Skill Mutation

"Keep it in place. At the very least, the entire city needed to remain under lockdown for two days. We had to make sure not a single Burrowing rat escaped."

"Burrowing rats had a strong reproductive capacity. If even a small number escaped and were given time to breed and thrive, they could very well form another Beast Tide."

"Especially since these Burrowing rats were infected with a virus, which further increased the possibility of another Beast Tide forming."

"Our most urgent task right now is to find a way to close the Secret Realm Rift."

"Although the email said that the Secret Realm Rift would repair itself after one day, the sooner it closed, the more the risk would decrease."

As long as the Secret Realm Rift existed, Burrowing rats would keep pouring out of the Secret Realm in an endless stream.

Although the Pet Beast Guild had immediately killed the Burrowing rats rushing out of the Secret Realm, killing so many at once could still cause the guild members to overlook some.

Burrowing rats were rodent-type Strange Beasts. When faced with danger, they were skilled at playing dead and even more skilled at digging holes.

If the escaped Burrowing rats formed another Beast Tide, all their previous precautions would become a joke.

Beast Tides were feared because, during one, the Strange Beasts would madly devour every living creature in their path, leaving not a blade of grass wherever they passed.

During this process, their levels would rise at breakneck speed, without any bottlenecks.

For ordinary Strange Beasts, breaking through from the First Order to the second order was fraught with difficulties. But during a Beast Tide, advancing from the First Order to the second order became much easier.

This was an extremely unusual phenomenon. According to research by experts and professors, Strange Beasts might secrete a special Signal Hormone during a Beast Tide.

Stimulated by the Signal Hormone, their cells would develop an intense craving. They would devour anything beneficial to themselves at all costs, achieving a leap in life.

Wang Jinyin had once sent people into the Secret Realm to investigate. The result was that Burrowing rats covered the mountains and plains, having eaten the entire Secret Realm bare.

Even their own young had become food for them.

This showed that the Burrowing rats' reproduction had already exceeded the Secret Realm's carrying capacity.

Even without a Spatial Rift appearing, these Burrowing rats would have slaughtered one another until the Secret Realm's balance of supply and demand was restored.

Thus, during this process, the Burrowing rats would attack without regard for anything. Even after death, their flesh would become nourishment for their companions.

And during this process, high-order Strange Beasts would be more easily bred.

The appearance of the Spatial Rift had diverted the attention of the Burrowing rats that had been killing one another, and they turned their targets toward the outside world.

"These Burrowing rats were infected with an unknown virus, so they became even more bloodthirsty and crazed."

"They had completely lost their minds. All that remained were primal urges to attack and reproduce."

"They would eat in huge quantities, then undergo a leap in life."

"I'm worried that high-order Strange Beasts may appear."

"So we had to kill these Burrowing rats at all costs, lest they have too great an impact on Jiaying City."

"Tell those Pet Beast Masters who had just joined the Pet Beast Guild to be careful. Once Burrowing rats advanced into second-order Berserk Blood Rats, they became very difficult to kill."

"If they weren't severely wounded in one blow, Berserk Blood Rats would recover very quickly."

"If these things devoured enough flesh and blood, they might very well break through to the third order."

Wang Jinyin repeatedly emphasized.

There would definitely be many Burrowing rats advancing to the second order in this Beast Tide. Some might even break through to the third order.

Jiaying City did not produce many minerals, so Burrowing rats had a greater chance of evolving into Berserk Blood Rats.

"How was the evacuation situation at Sacred Mountain Middle School and the other major middle schools in Jiaying City?"

Wang Jinyin asked his secretary.

"All the major middle schools have opened shelters. The teachers are patrolling everywhere to guard against Burrowing rat incursions."

"Based on the characteristics of Burrowing rats, we have developed infrasonic patrol vehicles that target only Burrowing rats."

"They are now patrolling the city blocks in teams of two."

"When Burrowing rats hear the Infrasonic Wave, it is like countless nails hammering into their heads."

"They will burrow out of hiding in unbearable agitation and attack the patrol vehicles. Guildmaster, please rest assured."

Wang Jinyin rubbed at his throbbing temples. "I keep feeling that we've overlooked something."

"I've had a bad feeling all along. Strange, we've done everything we should have done."

Wang Jinyin felt deeply uneasy. He rarely experienced such a sense of unease.

"Also, speed up the search for the person with the Future Prediction Talent. He is extremely important to us, even to the entire Flame Kingdom."

"We have to find and protect him. Future Prediction is an S-Rank talent."

Wang Jinyin spoke with unwavering certainty.

Normally, members of the Yan Country Alliance would be tested at sixteen, during their final year of high school, to see whether they had awakened a Pet Beast Space and could become Pet Beast Masters. At the same time, their awakened talents would be tested.

According to scientific research, awakening after the age of sixteen became extremely difficult.

But it was not impossible for some people to awaken a Pet Beast Space and talents after turning sixteen.

The person who had awakened Future Prediction had probably suddenly awakened his talent and become a Pet Beast Master, which was why he had not been recorded by the Yan Country Alliance.

Elsewhere, the Blood Steel Rat was sent flying by the Thousand Changes Silkworm. Its entire body was now bald, and bloody holes covered its back.

It had fired all the Steel Spikes from its body in one breath, yet not one had struck the Thousand Changes Silkworm. The Blood Steel Rat was so angry it nearly jumped up.

The Steel Spikes on its body were all single-use.

It now had to replenish enough metal before the Steel Spikes on its back could grow again.

But Ye Bai would not give the Blood Steel Rat that chance.

The current Blood Steel Rat was like a toothless tiger, completely incapable of posing any threat to the Thousand Changes Silkworm.

"Thousand Changes Silkworm, give the Blood Steel Rat the final blow! Use Roll and crash into it!!"

Like a heavy battle tank, the Thousand Changes Silkworm rolled over the Blood Steel Rat's body.

The Blood Steel Rat spat out a mouthful of blood with a puff. It felt as though its internal organs had been forcibly crushed into a lump.

It collapsed on the ground, breathing out more than it breathed in.

"The final blow."

The Thousand Changes Silkworm slammed its huge butt onto the Blood Steel Rat, thoroughly KO'ing it.

Starlight-blue energy flowed straight into the Thousand Changes Silkworm's body. It broke through its bottleneck, its level rising to lv7 (First Order Level 7).

At that moment, a vine emerged from underground. It searched through the Blood Steel Rat's mangled head before selecting a silver-white Crystal Core.

The vine wrapped around the Crystal Core and handed it to Ye Bai.

Ye Bai casually tossed the Crystal Core to the Thousand Changes Silkworm, which was gazing at him eagerly.

After swallowing the Crystal Core, the Thousand Changes Silkworm's skill list suddenly gained a Steelize skill (1/100), not yet Entry Level.

But the next second, Ye Bai was startled to discover that the Steelize skill's proficiency was rising at an astonishing speed.

The Steelize skill's proficiency level soon became Familiar, while the Thousand Changes Silkworm's Harden skill completely vanished, replaced by Steelize.

"So after the Thousand Changes Silkworm devoured a Crystal Core, the skills it comprehended would automatically merge with lower-level skills of the same type?"

"This is a little outrageous, isn't it?"

Ye Bai blinked, an incredulous expression appearing on his face.

Please vote. Also, let me explain why the protagonist did not reveal the Eye of Insight. First, the Awakening Stone had detected that his awakened talent at the beginning was Eidetic Memory. If he suddenly gained the Eye of Insight Talent, people would definitely keep an eye on him and investigate where that talent had come from.

Second, if he exposed this talent, he would also be hunted by other countries and end up in Li Weiyang's predicament.