had just contacted the villa's housekeeper and confirmed the interview process—a showdown with the employer, with the employer's satisfaction being the final decision.

The young man in front of him, who was about the same age as himself and whose brows revealed a hint of arrogance, was clearly the employer.

Zhou Ming's gaze fell on the Satsuki again, and he finally couldn't help but ask, "Is this Satsuki your pet?"

"It's not that." Lin Chen shook his head.

Upon hearing this, the dog's ears drooped slightly and its head lowered.

But Lin Chen's gentle voice soon rang out: "However, my next pet will be this one."

The dog suddenly looked up at Lin Chen's profile, its ears perked up again, its eyes gradually brightened, and its tail tip swayed uncontrollably from side to side.

Zhou Ming gave a noncommittal "Oh".

In his opinion, contracting a weak pet like a Squirrel is a foolish choice that wastes a contract slot.

Even if the Tsum Tsum dog has a stable evolutionary path, he still sees it as weak and frail.

He wasn't discriminating against Squirrel; he simply looked down on every weak pet with a low racial level, low potential, and low combat power.

High values ​​are truly good!

He said, "Summon your pet beast."

With a thought, dazzling white light rapidly appeared in front of Lin Chen.

As the light faded, the Flameclaw Beast stood proudly under the soft lights of the training ground.

Upon seeing the Flameclaw Beast, Zhou Ming muttered to himself, "Flameclaw Beast, this is getting interesting."

Immediately afterwards, Zhou Ming sat up straight and said loudly:

"The interview was very simple: fight me."

"There's no time limit, and the rule is no rule at all. It continues until one side is completely incapacitated, or I call a halt. There's only one requirement—"

He paused, his gaze suddenly sharpening, even carrying a hint of provocation: "Let me have my fill."

Seemingly feeling that wasn't enough, he recalled Zhang Xiaoxiao's earlier words and added, "If your performance satisfies me, the salary and benefits can be increased further."

Lin Chen's eyes lit up instantly.

The next moment, Zhou Ming had a thought and summoned his pet beast.

"Hey——!"

With a high-pitched, clear cry, a figure pierced the air, carrying a wave of scorching heat, and hovered above the field.

The Flaming Eagle stretched out its body completely, its wingspan approaching two meters, displaying extraordinary majesty.

Its feathers are a fiery red, as if scorched by fire, while its beak and claws gleam with a cold, metallic sheen under the light.

Most striking were its sharp, knife-like eyes, the golden-red pupils now fixed on the Flameclaw Beast with a condescending scrutiny and undisguised fighting spirit.

It simply hovered quietly in mid-air, its wings slightly folded, and a distinct heat wave radiated outwards from it.

Race Name: Flamehawk

Attribute: Fire

Race Rank: High-level Transcendent

The Flame Eagle is known for its extreme speed, fierce close-range pounces, and sharp fire attacks, making it a very powerful extraordinary-level pet.

A high-quality Flame Eagle cub can fetch at least 200,000 yuan on the market, and if it has a pure bloodline, it is not uncommon for the price to exceed 300,000 yuan.

The Flaming Eagle before us, in terms of its size, plumage, eyes, and the intense sense of oppression it exudes, is clearly of exceptional quality and its value far exceeds that of ordinary specimens.

The Flameclaw Beast looked up at the proud raptor. It did not show the usual anxiety and repression that pet beasts would have when facing a flying opponent. Its gaze was unusually calm, as if it was thinking about something.

It suddenly turned to look at Lin Chen, and under Zhou Ming's slightly surprised gaze, raised a front paw and wiped it on its neck.

Should we get rid of it?

Lin Chen's eyelids twitched, and he quickly shook his head.

This is a big spender!

This is the boss!

Just give it your all and let him have a good time!

A clear look of disappointment flashed in the Flameclaw Beast's eyes. It let out a low, almost sighing gurgle in its throat, and then reluctantly lowered its claws.

Boring.

Zhou Ming watched this brief and strange interaction between the man and the pet, his doubts growing even stronger.

What did that action just now mean?

Some kind of tactical hand signal?

Or is it a mysterious interactive ritual?

He couldn't figure it out, and he was too lazy to investigate further.

"Ready?" Zhou Ming didn't waste any more time. The moment Lin Chen nodded, his eyes sharpened. "Then let's begin!"

The moment the words fell, the Flame Eagle circling low in the sky suddenly contracted its pupils, its sharp gaze locking onto the Flame Claw Beast like a tangible arrow.

Zhou Ming, with a tentative mindset, had a sudden thought:

"A barrage of flames!"

call!call!call!

A series of fist-sized, orange-red fireballs with long, thin trails of fire at their tails were instantly spewed out from the mouth of the Flame Eagle!

The fireballs intertwined in the air, forming a wide-ranging fire net that descended upon the location of the Flameclaw Beast!

Lin Chen's eyes flickered.

Flame Barrage is a basic fire skill with a long-range control effect. It has a fast firing rate and wide coverage, and is mainly used to interfere with and test the opponent's movement ability and defensive reaction.

Lin Chen said, "Flame Breath Bullet."

Since Zhou Ming said before the battle that he hoped to have a good time, he would definitely go all out.

This is not about the potential salary increase, but about putting on a spectacular showdown.

"Gaku!"

The Flameclaw Beast, which had been poised to attack, puffed out its chest, and orange-red light rapidly gathered deep in its throat.

"Gaku!"

With a deep roar, an incredibly condensed fireball shot out from its mouth in the blink of an eye.

The next second, the flamethrower crashed into the dense net of fire!

Boom boom boom!

A series of unusually crisp explosions suddenly rang out as the flamethrower, like a red-hot iron ball, crashed into the loose snowdrift, shattering the small fireballs in its path.

In an instant, the flames dissipated in large swathes, and the power of the flame breath bullets only slightly diminished, their color still blazing brightly, carrying the remaining surging energy as they hurtled straight toward the Flame Eagle!

All of this happened too fast.

"What?"

Zhou Ming's pupils contracted slightly, and his nonchalant expression was instantly replaced by astonishment!

"A proficient-level flame breath bullet?"

Before anyone could be surprised, the Flame Breath Bullet had already reached the Flame Eagle.

Flamehawk clearly hadn't expected its opponent's counterattack to be so swift and powerful.

After tearing through the fire net, the blazing fireball continued at almost the same speed, already closing in. The scorching heat even caused the feathers on its neck to curl slightly!

"Hey!"

The Flamehawk reacted at the last second.

It did not try to resist with its body. Instead, it flapped its powerful wings diagonally downwards and its body moved half a meter to the side at a clever angle!

The next instant, a blazing fireball whistled past the edge of its left wing root!

Although it didn't hit directly, the terrifyingly high temperature on the surface of the fireball still caused it a burning pain, and a few feathers on the edge instantly turned yellow and curled up.

What's more troublesome is the shockwave and air blast generated by the fireball as it passed by, which caused the Flame Eagle, which was making an emergency change of direction, to sway and stumble in the air.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Ming's expression completely changed.

It really is a proficient-level flame breath bullet!

With just one glance, he knew that this Flameclaw Beast was different from the other pets that came for the interview before!

After the initial shock, a surge of fervent fighting spirit erupted throughout his body like a volcanic eruption.

"Good! Very good!"

Zhou Ming's eyes shone with an alarming light. He waved his hand dismissively, a smirk playing on his lips. "That's more like it! This is the kind of opponent I've been looking for!"