A Changed World

Wildlife Rescue Station

"Tell me about where you came from."

Chen Yuan stared intently at the Flame Cloud Falcon in the iron cage, his expression stern and his gaze piercing.

"Arf, arf!"

Cola strutted around the iron cage as if backed by a powerful patron, barking at the Flame Cloud Falcon from time to time.

"Chirp?"

The Flame Cloud Falcon tilted its head, its face full of confusion as it looked at the hateful human before it.

A tiny head, a huge question mark.

Seeing this, Chen Yuan frowned slightly and suddenly realized how ridiculous his question was.

Even if this Flame Cloud Falcon could understand him, it couldn't possibly answer aloud.

Besides, the Flame Cloud Falcon looked utterly bewildered. Its intelligence probably wasn't advanced enough to understand what he meant yet.

Chen Yuan had no choice but to temporarily give up investigating the Flame Cloud Falcon's origins. Instead, he reported its basic information to the wildlife rescue station's supervisor, then began studying the data panel that had appeared out of thin air earlier.

Anyone with a system knew that the first few entries on a data panel were easy enough to understand.

"Only... what do rank and promotion rank mean?"

Without any detailed explanation, Chen Yuan couldn't determine what the final two entries represented. He could only guess that they were related to an Extraordinary Creature's strength.

But since there was a promotion relationship, the higher the rank, the better.

"But no matter what, all this proves one thing—"

"The world has really changed!" Chen Yuan murmured, his eyes shining.

Change meant opportunity. It meant turbulent times ahead.

"But none of that has anything to do with me for now. I'm just an ordinary wage slave." Chen Yuan smiled faintly and turned his gaze back to the Flame Cloud Falcon, whose face was filled with grief and indignation.

The Flame Cloud Falcon's wing was no longer bleeding, though blood had stained its left wing red. Against its fiery red feathers, it looked like the blazing clouds stretching across the evening sky.

Just then, his supervisor sent him a message: "Everything stays the same. Watch your safety."

Seeing that his supervisor had specifically reminded him to stay safe, Chen Yuan's eyes flickered. He typed back, "Okay, received."

Then,

"Don't be afraid. I mean you no harm." Chen Yuan's gaze softened as he smiled at the Flame Cloud Falcon. "Next, I'll treat the injury on your wing. Don't worry, it'll be over soon."

"Chirp?"

The Flame Cloud Falcon's azure eyes were still full of confusion. When it saw Chen Yuan drawing closer and closer, his enormous, terrifying shadow enveloping it, it abruptly spread its wings and let out a piercing screech, trying to scare him away.

Chirp chirp chirp!

Don't come any closer!

But the Flame Cloud Falcon's resistance posed no threat at all in Chen Yuan's eyes. Besides, it was already injured; the flames it spat out were even weaker than a lighter's flame.

Chen Yuan opened the iron cage, grabbed the weakened Flame Cloud Falcon, ignored its indignant expression, and gave it an anesthetic injection.

It was an Extraordinary Creature, after all. He couldn't guarantee it wouldn't hurt him.

It took quite a while for the anesthetic to take effect. Chen Yuan hurriedly disinfected the wound on its wing and wrapped it with medical bandages.

After finishing everything, Chen Yuan carefully placed the Flame Cloud Falcon back in the cage. He clapped his hands and smiled brightly. "All right. Now you just need to rest properly."

"Huff."

Yet Chen Yuan received only a faint snore in reply.

Looking down, he saw that at some point, the Flame Cloud Falcon had curled up, closed its eyes, and fallen asleep.

By late morning.

The Flame Cloud Falcon slowly woke up. The instant it opened its eyes, a huge dog head filled its vision, drool trickling from the corner of its mouth.

"Chirp chirp chirp!"

Startled, the Flame Cloud Falcon became so agitated that it fainted again.

Chen Yuan patted Cola on the head and said irritably, "How did you scare it unconscious?"

"Arf arf?"

Cola tilted its head and gave him an innocent look.

Who knew it was such a scaredy-cat!

"You brat, you're talking back to me now?" Seeing Cola's reaction, Chen Yuan instinctively raised his hand. Cola gave an awkward smile and quickly backed away.

Just then, his phone rang. Chen Yuan took it out and answered.

"Bro, are you busy right now?" A familiar voice sounded in his ear.

Chen Yuan smiled. "Not busy. What made you call me today?"

Chen Yuan's parents had passed away in an accident years ago. Their grandfather had raised him and his younger brother, Chen Wenhao, all by himself.

Unlike Chen Yuan, whose grades had been fairly average, Chen Wenhao attended one of the country's top universities. He had now chosen to pursue a direct PhD under a renowned professor.

"Then there's no one else around you, right?" Chen Wenhao asked again.

Chen Yuan's heart tightened. Frowning, he asked, "No one. Did something happen?"

"It's nothing." Chen Wenhao's tone was calm. He paused for half a second before saying solemnly, "Bro, I'm about to tell you something very important. You have to promise not to tell anyone else."

"...Okay."

"Bro, prepare yourself first. This may overturn everything you know. Very possibly."

Chen Yuan laughed and scolded, "Stop dragging it out. Just tell me what it is."

Chen Wenhao took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "The world is undergoing some kind of mutation. This mutation will overturn the current social order."

"Mm, and then?" Chen Yuan's tone was flat.

"Bro, you're not surprised at all?" Chen Wenhao asked in astonishment.

Chen Yuan raised a brow. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Seven straight days of torrential rain is already abnormal enough. And the plants outside are getting taller by the day. Anyone can tell at a glance that the world has changed."

Chen Wenhao fell silent briefly before speaking again. "It's not just plants."

"More precisely, it's every living thing on Blue Star."

Chen Yuan glanced at Cola lying on the ground and said thoughtfully, "Every living thing?"

"Yes." Chen Wenhao's tone was serious. "The continuous torrential rain has brought about a brand-new Spiritual Tide, giving every living thing the possibility of evolving further."

"Every species may develop unimaginable abilities."

"And such beings are called Extraordinary Creatures."

Hearing this, Chen Yuan couldn't help complaining, "This is exactly like those Spiritual Tide novels I read."

Chen Wenhao emphasized, "Bro, this isn't a novel. This is real."

After a brief pause, he continued, "Although we humans can't develop unimaginable abilities, we can become Beast Tamers and contract these Extraordinary Creatures."

"As long as one tempers their spiritual power through meditation techniques, there is a chance of awakening a Beast Taming Space and becoming a Beast Tamer."

"Beast Tamers can command Extraordinary Creatures in battle. They are humanity's greatest support in this enormous change."

Chen Yuan was silent for a long time before asking, "How do you know all this?"