To everyone's surprise, this was a great step for Xihong Zoo, as they had managed to secure a partnership with a prestigious entity. After all, one was an internationally renowned large corporation, while the other was a zoo with growing fame.
However, what they didn't know was that this was a decision made by Dr. Hammond and his team purely to please Yang Lin.
Time flew by, and another day passed.
As a passenger jet slowly landed at Ningnan Airport, Yang Lin and a few others disembarked.
As soon as they stepped off the plane, a dense crowd appeared before Yang Lin. There were representatives from various sectors of Ningnan, as well as some fans who had come to greet them.
Seeing the banners and posters bearing his name, Yang Lin couldn't help but show a hint of a satisfied smile. "It's finally my turn," he murmured. "I've certainly come home in glory this time."
As soon as these words left his lips, camera flashes illuminated the area, followed by a swarm of news media.
After spending over an hour at the airport, Yang Lin finally returned to Xihong Zoo.
Stepping onto the familiar grounds once more, he immediately noticed the changes within Xihong Zoo. These changes were most evident in the animals themselves.
Take, for instance, the wild boar that was currently serving as a mount for tourists. Just a few days ago, it was merely larger than a normal wild boar. Now, however, it could no longer be described as just "larger"; one might mistake it for an African elephant.
Besides the wild boar, the monkeys leaping and bouncing around the park had also undergone various transformations. Some monkeys were more robust, while others had grown thick, long fur.
"How could this happen? Did they hit the fast-forward button?"
Just as Yang Lin's brow furrowed in concern, a familiar cry echoed from the sky. Looking up, he saw a golden eagle, its size nearly matching that of a passenger jet. It was none other than Peng Baobao, whom he hadn't seen in a while.
Perhaps sensing Yang Lin's presence, Peng Baobao, who had been soaring freely in the sky, suddenly swooped down. With a gust of wind, Peng Baobao, shimmering with golden light all over its body, landed before Yang Lin.
"Zoo Elder Boss, you're finally back! Many things have happened in the days you were away."
Without waiting to observe Peng Baobao's changes, Yang Lin quickly asked, "Oh? What happened?" He was eager to know what changes had occurred at Xihong Zoo in his absence.
"Let me tell you one by one. First, Xiao Long has turned into an egg."
"What?" Yang Lin was taken aback by Peng Baobao's incredible statement.
"It's true, it's true! Xiao Long really turned into a giant egg, as if it were dead."
Seeing that Peng Baobao wasn't lying, Yang Lin, after a moment of silence, continued to ask, "What else? Besides Xiao Long becoming an egg?"
"Also, many animals in the zoo have started to grow bigger, like me." As he spoke, Peng Baobao spread its wings, seemingly showcasing its immense size.
"Oh, and when I flew out to play before, I encountered a huge bird. That bird was even bigger than me and was emitting fire. Fortunately, I was fast enough, otherwise, it would have eaten me."
"A huge bird, emitting fire? Was it Rodan? Did you go to Mexico?" Yang Lin asked with a speechless expression after hearing Peng Baobao's account.
"Hehe, I don't know where that was. I just flew there for a bit."
"Is that all? Nothing else?"
"No more."
"If that's the case, let's go see Xiao Long."
As he spoke, Yang Lin surveyed Peng Baobao before him and finally decided to do something he had long intended.
A minute later, with Yang Lin already riding on Peng Baobao's back, he issued a command.
"Depart for Dragon Turtle Valley!"
As soon as the words were spoken, Peng Baobao ascended, its wings merely fluttering slightly, blurring all surrounding scenery. In less than half a minute, it had landed in Dragon Turtle Valley, deep within Bear Ridge. The speed was so astonishing that Yang Lin hadn't even had time to react.
When he finally came to his senses, a colossal egg, easily fifty to sixty meters high, appeared before him. Staring at the giant egg, which resembled a building, Yang Lin was speechless for a long time. If the park weren't his, he would have thought it was an egg-shaped sculpture.
"What's going on? Why has it inexplicably turned back into an egg?"
"Could it really be dead?"
With this thought, Yang Lin didn't dare to delay and immediately cast a "Ray of Insight" on the giant egg. The next second, information appeared on the surface of the egg.
[Life Transitioning, Current Stage – Flood Dragon, Next Stage – Titan Beast (??)]
[78 days and 23 hours remaining until transition to Titan Beast. Investing talent points can accelerate this process.]
After reading this information, Yang Lin's face showed a look of half-understanding. He understood "life transition" as the evolution from a lower life form to a higher one. However, he had never heard the term "Titan Beast" before.
"Could this be the official name for a giant beast?"
"Then why does only Xiao Long need to turn into an egg to become a fully formed beast? Peng Baobao doesn't need to."
"Is it because Xiao Long's original form was an oviparous animal, hence this extra stage?"
"Even the name is marked with question marks. It seems I'll have to give it a new name later."
Having confirmed that Xiao Long was not dead, Yang Lin shifted his attention to the entire Dragon Turtle Valley. Perhaps because Xiao Long had become an egg, the mist that had always shrouded the valley had completely dispersed, revealing its true form. Along with it appeared the reptiles that lived in the valley. At a glance, he saw the few dinosaurs he had released there. Perhaps due to the continuous beast radiation emanating from Xiao Long, these dinosaurs had also grown considerably larger in these few days. Seeing Yang Lin, they eagerly ran towards him. Yang Lin, of course, played with them, though with a bit more caution. With their weight exceeding a hundred kilograms, a casual bump from them could break a few ribs.
After finishing his affectionate reunion with the little ones, he once again rode Peng Baobao to tour the entire park. As Peng Baobao had said, all the animals had undergone significant changes in these short few days. Whether it was the pandas, the giraffes, or from the smaller herbivores to the larger predators, they had all mutated to varying degrees. This mutation was not due to Yang Lin's personal intervention but a pure evolution towards their own more perfect forms. Calling it mutation didn't seem entirely accurate; perhaps "evolution" was a more fitting term.
Looking at these animals that had all undergone a round of evolution, Yang Lin's first reaction was not joy but a headache. One or two might be manageable, but now that all the animals in the zoo had accelerated their evolution, there wasn't a single "normal" animal to be found. How was he supposed to explain this to the visitors?
With this heavy heart, Yang Lin opened Xihong Zoo's official website. He wanted to see the reactions of visitors who had witnessed these animals evolve over the past few days. However, upon opening the visitor comments, he was utterly dumbfounded.