CHAPTER 491: CHAPTER 442 EXOTIC BEASTS

Garrison soldiers faced a casualty rate nearing thirty percent in their first five years of enlistment. Without the silent sacrifices of these Sergeants, the tragedies in the Human World caused by Aliens would only be more numerous.

Of course, the atmosphere in the Alien Study courses wasn’t always oppressive and serious; occasionally, they would share stories brimming with joy.

For instance, a villager was walking home on a mountain path in winter when he saw a fox nearly frozen stiff. A surge of compassion prompted him to bring it home and warm it by the stove. The next day, the fox left quietly, and the villager didn’t think much of it.

Months later, the villager made a discovery. Every morning when he woke up, hot porridge was in the pot. Every time he returned from working the fields, the room had been cleaned, his dirty Clothes laundered and dried, and his messy home was tidied into perfect order.

He immediately thought of folktales like the Snail Girl and the fox fairy repaying kindness, making him over the moon with excitement. He decided to feign sleep at night, ready to catch his benefactor in the act during the day, perhaps even hoping it would lead to a romantic relationship or a predestined encounter.

Unfortunately, due to the sheer exhaustion from working the fields, he always slept until the Sun was high in the sky, never managing to meet the grateful fox fairy.

Finally, one day he managed to finish his farm work early. He went to bed soon after and woke up before sunrise, still lying in bed, pretending to sleep.

As soon as he heard the sound of pots and pans in the kitchen, he immediately flipped the covers off and leaped out of bed. He rushed to the kitchen, embracing the figure at the stove and pouring out his heartfelt appreciation.

The figure turned around, and both of them were taken aback; it turned out the fox fairy was actually a man with thick brows and large eyes.

The villager was deeply wounded. He let go of the man, feeling deceived. The fox fairy rolled his eyes in annoyance. He explained that after multiple failed matchmaking attempts, his parents had kicked him out of the house. He then drank Monkey Wine, which led him to collapse by the roadside, nearly frozen to death.

Since the villager had saved him, he had always wanted to repay this kindness, which was why he had been helping with the household chores.

As for the ending of the story... the villager, unable to find a wife, and the homeless fox fairy, simply became roommates.

The fox fairy was quite cultivated and taught the villager some knowledge on appraising antiques and calligraphy. Over time, the villager also became a Treasure Appraiser. He accumulated wealth, moved into a large house, found a wife, and lived a happy and healthy life.

In his later years, he frequently enjoyed chess and tea with his still-young fox fairy friend who came to visit.

This story only began to circulate locally long after the villager’s death and eventually became known to the garrison.

It sounded lovely, but in the eyes of the garrison, it was simply unacceptable. Demons with human intelligence were extremely dangerous and needed to be suppressed immediately. Furthermore, demons with human intelligence who could also assume human form were an even less tolerable existence.

According to the garrison, the villager in the story should have reported it at once. The local garrison would then have arrived promptly to imprison the fox fairy. They would have tortured him to extract the locations of other demons and then bestowed upon the villager a banner of honor and a reward of fifty strings of coins.

Regarding this, Li Ang could only think, A very good story, full of educational significance. League of Heroes, love from Yu Country.

The Alien Study curriculum was rich and entertaining, and the original Hundred Beasts Studies also underwent many changes.

Beyond regular classes, students could also visit the pasture behind the Academic Palace (forbidden to students below third grade) to observe a variety of captive Exotic Beasts up close.

Not all Exotic Beasts were harmful to humans; some species could be utilized by mankind. For example, horse-like demon beasts could be bred with ordinary warhorses to produce steeds capable of carrying Heavy Riders. Cattle-type demon beasts could be crossbred with ordinary cattle to produce new breeds of beef cattle capable of rapid growth and meat development.

However, due to the presence of Taihao Mountain, the breeding of these new species had to be carried out with extreme caution. Sometimes, it required decades of long-term observation to ensure that the demon beast bloodline would not cause profound negative side effects. After all, it would be quite a joke if people consumed beef with traces of a demon bloodline and, generations later, their lineage became tainted, turning everyone into minotaurs.

In any case, some students developed a keen interest in Exotic Beast husbandry. Li Ang suspected they wanted to play something akin to Farm Story. More students, however, preferred the fierce, robust, and highly aggressive demon beasts.

For instance, there was the Deep Mountain Ghost Shovel. This large beetle had a wingspan wider than a human arm, and its body glimmered with a metallic sheen. The upper jaw on the front section of its body could snap shut powerfully, crushing steel as easily as tofu. Moreover, they were social creatures, appearing in groups of hundreds or even thousands.

The Condor Horse, somewhat resembling a creature from his memories of the Otherworld known as ’Nineteen’.

The Eight-faced Centipede was a massive, fifteen-meter-long centipede. Its back shell resembled twisted human faces, and it had a scorpion-like poisonous stinger on its tail. If this stinger penetrated human skin, even an Innate Martial Artist would perish on the spot.

Additionally, there were Armored Bears. These creatures were five meters long, their backs covered with sturdy scales, and they possessed a second pair of arms under their ribs. Their claws grew longer and sharper with age.

Howling Birds were capable of remembering every sound they had ever heard, which they used to scare away potential predators.

Each Exotic Beast possessed unique and strange living habits, which were, in some ways, quite alluring. However, because human settlements had continuously expanded over thousands of years, these Exotic Beasts had been driven into uninhabited deep forests or forbidden lands, remaining unknown to common folk.

Among them was an endangered species known as the Rhinoceros Mountain Tree.

At first glance, it looked no different from an ordinary banyan tree. However, if one touched the trunk while thinking of a specific beverage, the banyan’s drooping aerial roots would begin to drip with the desired beverage. This included cow’s milk, goat’s milk, various fruit juices, famous teas, alcoholic drinks, and even hot or cold beverages.

Li Ang secretly experimented and was amazed to discover that it could perfectly reproduce even coffee, cola, sparkling water, and milk tea.

Moved almost to tears, Li Ang immediately made an excuse. As you know, I am a professional Doctor, and I intend to develop a new medicine using the Rhinoceros Mountain Tree. He then ran to his temporary residence in the back mountains, gathered several bottles and jars, filled them with cola, and chilled them, preparing to take them home for Chai Chai to try.

Hmm... Chai Chai is already studying at the Academic Palace, so I don’t need to go home. I’ll just take it directly to her classroom later.

As for whether it’s Pepsi or Coca-Cola... one of them must be toilet cleaner!

After all the students had left the back mountains and returned to the classroom, Dr. Zhang Liang, who taught Hundred Beasts Studies, stood on the podium. He announced in a loud voice, "Today’s homework is to select one of the Exotic Beasts you saw today that interests you. Go back, research it, and write an article on the topic: ’Assuming you know nothing about this Exotic Beast and encounter it in the wild, how would you probe and study it?’"

"Furthermore," he continued, "I can give you a preview of this month’s Hundred Beasts Studies term paper. The main topic will be ’Dragon.’"

Upon hearing this, the students who were packing their bags paused for a moment.

Yang Yu hesitated and raised his hand to ask, "Doctor, wasn’t it stated in our first-year Hundred Beasts Studies textbook that Dragons don’t actually exist in the world?"