Seeing the Flying Eagle Beast's condition, Xie Sen was both angry and heartbroken. He ran over and stroked the Flying Eagle Beast's neck. Seeing its beak opening and closing, he quickly said, "Don't speak yet, I'll have someone come and treat you."
The Flying Eagle Beast's condition looked really bad, and he dared not delay. He quickly contacted Sun Mao: "The best contracted beast trauma doctors, all available ones, I need them all, come to my house, quick!"
Sun Mao heard his trembling voice: "What happened?" He asked as he opened the live stream. When he saw the Flying Eagle Beast, his expression changed drastically. "Don't worry, I'll bring people over right away."
The Flying Eagle Beast was making quite a commotion. Mei Yin, as usual, was designing programs in the live stream. When she heard the eagle's cry, she looked up at the screen. When she saw the blood droplets on Xie Sen's forehead, she suddenly stood up and went downstairs.
Xie Sen had just hung up on Sun Mao when Mei Yin hugged him, wiping the blood from his head and comforting him, "Don't worry."
Xie Sen took a deep breath, thinking of everyone who could save the Flying Eagle Beast: "There's Mu Lin, and A Jiao. A Jiao is closer to the Flying Eagle Beast; ask them for help."
Contracted beasts are very wary when injured, so treatment from familiar people is easier. Mu Lin is a contracted beast researcher and knows best how to make them comfortable.
Mei Yin said, "I'll contact them."
Xie Sen stroked the Flying Eagle Beast's feathers; his current natural aura was strong, making his touch even more soothing. The Flying Eagle Beast closed its eyes for a moment, then opened them again, its eyes incredibly sharp.
It opened its mouth and cried out softly, "When A Jia was digging a burrow, he discovered an underground research base. There were many injured contracted beasts inside, as well as humans wearing white clothes. After A Jia was discovered, they kept chasing him and Lu Qingxing."
"When Lu Qingxing and A-Jia came up from underground, they were both injured. I told A-Jia to take Lu Qingxing away first, and I used my wings to cover them, but the bad guys later switched to a very strong weapon, and I couldn't flap my wings, so I got injured."
The Flying Eagle Beast spoke angrily, its wings twitching unconsciously. Xie Sen quickly comforted it, "Don't move, it will worsen the wound," he stroked the Flying Eagle Beast's feathers, "You're amazing, you flew back even after such a serious injury."
The Flying Eagle Beast said urgently, "When we parted, Lu Qingxing told me to come back and find you. He said those people would never let them go, they could only hide for a while, but they would eventually be found, and we had to get help."
Its voice was weak but urgent, "A-Sen, hurry and save A-Jia and Lu Qingxing, those people are so evil! A-Jia said that their companions underground are in great pain."
Xie Sen realized the urgency of the situation and told Maine what the Flying Eagle Beast had said, "I have to go save them."
"Roar~" The contracted beasts were furious upon hearing the Flying Eagle Beast's words and roared loudly.
"Ah Sen, I want to go!"
"Ah Sen, I want to go too!"
The contracted beasts roared, urging Xie Sen to lead them to the giant armored beast.
Maine said in a deep voice, "Judging from the wounds on the Flying Eagle Beast, the weapon that injured it was probably a particle cannon. Weapons are under the jurisdiction of the military, so it's more appropriate to let the military handle it."
Black Panther said, "Ah Sen, we'll go find Ah Jia. You stay here to take care of the Flying Eagle Beast."
"Yes, Ah Sen, open the door, we'll go ourselves."
Xie Sen looked at the Flying Eagle Beast's wounds, not trusting the contracted beasts to go alone. He thought for a moment, then turned off the live stream, contacted Zhao Hao, and explained the situation.
Zhao Hao's voice was filled with anger: "This is definitely illegal research. I'll take people over immediately."
"The contracted beasts want to go help, is that alright?" Xie Sen asked.
"Of course, they find people faster than we do," Zhao Hao said, "but we have to use a spatial lock to take them away. Are they willing?"
Xie Sen asked the contracted beasts and received the expected answer. He told Zhao Hao, "They are willing."
The contracted beasts quickly made their decision. The giant tiger beast, the giant lion beast, and two giant leopard beasts—four contracted beasts known for their speed—followed Zhao Hao to the Li City Ruins. The black leopard solemnly instructed the others, "Protect Asen."
They guarded the flying eagle beast, waiting for Zhao Hao to pick them up.
Bai Jiao was the first to arrive. He and Long Teng landed at the gate on a flying dragon beast, directly swiping their wristbands to enter the garden. The flying dragon beast flew to the flying eagle beast's side, letting out a furious dragon roar.
Long Teng shouted angrily, "Who did this?"
Bai Jiao's fair face was tense. She took out a series of necessary items from her backpack: "A-Teng, go fetch water."
Long Teng carried a bucket and brought back a bucket of water. Bai Jiao sprinkled harmless disinfectant powder into the water, wet a clean gauze, and prepared to wipe the bloodstains near the flying eagle beast's wound.
The moment the gauze touched the feathers, the Flying Eagle Beast's previously closed eyes snapped open, its wings rising in an attack stance. Xie Sen quickly reassured it, "It's A-Jiao, my friend, someone you know. He's treating your wounds, don't be nervous."
The Flying Eagle Beast closed its eyes again, its wings flat on the ground, and Bai Jiao carefully cleaned its wounds.
Soon, Zhao Hao arrived, putting the four contracted beasts into his spatial storage. Seeing this, Long Teng asked about the situation and, without a word, sat on the back of the Flying Dragon Beast and followed Zhao Hao.
A short while later, Sun Mao arrived with four contracted beast doctors, almost simultaneously with Mu Lin and Gu Luo.
The Flying Eagle Beast was very averse to touch from strangers, but thankfully Xie Sen was there, and his current affable demeanor successfully lowered its guard. The Flying Eagle
Beast was enormous, with wingspans of several meters, and its body was covered in wounds of all sizes, especially its abdomen. Even with each doctor treating a portion of the wounds, it took nearly two hours.
Mu Lin's face was grim, indicating he was determined to hold the culprit accountable for the Flying Eagle Beast. Xie Sen gritted his teeth, "Thank you, Dean Mu, but I won't let the culprit get away with this either."
Gu Luo used the equipment to give the Flying Eagle Beast a full-body examination, quickly devising the most suitable feeding standards and daily routine.
Sun Mao left a large quantity of contracted beast wound medicine: "I have other matters to attend to at the company, so I can't stay long. If anything happens, contact me again. The four of them will come on time to change the Flying Eagle Beast's dressings."
Xie Sen thanked him, and Sun Mao left with the four caretakers.
Gu Luo said, "It's best not to move it now. I'll come to check on it every day."
Mu Lin looked at Xie Sen with a stern face: "Who did this?"
Xie Sen shook his head: "We don't know yet. We have to wait for Zhao Hao's news."
Mu Lin said, "Notify me immediately if you have any news." Xie Sen nodded, and Mu Lin and Gu Luo also left.
The Flying Eagle Beast, its eyes half-open, said, "Ah Sen, your natural aura is even stronger now, it feels so good."
Xie Sen stroked its feathers, saying, "You should rest well, I'll stay here with you."
The Flying Eagle Beast replied, "No need, it doesn't hurt anymore. My recovery is very strong, I'll be fine in a couple of days. Ah Sen can't stand like this forever, go back to the apartment and rest. The Giant Mammoth Beast and the others can stay with me."
At this moment, Maine moved Xie Sen's recliner next to the Flying Eagle Beast, saying, "Ah Sen, if you're worried, you can sit here."
Bai Jiao also said, "You need to rest more."
So Xie Sen sat on the recliner, his feet touching the Flying Eagle Beast's wings. The Flying Eagle Beast closed its eyes to rest, while the other contracted beasts stood guard beside it, moving very gently.
"Chirp!" A sharp cry came from outside. Tuan Tuan flew back from outside and was extremely angry when it saw the Flying Eagle Beast, chirping incessantly, "Who hurt you?"
Xie Sen comforted it and told it what had happened. Tuan Tuan flew up and down angrily, finally landing on the Flying Eagle Beast's beak and gently rubbing against it.
A short while later, Xie Sen received a call from Zhao Hao. He immediately turned on speakerphone so that Mei Yin, Bai Jiao, and the contracted beasts could hear Zhao Hao's words.
Zhao Hao said, "We found Lu Qingxing and the giant armored beast. The giant armored beast is alright, but Lu Qingxing was shot. I had them taken to the First Hospital. With Long Teng with them, they'll be fine."
Xie Sen breathed a sigh of relief, but Zhao Hao continued with anger in his voice, "Some of the other side has already retreated. We captured a few people, but haven't gotten any useful information yet. They were using military weapons, so they're likely connected to the military."
Xie Sen asked, "What about the other contracted beasts?"
Zhao Hao paused for a moment before speaking in a low voice, "Aside from the dead ones, the rest are all in cages. The situation is very bad. Most of them are in a mental riot. My men are attacked as soon as they get close. I've already contacted Mu Lin to request contracted beast sedatives."
He couldn't help but swear as he spoke, "It's too cruel. The contracted beasts have mutated; you can't even recognize their original forms anymore. A Xi said you might be able to calm them down.
" Hao didn't use any fancy words, but Xie Sen could easily imagine the horrific scene. He angrily said, "This must be reported! Do you know any reliable reporters?"
Zhao Hao replied, "Yes, the most authoritative military reporter. I've already contacted him."
Xie Sen said, "That's good. I'll contact you again if anything comes up."
He hung up the communication, and the Flying Eagle Beast opened its eyes: "Ah Sen, I'm alright. Go check on the injured contracted beasts!"
Xie Sen stroked its wings, stood up, and looked at Maine, his tone firm: "I'm going to check on them."
Maine didn't agree, but seeing his determined expression, she pursed her lips slightly: "I'll go with you."
Bai Jiao said, "You guys go ahead. I'll watch over the Flying Eagle Beast here. Don't worry."
Xie Sen smiled: "Thank you." He instructed the other contracted beasts to listen to Bai Jiao, and then went to the Li City Ruins with Maine. Tuan Tuan also went along.
They went in a flying shuttle. The Flying Lion Beast would be faster, but Xie Sen's body was special and not suitable for being carried on the back.
Zhao Hao shared his location with them, and after the shuttle was programmed, it flew directly to its destination.
Xie Sen sat in the back seat, opening his bracelet to browse the news. The headline praising Meyer had been replaced by one about the injured Flying Eagle Beast. The news included screenshots from the live stream; due to the overhead angle, the Flying Eagle Beast was lying on the ground, its wings bent and torn, its entire body covered in blood, as if it were already dead.
"This is outrageous! Who did this?"
"As a combat student, I guarantee the wing wound was caused by a particle cannon!"
"Could it be another despicable contract beast dealer? Shouldn't the military strengthen its control over weapons?"
Maine said to Xie Sen, "Lie down for a bit; it'll take more than an hour to reach our destination."
Xie Sen hummed in agreement, switched to the live stream, and glanced at his personal page. There were countless private messages; due to the sheer number, there was no accurate count, only 999.
He opened the top message, sent twenty seconds earlier: "Host! Start the live stream! Waaaaah, is Flying Eagle Beast alright?"
After reading that, another message appeared: "Host, why did you turn off the live stream! Is Flying Eagle Beast dead? Are you afraid we'll be sad?"
Xie Sen read several more messages, all expressing concern for Flying Eagle Beast and requesting the live stream to continue. Most people guessed that he turned off the live stream because Flying Eagle Beast's condition was too bad, and he was afraid the viewers in the live stream would be frightened.
Xie Sen hadn't expected this misunderstanding. He had only intended to contact Zhao Hao to explain the situation. Zhao Hao knew he could communicate with his contracted beast, but the viewers in the live stream didn't, and he hadn't planned to reveal it.
He posted an announcement: "Thank you for your concern. Flying Eagle Beast is alright now and needs to rest. The live stream will be temporarily suspended."
After posting the announcement, he lay down in the back seat to rest.
At 5:30 PM, the shuttle landed at the Li City Ruins, a remote and desolate area with sparsely growing tall trees.
Tuan Tuan said, "Hmph, I'm going to find my friends and catch all the escapees!" With that, it flew out the window.
At the landing site of the shuttle were another civilian shuttle and three military shuttles. Xie Sen jumped off, and a man in military uniform walked towards them.
Xie Sen was taken aback: "Young Master Qiao?"
Qiao Ke had changed somewhat; his face was thinner, his smile was still gentle, but his aura was much sharper. He smiled and said, "I joined Brother Hao's special operations team. They're in the underground research base. Shall we go now?"
Just then, four giant tiger beasts ran up from the right: "Ah Sen, go check on the imprisoned contracted beasts!"
The black panther roared, "If I find out who did this, I'll tear them to pieces!"
Qiao Ke's eyes lit up noticeably when he saw the giant tiger beasts. Xie Sen said to him, "Let's go, let's go see."
Qiao Ke led the way, with Maine and Xie Sen following behind. The four contracted beasts communicated their anger with low growls.
Shortly after entering the entrance, they encountered Mu Lin, whose face was grim. Gu Luo and Zhao Hao were beside him, along with a tall male in a light green military uniform, holding a miniature filming device. This must be the reporter Zhao Hao knew.
Mu Lin breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing him: "Go ahead and try. We can't get close, and the injection guns didn't work either; they were all destroyed."
Xie Sen nodded and looked at the reporter: "Are you done filming?"
The reporter looked at him curiously: "You just broadcast a segment of the live news. Can you continue with the live broadcast?"
Xie Sen thought for a moment: "Sure. If it doesn't work, we'll figure something out. If it does work, but the process wasn't broadcast live, netizens will speculate all sorts of things, and they might think the research institute and the military used some brutal methods to subdue them."
The reporter laughed: "You've thought things through very thoroughly. Do you need to prepare? If not, I'll contact my colleagues and we'll broadcast it live directly."
Xie Sen shook his head and followed Mu Lin inside: "Let's just film."
The viewers who had just finished watching the news were both angry and worried about the contracted beasts' plight. During the host's speech inside, they all sent comments expressing their desire to continue watching the contracted beasts.
The emotionally charged audience urged the military to catch the culprit quickly, some questioned the military's capabilities, and some even suspected that the decrease in contracted beasts was closely related to these researchers.
The crowd was agitated, and the on-site host, maintaining a smile while anxiously considering how to handle the situation, received a reminder from the director and secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "Now hand the camera over to the on-site reporters."
The audience immediately noticed two more people in the news.
"Isn't that the contracted beast anchor? These four contracted beasts are from the live stream too!"
"Wow, the anchor is actually here! The live stream suddenly shut down this afternoon, and I've been watching the news the whole time, but I didn't see the anchor in the live stream, and now I see him in the news!"
"So envious! When will I be able to have four A-rank contracted beasts following me? That's so prestigious!"
"Those in the front, go to sleep, don't dream."
"Huh...it's actually calmed down!"
Before Xie Sen even entered the laboratory containing the contracted beasts, he heard various shrill and frantic roars. As he approached, the roars subsided, and when he entered the laboratory, the dozen or so caged contracted beasts were only growling, lying on the cage edges, pounding on the bars.
When Xie Sen saw the contracted beasts, his face instantly turned pale. Directly in front of him was what appeared to be a giant bear beast, but with two sharp teeth resembling wild boar tusks around its mouth. Its head was much larger than a normal giant bear beast, and its eyes were large and red, making it quite terrifying at first glance.
His gaze swept across the beasts; almost every contracted beast was like this—their true form was visible, yet they also possessed characteristics of the other contracted beasts. It seemed someone had deliberately combined them, trying to fuse their strongest parts together.
Maine noticed his pale face, took his hand, and reassured him, "Why don't we go out first?"
Xie Sen shook his head, turned to look at him, and reached out to touch his face, his expression gradually calming down.
He wasn't frightened by the appearance of the contracted beasts, but rather, upon seeing them, he recalled a description from a book—a description of the alien beasts that had attacked Star City with Maine.
The leader of the alien beasts was an adult white-headed eagle beast, and the reason these beasts were called 'alien' was because their appearance was exceptionally terrifying; in the eyes of the Brant aliens, they were completely unlike anything else.
He hadn't finished the book, only reaching the part where the protagonist and antagonist fought. At that time, some people had wondered where these alien beasts came from.
He hadn't even seen the answer before the apocalypse struck, but now he knew the answer: they were all man-made!
The attack on Star City in the book took place several years later, and there were already so many alien beasts now; in a few years, their numbers would be even greater.
No wonder the alien beasts harbored such deep hatred for humans; these beasts were all contracted beasts. Contracted beasts are highly intelligent and capable of independent thought. They knew humans had harmed them, so wanting revenge was perfectly normal.
He took a deep breath. Maine hadn't turned evil, and Tuan Tuan was still adorable; she wouldn't lead the alien beasts to attack the city. These alien beasts would definitely avenge themselves, but they wouldn't involve innocent people anymore.
"It wasn't like this when I first came in. Their roars were getting louder and louder, as if they wanted to break out of the cage and tear me to pieces. How come it's completely different with you here?" Mu Lin sighed. "I'm really starting to envy you."
Gu Luo looked at Xie Sen with shining eyes: "You are definitely a born beast contract researcher, you're perfect for this."
Xie Sen smiled and walked to the giant bear beast directly in front of him. The beast contract on both sides was still growling, but the beast contract in the center of the giant bear beast had all quieted down and looked at Xie Sen expectantly.
The black panther growled softly: "They say it's so comfortable." It then roared at the giant bear beast, "Lie down, A-Sen is here to help you, don't scare him!"
The giant bear beast slowly lay down in the cage, its right paw retracted and extended, looking very docile.
Xie Sen smiled at Maine, stepped forward, and placed his hand on the giant bear's paw. He called out, "We're here to rescue you. Your mental state isn't right. I'll give you an injection—a sedative. It won't do you any harm."
The redness in the giant bear's eyes gradually faded. Xie Sen's touch gave it a comfort it had never felt before, even more comfortable than when it was in its mother's womb. It felt a peace it hadn't experienced in a long time.
Mu Lin took out a syringe and handed it to Xie Sen: "A sedative."
Xie Sen took it, gently rubbing the giant bear's paw, soothing it softly as he injected the sedative. The giant bear was exceptionally cooperative; if it weren't for its eyes remaining open, one would think it was asleep.
After giving the giant bear the injection, Xie Sen went to the contracted beast cage next door. The contracted beasts were exceptionally obedient when he approached, and when he touched their paws, they were even more docile than sheep.
Seeing that the contracted beasts had calmed down, Mu Lin said, "You're too slow by yourself, I'll come too." He walked to the next cage, but before he could even touch the contracted beast's claws, the beast roared and swung its claws at him.
Fortunately, Mu Lin was agile, and since the contracted beast was in a cage, he quickly retreated and dodged the attack. Gu Luo's expression changed instantly, and he ran over to grab Mu Lin's hand: "Are you alright?"
Mu Lin shrugged: "I'm fine, just a little shaken."
Gu Luo glared at him: "They're naturally wary of strangers when they're injured, and you're a male, which makes them even more insecure—that's common sense!"
Mu Lin rubbed his nose: "They seem quite docile."
Xie Sen turned to look at him: "Let me handle this. Have you found a way to open the cages?"
Mu Lin shook his head: "We can't study them if they're not allowed to get close."
Xie Sen nodded: "Let someone take them back to the research institute, or you can leave them with me. They can't stay here indefinitely."
Mu Lin: "I've already sent someone over," he paused, "Do you have enough space? If you do, it's safer to leave them with you. Even if we feed them, they probably won't eat."
"If you have enough, leave them with me!" Xie Sen said, continuing to soothe the contracted beasts one by one, then injecting them with sedatives.
The news viewers looked at Xie Sen with shining eyes: "The anchor is amazing! He's practically a friend to contracted beasts!"
"Yeah, and he's so gentle, *sobs*, if I were a contracted beast, I'd like him too!"
"Oh my god, I wish I'd met the anchor sooner, so Maine could be lucky."
"I'm so jealous! The anchor is rich, handsome, has contracted beasts, and is even pregnant at such a young age. Did Maine save humanity in her past life?"
After Xie Sen finished administering sedatives to all the contracted beasts, it was already past six o'clock, and the sky was getting dark.
Under the combined effects of the sedatives and Xie Sen's presence, the contracted beasts were incredibly quiet, some even starting to relax and fall asleep. The reporter handed the camera over to the host in the studio and turned off the live broadcast.
Guro said to Xie Sen, "Go back and rest first! We'll search for any remaining research data. If we find it, we can quickly develop a suitable treatment method. Once the transport team arrives, the director and I will take them back."
The giant tiger roared softly, "Ah Sen, you go back first. The giant lion and I will stay here and guard them."
Although Xie Sen was in good spirits, he was already very hungry. He had eaten quite a lot in a day, but hadn't eaten anything all afternoon, and it was now dinnertime.
He agreed, and Maine put his arm around him as they left the laboratory. Zhao Hao followed, with two giant leopards behind them, while the giant tiger and giant lion stayed behind.
The reporter said goodbye to Zhao Hao, then mentioned that he wanted to interview Xie Sen if he had the chance, and then left.
Zhao Hao escorted the two to the shuttle: "My men searched everywhere, but the other party left no trace. They were very careful. Based on the remains of the weapon, we deduced the weapon model; it's a commonly used model by the military."
Xie Sen pursed his lips: "So, the military is a suspect?" He thought for a moment, "Who's in charge here?"
Zhao Hao glanced at Maine: "This is the territory of the Kex family. Lieutenant General Meyer is currently stationed at the Klin border fortress, and Klin's energy station is nearby." At this moment, Tuan Tuan flew back, landed on Xie Sen's shoulder, and flapped its wings angrily: "Ah Sen, my friends have found the escapees
! They're reporting to that bastard—Lieutenant General Kex!"