"Xuanwu! Bring that person back to me!"
Lin Yue himself couldn't tell if it was the inappropriate humanity deep within him that took over, or if the skeletons of the mother and son in the convenience store had stimulated him when he gave that order.
Perhaps, it was both.
He didn't want to become a beast that only existed to survive.
"Roar—!"
The moment the command was given, Xuanwu, who was guarding the entrance, moved.
Its enormous, millstone-sized head boldly emerged from the supermarket's cover and walked towards the figure lying in the mud and water a dozen meters away.
"Sizzle—!"
Grey-green raindrops splattered on Xuanwu's jet-black head, bursting into foul-smelling white smoke, the corrosive sound making one's scalp tingle.
But Xuanwu's innate talent, [Indestructible], revealed its true value at this moment.
The highly toxic acid rain, capable of melting flesh and blood in a few seconds, fell on its metallic-lustered skin, yet failed to leave even a white mark.
Lin Yue watched clearly from inside the supermarket, and besides the shock in his heart, there was more relief.
Xuanwu came before the man, its massive head precisely nudging beneath him. Its neck muscles suddenly tensed, and with just one lift and a flick, the figure, who had already fallen unconscious, along with the toolbox he was clutching tightly, was thrown into the air.
A dark shadow streaked across the rain, forming a brief parabola. With a muffled 'thump,' it soared over Xuanwu's massive body and landed heavily on the tiled floor at the supermarket entrance.
The entire sequence of movements was fluid, imbued with a simple, brutal beauty.
Rescue complete, Xuanwu shook its head at Lin Yue as if showing off, as if saying, 'I'm the best!'
"Alright, I know you're the best!"
Lin Yue shook his head, a wry smile on his face. He was genuinely worried that the man might kick the bucket after being tossed like that by Xuanwu!
Without delay, he rushed forward.
The newcomer was an old man, over fifty, with white hair and a face full of wrinkles. He was completely unconscious.
His condition was even worse than Lin Yue had anticipated.
The old man's clothes were riddled with holes from corrosion, his back especially severe, a bloody mess where new flesh was stuck to torn clothing fibers, emitting the foul smell of burnt protein.
"Hiss..."
Seeing such a tragic sight, Lin Yue couldn't help but gasp.
"Old man, you're really lucky."
He muttered softly, helping the old man into the supermarket, then quickly taking out mineral water from his backpack.
Now was not the time to be stingy with this resource.
He twisted open the bottle cap and carefully used clean water to rinse the wounds on the old man's back.
As the clean water flowed, the corroded flesh burned by the acid rain made a faint 'sizzling' sound, making Lin Yue's scalp tingle.
He suppressed the churning in his stomach, cleansed the filth as much as possible, then tore off a corner of his relatively clean T-shirt, dipped it in water, and wiped the mud from the old man's face and neck.
After doing all this, he pried open the old man's teeth, which were tightly clenched from dehydration, and fed him the last bit of clean water, little by little.
After all this, Lin Yue was exhausted. He slid down a shelf to the ground, gasping for breath.
He looked at the old man, whose life hung in the balance, a mix of emotions in his heart.
Wasting precious clean water for a stranger and taking on unknown risks—no matter how he calculated it, this was not a worthwhile deal.
He didn't know if it was worth it.
But he knew he wasn't the kind of person with a heart hard enough to just let this old man turn into bones in the rain; otherwise, he wouldn't have transmigrated to this world for saving someone!
"Cough... cough cough..."
A violent fit of coughing interrupted Lin Yue's thoughts.
The old man's eyelids on the ground fluttered a few times, then slowly opened his cloudy eyes.
His gaze first swept blankly around the dim supermarket. He saw Lin Yue sitting nearby, also safe and sound.
"Was... was it you who saved me?"
The old man's voice was hoarse, like two rusty iron plates rubbing together, but his words were clear.
"You're lucky, not quite dead yet."
Lin Yue was noncommittal, replying calmly.
The old man struggled to sit up, but it pulled at the injuries on his back, making him grimace in pain and gasp for air.
"Don't move, I just treated your wounds."
Lin Yue reminded him.
Only then did the old man feel the burning pain in his back, but he ignored it, his gaze fixed on Xuanwu, then looking at Lin Yue, his eyes full of confusion.
"This... this giant beast is..."
"My pet."
Lin Yue was concise.
"Pet... pet?"
The old man's mouth hung wide open, as if an egg could fit inside.
Although the apocalypse had only been half a year, humanity had never thought of taming mutated beasts as pets.
Or rather, they had the idea, but hadn't found a way yet.
But no matter what, this giant beast in front of him was definitely the only tamed mutated beast he knew of so far.
"Old sir, who are you? Why were you running alone in the acid rain?"
Lin Yue didn't give him much time to be shocked and went straight to the point.
"I... my name is Wang Jianguo, just call me Foreman Wang."
The old man took a breath and introduced himself,
"I used to be an architectural engineer, retired."
Architectural engineer?
Lin Yue's heart stirred. This profession was a rare resource in the apocalypse.
Foreman Wang gave a bitter smile and continued:
"My team... was scattered during the previous beast tide. I was carrying the most important thing from the team and running towards the Shelter, but I didn't expect... to encounter this deadly acid rain."
As he spoke, he instinctively hugged the silver metal toolbox in his arms tighter.
"Little brother, words cannot express my gratitude! If it weren't for you, I would have met my end today!"
Foreman Wang struggled to express his thanks.
Lin Yue waved his hand, signaling him not to bother.
"In this world now, one more alive is one more."
He said the same words, but his state of mind was completely different.
He glanced at the box in Foreman Wang's arms, then looked at the mighty Xuanwu outside, and an idea quietly formed in his mind.
He decided to take a gamble.
"Old Wang, what do you think of my pet?"
Lin Yue asked seemingly casually.
"What do I think? This is simply... simply a miracle!"
Foreman Wang looked at Xuanwu, his eyes shining with wonder,
"Little brother, if you'll forgive my bluntness, you're the first person I've ever seen who can tame a mutated beast! How did you do it?"
"It's a secret."
Lin Yue smiled and threw out the real bait,
"And, it can continue to grow larger."
"Grow larger?"
Foreman Wang was stunned.
"Yes."
Lin Yue's eyes sharpened,
"As long as it has enough energy crystals, it can constantly evolve, and its size and strength will surge. It's even possible to build a city on its back!"
"Moving... a city..."
Foreman Wang murmured, repeating these words.
He struggled to crawl to Xuanwu's leg, extending a trembling hand to touch its cold, hard shell, like it was forged from steel.
Suddenly, he sharply turned his head, staring fixedly at Lin Yue, his voice trembling violently with excitement:
"Little brother! This isn't a pet! Do you understand? This is absolutely not a pet!"
He pointed at Xuanwu, then at its broad turtle back,
"If what you say is true, then this will absolutely be humanity's safest mobile fortress!"
"Little brother, listen to me!"
Foreman Wang's emotions grew even more agitated,
"As long as it can grow large enough, we can build houses on its back! Build walls! Build farmlands! Even build a mobile city that can accommodate hundreds or thousands of people!"
As an architectural engineer, nothing fascinated him more than building unique structures.
"By then, what beast tides, what acid rain, we won't have to fear them!"
Looking at the frenzied Foreman Wang, Lin Yue didn't find him ridiculous.
He had read too many apocalypse novels and watched too many movies!
In the apocalypse, nothing was more important than surviving.
And once Xuanwu grew to a size where a city could be built on its back, the people living there would be incredibly safe.
Didn't the Mink Tribe in One Piece live incredibly safely on Zunesha's back? (Jack was a complete exception!)
This old man in front of him understood Xuanwu's true value!
Foreman Wang suddenly remembered something. Ignoring the intense pain in his back, he laboriously pulled out a small waterproof cloth bag from a very hidden inner pocket in his arms.
He tremblingly opened the cloth bag, and two rhomboid crystals, the size of fingernails, emitting a soft glow, rolled into his palm.
They were level 1 energy crystals!
"These are what I obtained before, take them!"
Foreman Wang solemnly pushed the two energy crystals towards Lin Yue,
"Little brother, it seems this old body of mine can still live for a while. If possible, I'd like to join the construction of your mobile fortress, I wonder if that's alright!"
"I couldn't ask for more!"
Lin Yue did not refuse Foreman Wang's request; this was also why he mentioned that Xuanwu could evolve and grow larger.
Then he turned and walked towards Xuanwu.
[Detected 1 level 1 energy crystal x2, energy value is 20 points.]
[Current energy: 112 / 100, meeting the conditions for pet promotion to level 2.]
[Evolve?]
"Yes! Evolve immediately!"