Beastmen Race

Lu Zhiyu wore a white lab coat, his eyes filled with anticipation as he watched a wild wolf slowly give birth to a litter of four cubs. As Lu Zhiyu cast a glance at the wolf, she gradually drifted into a deep, drowsy sleep; this was a small trick of mental power manipulation, a hypnosis technique Lu Zhiyu had recently been refining.

Lu Zhiyu then opened the cage, stepped inside, and scooped up the cubs. He saw that these tiny creatures possessed limbs remarkably similar to those of humans; aside from their wolf ears and short tails, they were almost indistinguishable from human infants.

"The Werewolf Race has been successfully cultivated!"

Lu Zhiyu stood up and looked down the long stone corridor, which was lined with dense rows of prison cells on both sides. Inside were tigers, dogs, cats, lynxes, bears, and various other wild animals. As Lu Zhiyu passed by, they each let out sharp roars, some even hurling themselves against their cages.

However, as Lu Zhiyu walked away and shut the heavy iron door, all the roaring subsided. Lu Zhiyu carried the werewolf cubs as he headed upward. This was the first basement level, a prison designed by Lu Zhiyu. He made his way up, climbing the stairs until he reached the fourth-floor laboratory, where he saw the lights on in one of the rooms.

Lu Zhiyu pushed the door open and walked in. He saw white walls, warm lighting, and a spacious room filled with tiny cribs. Strange figures were moving back and forth—these were the Ant-Men, tending to the cubs.

Each crib had a label attached, detailing the serial number, race, and gender. These Ant-Men would care for the cubs here until they grew up; these beings would be the first-generation ancestors of the Beastmen Race, and the Beastmen Race would begin with them.

Lu Zhiyu hoped that every race would be able to thrive within Maria World. Each one of them was a newly created race, a miracle of life. Lu Zhiyu had examined their brains and found the structure very similar to that of humans—highly developed. He could be certain that the intelligence of each race would be no less than that of humans.

Lu Zhiyu took inventory and checked the condition and health of every cub. These Ant-Men would monitor the cubs' health and status twenty-four hours a day, and it appeared that there were no problems at the moment.

The Beastmen Race currently born included the Wolf Race, Fox Race, Tiger Race, Cat Race, Dog Race, Bear Race, Sheep Race, and others, totaling eighteen races including the Rat-man Race. However, this was far from fulfilling Lu Zhiyu's vision; in his plan, the human race was also indispensable.

Yet, Lu Zhiyu did not want to simply copy the human race from Earth into Maria World; doing so would be meaningless and dull. Lu Zhiyu's idea was to create a completely different human race.

Lu Zhiyu had stayed in the Space Castle for several months and felt quite exhausted. Although the work he was doing currently filled him with passion, living alone in such an environment still felt incredibly oppressive.

The cultivation work for the Beastmen Race had come to a temporary halt at this stage. With the Ant-Men looking after them, Lu Zhiyu had no cause for worry. In a few years, he could attempt to let these first-generation Orcs return to the wild to begin their mission of inheritance and establish their own civilized tribes. But none of this required Lu Zhiyu to stay here; he only needed to return to the outside world and wait quietly!

When Lu Zhiyu returned to the outside world through the Dimensional Gate, he discovered it was still night. Even though he had spent so long in the Space Castle, only a few dozen minutes had passed in the outside world.

He could stay inside for decades, exhausting his lifespan until he was old and frail, while only two or three days passed outside. This made Lu Zhiyu realize even more clearly that he was not a god, but merely an ordinary person who had stumbled upon great fortune.

Lying on his bed, he opened the window and looked at the stars. It had to be said that the urban environment did not have the fresh air of Maria World, and the starry sky was not as beautiful as the one Lu Zhiyu had created, yet it made him feel more adapted and familiar.

He had been lying on the bed for only a short while when a phone call came in. Lu Zhiyu picked it up immediately and took a look; it was from the she-devil, Xia Fan.

As soon as the line connected, Xia Fan's youthful, energetic voice burst through the phone, though her words seemed filled with anger as she shouted at Lu Zhiyu: "Lu Zhiyu, why haven't you replied to my WeChat? You didn't even respond to my texts!"

Lu Zhiyu checked his phone and found there were indeed quite a few message notifications. He immediately said, "I didn't notice. I usually check and reply to everything at once in the evening. Why, is there something urgent?"

Xia Fan immediately yelled, "You guy, I knew you didn't take it to heart! Tomorrow is my birthday, my birthday!"

Lu Zhiyu immediately remembered. He seemed to have promised Xia Fan that he would attend her birthday party, but he had been so busy lately that he had completely forgotten. Besides, he really didn't want to attend a birthday party for a group of students, but having promised Xia Fan, he had no choice. "Who said I forgot? I've been keeping it in mind; it just isn't tomorrow yet, is it?"

Xia Fan immediately saw through Lu Zhiyu's sophistry: "If I hadn't reminded you, you definitely wouldn't be found tomorrow. I'm telling you, you must be there tomorrow, or I'll come to your house and bite you to death!"

Lu Zhiyu found himself quite wicked; at the mention of "biting to death," his mind wandered into wild fantasies. "Cough, cough, I know, I know. Send me the address, and I'll be there on time tomorrow!"

"Don't forget to bring a birthday present!"

The next afternoon, Lu Zhiyu drove along the street for a long time, still unable to decide what to get for Xia Fan. A necklace? A bracelet? Things like that carried too deep a meaning, which wasn't ideal. In the end, Lu Zhiyu chose a Tissot watch—a small brand, a women's watch from the thousand-yuan series. It cost over four thousand yuan, not too expensive, and quite suitable.

Finally, as twilight descended, he arrived at a mid-range restaurant by the river. After asking a waiter, he found the private room on the second floor where Xia Fan was. Before he even got close, Lu Zhiyu could hear the boisterous cheers and laughter from inside. He immediately pushed the door open to look in.

As soon as Lu Zhiyu poked his head in, all eyes in the room turned toward him. Several young girls immediately let out shrieks, and one girl shouted, "Hey! Handsome, who are you looking for?"

"May I ask if this is Xia Fan's..."

Lu Zhiyu had just started to speak when he saw Xia Fan jump up, shouting, "I'm here! You finally arrived; I was just about to call and urge you!"

There was a lively crowd of people, both men and women, most of whom were students. Xia Fan rushed over, jumped into Lu Zhiyu's arms, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him. Then, pulling him along, she said, "Let me introduce everyone. This is my boyfriend, Lu Zhiyu. How about it? I didn't lie to you all, did I? Isn't he super handsome?"

Lu Zhiyu stared at Xia Fan with his mouth agape. When did he become her boyfriend? Just as Lu Zhiyu raised his hand to explain, Xia Fan bit his earlobe and whispered, "I've already bragged that I found a super handsome boyfriend. If you dare to embarrass me and make me lose face, I won't go on living!"