Chapter 13
Jiang Zihan extracted the breeding plan for wild pheasants, which detailed every step from hatching eggs to cultivation, and also marked the differences in temperature and humidity.
After being captured, the wild pheasants experience a sudden change in their environment. If they are not properly housed, they may not be able to lay eggs. They simulated bushes, sand bathing areas, and high and low perches in the greenhouse in the hope of reducing stress.
After Lu Chenyuan went out, he brought back a few wild pheasants and eggs. Jiang Zihan carefully placed the eggs in a nest made of hay. He checked and recorded the condition of the eggs several times a day, for fear of any mistakes.
Gradually, she discovered that Zhuifeng would always lie far away at the door, his gentle animal eyes never blinking.
Jiang Zihan smiled and rubbed its head: "Why, are you looking forward to these eggs too?"
Zhuifeng lay on the ground, squinting his eyes comfortably, and a dull snoring sound came from his throat.
A few days later, the first eggshell cracked a little. Jiang Zihan's original sleepiness was swept away, and she almost jumped up with excitement. The sparse feathers of this newborn pheasant were glowing with a faint colorful light, and its body was also exceptionally strong.
Jiang Zihan instinctively opened the system interface and held his breath as he looked at the scanned data: "Is this... a sign of evolving into a war beast?"
After a while, several people gathered around the grass nest, afraid to disturb this special little fellow. Jiang Zihan prepared some bamboo worms and special feed for the mother chickens, then stood beside them.
"How is it? Is this a sign of evolution?" She didn't know much about war beasts, so she called them over to confirm it together.
Su Su glanced at Qiu Shi. He had retired from the front line and should be the one who knew war beasts best among this group of people.
Qiu Shi squatted and walked around, still a little unsure: "It looks a bit similar, but before it truly evolves, anything is possible."
Breeding war beasts is not that simple. Each one is the result of researchers' painstaking efforts. It is simply a blessing that a war beast can be hatched from eggs collected from the wild.
In order to make observation more convenient, Jiang Zihan moved directly into the greenhouse. She recorded the data one by one. Unfortunately, the other chicks that hatched did not have evolutionary characteristics, and only one such chick emerged from this batch of eggs.
She scratched her hair and said, "It turns out that war beasts are not so easy to train."
Originally, she had thought that if the war beast could give birth to cubs stably, then she wouldn't have to worry about how to keep the war beast awake for the rest of her life. Now it seems that there is still a long way to go.
Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside the shed. Jiang Zihan looked in the direction of the sound and asked in confusion, "Why are you here?"
Lu Chenyuan stood at the doorway, his stern features framed by a soft golden edge. His gaze fell on her clothes, which were stained with grass debris. "You didn't go to the cafeteria today. Lu Renshuang wanted to bring you food, but there was a problem at the experimental field, so I stopped by to get it."
Her stomach suddenly growled, and Jiang Zihan couldn't help but rub her stomach. Then she realized that she was so busy that she forgot to eat.
She smiled sheepishly: "That really troubles you."
Lu Chenyuan put the insulated box on the table: "Are there any progress in breeding mutant pheasants?"
Jiang Zihan's eyes lit up instantly when he mentioned this: "Yes! The golden color on the tip of its wings is becoming more and more obvious, and all its indicators are very stable."
Lu Chenyuan looked in the direction he was heading. The chick's growth rate was truly astonishing. In just a few days, it had grown to the size of a palm. It was now leaping up and down onto several large pheasants, who dared not resist at all. This was because its bloodline level had begun to have a suppressive effect.
Jiang Zihan opened the insulated box and asked curiously, "Did you also pull this thing from the tower?"
Lu Chenyuan: "Anyway, there are plenty of things there. If there is anything else you want, I will get it for you next time."
Jiang Zihan blinked. Was this guy really fired? How could he talk about stealing things so naturally?
"Just consider it as repaying the favor you gave me last time." Lu Chenyuan suddenly thought of something. "Oh, by the way, I've observed a while ago, and there aren't many war beasts out there. I suspect they're all hiding in the deep mountains and dense forests."
Jiang Zihan seemed to be lost in thought. The dense forest had always been a blind spot for the tower's surveillance. No wonder he fell in there with the surveillance camera last time. It seemed that the tower had also been looking for traces of the war beast.
Speaking of which, Zhuifeng's existence should also be known to people outside. If they can rescue more war beasts, will there be a chance that the ban on the Exile Land will be lifted?
She glanced towards the door and suddenly realized that Zhuifeng didn't come today. She quickly finished the lunch box and got up and walked towards another greenhouse.
Lu Chenyuan followed and said, "Actually, you don't have to worry. No one here can be its opponent."
Jiang Zihan was about to say something when he glanced at the door and suddenly noticed a few drops of dark red blood next to the food bowl. At this moment, there was no sign of Zhuifeng in the greenhouse.
Her heartbeat suddenly quickened, and she walked in quickly: "This is..."
Lu Chenyuan squatted down and twisted it: "It's not very fresh, it must be left over from last night. Did Zhuifeng come here this morning?"
The two looked at each other and followed the blood trail in tacit understanding.
They passed through a thicket, and Jiang Zihan felt a little annoyed: "I've been paying so much attention to the chicken these past few days that I didn't even notice if it came back last night."
She walked forward with her head covered, but was suddenly pulled and her steps stopped.
"Shh." Lu Chenyuan stood in front of her. Not far away, he saw a furry ball curled up beside a tree root. Its silver-gray fur was covered with blood, but its green eyes were still full of vigilance.
Jiang Zihan covered his mouth and whispered, "What kind of war beast is this?"
Lu Chenyuan: "The Phantom Cat is a phantom-type war beast. It is secretive and good at stealth, making it an extremely outstanding hunter."
Although it is small in size, its abilities are unpredictable. If it is alone, it is not a big deal, but the people behind it may not be able to escape, so they must be careful.
"Don't move." Lu Chenyuan held her down, "I'll go over."
He carefully squeezed through the gap, and just as he approached, the Phantom Cat, which had been in a state of stress, suddenly jumped up, flashed a few times, and approached quickly, with its sharp claws going straight for Jiang Zihan's face.
It turned out that it had discovered their traces a long time ago!
Lu Chenyuan's eyes darkened, and he quickly turned back to pull her, but a deep wound was cut on his arm.
"Are you okay?" Jiang Zihan didn't care about the escaping Phantom Cat and hurriedly checked his injuries. He was deformed to begin with. If the wound triggered an energy riot, she was not sure if she could suppress the 1.8-meter-tall man.
"It's okay, it's okay." Lu Chenyuan's tone was normal, but the clothes around the wound were gradually stained red.
After returning to the gathering place, when Jiang Zihan cut open his sleeves, he clearly felt his muscles tense up.
"Does it hurt?" She took a closer look. The flesh around the wound had already turned black, indicating that the deformation on Phantom Cat's body was on the verge of collapse. She carefully cleaned the wound for him. "Bear with it, this flesh needs to be removed, otherwise you will get an infection."
Lu Chenyuan turned his head away. The greenhouse was so quiet that he could hear each other's breathing. He glanced at the door uncomfortably, then suddenly tensed up.
Jiang Zihan's scalpel almost pierced into the flesh, "What's wrong?"
The next second, Zhuifeng jumped in from the door with light steps and a big bag in his mouth.
When his amber eyes met the two pairs of eyes staring at the door, he couldn't help but tilt his head in confusion: "Huh?"
"Zhuifeng!" Jiang Zihan stood up suddenly and rushed over anxiously, "Where have you been?"
Zhuifeng sensed the biped's anxiety and resisted her rubbing movements without dodging. His furry ears couldn't help but tremble.
It put the thing in its mouth on the ground and pushed it in the other direction.
Jiang Zihan was stunned and pointed at himself: "Is it for me?"
Did you go on a long trip and bring some gifts for your family?
"What is it?" She squatted down curiously and untied the big leaf. Lu Chenyuan, who was sitting in the same place, looked at his wound that had been cleaned but not bandaged, and stretched out his hand helplessly to help himself.
When Jiang Zihan saw what was wrapped, her eyes widened in surprise. She looked up and was about to speak when she saw the man taking out the bandage. "Oh my."
She hurried over and glanced at him awkwardly: "I'll do it, I'll do it."
Lu Chenyuan handed over the bandage and asked, "Did you want to say something just now?"
Jiang Zihan smiled. "Guess what Zhuifeng brought back? Those are all the raw materials that Lu Renshuang tested! Zhuifeng is really good, he even knows how to find materials."
Lu Chenyuan's eyes flickered as he moved a little closer. "I see you didn't add any extra seasoning to the nutritious meals you prepared for Zhuifeng and the others. You should also know that their five senses are exceptionally sensitive. Up to now, the abilities of war beasts have not been fully developed. If Zhuifeng has a super sense of smell, it's not impossible."
Jiang Zihan nodded at the table. She had used the potion on Zhuifeng before, but that was only once. Could it be that it had memorized the taste? But those were all extracted and then mixed...
In the following days, Jiang Zihan would go around the bushes every day and put some specially prepared nutritious meals at a distance. Although the other party was still vigilant, he showed his teeth less and less often, and just looked at her coldly from a distance, always keeping his distance.
After a few more days of this, the Phantom Cat simply hid away, and only the clean food bowl told her that it was still around.
Lu Chenyuan was cleaning the perch when he saw the girl coming back dejectedly. He looked at her with a look of understanding: "Another setback?"
Jiang Zihan sighed: "Do I look so scary? I just want to cure it, not catch it."
"The war beast has strong survivability, so you don't have to worry too much." Lu Chenyuan said, "Winter is coming, and it will find a safe place for itself."
Jiang Zihan sighed and decided to pack more things for it tomorrow. If it didn’t want to come out, it didn’t have to.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
