Free Web NovelChapter 151: Chapter 135: Riddlers Get Out of Huai City
...
The 13th floor of the Haoyuan International Hotel in Huai City, in the revolving restaurant.
"Cheers!"
"CLINK CLINK CLINK—"
The crisp sound of clinking glasses echoed. Cups filled with colorful drinks collided in the center of the table, like a convergence of stars, before slowly drawing apart.
The table was laden with a dazzling array of food, completely covering its surface: seafood, barbecue, pizza, roast chicken, and more.
The three students from Class 10 who participated in the city league sat on one side of the table, and their three upperclassman training partners sat on the other.
Even the Pet Beasts had their own private rooms, complete with professional Pet Beast attendants!
Zhou Shengfa smiled with satisfaction as he looked at each and every face present.
He had specifically chosen Huai City’s most high-end restaurant for this victory banquet, yet it somehow felt exactly the same as the last one at Pingding Restaurant.
"In this city league, our student Su Zhi successfully took the championship, while Shao Ya and Liu Yuhang also made it into the top four, achieving satisfying results.
"I’m a rather strict teacher, so my students don’t always like me... But seeing you all succeed makes it all worthwhile!
"This toast is to myself, and to every single one of you! You’ve all worked hard. Cheers!"
"CLINK CLINK CLINK"
And so they toasted again.
Su Zhi followed a strange hand with his eyes to the neighboring table, where Cao Mingyu was sitting. His eyelid twitched. "Why are you here too?!"
"Just grabbing some dinner."
Cao Mingyu speared a piece of cake with his fork with a perfectly straight face, looking at him with soulful eyes. "My friend, Su Zhi, it is an inescapable fate that has brought us together."
Liu Junpo added in a low voice, "Something you can’t escape is usually called a calamity."
Su Zhi kept a stern expression while everyone else burst out laughing, filling the table with a cheerful atmosphere.
"SNIFF SNIFF!"
Not far away, a few little critters were scurrying around the Pet Beast food area, each carrying a plate or bowl and picking out their favorite foods.
Xiaoyue manipulated its vines to grab a few roses and dandelions from the food counter—things Wood Element Pet Beasts loved to eat.
It then went to pick out some small pieces of jerky. When it returned, it saw Yu Bao dropping a steak onto its plate.
"SNIFF!" Yu Bao wagged its tail.
’Big Bro! Here, have some of my favorite steak!’
’But I don’t like steak...’ Xiaoyue’s mouth twitched, but it didn’t show its inner exasperation. It just patted Yu Bao’s head to comfort it.
"Mrow."
’This steak is great. Big Bro loves it.’
’But Big Bro has to tell you, you can’t favor one friend over another. How about this? Go pick out something tasty for Xue Li.’
"WOOF~" Seeing Yu Bao happily run off to find Xue Li, the corner of Xiaoyue’s mouth curled up.
...
"SNIFF."
"QUACK QUACK QUACK!!!"
...
After getting beaten up by Xue Li, Yu Bao shook its head, sighed, and walked away.
It had kindly offered Xue Li some roast duck meat, but not only was Xue Li ungrateful, it chased and bit at it, looking ready to fight to the death.
’Looks like Hao Waterfowl aren’t very smart,’ it thought. ’To bite the kind dog that feeds them.’
’From now on, I’ll just be good to Big Bro Xiaoyue.’
As it was thinking, Yu Bao’s stomach rumbled. It had been so busy picking out treats for its friends that it hadn’t eaten anything itself yet.
So, Yu Bao also picked up a plate in its mouth and started wandering around.
Beef hot pot, eggs, scallions...
Roast lamb, five-spice crispy bones, roast chicken wings...
Yu Bao licked its lips and asked the attendant, a Cyan Cloud Group, to place the delicious foods onto its plate one by one.
"CHIRP~"
The Cyan Cloud Group deftly helped it pick out its food and blinked its eyes.
’Is there anything else you want to eat?’
"WOOF." Yu Bao waved a paw to indicate it was done, then suavely picked up its plate, preparing to leave.
But as it passed a row of food shelves, it stopped abruptly.
Displayed on the shelves were peculiar fruits, their front halves encased in a hard shell, with their back ends and a flower exposed.
"CHIRP," the Cyan Cloud Group explained.
’Those are Iron Tree Fruits. They’re very, very, very hard and not really suitable for Pet Beasts that aren’t of the Gold Element. Generally, non-Gold Element Pet Beasts don’t like to eat them.’
’Is that so?’
’But I really feel like eating them.’
Yu Bao licked its lips and, in the end, still picked a few to put on its plate.
·
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they gathered around the table to chat.
Just a few minutes ago, the table had been piled high with food, but now it was a mess of empty plates and cups. More than a dozen plates and bowls were stacked high—a spectacular sight.
When it came to their ability to pack away food, Beast Tamers far surpassed ordinary people. Whenever they came to eat, there was basically no need to worry about food being wasted.
As for losing money, the restaurant wasn’t worried either—if a famous Beast Tamer dined there, the promotional benefits would far outweigh the cost of the food!
Of course, if a whole group of Beast Tamers came to eat together, the restaurant would still get a bit of a headache.
"CLINK—"
Liu Junpo and Su Zhi clinked their glasses together.
"You guys are heading off to summer camp tomorrow?" Liu Junpo asked, glancing sideways at Su Zhi and Shao Ya.
"Yep, our flight is at nine."
Su Zhi nodded. "We should be gone for about a week this time."
"Mm, remember to take good care of Xiaoya while you’re out... never mind."
Liu Junpo pressed his lips together, then looked at Shao Ya. "Please take care of Su Zhi for me while you’re out."
Shao Ya winked. "You got it~!"
Su Zhi: "..."
’There’s no turning back from the path of a mama’s boy now.’
"I remember the summer camp was reformed after my year. They added Secret Realm exploration."
Liu Junpo said, resting his chin on his hand. "You’ll probably spend two days in a C Level Secret Realm. If you’re lucky, you might even get to enter a ’living Secret Realm’—one that has Exotic Beasts in it."
"Really?" Su Zhi’s eyes lit up.
A Secret Realm was an Alternate Space, different from the world of Blue Star, connected to it by a channel formed at a specific spatial contact point.
Secret Realms were divided into Death Secret Realms and living Secret Realms based on the presence of Exotic Beasts. But regardless of the type, almost all Secret Realms contained abundant resources.
Furthermore, if a Secret Realm’s Attribute happened to align with a Pet Beast’s, it could significantly promote the Pet Beast’s evolution!
To this day, all known Secret Realms had been explored and brought under the jurisdiction of the Common Defense Alliance. Private individuals rarely had a chance to enter one, unless they happened to stumble upon a newly formed Secret Realm.
If the summer camp provided an opportunity to enter a Secret Realm—even a C Level Secret Realm with the lowest risk and reward—it would be of enormous help to Su Zhi at his current stage.
"But it’ll most likely be a Death Secret Realm. If they sent you to a living one and some weird thing took a liking to you, you might not come back in one piece."
Liu Junpo joked, "Even for the known Secret Realms under the Common Defense Alliance’s jurisdiction, less than 10% has actually been explored. At best, they’ve only secured the area around the entrance. The universe is too vast, and humanity is too small."
"A Death Secret Realm sounds just fine," Su Zhi nodded, being honest with his gut feeling.
’He wouldn’t really dare go into a living Secret Realm anyway... Just like Liu Junpo said, who knows what kind of heavy hitters he might run into.’
"But the Secret Realm isn’t the most important part. Even if I don’t tell you, your guide from the Alliance will."
Liu Junpo’s expression turned a bit more serious. "The most important thing is the other campers.
"Huai City is just too small, so small that people from other places barely know it exists. You’ll meet many campers from big cities who have far better conditions and far more abundant resources than you.
"You might be going there to make friends, but those kids from the big cities might not treat you as equals. They might even try to trip you up on purpose."
"Piao is right. The chain of discrimination among Beast Tamers is severe."
Du Gang nodded in empathy. "I remember when I first went to Jing University, I was severely marginalized. It only got a little better in my sophomore and junior years."
"That sort of thing really is everywhere, huh?"
Su Zhi gave a wry laugh, recalling Xu Mingzhi, whom he had met during the city league’s social event.
"But there’s no point in worrying about it. We just need to focus on training hard and improving our skills."
"WOOF!"
Yu Bao jumped up and gave him a high-five.
·
The next morning, after double-checking that he hadn’t forgotten any daily necessities, Su Zhi had breakfast and said goodbye to his parents.
"Dad, Mom, I’m leaving."
"Bye, Xiaoshu! Good luck at summer camp!" His parents offered their child the simplest of blessings before his long trip.
"Dad will miss you," Su Mao said, biting his lip and fighting back tears.
’He’s going to be gone for seven days again, so now I can’t use my son as an excuse to take time off. Hmm... Maybe I can try using his mom as an excuse...’
Wang Sujuan shot him a look that said, "You’d better think twice."
Su Mao obediently lowered his head and went into the study to write.
·
Su Zhi had seen the shadow at the entrance to his apartment building long ago, but he walked out nonchalantly anyway.
The moment he stepped outside, Shao Ya stomped her foot with a "THUD!"
Su Zhi flinched in response.
"Aha! I actually scared you today, didn’t I?"
"Yeah, I really didn’t notice you today," Su Zhi said, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly as he watched Shao Ya bounce happily on the spot.
The girl was wearing white high-top canvas shoes today, with a light-colored skirt and a blue top that perfectly matched her white hair and blue eyes. Her bright white hair was tied up in a high ponytail, making her look full of energy.
As she walked past the lawn, the bushes and flowers seemed to grow a little brighter.
The two of them boarded Metro Line 4, which ran from the [Huai City Branch Alliance] to the [Airport].
"Did Su Baby remember to bring everything he was supposed to this time?" Shao Ya asked on the subway, tilting her head.
Su Zhi lifted his chin confidently. "I brought everything this time!"
"A change of clothes?"
"Brought it."
"Towel, washcloth, soap?"
"Brought ’em~"
Su Zhi answered smoothly, swaying his body a little smugly.
’This little vixen. Just as I thought, she ’kindly’ waited until we were on the subway to remind me.’
’Too bad for her, I came prepared this time.’
"I can tell you prepared quite thoroughly this time," Shao Ya said, nodding and praising him in a tone one might use for a small child.
Then, she suddenly leaned in closer, winking mischievously.
"But~ are you sure you didn’t forget anything?"
"For-forget what?"
Su Zhi blinked in confusion. He only belatedly realized that her face was less than a fist’s distance from his, and he quickly scooted away.
"Looks like you really don’t remember. It’s pretty important, too," the girl said, covering her mouth with her hand as she chuckled.
"So what did I forget?"
"It’s okay, you’ll remember when the time comes~"
"..." Su Zhi’s fists clenched.
’Riddlers, get out of Huai City!!!’
·
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