Ocean Guardians Alliance

"All right, it's about time, and we should set off. Don't disturb them while they're at it." Luo Yu glanced at the time again. Estimating that someone at the Beast Management Bureau should be at work by now, he tugged the little penguin and pushed out a spare bicycle from the research institute's warehouse. Then he placed the little penguin July into the basket. "I'm taking you outside for some fresh air. Don't move around here." "Mm…" Jingyue Island wasn't large—just one town and four villages. The island had two iconic landmarks: Yingyue Lake and Wangyue Peak. Yingyue Lake was a huge lake at the island's center; Jingyue Town and two of the villages were built around it, with the villages making their living from fishing. The town was the center of the entire island, with the largest seaport. The other two villages were built on the mountainside and relied mainly on agriculture. Luo Yu wanted to take the Breeding Qualification Examination, and the Beast Master Administration he needed to go to was located on an island in the middle of Yingyue Lake, connected to Jingyue Town by a large bridge. This was the official agency on Jingyue Island that managed affairs related to Beast Masters. Whether certifying Beast Master ranks or conducting Beast Master-related business, one had to apply here. "Mew…" July stood in the basket, its big round eyes observing the outside world with great novelty, just like Luo Yu back then. As it watched, it suddenly raised its head. "Why is it raining…" When Luo Yu rode to the entrance of Jingyue Bridge, the sky suddenly began drizzling light rain. Luo Yu had originally worried whether July could handle it, after all, Earth-system was countered by Water-system… But he was overthinking it; mutated beasts weren't so fragile as to be "defeated" by such fine drizzle. Watching the little penguin enjoy the rain, Luo Yu put his mind at ease. If it couldn't even handle this much rain, how could it talk about conquering the ocean in the future? "But it would be best if it cleared up soon." Luo Yu himself did have some psychological trauma from rain; in the Rainstorm Apocalypse, everyone who experienced it probably didn't have a good impression of rain. He even started disliking his own name—Luo Yu, falling rain—look, killed by a sudden rainstorm… There was definitely something to naming and feng shui; Luo Yu now believed it without doubt, after all, this body's father, named Luo Shui, also died by shipwreck and drowning. "Fortunately, good habits were formed during the apocalypse." To block the rain, Luo Yu pulled out an umbrella, holding it in one hand while riding with the other… the so-called good habit was never being without an umbrella, and it was the same after transmigrating. He pedaled with both feet and continued on his way. ………… Not long after, Luo Yu arrived at the Beast Management Bureau. With the Great Tide approaching, the Beast Management Bureau was busy; when Luo Yu arrived, there was only one receptionist at the front desk. "Hello, I'd like to first certify my Beast Master identity, then schedule the Breeding Qualification Examination," he said as he approached the lobby reception desk. The receptionist looked up at the boy who appeared to be a student. "What did you just say? Schedule… the Breeding Qualification Examination?" She doubted her ears. "Yes." "…Name." "Luo Yu." "Age." "15." "When did you awaken your Beast Taming Space?" "Two months ago." "Your contracted pet beast is…" She poked her head forward, having already seen the Ground Penguin hiding in Luo Yu's hat, enjoying itself. "Lower Common Species, Ground Penguin." "Ground Penguin… that species of penguin that can neither fly nor swim?" The receptionist was stunned again. Was there really someone who would contract this kind of mutated beast? Was he planning to become a farmer and till the soil later? That burrowing special ability could indeed loosen the soil, but there was no need to waste a precious contract slot on such a simple task… "Yes, that Ground Penguin," Luo Yu chuckled. July also poked its head out; sensitively, it always felt these two were mocking it… "Okay… certifying your Beast Master identity is no problem, but are you sure you want to participate in the Breeding Qualification Examination?" "The registration fee is 100 Alliance coins, and it's not refunded if you fail." She looked at Luo Yu, who appeared to be a student, not understanding what he was thinking—neither the type of contracted pet beast nor the Breeding Qualification Examination. The latter wasn't easy at all, especially since Luo Yu didn't look like he had any breeding knowledge; after all, anyone with some experience shouldn't contract a Ground Penguin… even as a transitional pet beast. "No problem, so if I pass, do I get it back?" Luo Yu handed the Alliance coins to the other party. "It's not refunded even if you pass." After the receptionist took them, she continued scheduling Luo Yu's examination. "Go certify your Beast Master identity first." "The Breeding Qualification Examination is tomorrow at 8 AM. Remember not to be late." Luo Yu nodded, looking pained at his registration fee. Next, without much effort, he smoothly passed the certification by summoning a Level 1 Ground Penguin, confirming his Beast Master identity. This certification was simple; just summon the pet beast in front of the staff member. After this, it was nearly noon. He didn't choose to go home immediately, because… there was a public library inside the Beast Management Bureau with a huge collection; Luo Yu planned to cram more intelligence about this era inside. ………… At noon, in the Beast Management Bureau staff cafeteria. A group of people were discussing things happening in the near-sea over the past two days, the atmosphere heavy. "This Great Tide definitely isn't normal; the signs of zombie activity this year are too strange." "Yeah, and many fleets have encountered zombie ship sieges… what do you say…" "Stop discussing this, change the topic." A slightly older person spoke up, interrupting everyone. "Right, right, speaking of which, I received a boy today." The receptionist who had received Luo Yu this morning spoke up and told everyone about Luo Yu. "Luo Yu, surname Luo… isn't he the child of Scholar Luo Shui who met disaster in Waterway 203 recently?" someone asked. "Probably!" another continued: "Why did he come to participate in the Breeding Qualification Examination?" "I don't know, but he's 15—isn't that too young? I remember our Jingyue Island's records say the youngest age to pass the Breeding Qualification Examination is 17." "Records are made to be broken. Scholar Luo Shui was one of the few talents from our Jingyue Island admitted to Canglan Ocean University, and he even brought back a beautiful female classmate to marry. Could the son they raised be anything less? It's a pity he passed away so young." Everyone shook their heads. "But I heard that Luo Yu's mother's family strongly opposed their relationship, so Luo Yu's mother eloped to our Jingyue Island and hasn't contacted her family for over ten years," someone gossiped. "After all, he was a Beast Master from Canglan Island, so looking down on our Jingyue Island is normal… Scholar Luo Shui was considered a genius on our Jingyue Island, but after going to Canglan Island, he seemed to immediately fade into the crowd… a big place is a big place." "It's just pitiful that this child became an orphan, with no relatives by his side now. If he had any relatives, would he contract a Ground Penguin?" This was too irrational. Even if he could replace his pet beast later, it would still waste a lot of time; he was already losing at the starting line. ………… In the afternoon. Luo Yu stayed in the library the whole time. There were many history books here, very suitable for a transmigrator like him to access… even for things he remembered, he chose to go over them again. "The Rainstorm Apocalypse lasted a full 10 years, from the first drop of rain to the end, during which the rain kept getting heavier." "Over those 10 years, sea levels rose wildly, causing plains and lowlands to be almost completely submerged. Finally, China was left with only one super-large island centered around several major plateaus and connected, as well as some independent mountain islands…" "This super-large island has now been renamed 'Canglan'; some call it Canglan Island, others Canglan Continent. It is currently the largest known human gathering place, with the highest degree of civilization recovery among all gathering places. Compulsory education and social pension mechanisms have already been restarted." As Luo Yu flipped through, he recalled—Luo's mother was from Canglan Continent, right? He wondered whether the relatives there knew she had died, whether anyone would come to pick him up to live a good life in the big place. Regardless, blood is thicker than water! He shook his head, no longer indulging in fantasies. Better to rely on himself first; he couldn't pin his hopes on outsiders. "As for the current world pattern, besides Canglan Continent, there are four other core large gathering places around the world… all the survivors are original foreigners." "Sky Tower, piercing the clouds, straight to the cloud sea…" "Deep Sea Kingdom, an underwater nation." "Mobile island chain Turtle-Shark Archipelago, a gathering place built on a group of giant turtles, with mutated shark schools as the giant turtles' retinue, guarding the islands." And… "The city-state Sea God City, built on a giant mutated blue whale." "Each major human gathering place has its own government. The Canglan Continent and surrounding island forces are currently stabilized by the Ocean Guardians Alliance." "The order of human civilization, after the Rainstorm Apocalypse ended, had actually collapsed beyond repair. After experiencing a long period of chaos, the Ocean Guardians Alliance was one of the terminators of this chaotic world." "Some forces that had become accustomed to barbarism ultimately devolved into pirates, roaming everywhere and being wanted. Meanwhile, forces that joined the Alliance developed prosperously under the Alliance's management." "Jingyue Island… is also one of the Ocean Guardians Alliance's member islands." "Even now, the Alliance's armed fleet is stationed on Jingyue Island. However, the Alliance armed fleet only handles Beast Masters causing trouble on the sea and basically doesn't interfere with the normal development of each gathering place." ………… After diving headfirst into the library, Luo Yu lost track of time. There was too much content in the books, but they basically recorded history after the Alliance was established and the history of the seas under Alliance jurisdiction. Meanwhile, the few decades of history between the end of the Rainstorm Apocalypse and the founding of the Alliance were sparsely recorded. And regarding the developmental history of the other major human gathering places, not much was recorded—just a few sentences… "History is incomplete… it must have been a very dark and bloody era… Fortunately, I didn't get transmigrated into that period."