The mutated cat, which was the size of a tiger, curled up on the ground as if preparing to sleep.

However, Leon and Richard could feel a rise in the mana around it. It was as if the cat was at a breaking point, ready to explode with power.

’Or a cultivator about to experience a breakthrough. Lightning striking from the heavens and blah blah blah.’

Leon kept his thoughts to himself, merely observing the beast. It remained completely still, and looking at it, Leon realized it wasn’t going to be an instantaneous process.

"You watch over it for the mean time. I’ll go take a walk."

Leaving Richard to watch over and protect his tamed beast, Leon devoted himself to exploring the warehouse.

Curiously observing the heavy machinery in the building, he made a conclusion that this warehouse belonged to a construction company before the apocalypse.

’So many things are going to change even if we humans reclaim the planet.’

He thought as he looked at his hands, clenching them into fists.

’I’m sure that I can bring down this building with just a few punches. How the hell are the things around us going to survive our own strength. Unless...’

Pausing, he remembered a particular message he had received on the first day of the apocalypse.

[Planet Earth has gained the recognition of Star Stream. Phase 1 Evolution is about to begin.]

This was the first instance where the Star Stream had sent a global message to every human alive.

’It said Planet Earth has gained the recognition. Not humans have gained the recognition. That means the planet is the one that’s actually evolving, and we, its inhabitants, are only byproducts of the evolution.’

As if he had made a great discovery, Leon’s eyes lit up. A few doubts came to his mind, but he swiftly countered them.

’Yes. It’s the world that is evolving. Else, how do you explain the animals and plants mutating too? But wait... do single-celled organisms mutate?’

If things like viruses and bacteria could mutate, then...

Leon frowned in unease, deciding to keep his heart open to the possibility. If even disease carriers could mutate, then the diseases themselves could grow much more deadly, capable of destroying an evolver’s immune system.

’No, that’d be too disastrous. But we have to be on the lookout.’

Shaking his head to dispel the gloomy thoughts, Leon returned to meet Richard and realized the mutated cat was still curled up and unmoving.

’Oh?’

However, despite the fact that the cat was unmoving, he immediately noticed some changes to its body. The cat had grown bigger, almost by half of its original size.

If it stood up now, its head would surely reach Richard’s lower ribs. Also, on its head, a small crystalline shape was starting to form.

’A Soul Crystal.’

Leon’s eyes glinted as he observed the process. There was a curious thought in his mind, and he couldn’t help but wonder if humans would also have this soul crystal once they become ranked entities.

’Probably not. Thyra doesn’t have a Soul Crystal on her forehead, and even though she’s not human, she’s still human-like.’

After thirty more minutes, the soul crystal had fully formed, a yellow glow lighting it up from within.

The mutated cat finally opened its eyes, immediately locking its gaze on Richard. Then, it stood up, its figure towering just like Leon had predicted.

It walked over to its owner and began to nuzzle itself against him. Richard’s eyes shone innocently, and he patted the beast’s head.

"Good boy. You’re stronger now."

’As expected of a vet,’ Leon thought with a roll of his eyes.

Although he had been aspiring to be a doctor, that was only concerning humans. He had no reason to be this close with animals.

"How close do you think... er, Little East is to becoming Tier One?"

Hearing the question directed at him, Richard glanced at the mutated fox and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Probably after a few more Tier One beasts."

Leon raised an eyebrow, "A few more?"

Richard nodded, a look of surprise in his eyes. "From what I can see, Little East’s path is somewhat related to fire. So I think a few more Tier One fire beasts would do."

Walking over to his sword that was stuck in a crumpled tractor, Leon pulled it out and sheathed the blade.

Then, he turned to Richard.

"Let it have that rat corpse. We’re going to hunt more soon."

"Ah? Alright, Boss. Thank you," Richard smiled and immediately gave the command to the beast.

The beast joyfully pounced on the rat’s corpse and began devouring it with vicious glee.

A few minutes later, they all left the warehouse and continued their hunt through the old neighborhood that was slowly being overtaken by large mutated plants and trees.

...

Back at the base, it was evening and every other scouting team had returned with a total of eleven new survivors from the areas they had scouted.

The population of humans in the base had now grown to sixty-three, a huge number compared to two days ago.

In the living room, Marie rested on a couch while her daughter lay on her, asleep. She was looking at the ceiling when she heard a set of footsteps, and turned towards the source.

It was Miguel.

"Hey, Marie. Boss still hasn’t returned with Richard?"

She shook her head, earning a sigh from him. He was dressed in casual clothing just like her, as he was pretty exhausted after their struggle against a small horde of about a hundred zombies while rescuing a family of three.

Settling on a couch opposite her, he looked at the mother-daughter duo, then smiled wistfully.

"It must be nice having parents."

Marie blinked, then sighed in understanding. Miguel was an orphan, so there was no way he wouldn’t feel a little envy towards those who were raised by their parents.

"Not everytime, though. Some parents are awful," She remarked, returning her gaze to the ceiling.

Miguel nodded but didn’t say anything else. Instead, he closed his eyes and prepared to rest.

"Cassie, where are you going?"

Hearing Marie’s voice again, he opened his eyes and saw the blue-eyed girl about to open the door and sneak out of the building.

Although she had been unnoticed by him, Marie had caught her.

’Is it women’s intuition?’

Unaware of his thoughts, Marie stared hard at Cassie. "I asked you a question, Cassie. Where are you going?"

The girl had frozen when she realized she had been discovered, and hearing Marie’s voice again, she finally reacted.

"I’m going to look for the boss."

Marie shook her head with a sigh. "And you were just going to leave without telling anyone? No, you’re not going."

A cold glint flashed in Cassie’s eyes as she turned to the auburn-haired woman.

"So what if I didn’t? Now, you know. Why are you stopping me?"

Miguel frowned, sensing the tension building between the two ladies.

’Are they... going to fight?’