The apocalypse struck, and I became a druid.

Page 17

Han Ning frowned. The ferocity of the baby crocodile lizard far exceeded that of ordinary animal cubs, as if killing and destruction were instincts etched deep into its genes.

"Let's try to see if we can sign an animal companion contract first."

He saw in the skill description on the panel that after forming a contract with an animal, the target would obey the contractor's commands.

If it can't be controlled, then it will be destroyed.

Han Ning recalled his knowledge about animal companions, pressed down on the baby crocodile lizard with one hand, and a faint green light overflowed from his fingertips, gathering into a shimmering pattern.

Just as the energy was trying to penetrate the cub's body and establish a preliminary mental connection.

A chilling, destructive thought surged back through the mental connection.

This thought was very faint, yet it carried a terrifyingly pure malice, as if it wanted to devour everything.

"this is……"

Han Ning's expression immediately turned serious.

He quickly increased his spiritual energy output, and the emerald light suddenly became bright, forcibly suppressing the backlash of destructive intent.

Suddenly, his spiritual power entered the brain of the baby crocodile lizard and he inexplicably "saw" a scene.

Deep within the relatively simple brain structure of the crocodile lizard cub, lingers a faint, eerie aura, like black smoke.

"This thing doesn't seem to be something it was born with; it's more like a pollution or a curse?"

"Could it be the aura of the Black Tide?!"

Han Ning recalled words like "erosion tide" and "madness" from the indigenous information.

It is very likely that the effects of the Kuroshio torrential rains seeped into the bodies of these otherworldly creatures.

"Let's see if we can dispel it."

Han Ning tried to mobilize almost all the spiritual power in his body and slowly poured it into the cub's body, aiming directly at the wisp of destructive black energy that was entrenched in its brain.

The druid's energy represents the vitality and order of nature, which is incompatible with that pure aura of destruction.

When the dark energy encounters the druid's vibrant energy, it's like ice water being poured onto a hot iron block.

Under Han Ning's spiritual power suppression, it charged left and right, trying to resist.

However, this wisp of black energy was too weak, like water without a source, and it quickly dissipated after being washed away by Han Ning's spiritual power.

As the black energy was suppressed, Han Ning clearly felt the changes in his cubs.

Its struggles suddenly weakened, and the threatening hiss in its throat turned into a confused gurgling sound.

The fierce glint in his yellow vertical pupils vanished, replaced by a bewildered look, like that of a naive young animal.

Well... as clueless as he may be, as confused as he may be, this little guy is simply not cut out for cuteness.

"Hiss?"

It stuck out its forked tongue and tentatively licked Han Ning's hand, which was covered in sweat from nervousness.

"good……"

Han Ning rubbed its sticky head and continued the contract ritual.

What I did just now was to dispel the negative energy in the baby crocodile lizard's brain; now we are officially beginning to form a contract.

[You are extending an invitation to an 'unknown creature' to form a soul partnership contract. Awaiting their reply.] A line of illusory text flashes below the panel.

The cub seemed to sense this friendly energy; it tilted its head, a hint of hesitation in its vertical pupils.

Without the frenzied interference of the destructive black energy, its remaining instincts made it feel a strong affinity for this vibrant energy.

Chapter 18: Recruited as a Protector

Han Ning continued to release his spiritual power, gently stroking its cold head and back.

"Little guy, come with me, and you'll have meat to eat and won't go hungry anymore."

Han Ning whispered enticingly. He remembered that there were some dried fish in his backpack, so he took out a small piece and put it to the cub's mouth.

call out!

The little crocodile lizard's tongue flashed out, snatched the dried fish, chewed it a few times, and swallowed it.

The allure of the food completely eliminated its last hesitation.

The unknown creature thinks you're alright and agrees to enter into a contract.

[Congratulations on successfully completing the contract and unlocking your Soul Partner - Mutant Swamp Crocodile Lizard]

"Hiss...woo!"

The baby crocodile lizard let out a hiss that was difficult to decipher.

At the same time, Han Ning clearly felt that a simple silhouette of a crocodile lizard head quietly appeared below his Druid class panel.

The moment the mark was created, a strange sense of familiarity arose between Han Ning and the little crocodile lizard.

Han Ning could not only vaguely sense the baby crocodile lizard's vital signs and simple emotional fluctuations, but also felt a strange life energy flowing from the baby crocodile lizard's body into his own through this invisible bond.

This energy was very weak, but it was slowly nourishing his overdrawn body and spirit.

[Benefiting from your animal companion attribute, your physical attributes have been slightly enhanced.]

Immediately afterwards, information about his new partner flooded into Han Ning's mind:

Name: (To be named)

Race: Swamp Crocodile Lizard

Gender: male

Rating: 1

Skills: Bite

As the contract was successfully concluded, the little crocodile lizard on the ground also underwent some subtle changes.

The scales, which were originally somewhat dull, became more lustrous, and the body size also quietly increased a little.

Its gaze toward Han Ning was filled with dependence and pure obedience.

"Hiss..." The little crocodile lizard rubbed its head against Han Ning's leg, just like a cub naturally close to its mother.

"Now that we've signed the contract, it's time to give you a name..."

Han Ning crouched down, touched the little crocodile lizard's back covered with tiny bone spurs, and murmured to himself:

“You look like a Yangtze alligator and are covered in white scales... so let’s call you ‘Snow Biscuit’.”

The reason he chose this name was because the appearance of the little crocodile lizard reminded him of a video he saw before his transmigration of a Yangtze alligator biting a Want Want rice cracker.

As for names, as long as they are easy to pronounce, that's fine.

"Hiss!" The newborn crocodile lizard probably doesn't understand what he's saying.

However, in an attempt to please its owner, it happily wagged its tail, nearly knocking over a plastic basin under the sink.

After hopping around in the small bathroom a few times, Xuebing suddenly rushed to Han Ning's feet, stretched out its paws to wrap around his thigh, and stared at Han Ning with its bright yellow eyes.

stare……

"Hiss..." Xuebing let out another short cry, its forked tongue rapidly extending and retracting, its eyes closely following Han Ning's hand.

"hungry?"

Han Ning immediately understood its meaning.

This little thing had just been cut out of its mother's womb and had been jostled around in the backpack the whole way, consuming a huge amount of energy.

Newborns are in a period where they need energy every moment.

It's foreseeable that raising this little guy to the size of its mother will require a lot of food.

He rummaged through the backpack he had taken with him when he went out.

Take out the meat that you just cut off the little crocodile lizard and put it in front of Xuebing.

“Sniff~Sniff~”

Xuebing put its nose to the flesh and blood, sniffed twice, then turned its head away and made two meaningless calls to Han Ning.

An emotional message, whose specific emotion was unclear, arrived.

There was disdain, doubt, and even more resistance; it was very complicated.

"It won't eat? Does it not eat the flesh of its own kind, or is there negative energy from the Black Tide in the flesh that it doesn't want to eat?"

Han Ning had a guess in his mind.

However, he was only using this little bit of meat for experiments.

Seeing that Xuebing wouldn't eat, he took out a compressed biscuit, broke off a small piece, and tentatively offered it to Xuebing's mouth.

Xuebing's tongue flashed out like lightning, precisely sticking to the cookie crumbs. With a "crunch," it swallowed them almost without chewing, then continued to stare longingly at Han Ning's hand.

"So fast?" Han Ning raised an eyebrow and broke off a slightly larger piece, handing it over.

The same scene played out again; the cookie vanished instantly.

Han Ning simply threw the remaining half-pack of compressed biscuits to it.

Xuebing lowered its head, and its mouth, filled with tiny, sharp teeth, opened and closed a few times. With a few crisp "crunch crunch" sounds, it easily crushed pieces of compressed biscuits that were as hard as stones, and swallowed them all within a minute.

"Hiss!" Snowcake was clearly not full. It raised its head again, letting out a more urgent low growl from its throat. Its short tail swept back and forth on the ground, scraping against the tiles with a soft sound.

"Quite an appetite," Han Ning exclaimed in surprise.

Compressed biscuits have a high energy density; half a biscuit can sustain an average person for half a day, let alone half a pack of these little things, which is as good as not eating anything at all.

"Come on, let's go to the living room."

Han Ning turned and walked out of the bathroom.

Snowcake followed along, babbling like a puppy.

Han Ning took a bunch of food from where the food was stored and placed it in front of Xuebing.

"Ooooooo~"