Outside the town, a massive military camp stood in quiet defiance, its security on par with that of a frontline command center. In stark contrast to the bloodshed and despair in the distant ruins, the atmosphere here was so calm it bordered on cold.
Inside a command room spacious enough to hold several mechs, dozens of massive high-definition screens were arranged in a sweeping arc. Everything happening inside the abandoned factory—from the Blood Wolf Mercenaries' cruel tests to the terrified expressions of every young family member, and the reactions of each battle pet, whether loyal or treacherous—was displayed before the audience in real time, in high definition, from multiple angles.
The faint hum of an advanced filtration system filled the air, mingling with the invigorating scent of cigars and strong coffee.
At the very front of the viewing area sat a middle-aged man with two gold stars on his shoulders and a face as rugged as if carved from granite: Qin Zhan, lieutenant general of the Northeast Base City garrison. His back was straight as an unbending spear. He rested his crossed hands on the dark green velvet tablecloth, his keen gaze sweeping over every screen without the slightest flicker of emotion.
Seated to his left, right, and behind him were dozens of people whose presence was as weighty as a stone. Nearly every head or senior elder from the Northeast Base City's five great families was present. Wang Qingtian was among them, his expression calm, though his hand on his knee occasionally clenched unconsciously. There were also senior officers in uniforms of various designs, along with representatives of major powers such as the Limit Martial Hall and the Thunder Martial Hall.
On the table in front of each person lay a classified document titled "Preliminary Observation Report on the Feasibility of the 'Beast Tamer' System and Extreme Stress Tests of Battle Pet Loyalty," as well as a tablet displaying continuously updated data.
The tablets clearly showed the species and rank of every battle pet being tested, graphs of their fluctuating physiological indicators, and detailed data on their corresponding owners, including facial analyses, changes in heart rate, and records of their words as they faced extreme situations.
"Bang!" The Li Family's head, a hot-tempered, red-faced old man, slammed his hand on the table. Pointing at the screen where a young Li Family woman had fainted after her Tracking Hound chose the food, he roared, "Enough! General Qin, Wang Qingtian, take a look! Is this what you call an 'extreme stress test'? Look at what you've done to these kids! Look at the battle pets of my Li Family's young ones—one after another... What kind of useless things are they? You've made me lose face!"
His beard trembled with rage. He was clearly furious with the performance of his family's young members and their battle pets, and even more incensed by the way the test was being conducted.
Wang Qingtian lifted the teacup before him and gently blew away the foam. "Brother Li, please calm down. Jade must be cut and polished before it becomes useful. Flowers grown in a hothouse cannot withstand the storms of the wilderness. It's better for them to see the true nature of their battle pets now, within controlled limits, than to be stabbed in the back on a real battlefield where life and death hang in the balance."
As he spoke, his gaze passed over the screen, where Lin Mo was shielding Wang Keke with all his might. A trace of satisfaction flickered deep in his eyes. This Mutated Winged Tiger had surprised him once again.
"Brother Wang makes a good point." A bald, burly man in the Thunder Martial Hall's trademark purple battle robe chimed in, his voice rumbling. He pointed at Wang Xiao's Iron-Claw Wolf, which had tried to turn on him. "Just look at it. They used to boast endlessly about its pure bloodline and tremendous combat strength, but what happened?
A little pain, and it forgot who its master was!
Even if you raised a battle pet like that to Beast General Rank or Lord Rank, who'd trust it enough to watch their back?
"Our martial hall brothers would rather have a loyal Beast Soldier Rank mutt than one of these 'geniuses' who could turn on them at any moment!"
His words drew nods of agreement from quite a few officers and martial hall representatives. To those who had spent years fighting monsters, reliability mattered far more than strength.
"That may be true, but isn't this test a little... cruel?" A middle-aged man with a refined air and gold-rimmed glasses pushed them up his nose. He was a representative of the Base City Research Institute. "These children aren't yet fully mature. Such intense stimulation could leave them with serious psychological trauma.
"And is it really acceptable to test loyalty this way... through what is practically deception and torture?"
"Dean Zhang, that's a rather old-fashioned way of looking at it."
A shrill voice cut in. A fat man in an ornate silk robe, his fingers covered in jeweled rings, spoke with a mocking lilt. He was the vice chairman of the Base City Chamber of Commerce Alliance. "Reality is the cruelest examiner of all!"
"We're pouring enormous resources into raising these battle pets to create a new force against monsters, not to keep pets! If they can't even handle this little 'performance,' then they and their battle pets aren't fit for the job. Eliminating them early saves resources, doesn't it?"
He cared more about the return on investment. Clearly, in his eyes, the battle pets performing poorly on-screen had already become bad assets.
General Qin finally spoke. His voice wasn't loud, yet it instantly drowned out all the arguments and carried clearly to every person in the room. "Everyone."
The command room fell silent at once. Every eye turned toward the general, who commanded a formidable force.
"Data doesn't lie." Qin Zhan pointed at the tablet before him, where the results of all the tests were summarized in charts. "So far, twenty-seven battle pets have taken part in the tests. Only three have shown clear, unwavering behavior to protect their owners. Five have shown some intent to protect them, but hesitated or lacked the ability. The other nineteen showed indifference, fear, or even signs of turning on their owners."
He raised his eyes and swept his gaze across the room like a hawk. "What does this mean? It means the loyalty of the 'battle pets' we've produced through bloodlines, heaps of resources, and simple taming is extremely fragile! Faced with real pressure, temptation, or pain, they crumble!"
"As for the three that performed well..." He paused and brought up the relevant footage, enlarging the shots of Lin Mo and Wang Keke. "This Mutated Winged Tiger from the Wang Family, in particular, has shown intelligence, restraint, and an unwavering will to protect its owner far beyond its peers. This proves that Beast Taming is possible, but it also sets new and higher demands for our existing training methods, bonding methods, and even our standards for selecting battle pets."
He looked at Wang Qingtian. "Family Head Wang, it seems your daughter's eye for these things is indeed exceptional."
Wang Qingtian gave a slight nod without saying more, but the tension in his jaw seemed to ease a little.
Qin Zhan continued, "The purpose of this joint exercise, codenamed 'Loyalty Trial,' is to tear away the veil of tenderness and reveal what lies beneath, in all its harsh reality."
"We need to know what kind of bond can truly connect humans and beasts, creating comrades worthy of entrusting with our lives instead of weapons that might explode at any moment."
His gaze returned to the main screens and settled on the frightened, helpless young faces in the cages. His tone remained hard, though it carried a depth that was difficult to detect.
"Pain will teach them a lesson. Fear will make them face reality. If they can't even pass this trial, then when they face a real, overwhelming Beast Tide, when they face cunning and cruel high-level monsters, they and their battle pets will only die faster and more uselessly."
"As for psychological trauma..." A cold smile touched Qin Zhan's lips. "Only the living have the right to talk about trauma. The dead are just cold numbers to be written off."
Silence fell over the command room. Only the Blood Wolf Mercenaries' "performance" continued on the screens, creating an eerie contrast between the despair in the factory ruins and the cool analysis in the monitoring room.
Everyone understood that this seemingly cruel test was about exploring an entirely new possibility for humanity's future struggle against monsters. The young lives trapped in the cages, and the battle pets beside them, were the first "subjects" in this grand experiment.
Watching his daughter huddled close to the white tiger on the screen, Wang Qingtian thought to himself, Keke, Mimi, hang in there. This is only the beginning... The real test is still to come.
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