Imperial Capital.
Half a year ago, in response to the sudden appearance of monsters—and also to study these miraculous creatures—the government took the lead in establishing a special department that gathered elite talents from all walks of life: the Monster Research and Countermeasures Bureau.
Since the bureau's creation, all monster-related incidents and information from across the nation—and even the world—had ultimately been funneled here for experts to study, analyze, and formulate corresponding response strategies.
However, when faced with these entirely new, almost mythical beings, even top-tier biologists found themselves at a loss.
"This doesn't make sense… how exactly is it able to spew such extremely high-temperature flames from its body?"
In a noisy office, a young man wearing black-rimmed glasses stared at a monster anatomy diagram on his screen, lost in thought.
Just then, another young man in a white lab coat walked over and placed a file on the desk of the bespectacled youth.
"Chengliang, still thinking about those unreasonable supernatural abilities?"
"Mm."
The young man called Chengliang adjusted his glasses, continued scrutinizing the screen, and asked without turning his head,
"How did the meeting go?"
"How else could it go? Asking about the latest countermeasures, of course. Here—this file on your desk is the next key research target."
The man in the lab coat sat down at the neighboring desk, a trace of worry appearing on his face.
"I heard something during the meeting. Some of the marine monsters along the southern coast have been extremely restless lately. If this keeps up, I'm afraid another major conflict is going to break out."
Hu Chengliang didn't reply.
As friction between monsters and humans continued to intensify, the outbreak of war was only a matter of time.
"What about the professor? What did he say?"
"Him?"
The man in the lab coat sighed helplessly.
"The old man's still sticking to his original viewpoint—that there's no need for humans and monsters to reach a you-die-or-I-die situation. Every incident has its cause. First investigate and analyze, find out why the monsters are agitated, then prescribe the right remedy."
"As usual, he ended up having a huge argument at the meeting with the guys on the other side."
"As expected…"
Hu Chengliang let out a soft sigh.
Even though he hadn't attended the meeting this time, he could already imagine the chaotic, marketplace-like scene from his friend's description.
Feigning illness to skip the meeting really had been the right choice.
"By the way, why didn't the professor come back with you?"
Hu Chengliang finally turned around.
The man in the lab coat shrugged.
"He was furious. Said he was going out to get some fresh air and calm down."
Hu Chengliang shook his head helplessly.
No matter how erudite or educated they were, once people got old, they sometimes got angry like children.
Stretching lazily, he looked out the window at the vast blue sky.
"Almost half a year already…"
Hu Chengliang's teacher, Professor Zhou, had originally been a senior professor at the School of Life Sciences at Imperial Capital University. After the monster invasion, he had been transferred to the Monster Research and Countermeasures Bureau—bringing along several of his favored disciples, including Chengliang.
When it came to monsters, Professor Zhou held a view quite different from most people.
According to him, after reviewing the majority of case files involving monsters harming humans, he discovered that most tragedies could actually have been proactively avoided.
For instance, in a previously reported rat-monster killing incident, it was the human involved who had attacked the monster first, provoking its retaliation and ultimately leading to the person's death.
If the person had merely driven the rat monster away instead of initiating an attack, the outcome might not have turned out that way.
Moreover, in many cases where monsters harmed humans, careful analysis revealed that humans often bore at least part of the responsibility for instigating the conflict.
Thus, Professor Zhou proposed a viewpoint:
Set aside prejudice—humans and monsters might be able to coexist.
The moment this idea was raised, it sparked considerable opposition within the Monster Research and Countermeasures Bureau.
Hu Chengliang didn't find that surprising.
Thinking it through carefully, his teacher's view was somewhat idealistic.
Research on monsters had yet to yield any decisive results. Many conclusions were still based on unverified hypotheses. Under such circumstances, who could say with certainty that humans were always the ones provoking the monsters?
Coupled with the fact that human prejudice against monsters had only grown stronger since their arrival, it was undoubtedly difficult to change ingrained perceptions at this stage.
Of course—
There was one thought Hu Chengliang had never shared with anyone, quietly burying it deep in his heart.
Before monsters appeared, humans—self-proclaimed lords of all creation—had undoubtedly ruled this planet. But after monsters descended, beings with extraordinary powers who seized vast lands and even oceans, how could humans possibly remain calm?
A sense of crisis wasn't unique to animals. Humans had it too.
Just as Hu Chengliang was feeling lost about what the future might become, his friend beside him suddenly nudged his arm.
"Holy crap, Chengliang—come look at this. This guy seriously has no fear of death."
Hu Chengliang turned to look. On his friend's phone was an image of a handsome young man smiling as he held out an apple to a small, yellow-skinned monster.
Seeing that monster, Hu Chengliang frowned slightly.
"A small electric rodent?"
"Yeah, probably,"
The man in the lab coat nodded.
"I heard people in the group saying this guy's out in the wild livestreaming while 'popularizing' monster knowledge. It's ridiculous. We haven't even figured monsters out ourselves yet, and now some amateur scientist is jumping out claiming he can popularize them."
"People these days—willing to risk their lives just for fame."
"Popularizing monsters?"
Hu Chengliang laughed.
Even without thinking, he knew it had to be nonsense.
"Did anyone call the police? The wilderness is extremely dangerous right now. Wouldn't want an accident to happen during a livestream."
"No idea. But there will always be people who think they're immortal. You can't stop them."
"Sigh… that's true. Fine. Send me the livestream link. I want to see what's really going on."
After getting the link from his friend, Hu Chengliang opened the livestream.
He turned off the dense barrage of comments.
What appeared before his eyes was a scene he had never seen before.
Lush greenery in the wild. Warm March sunlight bathed a small pavilion at the center. Under the radiant glow overhead, a gentle-looking young man focused intently on eating hotpot in front of him.
And on the wooden bench behind him, a small, adorable Pichu hugged a bottle of ketchup and licked it lightly, its expression utterly intoxicated.