Chapter 1

Xi Chuan Town, far west.

Two figures pierced through the fog and arrived outside a sprawling breeding farm.

"Niu Niu Le Breeding Farm."

The thick fog swirled, the breeding farm looming in and out of sight. Zhang Ji could smell the acrid stench of manure and the腥臭 (xīngchòu - fishy, rank) odor of animals from a distance.

The gate to the breeding farm was half-closed, one of the lights on the gateposts was broken, and there was no security guard in the guardhouse, only a pool of blood.

In the mist, several three-story office buildings stood silently, not a person in sight, but bloodstains were splattered on the walls, along with bloody animal claw prints, a shocking sight.

"Where is everyone? There are usually so many people here. Li Datou? Gao Laotou? Wang Xiaofang?"

Zhang Zhishan shouted several times, calling out to his old colleagues, but no one responded. Only his voice echoed in the empty farm.

In the distance, the sounds of cattle and sheep could be faintly heard.

A look of joy flashed in Zhang Ji's eyes, and he rushed over with Zhang Zhishan.

"What are we doing here? Buying meat? The boss doesn't seem to be around," Zhang Zhishan said, looking at his son, Zhang Ji, with some confusion.

Zhang Ji didn't speak, but looked up at a breeding farm ahead.

"Mountain Goat Breeding Base."

The iron栅栏 (zhàlán - fence) was padlocked, the gate tightly closed, and the bleating of goats could be heard from inside.

Zhang Ji found an axe and was about to split the lock when Zhang Zhishan grabbed his hand and quickly whispered, "Son, we can't do anything illegal!"

He looked around nervously, but then saw a surveillance camera overhead and hurriedly picked up a stone and smashed it.

With a "bang," the camera shattered.

Then, clapping his hands, he said, "Okay, son, continue picking the lock!"

Zhang Ji glanced at his father. Although the thick fog enveloped everything and all the surveillance equipment had long been damaged, he didn't say anything, but gave a thumbs-up and praised, "Dad, you're so thoughtful!"

As he spoke, he swung the axe down, sparks flying everywhere, and forcibly opened the lock. Zhang Zhishan swallowed hard at the brutal method.

Zhang Ji said in a low voice,

"If the owner of the breeding farm is still alive, I will definitely remember his kindness."

"Let's go in!"

Zhang Ji pulled Zhang Zhishan into the mountain goat breeding base.

The sheep pens inside were huge, with a total of ten sections. The sheep bleated, and the lambs suckled. Seeing Zhang Ji, they curiously came over and nudged him with their heads.

Zhang Ji exerted a little force with his palm, and the lamb fell to the ground with a thump, tilting its head and staring at Zhang Ji curiously.

Looking at the flock of sheep, Zhang Ji breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that only humans had mutated for the time being; the animals didn't seem to have changed yet.

There were so many sheep here; if Dad ate them all, he should be able to evolve to be strong enough.

There was a four-or-five-square-meter single room near the entrance, which was the breeder's休息室 (xiūxíshì - rest area). Zhang Ji said,

"Dad, you sleep here tonight." He took out a pack of Hua Zi cigarettes and a bottle of Er锅头 (Èrguōtóu - a type of Chinese liquor) for Zhang Zhishan from his backpack.

"Ah?! What about you?"

"I'm going to the yak breeding base next door... Don't worry, it's safe here. Just call me if anything happens, and I'll hear you," Zhang Ji said, finding an iron chain and locking the iron fence from the outside.

Zhang Zhishan smacked his lips as he watched.

Did it feel like his son was raising him in captivity?! But he still listened to Zhang Ji, knowing it was for his own good, and it was indeed unsafe outside.

"I just don't know how Fangfang, Lili, and Xiangxiang are doing. Ah, this damned fog!"

Zhang Zhishan muttered, flicking the bottle cap off with his thumb. The bottle cap "咻" (xiū - whoosh) flew more than ten meters away. His eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at his finger, and he excitedly said to himself,

"Could it be that I have awakened the弹指神通 (tánzhǐ shéntōng - Finger Flicking Divine Art)?"

After settling his father down, Zhang Ji went to the yak breeding base next door.

The cattle farm here was even larger, with as many as thirty sections. In the fog, the cattle swished their tails and grazed, and the fog fell on them in strands, silently seeping into their flesh and blood.

Zhang Ji stared at this scene, his brow furrowed.

"Are the animals really not going to mutate?"

He became worried.

He stretched out his arm, and the fog fell on his skin, slowly sinking into his pores. An刺骨 (cìgǔ - bone-chilling) coldness instantly attacked his arm,阴森森 (yīnsēn sēn - eerie) and unpleasant.

Breathing through his nose and mouth, he was also inhaling the fog.

"What exactly is this fog?"

Zhang Ji didn't know, but he knew that the humans were turning into fierce beasts and birds corresponding to their zodiac signs, and this strange fog was the culprit.

It was also this fog, along with the suddenly appearing forest, that sealed off Xi Chuan Town into an isolated town.

Zhang Ji sat in the rest area, pretending to doze off in thought, lit a cigarette, and looked at his watch. It was almost six o'clock in the afternoon.

The sky outside was also darkening, and night was beginning to fall.

"The变故 (biàngù - incident) happened at seven o'clock last night, tonight..." Zhang Ji mused, exhaling a smoke ring, but suddenly saw the fog in the distance surging and churning.

The air suddenly became eerily cold.

This familiar scene made his expression change, and he looked at his watch again. The pointer had just reached six o'clock.

"Roar—"

From the sheep pen next door came the roar of a tiger, and the sheep screamed.

Zhang Ji's heart trembled, knowing that his father, Zhang Zhishan, had turned into a tiger and begun hunting.

"As soon as it gets dark, it really mutates again, and the time is an hour earlier."

Zhang Ji's body also felt sore and numb, and he fell to the ground with a thud. The next moment, his head had turned into the head of a king cobra, and his body burst his clothes, revealing a thirteen-meter-long snake body.

The oval-shaped head stood up high, its cold eyes overlooking the herd of cattle, its venomous fangs white, its forked tongue flickering, its dark brown scales with a metallic luster, smooth and without edges, its tail swaying unconsciously.

Zhang Ji transformed into a king cobra, his body surrounded by a ferocious aura, and the surrounding cattle panicked and roared uneasily.

"Whoosh~"

He pounced into the herd, his huge snake body coiling around, and an adult yak fell to the ground, instantly strangled to death, and his bloodthirsty mouth swallowed...

"Evolution points +200, Evolution points +100..."

In Zhang Ji's mind, a metallic sound kept ringing. This visible evolution made him excited and delighted, and the fresh blood in his mouth seemed to become sweet.

There were many yaks here, and his hunting efficiency greatly increased.

"Accumulated evolution points 1050/1000, reached evolution condition, evolve to Level 4 King Cobra?"

"Confirm evolution!"

As Zhang Ji's thought landed, a familiar heat flow appeared in his body and began to evolve towards a "Level 4 Fierce Beast."

A metallic sound reminded him in his mind. Zhang Ji shed his skin and transformed into a fifteen-meter-long snake. Before he could examine the other changes, he pounced on the herd again.

In the fog, the cattle fled in panic, but they all died in the snake's mouth, and Zhang Ji harvested evolution points. The increase in level greatly increased his digestion ability and appetite.

Next door, in the sheep pen.

A black tiger was roaring and hunting the sheep, its body more than three meters long, fierce and terrifying, and a lamb was bitten in half with one bite.

At one point, it raised its head and roared, and a vortex of fog drilled into its body.

Its body grew larger, its aura became more ferocious, and its majestic eyes were scarlet and terrifying. Suddenly, it raised its head to look at the cattle pen next door and leaped up.

"Pa~"

A thick, powerful snake tail, like an iron hook, swept over and knocked it down into the flock of sheep. It roared angrily, but had no choice but to kill the sheep again.

Outside.

The night was dark, and fog enveloped the breeding farm.

On the streets of Xi Chuan Town.

The lights of the office buildings flickered in the fog, and neon lights also lit up on the streets. Some residents' homes also faintly emitted light.

However, not a single human could be seen. In the shadows of the curtains, everywhere were the shadows of fierce beasts and birds hunting.

Loving couples and filial fathers and sons during the day turned into beasts fighting each other at night, a battle to the death.

At the entrance of the Delicious Duck Neck Shop, a white tiger and a red-haired bull with竖眼 (shùyǎn - vertical eyes) were fighting. In the kitchen of Wu's Restaurant, a rattlesnake crawled out of the mouth of a wild boar. In the supermarket in the distance, the lights flickered, but it was full of the shadows of fierce beasts. In the dark alleys, huge shadows lurked...

"Whoosh~"

A阴森森 (yīnsēn sēn - eerie) wind swept through the corner, making a terrifying sound, rolling up the fog and bringing a strong bloody smell that engulfed the streets and alleys of Xi Chuan Town.

The dark earth buried blood and bones, encompassing all sins and evils.

Human civilization was disappearing, and the primitive, ancient evolution was awakening.

The sky was about to dawn, and the light of the morning sun was not very透 (tòu - translucent) in the fog. The eastern sky appeared misty and mysterious.

Niu Niu Le Breeding Farm.

Zhang Ji swallowed the last calf in one gulp.

"Evolution points +50, accumulated evolution points 10080/10000, reached the fifth evolution condition, evolve to Titan Boa King Cobra?"

The metallic voice in his mind reminded him.