Chapter 208 — The Birth of a New Race

In the training grounds, Shi Jin and the others' figures gradually materialized.

Once they arrived, Hua Che stared at the three little Iron-eating Beasts—one hammering a post with hardened iron fists, one sprinting across the grounds in a stamina drill, one flailing an iron rod about at random—and sank into deep thought.

This was the Iron-eating Beast Research Institute?

Researching how to make Iron-eating Beasts diligent?

As the group arrived, the three little Iron-eating Beasts immediately looked over. Upon discovering that it was not the Leader but the Leader's master, they could not help but show expectant expressions.

"Go play by yourselves." Yet Shi Shuo's single sentence left the three little Iron-eating Beasts utterly crestfallen.

"Ying ying ying... (More, more, more.)"

Shi Jin: "..."

Eleven's ideological brand really was something else.

Not only Hua Che—Feng Jin, Zuo Heng, and Xia Yan all wore peculiar expressions after watching.

Feng Jin, for his part, was relatively fine; after all, he had already heard the legend of the Ancient Capital University's Iron-eating Beasts.

Shi Jin: "Ahem, never mind them. Let's get down to business first."

"Mm." Zuo Heng nodded.

The so-called business was, naturally, Zuo Heng using her growth talent to help the green worm cocoons rapidly absorb the evolution power and break out of their cocoons as soon as possible.

This training ground was quite spacious, so the group simply decided to run their experiments right there.

Zuo Heng stepped forward and looked at the eleven green worm cocoons. His gaze locked onto one, and he gently lifted it with both hands.

The cocoon did not struggle. It had been bred by the research institute, after all, and its temperament was relatively docile and timid.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, a faint fluorescent glow began to shimmer around Zuo Heng's hands as vast energy poured into the cocoon. The cocoon froze for a moment, then instinctively squeezed its eyes shut.

In less than a minute, Zuo Heng gently set the cocoon down and said, "Done. It can attempt to break its cocoon and evolve with psychic power at any time. It has fully absorbed the evolutionary energy."

"Ah, getting old really is exhausting. Qingwei, you take over assisting with the remaining cocoons," Zuo Heng said.

"Huh?"

Xia Yan froze and looked at her mother.

Wait, tired already?

During your previous experiments, you assisted dozens of green silk worm cocoons through evolution in one go without even breathing hard. Now you're worn out after just one?

Xia Yan suddenly had the feeling that she had been brought along to serve as a living evolution accelerator.

"It's fine. There are plenty of supplements."

"Ginseng Baby." Shi Jin noticed what was happening and decided he couldn't let people work for nothing, so he summoned Ginseng Baby.

Ginseng Baby knew the drill. The moment it appeared, it immediately used its Nutrient and Sweet Aroma skills to condense a cigarette-shaped nutrient.

"Eeh!!" It toddled over to Zuo Heng, eager to hand it to her.

As the saying goes, one cigarette for a young madam makes her like a fairy descended to the mortal realm. This was something Granny Li's supplement-type pets had taught it. They said Granny Li had loved smoking cigarette-type supplements back in the day, and every time she finished, her temper would briefly improve.

"Eeh..."

"Uh." Zuo Heng stared blankly at the cigarette that Ginseng Baby, summoned out of nowhere by Shi Jin, was offering her.

"Ginseng Baby!" Shi Jin said, stomach aching. Who the hell taught you that!

Sensing Shi Jin's scolding, Ginseng Baby's whole body jolted. It kneaded the cigarette in its hands a few times, rolled it into a cherry-shaped nutrient, and offered it again.

"A nutrient?" Zuo Heng smiled faintly, accepted it, and said with a laugh, "Thank you, little one."

Wait, Shi Jin actually carried a contracted Ginseng Baby around with him??

"Besides being a nutrient, it could also be an Energy Fruit: Cherry Bomb," Feng Jin mused from the side. He had heard about the Ginseng Baby's battle against the Battle Society.

Zuo Heng had just taken the cherry and nearly flung it away.

"It really is a nutrient. It's a combination skill of Sweet Aroma and Nutrient. The fruit seals the sweet aroma inside. You don't have to eat it, just hold it near your nose and breathe in the scent to relieve a good deal of fatigue," Shi Jin explained.

After Shi Jin finished speaking, Ginseng Baby made another one and handed it to Xia Yan.

Ginseng Baby's face was utterly sincere. Keep it up, research-coat auntie and big sister who got beaten up by bugs. My evolution materials depend on your all-nighters in the lab.

Let me see where your limits lie!

"Um, thanks."

Xia Yan recognized Ginseng Baby too. Wasn't this one of the little pets that had been gathering nectar with the bugs in the garden that day?

Besides it, there had also been a little Iron-Eating Beast and a little Flame Sword Spirit, all presumably Shi Jin's pets...

Meanwhile, Zuo Heng took a deep breath and held the cherry nutrient that Ginseng Baby had provided up to the tip of her nose for a small sniff.

"Mm..."

The next moment, she felt instantly refreshed. The exhaustion of rushing from Magic City to the Ancient Capital vanished like smoke, as if she had just woken at dawn and stepped into a place of incomparably fresh air to breathe in the scent of nature.

The lightness throughout her body made Zuo Heng's face show astonishment.

"This..." Zuo Heng moved the nutrient away. Setting aside the upper limits of its effects, the sheer quality of completely relaxing the mind, body, and spirit, as though becoming one with nature, was incredibly rare.

"Its nutrient and sweet aroma levels must be quite high."

"Mm." Shi Jin nodded. "And it's a mutant species, possessing a super-tier skill that enhances the effects of nourishing and restorative skills."

"So it really isn't an ordinary Ginseng Baby!" Xia Yan thought to herself.

She knew it. A genius like Shi Jin wouldn't contract some ordinary pet.

"Looks like Li Lianping gave you a fine pet," Feng Jin said, clicking his tongue in admiration at Zuo Heng's astonished expression.

A moment later, out of curiosity, Xia Yan also took a sniff of the nutrient. The next second, her face flushed bright red and her whole body went numb and tingly. She nearly let out a moan and hurriedly pulled the thing away.

For an ordinary beast tamer, Ginseng Baby's supplements really did pack quite a punch.

Beast tamers who could eat nutrients like Shi Jin did, face unchanging, as if they were ordinary fruit, were few and far between.

"It can evolve now, right?"

After Shi Jin had the ginseng baby divide up the nutrients, he turned his gaze to the green worm cocoon that had successfully been accelerated through growth and had reopened its eyes.

At this moment, the green worm cocoon wore a bewildered expression, at a loss, staying where it was.

"Yes," Zuo Heng nodded.

"In that case, green worm cocoon, try breaking out of your cocoon," Shi Jin said to the green worm cocoon. "Do you know how?"

"Mmm~~~" Chongchong chimed in with instructions as well.

Upon hearing the command, the green worm cocoon's body immediately quivered. A faint light glimmered in its twin pupils as its psychic power activated, attempting to break free from the cocoon's confines from within and fully unleash its latent potential.

"Cheep!!!" In that moment, the green worm cocoon, remarkably, let out a sound.

Then, with a "buzz," a light of evolution bloomed from its body.

Everyone held their breath.

Wreathed in the light of evolution, the cocoon underwent an enormous transformation. With a "boom," crushed by the psychic force, the cocoon burst open outright, scattering into flying white threads that swirled through the air around them.