Cursed Pet Beasts, Old Friends and New Friends

This [Courier Bird] is the one that has been delivering goods to Yuanming Pet Food Shop for the past two years.

It doesn't look to be in very good condition right now.

It was injured—its right wing was bandaged, and many feathers had fallen off.

Curled up in a corner, head down, even moving around was difficult.

There was a Courier Bird that was much smaller than it, which took good care of it, giving it water one moment and dried fish the next.

However, the older one was pushing and shoving with its movable left feather, seemingly urging it to do its job.

Lin Yuan looked at his "old friend".

[Courier Bird]

[Attribute]: Wind

[Quality]: Ordinary Mid-Grade

[Gender]: Female

[Level]: Ordinary Level 7

[Trait]:[Treasure Pouch]

[Personality]: Hardworking and conscientious.

[Status]: The right wing was involved in a flight accident during the delivery of a package and was injured nearly a week ago. Due to the lack of proper treatment, there are no signs of healing.

Unable to attend work, depressed and burdened by its injuries and worries, it was unable to swallow food and was extremely weak.

She is currently trying to persuade her son to focus on his work.

To treat the injury, simply mix Ordinary low-grade [Red Spring Liquid] with Ordinary Mid-Grade [Snow-Fixing Fruit] pulp and apply it externally for three days.

Alternatively, use any Transcendent Quality product with healing properties; a tiny amount can allow it to fully recover within a day.

[Evolution Path]: None available.

Seeing this, Lin Yuan realized that the Courier Bird that had been taking care of it was its descendant.

The content on the panels is almost identical.

[Gender]: Male

[Level]: Ordinary Level 5

[Trait]:[Treasure Pouch]

[Personality]: Hardworking, conscientious, and values family ties.

[Status]: It is extremely anxious because its mother is injured and not eating.

It had been late for its work assignments several times in the past few days and had been criticized by Customers. It felt very Guilt, but still planned to make sure its mother ate something before starting its workday.

[Evolution Path]: (Blank)

This was the first time Lin Yuan had encountered pets with familial ties working and living together in the real world.

This is actually quite uncommon.

However, their condition worried Lin Yuan.

He had guessed that [Courier Bird]'s living conditions wouldn't be very good due to its social status.

But he had previously thought that they were responsible for such important cargo transportation, flying day and night.

So at least they should live a decent life.

Looking at the somewhat chaotic living quarters, each [Courier Bird]'s dwelling only contained a simple small mattress.

Birds flew in and landed, rested for a while, and then hurriedly flew away again.

It was as if this wasn't their home, but merely a resting place, a spot where they could lie down for a while when they were tired.

Lin Yuan then realized that he had been too optimistic.

"Hello, I'd like to ask, what happened to that [Courier Bird]?" Lin Yuan asked the staff member.

"Just call me Tian Shan. As for it..." Tian Shan shook his head, "It was in a traffic accident a week ago. It was a flying pet that had just gotten its [Road Permit] and got frightened on its flight path."

"Then it carried the Beast Tamer to the [Courier Bird]'s flight path."

"The [Courier Bird] was no match for them and was instantly knocked away."

"And so, with its injured wing, it flew to the delivery location, only to collapse at the door."

"The shop owner notified us immediately, which is how we managed to save it."

"So, its injury... won't the Pet Beast Alliance treat it?" Lin Yuan asked. "After all, it happened while transporting goods from the Pet Beast Alliance's official store, so it's considered a work-related injury."

"It's a responsible process," Tian Shan said, "But it involves a lot of procedures."

"From writing reports to having a therapist examine the injury, and then applying for medication allocation, there's always a waiting list."

"The number of [Courier Bird] is very large. With such a large base, the number of accidents occurring every day has also increased, in addition to the normal birth, aging, illness, and death of pets."

"Healers are busy too. The Pet Beast Alliance prioritizes healing based on the quality of the pet, with [Courier Bird] at the very bottom, and naturally, it's the last one to be treated."

"Over time... this problem becomes even more serious."

"Our staff who look after the [Courier Bird] have the most frequent shift changes in the Pet Beast Alliance."

"On the one hand, there's a lot of management work and the salary isn't high; on the other hand, I've seen too many Courier Bird die because there wasn't enough time to save them, and it's really upsetting."

"Based on my experience, if this old [Courier Bird] can't get medical treatment within a week, its right wing is probably ruined."

"With their wings ruined, they basically won't live much longer."

"The reason... sigh."

Tian Shan didn't want to say much, and he didn't seem to be in a good mood either.

"Alright, you guys go first. Someone else has resigned in the next district. Until we find new staff, I'll have to go back and forth regularly to check on things over there."

"Doesn't that make you feel uncomfortable?" Chen Xuanbai asked from the side.

"Mm." Lin Yuan nodded.

"That's why I chose this topic; Courier Bird... truly is the lowest of the low."

"I only received a lot of materials from my senior colleague around 7 a. m. this morning, and I haven't had time to organize them and send them to you yet."

"I only found out this morning that [Courier Bird] have a rather absurd name in the scientific community— 'Cursed Pet Beast.'"

"Because they are among the few beings who derive meaning from their work; they are born to fly through the air, transport goods, and find satisfaction in it."

"This mission is too heavy."

"However, this behavior of theirs can easily deplete their potential, and even their lifespan."

Is it worth it?

I don't think it's worth it.

"With the gradual development of our society, the status of pets is determined by their qualities and potential."

"Born Transcendent, these are pets that Commander Quality; they command high prices and are highly sought after."

"It was born with Ordinary quality; if it can evolve, that's not bad, at least there's hope."

"As for creatures like the [Courier Bird], which are born Ordinary and can never evolve, they are completely reduced to being mere tool pets."

But is that fair?

"It's actually fair."

"The [Courier Bird] are numerous, and they have their own ways of survival. Before the Pet Beast Alliance established the [Courier Bird] transportation method, they actually caused quite a bit of chaos in society."

[Note: "The history of Courier Bird's development - see illustration"]

"The current model is the result of years of balance."

"But there are still vulnerabilities."

"I haven't looked at the specific analytical papers in detail yet; you can study them yourself later."

"Regardless, the purpose of our trip is still to select ten [Courier Bird]."

"I suggest you divide the selection into three groups: those over ten years old, those between five and ten years old, and those under five years old."

"Mm." Lin Yuan nodded.

Three hours later.

Tian Shan: "Are you sure you want to choose the injured one? It only has two years left to live anyway. Even if you cure it, it's not worth it."

Lin Yuan: "Don't worry, I have a plan."

Within those three hours, Lin Yuan selected nine [Courier Bird].

This includes "Old Friend" and "Old Friend's" son.

The other seven were selected as a control group based on Chen Xuanbai's suggestion.

In fact, Lin Yuan checked the [Courier Bird in two other districts as well, not just this one.

Without exception, their Evolution Path are all blank.

There is only one of these, and its Evolution Path is marked with the words "not yet available".

Tian Shan: "What about the last one? Can't you choose?"

Lin Yuan shook his head. "No, I'm waiting for a 'new friend' I met a few days ago."

As soon as he finished speaking, a small Courier Bird flew in.

It flapped its wings and met Lin Yuan's gaze.

Lin Yuan also immediately observed its [status].

[Status]: Seventh day of work, so tired but so happy.

Huh? Isn't that the kind, good-looking person from the Pet Food Shop who gave me water on my first day at work? What's she doing here?

Am I seeing things?

What Lin Yuan found amazing was...

When Lin Yuan saw it a couple of days ago, its [Evolution Path] was still blank.

Now, it's changed to "Not available"!

What happened in between?