Free Web NovelChapter 144: Chapter 130: She Hates Rain
The downpour was widespread, blanketing not just the Huai City Mountain Area, but the city itself as well.
The rain had started last night and hadn’t stopped by the next morning. The sky remained gloomy, with no dawn light, no azure expanse.
...
In a bedroom of an apartment, in a certain residential complex in the suburbs—
rested her paws on the windowsill, her eyes fixed on the figure below as they departed with an umbrella.
Fang Yuan had said he was going out and that she should stay home. He had also specifically stressed that she was not to train on her own.
Once Fang Yuan was gone, 004 blinked her pale pink eyes and gazed at the drizzling strands of rain, her thoughts drifting away.
She hated the rain.
As a White Flame Battle Spirit, a Pet Beast aligned with the Fire Element, she had a natural aversion to precipitation and dampness.
When it rained, wild Nether Flame Spirits or White Flame Battle Spirits would usually huddle together in dry places to help each other keep their flames burning bright.
Modern Breeding Bases also raised these two types of Pet Beasts outdoors to replicate their natural habitat as closely as possible.
However... 004 had never experienced the feeling of taking shelter from the rain together.
Because of her congenital Constitution, her Fire was weaker, so her brothers and sisters at the Breeding Base ostracized and mocked her, often pushing her out of their shelter when it rained.
refused to accept it; she wanted to quietly amaze everyone.
So for a time, she worked desperately to hone her skills...
But in the end, she still couldn’t beat her siblings who did nothing but eat, drink, and play all day. A Breeder even edited clips of her into a funny video and posted it online for everyone’s amusement.
Ever since then, 004 had suffered from low self-esteem.
As everyone grew a little older, they were chosen and contracted by Beast Tamers one by one, leaving only her, ignored every time.
thought she would probably never find a Beast Tamer willing to form a contract with her.
Until that day.
As she was curled up asleep in the small compartment reserved for "past-year pets," the door was suddenly thrown open, and a blinding light flooded in—
"Is this the one?"
It was the first time Fang Yuan’s voice had entered her life.
turned in a daze to look at the unfamiliar human boy.
The Breeder’s face was all smiles. "Yes! Her foundation is a little weak, but she’s always been hardworking and earnest. She should meet your requirements!"
"I’ll take her. Thank you."
...
From that moment on, she and Fang Yuan were never apart.
But now, it all felt like a dream she was about to wake from.
CRACK!
A startling clap of thunder flashed across the sky.
Lost in thought, 004 was startled and performed a tactical retreat.
"CREAAAK..."
The bedroom door was suddenly pushed open again.
"Chirp!" 004 flinched, shrinking into a corner, tense and wary as she stared at the doorway.
Only to see Wang Guixiang poke half her body in, looking at her just as cautiously.
Realizing it was Fang Yuan’s mother, 004 relaxed.
"You haven’t eaten yet, have you?" Wang Guixiang asked, shaking the bag of feed in her hand.
Then, following her son’s instructions, she grabbed two handfuls of the feed and placed them in 004’s little bowl.
drifted over and sniffed it.
It didn’t have Fang Yuan’s scent, so she didn’t really want to eat it. But she knew Fang Yuan’s mother wasn’t a bad person, and since it now carried her scent, it was acceptable.
So 004 picked up the bowl and began to eat with loud munching sounds.
Wang Sujuan squatted beside her to watch her eat. It was the first time she had observed her son’s Pet Beast from such a close distance:
She was a little white creature, adorned with pink stripes—simple, not gaudy. And those two big bracelets on her hands were actually quite cute.
She reached out her right hand, looking like she couldn’t resist the urge to pet her, but seeing that 004 was made of Fire, she didn’t dare to touch.
Sensing the woman’s intention, 004 thought for a moment and voluntarily lowered her temperature.
Fire Element Pet Beasts all have the ability to control their body temperature, able to lower it to the equivalent of a normal human’s.
Feeling that it wasn’t hot, Wang Guixiang tentatively gave her a pat. She was surprised to find that although 004 was a mass of Fire, she was vaguely tangible to the touch, and it felt quite pleasant.
Wang Guixiang smiled benevolently.
tilted her head, not understanding why the woman was so happy. But seeing her smile made 004 feel a little happier too.
"Take your time eating. I’m going to do some housework."
Wang Guixiang said, then left the bedroom.
It didn’t take long for 004 to finish all the feed.
But Fang Yuan had forbidden her from training, and she had nothing else to do, so she floated by the bedroom door and watched Mrs. Fang do chores: sweeping, mopping, dusting...
While cleaning under the sofa, Wang Guixiang tried to lift it but failed after several attempts.
"Chirp, chirp."
floated over and helped her lift the sofa.
Wang Guixiang was then able to clean the dead corner under the sofa. She smiled and ruffled 004.
Just then, the front door suddenly opened. Fang Yuan was back. "Mom."
Wang Guixiang wiped away a bead of sweat and looked up. "Xiaoyuan, you’re back?"
"Chirp!" 004 quickly floated in front of Fang Yuan and stood at attention.
’I listened to you!’
’I didn’t train on my own!’
Fang Yuan watched her for a moment, then nodded. "I know."
"Xiaoyuan, what do you want to eat?"
Seeing that it was almost eleven, Wang Guixiang temporarily set aside her chores and walked into the kitchen. "You can have whatever you want. Mom will make it for you right now."
"No, thanks. We have to go out again in a bit. We probably won’t be home for lunch."
froze. ’Did Fang Yuan just say "we"?’
Wang Guixiang asked curiously, "What’s going on?"
"004 got a little injured in the tournament, didn’t she? I’m taking her to the city’s Pet Beast Hospital."
Fang Yuan said calmly.
"And then, in a few days, we’re going to the Breeding Base."
stood frozen on the spot.
·
In a room at the event area’s affiliated hospital—
After giving Yu Bao a thorough and detailed physical examination, the well-endowed nurse hung up her stethoscope and gave Su Zhi a sweet smile.
"Don’t worry, your Yu Bao is perfectly fine. Just go home and let him eat and sleep as usual.
"Yu Dian Dogs are Pet Beasts with incredibly tenacious life force. They can survive many extreme environments and fatal injuries. A small wound like this is nothing to them."
"WOOF!"
Yu Bao whipped out a pair of large sunglasses, put them on, tilted his head up, and struck what he thought was a very cool pose.
’I, Yu Bao, am super brave!’
Seeing the little guy’s smug look, everyone couldn’t help but smile. The usually tense hospital atmosphere was filled with a rare, cheerful air.
The nurse flicked her blonde hair and added, "In fact, if you’d come any later, the wound might have healed on its own!"
"Ha, as long as he’s okay." Su Zhi chuckled along.
Of course, he knew that Yu Dian Dogs had strong life forces, but you never knew if Exotic Beasts in the wild might carry viruses or bacteria. So, to be safe, he had brought Yu Bao to the event area’s affiliated hospital after their training expedition.
After fending off the Leo Group, the two pairs of tamers and their Envoy’s Pets hadn’t encountered any more clueless Exotic Beasts, or any clueless classmates, for the rest of the morning.
However, perhaps everyone’s luck is a conserved quantity.
Su Zhi had found an Earth Condensing Stone yesterday, but he hadn’t managed to gather any more resources today.
Shao Ya and Xiaoyue, on the other hand, had good luck, finding two portions of the Tier One Wood Resource, Thousand-Year Leaf.
Overall, the gains from this wilderness expedition met their expectations.
"You’re Su Zhi, right? The champion of the high school division in this year’s city league."
The nurse’s eyes sparkled. "I’ve seen all your matches. A lot of the nurses on our team are your fans!"
"The pleasure is all ours," Su Zhi said with a light smile, ruffling Yu Bao’s fur.
The nurse quickly added, "Of course, top-four finalist Shao Ya is also stunning and cool, capturing the hearts of both men and women!"
"Hmph."
Hearing the nurse mention her in the second half of the sentence, the girl’s previously pouting lips finally relaxed.
The nurse gave another dazzling smile. "Summer vacation is just a few days away. You’ll be participating in the Alliance Headquarters summer camp, right?"
Su Zhi asked in surprise, "You know about the summer camp too?"
"This big sister is an Alliance Member of the Huichun Alliance, you know~ I’m only working as a nurse because of an internship requirement."
Su Zhi nodded in understanding.
The Huichun Alliance functions as the central hospital within the Common Defense Alliance, sending a large number of outstanding physicians to various districts each year.
The older sister, one of said outstanding physicians, casually explained:
"The summer camp is pretty important for high school students. Especially since you’ve contracted a Yu Dian Dog, its potential ceiling after evolution is even higher. Participating in the camp will give you access to many opportunities and conditions that facilitate evolution.
"The participants are all champions from the various city high school leagues, plus some campers recruited under special conditions. It’s basically a gathering of top talents! A great opportunity for you to expand your network!
So—
"I’d recommend signing up for the Huichun Alliance’s summer camp! Lots of pretty older sisters! Pretty younger sisters, too! It’s a feast for the eyes, you definitely won’t regret coming~"
’So she’s recruiting for her superiors...’ Su Zhi glanced at the white-haired girl beside him and shook his head with a laugh.
"Thank you for the kind offer, sister, but I’ve already decided to sign up for the Flying Shadow Alliance’s summer camp."
"The Flying Shadow Alliance? They’re very busy, always getting called out for emergencies."
The nurse pouted for a moment, then her brow smoothed out.
"But they are truly admirable. They carry the weight so that others may live in peace. If you can become a member of the Flying Shadow Alliance, your social status won’t be low.
"However, the Flying Shadow Alliance has a strict requirement that you contract at least one One-star or higher mobility-type Pet Beast. If you really want to join, you might need to start focusing on building a proper team composition now."
’It’s to get to disaster sites as quickly as possible, isn’t it...’ The image of that long, ice-blue hair surfaced in Su Zhi’s mind again.
"Thank you for the reminder, sister. If there’s nothing else, we’ll be going now!"
"Goodbye~ Feel free to come chat with me again after your next wilderness expedition~"
The two of them walked out, the nurse’s voice echoing from the room behind them.
Su Zhi gave the white-haired girl a smirk. Shao Ya, who usually acted like a mother hen, lifted her chin slightly, looking utterly charming and coy.
·
Registering their resources was the final step before returning to school.
When Su Zhi took out the small black sphere, the skinny man with dark green curly hair who was in charge of registration suddenly froze, then looked up.
"Hello there, student."
He pointed to his Alliance Member badge. "I am Samika of the Divine Strategy Alliance, Alliance Member number 00031345."
’Seriously? Is it always this competitive? It’s just a summer camp...’ Su Zhi blinked. "Hello?"
However, this Samika didn’t mention the summer camp. Instead, he pointed the tip of his pen at the small black sphere.
"You don’t recognize this resource, and your phone can’t identify it either, right, student?"
Su Zhi asked curiously, "That’s right. Do you know what it is?"
"Apologies, it’s a secret of the Divine Strategy Alliance. I cannot comment."
After speaking, Samika gave a slight smile. "It’s not a particularly major secret, but it’s true that it’s useless to you. I’m sure you spent a great deal of effort obtaining it.
"How about this? I’ll coordinate with the event area staff. You just give it to me. As compensation, you can choose any Tier Three or lower resource you want."
Su Zhi’s eyes lit up.
’An offer this good actually exists!’
·
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