Chapter 17: First Evolution, Agumon!

"Boom, boom, boom!"

A series of hurried, heavy footsteps echoed through the clearing. Looking toward the sound, Chu Xu saw his mother, the Dragon Mother, rushing toward his position. Having seen her eldest son chasing prey for so long without returning, she had grown worried and come to check on him. Longyue and Liuxing followed close behind.

Upon arriving at the scene, they were greeted by the sight of the sub-adult Thescelosaurus carcass, alongside the bodies of five Stygimolochs strewn about. Chu Xu had just finished stacking the five Stygimoloch corpses together. His body was inadvertently smeared with fresh blood, and standing amidst these five mangled, grotesque carcasses, his presence was visually striking, causing the Dragon Mother, Longyue, and Liuxing to widen their eyes in shock.

"Roar..."

Driven by her deep maternal affection, the Dragon Mother approached Chu Xu and lowered her massive head to inspect him for injuries. While she viewed the Stygimolochs as nothing more than helpless chicks, they were lethal executioners to a juvenile Tyrannosaurus—let alone five of them at once. Though she could not speak, Chu Xu felt the sincerity of her worry and concern. He rubbed his head against hers to reassure her that he was unharmed. Only after confirming he was unscathed did the heavy weight lift from the Dragon Mother’s heart.

Longyue and Liuxing, who had followed behind, did not realize the danger their brother had faced. They only saw the abundance of fresh food on the ground and began to drool with gluttonous delight. With so much to eat, Chu Xu did not hold back, and they began to feast together.

Chu Xu tried a piece of the Stygimoloch meat, but found it disappointing. Not only was it covered in feathers, but there was little meat to be had. The texture was overly tough, sour, and greasy—likely due to high cholesterol and fatty acids—making it far inferior to the Thescelosaurus meat in both flavor and nutrition. Furthermore, as a carnivorous dinosaur, the Stygimoloch accumulated excessive toxins through the food chain’s biological magnification. Unless food was scarce, carnivorous dinosaurs generally avoided eating their own kind, preferring herbivores.

Once they had eaten their fill, the family headed home. The Dragon Mother carried the adult Thescelosaurus, Chu Xu carried the sub-adult, and he made the freeloading Longyue and Liuxing carry one Stygimoloch each. After all, there was no guarantee that the next hunt would be as successful as today’s, and hoarding extra supplies was always a wise choice.

That night, the bright moon climbed to the center of the sky. The scales of fish darting through the river reflected the moonlight, causing the entire surface of the water to ripple with a ghostly, cold luminescence.

By nightfall, most medium and large dinosaurs had settled down to rest, leaving only small nocturnal dinosaurs and mammals to scuttle through the forest, using their keen night vision to hunt for insects and lizards. Not far away, the Dragon Mother, Longyue, and Liuxing were already asleep. Chu Xu quietly moved to the riverbank, ensuring his activities would not disturb them.

He opened his system’s attribute panel, where the evolution points had accumulated to over 120.

"Begin evolution!"

With a thought, Chu Xu spent 100 evolution points and eagerly initiated his first transformation. At this moment, it would have been fitting to have a soundtrack like "Brave Heart" playing, accompanied by his signature spinning-in-place animation.

[100 evolution points spent, evolution officially beginning...]

As the system prompt sounded, Chu Xu felt his body transform into a volcano on the verge of erupting. It felt as if scorching, molten lava were flooding his limbs, bones, and internal organs, bringing with it immense pain.

"Roar..."

Chu Xu gritted his teeth, letting out an irrepressible, low growl from the depths of his throat as his body shook violently. Cells proliferated and divided, while muscles and bones tore and stretched. In a short span of time, his body underwent significant changes.

His massive reptilian frame expanded like a sponge soaking up water. From his head and neck to his shoulders, back, limbs, and tail, everything grew. Once he stabilized, his body length exceeded 2.5 meters, his height at the head reached 1.2 meters, and his weight had more than doubled, soaring to seven or eight hundred pounds. The fine down covering his body faded, replaced by sturdy, hardened scales and muscular, iron-cast-like physique that radiated a formidable, oppressive aura.

Most notably, his short forelimbs had lengthened and evolved from two fingers to three—a true rebirth. They were now over half a meter long, and his already sharp claws had become even more lethal, curved like sickles with outer arcs exceeding 10 centimeters. The horny outer layer shimmered with a metallic luster, like blades freshly sharpened on a whetstone.

Even the sharp teeth lining his blood-red gums had transformed. Their banana-shaped forms had grown larger, their roots wider, and the serrations along their edges denser. They were like sharp, hooked barbs; when they pierced muscle, the barbs would lock into the fibers, holding them fast like a terrifying meat grinder.

However, the most surprising change for Chu Xu occurred within his internal organs. A roaring flame seemed to ignite within him, rushing from his lungs up to his throat, desperate to be released!

"Hoo—!!"

In the next second, Chu Xu suddenly opened his jaws, and a fireball the size of a basketball erupted from his throat! The flame radiated intense heat, trailing a dazzling red tail before landing in a thicket on the riverbank, igniting it instantly. The brilliant light illuminated the entire surroundings.

Fire!

Chu Xu was pleasantly surprised; this was undoubtedly the Agumon ability, "Baby Flame."

The mastery of fire was an epoch-making milestone in the long history of biological evolution, a patent of ancient humans. Fire provided early humans with cooked food, light, and warmth, significantly accelerating their evolution. The ability to create fire marked the moment humans gained the power to alter the material world, leading to a major leap in human civilization and providing them the leverage to face the massive, ferocious wild animals of their time.

But that was still tens of millions of years away. In the Late Cretaceous period, mammals were only just beginning to emerge; ancient humans were not even a shadow on the horizon. Chu Xu found it hard to imagine the sheer, overwhelming "dimension-reduction" strike he would inflict upon these prehistoric creatures once he mastered the use of fire. It was truly terrifying!

After some time, Chu Xu’s first evolution drew to a close, and everything finally settled.

"Open my attribute panel."

A stream of refreshed data appeared before his eyes:

[Name]: Chu Xu
[Age]: 6 months
[Race]: Agumon (Male)
[Growth Stage]: Child
[Four-Dimensional Attributes]: Strength 150, Agility 150, Constitution 170, Spirit 160
[Evolution Points]: 22
[Skills]: Sharp Claws, Pepper Breath, Slam, Dash
[Ultimate Move]: Baby Flame
[Achievements]: Tyrant’s Potential (Junior), Psychic Perception (Junior), Fluid Armor (Junior)
[Next Evolution Form]: Greymon