"Unbelievable..."
On the third basement level of the archives, Su Zhi was flipping through an e-reader, his eyes shining as he murmured excitedly.
The normally standoffish documents marked "High Confidentiality" were like an unguarded maiden here—he could touch and read whatever he wanted.
’The Divine Strategy Alliance is a treasure trove!’
Su Zhi had to admit he was tempted.
If he hadn’t seen the Flying Shadow Alliance first, he might have really taken a liking to this unique little place.
To his surprise, he could even borrow materials.
Although Shao Ya had said the materials here couldn’t be taken out or downloaded, Su Zhi discovered that his Alliance Youth Team card came with borrowing privileges.
After identifying him as a member of the Alliance Youth Team, the AI managing the Divine Strategy Alliance archives automatically assigned Su Zhi a borrowing limit of 200,000 characters.
Su Zhi could download documents within the character limit for a limited time, but screenshots and recordings were forbidden. Once the time was up, the documents would be automatically deleted.
Using another phone to take pictures seemed like a solution, and some maverick had tried it... but of course, they failed. That was because every phone on the market was calibrated by the Divine Strategy Alliance...
Copying by hand was still possible, as long as you weren’t suicidal enough to publish it.
Unfortunately, the clearance level for borrowable documents wasn’t high; the more confidential ones couldn’t be borrowed.
Su Zhi picked a few relatively valuable low-clearance documents to borrow, then picked up an e-reader and began to read, completely absorbed.
In a place so full of treasures, wasting even a second was a huge loss!
Seeing him get so into it, Yu Bao sat quietly to the side, waiting.
He didn’t know how long he’d been reading, but when the e-reader was about to die, Su Zhi reluctantly put it down, picked up a charged one, and continued his rampage.
Far from feeling tired, Su Zhi was energized, his thoughts flowing like a spring.
Unlike the papers in academic journals from the outside world, which were generally exhaustive in their detail, the Divine Strategy Alliance’s documents weren’t just on another level in terms of innovation; their narrative style was concise and direct. Some papers even had numerous logical leaps.
It was like a top student doing a math problem: once they figured out the general idea, they just skipped the steps they found tedious.
What was even more amazing was that Su Zhi could actually follow their line of thinking. Every time he felt a few steps could be skipped, the paper would do just that. It was a perfect meeting of the minds.
If these papers were submitted to any academic journal, they would be rejected for their lack of formality. Only in the Divine Strategy Alliance could one see such things.
The people here didn’t care about formality, only value.
"This really is a great place. If only I could come here every day."
After finishing a recently published paper, Su Zhi put down the e-reader, still wanting more, and muttered to himself.
He had read many articles today, but the one that left the deepest impression was a paper discussing the connection between Pet Beast evolution and Skills.
The paper pointed out that a Pet Beast’s Evolutionary Type wasn’t actually fixed. The existing ones were merely the most universally applicable types identified by the modern Beast Taming system.
After the Dark Era, in the early Classical Era, some extant Pet Beasts actually had numerous Evolutionary Types, which was closely related to the Skill configuration methods of that time.
Back then, the Skill System was still immature and in an exploratory phase. Beastmasters mainly relied on experience to train and raise their Pet Beasts, and their choice of Skills was also very subjective.
Compared to the modern, standardized Skill System, the system of the early Classical Era was naive and primitive—it could hardly even be called a system. But the various Evolutionary Types of Pet Beasts back then were also far more diverse and colorful than they are now.
That was an era where a hundred flowers bloomed; various schools of Skills attacked each other, and a hundred schools of thought contended.
It wasn’t until the mid-to-late Classical Era that the idea of a Skill System centered around a Core Skill burst onto the scene, unifying the methodology of the Beast Taming Realm.
And around the same time, the Evolutionary Types of Pet Beasts began to converge. A specific type became the mainstream for each Pet Beast, while other types steadily declined.
By the end of the Classical Era, all branched Evolutionary Types had completely died out. Except for a very small number of Pet Beasts with an innate ability for branched evolution, all Pet Beasts were left with only one specific Evolutionary Type, which has been passed down to this day.
The Beastmasters of that time didn’t realize the relationship between Skills and evolution, simply attributing the demise of branched Evolutionary Types to natural evolution. In fact, this remains the mainstream view even today.
But this article’s perspective was sharp and unconventional. It was like a Furious Sand Blade to the butt—a real eye-opener for Su Zhi!
"If that’s the case, does that mean Yu Bao’s Evolutionary Type might not be a Yu Dian Farm Dog?"
Seeing Yu Bao dozing at his feet with its belly up, Su Zhi chuckled.
He remembered Yu Bao had started out sitting beside him, waiting. But he’d gotten so engrossed in his reading that Yu Bao had waited too long and fallen asleep at some point.
’According to the article’s theory, the Skill System is related to a Pet Beast’s evolutionary potential. But even in modern times, there are plenty of Beast Tamers who create their own skill sets, right? Yet no one has ever recreated the various branched Evolutionary Types from the early Classical Era...’
Su Zhi rested his chin in his hand, pondering this question. It was something the article hadn’t clearly explained.
Su Zhi could also sense the author’s own confusion in the writing—they could only prove a correlational relationship between Skills and evolution, but couldn’t dig out a concrete causal one.
In reality, the paper was unsigned and couldn’t be found online; it was only viewable on the Divine Strategy Alliance’s internal readers. The author probably also considered it an unfinished work-in-progress.
’Maybe... it’s not the specific Skills you give a Pet Beast that matters, but the thinking behind how you configure those Skills?’
Su Zhi lightly tapped his brow.
’After the Core Skill System emerged, mainstream Skill configuration centered around a Core Skill. Even if some masters formed their own schools, they never truly deviated from this line of thinking.’
’Could this mean that the reason mainstream Evolutionary Types became dominant is, in essence, because the thinking behind the Core Skill System conquered the world?’
Su Zhi looked at his own incredibly excited reflection in the screen.
A few seconds later, he shook his head and let out a wry laugh.
’In the end, this is just my own deduction. Scientific research isn’t something you can solve with the power of "I reckon."’
Proving it would require not only a solid foundation in Pet Beast Skill studies and evolutionary studies, but also a large number of rigorous controlled experiments. In short, it wasn’t something he could just whip up.
But at least it had broadened his perspective... Su Zhi put the e-reader back.
As fate would have it, a rather pale hand landed on the e-reader at that exact moment.
Seeing that the hand belonged to a thin man with dark green curly hair, Su Zhi froze for a second. "Samika... Senior?"
’Isn’t this the good samaritan who let me get Burning Sand Forging for free after my wilderness training?’
Samika obviously didn’t recognize him at first. He stared at Su Zhi for a good while before his deep, dark eyes suddenly lit up.
"You’re Su Zhi from Huai City? You came to the Divine Strategy Alliance’s summer camp? I never thought I’d run into you again!"
"Nice, nice to see you again..."
Su Zhi took two fearful steps back. The other man’s gaze was abnormally intense—he didn’t look like he was seeing a friend, but a specimen.
He even had the feeling he was already being dissected.
"Wait a minute."
Samika asked curiously, "I’m a guide for the Alliance Members, so why haven’t I seen you?"
’You’re only just realizing that now?’ Su Zhi complained inwardly.
"I’m in the Flying Shadow Alliance’s summer camp. Today’s a day off, so Shao Ya from your camp brought me here... uh, the one with white hair."
Samika had a sudden realization, slapping his left hand with his right. He put his excellent research-honed powers of deduction to work and understood the situation:
"General Shao’s daughter is your girlfriend."
Su Zhi: "..."
’Looks like the people from the Divine Strategy Alliance aren’t that smart after all.’
"Anyway, I’m so glad I ran into you again!"
Samika didn’t seem interested in those details. He grabbed Su Zhi’s hand tightly and shook it excitedly.
At the same time, his tongue subconsciously licked his dry lips. Combined with his deep eyes, he looked like a snake that had spotted its prey.
"Yeah, I’m glad too..." Su Zhi said, cautiously taking two steps back.
He was trying hard to reason with himself: ’Maybe this is just how researchers are? Simple, pure, a bit unkempt, and not entirely stable mentally?’
And when Samika’s gaze fell on Yu Bao, those deep eyes instantly blazed with an extremely fanatical light.
"You must have a Pet Beast Battle with me!"
"???" Su Zhi was completely dumbfounded.
’Why did we suddenly fast-forward to a Pet Beast Battle?’
’Is this the researcher’s brand of logical leaps?!’
Yu Bao smacked its lips, looking at Su Zhi in confusion.
’Master Su, what’s going on? Why is there another fight right after I woke up?’
"Um, I’m sorry... but I refuse!"
Su Zhi waved his hand. "We’ve been sparring a lot recently, and the intensity has been pretty high, so..."
"Don’t worry, it’s just a casual match. The intensity won’t be high."
Samika’s tone was quite sincere.
"I just recently advanced to a Tier Five Beast Taming Space and contracted my third Pet Beast. Compared to your guide, Selena, my third pet is far weaker. It’s definitely no match for you."
"Sparring isn’t my goal. I just want to use the match as an opportunity to observe your Pet Beast and perfect my research. So you don’t have to worry about strain from excessive intensity."
Su Zhi blinked cautiously. "But I have plans to go shopping with someone..."
"Estimated time: 13 minutes and 12 seconds. It won’t take up much of your time."
"..."
"To thank your Pet Beast for its efforts, I will gift you a portion of Divine Strategy Alliance-certified premium feed."
"Woof!"
Yu Bao’s eyes lit up, and with a happy Bling Bling, it started running circles around Samika.
Su Zhi facepalmed in resignation and chided, "Yu Bao, don’t let your desires overcome your willpower..."
"At the same time, I will also give you 10,000 yuan in cash and a high-quality Divine Concealment Core as a personal thank-you."
"Senior, it’s crude to talk about resources. It is an honor for Yu Bao and me to contribute to the cause of scientific research."
Su Zhi patted Samika’s shoulder with a solemn expression.
"Of course, just so you don’t feel bad about it, we will definitely accept your thanks. You can rest assured on that point."
Samika stared blankly for a moment, then broke into a wide grin.
·
「One minute later...」
Su Zhi: "...Senior, why is there a direct passage from the third basement level to the Battle Hall?"
Samika: "Don’t you think it’s convenient? You can go straight to the Battle Hall to practice right after you’re done studying theory."
Su Zhi: "..."
’I really can’t comprehend the thought processes of a researcher.’
Compared to the spacious and bright Battle Halls of the Flying Shadow Alliance, the Divine Strategy Alliance’s Battle Hall was relatively narrow. Not all the spotlights were on, making it look a bit gloomy.
Over the past few days, Su Zhi and Yu Bao had already sparred with people N times.
Su Zhi had wanted to refuse Samika’s invitation... but the man was just offering too much.
"This place should be fine."
"Oh, okay."
KLUNK—KLUNK—
Two spotlights switched on, perfectly illuminating a fighting ring.
Su Zhi followed Samika onto the ring, not noticing that in the shadowed spectator stands, a pair of glowing red eyes was sizing him up with great interest.
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