Chapter 444: Chapter 412: Swift Mouse

Listening to Li Qian’s sentimental sigh, Irina seemed equally moved. "Yeah. Who knows how many civilizations are buried in this Dimension Plane, or how many ruins exist?"

"There must have been some extremely powerful existences among these civilizations, yet they all met their end. Do you think... our Human Civilization will face the same fate?" A sudden wave of melancholy washed over Li Qian as he turned to ask Irina.

Irina shot Li Qian a sidelong glance, her voice tinged with a hint of disdain. "Are you really starting to worry about the survival of Human Civilization now?"

"High-minded thoughts, a grand perspective... it’s just a shame your actual strength is so pathetic. It’s like you’re complaining for no reason."

Li Qian was instantly speechless and didn’t feel like talking.

The worst part was, he couldn’t think of a comeback. Strictly speaking, he really was complaining for no reason, worrying about things far beyond his control.

Talk of civilizations collapsing or the big bang had nothing to do with a little ant like him.

If something like that ever did happen, in the face of such an overwhelming tide, he would be nothing more than a speck of dust buried in the mud.

Just as the two were surveying their surroundings, Adventurers began to appear in Luoying City one after another.

They quickly scattered and began to explore, all of them clearly here with a purpose.

Irina turned to Li Qian and asked, "What’s the plan? You didn’t come to this Deep Elemental Plane just to wander around, did you?"

Li Qian thought for a moment before replying, "I’m going to catch a few Gold-eating Rats, Highly Poisonous Rats, and Swift Mice. We haven’t seen these Pet Beasts before, so they might lead to a new evolution path with good Potential."

Of course, there was another goal Li Qian didn’t mention: finding the Inspiration Value for the final two percent of his Five-tailed Cat’s evolution quest to become a Six-tailed Cat.

He just couldn’t find any ideas while cooped up in the Secret Realm. He figured it was better to get out and explore; maybe he’d discover something.

Of course, if he happened to unearth some historical ruins from Luoying City and find a few clues along the way, that would be a nice bonus.

But whether he’d make any progress on that front was up to fate; Li Qian wasn’t going to force it.

"Should we just head out of the city?" Irina suggested. "According to Adventurers who’ve been coming and going recently, there seem to be more of those three types of Pet Beasts outside the walls."

"No need. Let’s look around the city first." Li Qian shook his head, pointed in a random direction, and started walking.

Irina, of course, followed close behind.

And so, the two began to wander through Luoying City. According to Irina, there were plenty of rodent-type Pet Beasts in the city as well, especially in the darker corners, so Li Qian summoned Qizai.

After a period of self-training, Qizai’s Dragon Transformation Skill had broken through to the Skilled Level.

Upon being summoned, it didn’t hesitate to use the Skill.

As it activated Dragon Transformation, its body rapidly shrank until it was only about two meters long, coiling in the air above Li Qian’s head.

Li Qian glanced up, then wasted no more time and began to survey the area.

Given Qizai’s current mastery of the Dragon Transformation Skill, this was the smallest it could get; it had reached its limit.

Irina watched the small dragon above Li Qian’s head, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly.

She didn’t say anything, simply following quietly behind Li Qian like a bodyguard.

It wasn’t long before Li Qian noticed something unusual. All over Luoying City, there were numerous statues of varying sizes and forms.

They were all statues of cats—all sorts of cats. They were everywhere, in every corner of Luoying City: on stone tablets, on door lintels, on iron pillars, on railings... everywhere.

There were carvings, stone-chiseled figures, and clay sculptures—all kinds of them. The clay ones had weathered so badly that their shapes were almost unrecognizable.

If he hadn’t been able to guess based on the other cat statues, Li Qian wouldn’t have been able to identify them at all.

The presence of so many cat statues, all harmoniously integrated into every corner of the city, was enough to suggest that cat-type Pet Beasts held an incredibly high status in this city during some ancient era.

Though the sheer number of cat-type Pet Beast statues was peculiar, Li Qian didn’t dwell on it. Any secrets they held were likely long buried in the dust of history.

"Something’s moving over there!" Just as Li Qian was observing the cat statues, a pile of bricks and rubble in the ruins of a nearby Stone Tower suddenly trembled.

The movement was slight, but as a Dominator Level Beast Master, Irina’s senses were incredibly sharp, and she spotted it instantly.

Hearing this, Li Qian didn’t hesitate for a second, immediately ordering the miniature Qizai to attack.

"High-Pressure Water Cannon!"

A rapidly spinning ball of water condensed in Qizai’s mouth before shooting straight out.

Although the Skill’s power was significantly reduced in its Dragon Transformation state, it was still more than enough for a probing attack.

BOOM!

The Skill struck the pile of rubble with a deafening roar.

As rubble flew everywhere, a small figure was sent flying. Li Qian’s sharp eyes immediately identified it—it was a rat, about the size of a wild hare.

"It’s a Swift Mouse!" Irina said.

The Swift Mouse was known for its speed. Its body was covered in silver-gray fur, and if you weren’t looking closely, you might mistake it for a gray afterimage.

Based on Elder Tie’s previous battle against the Aurora Rat, Li Qian guessed that the Swift Mouse was, in all likelihood, the base form of the Aurora Rat.

This meant the Swift Mouse’s Potential was no worse than a Gold-eating Rat’s—it might even be superior.

Blasted out by Qizai’s High-Pressure Water Cannon, the Swift Mouse’s eyes immediately turned into swirls as it passed out.

Without hesitation, Li Qian took out a Beast Taming Ball and captured it.

"Let’s go, over there." After stowing the Beast Taming Ball containing the Swift Mouse, Li Qian looked at a cluster of buildings in the distance and spoke.

That group of buildings was clearly different from the others. The houses all had conical, pointed roofs, giving them a unique appearance.

Irina also looked toward the buildings with the pointed roofs and nodded.

The two of them walked toward the area at a steady pace.

After walking for about twenty minutes, they arrived in front of the strange buildings.

Once there, however, they were forced to stop. Three blockade lines ahead barred their path.

Two young men in FBI uniforms, leading a pair of majestic-looking Gale Wolves, strode over. "Sorry, this area has been sealed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. No entry is permitted."

Hearing this, a look of confusion appeared in Li Qian’s eyes. He asked, "Excuse me, agents, can I ask what happened here? We’re students from Shazhou Beast Taming University."

When they heard Li Qian identify himself as a student from Shazhou Beast Taming University, the two agents’ expressions immediately softened.

"Apologies, we’re only in charge of security. As for anything else, we have no comment," the taller of the two young agents said gently.

His voice was gentle, but his attitude was exceptionally firm.

Hearing this, Li Qian shook his head in resignation and prepared to leave. Since they weren’t allowed in, there was no point in standing around.

"Li Qian!" Just as he turned to leave, a familiar voice suddenly called out from behind him.

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