"Spirit Beasts are extremely dangerous, especially those apex ones with territorial awareness..."
The young man paused, displaying a hint of reflection, and continued:
"Realizing the danger of Spirit Beasts is indeed the first lesson in truly understanding them."
"And the second lesson in correctly understanding Spirit Beasts is about their birth. To be honest, we don’t know how Spirit Beasts come into being; we can only see from their blood test reports that some of their genetic sequences differ from normal beings."
"The birth of Spirit Beasts is a genetic mutation and also a miracle of nature—something that cannot be replicated or anticipated."
To dispel Chen Zhiyu’s curiosity and to better uphold the confidentiality agreement.
The young man patiently explained some basic knowledge about Spirit Beasts to Chen Zhiyu.
Just as the young man said, the birth of Spirit Beasts involves genetic sequence mutations, which cannot be replicated or predicted, and it’s unknown which beast in the forest will mutate.
There are actually quite a few ordinary people who have witnessed Spirit Beasts within Xia Country.
The department in charge has developed a very formal procedure for handling issues related to Spirit Beasts, moving from strictly prohibiting dissemination of related matters to this point.
Simply prohibiting can sometimes be counterproductive.
Proper education and understanding are needed to curb bold thoughts from daring individuals.
There was an incident once where a witness to a Spirit Beast event, after seeing a Spirit Beast and signing a confidentiality agreement,
would often ponder alone, mulling over it at work, after work, even while washing his feet.
Eventually, his clever mind came up with the idea that perhaps the world had already reached a Spiritual Energy Recovery.
The incident took place in the northern Xia region, where the man took food and ran straight into the forest to catch foxes, bringing all the vixens home to nurture them well.
Day by day, he mulled over how the foxes would repay him, eventually leading him to the Rashamon Mountain resort to steal the spirit fox under Mistress Hu San’s seat to rear it....
When the incident occurred, the case officers were shocked—the man had caught over thirty vixens.
Additionally, each fox had wish plaques with the man’s identity information and phone number written on them around their necks.
The man even organized, frequently letting the vixens watch films related to repayment.
Whether any Spirit Beasts emerged from those foxes is unknown.
But the subpopulation of red foxes in the northern Xia did indeed suffer a great misfortune that year. Originally not large, the male captured over thirty vixens, causing the subpopulation in northern Xia to miss a breeding season.
The red foxes dug their dens but simply could not find suitable vixens to breed with, leaving them nervously scuttling around.
...
Returning to the single room at the city bureau.
The young man from the Security Bureau clarified the birth and danger of Spirit Beasts to Chen Zhiyu.
"If you encounter any creatures that might be Spirit Beasts, please don’t hesitate at all, and notify us directly for handling," the young man concluded with a broad smile.
Chen Zhiyu squinted slightly, and the young man across from her had already explained the birth and danger of Spirit Beasts; he explained it as if telling a story and even used some humorous cases to jest about.
But Chen Zhiyu was no little girl; while his storytelling was indeed captivating and funny,
he didn’t mention any of the critical points.
"May I ask for your surname, sir?"
Chen Zhiyu thought for a moment and then asked the young man.
"No need for such formalities, Miss Chen can just call me Comrade Fang," answered Fang Zhijie, the young man from the Security Bureau.
"Hmm..."
With a serious expression, Chen Zhiyu said, "So, Comrade Fang, is it? You might have already checked my background, right?"
Fang Zhijie nodded slightly in response.
"Therefore, as a zoologist, apart from my curiosity about Spirit Beasts, I am more curious about something else—after you capture those creatures labeled as Spirit Beasts, how do you treat them?"
"I am not sure about other Spirit Beasts, but I am very clear that the crocodile ashore in Pet Paradise is the Han Yu Crocodile long confirmed extinct in our Xia Country."
"It’s written about in ’Crocodile Records’, and it was once the main character of the Xia Nan Region’s crocodile problems..."
Chen Zhiyu said solemnly, "Did you kill it?"
"Regarding the location of the Spirit Beasts, I personally do not know too much, but here, I can make a promise to Miss Chen."
"I have five insurance plans and two funds, but the Spirit Beasts live in villas after health checks, with maids, enjoying panda-level treatment," Fang Zhijie explained:
"However, due to their dangerous nature, they absolutely cannot be exhibited to the public."
"At least in our Xia Country, any Spirit Beast is considered a valuable asset, and under our protection, they will not meet any unnatural fates."
Chen Zhiyu looked at Fang Zhijie, pondered for a moment, shook her head, and said, "Thank you, Comrade Fang, for the explanation. I have already had a basic understanding of Spirit Beasts."
"Miss Chen, there’s no need for politeness; this is just our responsibility. Since the Spirit Beasts have caused Miss Chen loss and fright, we should be the ones to apologize," Fang Zhijie responded with a smile.
In fact, Chen Zhiyu had a small question she wanted to ask Fang Zhijie.
But she did not continue to ask because she knew no answer would likely satisfy her curiosity.
She had already learned about the issues she cared about.
Spirit Beasts, once recovered, would not be subjected to harmless disposal but instead live with guarantees.
Hence, even if Master Fox was exposed, nothing significant would happen.
The doubt that Chen Zhiyu harbored deep down was based on the treatment of Spirit Beasts.
Although she did not know whether it was an Estuarine Crocodile, Han Yu Crocodile, or some other creature, it was a fact that a Spirit Beast had caused three deaths in Changle River.
According to conservation laws, no matter how precious the animal, if it harms people, it needs to be dealt with harmlessly.
Otherwise, where there is one incident, there will surely be another.
Chen Zhiyu’s question about the crocodile was essentially a trap to elicit information.
First, to find out how they treat Spirit Beasts.
Second, to inquire about future accommodations and meals for Master Fox.
Hmm....
But after her inquiry, Chen Zhiyu became curious about why Spirit Beasts received such special treatment.
They must serve a purpose; otherwise, a project with only investment and no output would be criticized in the scientific community, leading to its cancellation and discontinuation.
But what is the use of Spirit Beasts?
It’s clear that Fang Zhijie wouldn’t mention it.
"Phew..... being a zoologist is quite challenging,"
Fang Zhijie walked out of the room, wiping the non-existent sweat off his forehead, and had no favorable impressions of some zoology and botany experts.
Those individuals claimed not to be curious but might promptly start new projects upon returning, or under some righteous banner, try to pry information from him.
"Miss Chen’s case is easier to manage; another lady witness is going to be troublesome," commented an expert from the Bureau of Secrets with a strange expression: "That particular witness is a high-profile lady in every sense."
A middle-aged man, well-dressed and wearing glasses, greeted Fang Zhijie’s group with a smile.
"Hello, I am Miss Lin’s lawyer, and the person next to me is from the city’s..."
Fang Zhijie scratched his head, braced himself, and entered another single room.
Why was Lin Ying at Changping Mountain? According to her and her driver’s testimony, it was very simple. Miss Lin was suffering from depression and was in poor condition. Today, the village was very noisy and not suitable for recuperation, so they went hiking.
The reasonableness of the testimony was not too important.
What was important was that Lin Ying reported the matter voluntarily, fully cooperating with their work, and even contacted the Security Bureau.
Lin Ying... from a true century-old family; although they are not in the country, their roots remain there.
With Lin Family’s influence overseas, they surely know about the existence of Spirit Beasts....
Fang Zhijie took a deep breath, bracing himself, and entered the room where Lin Ying was to prepare for a tough conversation.
...
The matters within the Bureau of Public Security currently had little to do with Ansheng, but with Lin Ying’s return, he should be able to know some things about Spirit Beasts.
And now.
Ansheng sneakily got off the business vehicle, taking the unfinished snacks and the phone back home.
Although it was already past midnight, Yu Xueqing’s house was still brightly lit, or rather, the entire village was ablaze with lights, and some villagers were still chatting over tea in their yards.
Because of the trouble caused by some naughty kids blowing things up, some villagers who were visiting also stayed up, chatting, and had not yet retired for bed.
As Ansheng skulked back home, Yu Zhenghong and Chen Peipei still had not retired from the living room.