Free Web NovelChapter 77: Chapter 74: Sister Ai, You’re So Deep
Su Zhi subconsciously turned his head, only to see a large backpack dangling in front of his face.
Su Zhi blinked, a little dazed. ’What kind of Pet Beast looks like a backpack...’ he wondered.
It wasn’t until he looked further down that he saw a short woman, barely five feet tall, carrying the backpack.
She wasn’t tall, wore black-framed glasses, and had neat, tea-brown short hair, giving her an intelligent and mature look.
When he saw her, Su Zhi subconsciously thought of the senior student, Yang Jingyue, who served as Shao Ya’s sparring partner.
"Um, um, let me get on the train..."
The short woman bounced on the balls of her feet anxiously.
Not only was she wearing the large backpack, but she was also carrying a suitcase in each hand that was almost as tall as she was. It looked as if she was about to be swallowed whole by all her bags and cases.
"...Let me help you with some of that." fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
Su Zhi glanced at the sea of people at the boarding entrance and took the two suitcases from her.
"Thank you, thank you!"
The short woman nodded repeatedly and followed Su Zhi onto the train.
"Ah, it’s okay, it’s okay! You can just put them here. I’m getting off at the Alliance Headquarters!"
Sister Ai took the suitcases from Su Zhi and bowed in thanks.
’She’s going there too? Did I just happen to run into an Alliance Member...’ Su Zhi gave Sister Ai an imperceptible glance, nodded, and handed the luggage back to her.
’Probably not.’
In his mind, Alliance Members were people like Peng Kai and Hall Master Yan. This Sister Ai, on the other hand, had an air of pure-hearted foolishness about her.
The subway started moving—
Su Zhi held onto a hand strap, while Sister Ai struggled to grab the horizontal bar above the strap.
She was just too short and had to stand on her tiptoes to reach it.
With a sigh of resignation, Su Zhi offered her his hand strap.
"Thanks!"
Holding the hand strap, Sister Ai could finally lower her head to thank him...
"Little bro, do you go to No. 1 High? We’re alumni!"
She looked curiously at Su Zhi’s school uniform. "Don’t you guys have a quiz today? Why are you on Line 1?"
"I have some business to take care of over at the Alliance Headquarters, yeah." Su Zhi didn’t reveal anything more.
Phrasing it like that was broad enough that she wouldn’t be able to guess the specifics.
Sister Ai thought for a moment, then her eyes suddenly lit up. "You’re going for the team entrance assessment, right?"
"...?" Su Zhi blinked, a little confused.
’She could even guess that?’
Sister Ai lifted her chin smugly. "Guessed it, didn’t I? Hmph, your big sis here is an insider!"
Su Zhi’s eyes lit up. "In that case, could you spill some inside info, sis?"
"Ehehe... No info to share. I’m just an intern who makes copies."
"Then how did you know..."
"They had a meeting yesterday. I overheard them while I was sweeping the floor."
Su Zhi: "..."
He retracted all the positive fantasies he had just concocted about Sister Ai.
"But I heard the entrance assessment is really strict! I’ve seen it before—a bunch of big shots watching one little newbie. It’s impressive enough if you don’t get stage fright."
Sister Ai tried her best to explain with gestures. "And it’s not like you get into the Alliance just by passing two rounds of battles. There’s a third test too."
"A third test?"
Su Zhi froze.
’Hall Master Yan didn’t say anything about this!’
Su Zhi asked anxiously, "What’s the third test?"
"Bujidao. But I heard the third test is invisible. By the time you finish the first two tests, you’ve actually already completed the third one."
Sister Ai winked with a smile. "You never know when it’s already started, and it’s hard to even notice."
"So they even factor in your everyday performance," Su Zhi sighed.
’If the examiners knew he had a zero on his school attendance sheet, they’d probably fail him on the spot...’
The train passed No. 2 High Station, and the crowd finally thinned out a bit. Most of the passengers on this line were students from No. 2 High on their way to a quiz.
Su Zhi and Sister Ai found two empty seats and sat down.
With a *Bling*, Yu Bao hopped into Su Zhi’s lap and settled in expertly.
Sister Ai smiled and playfully extended a finger. "Doggy? Doggy!"
"SNIFF, SNIFF." Yu Bao knew exactly how to act around girls. He sniffed her finger with his little nose, then rubbed his forehead against it to mark it with his scent.
"What a cute little dog!"
Sister Ai contentedly pulled her finger back and turned her gaze to Su Zhi, smiling. "You have a pretty good relationship with your Pet Beast."
"Yeah, we’ve always gotten along great."
’If he didn’t wake me up so early, our relationship would be even better,’ Su Zhi added in his mind. ƒreewebɳovel.com
"But I heard from people at the Common Defense Alliance that it’s not good for a Beast Tamer to be too close with their Pet Beast."
Sister Ai blinked. "Some Pet Beasts might stop taking their Beast Tamer’s commands seriously because of it. Of course, the main reason is... if you need to switch Pet Beasts, a Tamer-Pet relationship that’s too close can cause spiritual fluctuations. It could even affect your future path in Beast Taming."
"I know. A senior student told me that before."
Su Zhi nodded, his eyes reflecting the dark tunnel and flashing lights outside the window. "But Yu Bao has always been well-behaved and sensible. I don’t think there’s any need to treat him with such harsh methods."
"What about switching Pet Beasts in the future?"
Sister Ai blinked. "Are you really going to be contracted to a little mutt for your whole life? Even if it evolves into a Yu Dian Farm Dog, it’ll be hard for you to compete in high-level tournaments. As for the Yu Dian Emperor Dog... it’s been a long time since a new one has appeared."
"I’m aware of the consequences and the price, but I’m still going to do it this way."
Su Zhi looked at her. "I’ll do my best to contract new, higher-level Pet Beasts, but I will never abandon any of my current ones.
"They’re my partners in my career, but they’re also my family. Family is about sticking together and supporting each other.
"Even if they grow old and weak one day, their glory faded, I’ll still be by their side, just as I’ve always been."
"I know I might not be able to go far because of this, but I won’t regret it."
Su Zhi said it all in one breath. Only after he finished did he belatedly realize that Sister Ai was looking at him with a gaze full of admiration and fervor.
"Not bad. Big sis loves a gentle young man~"
"Please don’t..." Su Zhi scooted over a bit, a little scared.
"What are you thinking? Not *that* kind of love. Your sis has a boyfriend!"
Sister Ai snorted with laughter. "But I could totally be your sugar mommy, no problem. Wanna consider it?"
"Thank you, sis, you’re a good person."
"Hitting me with the ’good person’ card already? Don’t tell me you have someone you like!"
Su Zhi kept his hands to himself and didn’t answer, neither nodding nor shaking his head.
"Alright, alright, I’ll stop teasing you."
Sister Ai stood up and put her hands on her hips. "Come on, big sis will show you around the Branch Alliance Headquarters!"
The Huai City Branch Headquarters of the Common Defense Alliance was very close to the subway station, right outside the exit.
It was a small, unremarkable three-story building, less eye-catching than even Ai Kun’s Flying Pancake Stall at the entrance.
Because of this, the contrast upon entering was immense.
Sister Ai took Su Zhi down an elevator to the sixth basement level.
Ceilings over twenty meters high, simple white walls, and avant-garde recessed strip lighting... It was like stepping into a science fiction movie.
"Wait for me a sec, I’m gonna drop off my luggage."
Sister Ai went into a room and came out a moment later. She had changed out of her casual short-sleeved shirt and was now wearing a long-sleeved Alliance Member uniform.
"Let’s go, little bro. Big sis will take you to get familiar with the grounds."
Su Zhi stared at the dark gold medal on her chest, completely stunned.
Name: Yang Shuyue
Alliance Member ID: 00097172
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