Chapter 454: Does Yangyue World Have an Animal Protection Organization?

There's nothing to be done; if you get a sudden call from your boss while napping at noon, you'd end up like this too.

No, if it were just that simple, there's no way you'd be scared like this……

Then add several million in various loans, plus the ever-intensifying trend of departmental layoffs optimization across the company… (smile).

So after waiting a bit longer, he finally received a reply.

【Reporting to the Savior, your loyal Cloi is working very diligently! May I ask what you need?】

Ji Ming fell silent.

Now he understands why, every time he replied before, Sun Zei would always speak in a sarcastic tone—this is obviously just slacking off, right!?

Forget it……

【It's nothing, I just wanted to ask where you are right now】

Again, he waited several seconds.

【I'm distributing new missions to players at the Soul Spirit Divine Palace; I heard there's some movement over the wasteland, so I told them to be extra vigilant.】

The wasteland?

Eh, probably Old Yang Tou over there is stirring up trouble again.

Doesn't matter; this old guy is too weak, the matter of the divine selection is still bottled up, so let Him butt heads with the players slowly.

Then Ji Ming added, '【Oh, okay, as long as you're not in the Fallen God Mountain Range】' and turned off the screen.

So it seems this is indeed not a newly developed wolf pack by Cloi, but a pack of wolves encountered by accident……

Good, as long as they're not our own people!

So Ji Ming immediately directed the students, with the knights' assistance, to surround the herd of wild cattle, then, mimicking the mechanic of a chicken-eating game, began to gradually shrink the circle.

The highly vigilant wild cattle soon noticed their presence and all let out uneasy lowing sounds mixed with warnings.

But heh heh heh, shouting won't help—no cattle will come to rescue you here!

And after realizing they were completely surrounded by humans with no escape, the wild cattle gave up on fleeing and began to frantically mill about by the small river.

As everyone knows, anger arises from fear; when humans approach to a certain extent, those completely overtaken by fear and losing reason will inevitably become the most violent mad cattle.

Thus, after the circle was halved, Mei Zi Shu, who had been constantly observing the cattle's demeanor, signaled Ji Ming to have everyone stop.

"'Almost there—the cattle's fear is near its limit; we can let the kids go up and try.'"

Having to say, as a leader, Ji Ming likes this kind of team.

He can safely delegate the actual execution and related planning, needing only to make the right decision at the right time.

Simple, efficient, clear, and not likely to wear him out.

And as he took out the roll call, directing the first squad on it to advance, this theoretically just an appetizer hunt began.

But… as already said, it's only theoretical.

So the professional time ends here, because as the squad slowly advanced, one student couldn't hold back a laugh.

"Heh……"

Well now, possibly from excessive nervousness, or maybe because their brains really aren't up to it.

Anyway, the students can't stay serious anymore; silliness seems contagious, and they all burst out laughing.

Thus, Mei Zi Shu couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

"Ah, these days, how have our young people all turned out like this……"

Ji Ming, meanwhile, thought, 'We've barely started; if I read the love letter your Pei Ni wrote for me, with this wording and description, I'd surely make your beard fly off in anger.'

Meanwhile, the wild cattle on the other side, though they didn't understand, were still greatly shocked.

——What are these humans doing? Why did they suddenly make such a loud noise?

Back and forth, they were instead frightened into losing their momentum; the readiness to fight to the death was scattered, and they all stood there dazed.

... Well, what a perfect pair of opponents.

And with this pair of hidden talents, the subsequent battle was utterly devoid of any aesthetic.

You fight yours, I fight mine—no skill, no tactics, just a pure comparison of numbers and luck.

Those in the know say it's just clueless newbies poking each other; please understand.

Those who don't know might think they accidentally clicked on a bvb video that every hot action single-player game has.

Both sides acted like a big bunch of dumb NPCs, fighting chaotically by a small river, showing no discernible pattern.

Moreover, there were no shortage of mages who mastered various shield, damage reduction, and healing spells, yet only kept stacking them on themselves.

Clad in heavy armor, clearly with not a single scratch, yet constantly shrinking back—a defeatist tank.

To show off in front of his girlfriend, he stacked several speed buffs, then slid forward to the front line as a melee archer.

And even at this point, still thinking about hooking a rich guy, she didn't bother wearing proper armor, just waiting for a goblin to come catch her cool warrior……

Fortunately, monster slaying for leveling up is a basic rule of Yangyue World; otherwise, a few more 'Don't fight anymore, what's wrong with them?' animal-protection types would send Ji Ming's blood pressure through the roof.

Among the crowd, only a few students could thoroughly put into practice what they learned from books.

They were by the book, executing the most rigid combat process like true NPCs.

Just that already counts as a standout performer!

And there wasn't even a single outstanding student representative who could earn Teacher Ji a high score, or be singled out to show their face and leave a name here.

"Ah……"

Originally thinking the knights wouldn't cause any mishaps, they could only keep closing the distance, fearing any wild bull might go berserk and gore a precious trinket.

But the kids are ultimately top talents from the higher academy, and the opponents Ji Ming picked for them really aren't that difficult.

So after over ten minutes of battle, accompanied by the desperate bellow of the last bull, this farce called the hunt ended.

Too bad there was no classic 'We won!' followed by everyone cheering and doing the glorious victory dance.

By the small river already turned into a muddy mess by them, there was only weeping, roaring, mockery, and complaint.

Exactly, just like college students in real life, after losing a volleyball match, the first thing they inevitably do is hold a potluck.

——Anyway, as long as it's not my fault, that's fine.

Ji Ming knew that arguing wouldn't yield a result, so he hurried over and used the "next segment" to stop their relationship from continuing to develop cracks.

"Alright, alright, teacher knows you're excited. Come, the brave one who just successfully killed the wild ox, come over and tell everyone about your operation."

Who would have thought that, including the calf, there were only nine targets in total, yet out of forty-something students, a full eighteen stepped forward as ox‑killing heroes.

What a thick‑skinned person, flapping his lips and babbling, he can even say nonsense like 'I stabbed three with one sword' with a straight face.

If Ji Ming weren't so diligent and good‑tempered, he would have already slapped him so hard he'd spin like a top.

And after those eighteen storytellers finished their performance, Ji Ming despondently discovered that only three of them were barely telling the truth.

Just this—this is already the result of him constantly lowering his standards, after all, a mage of around level ten can barely cast a pitiful fireball, let alone spam it.

But for Ji Ming, who had observed the whole process, this self‑report segment was nothing more than his second test, merely to see how everyone behaved in terms of honesty.

The facts prove it's completely inadequate; those few who are still gleefully pulling opposite‑sex partners and boasting loudly, the self‑proclaimed masters of nonsense, are just waiting to fail the drill (middle finger).

And while Ji Ming was busy writing numbers on the score sheet, the border patrol knights responsible for patrolling the surroundings also returned.

He gave a sharp slap and rendered a military salute to Uncle Mei.

"Report, Commander! I found traces of a wolf pack nearby; from a day ago, they likely headed east."

Uncle Mei then turned directly to Ji Ming.

"Cough, Professor Ji, do you think we should head east to pursue, or should we first…"

This is also the only thing that can truly comfort Old Ji; I have to say these knight brothers really are good soldiers, at least they understand the principle that soldiers correspond to generals and generals to officers.

If they, with Uncle Mei present, still went straight to me to report, that would show they can't distinguish authority hierarchy, not even grasping vassal relations—utter clods.

As for whether to pursue or not…

"The kids still lack experience, but since we're here, let's go take a look; if it really doesn't work out, we'll just consume the experience."

"Hmm, that works too."

Then, after a brief rest, the group set off eastward along the river, but they never again found any trace of the wolf pack.

On the contrary, at dusk, their path was blocked by three forest rangers.

They had been fairly alert, but upon realizing it was a training squad, they relaxed.

One of them stepped forward to negotiate.

"Hello, you must be the team's instructor, right?"

Given the mechanics of the Yangyue World, for a professional to level up, they must hunt large numbers and varieties of monsters.

Thus, with population growth and prolonged peace, a very deadly problem inevitably arises.

——What should be done if a species goes extinct, or even if a mass extinction event occurs?

The answer is there is no solution.

Even if the little boss keeps trying to remedy it, stimulating the world's laws to give birth, or simply reintroducing various species.

But since everyone wants to level up and must kill, when millions or even tens of millions of professionals simultaneously take up the slaughter knife, the birth rate can't possibly keep up with the rate of extinction.

And as species dwindle year after year, the result is that the difficulty of leveling up increases day by day.

At the very least, in the mortal world ten thousand years ago, one could still find a few beings like the great angel Sylvia and the silver dragon mage Bu Long Fei Er De, both ninety‑level powerhouses.

But today, ten thousand years later, even hidden‑world experts can only reach the early eighties at best, and the majority walking under mortal eyes are in the early seventies.

For example, the wolf king's eldest son, Mandulat; likewise, the fire‑magic academy head who just fought a battle in the northern frontier and Bei Mo Si Ke Han; even the old lady who was once an elf sage.

Therefore, in today's Yangyue World, animal protection is fundamentally not a means for everyone to raise funds and attack each other; those who have animals truly protect them.

Rather than calling this a hunting ground, it is more like a large‑scale natural reserve, where each species is meticulously recorded by the forest rangers in terms of current status and numbers, and receives targeted protection.

Just like now, a pregnant wind‑tiger ahead is busy giving birth, and the midwives who came to help it deliver have shown up uninvited.

Ji Ming's favorite type of person is someone like this who is perseverant; and since it's genuine animal protection, he certainly wouldn't idle around causing trouble for no reason.

Coincidentally, it was already late, so he planned to bring the students to set up camp on the spot, rest for a night, then continue pursuing the wolf pack.

"Wolf pack?"

Who would have thought that, after hearing Ji Ming's orders, the lead forest ranger walked over again.

"Are you talking about the demon wolf pack that just slaughtered the wild ox herd?"

???

This is pure and simple karmic retribution, the 'report' of repaying kindness.

And since these few are here to protect the tiger mom giving birth, those situated on the necessary eastward route will inevitably encounter that demon wolf pack.

So if tomorrow Ji Ming leads everyone to keep plodding eastward, they will surely end up with nothing.

Because the wolf pack has already been driven south by the forest rangers' special means; now who knows where they're resting in which forest.

"Okay, thanks."

With a clear direction, the subsequent pursuit is easy to discuss.

And after a night's rest, just as they were about to set out, they also received the good news that the wind‑tiger had successfully given birth.

"We haven't even left yet and already got a good omen; I think we're very likely to go smoothly today!"

Having said those nice words, Ji Ming led the crowd onward on the path to pursue the wolf pack.

As it turned out, maybe they really did catch a break, for not long after setting out, Uncle Mei again found traces of the wolf pack.

"It's still fresh; let's chase this way!"

And after repeatedly correcting their direction based on all sorts of random clues, by near noon they finally heard a clear wolf howl.

That wolf howl was incredibly uplifting; after all, if Ji Ming hadn't repeatedly painted pies, this bunch of young masters and misses would have already gone on strike.

So he didn't dare urge them to rush into battle; after a brief rest, he then followed the howl's direction to finish the last stretch of the journey.

Quite coincidentally, perhaps because they had just finished a whole‑ox feast yesterday and hadn't digested it yet, by the time they arrived, the wolf pack happened to be resting in the shade of the trees.

Teacher Ji, look, that over there is the Wolf King!

Ji Ming glanced in the direction Berry Uncle pointed, and discovered that the real Wolf King and the Wolf King disguised by Cloi were indeed very different.

The main difference is that this gray-furred Wolf King, in front of the Black Wolf King, is just like a child—only a bit larger than an ordinary demon wolf, and utterly lacking any intimidating presence.

And since even the pack leader is only at this level, this wolf pack naturally isn't as large as the one Cloi forced together with her personal strength; at most there are only a few dozen demon wolves.

But for the equally few-dozen students who are completely clueless about cooperation, they are still quite a formidable enemy.

But if there were no difficulty throughout, what's the point of doing a practical drill?

What we need is a soul‑level difficulty that can be called tormenting; Teacher Ji must make them suffer a bit today!