Luo Yu was surprised. They had gotten results?!
Had it evolved after coming into contact with the special rock?
"I want to see it." Luo Yu took a deep breath. "When are we leaving?"
Could this special rock... make the little penguin evolve?!
Species rank was too important.
As a low-rank ordinary species mutant beast, the little penguin's base attributes were still too low.
Luo Yu had already worked hard to raise him, trying every method he could think of. Even so, he still couldn't condense magma. His physical constitution was holding him back.
But if the Walking Volcano talent were given to an elephant, a mutant elephant's physical constitution would probably have allowed it to create land long ago.
That was the difference in their base stats.
Even if a blue whale had never undergone mutation or evolution, its sheer mass alone would make it difficult for some ordinary mutant beasts to breach its defenses.
"If you have time, we can leave now." The director chuckled.
When something this good came up, Luo Yu had been the first person he thought of. The island was poor, but it would do everything within its means to create opportunities for talented people.
"Wheeet-"
At the office window, Director Yu Lei gave a whistle.
The next instant, a black dot in the sky drew closer.
A moment later, a Steller's sea eagle with beautiful plumage appeared in their sight, landing beside the window.
[Species]: Storm Sea Eagle [Attributes]: wind, water [Species rank]: lower monarch species [Life level]: 44 [Species ability]: Rainstorm [Individual talents]: 1. Diligent (ordinary talent, works harder than ordinary individuals.) 2. Agile (ordinary talent, more agile than ordinary individuals.)
"Hop on. This is my old partner. He usually hunts nearby to earn some extra money. We'll fly there," Director Yu Lei said, inviting Luo Yu aboard before jumping out the window onto the eagle himself.
Still going strong in his old age...
Luo Yu's gaze, meanwhile, remained fixed on the Storm Sea Eagle!
A monarch species!
As expected of the island's third-in-command. Though he held a civilian post, his pet beast was just as powerful!
The ability Rainstorm... even its name sounded more impressive than Water Spray or Ink Spray.
Its individual talents were a little ordinary, but its species rank already gave it plenty of points. To have a high species rank and powerful talents on top of that, it would have to be a chosen one.
"Okay!" Luo Yu climbed on as well. It was his first time riding a flying mutant beast, and he was nervous. Afraid he might fall off if he let his guard down, he kept a tight grip on its feathers.
Before long, the Storm Sea Eagle came to a stop.
After landing, Luo Yu saw a damaged mountainside and a cavern that had split open in it, leading deep underground.
"There aren't any guards?" Luo Yu asked.
"They're inside," the director said.
"There's running water inside, and the space is a little narrow for a boat. We'll ride a mutant beast in."
He led Luo Yu inside. The cave was indeed cold and damp. Even though they had only just entered, Luo Yu was already feeling a little uncomfortable.
Splash.
When they reached the water, a white crocodile floated up.
[Species]: White Crocodile [Attribute]: water [Species rank]: upper-tier common species [Life level]: 29 [Species ability]: Death Whirlpool [Individual talent]: Steady (ordinary talent, has better balance than ordinary individuals.)
An upper-tier common species, the White Crocodile!
This was a pet beast bred by the island lord's Lineage, generally only contracted within the Lineage. It was said that the island's guardian deity, the Mirror Moon Giant Crocodile, had evolved from a White Crocodile.
After riding a sea eagle, he was now riding a crocodile. Luo Yu had certainly had some novel experiences today. Following the director's example, he climbed onto the White Crocodile's back and sat down. Before long, the White Crocodile began moving through the waterway, swimming deeper into the cavern.
"Is this White Crocodile the guard of the Ancient Grotto?" Luo Yu asked, rubbing his temples.
"You could say that. There are plenty more in the water..."
"How is it? Are you feeling a little dizzy?" the director asked. "If you feel unwell, tell me immediately."
"I'm fine, I'm fine." Luo Yu nodded.
Seeing that the White Crocodile still seemed to have some distance to swim, Luo Yu asked, "So, at the moment, only that one Waterfallen Chicken born in this cave evolved after touching the special rock, and the rock had no effect on the other Waterfallen Chickens?"
"That's right," the director said. "It didn't work when other Waterfallen Chickens or other mutant beasts touched it. Even the Waterfallen Chickens born in the same batch couldn't evolve. Only that one individual could."
"We suspect that some special bloodline might have awakened in the Waterfallen Chicken that evolved. However, they also tested it with instruments and found no obvious difference between its bloodline and those of its brothers and sisters. They all possess ancient dragon blood to a certain degree..."
"It looks like we'll need to study it more deeply for a while..."
"So don't get your hopes too high on this visit. Just give it a try first."
"If your Earth Penguin can evolve too, that would be wonderful. If not, don't feel too disappointed."
"Okay..." Luo Yu nodded, feeling that the chances were slim.
He guessed that the one Waterfallen Chicken capable of evolving probably had some special talent the others didn't...
When the time came, he could take a look with the Eye of Data. Perhaps he would find a clue.
After passing through the waterway, with its jagged rocks, the view suddenly opened up to reveal a stretch of stony ground. Several passages branched off from here, each leading to a different deep cavern.
"This ancient underground grotto is divided into several areas. Researcher Chen Zhuo and the others are exploring and studying different areas. Come with me this way."
The director continued leading Luo Yu forward, choosing one of the caves. After walking another dozen or so meters with their heads lowered, they entered a spacious area. Inside were enormous iron cages, each holding experimental chickens.
[Species]: Waterfallen Chicken [Attribute]: water [Species rank]: low-rank ordinary species [Life level]: 2 [Species ability]: Water Splash [Individual talent]: Nutrient-Rich (ordinary talent, more nutritious than ordinary individuals.)
Luo Yu was speechless. He really wanted to breed some Waterfallen Chickens with both the Delicious Flesh and Nutrient-Rich talents... They would surely make delicious spicy chicken wings.
There were roughly several dozen Waterfallen Chickens confined here, as well as a place specifically for storing eggs. There were even more eggs.
Compared with the older Waterfallen Chickens, whose talents were varied but mostly ordinary, the eggs Luo Yu scanned in the transparent incubators had much better attributes.
These eggs...
Almost ninety percent had the ordinary talent Dragon Blood, exactly like the Azure-Scaled Snake from before. Their bloodlines contained a faint trace of ancient dragon blood!
As for the remaining ten percent, they had advanced talents such as Dragon Claw, Dragon Eyes, and Dragon Bone, which would make those body parts more extraordinary.
However, several researchers had already reported these discoveries at the last research briefing. Those talents probably weren't the key to evolution either.
"Where's the Waterfallen Chicken that evolved?" Luo Yu asked.
"Right here." A tent opened, and Researcher Chen Zhuo walked out carrying an enormous cage. Inside was an incredibly muscular strange bird. It had gone bald, with no feathers left.
[Species]: Azure Terror Bird [Attribute]: water [Species rank]: mid-rank ordinary species [Life level]: 1 [Species ability]: Whirling Wing Slash [Individual talents]: 1. Dragon Wings... 2. Rock Element Affinity Talent...
"Huh..." Luo Yu stared at the strange bird, lost in thought.
Many of the Waterfallen Chickens' offspring here should have talents like Dragon Wings, a sign of purer Dragon Blood. But they hadn't evolved after touching the special rock.
Ruling out the talents they had in common, could this Waterfallen Chicken have evolved into an Azure Terror Bird because of its rock-element talent?
It really was possible!
After all, it had evolved only after touching the rock. It was reasonable that it needed a rock talent of its own to resonate with it!
Did that mean July couldn't do it?
He only had the dual talents of earth and fire... Though magma itself was rock melted by high temperatures.
But Walking Volcano actually had nothing to do with a rock talent.
July could only turn the power of the earth veins into the power of high temperatures; he couldn't create rock to melt.
So, compared with rock power, the power of the earth veins and the power of high temperatures were the true core of the Walking Volcano talent. The rock element made up very little of this talent, almost none at all. Thus, another possible reason the little penguin still couldn't condense magma, aside from his insufficient level, was that his rock-element power was insufficient.
If he couldn't condense rock out of thin air and fuse it with high-temperature power to form magma, then even if he managed to condense magma in the future, he might only be able to turn surrounding objects into magma rather than create it from nothing. Its strength would be a whole level lower.
Sure enough, the Walking Volcano talent was better suited to a creature that was already rock-element. As a low-rank species, the little penguin couldn't bring out the talent's full potential... But that was all right. He still had his Beast Tamer!
"So this is the evolved form? By the way, where's the rock that made it evolve?" Luo Yu asked.
In any case, he would try it first.
"That's it." Chen Zhuo pointed to a yellow rock in the corner of the wall. Its texture was visibly different from the surrounding rock.
"We haven't mined it yet. We're worried it might lose its evolutionary effect if removed from the wall. So far, we've only found three rocks that look like this in the entire grotto. We don't know whether there are more inside the walls."
"July."
Luo Yu summoned July straight away. Finding himself in this unfamiliar place, he looked bewildered, his heart pounding.
"Go touch that and give it a try."
He pointed to the yellow rock and told July to try it. July raised a wing, gave a gurgle, and ran over.
Then his wing touched the rock.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Mm, nothing happened.
"Just as I thought, it doesn't work." Chen Zhuo shook his head. "But that's normal."
"Forget it. The most urgent task now is to work out exactly what difference there is between the Waterfallen Chicken that evolved and the others that couldn't."
"If we figure that out, perhaps we can use this special rock to evolve certain species."
The director nodded too. Looking at Luo Yu, he said regretfully, "Luo Yu, since you can already withstand the special magnetic field here, I'll also get you a pass so you can come here to study whenever you like."
"After all, although it can't make your Earth Penguin evolve, this place can still gradually improve his bloodline and strengthen his physique. Of course, you should still make breeding Ink Fish and Honey Water Bees your priority..."
"Okay." Luo Yu nodded. He had already begun thinking about why July couldn't evolve through the evolution stone.
Was it really because the "rock-element talent" made up too little of the Walking Volcano talent? It couldn't compare with the Rock Element Affinity Talent.
In other words, if he wanted July to evolve through the special rock too, did he need to increase the proportion of his rock-attribute talent?
A way to improve a rock-element talent after birth... Would contracting a rock-element dependent work? He could increase his rock affinity by contracting a rock-element dependent. A mutant monarch that wasn't water-element could control water-element power after contracting a water-element dependent, increasing its affinity with the ocean and allowing it to enter the water. It was the same principle...