Chapter 39: Skill Mutation

"Keep it up; at the very least, the whole city must be under martial law for two days. We must ensure that not a single Burrowing Rat can escape."

"The reproductive ability of Burrowing Rats is very strong. Once a small number of Burrowing Rats escape and are given time to breed and multiply, it is very likely that another Beast Tide will form."

"Especially since the virus these Burrowing Rats are infected with further increases the possibility of another Beast Tide forming."

"Our top priority now is to find a way to close the Secret Realm rift."

"Although the email revealed that the Secret Realm rift will automatically repair itself in one day, the risk will be reduced significantly if we close it sooner."

The existence of the Secret Realm rift allows a continuous stream of Burrowing Rats to pour out of the Secret Realm.

Although the people from the Pet Beast Union kill the Burrowing Rats rushing out of the Secret Realm at the first opportunity, killing so many Burrowing Rats at once might also cause the people from the Pet Beast Union to overlook some.

Burrowing Rats, in particular, are rodent-type Exotic Beasts that are adept at playing dead and digging holes when they encounter danger.

If the escaped Burrowing Rats form another Beast Tide, the previous precautions will become a joke.

The reason why a Beast Tide is feared is that during the process of a Beast Tide, the Exotic Beasts will frantically devour every living creature, leaving nothing behind in their wake.

During this process, their levels will increase rapidly, and there are no bottlenecks.

It is extremely difficult for ordinary Exotic Beasts to break through from the first rank to the second rank, but during a Beast Tide, breaking through from the first rank to the second rank is much easier.

This is a very special phenomenon; according to the research of experts and professors, it is possible that during the process of a Beast Tide, the Exotic Beasts secrete a special signal hormone.

Under the stimulation of the signal hormone, the cells of the Exotic Beasts' bodies will give birth to a craving; they will desperately devour things that are beneficial to them, thereby achieving the effect of a Life Transition.

Wang Jinyin once sent people to sneak into the Secret Realm to investigate, and the result was that the Secret Realm was covered in Burrowing Rats; they had already eaten the entire Secret Realm until not a blade of grass remained.

Even their own cubs had already been reduced to their food.

This shows that the reproduction of the Burrowing Rats has already exceeded the carrying capacity of the Secret Realm itself.

Even if the Space Rift did not appear, these Burrowing Rats would have started killing each other, thereby allowing the Secret Realm to restore the balance between supply and demand.

Therefore, during this process, the Burrowing Rats will launch attacks regardless of everything; even if they die, their flesh and blood will become nourishment for their companions.

In this process, it becomes easier to give birth to high-rank Exotic Beasts.

And the appearance of the Space Rift diverted the attention of the Burrowing Rats that were killing each other; they shifted the target of their slaughter to the outside world.

"These Burrowing Rats are infected with an unknown virus in their bodies, so they will become more bloodthirsty and more insane."

"They have completely lost their sanity; all that remains are the primitive desires for attack and reproduction."

"They will eat in large quantities and then undergo a Life Transition."

"I am worried that high-rank Exotic Beasts will appear."

"So we must, at all costs, kill these Burrowing Rats to avoid causing too much impact on Jiaying City."

"Tell those Pet Beast Masters who just joined the Pet Beast Union to be careful. Once a Burrowing Rat advances into a second-rank Blood-Violent Rat, they become very difficult to kill."

"If you don't deal a heavy blow to them in one strike, the Blood-Violent Rat will recover very quickly."

"If these guys devour enough flesh and blood, it is very likely they will break through to the third rank."

Wang Jinyin urged repeatedly.

In this Beast Tide, many Burrowing Rats will definitely advance to the second rank, and it is even possible for them to break through to the third rank.

Jiaying City is not rich in mineral deposits, so the probability of Burrowing Rats evolving into Blood-Violent Rats will be higher.

"How is the evacuation situation at Shenshan Middle School and other major middle schools in Jiaying City?"

Wang Jinyin asked his secretary.

"All major middle schools have opened their Banan Suo, and the teachers at the middle schools are patrolling one after another to prevent the invasion of Burrowing Rats."

"We have now developed an infrasonic patrol vehicle specifically targeting Burrowing Rats based on their characteristics."

"They are now in groups of two, starting to patrol the blocks."

"When a Burrowing Rat hears the infrasonic sound, it is like having countless nails hammered into its head."

"They will crawl out of their hiding places in extreme agitation to attack the patrol vehicles; don't worry, Guild Master."

Wang Jinyin rubbed his throbbing temples: "I always feel like I've neglected something."

"I have always had a bad premonition; it's strange, we've done everything we should have."

Wang Jinyin's heart was somewhat uneasy; he really rarely had this kind of feeling of unease.

"Also, speed up the search for that person who possesses the Future Prediction talent; he is extremely important to us, and even to the entire Yan Country."

"We must find him and protect him; Future Prediction is an S-rank talent, after all."

Wang Jinyin said decisively.

Usually, people in the Yan Kingdom Alliance are tested at age 16, which is in their third year of high school, to see if they have awakened a Pet Beast Space and become a Pet Beast Master, and at the same time, everyone's awakened talent is tested.

According to scientists' research, if one wants to awaken after the age of 16, it becomes very difficult.

But it does not exclude the possibility that some people only awaken their Pet Beast Space and talent after passing the age of 16.

This person who awakened Future Prediction probably awakened their talent suddenly and became a Pet Beast Master, which is why they were not recorded by the Yan Kingdom Alliance.

On the other side, the Blood-Steel Rat was knocked flying by the Thousand-Change Silkworm; at this moment, it was completely bald, and its back was covered with bloody holes.

It had just sprayed the steel spikes on its body in one breath, but not a single steel spike hit the Thousand-Change Silkworm, making the Blood-Steel Rat so angry it wanted to jump up.

The steel spikes on its body were all one-time use.

Now it must replenish enough metallic substances to allow the steel spikes on its back to grow back.

However, Ye Bai would not give the Blood-Steel Rat this opportunity.

The current Blood-Steel Rat was like a toothless tiger, unable to pose any threat to the Thousand-Change Silkworm at all.

"Thousand-Change Silkworm, give the Blood-Steel Rat the final blow, use Rollout, and crash into the Blood-Steel Rat!!"

The Thousand-Change Silkworm rolled over the Blood-Steel Rat's body like a heavy war chariot.

The Blood-Steel Rat spat out a mouthful of blood with a squelch; it felt as if its internal organs had been forcibly squeezed into a lump.

It collapsed on the ground, with more air going out than coming in.

"Final blow."

The Thousand-Change Silkworm slammed its large backside onto the Blood Steel Rat, completely KO-ing the Blood Steel Rat.

Star-blue energy surged directly into the Thousand-Change Silkworm's body; at this moment, the Thousand-Change Silkworm also broke through its bottleneck, and its level increased to Lv7 (First Rank, Level 7).

At this time, a vine emerged from the ground; it searched around the bloody, mangled head of the Blood Steel Rat and picked out a silver-white crystal core.

The vine coiled around the crystal core and handed it to Ye Bai.

Ye Bai also casually tossed the crystal core to the Thousand-Change Silkworm, which was looking at him with eager eyes.

After swallowing the crystal core, a Steelization skill (1/100) Not Yet Initiated suddenly appeared in the Thousand-Change Silkworm's skill bar.

But the next second, Ye Bai discovered in surprise that the proficiency of this Steelization skill was rising rapidly.

The Steelization skill proficiency level quickly became Familiar, while the Thousand-Change Silkworm's Hardening skill disappeared completely, replaced by the Steelization skill.

"In other words, after the Thousand-Change Silkworm swallows a crystal core, the skills it comprehends will automatically merge with similar low-rank skills?"

"This is a bit absurd."

Ye Bai blinked his eyes, revealing an expression of disbelief.

Begging for votes, and by the way, explaining why the protagonist does not expose his Insight Eye: first, the Awakening Stone detected at the start that the protagonist's awakened talent was Photographic Memory; if he suddenly had the Insight Eye talent, he would definitely be targeted by others, and they would investigate where this talent came from.

Second, if he exposed this talent, he would also be hunted down by other countries and fall into the same situation as Li Weiyang.

(End of this chapter)