8: Wildlife Management Bureau

“Don’t go to the river?”

A hint of doubt flashed in Lin Mu’s heart, but she didn’t ask further, pulling Lin Fei and heading home.

The most important thing now was to get her son home and mend his relationship with his father.

The next day, Su Yuan woke up as dawn was just breaking.

He hadn’t slept deeply last night, as he was in the wild and remained constantly vigilant.

However, perhaps due to the difference in species, Su Yuan didn’t feel tired; he was full of energy.

“Open the panel.”

After Su Yuan woke up, he didn’t need to brush his teeth or wash his face; the first thing he did was admire his panel.

“Species: Adaptable Octopus”

“Rank: 5”

“Body Length: 330 cm”

“Physical Aberrations: Claws (retractable Claws covering tentacles), Enhanced Muscles (Your strength has been enhanced), Elementary Toxin Resistance (You have resistance to most common toxins)”

“Skills: Survival of the Fittest (Passive Skill, can adapt to most environments)”

“evolution points: 11.02 / 20” (Increasing by devouring spiritual energy)

Su Yuan slowly read through it, his gaze immediately falling on the evolution points.

He remembered clearly that yesterday’s evolution points were 10.02, but today they had become 11.02!

During this time, he hadn’t hunted any prey; the only thing that could cause an increase in evolution points was devouring spiritual energy.

However, previously, the evolution points gained from devouring spiritual energy in one day was only 0.01, but now it had become 1.

Su Yuan immediately looked at the Adaptable Octopus, his only skill, which allowed him to adapt to most environments.

Could it be due to this skill? Having adapted more to the spiritual energy recovery, the spiritual energy absorbed daily increased to 1.

“It seems that spiritual energy recovery also depends on talent; some highly talented creatures will evolve very quickly.”

Su Yuan mused inwardly; his passive skill was equivalent to high talent.

From this perspective, some highly talented animals might have already evolved to a terrifying degree.

Thinking this, Su Yuan casually grabbed a Plecostomus swimming by and swallowed it whole.

“You devoured a Plecostomus, gaining 0.33 evolution points.”

“Breakfast is over.”

After finishing the Plecostomus, Su Yuan looked up; a red sun was rising from the horizon, casting morning glow—it was early morning.

Su Yuan noticed that it seemed the rain had stopped outside, and there were no more dark clouds; the sun was clearly visible.

“Didn’t Lin Fei say it would rain for another two weeks? Weather forecasts really aren’t reliable.”

Su Yuan grumbled, swimming towards the water surface.

He was very cautious; his body color changed to blend with the surroundings, making him difficult to spot even in daylight.

Su Yuan swam in the shallow water, his gaze observing his surroundings; it was indeed a long-awaited sunny day outside.

Along the riverbank, there were a few pedestrians passing by.

In Yangxi Town, a vehicle with the emblem of the Wildlife and Plant Administration Bureau drove in early in the morning, stirring up a commotion.

“How did this wild wolf get out of Dayang Mountain Nature Reserve! If something goes wrong, we’ll all be responsible!”

Liu Ye had disheveled hair and was driving, with even some unknown substance in the corners of his eyes.

The Dayang Mountain Nature Reserve was vast, so the staff here were divided into groups, each managing a specific area.

Early this morning, he suddenly received a System alert; this was because a wild wolf, which had previously been implanted with a chip for studying wild wolf packs, had left the Dayang Mountain Nature Reserve.

“Liu Ye, we have a discovery! Surveillance spotted a damaged wire fence; it seems to be man-made!”

In the passenger seat was a young man in his twenties, wearing glasses, holding a laptop.

“Fang Chenjin, you’re saying it’s man-made? This means poachers have arrived!”

In the back seat, a beautiful young woman spoke up, also in her twenties, with dark hair, fair skin, and a good figure.

“It must be poachers!”

Liu Ye’s eyes narrowed; the Dayang Mountain Nature Reserve was rich in animal resources and had always been a dream paradise for various poachers.

Every year, they had to deal with poachers.

Because of this, the danger of this job was no less than some high-risk industries.

“The signal is nearby; it hasn’t moved.”

Fang Chenjin suddenly said.

“Here?”

Liu Ye pulled over and parked.

“Fang Chenjin, are you sure it’s here? This area is either residential houses or a small river; those poachers couldn’t possibly steal a wolf and stay so close, could they?”

Lin Meng looked around, her brows slightly furrowed; she had a feeling something wasn’t right.

“I’m sure, it’s here; the signal should be in this river.”

The three got out of the car and surveyed the surroundings; Fang Chenjin, holding his laptop, confirmed it carefully, then looked at the river and said.

“In the river? Could it be that the poachers removed the chip and threw it into the river?”

Lin Meng frowned; if that were the case, it would be very difficult to retrieve the poached wild wolf.

“You all come over.”

At this moment, Liu Ye arrived at the spot where Lin Fei had been attacked and saw a series of footprints on the riverbank soil, his eyes immediately narrowing.

He recognized them as wolf footprints.

Lin Meng and Fang Chenjin came over and were immediately surprised.

Fang Chenjin quickly took photos and compared them with past wild wolf footprint images, finally saying, “It should be this wild wolf; the footprints are almost identical.”

“The situation seems different from our previous assumptions. From the footprints, this wild wolf appeared to be resisting something, but didn’t succeed and was dragged into the water!”

Liu Ye crouched down, staring at the footprints, and said gravely.

“Impossible, this is just a small river. Although it connects directly to Dayang Lake, Dayang Lake doesn’t have aquatic animals that would dare to attack a wild wolf.”

“Wolves can swim. Perhaps it actively escaped the poachers through the river; it’s not certain.”

Lin Meng carefully recalled the species in this body of water, then said.

“Let’s look first; the chip shows it’s right here.”

Fang Chenjin said, intending to go into the water.

“Don’t rush, bring your weapons.”

Liu Ye quickly stopped him, a bad premonition in his heart.

“I’ll go get them from the car.”

Although Lin Meng didn’t think there would be fierce aquatic animals in the river, she agreed; safety first.

As members of the Wildlife and Plant Administration Bureau, they were naturally assigned weapons to combat poachers and protect themselves from powerful predators.

On the other side, Lin Fei, who hadn't slept well all night, kept thinking and increasingly felt that what he had witnessed earlier was a tentacle.

“If it really is it, how did it grow so big? Did it hunt randomly, or did it recognize me and protect me?”

Lin Fei’s mind raced with thoughts; he got up early, ignoring breakfast, and ran directly to the spot where he was attacked by the wolf last night.

However, just as he reached the riverbank, he saw some figures searching for something in the river where he was attacked last night.

Lin Fei’s gaze shifted, and he saw a car parked nearby with the emblem of the Wildlife and Plant Administration Bureau, which made his expression change slightly.

He instinctively thought of Su Yuan and didn’t want others to know about it.

Thinking this, he quickly hid to the side, watching them.