Beast Tamer: I Can See Evolution Paths

[Don: Dad! Look at this photo—isn't it Photoshopped?]

Henry had just finished a new round of resource adaptation testing. While waiting for the results and planning to take a short break, he received a message from his rebellious son, accompanied by a photo.

What else could Henry do? He picked up his glasses from the table, put them back on, and examined the photo.

And then...

"Huh?"

"This is... the evolved form of the Little Fire Fox?"

In an instant, Henry shot up from his chair, his hand trembling as he held the phone.

'It looks so much like it.'

"Marie, come take a look." Henry called to Marie, who was organizing experiment records not far away.

Marie walked over, saying, "What's got you so—"

Before she could finish her sentence, she froze in shock at the photo Henry shoved in front of her.

"The new evolution form of the Little Fire Fox?" Marie's voice shot up two octaves.

The researchers in the lab turned their attention to them. Although curious, they refrained from approaching due to Henry and Marie's status as project leaders. Instead, they exchanged silent glances, trying to decipher the situation.

Had they just heard correctly?

The new evolution form of the Little Fire Fox was discovered by someone else?

The lab fell silent, everyone engaging in unspoken speculation.

Meanwhile, Henry and Marie were too absorbed in studying the photo sent by Don to notice.

They had unconsciously ignored June, who was in the image, focusing solely on the magnificent red fox. Both of them were captivated, as if desperate to pull the Fox Queen out of the photo and study it thoroughly.

"Calm down, calm down..." Marie took a couple of deep breaths, trying to steady herself. However, her own hands were trembling.

As a veteran researcher accustomed to precise experiments, Marie's hands were usually as steady as a surgeon's.

For her hands to tremble like this—it spoke volumes about the intensity of her shock.

It was hard to remain calm.

Six years.

For six whole years, they had painstakingly researched new evolution pathways for the Little Fire Fox and the Crimson Flame Hound, finally making some progress.

That didn't mean they were clueless about what the evolved form of the Little Fire Fox might look like.

Through extensive research on fox species and analysis of the similarities between the Little Fire Fox and the Crimson Flame Hound, Henry and Marie had developed a rough idea of its evolutionary image.

The key point of their research was the King Attribute.

Both the Little Fire Fox and the Crimson Flame Hound were believed to possess this attribute in their evolutionary pathways.

Unlike elemental attributes like wind, fire, lightning, water, grass, or fairy, the King Attribute referred to a unique characteristic activated during evolution that imbued the creature with extraordinary dominance over its species and a measure of authority over other extraordinary beings.

In theory, all extraordinary creatures had a King Attribute evolution pathway.

But theory was theory—it had yet to be proven.

Out of over 200 known extraordinary creatures, only 21 species were confirmed to have evolutionary forms with the King Attribute, accounting for less than 10%.

After rigorous research, Henry and Marie concluded that the Little Fire Fox's new evolution form must possess the King Attribute.

They were studying the 21 confirmed species to identify common traits, which would help finalize the Little Fire Fox's evolutionary pathway.

And then... this photo appeared.

Although June obscured much of the Fox Queen's body in the picture, the sheer majestic aura of the King Attribute was unmistakable.

Henry and Marie exchanged a glance.

Henry's voice faltered, "We..."

He couldn't finish his sentence.

For six years, they had poured their hearts into researching the Little Fire Fox and the Crimson Flame Hound's new evolution pathways.

Now that they were finally making progress, this photo dropped out of nowhere.

Their excitement at seeing the Fox Queen's final evolution form was overshadowed by the dismay that it wasn't their work.

After a moment, Henry resolutely said, "First, we confirm whether this photo is real. Then... we'll discuss what to do next."

He hadn't ruled out the possibility that the photo was fake.

After all, with today's image-editing technology, anything was possible.

The lab's computer could verify the authenticity of the photo, which was likely why Don sent it over.

Marie nodded, agreeing with Henry's plan.

The photo was uploaded to the computer.

Researchers discreetly gathered around, stealing glances at the screen.

And then...

They froze in shock.

Wait...

What were they seeing?

The mesmerizing red fox...

The computer quickly generated the result: [Minor retouching detected; not Photoshopped. Do you want to restore the original image?]

[Yes] [No]

Minor retouching?

Henry and Marie exchanged a complicated look, unsure whether to feel relief or disappointment.

[Yes]

A single click of the mouse.

After a minute of processing, the restored image appeared.

Henry: "?"

Marie: "?"

"Is there any difference between the restored and original versions?" Henry asked, utterly baffled.

A young female researcher hesitantly offered, "Um... could it be possible that the girl in the photo retouched her own appearance a bit?"

Girls editing their selfies—it wasn't uncommon.

Henry blinked, realization dawning.

'Right!'

This was a picture of June with the evolved Little Fire Fox. Any edits were likely made to June, not the Fox Queen.

Henry let out a long sigh, his chest rising and falling as he tried to calm his racing heart.

"Give me a moment... I need a moment..." He steadied himself against the table, one hand waving dismissively.

Marie wasn't faring much better, her own composure thoroughly shaken.

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