"Hmmm... If what you said is true, I'm going to have to report this to the main branch."
Ming Xuan muttered as he sighed deeply, his eyes serious.
"What is it, Brother Ming? Don't hide things from me."
"I can't tell you for now, brother. Just know that we will try to deal with this and will compensate you. You have my word, brother."
Despite Ming Xuan's acquiescence to his demand, Zhang Lei still wasn't happy. The Ming Xuan that he knew was always calm and relaxed, even slightly playful.
Right at this moment, however, Ming Xuan looked serious, with a hint of concern.
"There will be no research trips for the foreseeable future. I'm sorry, brother."
With that, Ming Xuan gestured for Zhang Lei to leave, to which Zhang Lei left hesitantly, looking back over his shoulder at his friend Ming Xuan before listening to his request and leaving.
After Zhang Lei left, Ming Xuan got up and locked the door before going back to his desk and opening his drawer.
Pulling out a cigarette from all the way in the back—a dirty habit that he had sworn to leave behind—yet, right now, Ming Xuan felt like he needed it.
Lighting the cigarette, Ming Xuan let out a deep sigh before picking up the phone and dialing a number.
Brrrrrrring
Brrrrrrring
Brrrrrrring
After just a few rings, someone picked up, with Ming Xuan sitting up straighter instinctively.
"What is it?"
A gruff and stern voice sounded from over the phone, making Ming Xuan tense up even more.
"Sir.... we have... another situation in a different mountain..."
Taking a moment to try to calm down, Ming Xuan continued despite his nervousness in front of his stern boss.
"The animals within the forest are in a rampage and are fearless, on top of being bigger than normal... apparently, there were 1.8-meter-long wolves there."
"Tch, ok, got it. I'll deal with it."
Ming Xuan's boss's words were short and blunt, getting straight to the point before hanging up the phone.
As his boss hung up, Ming Xuan leaned back in his chair and continued to smoke, trying to relax.
Meanwhile, Ming Xuan's boss contacted his boss, who contacted their boss, going up the chain of command until it reached the top.
Reaching a certain sector in the government that was newly created, less than a year ago. This department deals with all of the reports about animal attacks that are abnormal.
Throughout the year, reports had been increasingly common about animal attacks or animals with immense strength or abnormalities.
Initially, the department had dealt with research on killed animals but couldn't find anything other than abnormal growth and abnormal strengthening of each animal.
At this moment, a secretary walked up to the department head's office calmly, clutching a clipboard.
"Sir, the quotation has been reached."
Simple yet to the point, it's what the head loved about this secretary; there was never any beating around the bush.
Nodding to himself, the department head looked at the secretary. "OK, go ahead; there is nothing we can do now. I'll tell the higher-ups that their quota has been reached."
Bowing slightly, the tall secretary left the office before closing the door behind her, knowing what the department head must do.
Initially, when research informed the department that animals had been evolving or upgrading their characteristics, the main government set a quota.
The quota was based on how many attacks involved these 'evolved beasts,' and due to this, if the quota was ever reached, the government's hands would be forced.
Due to the number of evolved beasts popping up throughout China, a tiered creation system had been created with the help of the deceased animals brought back by hunting teams. Now that the quota has been hit, the research team and the management department have no choice.
The next day, across China, TVs, radio stations, and news outlets all released a warning to the general populace.
Of course, to discourage chaos or panic, the news didn't specify what exactly the cause was, but it still gave a general enough idea.
___________________
Breaking News
Animal attacks have been more common lately. Scientists speculate that this is due to the volcano eruptions that have been more common throughout the world which is making animals more agressive.
It is advised not to go into the wooded areas or ant other places that have feral animals.
___________________
The information was given out in a very generic way that didn't specify anything and gave half truths.
Throughout the world, such notices and news was becoming more common. Initially, it had started with mote natural countries.
The news had originally came out in Australia, where dangerous wildlife eas commonplace. Due to this, Australia was the first to notice the increasing number and lethality of the wildlife.
That was over 1 month ago that Australia released the news, slowly followed by other countries, now coming out in China.
News about the classifications of animals is coming out, known as 'Tiers', currently ranging from 1 - 3, with only a few Tier 3 beasts being found, making their strength mostly unknown.
To be more precise, it is likely that most who encountered them didn't make it back or that the animals escaped.
There are very few places with confirmed Tier 3 beasts, and the research team is doing constant monitoring of these areas.
With the public announcement given, a few of the more dangerous mountains have had restrictions placed upon them. The reasons are blocked off with any tourists being turned away, which includes Jiuzhai Valley, where Chen Xuan dwelled.
All of this, however, went unknown to Chen Xuan, who stood still within the forest, swaying with the wind. He watched calmly as Fenrir ran around the forest, hunting small rabbits or easily killing deer.
However, through the senses that Chen Xuan shared with Fenrir, he noticed a dense metallic smell that didn't come from the animals killed by Fenrir.
The smell gave Chen Xuan a faint sense of unease, which caused him to promptly order Fenrir back to him body.