What does it mean when a pet evolves incorrectly?

The sparse starlight could not penetrate the layers of branches and leaves, and the outline of the mountains was sketched as a blurry and menacing silhouette in the deeper darkness.

"roar--!"

"Whoa—!"

"Sizzle—!"

A chilling roar came from all directions, sometimes near, sometimes far, like countless unseen hunters swiftly moving through the shadows of the forest, weaving a large net full of malice.

"What the hell are these damn things?!"

A low growl, tinged with suppressed anger and shock, broke the oppressive silence.

At this moment, Wei Shan's face showed none of his usual composure.

He turned around abruptly, the bright beams of his headlamp like two sharp swords, piercing fiercely into the shadowy depths of the dense forest behind him.

Where the beam of light reached, there were countless large trees with twisted branches, standing silently like ghosts in the dim light.

But accompanied by a chilling roar, pairs of scarlet lights lit up one after another in the cracks of the tree shadows, forming a continuous expanse.

Densely packed, layer upon layer.

"N-no, I don't know. Coach Wei, we've never seen anything like this before..."

The two intermediate-level beast tamers from the club standing beside Wei Shan were deathly pale, their foreheads were covered in cold sweat, and their voices trembled with extreme fear.

They were the backbone of the Far Mountain Club, having experienced many wilderness training missions and witnessed fierce wild beasts, but what they saw before them brought them a fear that came from the depths of their souls.

A dozen or so young people were running for their lives in the rugged, slippery forest, closely following behind the three coaches.

"Ha...ha...are all wilderness training sessions this exciting?"

Zhou Ming braced himself against the trunk of an old tree, bent over, panting heavily, his lungs burning with pain.

He felt as if his legs were filled with lead, and each time he lifted them, it felt like a thousand pounds.

Su Qingyuan was also slightly out of breath, but her breathing rhythm was noticeably more steady than the others. Her cool and aloof face appeared slightly solemn under the headlights, but her gaze remained calm.

Hearing Zhou Ming's words, she looked straight ahead, her voice clear and crisp:

"Those things are not ordinary wild pets."

Half an hour earlier, they had set up camp in a relatively flat clearing in the woods, preparing to spend their first night in the wild.

Wei Shan was the first to notice the anomaly in the communication equipment—all signals had completely disappeared, leaving only a piercing electrical noise.

Immediately afterwards, the silence of the forest was broken, and violent roars rose and fell from all directions!

One after another, wild beasts of various shapes, but with blood-red eyes and a faint, twisted black aura surrounding their bodies, pounced on them madly.

They completely disregarded the differences in the habits of their species, with pets of various races and attributes mixed together, their eyes filled only with the purest desire to kill, and they were in a strange state, tireless and unafraid of pain.

Wei Shan made a decisive move, immediately ordering two intermediate coaches to cover the rear while he covered the students' escape.

Along the way, the group and their pets fought desperately, repelling wave after wave of attacks, but at a great cost, with almost everyone injured.

If it weren't for Wei Shan's experience and formidable strength, who repeatedly broke through the encirclement with powerful attacks at crucial moments, they might have been trapped and died in that forest clearing long ago.

"Yuanyuan, do you know what those are?"

Zhang Xiaoxiao leaned against a tree, trying to calm her breathing, and turned her head to look at Su Qingyuan.

Su Qingyuan did not answer immediately.

She lowered her eyes slightly, her long eyelashes casting shadows on her cheeks, concealing the fleeting seriousness deep in her eyes.

Dark race.

The true source of that apocalyptic catastrophe.

The future I foresaw was real.

Before seeing the Dark Race with her own eyes, Su Qingyuan still held a sliver of hope: perhaps this was just a series of dreams created for unknown reasons, and there would be no real world crisis in the future.

But when the Dark Seeds actually appeared, all hope was shattered.

But why are there so many Dark Races here all of a sudden?

Could it be... that an abyssal rift has appeared?

Thinking of this, Su Qingyuan's pupils contracted slightly, and her hands unconsciously clenched.

In her memories of the future, the first publicly confirmed outbreak of the Abyss Rift didn't happen until after she entered university.

Observing the form and attack pattern of these dark creatures, as well as the abnormal magnetic field covering a large area, this outbreak should only be a "D-level abyssal rift" with the lowest assessment level.

Even the lowest level of abyssal rifts would be deadly to them now.

"So the Abyss Rift appeared so early?" Her eyes flickered, her thoughts churning.

In her memory, after the college entrance examination, in order to adapt to the environment in advance, she went to the distant Starry Sky Federation alone. She could only learn bits and pieces about what happened in Donghuang through contact with Zhang Xiaoxiao and others.

At this time, Zhang Xiaoxiao and her group naturally had no access to information about "Abyssal Rift" and "Dark Species," which were strictly controlled by the higher-ups.

It wasn't until she entered the Beast Taming Academy that she gradually came into contact with higher-level knowledge and secrets, and learned about this apocalyptic catastrophe that could threaten the survival of the entire intelligent civilization.

At that very moment, the abyssal rift erupted right beside her.

Countless thoughts flashed through Su Qingyuan's mind like lightning, but her expression remained unchanged.

She knew that speaking out now would be pointless and would only cause greater panic.

The most urgent task is to survive.

But the rescue...

Su Qingyuan's heart sank slightly.

Based on her understanding of Donghuang's current response mechanisms, local security and rescue forces likely have no experience or contingency plans for dealing with the Dark Race.

They might be able to deal with crazed wild beasts, but against these dark creatures born from the abyss rifts, ordinary tactics and skills would be much less effective, and they might even suffer heavy casualties due to a lack of understanding of their characteristics.

Even more terrifying is that the Dark Race can infect other pets.

We must contact the outside world as soon as possible, or find a safe place to hold out for rescue.

Just then, Wei Shan wiped the sweat and mud from his face, his voice hoarse: "We can't keep running around like this. We have to try to retreat and then find a way to send out a distress signal!"

Zhou Ming quickly said, "Coach, I have an offline map downloaded on my watch. I can lead the way!"

Wei Shan's expression remained unchanged, his voice low: "Of course I also have offline maps, but..."

He paused for a moment, looked up at the dense forest behind him, and said in a lower voice, "But will these things just let us leave like this?"

As soon as he finished speaking, countless scarlet eyes suddenly lit up from the dark forest.

Zhou Ming subconsciously took a half step back, quickly reached out to hold onto the tree trunk, and forced an unnatural smile: "It seems they don't want us to leave."

No one laughed.

Zhou Ming gave an awkward smile, then turned to look at Wei Shan, whose face was grave, and asked in a low voice, "What should we do now?"

Wei Shan remained motionless, his voice carried on the wind: "Your physical test scores should all be quite good, right?"

Zhou Ming nodded.

"Then... let's keep running!"

The group turned and continued their escape, but darkness, like a suffocating tide, surged towards them, bringing with it a chilling malice.

At this very moment, rescue teams are on their way.