Beastmaster King-Chapter 69 - Undeniable Guilt

Qingwu Lake, located to the north of Green Sea City, was the largest park in the area, renowned for its top-tier scenery. However, it wasn’t a local favorite and failed to surpass other parks like Red Leaf Park. This was because too many tourists crowded Qingwu Lake, making locals reluctant to compete for space.

Now that a sea monster has reportedly appeared in Qingwu Lake, lake tours have been suspended, and the authorities are evacuating the area.

Boom, boom, boom.

Once most of the people had been evacuated, two heavy-armored trucks entered and parked by the lake. Lu Ran stepped out of one of them, followed by a cat. Then came a second, a third, a fourth, and so on, until dozens of stray cats had gathered.

The elite members of the largest pack of stray cats in Green Sea City were all here.

"Is he a cat tamer?" The beastmasters maintaining public order nearby were dumbfounded at the sight.

Among them were even large cats the size of tigers and leopards, which gave the young man leading them a majestic aura.

"Aren’t those the transcendent stray cats that took over the seafood market? They look so tame!"

"Who’s that beastmaster? He looks so cool!"

"I heard he’s a backup sent from the provincial capital. He doesn’t look that old; maybe a third-generation?"

Officer Luo got out of the car next.

"Do we still need to shout?"

He glanced at the herd of cats behind him and took a deep breath. He wasn’t sure what to do with these stray cats, but it seemed that only Lu Ran could manage them. For now, he had no choice but to bring them along.

Besides, a pack of transcendent stray cats traveling with them exuded a certain aura. They were a formidable force against any transcendent creatures they might encounter, especially the big white cat, which was as large as a tiger.

On the truck, Lu Ran had actually engaged in a lengthy conversation with the stray cats. There were fifty-two cats in total, eighteen of which had undergone initial evolution.

The white one-eared cat had undergone the most significant transformation. It likely absorbed the highest concentration of natural energy when spiritual energy surged into the world and was suspected to be between levels 10 and 20.

It had even awakened an earth attribute, which felt fitting for such a grounded and down-to-earth cat.

Lu Ran shivered when he learned about One-Ear’s earth attribute. Fortunately, the police had never faced it in a direct confrontation. The cat could have easily escaped by digging a tunnel, only to return later for an ambush.

A tunneling rat is no big deal, but a tunneling cat is terrifying. Cats are vengeful creatures. Captain Doofus can’t remember any grudges overnight, but cats will hold onto one for a long time.

The other seventeen stray cats were either less talented or less fortunate. Some failed to absorb enough natural energy, while others were in areas with low energy density. This stunted their evolution, leaving most of them under level 10. Only six of them had naturally awakened an attribute.

Sudden Death King was among the unlucky ones. It had been napping at home during the crucial moment and ended up with a similarly low level. Whether another opportunity would arise in the future remained uncertain. After all, it was still a wild animal, uncontracted and untamed.

"Well, let me try calling it first," Lu Ran said, gazing at the emerald-green waters of Qingwu Lake.

He wasn’t sure if he could wake the turtle since the lake was quite deep. If he couldn’t, it would be up to his familiars. For example, he could toss Sudden Death King into the lake to electrocute it!

But on second thought, Sudden Death King would drown, so Captain Doofus was the better choice since it was an excellent swimmer. Lu Ran had even taught it how to dive. A more aggressive option was to send in Captain Doofus armed with a sword.

Lu Ran walked up to the lake, squatted on the shore, placed his hand on the water, and closed his eyes.

Old man, are you there?

“Are you there? You wanna come up for a chat?”

Everyone nearby nervously looked at Lu Ran as he sat there in silence.

Was something like this really possible? Why did it feel like he was meeting an old friend?

About half a minute later, the lake began to bubble, drawing gasps from the onlookers as their eyes widened in disbelief. A massive black shadow emerged within the emerald green waters, its length stretching five or six meters—about the size of a great white shark.

No wonder the tourists had been so frightened, believing they had encountered a sea monster.

The shadow continued to grow, rising higher until it finally broke the surface.

Splash!

Water sprayed across the air as the beastmasters nearby took a step back. They looked at the giant turtle in shock. It was really five or six meters long, and the color of its body had changed. Its entire head and limbs were dark blue, making it appear quite domineering.

It must also be over level 10. Officer Luo thought to himself.

Animals with large bodies weren’t necessarily stronger, but those that were much larger than others of their own species were likely to be more powerful. This turtle and the white cat made great examples. These two had to be superior transcendents.

"It is you!"

Lu Ran was taken aback when he saw the giant turtle. If any animal in Qingwu Lake was capable of evolving, it had to be this ancient creature. He believed its intelligence ranked among the top five of all wild animals in Green Sea City. Coincidentally, the white cat was also exceptionally intelligent.

Although it wasn’t particularly scientific to judge talent based on intelligence, the reality was that both had superior fortunes and had evolved the furthest.

Wooo~!

The old turtle cautiously scanned the area before fixing its gaze on Lu Ran. The initial situation had made it very uneasy. It assumed that its current appearance would undoubtedly cause panic, and it feared being surrounded and attacked by humans. That was why it had hidden at the bottom of the lake.

Only when Lu Ran called out did it finally decide to emerge. Of all the humans in Green Sea City, Lu Ran was the only one it trusted.

"What happened to you?” Lu Ran asked.

A strange energy gushed out from the bottom of the lake and engulfed me. I was already like this by the time I reacted.

"The world has changed dramatically. Spiritual energy has returned, and everything has begun to evolve. Anyway, I feel relieved to see that you were the one to evolve. You should continue staying at the bottom of the lake," Lu Ran explained.

I don't understand, nor do I care. I just want to die peacefully without being disturbed.

"That’ll be difficult," Lu Ran said.

This old turtle was the oldest creature in the lake. Every day, it had simply eaten and waited for death. Its lifespan was nearing its end, but a surge of energy had rejuvenated it. Now, it would likely live for at least another hundred years.

"Do me a favor," Lu Ran said. "Help me suppress any other evolved creatures that appear in the lake and prevent them from attacking people. Otherwise, it might implicate you too."

The old turtle remained silent.

How annoying. I didn't expect that at such an old age, I would still have to be a security guard at Qingwu Lake. Fine.

It didn't want to be implicated by other mutant beasts and then besieged by humans. It just wanted to eat and wait for death.

"Officer Luo, this turtle isn’t dangerous, so let’s allow it to stay here for now," Lu Ran suggested.

"There are many wild animals in Qingwu Lake that may evolve in the future. It's unrealistic to eliminate them all. I talked to it, and it will help control the ecosystem in the lake to prevent any chaos."

What the fuck? Officer Luo was frustrated.

With just a few words, you subdued a giant mutant turtle and got it to volunteer as a security guard for Qingwu Lake? Why does it feel like Green Sea City is your territory, and all the animals listen to you? None of them are even contracted to you.

"Very good..." Officer Luo said outwardly. He didn’t have much authority, so he could only follow Lu Ran’s lead. As for how to manage these transcendent creatures around the city, the higher-ups probably hadn’t formulated a plan yet, given how suddenly everything had unfolded.

Like the stray cats, the Green Sea officials were unsure how to handle the giant turtle. As Lu Ran had suggested, letting it stay in Qingwu Lake for the time being seemed to be the best solution. The attraction wouldn’t reopen anytime soon, but that had nothing to do with the giant turtle being dangerous.

Another problem had been solved. Officer Luo let out a sigh of relief, but before he could catch his breath, his radio crackled to life.

"Captain Luo, this is the investigation team from the rear mountain. The drone just captured this image! The crow that flew into Emerald Mountain and the giant cricket that arrived earlier have encountered each other!

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"Additionally, a huge red-banded snake has appeared. The crow, the snake, and the bug seem to be in a standoff around a glowing plant. According to intel, the plant is a special resource created by the energy tide. These three highly evolved transcendent creatures are competing for it!

"A fight may break out! Requesting orders!"

Lu Ran heard the voice from Officer Luo's radio clearly.

"Let's go!" Lu Ran didn’t wait around.

***

On Emerald Mountain, a plant resembling a dandelion was rapidly absorbing the surrounding natural energy. Unlike ordinary dandelions, its white fluff emitted a soft glow in two colors: white and green.

Just as Officer Luo had reported, three highly evolved creatures were confronting each other over the transcendent dandelion.

A majestic crow spread its wings on a tree, radiating a dark glow. Behind it, an entire murder of crows perched. While most of them were ordinary crows, they still appeared particularly imposing as they blackened the surrounding trees. In contrast, the other two animals stood alone.

Caw! Mine! It's all mine!

Cricket!

Sssss!

The huge cricket, clad in metallic armor, faced off against a giant mutated red-banded snake. The cricket seemed to have awakened the Metal attribute, while its opponent appeared to have awakened the Fire attribute. The surrounding area was already scorched.

In the presence of this gradually maturing and highly tempting resource, none of the three dared to act rashly, fearing the other two might gang up on them.

Rustle.

The trio discovered an intruder and faced them with eyes full of ferocity. However, two of them were quickly surprised when they saw a black-haired boy leading the emerging group.

Upon seeing him, the black crow’s eyes lit up.

"My king! My king! I found a treasure for you. Kill them!"

Lu Ran had just stepped out of the brush and almost fell down in exasperation. The beastmaster police officer behind Lu Ran gawked wide-eyed when he heard the crow speak.

What surprised them more was that it was staring directly at Lu Ran.

Was it talking to Lu Ran just now?

"My King?" Officer Luo was shocked.

There really was something off about Lu Ran!

The transcendent stray cats listened to him, as did the giant turtle, and now a transcendent black crow was calling him the king.

Lu Ran’s face immediately darkened. He had originally been very happy to come to Emerald Mountain, feeling that the natural energy here was abundant. With this forest, he hypothesized that he would no longer need to visit forested secret realms to replenish the Divine Deer Pendant.

However, what the crow just said put him in a difficult spot.

Your mouth sure evolved quickly. Do you really have to crown me the king of Green Sea?

Damn, of the three ferocious beasts here, he actually knew two.

"Caw! King, do something!"

The crow was in urgent need of backup. Even if it had to do a 90/10 split with its king, it was better than letting the cricket or snake have it!