What does it mean when a pet evolves incorrectly?

The headlamp's white beam barely pierced the thick, boundless darkness, carving out several swaying, uneasy paths of light on the forest floor.

Apart from the sounds made by the rescue team, the entire forest fell into a deathly silence. Even the usual chirping of insects and roars of animals disappeared, with only the low whistling of the night wind blowing through the treetops.

Tap, tap, tap...

The only background noise in this eerie silence was the cacophony of heavy, suppressed footsteps.

The search and rescue team, temporarily formed by the Qingyang Town Anti-Drug Control Station, maintained a high level of alert.

Leading the way were the Azure Mist Hunting Dogs, known for their keen sense of smell, and several other pets skilled in tracking and vigilance.

They lowered their bodies, their nostrils flaring rapidly, not missing a single unusual smell or sound.

At low altitude, two sharp-eyed nocturnal pets hovered silently, their keen gazes piercing through the gaps in the branches and leaves, keeping watch over a wider area.

Following behind the reconnaissance pet were temporary guide Zhao Siwen, experienced Zhang Zhi, and several outstanding young staff members from the detention center.

In the middle of the group were older, less physically fit staff members, and Lin Chen, who had been specially arranged to be there by Li Haotian.

Li Haotian walked half a step ahead of Lin Chen, turned his head slightly, and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Logically speaking, this kind of emergency mission has potentially high risks, and a temporary assistant like you should not be involved."

"But this time the situation is different."

"With widespread communication disruptions, an unusual riot involving wild pets in the area, and a number of beast tamers missing, the situation escalated too quickly and has a wide impact. The city, the bureau, and the patrol teams are all short-staffed, and all available resources have to be mobilized."

Lin Chen smiled and said, "It's alright, Uncle Li, I understand."

Li Haotian nodded slightly, then lowered his voice again: "Remember, if we encounter any trouble later, don't be reckless, and don't run around. Try to stay near me or Zhang Zhi. Safety first, understand?"

Lin Chen nodded first, then said, "Uncle Li, the Flame Claw Beast has broken through to the second tier."

"Yes, a breakthrough is a good thing. Let's proceed steadily..."

Li Haotian instinctively responded, but halfway through his sentence, he suddenly stopped and turned his head, the beam of light from his headlamp momentarily blinding Lin Chen.

In that instant, Lin Chen clearly saw a look of astonishment appear on Li Haotian's usually composed face.

The astonishment lasted only a moment.

Li Haotian quickly regained his composure, as if his earlier loss of composure was merely an illusion caused by the light.

He started walking again, his pace unchanged, but his voice held a complex, indescribable emotion: "Oh? When did this happen?"

"today."

"oh."

Li Haotian responded, then turned his gaze back to the front, speaking almost to himself:

"If I had known you were progressing this fast, I should have signed you up for the Young Eagle Cup back then. That way, you could have brought a championship back for us."

Lin Chen smiled.

After walking for a while, the silence in the forest seemed to deepen, and even the sound of the wind seemed to have subsided.

Li Haotian spoke again:

"Xiao Chen, I've been in this business for over twenty years and have seen hundreds, if not thousands, of beast tamers, but I've never seen a newbie like you."

He paused, seemingly recalling everything that had happened since Lin Chen came to the office, or perhaps carefully choosing his words, before finally letting out a barely audible sigh:

"It seems like my son is really lucky to have grown up playing with you since he was a child."

"Once you become a novice beast tamer, I'll give you a gift."

The two spoke in hushed tones. The Azure Mist Hunting Dog, which had been on high alert, suddenly stopped, its limbs tense, fur standing on end, and barked urgently towards the dark depths of the forest ahead: "Awooo!"

The other pets following closely behind it stopped in their tracks, assuming fighting stances and letting out threatening growls.

"stop!"

Zhang Zhi, who was at the forefront, immediately raised his hand, and the entire team stopped as if a pause button had been pressed. They turned off most of their headlamps, leaving only a few beams of light to warily illuminate the front and flanks.

The sound of breathing became clearly audible at that moment.

Li Haotian's eyes sharpened, and he rushed to the front of the group, quickly asking, "What's going on?"

Zhang Zhi's expression was grave as he shook his head: "Zhuifeng seems very uneasy, and there's a strong smell of blood ahead."

"roar--!!"

Suddenly, roars and sounds of fighting erupted from the depths of the dense forest, startling a flock of birds into flight.

Li Haotian's eyes narrowed, and he said in a deep voice, "Maintain formation, advance cautiously, and watch your flanks and overhead!"

The team restarted, but at a much slower pace. Everyone's nerves were on edge, and the pets were poised to pounce.

As the distance closed, the sounds of fighting became clearer, and the stench of blood in the air grew stronger.

The beam of the headlamp pierced the darkness ahead, vaguely illuminating the edge of the fight scene.

It was a clearing in the woods that had been brutally cleared, with several trees as thick as a bowl snapped in half, the broken pieces of wood jagged and menacing.

On the open ground, two figures were engaged in a fierce battle.

The pet on the left is in a strange state, roughly resembling a lizard standing upright, nearly two meters tall, its entire body covered with a kind of black keratinous carapace that gleams with an oily and cold luster under the light.

Its head was twisted, its snout protruded and covered with jagged, sharp teeth, and its crescent-shaped eyes were bloodshot, filled with pure madness and a destructive desire.

Most striking are the two crescent-shaped bone sickles that extend from the ends of its arms, their edges gleaming with a black sheen.

Lin Chen recognized the identity of the pet beast.

Race name: Shadow Scythe Lizard

Attribute: Dark

Race Rank: High-level Transcendent

This is an extremely rare dark-type pet, which usually inhabits dimly lit environments and only appears at night.

At this moment, the strangely behaving Shadow Scythe Lizard was wielding its scythe, frantically slashing at its opponent. Its movements were swift and frenzied, each swing accompanied by a sharp whistling sound and streaks of residual black light.

"Dark race..." Lin Chen's heart sank.

His eyes were bloodshot, and when he used his skills, his body was surrounded by black light. Coupled with his eerie state, all of this matched the characteristics of the dark race that he had summarized.

This forest riot was indeed related to the Dark Race!

The Shadow Scythe Lizard's opponent is a relatively normal pet.

It was a creature that resembled a pangolin but was as large as a calf, covered entirely in a thick shell—an ice-armored armadillo.

The Ice Armor Armadillo was in extremely bad shape. Large pieces of its original crystal-clear ice armor had shattered and peeled off, revealing bloody and mangled wounds underneath.

One of its hind legs was broken and twisted at a bizarre angle, blood was constantly spilling from its mouth, and its breath was extremely weak.

Seemingly sensing its prey's complete weakening, the Shadow Scythe Lizard let out a cry that sounded like a strange laugh, its eyes glowed bright red, and its scythe-like arms surged with black energy as it slashed out in a cross shape!

A cross-shaped black blade of light tore through the air and slashed fiercely at the already badly damaged breastplate of the Ice Armor Armored Armor!

Sizzle—!

A sickening cutting sound rang out.

The ice-armored armadillo let out an extremely mournful howl as its entire body was slashed backward by the cross-shaped blade of light, crashing heavily into a large tree before sliding softly to the ground.

A moment later, its limbs twitched a few times, and the life in its eyes was like a candle flickering in the wind, quickly extinguished.

died.

Many people in the rescue team instinctively held their breath.

"What kind of monster is this?" someone murmured.

The Shadow Scythe Lizard's condition was different from that of ordinary pets, and coupled with such a bloody and terrifying scene, everyone immediately realized that something was wrong.

This is definitely not a normal Shadow Scythe Lizard!

Zhang Zhi stared intently at the Shadow Scythe Lizard, feeling as if he had seen this strange state somewhere before. He suddenly widened his eyes.

correct!

It's that Swiftwind Sable!

He quickly turned around to look at Lin Chen, only to find that Lin Chen's gaze showed no fear or terror like others did; instead, it was unusually intense, as if he had seen a rare treasure.

This gaze is unlike that of a human.

At the same time, a sudden change occurred.

A thick black aura rolled and writhed from the corpse of the ice-armored armadillo, and quickly spread throughout its body.

sizzle...

A sound like cold water dripping into hot oil rang out, and the ice-armored armadillo's corpse began to convulse violently and swell.

The shattered ice crystal shells were visibly stained black, and the broken hind legs made a sickening, tooth-grinding sound as they were forcibly straightened and covered with the same black substance.

The dead armored armadillo suddenly opened its eyes, and two points of scarlet, blood-red light shone forth.

It staggered to its feet amidst a pool of blood, turned around, and its blood-red eyes pierced through the gaps in the trees, locking onto the crowd who had witnessed this horrific scene.

silence.

A deathly silence.

Everyone's face turned deathly pale.

At the same moment, a system voice sounded in Lin Chen's mind:

[A dark crisis lurks in every corner; a mini-dungeon is officially open.]

Players are required to defeat the Darkfolk within the specified time; the more Darkfolk you defeat, the greater the reward.

[Countdown to dungeon settlement: 12:00:00]