Next, Shi Yu and Director Li chatted for a few more sentences.
After exchanging contact information, he promptly took his leave.
After all, both Director Li and the senior with animal ears should be very busy, so Shi Yu didn’t want to disturb them any further.
"Senior, thank you very much."
After leaving the office building, Shi Yu thanked Senior Bai Xi.
"No problem."
Bai Xi stretched lazily.
Indeed, as a senior with animal ears who could tear apart pet beasts with her bare hands, even a simple stretch exuded immense power. Shi Yu secretly glanced at her.
"Would you like to show me around some more?" Bai Xi asked.
"No need. I plan to focus on investigating this Iron-Eater Beast site. I can explore other facilities after I enroll," Shi Yu said.
After chatting with the Seven Heroes of Archaeology, Shi Yu realized that the archaeological methods in the two worlds were quite different.
After all, this was a world with extraordinary powers, and he might have to start learning from scratch, as Lu Qingyi suggested.
The archaeology department of Ancient Capital University was a great starting point.
"Alright, then. If you have any questions, just contact me," Bai Xi nodded.
...
After Shi Yu and Bai Xi left, Director Li began searching for information related to the Iron-Eater Beast site and found the mentor in charge of the site.
"Director Li, you called me?"
The mentor of the Seven Heroes of Archaeology came to the director's office, puzzled.
"Ah, Little Ding, isn't the Iron-Eater Beast site being handled by your students?" Director Li asked with a smile.
"Yes," Mentor Ding nodded.
"From now on, the investigation and research of this Iron-Eater Beast site will be given the highest priority. I've arranged another person in charge, and you'll need to fully cooperate with them."
"Huh?" Mentor Ding was confused.
It's just a small site of a tribe that worshipped the Iron-Eater Beast. Could there be some new discovery?
"Who is the mentor?"
"It's not a mentor, but a prospective member of the Eleventh Bureau introduced by Dr. Lu Qingyi. A young man. You just need to know that."
"He's already in contact with your students and seems to have discovered deeper value in this site."
After Director Li finished speaking, Mentor Ding's pupils dilated. The Eleventh Bureau?
"Understood," he nodded quickly.
...
At the Iron-Eater Beast site.
A new day, Senior Panda and the Seven Heroes of Archaeology were very motivated.
They had already been researching for the entire morning, and the amount of related materials they had read was over a hundred thousand words.
This level of effort was unimaginable for the Seven Heroes of Archaeology, who had previously been slackers.
There was no choice; the potential Shi Yu had shown was too strong.
It gave people the impression that if the Iron-Eater Beast evolved, it would become invincible.
In the field of beast taming, if one could research the evolution method of a pet beast, it would be a very impressive achievement.
For example, those researchers who discovered different evolution paths for the Qingmian Worm were already famous and successful, reaching the peak of their careers.
Although the Iron-Eater Beast wasn't as popular as the Qingmian Worm, it wasn't far behind.
If they could discover the evolution form of the Iron-Eater Beast through archaeology, they would not only receive rewards from the school but also add a significant achievement to their resumes.
At this moment, Zheng Yingjie was comparing the similarities between this site and other sites from 4500 years ago.
A phone call temporarily interrupted his work.
"Mentor Ding?"
"What, the project leader is changing?"
After a few words from the other end, Zheng Yingjie was stunned.
His voice immediately caught the attention of the others.
Changing the project leader?
The seniors in the archaeology department were taken aback. No way!
The current leader of this site is their mentor.
They had a good relationship with their mentor, and Mentor Ding had promised to assist with the investigation and research in a few days.
Changing the leader suddenly would definitely be less convenient than having their own mentor in charge.
"Do I know the new leader?"
"Already in contact with us? Who?"
Zheng Yingjie looked bewildered, and then his expression suddenly changed dramatically, completely stunned!
"This..."
After hearing the name of the new leader, Zheng Yingjie was flustered.
A moment later, Zheng Yingjie hung up the phone.
Lin Xiuzhu and the other six heroes gathered around, asking what happened.
"Changing the leader? What's going on?" Wang Le asked.
"Will it affect our established research direction?" Lin Yuer asked.
Zheng Yingjie, still bewildered, said, "It shouldn't."
"Because..."
"Mentor Ding said that the new leader of the Iron-Eater Beast site is Shi Yu, the junior from yesterday. You didn't hear wrong."
"What?!"
After Zheng Yingjie spoke, not only he but everyone else was stunned.
Wang Le stammered, "W-What's going on?"
The others were also very confused. How did a junior who hadn't even enrolled suddenly become the leader of an archaeology project at Ancient Capital University?
This was quite a leap!
"Senior Lin?" Zheng Yingjie looked at Lin Xiuzhu.
At this moment, Lin Xiuzhu also looked puzzled, thinking she might have heard wrong.
"Who is this junior Shi Yu?" they asked.
In Lin Xiuzhu's words, Shi Yu was introduced by the curator and was a fellow townsman.
With such an ordinary background, how did he suddenly become associated with Ancient Capital University?
To lead a project, one would at least need to be an expert at the level of a university mentor.
"Who should I ask?" Lin Xiuzhu crossed her arms, unable to figure it out.
Shi Yu's identity was indeed strange. At first, she also thought Shi Yu was ordinary.
But then, for some inexplicable reason, Shi Yu was treated as a personal disciple by her father...
This was before the awakening of the ancient bloodline.
There were so many Iron-Eater Beasts, but why did only Shi Yu's awaken the ancient bloodline?
This was why Lin Xiuzhu believed Shi Yu was extraordinary. It wasn't the ancient bloodline that made Shi Yu and Eleven, but rather, because of Shi Yu, Eleven could awaken the ancient bloodline.
"He should be coming over soon. We can ask him in person," Lin Xiuzhu said.
Shi Yu was indeed on his way to the Iron-Eater Beast site.
While in the car, Shi Yu meditated and daydreamed.
So slow...
In the future, he would need to contract a flying pet beast skilled in speed.
However, even without a contract, it seemed he could materialize one using the bugs.
The skill "Illusory Shadow" was like a universal tool, and the bugs seemed to be a universal tool pet, capable of transforming into anything in the future.
For example, materializing an Ice Dragon would allow him to fly.
Of course, while Ice Dragons can fly, they aren't known for their speed, and being a dragon rider in the city would be too conspicuous.
It could easily be mistaken for an unidentified flying object and shot down.
Additionally, the abilities of a materialized illusion would be weaker than the original.
At least currently, the Ice Dragon materialized by the bugs couldn't even match a true Ice Dragon of the dominant species, let alone a pet beast of the same growth level from a higher extraordinary species.
...
Soon, Shi Yu arrived at the Iron-Eater Beast site.
When Shi Yu arrived, he noticed that Senior Panda and the Seven Heroes of Archaeology were looking at him with very strange expressions.
"Hmm." Shi Yu was slightly taken aback.
"Junior, what's going on? How did you suddenly become the main leader of this site?" Zheng Yingjie asked with a bitter smile, very confused.
"I felt this site wasn't getting enough attention, so I contacted Director Li through a friend," Shi Yu smiled.
"Huh?"
The others looked at Shi Yu in confusion. What kind of friend could have such influence?
To be able to pull strings directly with Director Li.
"Anyway, it's a good thing," Shi Yu said. "The school will fully support our investigation of this site. The analysis of the metal fragment might be completed in 2-3 days."
The others exchanged glances.
"Alright..." Seeing that Shi Yu didn't intend to elaborate, they wisely didn't press further.
However, they no longer viewed Shi Yu as an ordinary junior.
Clearly, he was a super-connected individual at Ancient Capital University!
After entering the university, it was uncertain who would be protecting whom.
"Do you know if my father knows the friend you mentioned?"
After everyone resumed their work, Lin Xiuzhu leaned over to Shi Yu and asked quietly.
She remembered her father mentioning that Shi Yu was sent to the Bamboo Rock Martial Hall by an acquaintance.
"Probably," Shi Yu said. The friend could be either Senior Lu or Senior Bai Xi. If it was the former, Curator Lin Hongnian would definitely know.
"Is that so." Senior Panda nodded and smiled, "That's great. I didn't expect you to become the leader of this project in just one day."
Shi Yu grinned, "Reviving the glory of the Iron-Eater Beast is our duty."
"By the way, if we really discover the evolution form of the Iron-Eater Beast, will the price of the Iron-Eater Beasts at the Iron Bamboo Breeding Base increase?"
Lin Xiuzhu was taken aback. She didn't expect Shi Yu to think of this as well.
Generally, when a new evolution form of a pet beast is discovered, or a beast tamer uses a certain pet beast to dominate a major competition, it can affect the price of that pet beast to some extent.
"Based on market demand, it's possible..."
She fell into thought. Should she ask her father to catch more wild Iron-Eater Beasts to increase the number at the breeding base?
Relying on the normal breeding of the Iron-Eater Beasts at the breeding base might not meet the demand. Sigh, why are Iron-Eater Beasts so poor at reproducing? Lin Xiuzhu blushed slightly.
...
Although he became the leader of the Iron-Eater Beast site, Shi Yu still often acted like a junior.
He had many things to learn from the Seven Heroes of Archaeology.
These people might look like slackers, but they weren't entirely without real talent, having studied at the university for some time.
In comparison, the knowledge Shi Yu accumulated in his previous life seemed less useful here, and there were many new things to learn.
After determining the research direction, everyone began to proceed with the research systematically.
About two days later, Mentor Ding arrived at the Iron-Eater Beast site.
During these two days, he had been assisting with the analysis of the metal fragment's elemental composition at the university. With overtime work, they finally had results.
"Nice to meet you, Shi Yu."
Mentor Ding was a middle-aged man in his thirties, gentle and kind.
It was their first meeting, but both had heard of each other.
"Nice to meet you, Mentor Ding."
Shi Yu shook hands with Mentor Ding.
"Mentor Ding."
The Seven Heroes of Archaeology were also excited by the mentor's arrival.
This meant that the research would make some progress.
"After two days of analysis, we can preliminarily confirm that this metal fragment is composed of six metal elements."
Mentor Ding held the data and began to share with everyone.
"Among the six metal elements, there are two grade 5 metal resources, three grade 6 metal resources, and one grade 7 metal resource."
Cultivation resources can be divided into ten grades.
For example, awakened pet beasts typically correspond to grade 1 resources.
Grade 5 and above resources are mainly used by master-level beast tamers and even legendary beast tamers.
The alloy fragment containing six high-grade metal resources was both exciting and expected.
Exciting because if this metal fragment was indeed part of the Iron-Eater Beast's evolution form, the evolution form's species level might not be low, given the use of so many high-grade metal resources.
Expected because Eleven was already so strong before evolving, so it was reasonable to expect it to be even stronger after evolving.
Mentor Ding presented the data for each metal resource.
"Among them, the grade 5 metal resources are Jin Yu Stone and Qingxin Sand."
"The grade 6 metal resources are Xuanzi Copper Ore, Tianyin Iron, and Lanhuimun Metal."
"The grade 7 metal resource is Meteorite Iron."
"Thank you for your hard work," Shi Yu said.
"Not at all," Mentor Ding laughed and then continued, "Do you plan to start your research with these resources?"
"These resources are quite valuable. Without a clear experimental research plan, it could cost a significant amount of money."
"However, the school has some inventory of these resources. We can provide a certain amount, but more would need to be purchased."
At this point, Lin Xiuzhu and the Seven Heroes of Archaeology were stunned. Indeed, there were too many high-grade resources, and most people couldn't afford the experiments!
If they wanted to conduct in-depth research, the research budget might need to be in the billions.
"No need for experiments yet. Let's start by studying the properties of these materials," Shi Yu said.
After confirming the metal fragment's composition, he realized that researching the Iron-Eater Beast's evolution form might be very costly.
Without a clear and feasible plan, it was better not to waste millions or even billions of yuan.
Researchers typically summarize feasible theories, analyze success rates, and then conduct experiments, rarely feeding or testing materials randomly, as no one's money grows on trees.
"Alright," Mentor Ding nodded. "Let me know if you need anything."
...
Next, Shi Yu and the team had an additional research task.
They needed to study the properties of the six metal resources and analyze their different combinations theoretically.
These research tasks, which were more theoretical, were temporarily delegated to Lin Xiuzhu and others.
What Shi Yu was most concerned about was the meaning of the nine special symbols.
He had reviewed many materials from that era and found that these symbols only appeared at this Iron-Eater Beast site, which was too few clues...
With insufficient clues, Shi Yu could only rely on his special talent.
"Lu Qingyi said that the talent 'Listening to the Sound of History' requires a certain trigger."
"The deeper the user's connection, exploration, obsession, and understanding of the historical environment, the more likely they are to hear the sound of history."
Because of this, Shi Yu spent every day staring at the metal fragment and holding Eleven to look at the site's murals.
It might look a bit silly, but he hoped to establish a connection with the site.
It had been about half a month since Shi Yu arrived in Ancient Capital.
He practiced materialization in the morning and investigated the site in the afternoon, and time passed quickly.
During this half month, Shi Yu mainly focused on meditation, not leveling up Eleven or the Qingmian Worm, which were training on their own.
"Ying QAQ." Eleven didn't mind whether it was leveled up or not.
During this half month, it trained very hard because Shi Yu had paused leveling it, giving it a chance to catch up on its debt.
However, what puzzled Eleven was why Shi Yu always held it to look at the murals and the metal fragment!
Shi Yu had no choice. Wasn't Eleven being treated as a mascot?
He hoped to use Eleven's connection to the Iron-Eater Beast site to help him hear the sound of history.
However, after half a month, there seemed to be no substantial results.
Even Eleven advised Shi Yu to give up.
"Ying Ying!!!"
What kind of evolution form? It's fine without it. It can still become the strongest!
Eleven crawled onto Shi Yu's head, standing up confidently.
"Sincerity is key, behave!" Shi Yu lectured, though he meant it, couldn't Eleven show a bit of respect and give the ancestors some face!
Click!
However, just as Eleven finished speaking, a small crack appeared in the stone wall in front of Shi Yu, startling both Eleven and Shi Yu.
"Damn, what's going on?" Shi Yu stepped back, his expression shocked.
A crack?
This situation felt familiar.
"Ying." On Shi Yu's shoulder, Eleven asked cautiously, did it say something wrong?
Shi Yu fell into thought, suddenly feeling his heart racing and his mind a bit hazy.
In summary, it seemed like he was starting to feel it.
Gradually resonating with the site.
"No, you didn't say anything wrong. Maybe this site is special and needs a bit of provocation."
Shi Yu took a deep breath and, through mental感应, said to the site, "The evolution form of the Iron-Eater Beast is nothing special."
Click, the crack deepened.
"Probably not a powerful evolution form, or it wouldn't have been lost."
Boom!
After saying this, the stone wall of the site trembled slightly, dust fell, and Shi Yu's mind suddenly buzzed.
He seemed to enter a special state, seeing a historical image.
Shi Yu was stunned...
"Damn, did I just find a new way to activate 'Listening to the Sound of History'? What about sincerity? Why doesn't it follow the rules!"