Life in the Changsha settlement was fairly stable: digging black stone, hunting outside, harvesting crops on the farms, and now and then sending out crews to the jetties to catch fish evolved beasts.

Because it sat in a large oasis, the settlement was heavily guarded, with a sentry at every turn.

But under Shen Cong's Third Eye Radar those defenses meant nothing at all. A few circuits around the settlement, and he had gathered just about everything there was to know.

Then Shen Cong saw the dog they called "Brother Dao."

It was about four meters tall. Next to evolved beasts that routinely stood tens of meters or even a hundred meters high, Brother Dao was practically pocket-sized, about the build of a mid-grade evolved beast.

But the wisps of pressure from its Talent that seeped out now and then put Shen Cong on alert at once.

"Particle-grade!"

Another particle-grade evolved beast: the third particle-grade evolved individual on the whole earth so far.

"About the same level of pressure as the milu. It must have just crossed into particle-grade too." Shen Cong weighed it, and after a moment he let a thread of his own pressure seep out and sent it rolling toward Brother Dao.

He released it and drew it back at once, and it carried a friendly feeling.

Then.

Shen Cong stood on the roof of the Four-Armed Vajra and waited quietly.

Brother Dao had been sunning itself on the grass and chatting happily with a few humans. Suddenly its black-and-yellow coat stood on end. It scrambled up as if it had jumped, and stared far off in Shen Cong's direction.

Of course it couldn't see Shen Cong.

But it could feel Shen Cong's pressure, and the direction the pressure came from.

Woof woof! Brother Dao barked twice at the bewildered humans in front of it, then gradually picked up speed and ran out of the settlement.

In a flash it was gone.

The humans it left behind were still baffled, talking it over in confusion.

"Brother Dao said somebody's looking for it?"

"Yeah, that's what it said.…