茶杯狐 -CUPFOX

Unbeknownst to it, a few small drones hiding among the tree canopy, a few hundred meters away, although motionless, had already locked onto its location.

Mr. Liang, who was further afield, was also abundantly clear of its whereabouts.

The reason he didn’t attack now wasn’t because he wanted to observe, but he was simply waiting for his equipment.

At this moment, his driver, Old Xie, was driving towards his current location. Of course, it would be impossible to reach their current location by car, so a drone would be deployed to ferry the equipment over when the time came.

During this period, Mr. Liang had roughly grasped the peculiarities of the “Giant raptor”, and no longer wanted to play the cat and mouse “game” with this large bird. He decided to capture this big bird here and now.

This mountainous area, far from the main scenic spots of Wushu Mountain and without any villages in the vicinity, was an ideal place to take action. Besides the forestry department’s occasional patrols, hardly anyone ventured here.

While waiting for his equipment, Mr. Liang was still contemplating one question;

How did this “Giant raptor” become like this?

Even for “Blood-eating creatures,” to experience drastic mutations or evolution in appearance or physiological traits, fundamentally required two conditions to be met.

One required predatory blood consumption from other “Blood-eating creatures,” and the other required torment by harsh external conditions.

A creature like him, who forces himself to evolve and select the mutation direction without external coercion, should be one of a kind.

Mr. Liang thought of the thunderstorm that occurred at Zihuan Mountain in Citong City, and the videos and pictures of the suspected “Giant raptor” leaving with flames.

Perhaps that terrifying lightning storm was the external condition that caused such great changes in the “Giant raptor” in a short period?

This could also explain why it could withstand electrocution and transfer the heat generated by the electrocution to the outside of its body.

But the question is, why did it end up in that lightning storm?

With the agility of the “Giant raptor,” it could have left before the weather got worse. Moreover, the range of the lightning storm wasn’t wide. Even if it realized that the lightning storm was about to erupt, it could fly away in time. It was unlikely to be trapped in the lightning storm and engulfed in fire.

Could it be… it deliberately sought out the lightning?

Does this “Giant raptor” also consciously use harsh environments to adjust its evolutionary direction?

Based on the pursuit over the past period, Mr. Liang was hesitant to believe this. Still, considering the numerous predatory blood-sucking experiences of the “Giant raptor,” which seemed like the “chosen bird,” it appeared quite rational.

It appears some objective factors are affecting or guiding its path of evolution.

At the thought of Mr. Liang, he lightly tapped a tiny bulge near his ear, a projection screen appeared before his eyes, and a few documents opened on it—only he could see these projections, realized through the technology inherited in his corneas.

These documents were briefings from various places during his pursuit of the “Giant raptor”, and his attention was immediately drawn to the investigative brief sent by Zhou Rui from Chongyun Mountain.

With a slight movement of his head, all other documents in his vision disappeared instantly, leaving only Zhou Rui’s brief displayed across his entire visual projection area.

He quickly glanced over the brief, including relevant news information, photos taken during on-site investigations, photos and close-ups of the discovered winged ants, brief research reports, and videos of the lightning storm filmed from a distance that circulated on the internet earlier. The eyeballs of Mr. Liang, unenclosed by eyelids, revolved slightly, deep in thought.

Mr. Liang of course understood that the “Invisible Insect” had already been hunted and consumed by the “Giant raptor” and no longer existed in this world. Thus, the peculiar “Flying Ants” in the Chongyun Mountain area must have nothing to do with the “Invisible Insect”.

When the lightning storm occurred, the “Giant raptor” was also being pursued by Mr. Liang, so it definitely had nothing to do with these large birds.

However, from Zhou Rui’s discovery, those “Flying ants” indeed likely have links to other “Blood-eating creatures.”

Moreover, as viewed from the videos taken by netizens, the type of the lightning storm that occurred in the Chongyun Mountain area was indeed similar to that in Zihuan Mountain.

Considering the drastic evolution of this “Giant raptor”, perhaps Zhou Rui was right in guessing that this lightning storm might indeed have some internal connection with the mutation of “Blood-eating creatures.”

Without much consideration, Mr. Liang instructed Zhou Rui to continue the investigation according to his line of thought and sent a message to Fang Pingfang in Star City, requesting her to return to Haixi Province with Ye Chong and Li Shibao for further investigations. He also instructed Ye Chong to have maximum authority over all resources of “Divine Technology” in Jianzhou City for multifaceted support.

He might even drop by if things go smoothly here.

Anyway, it’s quite close to the Chongyang Mountain area.

By the time it was almost dark, the “giant raptor” had touched down on a hill two kilometers away, seeming to believe that it had completely shaken Mr. Liang’s pursuit.

Having kept the bird firmly locked in his sights, Mr. Liang did not change his position, and those dozens of drones remained similarly stationary, sending only a few miniature drones to monitor the “giant raptor” from a distance.

After this period of pursuit, Mr. Liang now had a clear understanding of the bird’s sensory range, knowing how far away to keep and what type of drone to use for surveillance, ensuring his movements went undetected.

The “giant raptor” had not only mastered the art of becoming invisible visually, but its body temperature fluctuated according to its surroundings, making it highly elusive. For an ordinary person, even if they briefly managed to lock onto the target through a drone’s camera and despite the assistance of heat detection systems, they would easily lose sight of it.

Even Mr. Liang, with his exceptional experience in dealing with “blood-eating creatures” and his special abilities, had lost sight of his target a few times initially.

But now, he had fully grasped the bird’s characteristics. Unless the “giant raptor” could suddenly surge forward at high speed, outpacing all the drones, or destroy them altogether, once Mr. Liang had manually locked onto the bird’s position, the creature had no chance of remaining hidden in the vicinity.

In the latter part of the night, several mid-sized drones carrying a box landed gently beside Mr. Liang after crossing a mountain.

The box itself wasn’t very big, roughly the size of a full tower computer case.

Without needing any lighting, Mr. Liang placed his hand on a section of the screen surface to open the box.

Inside were many unidentified components of varying shapes and sizes.

Mr. Liang picked up one of them – a metallic slab about the size of a smartphone – and placed it on the back of his left hand. The slab seemed to come alive; it fused with his skin, merging into his hand as if it had always been a part of it.

One by one, he attached these parts to his body, each becoming a “device.”

Within a short while, his body was adorned with various “devices,” each one blending seamlessly as if it grew there. None of them required any hooks, straps, or clips to hold them up. They appeared to be an extension of him, a part of his own body.

These “devices” were one of the most tangible research outcomes of “Divine Technology” in recent years. However, they were designed exclusively for him, and he alone could harness their maximum potential.

Upon gearing up, Mr. Liang stretched a little, before starting a short run on the hillside.

The run-up consisted of five or six steps. On the last step, with a bend of his thigh, the boosters attached to his legs activated, enhancing his already powerful stride.

Like an arrow shot from a bow, Mr. Liang rocketed into the sky. A few meters from the ground, a pair of thin, long wings emerged from the “device” protruding from his back.

Though they initially appeared to be folded, these wings were sturdy once spread, enabling Mr. Liang to soar even higher.

In addition to the wings, two mini jet engines by his waist contributed a forward thrust, sending Mr. Liang zooming into the distance.

Operating these devices embedded in him was as natural as controlling his own organs, although he wasn’t able to manipulate them as easily as his actual limbs yet. And the responsiveness was still a notch below that of his own organs.

He flew directly towards the “giant raptor,” moving incredibly fast. While in flight, he became invisible, along with the equipment attached to him. All that remained was a faint trail in the sky.

…

Xiang Kun, accompanied by “001” and “002” and over a thousand “flying worker ants” and “small worker ants,” entered the northern mountain area of Wushu Mountain.

The reproduction speed of ants was naturally rapid. Under Xiang Kun’s methods, both their breeding and the hatching speed of the eggs were immensely accelerated.

Within a very short time, Xiang Kun was capable of establishing a large ant colony in the mountains.

Of course, the large number of worker ants created through this rapid process had some deficiencies, but that was a negligible concern for his current plan.

According to Xiang Kun’s plan, he intended to let “002” lay some reproductive ants over the course of two or three days, after which he would distribute five to eight secondary ant queens to establish new colonies.

Xiang Kun would then “train” these secondary ant colonies by manipulating the external environment and influencing their behavioural patterns and ability development.

Whenever he encountered a detail he could not control effectively, he would rely on “001,” the undisputed overlord of worker ants, to intervene within the colony.

In Xiang Kun’s view, through his management of the environment and internal genetic mutation, along with fostering competition among various colonies, he could swiftly “train” a colony of “pseudo mutant ants” that could mimic “mutant creatures” to his liking.

However, to his surprise, on the first night after he entered the mountain, he encountered another “mutant creature.”