Chapter 1036: 1033: The Intellectual

"Huh? Huh!?"Ah Qing, holding a phone, froze, a big question mark floating over her small head, looking incredulous as her gaze darted between the phone and the little fox's face.

Fu...Furui!? A city of tens of thousands transformed into Furui in an instant, could such a thing really happen?

As Ah Qing exclaimed, Shasha in the ward looked puzzled and peeked out, secretly observing from the doorway.

"Yes, I saw them change with my own eyes." Lu Tiannan nodded with unusual certainty:

"The mutation occurred in two layers; in the outer regions, ordinary citizens turned into Furui, but at the earthquake's core, in the area sealed off by the Forest Wolf and other organizations, what happened there can't be called a mutation—it was a distortion..."

"But... there's nothing there, just an empty chasm formed by the quake."

A city collapsing in an instant shocked Lu Tiannan immensely.

When the mutation suddenly appeared, he and Right Hand were about to sneak into the earthquake's core to grab something and flee.

However, before they could enter the core, screams echoed around the city, and in a moment when Lu Tiannan hadn't fully reacted, the entire city changed.

Beast Warriors in the core transformed into beasts, while citizens in the outer areas turned into Furui.

Throughout, he felt nothing, remaining clueless even right inside the core.

"Grabbing something and running...is such talk appropriate from a seasoned person like you?"

Ansheng picked up his dropped jaw, looking at Lu Tiannan on the video with a face full of black lines.

"Not taking Heaven's gift leads to blame. The deity bestowed something special on me, and I'd be struck by lightning if I didn't take it." Lu Tiannan waved dismissively: "By the way, I was so busy talking about serious matters that I forgot to introduce myself..."

"What am I now, some sort of investigator who specializes in digging into dangerous places, racing to move fast with others?"

"That's a Forest Resource Investigator, akin to a scout or an advanced outpost soldier..." Ansheng quipped.

Forest Resource Investigators in the Security Bureau are high-risk soldiers, always on the frontline to gather intelligence and build outposts and safe houses when an incident occurs.

However, what is considered dangerous...for Lu Tiannan and Right Hand might not really be so.

Right Hand's skills focus entirely on survival; for Lu Tiannan, exploring ruins might legitimately mean racing others in speed and whose backpack is larger.

"It should be called forest investigation; I told them to find the highest risk, well-paying job possible, rather than getting beaten by that green-haired girl every day, it's better to go abroad..."

Lu Tiannan thought back, recalling his title at the Security Bureau and making a side quip about Right Hand.

To acquire the Treasure Tree Spirit Liquid, that jerk truly had no shame and even wanted to make the Treasure Tree his foster mother.

"I've just reported the situation here, but the Security Bureau says there's no corresponding data, so I thought I'd ask Master Fuli for any opinions..." Lu Tiannan spoke with a strange expression as he looked at the widespread Furui.

Instant mutation, no root cause, and no trace of technological constructs.

It seemed as if everything was fabricated out of thin air, leaving Right Hand completely bewildered.

"Shasha, do you have any insights..." Ansheng frowned while watching the video call. On the other side, Lu Tiannan seemed to make a deliberate effort to shoot a video outside to give Master Fuli a clearer view.

After the quake, the city showed no obvious signs of rescue; scattered disaster survivors huddled together, burning fires to fend off the winter chill or scavenging the wasteland for food.

However, they likely weren't cold now, as each person turned into a furry creature, staring blankly at each other.

The root of the mutation was the earthquake chasm.

But both Lu Tiannan and the Forest Wolf Organization had personally scoured the chasm yet found nothing.

"I can't tell from here; some scents and atmospheric elements can't be discerned through a screen."

Shasha, who had been observing secretly, shook her head quite matter-of-factly.

Indeed.

This type of regional gene mutation clearly belongs to the First Epoch.

However, different gene mutations have beneficial or harmful variants, requiring an on-site presence for judgment.

From the video alone, Shasha's feeling was not of a malignant mutation but more like a leak of some kind.

Speaking in a tone for mutual discussion, Shasha shared her speculations.

"You! Old woman! Don't steal the Taoist's credit!" Right Hand cursed as soon as Shasha poked her head out.

"You're dead!" Lu Tiannan delivered a punch, squarely hitting Right Hand in the face.

"Since Master Fuli and Miss Shark both say the mutation source is still in the chasm, then... I'll just grab my shovel and head back to ventilate the basement."

Lu Tiannan rubbed his forehead, hung up the call, and prepared to head to the chasm for a thorough search.

Given the current situation, ordinary citizens could not step foot into this small town.

Once they entered, they would instantly turn into Furui.

The core area was even more intense, with both overt and covert Furui transforming into wild beasts to romp around.

"Wow... A cultured person, indeed!" Ansheng's expression paused as he watched the video screen end, quipping about Old Lu's phraseology prowess with a face lined with disbelief.

For ruins and tomb exploration, described elegantly by Lu Tiannan as ventilating the basement.

The Spirit Beast Gang's tax-free business might as well be called Public River Clearing.

"Xiaolan..."

"Is your consulting work on a daily basis about regional major events like this?"

Ah Qing squatted beside her chair, her eyes shining with an intriguing light as she gazed at the little fox in amazement.

She knew Huhu worked at the Security Bureau and was also a Spirit Beast Advisor and part-time instructor.

But this was Ah Qing's first time watching a confidential meeting of the little fox, leaving her not only stunned but also deeply puzzled.

Turns out... Blue Star is so dangerous; it's always been the Security Bureau and Huhu pulling all-nighters to resolve things.

No wonder... Couldn't wake Huhu up in the morning, since Xiaolan is saving people every night from danger.

"Events of this scale rarely occur; an incident like Furui City is an exception..."

Ansheng shook his head, indicating it's a unique case, not a typical Spirit Beast event.

In addition, it's clear the "Landlord" used its hand to eliminate threats.

Given the current Spiritual Particle concentration, things emerging underground could affect tens of thousands of people if the concentration reached its comfortable resurrection range.

Wouldn't that mean the entire nation would be overwhelmed?

Before they can revive, the "Landlord" is casting them out, waking them up forcefully while they're still impaired.

In this way, it's actually safeguarding life forms of the Third Epoch.

However, the "Landlord's" love is macro, a love from a human race concept perspective.

The occurrence of the Furui City event provided Ansheng with a deeper understanding of the "Landlord's" existence.

This Old Deng deserves a beating, tossing things into the wilderness wouldn't do, had to throw them into the city, must dig a Fox Cave someday and bury it in gold.

Ansheng pursed his lips towards Ah Qing and said:

"Let's go!"

"Oh, I'll book the flight right away..." Ah Qing nodded seriously, ready to arrange for a private plane.

"Why book a flight? It's lunchtime." Ansheng pointed at the phone screen: "It's almost 1 o'clock."

"Huh?"