The red rain fell, drifting in the mist.

When it landed on Zhang Ji, snake scales grew all over his body, revealing only a pair of sinister eyes.

"What is this red rain... it's even more terrifying than the strange mist, accelerating the beastly mutation."

Zhang Ji felt a chill in his heart. He touched his face; the scales were slippery but provided a sense of security and defense. His blood and Qi surged, filling him with power. He clenched his fist, and it cracked.

"It has half the strength of a king cobra after beastification!"

Zhang Ji estimated.

Suddenly, a series of low roars came from the surroundings.

Zhang Ji turned his head, and his pupils shrank.

Around him, there was not a single human; all were various fierce beasts and monstrous birds: a several-meter-tall hen, a monkey with shiny black fur, a large snake slithering in the grass, and squeaking rats...

They tore apart their human clothes, and as the red rain fell, they suddenly transformed into their respective zodiac animals.

Zhang Ji looked at his watch. It was still more than ten minutes before three o'clock, the usual time for beastification. According to past experience, it wasn't yet time for the mutation.

But as the red rain started, everyone transformed ahead of schedule.

"Roar—"

A tiger's roar came from beside him. His father, Zhang Zhishan, had turned into a black tiger, over eight meters long, majestic and imposing. Its eyes were scarlet as it looked at Zhang Ji.

Zhang Ji thought his father was going to attack him, but he saw that although his eyes were scarlet, they were intelligent and full of human emotions: surprise, bewilderment, and a hint of confusion.

"Dad?! Can you hear me?" Zhang Ji shouted.

The black tiger nodded, seeming to want to say something, but only a series of low roars came out.

Zhang Ji was surprised. He had been planning to give his father the mind-refreshing liquid developed by Zhu Tiandao. He hadn't expected that the strange red rain would cause his father to beastify and still retain his human consciousness.

He looked around again.

Normally, after beastification, they would attack and prey on each other, but at this moment, the monsters and fierce beasts all stood rooted to the spot, looking at each other and roaring, their eyes full of fear, confusion, and dazedness.

They all had human consciousness.

But having seen their beastly forms for the first time, they were all stunned, wanting to scream, but only animal sounds came out.

A monkey came to Zhang Ji. Judging from the remains of the suit on its body, it should be Long Shuhai, the newly appointed district chief of the West District.

Its eyes were intelligent, without panic, and it sized up Zhang Ji with curiosity.

Because only Zhang Ji, although covered in scales, still basically maintained his human form.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak."

It gestured, asking Zhang Ji the reason.

The fact that humans transformed into their respective zodiac animals every night had already been observed by the authorities on the second day of the great disaster in Xichuan Town. The official means and background were extraordinary.

But the truth was too terrifying and had not been announced to the public until it was confirmed and prepared for.

Long Shuhai knew the truth, but seeing Zhang Ji's appearance, he was very curious and wanted to ask the reason, but only monkey squeaks came out.

Zhang Ji glanced at it and ignored it.

He guessed that it might be because the obsidian substance in his body was expelled every time he evolved and shed his skin, without accumulating too much, so he was not greatly affected by the red rain.

And the others had accumulated an unknown amount of obsidian substance in their bodies, so when the red rain fell, their collective beastification was very thorough.

Just then.

From the direction of the distant forest, there was a sudden loud "boom."

The scorched ground collapsed, turning into a sinkhole hundreds of meters in diameter. Earth and rocks tumbled into it, but there was no echo, and it was unknown how deep it was.

An evil and terrifying power permeated the entrance of the hole.

All the surrounding obsidian substance flowed backward into it, disappearing into the sinkhole. The red rain flying in the void formed red tornadoes that spun across the desolate earth.

"Get out of the way!"

Zhang Ji shouted.

The surrounding monsters and beasts retreated in fear.

The red tornado, dozens of meters wide, swept over, disappeared into the sinkhole, and then a strange "rustling" sound came from inside the hole.

It sounded as if countless animals were crawling, and it was particularly clear in the silent wilderness, making one's hair stand on end.

Then.

From the sinkhole, countless dense black vines stretched out, like they were alive, very strange, and moved along the ground toward the beastly humans.

"Cluck, cluck, cluck—!"

A three-meter-tall colorful hen screamed, transformed from a woman whose zodiac sign was the rooster, with a red thong still around its neck.

Very sexy.

But at this moment, the black vines entangled its body.

The vines contracted rapidly, pulling it toward the sinkhole.

It flapped its wings, having evolved several times without dying. Its claws were like iron hooks, and its beak was as sharp as a knife, but when it pecked and scratched at the black vines, it made a metallic sound like striking iron.

It couldn't break them.

It let out a terrified squawk, begging for help from the surrounding people.

But everyone was preoccupied with their own safety. Vines were spreading like snakes in front of them.

Everyone fled backward in terror, but the vines behind them were faster, binding one monster after another, pulling them toward the sinkhole.

No one knew what was in the sinkhole, but it was definitely not a good place.

In the wilderness, the terrified roars of animals echoed across the land.

"Roar—"

Zhang Zhishan, transformed into a black tiger, roared, because a vine had entangled his hind leg. Even though his body was over eight meters long and extremely strong, he still couldn't resist.

The black, strange vines from the sinkhole were as tough and metallic as they were eerie.

They pulled him toward the sinkhole.

"Father—!"

Zhang Ji was anxious and rushed over.

But Zhang Zhishan slapped him back into the distance, his eyes smiling, resolute and expectant, telling Zhang Ji to run quickly and be sure to live.

"No—!"

Zhang Ji's eyes were red. He had lost his mother at a young age, and his father, Zhang Zhishan, and his grandfather had raised him. His grandfather had disappeared on the first day of the strange mist disaster, leaving only a snake skin and head.

Now he and his father depended on each other for survival.

He had been thinking of evolving together with his father, but unexpectedly, today he was faced with a life-or-death choice again.

"Roar—!"

Zhang Zhishan roared, his voice anxious, using his eyes to signal Zhang Ji to run quickly.

Seeing the vine darting past him toward Zhang Ji, he pressed down with his tiger claws and bit down with his fangs, pressing down on the vine with all his strength.

Buying time for Zhang Ji.

The vine instantly changed direction, restrained Zhang Zhishan, and dragged him toward the sinkhole at an even faster speed.

"Ah—!"

Zhang Ji's eyes turned red, and a grief-stricken roar came from his throat. Tears streamed down his face as he watched Zhang Zhishan, like many others around him, being dragged into the sinkhole by the vines and disappearing.

"Hoo~"

He shook off the tears in his eyes and turned to flee.

"Swish, swish, swish~"

Behind him, countless vines entwined and wrapped around, moving on the ground like snakes, extremely fast. They pierced through stones, showing how terrible the vines were, capable of splitting metal and cracking rocks.

Zhang Ji was very fast, but the vines behind him were even faster, like lightning.

He ran wildly with all his strength, but the sound behind him became clearer and clearer, the vines were approaching.

"I must escape, I must survive, no one wants to eat my flesh and drink my blood!"

Zhang Ji roared. The time on his watch quietly reached 3 o'clock.

Zhang Ji, who was running, felt a burst of numbness all over his body. The next moment, he fell to the ground, and a twenty-five-meter-long titan cobra appeared on the grass.

"Rustle, rustle, rustle~"

Countless vines bound and wrapped around, less than a meter away from its body.

"Hoo~"

Zhang Ji stirred up a fishy wind, like a high-speed train starting, and the huge snake body instantly disappeared into the grass and mist.

Behind it, the black vines stopped spreading, and in the mist, they raised their heads, as strange as animals, peering at the buildings of Xichuan Town in the distance, but seemed to be afraid of something, and shrank back.

The fog was heavy.

The red rain fell, scattering over the endless forest. Ancient trees grew madly, all becoming towering trees, lush and verdant into a real primeval forest, and a surging vitality was stirring.

And the scorched and destroyed forest floor, with the falling of the red rain, had dead stumps sprouting new buds, wanting to form a new forest.

"Hoo~"

From the sinkhole, an evil power permeated out, spreading like ripples. The dead trees that had just sprouted new buds around them were once again extinguished.

This was an invisible power, but it was very strange and powerful, confronting the forest, and neither could do anything to the other.

The mist was ethereal, the surroundings were quiet, and no one noticed this abnormal scene.

"Rumble"

Zhang Ji returned to the West District street of Xichuan Town. The huge snake body crushed directly through a building, the house collapsed, dust filled the air, it coiled and looked up.

Xichuan Town was also raining red.

And it was raining even harder. The ground and the cars, gardens, roofs, and trees on the roadside were covered with a thick layer, looking like a red carpet.

On the street, no one could be seen anymore, and no human voices could be heard.

Only monsters and beasts could be seen wandering around. They were huge, none smaller than three meters, and their auras were fierce. Those who could survive after several rounds of elimination were indeed extraordinary.

At this moment, they were gathered together, gesticulating in fear and panic. Obviously, the fall of the red rain had caused them to beastify early and they all had human consciousness.

But they were obviously not yet adapted to becoming animal beasts.

Zhang Ji saw a four-meter-tall rooster and a six-meter-long highly venomous silver ring snake snuggling together, rubbing their heads affectionately. Perhaps they were a couple before beastification.

A sheep and a tiger licked each other's necks, also very affectionate.

A rat lay on the back of an ox, rubbing their bodies against each other.

Seeing this, Zhang Ji thought of his father, Zhang Zhishan, and felt a burst of sadness in his heart.

"I must become stronger, and then I will personally go to that sinkhole to see what exactly took my father away!"

Zhang Ji flicked his snake tongue, and his scarlet eyes became sinister and cold.

His body coiled around the building, his scales flashing coldly, and he observed the monsters and beasts below through the fog from a high place. He saw the red rain falling on their fur, silently seeping into their flesh and blood, and their auras were quietly improving.

"The evolution of red rain is more intense than the strange mist."

Zhang Ji came to this conclusion.

"I wonder if there are more evolution points after eating such flesh and blood?!"

Zhang Ji flicked his snake tongue, and with a fishy wind, he suddenly darted from the roof, swift as lightning, his blood basin opened, and the rooster nestled with the silver ring snake was swallowed in one gulp.

"Evolution points +5000, cumulative evolution points 215500/1000000"

Zhang Ji heard the metallic sound in his mind and was overjoyed.

His guess was correct. Under the effect of the red rain, the evolution points provided by the animal beasts had indeed increased.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss~"

Beside him, the six-meter-long silver ring snake angrily flicked its tongue, its eyes filled with tears, questioning Zhang Ji why he killed her husband.

This was a female snake.

She hadn't recognized reality yet.

Zhang Ji turned his head, swallowed her in one gulp, and sent her into his mouth.