Chapter 638 - 628: Zombie 23

At that moment, Moira Lynch had a question for them. "I did make a few discoveries, but tell me, what color was the Five-Grain Rice you found?"

Hearing Moira Lynch’s question, Mark Rhodes paused for a moment. A team member beside him was the one who answered. "It was green. What other color could it be? I was the one who found the Five-Grain Rice."

As he spoke, his tone carried a faint hint of pride and regret.

"A celebrity was trapped here back then, so our captain led us on a rescue mission. We searched all over but couldn’t find them. Instead, we ran into two mutated tigers.

"We hid in a cave for several days to shake them off. As we were leaving, I happened to spot a patch of yellowish-green plants.

"We were in a hurry, so I just grabbed a few. It wasn’t until several days after we got back that I even remembered them. After I turned them over to the research institute, I learned they were a new variety of rice seed.

"Unfortunately, I had picked them too early. The seeds weren’t mature yet, and since I didn’t turn them in for several days, they couldn’t be planted. That’s why we had to make another trip back here."

After the man finished, Shane Rhodes asked, "So, do you remember the location?"

Mark Rhodes gave a wry smile. "We were in a total panic, getting chased by those tigers. We were lucky to make it out alive. How could we possibly remember the path?"

If they remembered, they wouldn’t be searching here so aimlessly.

At this, Moira Lynch turned to look at Hugh Finch.

Hugh Finch, noticing her gaze, said nothing. He simply closed his eyes, his fingers moving as if performing a calculation.

A moment later, he slowly opened his eyes. "Stop searching. Kai York is already on his way back with it."

"Really?" It was Mark Rhodes who spoke, his voice filled with unconcealable excitement.

Hugh Finch nodded. "However, we should probably start running. Kai York isn’t just bringing back the Five-Grain Rice—he’s also bringing two tigers. They’re most likely the same ones that chased you before."

The words had barely left his mouth when a tiger’s roar echoed faintly in the distance, chilling everyone who heard it.

Everyone exchanged glances, still seeming to process the news. Finally, Shane Rhodes was the first to react. "What are you all standing there for? Run!"

His words snapped them out of their daze. Everyone turned and fled, terrified the tigers would suddenly be upon them.

"Moira, go find Kai York! You two lead the tigers away!" Shane Rhodes shouted as he ran.

"Why me?!"

But despite her complaint, Moira Lynch obediently spread her wings and flew toward the sound of the roars.

As the sound of the roars grew closer, goosebumps prickled across Moira Lynch’s skin. Not even the Black Wolf had ever made her feel this much pressure.

’So this is the presence of the king of all beasts, huh?’

Coming face-to-face with a flying Kai York, Moira Lynch cut to the chase. "Fly in a different direction!"

Just then, behind Kai York, two sleek figures shot forward like a pair of golden blades, rapidly closing in on them.

Hearing this, Kai York immediately changed direction. Moira Lynch followed suit, asking as they flew, "Weren’t you supposed to be grabbing something? How did you end up tangling with them?"

At the mention of this, Kai York’s expression twisted. "How should I know? I went to the spot you marked and immediately saw a huge patch of Five-Grain Rice. I’d barely started gathering it when those two tigers just appeared out of nowhere and started chasing me down.

"Come to think of it, this is partly your fault. You knew there were tigers in this forest. Why didn’t you warn me?"

"I... Who could’ve possibly imagined your luck would be so bad that you’d still run into them?"

Moira Lynch had actually detected the two tigers when she scanned the area with her spiritual power earlier. But at the time, they were still very far from the marked location. She had assumed that with Kai York’s speed, they wouldn’t have crossed paths.

"But you said you saw a huge patch of Five-Grain Rice?" Moira Lynch asked, confirming.

"Right. And it looked like it had been planned out, planted in separate plots..."

Just then, Kai York also realized something wasn’t right. The patch had clearly been tended to.

"That’s impossible. As I recall, the apocalypse only started on this planet a month ago. Human Superpower Users haven’t even reached Level 2 yet. Even if animals have a natural advantage, they couldn’t have evolved this quickly."

If they weren’t currently fleeing for their lives, Moira Lynch would have given him a massive eye-roll. "My point is that there’s a human element behind these two tigers."

"You mean a Beast Master?"

"That’s one possibility. But when I scanned the area with my spiritual power, I didn’t detect any people or signs of human activity. I found some zombies, sure, but I took care of them. That’s why I’m leaning toward the idea that someone turned *into* a tiger."

Before coming here, she had asked Mark Rhodes about it. He told her there were no signs of tigers in this forest before the apocalypse. Because of its proximity to the city, any large animals tended to stay in the deepest parts of the forest and were rarely seen.

That’s why they had previously suspected the two tigers had migrated from somewhere else.

"I remember reading on the Astranet about a ’Malignant Mutation’ talent. It allows an Awakener to randomly transform into an animal. The Awakener retains their reason and intellect but forgets their original identity and develops a strong sense of belonging with their new animal form."

"To put it simply, the moment you awaken that talent, your species effectively changes."

"Of course, it’s not irreversible. After reaching Level 5, they can regain their human form, but their bodies still retain certain characteristics of the animal."

Some of the current interstellar races came to be this way.

"In that case, couldn’t we try to communicate with the two tigers behind us?"

Watching the tigers relentlessly closing the distance behind them, a happy smile spread across Kai York’s face.

However, that smile didn’t last long before it was mercilessly crushed by Moira Lynch.

"Would you be nice to a thief who broke into your home to steal from you?"

Kai York: "..."

’Giving the Five-Grain Rice back was out of the question, so...’ "Are they far away yet?"

Kai York turned to look at Moira Lynch.

"Almost. We just need to stall for another five minutes."

As for why they didn’t just eliminate the two tigers, there was a good reason.

With Kai York’s ability, the two tigers were no match for him. However, before they left, Mark Rhodes had given them specific instructions: they were absolutely not to harm these two tigers.

The reason was that these tigers had a habit of preying on zombies. Furthermore, they kept the other animals in the forest in check, preventing them from coming out and harming people.

All in all, keeping these two tigers alive was far more valuable than killing them.