On the seventh consecutive day of heavy rain, Chen Yuan felt something was different about the world.
The camphor tree in the courtyard grew taller and lusher, its branches and leaves swaying in the gusts of wind like a verdant ocean.
Weeds along the roads and fields grew wildly, easily surpassing a meter in height; even the outside of the house was covered with moss, and some kind of climbing plant entwined parts of the house, the rich green spreading throughout Xuanhe Village.
"Woof woof!"
The sudden barking of a dog forcibly pulled Chen Yuan's thoughts back. He looked down to find a Chinese Village Dog covered in brown fur staring at him, its tail wagging back and forth.
"And you." Staring at the dog before him, Chen Yuan's expression was strange for a moment.
This Chinese Village Dog, born just half a month ago, had grown rapidly in the week of torrential rains, its fire-breathing appearance was beyond imagination, and its size increased several-fold, nearly matching that of a regular adult dog.
Such an astonishing growth speed obviously defied biological common sense, but thinking about the wildly growing plants outside, Chen Yuan found it somewhat normal.
If everyone is abnormal, then it's normal.
"Woof woof woof!"
The dog's barking became more urgent, and its gaze at Chen Yuan was full of fervency and longing.
Chen Yuan helplessly smiled and unscrewed the Cola placed on the desk.
"Woof!"
The dog lay on the ground, eagerly lifting its head and opening its mouth, drooling as its tail wagged.
The Cola spilled forth, its stimulating smell overwhelming, and the dog quickly gulped it down, its excitement growing more intense, tail wagging faster and faster.
"You love Cola so much, I'll just call you Cola from now on." Chen Yuan tightly screwed the remaining half-bottle of Cola and smiled at the dog before him.
Cola didn't seem to care about Chen Yuan's words, its eyes glued to the half-bottle of Cola, desire evident in its gaze.
Chen Yuan set the Cola bottle back on the table, teasing the dog lying on the ground, "Drinking too much Cola won't give you puppies."
Cola seemed to understand Chen Yuan's meaning, quickly retracting its neck and awkwardly shifting its gaze so it no longer fell on the Cola bottle.
Chen Yuan smiled warmly but suddenly looked up out the window, muttering, "Oh?"
"Has the rain stopped?"
He stood up, opened the window, and the pleasant sunlight rushed into the room.
Chen Yuan raised his head, seeing beams of sunlight pierce the thick clouds, gently illuminating the earth.
At first startled, he then broke into a bright smile, "It's not easy, but it's finally sunny."
This unexpected torrential rain swept across every corner of the globe, causing severe impacts on many countries and cities, with millions suffering.
Fortunately, after a week of continuous rain, the skies finally cleared.
Chen Yuan opened the door of the wildlife rescue station, standing at the entrance to breathe the moist and refreshing post-rain air, sunlight falling upon him.
Behind him, Cola eagerly dashed out the door, frolicking around, chasing its shadow.
"Chen, come over quickly!"
At this moment, a middle-aged man with dark skin hurriedly ran over, looking anxious.
Chen Yuan turned, calmly saying, "Mr. Wang, what's happened?"
Mr. Wang stopped in front of Chen Yuan, panting heavily, his tone urgent, "Come quickly, there's a fire-breathing bird in my field."
A fire-breathing bird?
Chen Yuan paused, about to say something, but suddenly recalled the recent anomalies, remaining silent.
"Come on, let's see it first." Mr. Wang grabbed Chen Yuan's hand, trying to pull him toward the east side of the village.
"Don't rush, I'll bring a cage."
Cola happily trotted behind.
...
After graduating from university, Chen Yuan, majoring in animal medicine, returned to his hometown, Xuanhe Village, and joined the Forestry Bureau, working at the wildlife rescue station.
Xuanhe Village sits at the southern foot of Qinling, rich in wildlife resources with high forest coverage.
As a staff member of the wildlife rescue station, Chen Yuan's daily work involves assisting injured animals found by patrol rangers and villagers.
Stepping over the waterlogged road and through meter-high wild grass, the sun piercing through the clouds became increasingly dazzling, and Chen Yuan quickly followed Mr. Wang to a field.
By then, many people had gathered at the front of the field, and as Chen Yuan approached, their discussions reached his ears.
"What do you think this is?"
"I've lived over fifty years, never seen a fire-breathing bird before."
"Ah, strange things have been happening lately."
...
Seeing Chen Yuan's silhouette, the crowd discussing made way, allowing him to see the small orange-yellow figure lying on the ground.
This bird was fully covered in orange-yellow feathers, small in size, with long and narrow wings, a slim and elongated tail; the upper beak was curved at the tip, edged with sharp tooth-like projections, a flame-red feather extended from the tail, resembling a tuft of burning fire.
Its deep blue eyes were especially striking, like the deep blue ocean, calm yet harboring waves.
Chen Yuan stood in shock for a moment.
The appearance of this bird leaned towards the falcon family, yet its exact look didn't match any falcon species in Chen Yuan's memory.
This was a species...never seen before!
What's more, flames spewed from the bird's mouth, causing tiny sparks upon landing.
The destructive power wasn't strong, but this phenomenon clearly defied common sense.
While the fire-breathing bird spewed flames, a faint five-star symbol flickered on its forehead.
Reflecting on the various transformations, Chen Yuan grew more convinced that the world underwent some tremendous change.
Chen Yuan tried to calm himself, observing closely, finally noticing the faint red threads in the wings of the fire-breathing bird, weakly flapping up and down.
With his rich experience, Chen Yuan's eyes lit up, immediately realizing the current situation of the fire-breathing bird—its wings were injured, rendering it unable to fly.
"What's with this fire-breathing bird?" Mr. Wang seeing Chen Yuan silently watching the bird, asked anxiously.
Chen Yuan slowly replied, "Its wings are injured; I'll take it back for treatment first."
"Oh, okay." Mr. Wang nodded in realization, then lowered his voice, hesitating, "Do you think it's because of the rain..."
Chen Yuan raised his eyebrows, replied, "Mr. Wang, those are matters for the higher-ups to worry about."
After speaking, Chen Yuan stepped forward, standing directly before the fire-breathing bird.
A large shadow cast over the bird, but it showed no fear, struggling to lift its head, weakly spreading its wings, letting out tender chirps, "Chirp!"
Being an experienced rescuer, Chen Yuan wasn't fazed by the fire-breathing bird's intimidation, ensuring the small flames posed no threat to him, he promptly reached out, firmly grabbing the bird's nape, lifting it up.
"Chirp chirp chirp!"
The bird expressed anger and let out cries of fierce resistance, its struggle weak.
The surrounding people applauded and cheered, but Chen Yuan holding the fire-breathing bird had an odd expression.
[Extraordinary Creatures detected, Extraordinary Atlas activated]
[First collection of Flame Cloud Falcon, Source Point increased by one]
[Race: Flame Cloud Falcon
Attribute: Fire
Level: 1 (Tier One)
Favorability: –10
Skills: Flame Surge (Rudiment 0.1/3)+
Quality: Normal
Promotion to Elite Quality Conditions: Insufficient Source Points (1/5)]