Chapter 001 Chapter 1
"Xiao Xia, this lovebird has been refusing to eat. Can you come over and take a look?"
Xia Muqing put down the duster in her hand, patted the dust off her hands, and shouted loudly: "Here I come!"
She walked over quickly and looked at the red and golden little bird that was being held in the palm of her boss's hand. She raised her hand and touched its soft feathers, then gently scratched its little wings - in return, the lovebirds let out a comfortable cry.
"It's fine, it just wants to fall in love." Xia Muqing said with a smile, "Sister Zhu, you should buy a few more female lovebirds. Winter will soon be over and spring is coming."
Zhu Ning snorted, "It's wishful thinking. I haven't found a partner yet, why is it in such a hurry?"
"If you want to find it, let its beastmaster take it there."
After saying this, she hung a golden label on the lovebird's crimson claws and put the listless bird back into the garden.
The lovebirds spread their wings and flew away.
Xia Muqing's eyes moved slightly.
——Hanging the golden tag means that the lovebird has passed its infancy and can sign a contract with the beastmaster.
The lovebirds are a relatively rare mysterious beast and are quite powerful. If they can find a female lovebird to mate with, the couple can work together to multiply their power. In addition, the lovebirds have a beautiful and cute appearance, which makes them very popular in the market.
Xia Muqing... was of course also envious.
Unfortunately, I can’t afford it.
Take the breeding center where she worked, for example. A single lovebird cost around 150,000 star coins, and Xia Muqing would have to work there for two years even if she didn't eat or drink. This didn't include the subsequent training funds, contracts, training, and "romance" expenses.
"Alas, there is still a long way to go."
Picking up the dust collector again, Xia Muqing looked at the spacious ceiling of the nursery and sighed deeply.
…
Xia Muqing traveled here a year ago.
She worked tirelessly for three days to complete a game and collect the entire illustrated collection. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in a strange world.
This world is very similar to the Earth in her previous life, but it is more developed in space aerospace, telecommunications and other technologies. In addition, there are many magical beasts in this world that can sign contracts with humans and communicate with them mentally.
From history books, Xia Muqing learned that this was originally just an ordinary technological plane.
Until thirty years ago, a magical comet passed by the edge of the Milky Way and suddenly exploded with brilliant sparks. Then many spaces leading to other worlds appeared on the planet, and mysterious beasts descended one after another. After that, the profession of beast taming quietly emerged, which greatly changed the development model of the entire planet.
Seeing this, Xia Muqing's heart was pounding.
Isn’t this exactly the world view of the game she completed?
Also appearing in her mind was the "Mysterious Beast Atlas" that took her three full days to complete. It clearly recorded the characteristics and evolution methods of various mysterious beasts. Although Xia Muqing remembered most of them after playing the game, a good memory is not as comprehensive as an atlas.
With these, she is fully confident of becoming the strongest beastmaster!
The only problem is that the "Mysterious Beast Atlas" can only be unlocked after she contracts her first mysterious beast.
And Xia Muqing... couldn't even afford the cheapest mysterious beast.
There was no other way. The original owner of this world had lost her parents early, and she had few reliable relatives. It was already difficult for her to support herself, and she didn't have much savings. But a year ago, she was tricked into becoming addicted to "gambling beasts."
It was a game of selecting mysterious beasts from a large number of discarded mysterious beast eggs, similar to gambling on stones on Earth - mysterious beast eggs could be obtained through exploration in other worlds. All mysterious beasts were hatched from eggs, but the breeding institutions had life detectors, and the mysterious beast eggs that could be hatched healthily were basically picked out. The rest were either dead eggs or deformed mysterious beasts that could not grow up healthily.
Unscrupulous merchants recycle waste by mixing a few good eggs with waste eggs and selling them. This is actually a gamble.
The original owner also understood this principle, but she wanted to contract a mysterious beast so much that she was blinded by the benefits. In the end, not only did she get nothing, but she also had to bear a high loan of 50,000 star coins.
The original owner walked out of the gambling arena in a daze. He couldn't think straight for a moment and bought a bottle of sleeping pills.
When she woke up again, she became Xia Muqing.
Xia Muqing took over a mess with nothing but debt and a broken house.
If she hadn't been smart enough to use the training knowledge she learned in the game to find a job at a training center to pay off her debts, she would probably have been taken away by her creditors by now.
"Xiao Xia, are you going to be a senior this year?"
Zhu Ning's words brought Xia Muqing back to reality from her memories. She turned around and nodded: "Well, there are still two months."
Zhu Ning stroked his chin. "Senior year...it's time for the subject placement exam. So, are you interested in applying for the Beast Taming Department and then taking the Cultivation major?"
Xia Muqing nodded vigorously: "I will definitely apply for the animal taming department. But the breeding major... I'm sorry, Sister Zhu, I want to be an adventurer more."
In this world, students begin learning about beast taming in high school, similar to how they choose courses and choose between arts and science. After a year of study and training, students with beast taming aptitude can apply for a related major at Beast Taming University.
The requirements for admission to the Beast Taming Department were simple: one had to have a contracted beast of their own, and two, one had to demonstrate to the judges their ability to train beasts in an exam two months later.
Contracting a profound beast in advance was an absolutely forbidden act of cheating. For students whose spiritual powers hadn't yet fully developed, it was tantamount to forcing their growth, detrimental to their long-term career development. Therefore, everyone was searching for their contract partners during the summer before entering higher education.
Zhu Ning had long been impressed by Xia Muqing's affinity for mysterious beasts and had always wanted her to apply for the breeding major so that she could return to his own breeding institute to work and make it bigger and stronger together.
Unfortunately, Xia Muqing just refused with a smile every time.
That's not her ambition.
"Being a trainer is so good. You have money and status. Why are you so stubborn, little girl?"
Zhu Ning crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "What's so good about being an adventurer? Isn't it just about exploring otherworldly spaces? You know those spaces are full of wild beasts and are incredibly dangerous! Last year, the Adventurer's Association reported a mortality rate of over 10%..."
Zhu Ning talked a lot.
These are all old topics, and Xia Wenmeng has become immune to them.
"Okay, Sister Zhu, maybe once I become a beastmaster, the death rate of adventurers will drop."
Zhu Ning: “…”
Seeing that Xia Muqing was unmoved, she shook her head helplessly and asked, "How much money have you saved now?"
Xia Muqing raised the corner of her lips and said, "I've saved 30,000 yuan, which is enough to buy a mysterious beast."
Zhu Ning really took good care of her. He gave her a lot of bonuses in various names this year. Not only did Xia Muqing pay off her debts, she also saved a considerable amount of money.
After all, one of the requirements for applying for the Beast Taming Department is to have your own contracted mysterious beast.
"I'm planning to buy a small caterpillar," Xia Muqing said excitedly, "or a mini bee? Koi fish are also good. I can't afford gold-tailed or red-tailed ones, so I can buy white-tailed ones and slowly cultivate them."
The price range of mysterious beasts varies greatly. Super rare mysterious beasts can even be sold at a high price of millions, but if it is a common species like the ones Xia Muqing mentioned, 20,000 to 40,000 star coins are generally enough.
It just has less potential.
However, Xia Muqing was not panicked at all. She knew very well that many ordinary mysterious beasts in the game had hidden evolutionary routes, and if they were trained well, they would be no less than those advanced species.
The fact that people look down on ordinary species only shows that current scientific research does not have a deep enough understanding of the mysterious beasts. Do they know that the mini bee can evolve into the mother of all insects and the koi fish can evolve into the gilded sky dragon?
There are no useless mystical beasts, only ignorant beastmasters!
Xia Muqing looked very relaxed.
However, in Zhu Ning's eyes, her optimism seemed very blind.
"Contracted little caterpillar, you still expect to become an adventurer? Be careful or you might die without knowing how."
Zhu Ning rolled his eyes. "Forget it, forget it. I can't just watch you die. If that doesn't work out, I'll just give you a mysterious beast."
Xia Muqing was stunned for a moment: "Sister Zhu?"
Zhu Ning pinched his fingers and said, "Let me think... There's also a red-tailed monkey in the garden. Last time, Boss Wang mentioned that he had a batch of sunflowers that were about to mature..."
"Bang!"
Suddenly, the door of the nursery was kicked open, and a boy rushed in with a black bag and threw the bag directly on the counter.
"What kind of junk are you selling?" he yelled. "This bastard is weak! Return it to me!"
Xia Muqing was attracted by the sound. She turned around and was stunned.
"Liu Pan?"
When the boy's name was called, he tilted his head and frowned.
"Xia Muqing?"
…
Liu Pan is a classmate of Xia Muqing. His family is considered middle class and he has a rather arrogant personality.
That wasn't a big deal; Xia Muqing wouldn't provoke him. But some time ago, the school offered subsidies to needy students, and Xia Muqing applied for one. When she submitted the form, it was accidentally blown away by the wind and landed right at Liu Pan's feet.
Liu Pan mocked him directly: "Yo, poor bastard."
Xia Muqing's best friend Xu Ling happened to be there. She had a bad temper and immediately slammed the table: "How can you talk like that? Is there no one in your family? How can you be so poorly educated?"
The two of them started to quarrel with each other, and the argument was so intense that Xia Muqing and Liu Pan officially became enemies.
When Liu Pan saw Xia Muqing at this moment, he was also full of disdain: "So it was you, a poor bastard, who sold it to me. No wonder it's a waste."
"Hey, return it to me immediately, or I'll file a complaint against you!"
The black bag thrown on the ground shook, the zipper opened, and a small white fur ball slowly crawled out from it.
Xia Muqing recognized it at a glance. It was a hurricane dog.
The Gale Dog is a very powerful mysterious beast. It is quite powerful and loyal to its master. The contract with it is relatively easy and it has a gentle temperament. It is the best choice for many people to choose a novice mysterious beast for their children.
On the market, the price of an ordinary hurricane dog fluctuates around 100,000 star coins, which would require Xia Muqing to work for another whole year.
Zhu Ning also rushed over and looked at the trembling Gale Dog with a frown.
"Sir, please don't talk nonsense. Every mysterious beast here is cultivated with great effort."
"Besides, this Swift Dog is pure white without a single color, which means it has a very good bloodline. How could it be a waste?"
Liu Pan snorted coldly through his nose.
"What bloodline qualification? It's all bullshit."
"This hurricane dog you sold me has inferior traits, cowardice, or fear!"
…
Characteristics are the innate qualities and talents of many mysterious beasts.
Some characteristics are very rare and extremely powerful, such as the "energy conversion" and "limit breakthrough" collected in Xia Muqing's illustrations, but there are indeed some characteristics that are inferior, such as the "fear" that Liu Pan mentioned at this moment.
This is a bit like a personality, but not entirely. A Mystical Beast with the Fear Trait will indeed behave more timidly. If their relationship with the Beastmaster is weak and their loyalty is insufficient, they may even avoid combat or even desert.
"How could it be fear?" Zhu Ning was incredulous. "This little guy is just a little timid. He has always been very well-behaved."
Liu Pan pulled out a card from his pocket and said coldly, "This is a video recording of its simulated match at the training center. Take a look for yourself."
After hearing what he said, Zhu Ning was speechless.
Breeder and beastmaster are two different professions after all. Zhu Ning can make the young mysterious beasts grow up healthily, but he cannot guarantee that every mysterious beast he sells is good at fighting. Blue Star also does not have the instruments and equipment to test the characteristics, so it is impossible to accurately determine the talents of each mysterious beast. It can only rely on the beastmaster to slowly cultivate and discover them.
Liu Pan pointed at the video and said, "Look, this bastard doesn't even dare to fight! If I really contract it, what will I take to the exam in two months?"
Zhu Ning: "Don't be anxious, calm down! I warned you about its timidity when I sold it to you, but you didn't object. Besides, the Swift Dog is different from other mysterious beasts. Even if there is no contract, it will recognize its master. You will make it very sad by doing this-"
Liu Pan: "Is inferior quality the same as being timid? I don't give a damn whether it's hurt or not. Give me your money back, right now!"
His noise was so loud that it attracted many mysterious beasts in the park.
Xia Muqing saw the little hurricane dog on the ground shaking like chaff, curled up with its head down, trying to squeeze itself into the shadow of the crevice.
The mysterious beast is very smart, and after the contract, it can communicate with the beastmaster. At this moment, the little gust dog can understand every word Liu Pan says.
Its big, black, clear eyes trembled, its eye sockets were filled with tears, its wet little nose kept twitching, and weak whimpers came out of its throat one after another.
Xia Muqing felt as if the softest part of her heart was poked.
Seeing the little hurricane dog's sad and aggrieved look, she felt very distressed and couldn't help but bend down and gently rub the little guy's head.
Immediately, her back trembled violently.
A golden light suddenly appeared before my eyes.
…
Over there, Liu Pan was still making a fuss.
Zhu Ning had a terrible headache and explained to him over and over again that according to the rules, the sold mysterious beasts could not be returned, and cowardice could be gradually overcome through daily training - but Liu Pan simply didn't listen.
Just as they were at a stalemate, a clear voice suddenly came from the side.
"Sister Zhu, can you sell me this Swift Dog?"
Liu Pan and Zhu Ning turned around at the same time.
But he found that Xia Muqing had already held the little hurricane dog in her arms and was gently wiping the tears from the corners of its eyes.
Zhu Ning asked in surprise: "Xiao Xia?"
Xia Muqing said softly, "The low-quality returned Xuan Beasts can't be sold anymore. For safety reasons, the aggressive Xuan Beasts can only be disposed of, which is too pitiful."
"Sister Zhu, didn't you say you would give me a mysterious beast? This is it."
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