I fabricated myths to guide the revival of spiritual energy.

[Linjiang City, a high-end residential area in the city center, 23:45 PM]

The night was as dark as ink, and the neon lights blurred in the damp, cold air.

For most residents of Linjiang, today was a night filled with rumors and unease. Although the "red fog" and "dragon shadow" seen during the day were officially explained as geological phenomena, the lingering sense of unease remained.

This feeling is amplified a thousandfold for animals whose senses are far more acute than those of humans.

"DouDou! DouDou, what's wrong?!"

In a home on the seventeenth floor, the young woman was anxiously pulling on the leash.

The normally docile and obedient Golden Retriever was now like a mad beast. It lay in front of the French windows, frantically scratching at the glass with its front paws, emitting low, anxious growls.

Its eyes were fixed on the view outside the window—the direction leading to the river.

"Woof! Woof woof!!"

Suddenly, the golden retriever took a few steps back and then recklessly crashed into the glass door.

boom!

The thick, double-layered tempered glass made a buzzing sound when it was hit.

"Oh my god! Husband, come quick!" The woman was terrified.

But this is not an isolated case.

At this very moment, the same riot is taking place throughout the pet community of Linjiang City.

Cat owners have noticed that their feline overlords are no longer aloof, but instead perch on top of the tallest cabinet with their fur standing on end, howling pitifully towards the south; hamster owners have found their cages being chewed up and making a snapping sound; even turtles that usually only sleep are now frantically banging against the tank walls in their aquariums.

It was as if an invisible sound source was playing a frequency that only they could understand in the sky above the city.

【call.】

【go home.】

【evolution.】

……

Linjiang Avenue, the main road leading to Huishui Bay.

"Damn it! Where did these dogs come from?!"

Taxi driver Lao Zhang slammed on the brakes, leaving long black marks on the asphalt road.

Ahead, illuminated by the car headlights, a chilling scene unfolded.

A dozen or so stray dogs, along with several pet dogs with collars around their necks, were forming a small "square," ignoring traffic lights and traffic, and running headlong in the same direction.

They are different breeds and vary in size. There are fierce Rottweilers and dirty little mongrels.

They, who usually fight whenever they meet, are now like well-trained soldiers, without biting each other, their eyes only on their common destination.

"That's...the riverbank?" Old Zhang swallowed hard, looking at the group of animals that seemed to be on a "forced march," and a strange chill ran through him.

At the dark sewer entrance, hordes of rats surged out like a black tide, squeaking as they joined this bizarre migrating army.

That night, the animal control center in Linjiang City was inundated with calls.

But no one knew that this was merely the prelude to a storm.

……

[The outer perimeter of the locked-down area around Suolongjing is cordoned off.]

Special police captain Chen Gang has not slept for twenty hours.

The cigarette in his hand had burned down to his fingertips, but he was completely unaware.

The scene before him was even more troublesome than the wildly growing plants he had seen during the day.

"Captain! We can't stop them!"

A terrified voice came through the walkie-talkie from the outpost: "Too many! Absolutely too many! They're not afraid of tear gas! They're not even afraid of warning shots!"

"What do you mean you can't stop me? Are you even human?" Chen Gang roared.

"No...it's a cat! And a dog! And a weasel! Oh my god, what's that? A wild boar?!"

Rumbling--

The ground began to tremble slightly.

Chen Gang looked up abruptly, and in the bright light of the searchlight, he saw a scene he would never forget.

In the grass outside the cordon, countless pairs of bright green eyes lit up.

Immediately afterwards, a dark, surging tide of beasts broke through the darkness of the night.

They didn't attack the police there, nor did they pay any attention to the heavily armed riot control vehicles. They were like a group of pilgrims eager for a pilgrimage, nimbly squeezing through gaps in the roadblocks, jumping over barbed wire, and even crawling directly between the legs of the SWAT officers.

Their goal is singular—that "green forbidden zone" that has grown into a primeval jungle under the cover of night.

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot unless they attack people!"

Chen Gang made a decisive decision.

A beast tide of this size, if provoked, would have unimaginable consequences.

Then, a bizarre scene unfolded.

Hundreds of heavily armed special police officers watched helplessly as thousands of animals surged into the mutated forest like a flood.

Upon entering that area, the restless animals instantly quieted down.

They greedily breathed in the spiritually rich air there; some rolled around under the huge leaves, while others jumped directly into the river to drink.

These natural enemies, who used to prey on each other, are now living together peacefully under that giant mutated willow tree.

A stray cat was curled up next to a mouse, its eyes half-closed, looking as if it had inhaled the purest catnip, its face filled with ecstasy.

This scene is less a "disaster" and more an "Eden".

……

[A hydrological monitoring vessel in the middle of the river]

Compared to the hustle and bustle on the shore, the middle of the river appeared even more eerie and desolate.

The sonar operator, Xiao Li, was wearing headphones and his face was as pale as paper.

His hands were trembling, but he didn't dare take off his headphones.

"Any discoveries?" a marine biology PhD asked in a low voice.

"Doctor... listen."

Xiao Li handed over the earphones.

The doctor took the headphones and put them on.

At first, there was a noisy sound of flowing water.

But a few seconds later, a clear, heavy, and extremely penetrating voice appeared.

thump...

thump...

That was the sound of a heartbeat.

From a depth of 45 meters underwater, at the wellhead locked with iron chains.

Each beat was accompanied by a low-frequency tremor, like the pulse deep within the earth's crust.

But what made the doctor's expression change drastically was not the sound of the heartbeat.

Rather, it is in the intervals between these heartbeats that there are those faint, densely packed "responses".

goooo...

squeak...

"This is..." The doctor's eyes widened as he looked at the sonar screen.

On the screen, the riverbed, which should have been empty, was now covered with a dense array of red dots.

Thousands upon thousands of fish—grass carp, common carp, snakehead, catfish, and even many other aquatic creatures whose names I don't know—are forming a huge vortex around the dry well.

With their heads facing inwards and tails facing outwards, they rhythmically swung their tail fins in unison, following the beat of their "heartbeats."

That's not a school of fish.

This is clearly an "underwater army" undergoing inspection.

"Who's calling them..." the doctor muttered to himself, feeling his scientific understanding crumbling. "This can't be a natural phenomenon. This is... this is some kind of higher being broadcasting 'psychic energy' to lower beings!"

Sudden.

A huge abnormal signal flashed on the sonar screen.

"What is that?!" Xiao Li exclaimed.

Beneath the dense school of fish, in the shadow of the deep well, a large, elongated shadow swam slowly. It seemed to have been attracted by the fish, or perhaps it was surveying its own territory.

As soon as it appeared, the surrounding fish instantly parted to create a path, showing absolute submission.

"I didn't see it clearly...it was too fast." Xiao Li was covered in sweat. "But it was at least...fifteen meters long."

The cabin was deathly silent.

Everyone thought of the rumor about the "dragon" that had come up during the day.

If that wasn't an illusion, if that thing really was alive... then it was currently gathering its minions.

……

[Gu Qing's perspective from a high vantage point in the city]

Gu Qing sat on the edge of the rooftop, holding a cup of hot milk tea she had just bought, looking down at the spectacular "Ten Thousand Beasts Paying Homage to the Sky".

On the system panel, the data stream refreshes at a dizzying speed.

[Current area spiritual energy concentration: Increasing (Dragon Balls continue to release energy).]

[Level of bioactivity: 200% (initial mutation begins).]

[Gained Faith Points: +500 (thanks from a stray dog).]

[Gained Faith Points: +1000 (from the worship of the birds).]

[Gained credibility points: +50,000 (from the fear and self-doubt of official researchers).]

"Can even the faith of animals be exploited?"

Gu Qing raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Although the number of individual units is small, the quantity is huge, and... it's pure."

Animals don't have as many distracting thoughts as humans.

Give it benefits, give it hope for evolution, and it will worship you as a god.

"However, the commotion was indeed a bit too much."

Gu Qing watched as more and more monitoring boats appeared on the river, and even the roar of helicopters could be heard in the distant sky.

"If this continues, this place will be filled in before I finish harvesting."

Gu Qing took a sip of milk tea, her eyes becoming deep and unfathomable.

"Since you're so eager to know what's down there..."

"Then I'll give you a 'standard answer'."

He opened the system's [Heavenly Craft Workshop] and his gaze fell on a new exchange option.

That was neither a living thing nor an inanimate object.

Rather, it is a special existence that lies between "spirit" and "matter".

"System, redeem [Phantom Spirit: Tomb Guardian (Incomplete Version)]."

"Placement location: Inside the Lock Dragon Well, at a depth of 50 meters."

"Set behavior patterns: Protect, Frighten, Invincible."

Since the authorities are sending people down to investigate, they need to prepare a suitable "dungeon boss" for them.

Only when they pay the price, even if it's just the price of shock, will the "truth" they bring back become truly precious.

……

[The next morning, at the temporary command post in Linjiang City]

An urgent document was sent to the capital.

What followed was a special squad belonging to the military.

There were no reporters, no flashbulbs.

Several black military trucks drove into the cordoned-off area.

The carriage opened, and a black, futuristic-looking deep-sea exoskeleton was carried out, accompanied by several stern-faced, burly divers.

Code name: Abyss Gaze.

"Mission Objective: Descend to the bottom of the well, retrieve the unidentified heat source, and confirm the vital signs of the target organism."

Operation Level: Top Secret

Gu Qing stood at a distance, looking at the professional equipment, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"It's finally here."

"The professional audience has entered. The show is about to begin."