After Understanding the Language of Beasts - Chapter 1: There's a System in My Mind

 Chapter 1: There's a System in My Mind

The October breeze carried a slight chill.

Jiang Shiyan sat on a large rock, staring blankly at the endless sea in front of her, and exhaled softly.

“System, when can I leave this hellish place?”

[Not sure, darling.]

“Can you change the way you address me? Maybe call me Yanyan?”

[No, honey.]

Jiang Shiyan: “...”

Just a month ago, Jiang Shiyan was merely a temporary worker at a zoo. While cleaning the tiger enclosure, her colleagues forgot she was inside and opened the gates to let the tigers out.

The presence of an outsider startled the tigers, triggering their instinct to attack. As she fled, Jiang Shiyan fell into a trench, hit the back of her head on the ground, and lost consciousness.

When she came to, she found herself lying on a beach, with memories that weren’t her own.

It seemed she had traveled through time.

She had become a girl with the same name as her, but with worse luck. This girl had also fallen for a man who tricked her into boarding a cruise ship under the pretense of watching dolphins dance, only to push her into the sea while pretending to take a picture.

Before Jiang Shiyan could even grasp this bizarre “time travel” situation that only seemed to happen in novels, she heard a mechanical voice in her mind:

[…ZZZZZZZZZI… Scanning initiated… Human entity detected on the Blue Planet, identity verification complete…]

What on earth?

Stunned, Jiang Shiyan patted her ears, thinking she was hearing things.

[Loading… Load complete. Would you like to bind with the Monster Fan System?]

Jiang Shiyan, taken aback, quickly stood up and looked around. “Who… who’s talking?”

[I am the Monster Fan System, codename “Beast of Beasts.”]

“Where are you?”

[I’m in your mind. Does the human on the Blue Planet wish to bind with the system?]

Without thinking, Jiang Shiyan replied, “I don’t want to bind.”

[Binding suitability confirmed at 100%. Binding system now…]

“…!”

What madness!

Once the system was successfully bound, a transparent light screen appeared before Jiang Shiyan. The screen displayed a detailed explanation of the Monster Fan System, as if she had just entered a game setup interface, complete with an option to select initial system settings.

When Jiang Shiyan selected the voice pack, she accidentally clicked on the “Taobao Customer Service” voice.

“Wrong selection,” Jiang Shiyan quickly shouted.

[Sorry, once selected, it can’t be changed, darling.]

Jiang Shiyan: “…”

[Would you like to open the starter gift pack?]

Still doubtful about this strange system, Jiang Shiyan clicked on the gift box icon instinctively when it appeared.

[Congratulations on opening the starter gift pack! You’ve unlocked animal comprehension and gained the ability to understand three animal languages. Please love animals and nature!]

…

Over the following month, Jiang Shiyan deciphered the languages of two or three animal species. Now, she could communicate fluently with nearly every animal on this remote island.

Finally, Jiang Shiyan realized she wasn’t dreaming.

Today marked her sixty-fifth day on this isolated island.

[Yanyan, Yanyan! There’s a boat approaching the shore! A boat is coming!]

A seagull landed on Jiang Shiyan’s shoulder, squawking excitedly.

Feeling like she’d been injected with new energy, Jiang Shiyan jumped up and dashed toward the shore.

When she saw the two tourist boats anchored on the shore through gaps in the grass, Jiang Shiyan was nearly moved to tears.

Thirty-five days, over 800 hours!

Only heaven knew what kind of life she’d been living!

Had she not been able to understand the words of the small animals, allowing her to find food with their help, she might have starved to death on this remote island.

The people who disembarked looked well-dressed. Some held cameras, while others wore badges.

Jiang Shiyan looked down at her clothes. Though they were torn, nothing inappropriate was showing. After a moment’s thought, she devised a plan in her mind.

As she suspected, the people who came to the island were a crew filming a wilderness survival show. They had carefully chosen this uninhabited island for the recording, focusing on realism.

While the director explained the survival game rules, someone suddenly pointed into the distance. “Is that smoke?”

Startled, the director and crew looked toward the rising black smoke.

Could there actually be someone else on this deserted island?

Impossible.

This isolated island was far out at sea. Local fishermen had even warned of the many snakes here, and most people avoided it. Rumor had it that savages might live here. For the sake of ratings, the production team decided to take the risk and bring some amateur participants along. They were well-equipped with doctors and professional medical gear.

Finally, the crew decided to check it out.

If they encountered the rumored savages, it would surely boost viewership!

When they cautiously approached the smoky area with their cameras, they suddenly discovered a lone figure sitting there, burning wood and muttering something.

“Who’s there?” someone asked boldly.

Jiang Shiyan turned, surprise flashing in her eyes. She quickly stood up and ran toward them!

“Aaahh!”

At that moment, with her face blackened from smoke and her torn clothes, Jiang Shiyan looked like a wildling to the crew. Several frightened amateur participants screamed!

Jiang Shiyan quickly stopped and stammered, “I’m not a bad person…”

“Can savages talk?!”

Jiang Shiyan almost lost her composure. “…”

“I’m not a savage. My name is Jiang Shiyan, and I’ve been living on this island for a month. Really, believe me, my ID number is…”

“Wait, Jiang Shiyan? That name sounds familiar. I think I saw a missing person notice online… someone was looking for a girl with that name…”

A voice rose from the crowd.

A crew member cautiously pointed a stick at Jiang Shiyan, asking, “Are you really not a savage?”

“…!”

Jiang Shiyan felt her pride take a hit.

You’re the savages! Your whole family are savages!

After nearly losing her voice, Jiang Shiyan finally managed to convince them she wasn’t a savage and asked them to call the police.

Although there was no signal on the island, the crew had a satellite phone and promptly contacted the authorities.

Due to Jiang Shiyan’s situation, filming was halted. After a discussion, the team decided to take her back to the mainland first.

Before setting the fire, Jiang Shiyan had already bid farewell to the small animals on the island. After all, she had survived the month thanks to their company and help.

On the boat, the program director approached her privately and made a frank request: “Xiao Jiang, we rescued you. When you get back, could you thank our show online to help boost our popularity?”

Jiang Shiyan was somewhat well-known. While she would usually reject such requests, she considered that if the crew hadn’t chosen this location for their show, she might never have known when she’d make it back. So, she agreed readily to this reasonable request.

She said, “Director Tang, don’t worry. Even if you hadn’t asked, I would’ve done it. Your show saved me, so I’ll definitely return the favor!”

Director Tang smiled. “Great.”

Upon reaching the shore, the first thing Jiang Shiyan did was tell the officer who came to pick her up, “Hello, Officer. I’d like to file a report. Someone tried to murder me intentionally!”

---

A new story begins here, with a beloved protagonist and a warm, sweet tone throughout. We hope for your support!

(End of Chapter)