6 South African Armadillo Lizard

"The winning numbers of this draw are 03, 06, 18, 23, 25, 27, and the last number, 08... I repeat, 03, 06..."

Listening to the sweet voice on the radio, Shao Zifeng looked at the numbers again in disbelief.

He could not help but sigh.

It was as expected.

While the main direction of him winning the jackpot had not changed, the winning number had changed by one digit. With just such a small change in number, the original seven-digit prize instantly turned into a four-digit one.

Shao Zifeng put the ticket down, feeling a little dejected. Even though he was psychologically prepared, it was inevitable that he would be disappointed.

Yeah...

If he looked at the bright side, he still won 3,000 yuan, and it was enough to feed him for two months.

A new life with a two-month living allowance...

How sweet.

After he finished his mental construction, Shao Zifeng prepared to check on the few lizards that he did not check the day before.

Perhaps there would be some surprises waiting for him.

Name: Green iguana (juvenile)

...

Family: Iguanidae

...

Description: Whether it can survive in the wild is a question.

After he put the green iguana back into its acrylic drawer and labeled it as a loser, Shao Zifeng turned his head to look at the next one.

Name: Leopard gecko

...

Once he placed the last lizard back into the drawer, Shao Zifeng sighed helplessly.

Come to think of it, these were all animals that no one wanted, and it would be weird if there was one with a high aptitude.

Among the dozens of reptiles in the snake cabinet, only the Daboia viper, which hatched from the egg could be regarded as a mutant creature in the truest of sense.

Thinking of that, Shao Zifeng glanced calmly at Daboia Viper before he turned his head away with some guilty conscience.

It would be nice if it was sold. His kidney was still traumatized by it.

Hmm?

Right then, Shao Zifeng accidentally swept his gaze past the fish tank, and only then did he remember that he had not appraised one money-sucker.

Not only had he not appraised it, but he had even forgotten to feed it.

Maybe Shao Zifeng was fed up with enduring the lag all night long, so he was not in a hurry to appraise it.

He took out the plastic box, a pair of tweezers, a small brush, and a towel from the snake cabinet. Then he proceeded to sit on the floor in front of the fish tank.

Seeing Shao Zifeng's arrival, the South African armadillo lizard inside the tank took a few steps back in fear.

"Little guy, come over here. Let's get rid of those excess scales." As he said that, he reached out to catch the little guy in the fish tank.

The South African armadillo lizard panicked even more and immediately opened its mouth and bit its tail as it curled into a ball.

Shao Zifeng's hands froze as he went into a trance. His memories floated far away, and it felt like he was seeing a young man curled up on the ground holding his head.

Shaking his head to dispel those memories, Shao Zifeng sighed.

His face gradually softened, and he gently picked up the ball before he gently brushed its scales with a small brush. "You little heartless bugger, I've kept you and fed you, yet you're still afraid of me..."

The armadillo lizard lay on his warm palm and felt the comfortable sensation on its scales as it slowly unfolded itself.

It lifted his head up and looked at Shao Zifeng blankly with its big black eyes.

Before Shao Zifeng could say anything, the light blue screen suddenly appeared before him, and lines of dark blue text appeared on the screen.

Name: South African armadillo lizard

Growth: Infancy

Status: Healthy, hungry, atavistic bloodline

Strength: Level 1

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Reptile

Order: Squamata

Family: Cordylidae

Attribute: Fire

Potential: ★☆☆☆☆

Talent: Parch. The darling of the fire element, it faintly attracts the fire element around its body. It is able to affect a small area, and this talent will grow as it grows stronger.

Skills: Defense, Flame Breath

Description: There is a trace of dragon blood in its body, but unfortunately, it is so weak now that it is not windproof when used as a lighter.

Shao Zifeng's hand trembled, and he was shocked as he looked at the information on the screen.

A five-star aptitude...

It turned out to be a mutant creature with a five-star aptitude, and it also underwent the legendary atavistic evolution.

Although he did not know if there was a higher aptitude than five stars, after he had been appraising for the past two days, he knew how low the chances were of finding a mutant creature with a high aptitude.

There were dozens of reptiles in the snake cabinet, and only one three-star Daboia viper had appeared.

Even if there was interference caused by artificial cultivation, the odds were just too damn low.

In addition, through the memories he had, Shao Zifeng knew that the armadillo lizard's most valuable part was not its aptitude, but rather its atavistic evolution.

It was atavistic evolution, yo.

Even a strong country like Daxia only had twelve cases of atavistic evolutions, and they were collectively referred to as the twelve national beasts.

Shao Zifeng looked at the South African armadillo lizard in his hand, and his expression was constantly changing.

The little guy seemed to be frightened again.

Σ(°△°|||)︴

It bit its tail and curled into a ball again.

Behind its long tail, a pair of black eyes looked warily at Shao Zifeng.

Seeing this, the memories down the deepest parts of Shao Zifeng's heart were triggered again. His head suddenly ached as if something was coming to the surface.

After he took a deep breath, Shao Zifeng endured the dizziness and forced a reluctant smile.

Yet, the little guy seemed to be more afraid, and it curled into a smaller ball. This time, even its eyes were covered by its long tail.

Shao Zifeng's smile froze on his face as he shook his head in hopes of sobering himself up a little.

He admitted that the moment he saw the little guy's aptitude, he was tempted.

An ambition that he never had before suddenly emerged, and he wanted to be a combat trainer.

However, thinking of his mother at home and his family composition, he hesitated.

His mother had given him everything throughout her life, and fearing that he would feel like he had been wronged, she had coldly rejected advice from her friends, as well as family, to remarry.

Against the students who bullied him, his mother had put aside her dignity as a teacher and screamed at them like a deranged woman.

Although the status of a combat trainer in this world was high, the risks they took were great as well.

He was afraid.

He was afraid that if anything happened, he would leave his mother behind all alone.

Not to mention, his father was a damned deserter whom he had never met before.

It was because of him that Shao Zifeng and his mother had been abused and humiliated...

"Aargh!"

While Shao Zifeng thought about that, a violent headache struck Shao Zifeng out of nowhere. He clutched his head with both hands as he panted and fell onto the ground.

Something seemed to be breaking the shackles that were deep in his heart as countless childhood memories materialized. Some were from this timeline, while others were from the previous timeline.

In the two memory paths, people with different faces did the same thing to him. They wantonly mocked, insulted, beat, and made a fool of him.

The memories slowly merged, and Shao Zifeng lost consciousness.

...

"A son of a coward is also a coward. Get up."

A thin boy was pushed out of a corridor, and he fell into a puddle. The pouring rain instantly drenched him wet.

Krashh!!

A bolt of lightning flashed across the darkness and illuminated the skies alongside the young man's man.

He wore a smile on his pale face, and his wet hair clung to his forehead as rain flowed down the contours of his face like a waterfall.

His white shirt was stained with muddy water, but the stains were quickly washed away by the heavy rain.

The young man's smile seemed to anger the group of dark shadows in the corridor, and they became twisted like demons.

"He dares to laugh! Stone him to death!"

"Beat him to death!"

There was a huge clamor.

A sharp stone whizzed past the boy's forehead, and a scarlet drop fell on his white shirt together with the rain, leaving a faint trace.

It was like a signal to charge.

The group became more and more distorted as the dark shadows released a shrill laugh.

"Worthless! Your father is worthless, and so are you!"

Whoosh whoosh!

Pieces of gravel shot through the rain and landed on the boy. He curled his head into his hands, forming a ball while enduring the pain.

Despite everything, he still had that ugly smile on his face.

It was because mom had said that he needed to be an upstanding man.

A man was tough; he would bleed but he would not cry.

The ridicule and insults from the dark shadows reverberated in his ears, but they grew increasingly distant.

The wind, as well as rain, stopped, and at some point, all the sounds around him vanished.

The distorted and swollen shadows slowly merged together, spreading outwards in a frenzy as if trying to swallow everything in its path.

The young man knelt in the darkness as his shoulders shook from time to time. Crimson blood mixed with rainwater dripped from his hair onto the creeping darkness, creating a ripple.

"Don't you hate it?"

"Aren't you angry!"

"Unleash it then. Unleash all of the humiliation and anger within you!"

The tempting voices kept ringing in his ears as the young boy raised his head and stared blankly into the darkness before him. Then, he slowly stretched his thin and pale arms out.

...

Shao Zifeng lay on the ground, clutching his head as he curled up and let out a painful groan. With his body as the center, invisible waves of negative emotions rippled around.

The South African armadillo lizard lay on the ground, and with its black eyes, it looked at Shao Zifeng in confusion. The invisible ripples swept past it, and it seemed to be able to feel this person's pain. Soon, an impulse to destroy everything manifested in its heart.

The snakes inside the snake cabinet became restless and began to let out shrill, hissing noises.

No!

That's not true!

The South African armadillo lizard shook its head, feeling uneasy about the person's thoughts.

He's not like that! No!

In its simple consciousness, ever since it was born, this strange two-legged beast had been appearing in its world every day.

He would feed it, carry it in his arms, as well as use some strange object to rub and clean its scales. Its timid nature meant that it would curl itself into a ball every time, though.

Even so, it was really comfortable.

So, in its heart, Shao Zifeng was the most gentle person.

The invisible ripples became denser and denser. Following that, the eyes of the pets in the snake cabinet all turned red as they bashed themselves against the acrylic boards continuously.

The armadillo lizard was also affected.

But what it felt was the sensation of wanting to cry.

In the young lizard's eyes, the little fish tank and the room outside the tank were its whole world.

In this world, there was a two-footed beast that fed it daily and a group of footless beasts.

The little guy could not understand anything that was too complicated.

It did not understand what emotions were.

Yet, at that moment, it felt extremely uncomfortable, and mist filled its dark, black eyes.

The mist then condensed into water droplets and passed through the gaps in its scaly armor.

Drip!

After that, the water droplets evaporated and dissipated in the air. It was something the lizard had never felt before.

"How can you fall asleep without feeding me anything?"

The little guy suddenly raised its head and produced a juvenile squeak.

"Ekk ekk!!"

Buzz!

The invisible ripples abruptly stopped spreading and quickly retracted back into Shao Zifeng's body.