208: Ugh, choosing a name is so hard! I have absolutely no idea what to name my child.

After confirming that the massive octopus corpse had completely lost all signs of life and was beginning to slowly sink, Shen Mingyuan did not linger. He turned around, and the thrusters on his back and waist emitted a steady stream of ions, propelling him toward the riverbank.

As he approached the shallow waters near the shore, he shut down the high-energy-consuming main thrusters, using only minor adjustments to emerge from the water. Just as most of his body cleared the surface and water cascaded off his armor like a waterfall, he focused his mind and triggered the form transformation.

The Deep Sea Form armor covering his entire body, with its distinct streamlined fins and thruster structures, rapidly retracted and reconfigured like liquid. The dark blue glowing patterns converged inward, transforming into basic dark red energy veins.

The main thruster array on his back and the auxiliary nozzles on his waist merged into the armor, revealing the more streamlined, matte black silhouette of the base form, focused on land concealment and perception. The red light of the head visor also switched from the deep-sea adaptation mode back to the composite observation state of the base form.

He switched from "Shadow: Deep Sea Form" back to "Shadow: Base Form," steadily stepping onto the gravel beach at the shore. The water droplets remaining on the armor's surface were quickly expelled and evaporated by the specialized surface structure, leaving only a slightly damp, dark sheen.

On the shore, behind GUPA's temporary cordon, a familiar figure was waiting—it was Lu Jianchuan, who had participated in the interception and coordinated in the battle earlier.

He wasn't wearing any conspicuous equipment at the moment, just ordinary casual clothes, standing by a relatively secluded engineering vehicle. He waved to Shen Mingyuan, signaling him to come over.

Shen Mingyuan walked over, deliberately avoiding the main gathering areas, and arrived beside Lu Jianchuan.

"Taken care of?" Lu Jianchuan asked in a low voice, his gaze sweeping over Shen Mingyuan's armor, which clearly showed signs of having just emerged from an intense underwater battle.

"Yes, the main target eliminated," Shen Mingyuan nodded. His voice, transmitted through the faceplate, carried a metallic quality, but his tone held a hint of gravity.

"However, many of the evolved Scavengers escaped. I'm a bit worried that, given their displayed aggression and potentially strong reproductive capabilities, if they disperse into broader water systems, they could cause uncontrollable ecological damage."

Hearing this, Lu Jianchuan showed little surprise on his face. He pointed to some GUPA-specific boats and floating equipment faintly visible upstream and downstream of the Canal:

"Don't worry, we had contingency plans in place here. Interception nets and sonic deterrent devices were deployed at key nodes upstream and downstream before and after the battle started.

"They won't get far. We'll organize a thorough cleanup afterward, ensuring these unstable factors don't disrupt the ecological balance or threaten public safety."

The light in Shen Mingyuan's visor flickered slightly, as if he was conducting long-distance observation for confirmation. After a moment, he relaxed his posture a bit: "...That's good. With you handling the follow-up, I'm relieved."

Lu Jianchuan smiled, then his tone became somewhat formal: "Alright, with the main threat here eliminated, professional teams will handle the subsequent cleanup and monitoring. My temporary support mission here is complete, and I need to prepare to return to the city where I'm stationed."

"Senior, you're leaving already?" Shen Mingyuan was slightly surprised.

"Yes," Lu Jianchuan said flatly, "The base notified me that the contained intelligent evolved entity 'Rabbit King' has made a request and wants me to return."

Upon hearing the codename "Rabbit King," Shen Mingyuan only paused slightly.

He didn't know exactly who this codename referred to, only that it was clearly another matter related to evolved beings handled internally by GUPA.

Since the other party didn't explain, he naturally wouldn't ask further, merely nodding in understanding: "Understood. Well, Senior, take care on your journey. Goodbye."

"Yes, you take care too, 'shadow.' Stay vigilant." Lu Jianchuan gave his usual admonition as a farewell.

After the brief farewell, Shen Mingyuan didn't linger. He turned around, and the black silhouette of his base form made several agile leaps, using the complex terrain along the shore to move out of the main line of sight, quickly disappearing into the shadows of the streets on the outskirts of the Canal area.

Once away from the Canal area and confirming the surroundings were safe with no blind spots for surveillance, Shen Mingyuan quickly found his vehicle parked in a hidden spot beforehand. He opened the car door, sat in the driver's seat, closed the door, and the enclosed space brought a brief sense of security.

He looked down at his left wrist, where the black armband was inconspicuous in the dim interior of the car. He took a deep breath, focused his mind, and triggered the transformation release.

Without exaggerated light effects or sounds, the matte black biomaterial armor covering his entire body rapidly dissolved and retracted like a receding tide, all merging into the armband on his wrist. As the last trace of armor texture vanished from his skin, a familiar yet still difficult-to-fully-adapt-to wave of intense weakness and empty hunger instantly swept over his entire body.

"Ugh..." He couldn't help but grunt, fine beads of cold sweat instantly appearing on his forehead, his arms trembling slightly as if he had just completed hours of high-intensity physical exertion. The intense battle in Deep Sea Form, especially the final continuous bursts and form switching, had drained his energy far more than usual.

Gritting his teeth, he barely supported himself, reached over to the passenger seat, and took out the last sealed light blue energy supplement from a portable mini-fridge—this was left for him by Zhou Zihui during his visit, and each one used was one less.

Unscrewing the cap, he tilted his head back and downed the cool potion in one gulp. The slightly grassy-smelling liquid slid down his throat, and soon, a gentle but effective warmth began spreading from his stomach to his limbs, dispelling the bone-deep weakness and hunger, providing a timely soothing to his over-depleted cells.

With his strength somewhat restored, he let out a long sigh, looked at the now-empty potion tube in his hand, and casually tossed it into the car's trash bag.

"Tsk, the last one," he muttered to himself, starting the car engine. "Next time I run into that kid, I'll have to find a way to get a few more for backup."

The car smoothly pulled out of the secluded corner, merging into the increasingly busy evening city traffic. He drove toward his apartment.

The next day, the afternoon sunlight shone through the glass window, casting bright spots on the office desk piled high with case files. Shen Mingyuan was reviewing the details of a contract when a knock on the door interrupted his focus.

"Come in."

The door opened, and a front desk colleague poked her head in: "Lawyer Shen, there's a visitor who says he came specifically to thank you, um... and brought something."

Shen Mingyuan was somewhat surprised; none of the cases he'd handled recently seemed to require clients to come in person to express gratitude. He nodded: "Please show him in."

A moment later, a figure walked in. The young man had a straight posture, wore clean athletic clothes, and his brow carried the vigor of someone trained in martial arts. In his hand, he held a heavy-looking, exquisitely packaged gift box filled with seasonal fruits.

Shen Mingyuan looked up, and upon seeing the visitor, genuine surprise appeared on his face: "Wei Ziqing? How did you... come here?"

It was indeed the young man he had helped in Nandu City, Wei Ziqing.

Seeing Shen Mingyuan, Wei Ziqing appeared somewhat shy but his eyes were bright. He carefully placed the fruit gift box on the coffee table in the reception area and bowed respectfully to Shen Mingyuan:

"Lawyer Shen, I hope I'm not disturbing your work? I... My master and I came here for some matters. After my master woke up, he kept saying that no matter what, he had to come thank you in person.

"But he's still recovering and can't move around easily, so he insisted I come first to express our gratitude to you face-to-face." His tone was sincere, carrying undeniable gratitude.

Shen Mingyuan stood up, walked around the desk, and gestured for Wei Ziqing to sit down:

"Your master is too kind; that was just what I should do. How is his health now?"

"Much better, he can already get up and move around slowly, but the doctor said he still needs to rest quietly."

Wei Ziqing replied, then added somewhat apologetically, "Actually, we didn't come here just to thank you.

"There happens to be a fairly traditional martial arts exchange competition here, quite large in scale. My master wanted me to come see it, to... well, restore our Martial Arts School's reputation and attract some people to join us.

"My master was worried, so even though it's hard for him to move, he insisted on coming along. He's resting at the hotel now."

"I see," Shen Mingyuan nodded, his tone gentle. "Martial arts exchanges are good; they allow for skill exchange and broaden horizons. With a Disciple like you, your master's Martial Arts School definitely has hope for the future. When is the competition?"

"In a few days," Wei Ziqing's eyes flashed with fighting spirit.

"Good," Shen Mingyuan patted the young man's shoulder encouragingly. "Then do your best and compete well. Take care and look after your master too."

"Yes! Thank you, Lawyer Shen!" Wei Ziqing nodded vigorously, thanked him again, then sensibly took his leave so as not to disturb Shen Mingyuan's work.