Chapter 5 Unconventional Biological Management Bureau "Ha, he wants to work with you together..."
At 1:20 PM, Shu Qing arrived at the Extraordinary Biological Administration Bureau ten minutes ahead of schedule.
Despite having the word "extraordinary" in its name, the bureau lacked any extraordinary or refined qualities. The waiting area was packed with people; hundreds of people and their pets in various backpacks and cages were crammed together, creating a scene far beyond what one would expect on a weekday.
All around him were young people waiting for the results, each of them having waited for two hours. They were huddled together with their lunchboxes, chatting idly.
Some people are describing with certainty how their Border Collies can understand human speech, suggesting they are probably extraordinary creatures; others are quoting comments from netizens about how lovable their Ragdoll cats are, unlike ordinary cats.
As Shu Qing stepped into the waiting hall, a new announcement appeared on the large display screen—
"A49, natural energy level 2.3, please register with the staff as soon as possible."
The entire hall was instantly ablaze, a chaotic dance of demons. The newly appointed "supernatural creature keeper," a rich second-generation heir, leaped onto the chair, using both hands and feet, and began his victory speech.
The speech was roughly about how she spent 700,000 yuan to hire an extraordinary father and a special mother, and how she painstakingly cared for this little monster before it was born...
Shu Qing dodged the twenty-odd waving arms and legs, skillfully weaving through the crowd, realizing that people's joys and sorrows are not shared.
Everyone in the room was hoping for the highest possible energy level, but she muttered to the backpack in her arms, "Please don't let it detect a level 7 or higher."
She arrived at the front desk with her backpack and showed them the text message she had received the night before.
"The expert team from the capital has arrived and is setting up the equipment." The receptionist smiled and said, "Ms. Shu, please come with me."
Amidst the puzzled stares of a group of people, Shu Qing was led into the VIP reception room and even received a cup of tea as a welcome gift.
She unzipped her backpack, and the little snake demon poked its head out, its crimson eyes moving slightly as it silently scanned its surroundings.
Is this the agency that oversees the demon race in this era?
The room before them contained only ordinary objects, devoid of any spiritual energy fluctuations. However, a few dozen feet away—or, in the parlance of this era, fifty meters away—one could detect a faint aura of spiritual energy.
Fifty, forty, three...
Shu Qing went to open the door. There were two people standing outside. The first was a boy in a uniform who looked like a middle school student. He had a cute baby face and a head of bright blond hair that was particularly eye-catching. The second was a man in his fifties who looked quite weathered at first glance, but his eyes were sharp and not at all cloudy.
“Miss Shu, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” The little golden retriever raised his chin and said, “I am Jin Wanli, the head of the Special Operations Department of the Supermarket Management Bureau.”
Shu Qing: "..."
She has a rather delicate appearance, but her name is quite rugged.
The older man behind her introduced himself in a straightforward manner: "Senior parenting coach, Hu You."
In early April, the indoor air conditioning kept the temperature a stable 25 degrees Celsius, but Shu Qing felt a chill all over her body—she vaguely sensed that the two civil servants from the Supermarket Management Bureau were not very friendly to her.
She's like a donkey that's easily swayed; if someone greets her with a smile, she'll put her arm around their shoulder; however, if someone doesn't give her a friendly look from the start, no matter who that "someone" is, don't expect her to be kind.
Although she is currently unemployed, she was once considered a "social elite." She showed no sign of weakness or dejection, and politely replied, "Nice to meet you."
“Miss Shu must have already read the ‘Regulations on the Classification of Extraordinary Organisms and Private Keeping’,” the little golden retriever said arrogantly. “Thank you for taking care of me these past two days…” He paused, “You’ve taken care of him. Now, hand him over to me, and we will pay you a compensation.”
Shu Qing smiled and refused: "The regulations do not say that ordinary citizens cannot keep monsters."
"The rules are clearly written in black and white, stating that you cannot raise 'high-level' monsters." Jin Wanli looked at her with the disdainful gaze one might give an illiterate person, pointing at the little snake demon. "He is a high-level monster. Is there a problem?"
"As far as I know, government agencies always rely on test reports when handling matters..." Shu Qing smiled, "not on subjective assumptions."
Jin Wanli's expression changed instantly, looking like he wanted to hit someone, but fortunately Hu You, who had been silent all along, stopped him in time.
“Let’s do it their way,” Hu You said. “Let’s go through the inspection process.”
Jin Wanli took a deep breath, nodded, and sneered, "Fine, then you'll see for yourself."
Minister Jin has extremely high authority in the Supermarket Management Bureau. Three minutes later, he ignored the operating procedure that "non-professionals are prohibited from entering the testing room" and the hesitant expressions of the row of inspectors. He led Shu Qing into the newly set-up advanced testing room and let her observe the entire testing process.
Stepping into the examination room felt like entering another world. Incomprehensible rune-like lines were everywhere, and chanting-like incantations echoed faintly all around.
A circle of unprecedented precision instruments was laid out on the table. An inspector put on gloves and took out a perfectly mirror-reflective tetrahedron with a label hanging underneath: "Hallucinogenic Abnormal Energy Collection Device".
The tetrahedron was placed in front of the little snake demon. Pure white cold air surged out, and dozens of ominous images flashed across the four mirrors in an instant, before quickly going black, as if the computer had crashed due to overload.
Jin Wanli, standing nearby, explained in a sarcastic tone, "Miss Shu, did you see that? It can hold level 6 natural energy."
Shu Qing gave him a fake smile, quickly checking her mentally to make sure she had never offended him—or even met this special operations minister.
Is this intense hostility due to a conflict of interest? Is it because her little snake is truly rare, and he wants to steal it?
She stood quietly to one side, her heart pounding, watching the inspectors operate methodically. Data flowed between the instruments like dominoes—each one that passed was rendered unusable.
An inspector retrieved a sophisticated temperature sphere from layers of protective equipment. The little snake lazily exhaled a puff of frosty air. The temperature displayed on the sphere plummeted wildly below the limit. With a soft "click," it was frozen open by the low temperature, revealing the intricate structure of runes and mechanics inside.
Shu Qing: "..."
So that's how her refrigerator died.
The LCD screen constantly refreshed with various numbers and symbols; it was probably the only purely technological product in this "other world." Shu Qing couldn't understand any of the back-and-forth "indices" and "standards"; she only stared at the red number at the top.
The number started jumping from 6.1, fluctuating back and forth between 6 and 7 like a tug-of-war, occasionally jumping out of the "7" a few times, and finally, it barely stabilized at 6.9.
Jin Wanli's expression changed slightly, and Shu Qing breathed a sigh of relief—thankfully, the preparations she made this morning could be used!
The five inspectors had finished their work, and the little snake demon calmly swam off the inspection table and curled up in a comfortable corner.
She remained quite calm, as if she were the only one who was nervous.
Shu Qing suppressed all her unease, keeping it bottled up inside her heart, determined not to let it show on her face despite her heart rate of 180. She defiantly raised her chin slightly, abandoning her usual nonchalant demeanor, and glanced indifferently at the table full of test results.
“Level 5 and above is already considered high-level,” Jin Wanli quickly composed himself. “Do you have anything else to say?”
“Yes,” Shu Qing said. “Article 72 states that ‘if a high-level supernatural being of level 7 or less has developed a certain affection for its original owner and wants to live with its original owner, it should be considered on a case-by-case basis in the principle of protecting supernatural beings’—I am currently in that situation.”
Jin Wanli let out a sharp laugh, "Ha!" He pointed at the little snake demon and asked, "He has developed feelings for you, and he wants to live with you?"
Even Hu You's stone-like face showed a faint hint of mockery.
Shu Qing walked towards the little snake demon with a blank expression, picked it up, and asked, "Do you want to live with me?"
The little snake demon remained silent for a long time amidst her deafening heartbeat.
"You're not really going to tell me you don't want to, are you?" Shu Qing thought anxiously. "Even though you're a bit fierce, you still stood up for me, twice..."
Jin Wanli laughed sarcastically, "You see? He doesn't—"
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the little snake demon finally nodded reluctantly.
Jin Wanli stared in disbelief as the words left his mouth, "...I want to."
Shu Qing then asked, "Did you develop deep feelings for me?"
This time, the little snake demon remained silent for an even longer time, several pairs of eyes fixed on it. After a long while, it finally nodded again.
The hatred for someone's death is something one can never forget. How can this not be considered a deep and lasting bond?
Jin Wanli and Hu You's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Shu Qing let out a deep breath and said triumphantly, "I've proven it. Does it still need to register and sign with its tail?"
This time, it was Jin Wanli's turn to stammer and request, "Let's... let's go through the process!"
The expert team that flew in from the capital included five senior caregivers, led by Hu You. All of them held doctoral degrees in natural energy research and had accumulated a wealth of advanced theoretical and practical skills.
The first one, prioritizing respect, was rational, restrained, and didn't disturb the snake, but a breath of icy cold air from the snake froze three of his fingers; the second one, prioritizing companionship, was gentle, patient, and energetic, but a bite from the snake left two bloody holes in his nose; the third one, prioritizing communication, had excellent emotional perception, but a magic trick from the snake gave him quite a fright…
Shu Qing watched from the side, feeling quite uncertain, since she was indeed far less professional than the others.
But when the little snake swam back to her, she silently covered her face, thinking: What pot has what lid? Such a fierce little snake should just stay coiled in my palm and not go around harming others.
Her son, Xiao Hong, wasn't destined to be a young master; he was destined to obediently follow her and become an internet celebrity.
"...Don't get too cocky," Jin Wanli finally gritted his teeth and slapped out an application form, the facts staring him in the face. "Register first! After you register, you still have to take an exam!"
Shu Qing was mentally prepared for this. She filled out the form and signed it without hesitation, then asked, "Where are the study materials?"
Hu You operated the computer screen for a while, and after a while, a notification popped up in Shu Qing's email, showing that she had received a compressed file from Hu You, which was several gigabytes in size.
The compressed file is named: Study materials related to the application and examination for the license to raise high-risk and unconventional organisms.zip.
"Your little snake demon will stay here for now. The assessment will be held here at 9:00 AM on April 9th. You have one week to study these materials," Hu You instructed. "If you fail the assessment, the application will be rejected, but the compensation you mentioned before will still be valid."
Shu Qing confirmed: "If it passes, I can take it home?"
"That's assuming you can pass." Jin Wanli snorted. "Do you know that the pass rate for this exam is less than one percent?"
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