Jiang Xing chose to reveal the existence of the Undead Guardian Hound precisely to help Pet Beasts and Beast Tamers with deep emotional bonds reunite.
So when faced with Chang Feng's request, he agreed without hesitation.
With that connection in place, and given the inherent importance of the Death Secret Realm, his funding application was approved almost immediately—
This time, the five hundred million in funding came with no cash at all—only pure resources.
That was also Jiang Xing's own request.
He hadn't applied for research funding to cash out and enjoy himself, but to train Pet Beasts and nourish the secret realm.
Even if he had been given cash, he would have spent it on all kinds of Pet Beast resources anyway.
It was far better to request resources directly—everything obtained at cost price, including a portion of extremely rare resource fruits that were low-yield, hard to preserve, and essentially priceless on the market—cutting out the middlemen entirely.
Those five hundred million worth of resources—if calculated at market price—might not even be purchasable for one billion.
With such a massive amount of resources in hand, Jiang Xing didn't hold back. The Berry Blender ran at overload capacity, and combined with his own handcrafted Jiang-style secret formula, he held a large-scale Pet Beast banquet by the lakeside.
Once every Pet Beast had eaten its fill, bellies round and satisfied—
Jiang Xing took a short nap. After several consecutive nights of staying up to rush his plans, some of his fatigue finally eased, his energy recovered, and he threw himself back into research with renewed enthusiasm—
First and foremost, he had to dedicate most of his time to building a bond with the Ugly Waterfowl.
Ugly Waterfowl were naturally deprived of affection. As long as one could ignore their unsightly appearance and treat them normally, their Friendship would rise rapidly.
Combined with the "Affinity Beast Tamer Outfit" and the Pet Beast items he had brought back from Shanghai that enhanced affinity, this effect was further amplified.
Almost every single day, Jiang Xing could record new data.
Secondly, he had to set aside some time to seriously study the learning materials given by Master Jian and teach himself crafting knowledge.
After all, he intended to research Pokémon items in the future—the earlier he learned crafting, the better.
In any case, his research institute lacked everything except resources.
Especially crafting materials—if he casually plucked a handful of fur from the little qilin, he could practice item crafting several times.
There probably weren't many crafting apprentices who had such luxurious training conditions.
Whenever he encountered something he didn't understand, he could directly message Master Jian and ask for help.
Master Jian seemed extremely pleased about the fact that "Dr. Xu's prized student wasn't researching Pet Beasts, but instead learning crafting from her."
So she answered very seriously, and even enthusiastically invited Jiang Xing to transfer to Shanghai and attend classes at the artisan workshop directly, saying his talent was excellent and that he would definitely become a master craftsman in the future…
Jiang Xing pretended not to understand her hint.
He only wanted to be a part-time item craftsman—he had no intention of betraying his teacher.
Beyond that, he also needed to study the Death Secret Realm, analyzing the composition of its special environment and elements such as death divine power.
'I'm stretched too thin.'
'With Xiao Lingyin gone, and the antique puppet having returned to the teacher's side…'
'Just two research topics and I'm already running in circles. I have no time to train the Rainbow Dragon Hatchling, can't continue researching the Golden-Patterned Koi, and as for the Giant Magnet Entity I promised—I haven't even seen a trace of a Magnet Orb. The equipment Dr. Ail sent is still sitting in the room collecting dust, never even turned on…'
Under such high-intensity working conditions, even though Jiang Xing had long been wearing the Macho Brace and his physical constitution had greatly improved, he still looked haggard—like someone who hadn't slept for days.
Well, he really hadn't slept much—he was mostly getting by on energy drinks.
After all, whenever Jiang Xing thought of the trusting gazes of the Ugly Waterfowl, and the Howl Hounds and officers who fought on the front lines, dedicating themselves and dying heroically, he simply couldn't fall asleep.
All he wanted was to finish the research as soon as possible and deliver results that would satisfy them.
So he consciously reduced his sleep time.
Over time, he ended up like this.
Just like now—
Under Chang Feng's arrangements, two exhausted police officers arrived at the research institute carrying a box.
The moment they saw Jiang Xing, they were stunned.
In Chang Feng's description, Jiang Xing was a young, promising, energetic, and handsome rising researcher.
But what they saw now was a young man in a white lab coat, with heavy dark circles under his eyes and a look of deep exhaustion.
"Mr. Jiang? Shouldn't you get some rest?"
"It's fine." Jiang Xing yawned and downed a bottle of energy drink. "People in research staying up for a few nights is normal. I'll just sleep later."
Since he had decided to grind, he would grind all the way.
Once the Undead Guardian Hound research project reached a stable stage, he would be able to free up time to prepare assistants for the institute.
Moreover, Jiang Xing could see the expectation and unease in the eyes of the two officers.
He didn't want to disappoint them.
"The box contains your partners, right?"
"Yes." The two officers quickly set the box down and opened it, revealing the dog corpses inside.
Pet Beasts, because of residual extraordinary energy, decay much more slowly after death. Only when that power fully dissipates do they rapidly turn to bones.
These two Howl Hounds had not been dead long—their bodies were preserved quite well.
Seeing them, the officers' faces turned pale, their expressions filled with grief.
"A few days ago, while I was patrolling the countryside, I discovered a violent Pet Beast had left the forest and attacked villagers… To protect them, my Howl Hound sacrificed itself."
"I was chasing a fugitive. My Howl Hound was protecting me when it was bitten in a vital spot by a Savage Rat."
Jiang Xing took out a handheld detector and measured the residual energy in the dog corpses—
According to undead-type theory, many undead Pet Beasts are born from the residual energy of corpses.
If all energy dissipates completely, the probability of revival becomes extremely low.
These two bodies were well-preserved and rich in energy—the probability of revival was high.
After confirming this, Jiang Xing closed the box, took them into the Death Secret Realm, and began attempting the revival process.
However, no matter whether he guided death energy into the corpses, left them for days to be infused by divine power, or invested resources to boost energy response—
The two Howl Hound corpses showed no signs of revival whatsoever.
When he asked the Undead Guardian Hound in the courtyard, it didn't know the reason either.
In its memory, it had simply closed its eyes, and when it opened them again, it was already in its current state.
When it awakened, the secret realm had been completely empty—proving that its revival had not involved any external intervention.
This brought the research to a halt—
Clearly, the Undead Guardian Hound, which had been an "otherworldly Howl Hound" in life, was not entirely the same as the "Pet Beast Howl Hounds" native to Earth.
Its revival process could not simply be treated as a formula and applied directly.
'So where exactly is the problem?'
Jiang Xing racked his brain and returned to the research institute, reviewing papers and knowledge related to undead systems.
As his knowledge deepened, while training the Ugly Waterfowl, a sudden flash of insight struck him—
Friendship?
No, not Friendship.
It was emotion.
Many undead-type Pet Beasts are not only born from negative energy, but also from intense emotions.
Hatred, unwillingness, loneliness, pain, longing, attachment…
These extreme emotional energies form the self of undead-type Pet Beasts and become their obsessions.
In other words, although a death environment is like a yin ground, not every corpse can become a zombie. Only those with overwhelming obsession—top-tier vengeful spirits—can revive on their own.
Those two Howl Hounds clearly lacked this quality. The emotional energy left behind in their bodies wasn't strong enough—it gradually dissipated, and the remaining power became like loose sand. Without a "core" to gather around, revival was naturally impossible.
Therefore, to awaken them, he first had to awaken their emotions!
This was only Jiang Xing's sudden insight—it might not be correct.
But that didn't matter.
He would test it and find out.
He brought the two officers into the Death Secret Realm and told them—
"The environmental factors are complete, and the energy conditions are already sufficient. The reason they haven't revived is because they lack the most important thing—"
"A heart that wants to wake up."
"If you want them to return, you must personally take part. Use your spiritual bond to let them feel your call—feel your longing!"
"You must become their 'heart'!"
These words sounded somewhat idealistic, yet the two officers believed them without hesitation.
They placed their hands on the box and, through the shattered contract, used their damaged spirits to desperately convey their feelings to their former partners.
They longed for them to return.
Longed to see them again.
Longed to say the words they never had the chance to say…
Thank you.
Jiang Xing stood to the side, faintly sensing a surge of spiritual fluctuations.
The next moment—
A burst of white light erupted!
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---