What does it mean when a pet evolves incorrectly?

Chapter 83: The First Place in the Gap! A Monster's Rebirth

The leaderboard is out!

These words were like ice water thrown into a pot of boiling oil, instantly exploding in the celebratory atmosphere of the lawn.

Everyone pulled out their phones at the same time, as fast as they could.

The light from unlocking the screen instantly twinkled across the lawn, and fingers flew across the screen, swiping and clicking to log into the campus intranet.

The area fell into a brief silence.

Suddenly.

"Oh! I'm 148th! I'm in the top 200!"

"55th place — not bad, better than expected."

"202nd place? I'm fucking—"

Exclamations, sighs, excited shouts, and frustrated curses erupted like firecrackers, popping and crackling from every corner of the lawn, quickly merging into a cacophony of sound.

Everyone checked their rankings immediately, and their emotions instantly polarized.

Compared to his classmates who were either overjoyed or annoyed, Ye Zhen was unusually calm.

He was surrounded by several classmates from similarly distinguished backgrounds, all of whom exuded composure and confidence, and they all remained calm.

Ye Zhen finally took out her phone.

Expand, enter the password, and the query interface will be brought up.

The progress circle on the screen spins rapidly and then disappears.

Name: Ye Zhen Class: Combat Academy, Class 1 Total Score: 420

Current ranking: 4

The concise data popped up.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

Ye Zhen's usually composed expression was now like a frozen lake, with a clear crack appearing on the surface.

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze fixed on the number "4", his eyes glazed over, his expression blank.

Fourth place?

His breathing paused briefly before suddenly becoming rapid.

Ye Zhen practically jabbed the button to click the "View Full List" link next to it.

A faint light flashed, and the overall points leaderboard slowly unfolded before him.

His gaze instantly swept past the densely packed names below, fixing fixedly on the very top line.

1st Place: Lin Chen, Class 3, Combat Academy, Total Points: 1450

",

Ye Zhen felt his breathing stop for a moment, and even his mind went blank for a brief time.

1450?

He subconsciously glanced at his score of 420, then looked back at his score of 1450.

Ye Zhen remained silent for a moment, forced himself to take a few deep breaths, and then looked away to look at the rankings behind him.

2nd Place: Su Qingyuan, Class 3, Combat Academy, Total Score: 510

3rd Place: Bai Lu, Class 2, Combat Academy, Total Score: 480

Fourth place goes to himself, with a score of 420.

Starting from fifth place, the points plummeted, dropping directly below 300.

In other words, the top three players all have significantly higher scores than him.

Lin Chen, who is ranked first, has a higher score than the combined scores of the bottom three.

As he watched, Ye Zhen's shoulder twitched, and for some reason, he chuckled: "Heh..."

Not far away, Zhou Ming's reaction was much more direct.

"Holy crap—!!!"

A piercing scream burst from Zhou Ming's throat, drawing the attention of many people around him.

He sprang up from his chair with a start, nearly knocking over his juice glass, but his eyes were glued to the rankings on his phone. He then abruptly turned to Lin Chen, who sat calmly beside him, his finger trembling as he pointed at the screen, then at Lin Chen, his lips quivering: "Chen-Chen-ge! You're 1450?! I-I'm freaking--Are you even human?! ...

He was actually quite satisfied with his ranking this time, placing 17th with 210 points, but at this moment, it seemed insignificant under the dazzling light of the top spot with 1450 points.

This is a huge gap of more than five times.

As more and more people saw the number one spot on the list, exclamations and discussions snowballed, eventually turning into a storm that swept the entire venue!

"1450 points?! Are you kidding me?!"

"Report! Someone's cheating!"

"Lin Chen? Which Lin Chen? The one from Class 3?"

"The first-place player has more points than the next four combined? How can this even be played?"

In an instant, the focus of discussion quickly shifted from their own rankings to the top name with an unparalleled lead in points, and countless eyes searched for Lin Chen's figure in the crowd like searchlights.

Just then, an excited voice rang out, cutting through the noise: "I know! I know Boss Lin Chen! I fought alongside him!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Zhang Dongdong had somehow climbed onto an empty dining chair, waving his arms, his face flushed with excitement, and spitting as he began to tell his story: "The story begins with a giant, earth-shattering bear..."

His narration was like pouring hot oil into a boiling pot, causing the crowd to erupt in commotion.

Lin Chen noticed that many gazes were beginning to lock onto him. He prepared to leave before he was surrounded, but a tall, mountain-like figure stood in front of him, blocking most of the scorching gazes.

"Ahem." Zhao Honggang looked at Lin Chen, his voice surprisingly gentle. "Lin Chen, come with me for a moment."

After saying that, Zhao Honggang turned and left, and Lin Chen took the opportunity to get up from his seat and followed closely behind.

Countless gazes followed the direction he left, lingering there for a long time.

A moment later, Zhao Honggang led Lin Chen to a bright room.

The room was small and simply furnished, with a large solid wood desk, several comfortable armchairs, and bookshelves against the wall crammed with heavy books and files.

Almost the instant the door closed, a figure who had been buried in a pile of paper reports behind the desk suddenly stood up.

This is an elderly man with completely white hair, wearing thick black-rimmed glasses.

He was thin with deep wrinkles on his face, and he was looking at Lin Chen, who had just entered the room, through his glasses.

Zhao Honggang introduced, "This is Professor Li Jingming from the research department."

Li Jingming showed no interest in pleasantries whatsoever. He didn't even glance at Zhao Honggang beside him, but stepped forward, almost touching Lin Chen, and got straight to the point: "Lin Chen, about your Flame Claw Beast..."

"6

He paused, seemingly choosing his words carefully, but the eagerness in his eyes was almost overflowing: "Was the new evolutionary form of the Flameclaw Beast something you independently explored, experimented with, and ultimately succeeded at? Did you name this new form?"

Meeting Professor Li's burning gaze, Lin Chen nodded: "Yes, I figured out the evolution path myself, and I named this new form—Flame Spine Tyrannosaurus."

"Flame Spine Tyrannosaurus Rex — Flame Spine Tyrannosaurus Rex —"

Professor Li repeated the name in a low voice, his eyes shining even brighter.

He abruptly raised his head and exclaimed in an even more fervent tone, "Incredible! Truly an incredible discovery!"

"At your age, to be able to independently figure out and research a completely new evolutionary form... Lin Chen, your talent, your insight, your experimental spirit—you are simply a born researcher!"

He became more and more excited as he spoke, grabbing Lin Chen's wrist: "Come to our research department, I'll personally mentor you! We have the best labs, the most abundant resources, and the most cutting-edge research!"

Lin Chen pursed his lips.

His research relies entirely on a systematic approach.

"Ahem!" Zhao Honggang coughed twice. "Professor Li, Lin Chen is a student at the Combat Academy, and his practical combat talent is obvious to all."

Professor Li reluctantly released his grip, but still kept a close eye on Lin Chen: "Alright, alright, Lin Chen, what are your plans regarding this new evolved form?"

Lin Chen had already considered this.

In this world, there are generally three main approaches to dealing with newly discovered evolutionary forms discovered by individuals:

One option is to keep it a secret, keeping it for personal use or for family inheritance.

This is a common choice for many aristocratic families and large powers.

Monopolizing a powerful or unique evolutionary form and making it an important part of one's core competitiveness creates a technological barrier.

Second, we publish detailed papers to the academic community and the public.

Through certification by authoritative journals and the Beastmaster Association, one can gain tremendous academic reputation, social honor, and generous rewards from official or other sources.

Third, it can be licensed or sold to external parties to a limited extent.

Selling evolutionary conditions at high prices to specific individuals, or setting strict licensing conditions.

However, for Lin Chen, the evolutionary conditions provided by the system were fundamentally different from the mainstream evolutionary conditions of this world.

The research on the evolution of pets in this world is based on countless rigorous breeding experiments, resource allocation tests, and so on.

It requires a massive accumulation of knowledge, investment of resources, luck, and the ability to cope with the risks of evolution failure or even the death of the pet.

The birth of a stable new form often involves the hard work of countless researchers and pet animals.

But he's different; he has a system.

The conditions for Flameclaw to evolve into Flamespine Tyrannosaurus are simply filling the evolution bar and adding one evolution material, which is quite simple.

But the conditions for evolution in this world are very complex and complicated, far from being that simple.

Most importantly, the others don't have a system or experience points.

Therefore, he actually only had one choice left.

Lin Chen met their gazes and said clearly, "I will keep the evolved form of the Flame Spine Tyrannosaurus for my own use and will not release specific information to the public for the time being."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Professor Li opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but looking into Lin Chen's calm eyes, those words ultimately turned into a long sigh.

"Sigh—I understand."

Professor Li adjusted his glasses and took a half-step back in a slump.

"We respect your decision." Professor Li's voice was a little hoarse. "However, if you encounter any theoretical problems in the future, or have any new discoveries or ideas, you can come to me at any time. The doors of the research department are always open for you."

"Luck won't always favor one person. To continuously and steadily research new evolutionary forms, solid theoretical knowledge is indispensable."

"Thank you, Professor Li," Lin Chen replied politely.

Professor Li gave Lin Chen a deep look, then sat back down at his desk, staring blankly at the pile of reports, and said nothing more.

Seeing this, Zhao Honggang gave Lin Chen a wink, and the two of them quietly left the room.

As they walked into the relatively quiet corridor, Zhao Honggang stopped, turned around, and patted Lin Chen on the shoulder with a smile on his face.

"None of us expected to have such an outstanding student like you in this year's class."

Zhao Honggang's face was full of smiles, a stark contrast to the always serious-looking man outside: "Add me on WeChat. If you encounter any training difficulties or troubles that are inconvenient to handle, you can contact me directly."

Lin Chen's heart stirred slightly, and he added the contact information.

Zhao Honggang single-handedly increased the value of his social circle. Does he even know what a master-level beast tamer's network of connections is?

"Alright, go back and rest."

Night had fallen, and Lin Chen returned to his dormitory.

As soon as Lin Chen entered the dormitory, he saw Yun Chuxiu staring straight at him with an exceptionally intense gaze.

Yun Chuxiu's voice rang out softly: "I was wrong."

"What did you do wrong?" Lin Chen was taken aback.

Yun Chuxiu said slowly and deliberately, "So it turns out that from beginning to end, there has only been one monster in our generation."

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"Boss, I'm counting on you to carry me for the next four years!!!"

After a quick wash, Lin Chen returned to his room.

The night sky outside the window was dotted with stars, and the lights in various parts of the college were gradually turned off, leaving only the main road and a few buildings still lit, creating a peaceful atmosphere.

However, the official forum of Qiming Beast Tamer Academy was in an uproar.

On the official forum, the Freshman Competition section has been placed in the most prominent position on the homepage.

The comments section under the pinned official announcement post was rapidly refreshing: "Paying homage to the monster from the front row! Offering tea to the big shot!"

"1450 points? Did the academic affairs office's system get hacked? (laughs)"

"Freshmen? You're telling me this is what you call a freshman?"

"This year's freshmen have the strictest fathers yet."

"Am I the only one curious about how he did it?"

Besides the usual complaints and rants, some freshmen claiming to have participated in the competition started posting their "first-hand accounts," describing Lin Chen's sporadic performance in the secret realm.

However, most of them are vague or obviously exaggerated.

Until an account with the ID "Li Heng is my son" posted a post with pictures and text, the post instantly went viral and was quickly featured and pinned by the moderator.

Post Title: [First-hand Perspective: Unveiling Lin Chen's Three Days in the Secret Realm—Also Discussing the Newly Evolved Flame Spine Tyrannosaurus]

The poster clearly has good writing skills, a clear narrative, and a touch of humor.

He described in detail how he was chased by the Molten Armored Lizard, how the Flameclaw Beast King descended from the sky, and how he eventually evolved into the Flame Ridge Tyrannosaurus and forcefully defeated the Molten Armored Lizard. He also included high-definition photos of the Flame Ridge Tyrannosaurus from various angles.

This post was like a bombshell dropped into deep water, instantly pushing the forum discussion to a new climax.

"Dude, not only are you far ahead in points, but you also have a brand new evolved form. You can just be the Rookie of the Year."

"If that's the case, he must have defeated several boss-level pets to explain why he has such a high score."

"I get it, I'll go all in on the Flameclaw Beast tomorrow!"

The number of replies to the post increased at a rate of dozens per second. Not only freshmen, but also countless senior students, even some graduate students and teaching assistants, and even a few teachers who were lurking and watching the screen were all brought out to participate in the discussion.

Lin Chen, who was at the center of the storm, was lying quietly on the bed with his eyes closed and his breathing steady.

The outside world's disturbances are irrelevant to him; he just wants to sleep comfortably until he naturally wakes up.

No, you can't wake up naturally.

Lin Chen suddenly opened his eyes.

Classes start tomorrow.