What does it mean when a pet evolves incorrectly?

Li Haotian stood on a slightly elevated rock, but his face showed no sign of the ease that comes with victory.

His brows were furrowed, his face was ashen, and his gaze swept across the dark forest surrounding the valley.

From his perspective, he could clearly see that although the battle in the valley had temporarily subsided, in the darkness further out, deep in the shadows of the trees, there were still scarlet lights flickering like will-o'-the-wisps.

In the distance, from the mountains and forests, a disturbing roar could be faintly heard.

Can't we kill all these monstrous things?

Where did they come from?

Li Haotian's heart sank lower and lower.

His professional instincts, honed over many years, told him that the calm before his eyes was likely just a brief respite before the storm.

The real source of the problem is probably hidden somewhere deeper in the mountains.

"hold head high!!!"

A magnificent dragon's roar resounded from the distant horizon.

Everyone involuntarily looked up and followed the sound.

A thick layer of clouds in the southwest was violently swept away by an invisible force, and a huge, suffocating shadow suddenly broke free of the sea of ​​clouds and soared in.

Its body length is estimated to be over ten meters, with a large, somewhat ferocious head, a protruding snout, and a mouthful of interlocking sharp teeth that reflect a cold light under the thin starlight.

A pair of extremely wide cortical membrane wings extend from the back of its neck. With a wide wingspan, they flap violently in flight with a steady and powerful rhythm, bringing with them a deep, thunderous sound.

Although the giant beast was quite a distance away from the group, its size and the faint aura it exuded still gave a glimpse of its power. Many of the pets trembled and even prostrated themselves on the ground.

Lin Chen looked up, his heart surging with emotion.

This was the first time he had ever witnessed such a powerful pet up close.

This suffocating sense of oppression far exceeded that of any extraordinary being he knew.

He lowered his head and muttered, "How many experience points would I get if I could defeat it?"

The Flameclaw Beast raised its claws and opened its mouth wide: "Gagu~"

How much stronger would I become if I could kill it?

The two looked at each other for a second, then shook their heads and sighed at the same time.

Then, Lin Chen focused his gaze and vaguely saw a tall, pine-like figure standing silently on the back of the giant beast.

The figure's clothes seemed to flutter in the wind, as if they had merged into one with the giant beast beneath their feet.

Due to distance and lighting, the specific features were not clearly visible.

The behemoth hovered in the air for only a brief moment. With a gentle sway of its massive body, it transformed into a streak of azure light that cleaved the night sky, disappearing in an instant behind the deeper mountains.

It was as if I were just passing by, a fleeting glimpse.

But this is just the beginning.

"Rage!"

"Chirp!"

"roar!"

Accompanied by a series of cries, several equally massive figures tore through the night sky and streaked across the heavens.

Because of the distance, the shapes of these pets are not clearly visible, but one or two figures may be vaguely seen standing on the back of each pet.

These pet beasts did not stop, but sped off at an extremely fast speed, following closely behind the first giant beast, and disappeared into the horizon one after another.

Everyone looked up, mouths agape, in the direction where these powerful beasts had disappeared.

Su Qingyuan gazed quietly at the night sky. Her elegant face showed little emotion in the intermittent light, but a glimmer of light flashed in the depths of her eyes.

"It must be the group from the Rift Investigation Department," she realized.

Before my thoughts could settle, the sound of orderly, heavy footsteps broke the silence of the valley from behind.

Everyone turned around at the sound and saw dozens of figures appear silently at the entrance of the valley.

They were all dressed in simple, unmarked dark gray combat uniforms, and moved in perfect unison, silently and efficiently.

These people were accompanied by powerful pet beasts of various shapes and sizes, each exuding a deep aura.

A figure suddenly stepped out from the crowd. He wore gold-rimmed glasses and had a gentle and refined demeanor. He was Zeng Chuan, a special defense agent whom Lin Chen had met once before.

Zeng Chuan's gaze quickly swept across the devastated valley, passing over the still-shaken students and exhausted rescue team members, before finally settling on Li Haotian.

He walked straight up to Li Haotian, a gentle smile on his face that was as warm as a spring breeze:

"Director Li, it's nice to see you again. I'm Zeng Chuan, a senior operations officer from the Special Defense Bureau's Rift Investigation Department."

After saying this, he looked around the room and raised his voice: "By order of superiors, effective immediately, a temporary control zone shall be established within a radius of ten kilometers centered on these coordinates. All affairs in this area shall be under the full control of my department."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the valley, and emphasized his words:

"The following order is hereby issued: All personnel not under our command, including local security forces, civilian beast tamers, and unrelated civilians, shall immediately cease all actions and evacuate this controlled area via the designated safe passage."

"After evacuation, please maintain the highest level of confidentiality regarding everything you saw, heard, and experienced within the controlled area tonight. Recording, disseminating, or discussing in any form is strictly prohibited. Those who disobey will be severely punished according to law."

After finishing his long speech, Zeng Chuan nodded to Li Haotian, a smile returning to his face:

"Director Li, you did a great job."

"We effectively organized defense and rescue efforts during this sudden, large-scale incident, protected the safety of key personnel, and minimized losses. Once the initial phase of this incident has concluded, we will conduct a detailed assessment of the results and reward those who contributed."

This affirmation eased the tension on the faces of Li Haotian and many other rescue team members.

Then, Zeng Chuan turned his gaze to the group of young people protected in the middle and asked, "These are the children who went into the mountains today, right? Is anyone injured?"

Li Haotian immediately replied, "They are all minor injuries. A few pets are more seriously injured, but they are not in immediate danger of death and have already received emergency treatment."

"Okay, that's good."

Zeng Chuan nodded, his gaze sweeping across the crowd. When he saw Lin Chen standing beside a pile of charred corpses of the Dark Race, frowning, a hint of emotion flashed in his eyes.

It's that young man again.

Last time, they encountered the strange Gale Sable; this time, they directly encountered the Abyss Rift outbreak.

This child's luck is really not good.

Having encountered such events one after another that would leave a serious psychological scar on an ordinary beast tamer, even though this child is resilient and received an award last time, he is still just a young man who has just graduated from high school.

How could one possibly remain completely unmoved in the face of these twisted, evil, and irrational monsters?

Judging from his somber face and the way he sighed inwardly, he was probably still feeling lingering fear, but he was just trying to remain calm.

Thinking of this, Zeng Chuan felt a pang of sympathy for Lin Chen.

It is already quite remarkable that one can remain relatively calm and even participate in the fight under such circumstances.

His thoughts were fleeting, and Zeng Chuan didn't waste any more time: "Without further ado, please have Director Li organize everyone to descend the mountain as quickly as possible. We'll take care of this place."

The evacuation order has been officially issued.

The rescue team quickly organized their equipment, helped the injured, and gathered the pets. The students, still shaken, also helped each other and began to move with the team.

Lin Chen watched as the Special Defense Bureau members quickly took over the battlefield, and as the Dark Race creatures drifted further and further away from him, he frowned and sighed repeatedly.

The instance time wasn't over yet, but due to the sudden arrival of the Special Defense Bureau, he couldn't stay here any longer.

However, when Lin Chen turned to look at the Flame Claw Beast, the regret in his heart suddenly disappeared.

From evening until now, Flameclaw has fought about ten battles. Although it won most of them easily, a few Dark-type monsters caused it some trouble.

Even with healing spray to treat their injuries and energy cubes to replenish their strength, after half a day of running and fighting, both he and Flameclaw were nearing their limits.

"Are you tired?" he asked.

"Gaku!"

The Flameclaw Beast nodded subconsciously, then quickly shook its head.

As long as it can keep getting stronger, it doesn't feel tired.

Lin Chen patted the Flameclaw Beast's head and waved his hand, "Let's go home and have some barbecue!"