Reporting the Clue

After confirming their spots to Kyoto, the three of them wasted no time and immediately booked the earliest flight. It would take off in two hours and arrive at Kyoto Airport at one in the afternoon.

It was just past nine in the morning, so there was still some time before departure.

Wu Ming did not rush off. Instead, he took his sword case and headed alone to the banks of the Jinjiang.

As early as three days ago, he had noticed that the creatures beneath the Jinjiang's surface had begun mutating at a visible rate.

At the time, however, he had neither a suitable weapon nor any obvious physical changes in those creatures, so he restrained himself and did not act.

Now that three days had passed, not only was he fully armed, but those aquatic creatures had completely changed in appearance. This was the perfect time to test the sharpness of his flying swords on them.

Wu Ming stopped at the riverbank and swept the area with his Spiritual Force, immediately locking onto several targets with obvious mutations.

With a thought, the sword case hovering at his side gave a soft click. The next second, several streaks of silver shot forth, tracing elegant arcs through the air before silently plunging into the water.

Before long, several clouds of dark red blood surged up from the riverbed, dyeing the water crimson before the flowing current quickly diluted them.

Then, the silver flashes burst from the water, each flying sword carrying a grotesque fish far larger than its kind.

With a slight tremble of the blades, the blood was shaken off, along with the mutant fish, which were flung onto the grass by the bank. Only then did the swords return to the case one by one.

Wu Ming lowered his gaze. He could vaguely make out the creatures' original features. They had all once been common fish of the Jinjiang, but now they were utterly unrecognizable.

The largest among them was a carp that had grown to one and a half meters long. Its scales had become hard and thick, as though it wore a suit of armor.

As its mouth opened and closed, densely packed sharp teeth could be seen inside, making even its entire head look savage and terrifying.

It had not yet died. Its scarlet eyes stared fixedly at Wu Ming, devoid of the dullness fish should have possessed. Only the most primitive instinct to kill remained.

The other mutant fish were much the same. Even crucian carp that had originally been no larger than a palm had grown wildly to over a meter long, with equally sharp fangs and equally ferocious faces.

Most terrifying of all, their pectoral and pelvic fins had developed a layer of translucent membrane, like primitive webbing. If they continued evolving, perhaps they would eventually gain the ability to come ashore.

"Ah!"

At that moment, several startled cries came from behind him.

Ruan Qingzhu and Zhu Hongyu had run out after hearing the commotion. The moment they reached the grass and saw the still-flopping monsters, their faces turned pale with fright.

Miao Yueling followed behind them and gasped sharply at the sight. Ruan Zaixing and Zhu Huazhi, who came last, showed little change in expression, but the shock in their eyes was impossible to hide.

"My god, are these really creatures from Earth?"

Ruan Zaixing had served in the military, so he was bolder than most. He stepped closer to examine the mutant fish. "This is a carp, this one is a grass carp... My god, even crucian carp have grown this huge!"

"Be careful, Uncle Ruan." Wu Ming stopped Ruan Zaixing from moving closer. "They are highly aggressive after mutating, and they are not completely dead yet. It is best not to get too close."

Ruan Zaixing nodded and took a deep breath, calming the turmoil in his heart. "Xiaoming, is this the global biological mutation you mentioned?"

"That's right, but I think this is only the early stage of the mutation."

Wu Ming looked coldly at the dying mutant fish on the ground. "Their physical foundations are too weak. Even if they mutate successfully, their raw strength is only about equal to that of ordinary humans."

"But they can continue evolving. Growing from one meter to three, five, or even ten meters is entirely possible. They may even leave the water, rush onto land, and begin slaughtering."

"Aquatic creatures coming ashore..." Ruan Zaixing swallowed instinctively. Just imagining the scene sent a chill through his heart.

If that day truly came, and countless monsters attacked humanity... it would absolutely be a catastrophe!

"Xiaoming, you were right."

He looked again at the young man beside him, his expression far more solemn. "Against creatures like these, humanity truly must become stronger as quickly as possible. Only then can we protect our homeland from harm."

"Mm." Wu Ming nodded lightly, then turned to the two girls nearby. "You have seen it too. The trend of biological mutation is unavoidable, and it will likely grow worse and worse in the future. These animals will sooner or later assault humanity's homes."

"When you get to Kyoto, remember to train hard in boxing under Director Jia. Make yourselves stronger so you can better protect yourselves and your families."

Ruan Qingzhu nodded firmly. Zhu Hongyu's face was still somewhat pale, but she clenched her fists as well.

"Uncle Ruan, I'm going to make a call. I'll leave this place to you." Wu Ming instructed, "Do not let unrelated people approach, and stay safe."

"Leave it to me." Ruan Zaixing patted him on the shoulder and grinned. "Don't forget, your Uncle Ruan came from the military. How could these things possibly hurt me? Go ahead."

Wu Ming nodded slightly, walked alone to a secluded spot by the river, and dialed Zhao Minghui's number.

Two or three seconds later, a familiar voice came through the receiver. "This is Zhao Minghui. What is it, Student Wu?"

"Mr. Zhao." Wu Ming went straight to the point. "Has the higher-ups noticed the matter of mutant creatures yet?"

"What mutant creatures?" Zhao Minghui was clearly taken aback. Wu Ming did not beat around the bush and directly told him about his discovery and his speculation about a Beast Tide.

After hearing it all, the other end of the line fell silent for several seconds before Zhao Minghui spoke again, his tone now extremely grave. "Do you have evidence for what you're saying?"

"Yes." Wu Ming replied calmly. "I killed several mutant fish in the Jinjiang in Shushi. The location is in front of Villa No. 081, Jinjiang Waterside. You can send someone to take them away for research."

"No problem. I'll immediately notify the relevant local departments to send people over and recover them."

Zhao Minghui said solemnly, "If the situation is confirmed, the higher-ups will immediately launch a comprehensive investigation into wild creatures across the country. Once signs of large-scale mutation are found, countermeasures will be taken at once."

"Mr. Zhao, don't forget the zoos. There are quite a few captive animals in them as well, so precautions are necessary," Wu Ming reminded him.

"Zoos... there is no need to worry about those." Zhao Minghui's tone was subtle. "According to the intelligence I have received, nearly all animals kept by humans perished during the infection. Very few survived, and they pose no threat to humanity."

"They all died?" Wu Ming was slightly startled, then realized something. "Because of their willpower?"

"Not only that." Zhao Minghui shook his head. "Based on the four survival factors you proposed, after repeated tests, we found that willpower had the greatest impact, followed by Cell Activity, physical fitness, and energy."

"These artificially raised animals never lacked food or drink. Every one of them was fat and pampered, with almost no will to survive. Their physical fitness was also far below the average for their species. They only met the condition of abundant food."

"But the problem is that the effects of the RR Virus have caused many zoos to close. Even after their keepers became infected, they no longer had the energy to feed the animals, causing even the food factor to plummet."

"With none of the four factors in their favor, it was only natural that these animals could not withstand the virus's transformation. Their total annihilation was hardly surprising."