Ugly Duckling Phenomenon

Finding a single duck in such a vast country is an extremely difficult task.

But this Strange Duck was simply too blatant.

It began launching massacres on farms everywhere, killing only ducks and farmers.

At first, whenever the Strange Duck saw a farm, it would charge straight in. If there were ducks, it would kill them all, then kill any farmers who resisted.

If there were none, it would leave without looking back.

Later, it became increasingly familiar with the process and realized that farmers always came out to interfere when it attacked the ducks.

So it learned strategy.

Whenever it arrived at a farm, it would make noise behind the door of the farmhouse. When the farmer came out to investigate after hearing the unusual sound, it would ambush them.

Only after killing all the farmers would it brazenly attack the ducks on the farm.

It was learning.

Moreover, the Hunters discovered that it wouldn't bother people who weren't farmers, unless they tried to stop it.

This was because on one farm, a Hunter, dressed in farmer's clothes, stayed inside the house fishing. But after one night, a large number of ducks were dead, yet the Strange Duck hadn't bothered the Hunter.

At the same time, the Hunters also found that the Strange Duck didn't harm the families living with the farmers, and it ignored witnesses who spotted it on the road.

After multiple tests, researchers discovered that this duck possessed some kind of mandatory judgment ability, capable of determining a person's identity as a "farmer" and "duck raiser."

Only a person who possessed both of these attributes simultaneously would be listed as a target for the duck's attack.

After understanding the duck's attack characteristics, the Hunters finally staked out a farm that met the criteria and ambushed the attacking Strange Duck.

At the new crime scene, the Hunters discovered that the Strange Duck's appearance and the characteristics belonging to a duck on its body had undergone a strange transformation.

A beautiful white feather had grown on its head, the feathers on its wings were hard and stiff, and the snow-white feathers reflected points of light like stars, resembling sparkling gemstone sand.

The down on its body swayed gently in the breeze, allowing one to imagine its softness. The muscles on its body, accentuated by graceful curves, no longer appeared awkward.

Its eyes were dark and bright, and the gaze it directed at the Hunters held a certain sacred, noble elegance. Its features were simply too conspicuous.

Upon discovering the Hunters' ambush, it didn't force an attack. Instead, it dodged and weaved, avoiding the attacks before leaving the ambush circle.

Extremely intelligent.

When the Hunters pursued, they were led into a swamp and trapped, while it circled back and slaughtered all the ducks on the farm.

The Hunters finally couldn't stand it anymore and applied to the research department for a pile of high-precision sniper rifles and traps. They found another farm and set up a trap.

Finally, the Strange Duck was overwhelmed and was hunted down by the Hunters. Its body was sent to the research department's dissection table.

But the dissection results and DNA identification left all the researchers baffled.

The Strange Duck was not some Abyss creature.

It was a White Swan...

If Abyss creatures were to be recorded, they would at least need a name. If this fact were made public, neither the Hunters nor the families of the farmer victims would accept it.

What? You're saying a White Swan can strategize, use magic attacks, and determine a person's "attributes"?

Thus, a Relic phenomenon named the "Ugly Duckling Phenomenon" was born.

As for what kind of Relic it was, the researchers didn't know.

If you asked, the answer was "unknown" or "undefined." This wasn't the only such Relic phenomenon during the Great Cataclysm.

The record didn't end there.

Mo Ling continued reading.

The "Mantis" that exterminated a village's locust population.

The "Bald Eagle" that slaughtered an island's seagull population.

And the "Silverback Gorilla" that caused an entire mountain range's monkey population to vanish.

These events were all categorized under the "Ugly Duckling Phenomenon" collection because of their similar characteristics.

"Born from the offspring of a certain species, possessing strong hostility towards the source species, transforming into similar creatures, evolving various abilities, and slaughtering the source species."

"The source species has multiple definitions, referring to the parent species or what it considers its parent."

This was the definition and explanation of the "Ugly Duckling Phenomenon" given by the researchers in the record.

They also made a judgment regarding the Ugly Duckling's behavior of slaughtering the farmer, believing that after its birth, it might have also recognized the farmer as its parent.

But why it had such a persistent judgment regarding the identities of "farmer" and "duck keeper" was unclear. Due to the limited number of examples, the researchers couldn't come to a definitive conclusion.

This phenomenon still occurs frequently today, and research is ongoing.

The record ended here.

After reading the record, Mo Ling felt that this perfectly matched the Little Lamb's behavior.

Its special attack abilities, especially its deliberate return, were likely in preparation to search for other broken-tree sheep flocks.

His eyes lit up, and he quickly had Li Luo inform Captain Su and the others about this matter.

After Li Luo told Captain Su about the "Ugly Duckling Phenomenon," Captain Su was initially disbelieving. After checking the information, he nodded repeatedly.

"That's right, that's right, it fits perfectly."

After reading the record, Captain Su also asked Li Luo, "Between the judgment of the Red String Worm and the judgment of the Ugly Duckling Phenomenon, which one takes precedence?"

Li Luo couldn't answer this question either; no one had ever seen such an example.

But what was certain was that the Little Lamb had not only gained the immortal healing ability granted by the Red String Worm but also the unreasonable evolutionary ability of the Ugly Duckling Phenomenon.

"It's difficult. For such events involving multiple Relics and creatures, there's basically no precedent. We can only take it one step at a time," Captain Su said in a deep voice, realizing the seriousness of the situation.

"Moreover, this type of creature is too dangerous and must be dealt with as soon as possible," Captain Su sighed. "We need to go down and take a look."

Captain Su was very experienced in handling matters and quickly arranged the affairs at the scene.

Some people stayed behind to guard and clean up the scene, and the Outpost Station was notified to send reinforcements.

After the riot was eliminated, passage within the sealed area became much smoother. Before long, the area around the cave entrance was surrounded by arriving soldiers.

Several detectors were continuously placed into the cave. Although the images would eventually blur and disappear, a three-dimensional map of the entire passage had been detected.

"Captain Su, the exit is about 1,500 meters deep, still within the sealed area."

"Okay, how is the condition of the detectors?" Captain Su pressed.

"Undamaged, 100% intact."

"Have you finished detecting the composition of the cave? Are there any harmful substances?"

"Ordinary fungi, similar to shiitake mushrooms, even edible." The soldier walked to the front of the cave, cut off a piece of the fleshy growth, and handed it to the captain.

Taking it and sniffing it, Captain Su loudly said to the surrounding soldiers, "Those willing to go down, get ready. In ten minutes, if the detectors are still undamaged, we will depart."

"I will lead the way personally." Captain Su's voice was full of authority.

The soldiers who had just witnessed their comrades being cut in half remained silent, quietly organizing their equipment and gear.

Li Luo looked at the cube.

Mo Ling also controlled the cube to tremble as if nodding.

The two had reached a tacit understanding.