I Contracted Myself

Zhang Ping, as a mature adult, naturally wouldn't react with shock and panic in such a situation.

He calmly entered the teaching building and found the faculty office. However, when he saw one of the teachers inside was also a fox wearing human skin, he walked past the office without seeking help, his expression unchanged.

Teachers might not be reliable either.

These foxes were clearly Mutated Beasts, and their combat strength was still an unknown factor.

If he exposed them and these Mutated Beasts decided to go on a rampage in the school, and if the teachers couldn't be trusted, he would be doomed.

Moreover, he had no evidence; mere words wouldn't suffice.

If the teachers didn't believe him, it might alert the foxes and put him in danger.

"What a surprise!"

Zhang Ping entered the restroom, feeling a bit conflicted. After standing there for a while, he came out and headed towards the classroom.

This was troublesome.

If there were two Mutated Beasts lurking in the school, could there be more in the entire city?

Thinking even worse, who was really in control of this city?

Zhang Ping lay on his desk, squinting through a narrow slit in his eyes, looking at the scenery outside the window. He thought, "It seems there are still many aspects of my abilities that I don't understand."

The human skins worn by the two Mutated Beasts were quite old, indicating they had been lurking in the school for a long time.

But before swallowing the Greed Gem, he, like most of his classmates, had no idea that Luo Shiyu and that unknown teacher were Mutated Beasts.

So, this change must have originated from the Greed Gem he swallowed.

Zhang Ping opened his hand and quickly condensed a Greed Gem. He squinted at it for a moment before putting it in his mouth and swallowing it.

After all, there was no rule that one could only eat one Greed Gem. Since the changes started after he ate one yesterday, what would happen if he ate another?

After swallowing the gem, Zhang Ping felt a sudden enlightenment, as if he had been sublimated.

***

A few minutes later, he opened his eyes, feeling that the whole world had become brighter and more vibrant.

He looked at a desk not far away and keenly smelled a hint of blood. Then, his eyes naturally revealed a horrifying scene: the teacher was passionately lecturing at the podium, while a giant fox was standing in the classroom, gnawing on a student's head. Neither the teacher nor the students seemed to notice.

[Appraisal Successful]

[Blood-Stained Desk: Once, a diligent and excellent student was murdered by a Mutated Beast without anyone noticing. This blood-stained desk faithfully recorded everything.]

Two lines of text suddenly appeared before Zhang Ping's eyes, and he was slightly stunned. He immediately looked at the other desks but didn't trigger the same inexplicable ability.

He thought for a moment and looked down at himself. After staring for about a minute, lines of text began to appear before his eyes.

[Appraisal Successful]

[Summoned Beast: Zhang Ping]

[Master: Zhang Ping]

[Race: Human]

[Potential: ☆☆​​​​​​​☆​​​​​​​]

[Lifespan: 89]

[Talent]

[Contract Gem: Can consume stamina and mental strength to condense a Contract Gem. Once the target voluntarily accepts the Contract Gem, their life, soul, and consciousness will be dominated by the Summoner. They will also receive the Summoner's potential and luck bonuses. After the first consumption, subsequent consumptions will slightly enhance their potential, with a 1% chance of awakening a new talent. Note: The talents obtained by Summoner Zhang Ping through the overuse of IQ, potential, and luck are powerful but have significant drawbacks. Overambition seems unwise.]

[Absolute Command: You have absolute control over your Summoned Beast. Your orders cannot be disobeyed by the Summoned Beast.]

[Absolute Obedience: You must absolutely obey the Summoner's orders and will execute them loyally.]

[Unstable Appraisal Skill: Can appraise targets with a very low probability of obtaining their information. The smaller the power gap between the two parties, the higher the success rate. Note: This talent ability was born from the curiosity of Summoned Beast Zhang Ping and Summoner Zhang Ping.]

It really worked!

Zhang Ping's eyes lit up. He didn't expect to actually appraise the information.

But when he saw that the Summoned Beast was himself and the Summoner was also himself, he couldn't help but laugh wryly.

Does this mean he's both his own father and son?

Fortunately, this brought a new benefit: he had absolute control over his own consciousness, meaning no other creatures could influence his subjective awareness.

Next, he carefully reviewed all the appraised information. Even though he was usually as calm as an old dog, he couldn't help but smile slightly at this moment.

It turned out his ability wasn't called the Greed Gem but the Contract Gem.

The power of the Contract Gem was far beyond his imagination.

Awakening new talents essentially meant awakening a second, third, or even fourth superpower, which equated to infinite possibilities.

Generally, each person only had one ability.

Although this ability could become stronger with practice and its application could broaden, it was still just one ability.

But the Contract Gem could continuously enhance the potential of the Summoned Beast and even trigger new abilities, which was terrifying.

After understanding his own information, Zhang Ping felt more confident.

Now, he needed to survive. As long as he lived, there was hope.

However, this didn't mean he would do nothing. First, he had to figure out the true situation of this city. He didn't need to know everything, but at least he needed to know whether Mingzhu City was controlled by humans or Mutated Beasts.

He didn't want his desk to become a blood-stained desk.

***

Noon.

After class, Zhang Ping quickly ate lunch and left the school.

He had already thought of an excuse during class and planned to go to the Patrol Guard to find Su Jingyao and see how many Mutated Beasts were in the city.

Walking on the street, he soon saw a humanoid fox in a cold weapons shop, eating a human arm while crossing its legs and reading a newspaper. To others, it might just look like an ordinary middle-aged man eating chicken claws and reading a newspaper.

[Appraisal Successful]

[Mutated Beast: Tianchang Fox]

[Race: Mutated Fox]

[Potential: Unknown]

[Lifespan: Unknown]

[Talent: Cognitive Distortion: Can distort the cognition of other creatures, modifying their perception.]

[Defiance of Common Sense: When performing actions that defy common sense, can forcefully make the target unable to perceive the anomaly.]

Zhang Ping continued walking without stopping.

After reading the appraisal results, he immediately realized that the Tianchang Fox might have infiltrated the entire Mingzhu City.

Fortunately, he hadn't rashly reported it; otherwise, he would have been the one to die, not the Tianchang Fox.

As he continued, he discovered many Tianchang Foxes. These foxes walked openly on the streets, conversing with people, and even haggling and arguing with each other.

They were intelligent, no less than humans!

***

Two hours later, he arrived at the Patrol Guard headquarters. He walked to the information desk and asked, "Excuse me, I'm looking for someone."

"Hello, who are you looking for?" A Tianchang Fox with a raspy voice asked from behind the counter.

Zhang Ping, without changing his expression, said, "Su Jingyao. She should have reported here today."

"Let me check." The Tianchang Fox nodded and then looked through the records.

After a moment, it looked at Zhang Ping and said, "Su Jingyao is still at the headquarters. Do you need me to notify her?"

"Yes, please." Zhang Ping nodded.

[Appraisal Successful]

[Mutated Beast: Tianchang Fox]

[Race: Mutated Fox]

[Potential: Unknown]

[Lifespan: Unknown]

[Talent: Cognitive Distortion: Can distort the cognition of other creatures, modifying their perception.]

[Defiance of Common Sense: When performing actions that defy common sense, can forcefully make the target unable to perceive the anomaly.]

[Unexplained Trust: Most creatures will instinctively trust you.]

This Tianchang Fox had stronger attributes than the previous ones!

Most humans only had one talent ability, but Mutated Beasts often had two or more, with three not being uncommon. This was the fundamental reason humans could only cower in cities; Mutated Beasts were far stronger.

In this world, if humans didn't have intelligence, the ability to cooperate, and the use of tools, they would be at the bottom of the food chain.

After a moment, Zhang Ping heard footsteps and looked up, gradually revealing a smile.

Two Tianchang Foxes approached, one of them wearing Su Jingyao's human skin on its forehead, blood dripping and looking extremely terrifying.

"Zhang Ping, why are you looking for me?" The Tianchang Fox asked in a raspy voice as it approached Zhang Ping.

Zhang Ping smiled and said, "I was worried you wouldn't adapt to the Patrol Guard. How do you feel? If you can't handle it, you might as well come farming with me."

"Who wants to farm with you? I can only get stronger in the Patrol Guard, and then I can go out and kill Mutated Beasts to avenge my parents!" The Tianchang Fox replied irritably.

Zhang Ping sighed, "Alright, it seems you're adapting well. That puts my mind at ease."

"Are you really going to farm?" The Tianchang Fox asked.

Zhang Ping shrugged helplessly, "What can I do? My awakened ability is useless. See you next time, which might be a long time from now."

"Okay, see you next time." The Tianchang Fox nodded and then turned to leave.

Zhang Ping calmly walked out of the Patrol Guard headquarters, looked up at the blue sky, and sighed deeply, looking like a heartbroken man.

Next, he entered a nearby restaurant.

This restaurant had a good view of the Patrol Guard headquarters' entrance. He ordered a cup of tea and sat by the window.

Courage doesn't mean recklessness, and anger doesn't justify indulgence. Zhang Ping was a member of the Rescue Team in his previous life, so although he was burning with anger, the angrier he got, the calmer he became.

After an afternoon of observation, he gathered the information he needed and returned to the school.

There wasn't a single living human in the entire Patrol Guard; they were all Tianchang Foxes.

This was the conclusion he reached after observing for an afternoon. It meant that anyone who joined the Patrol Guard was essentially sentenced to death.

The Patrol Guard had been completely taken over by the Tianchang Foxes. To them, Mingzhu City had become an unguarded hunting ground, and all the people were their livestock.

No wonder there were Tianchang Foxes even in the school; Mingzhu City had long since fallen.