The Ironhead Turtle's shell had scorch marks, the Fiery Dog cowered, and the Vine Monkey's leaves were withered.
“Stop it!” the leading man ordered the Vine Monkey, but the Grass-type pet only made a token gesture with two vines before shrinking back from a single electric shock from the Lightning Rat.
“Useless!” the man cursed, raising a red-glowing device and aiming it at the Lightning Rat.
The Lightning Rat suddenly turned and charged straight towards Liu Yi. A middle school student wearing headphones froze in terror.
“Watch out!” Liu Yi pulled the student away. “Ziyue.”
“Bingbing!”
Ziyue leaped forward, Ice Armor instantly covering her entire body, with concentrated defense areas focused on the front.
“Boom!”
The enraged Lightning Rat crashed into the ice armor, erupting in dazzling electric light.
Ziyue was forced back two steps by the impact, but her ice armor remained intact.
“Oh my goodness...” The rescued middle school student slumped to the ground, staring dumbfounded at the scene.
“Moling.”
Chiying leaped from Liu Yi's shoulder, blocking in front of her, her crimson eyes fixed on the enraged Lightning Rat.
The lady from before, with her Snow Fluffball, quickly came over, helped the middle school student up, and retreated to a safe distance. Some people took out their phones to film, while more hid in nearby shops.
A man shouted loudly, “Should we call the police?”
“Already called!” the convenience store clerk replied. “The Beast Tamer Association will be here soon!”
The researchers took the opportunity to surround it. The leading man raised the strange sonic device. “Let's see you run now!”
The device emitted a piercing hum, and the Lightning Rat painfully curled up, its electric arcs becoming even more chaotic.
The asphalt pavement around it smoked from the electrical overload, and a few brave onlookers with their pets stepped back further.
“Wait!” Liu Yi frowned. “What are you doing? This will only make it suffer more.”
In truth, after hearing that the Beast Tamer Association would arrive soon, she shouldn't have interfered further.
But the way those few people were provoking the Lightning Rat would only make it more violent, very likely causing it to accidentally injure bystanders again.
Moreover, the Junior pets they carried were not in good condition; it was clear they couldn't withstand the Lightning Rat, which was already an Intermediate stage pet and currently enraged.
“None of your business, little girl,” the leading man said coldly, ordering the Fiery Dog, “Stop her.”
The Fiery Dog reluctantly shuffled in front of Liu Yi, but whimpered with its tail tucked, clearly terrified by the previous battle.
Liu Yi's gaze swept over the badges on their chests—the Nova Bio-Research Institute.
She vaguely remembered seeing it in the news; it was a controversial private research institution that had received multiple complaints regarding experimental ethics.
“Is this how your institute treats pets?” Liu Yi demanded.
“Look at those pets...” An old woman passing by with a Steel-Fang Pup shook her head. “Such cruelty.”
The Lightning Rat suddenly let out a piercing shriek, its electric arcs intensifying, breaking free from the sonic control.
It lunged madly at the nearest researcher, its claws crackling with high-voltage electricity.
Liu Yi said, “Chiying.”
If the Lightning Rat were to actually harm a human, the situation would only get worse for it.
Chiying swiftly intercepted, her Poison Fang accurately biting the Lightning Rat's front paw.
Electricity surged along Chiying's scales, but due to her Dragon-type's extremely high defense and resistance to Electric-type attacks, it caused no significant harm.
This scene drew gasps of awe from the crowd.
“Ziyue, Frost Breath lockdown.”
Chiying and Ziyue cooperated perfectly. The moment Frost Breath arrived, Chiying immediately let go and retreated, and the Lightning Rat, enveloped by the Frost Breath, instantly became sluggish.
Liu Yi said to the researcher, “Now, use a normal frequency to soothe it.”
The leading man hesitated, then reluctantly adjusted the device under the condemning gazes of the surrounding passersby.
A gentle sonic wave emanated, and the Lightning Rat finally gradually calmed down.
Liu Yi knelt to check the Lightning Rat's condition, while Ziyue and Chiying stood guard vigilantly beside her.
Just then, personnel from the Beast Tamer Association arrived.
An investigator quickly secured the scene, and the onlookers offered their testimonies in a clamor:
“Those men were abusing pets!”
“That Lightning Rat was clearly not right!”
“This young lady saved everyone!”
The investigator carefully examined the Lightning Rat's condition, her expression turning serious. “Energy rampage, disordered vital signs—these are clear signs of illegal experimentation.”
She turned to the researchers. “Please present your experiment permits and pet registration certificates.”
The leading man's expression became unreadable as he whispered something to his companions.
Suddenly, they grabbed their three Junior pets, turned, and fled, jumping into a car parked by the roadside and speeding away.
“Pursue!” the investigator immediately ordered, and two team members summoned their flying pets to give chase.
She looked at Liu Yi. “Thanks to you for controlling the situation in time. This Lightning Rat's condition is very dangerous.”
Liu Yi nodded. “It needs immediate treatment.”
“Don't worry, we'll handle it,” the investigator said, carefully placing the Lightning Rat into a medical pod. “Could you please come back to the Association with us to give a statement? It won't take too long.”
Liu Yi checked the time, then nodded.
Half an hour later, at the Longwu Beast Tamer Association Medical Hall.
“Thank you for your cooperation,” the investigator said, typing in the last word. “According to our preliminary investigation, the Nova Bio-Research Institute is suspected of conducting illegal gene modification experiments.”
“This Lightning Rat was implanted with some kind of heterogeneous gene to enhance its Electric-type abilities, leading to a disordered energy system.”
Liu Yi gently stroked the Lightning Rat in the medical pod. Its fur had returned to its original golden-yellow, and it was quietly sleeping. “Will it be alright?”
“Our medical team will do their best,” the investigator sighed, “but damage at the genetic level is difficult to fully repair.”
Liu Yi thought for a moment. “I have another question. Someone in the crowd mentioned that the Beast Tamer Association would arrive soon. I heard it, and logically, those researchers should have heard it too, but they didn't immediately flee then. Why did they choose to escape only after you arrived?”
...
When she walked out of the Beast Tamer Association, the sky had already completely darkened.
Liu Yi's thoughts still lingered on the Lightning Rat. The researchers' objective was clearly to enhance the Lightning Rat's potential.
Since such a research project existed, it meant there must be Beast Tamers with such demands.
They were unwilling to train pets diligently or nurture their growth normally, instead wanting to directly obtain a powerful pet through such research and modification...
“Liu Yi?”
A familiar voice interrupted her thoughts.
Huo Nanyun emerged from the Beast Tamer Association, accompanied by her Candle Spirit Child.
Liu Yi asked, “Huh? Why are you coming out of the Beast Tamer Association too?”
“The High School Entrance Tournament third-place winner gets to choose one B-rank breeding resource, right? I came today to pick up that reward,” Huo Nanyun replied. “I was going to ask what you're doing here.”
Rate on N.U.
