Taming beasts is not as good as taming yourself

In a quiet courtyard of a private residence in Block 13.

A middle-aged man who was watering the vegetable garden in the courtyard suddenly stopped what he was doing. Then, his gaze swept to the center of the garden and landed on a mushroom that was half-buried in the soil and was about the size of a bathtub.

"Have any spores been triggered?" The middle-aged man nodded, showing no surprise whatsoever. In other words, the fact that the parasitic spores were only being triggered now only indicated that the police department's response was somewhat slow.

Of course, this is also related to his ingenious plan. Compared to directly arresting people and forcing them to take drugs, which would cause the target to die and attract the attention of the police department, this plan was more effective.

His plan was much gentler: using the Dream Powder from the Dream Mushroom, a plant-type pet, he would dilute the potion and mix it into the potion, then have it distributed.

Because the potion has been diluted significantly, taking this Dream Powder mixed with the potion will not lead to death. Of course, if someone is not well-adapted to the power of the Great Ones, taking this Dream Powder will have considerable side effects, but if someone is well-adapted to the power of the Great Ones, it will have positive effects.

Combined with the addictive nature of the Dream Powder, it can encourage those who are adaptable to keep buying it. As long as they see who buys the most, that person will become adaptable to the power of the Great One.

After that, it's simple: kidnap those who bought the most, and then conduct the final experiment using the complete potion. This Dream Powder is just a preliminary screening; to become a true adaptee, one must drink the complete potion.

"It's about time to wrap this up." The activation of the parasitic spores meant that the police department had taken notice of the matter. Because of the police department's slow response, he had already obtained quite a few adaptable seeds, and all that was left was the final test. If the spores didn't activate, he could wait a little longer.

Now that the spores have been triggered, it is enough to end the plan. The middle-aged man is very confident that an adaptor will definitely emerge from this batch of test subjects.

The middle-aged man waved his hand at the large mushroom in the yard. Immediately, the mushroom shrank and then quickly expanded. Using this contraction and expansion, the large mushroom leaped high and jumped to the side, revealing a hole in the ground that was hidden by the large mushroom.

The middle-aged man jumped directly into the cave, walked along the passage for a while, and a huge basement appeared, along with cages placed around the basement.

Each cage contained a person, all of whom were people the middle-aged man had captured multiple times to purchase the Dream Powder. The middle-aged man's appearance did not elicit any reaction from the people in the cages, as they were all immersed in the pleasure brought by the Dream Powder and were completely unaware of what was happening outside.

But the basement did not remain unresponsive to the middle-aged man's appearance. At least the basement ceiling moved, and then a giant, yellowish-brown python descended and nuzzled affectionately against the middle-aged man.

It was obvious that the yellowish-brown giant python was also a middle-aged man's pet beast and a core member of his fighting force. The Dream Mushroom outside, although also his pet beast, was specially cultivated by him for this plan, with the effects of the Dream Powder enhanced, and its combat power was mediocre.

"Keep guarding this place, we'll be able to go back soon." Gently patting the giant python's head, the middle-aged man took out more than ten vials of medicine and forced them to be administered to all those trapped in the dream world. Now he just had to wait for the results.

When he returns with the adapted body, he will surely receive a generous reward, and his old companion will also have the hope of advancing further.

"Mushroom~~"

Just as the middle-aged man was envisioning a bright future, the Dream Mushroom in the courtyard issued a reminder through a contractual connection.

"Another spore has been triggered?"

After hearing the message from the Dream Mushroom, the middle-aged man frowned. The fact that one spore had been triggered meant that the Security Bureau was already aware of the situation. Now, the second spore had been triggered again in such a short time. This was no longer a simple awareness, but rather a corresponding investigation plan.

"Mushroom~~"

As the middle-aged man pondered his coping strategy, the Dream Mushroom issued another warning; this was the third parasitic spore to be triggered.

"Phew~~"

At this moment, all the hesitation and doubt in the middle-aged man's heart dissipated. Before, when one or two spores were triggered, he was still a little hesitant, thinking that things should not be at their worst yet.

There was no need to hesitate any longer. The repeated triggering of the parasitic spores meant that the police were specifically targeting him. His gaze swept over the test subjects in the basement, their expressions pained after drinking the potion.

The middle-aged man then took out an anonymous encyclopedia and sent a message. He needed time; he could only leave after the results were available here.

In order to prevent the police from finding this place, he needed someone to interfere with the police investigation, and that person was naturally the local gang in Block 13.

These gangs take 5% of the high profits from selling Dream Powder, so now that something has happened, they naturally want to help.

If the local gang can delay him for just one day—no, just one night—then the results will be in, and he can leave with the last surviving adaptor.

……

"Mimi, what's wrong with you?"

Wu Xiao saw that the little fox, which had been hiding in his pocket, was now peeking out and breathing heavily. With each breath, the little fox became more excited.

Upon seeing this, Wu Xiao subconsciously thought of the energy-boosting powder, but there was no energy-boosting powder in the surrounding air.

"Meow~~"

As Wu Xiao looked on in confusion, Mimi let out a satisfied cry, and at the same time, the little fox's pink fur became even more vibrant.

Seeing this, Wu Xiao took out the encyclopedia and scanned Mimi's status. Before learning the Beastmaster skill "Status Detection", the encyclopedia was the best alternative.

Name: Spirit Fox.

Grade: Common.

Attribute: Normal.

Level: 2.

Characteristic: Different colors.

Skill: Cry.

"This is an upgrade!"

The information displayed in the encyclopedia is not much different from before, the only difference is in the level column, where Mimi, who was originally level 1, is now level 2.

But why did this little fox suddenly level up? Wu Xiao hadn't been feeding it any high-grade food or giving it any special training lately. He'd always kept it as a pet.

Since he didn't understand, Wu Xiao immediately asked Mimi through telepathy.

After some questioning, Wu Xiao understood the reason: Mimi's upgrade was mainly due to consuming Wu Xiao's experience points. The energy released from the level 4 emerald worm that Wu Xiao had previously killed the young man with the rooster-like hair had been lingering around him.

Wu Xiao wasn't a pet, so he couldn't sense the energy or absorb it. However, Mimi, hiding in Wu Xiao's pocket, could. So the little fox poked its head out and absorbed the dissipating energy surrounding Wu Xiao. The dissipated energy gained from defeating a level 4 pet was enough for Mimi, a level 1 pet, to level up.

"Mimi has become amazing."

After understanding the cause and effect, Wu Xiao patted the little fox's head. Last time, the energy used to kill the pet of that temporary member of the Descent Society was completely wasted. Now that Mimi is here, there is no such thing as wasted energy.

Of course, if possible, Wu Xiao would also like to absorb this energy. Perhaps then he could possess another extraordinary power besides spiritual power, which would be of great help to him in his pursuit of higher realms in martial arts.

Despite trying various methods, Wu Xiao was still unable to sense the energy. Without sensing it, he couldn't input it into the simulator. Only by inputting it into the simulator could Wu Xiao use it to find a way to absorb the energy.

He's already stuck at the first step, so there's nothing more to do. But Wu Xiao feels that as long as he keeps refining his mental energy, he'll eventually be able to sense the existence of that energy.