"A Spirit Beast Breeding Master taking in disciples? That, I hadn’t expected."
Qi Xiaoshuang calmly said while eating breakfast, and Feng Yuan glanced at Qi Xiaoshuang.
"So, are you still going?"
"Why wouldn’t I? It’s not like he can force me, right?"
Qi Xiaoshuang uttered carelessly. After all, a Spirit Beast Breeding Master was far too removed from ordinary people. Saying this, Qi Xiaoshuang looked at Feng Yuan with anticipation.
"You’ll help me, won’t you~"
Thinking of Guo Huai, Feng Yuan felt uncertain whether the other party would also get involved. That guy had the system that could scour through modern literature, so it was hard to say who was more formidable. After all, there were some things that Feng Yuan knew, but others didn’t. By common standards, the knowledge he and Guo Huai possessed was exactly the same.
"Is there a problem?"
Qi Chen looked puzzled at Feng Yuan, noticing the slight frown, and hesitated.
"Is it not appropriate? Then forget it."
"No, it’s just that I don’t know if Guo Huai will go. If he does..."
If it were Feng Yuan himself competing, it wouldn’t be a problem. In theory, it might be a draw, but in actual practice, Guo Huai would not stand a chance against Feng Yuan. However, if Qi Xiaoshuang were the one competing, Feng Yuan could not guarantee the outcome. After some thought, he took out his phone.
"Never mind, I’ll ask him."
"Guo Huai? That transfer student?"
Qi Chen sounded surprised, but recalling the other’s legendary experiences, he felt it was not so unexpected, considering Xiao Shuang was the one competing.
"Hey! What do you mean by that!"
Qi Xiaoshuang, face darkening, looked at Qi Chen somewhat angrily.
"Do you have that little confidence in me?!"
Just as Qi Chen was thinking how to explain, Feng Yuan put his phone down and said,
"It’s okay, he doesn’t seem that interested in it."
"You make it sound like I can’t win..."
Qi Xiaoshuang stared at Feng Yuan speechlessly, then nodded. Feng Yuan added,
"Of course, how could you compare to our fellow ’genius’ student from the same year?"
"Are you underestimating me, the genius beauty Qi Xiaoshuang?"
"Anyway, if we’re only comparing knowledge of modern literature, outside evaluations would likely put him and me on an equal footing."
Qi Xiaoshuang blinked in disbelief, gazing at Feng Yuan. Although she considered herself smart, she knew she couldn’t match Feng Yuan in knowledge; could that person really tie with Feng Yuan?
Qi Chen exclaimed in surprise,
"He’s actually that impressive?"
"Wait... knowledge of modern literature and outside evaluations?"
Qi Xiaoshuang, recalling something, eyed Feng Yuan skeptically. Nodding, Feng Yuan didn’t elaborate further, and Qi Xiaoshuang, staring intently, said,
"So, that means, without any restrictions, he’s actually still not as good as you?"
Feng Yuan, with a face full of black lines, looked at Qi Xiaoshuang, who patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief, and said,
"What do you mean ’good’?"
Glancing at Feng Yuan, Qi Xiaoshuang replied irritably,
"I thought there might be many monsters like you."
Seeing Feng Yuan and Qi Xiaoshuang bickering, Qi Chen smiled helplessly and continued to eat breakfast. He glanced at Ah Mu, who was beside him, eating food and ignoring them. Noticing Qi Chen seemed to be looking at him, Ah Mu turned his head, puzzled, and gave Qi Chen a questioning look, not sure what he wanted to say.
"Yo~ What’s going on here? Why are you guys assigned to patrol?"
Surprised at the plaza outside the department store, Feng Yuan clapped Liao Yu on the shoulder, and turning to see Feng Yuan, Liao Yu said in astonishment,
"Are you... recovered?"
"Yes, what’s the situation with you guys?"
Seeing Ye Hanlei there too, Feng Yuan felt puzzled. Tugging at his clothes, Liao Yu replied irritably,
"Can’t you see? We’re on patrol."
"Aren’t you guys idling about? To think you’re actually out patrolling. Why was it so busy when I was there..."
Glancing at Feng Yuan, Ye Hanlei chuckled and said,
"Alright, stop overthinking it. We’re just patrolling incidentally while handling cases. We’re seriously understaffed recently—there’s really no helping it."
Feng Yuan was somewhat puzzled. The affairs in Odinis had clearly calmed down, so why would they be experiencing a staff shortage here?
Agunas seemed to recall something and said,
"Although we’ve sealed off Odinis, it seems a group of wreckers had already infiltrated various areas before that. Our folks are left to deal with those people on their own."
"So that’s how it is..."
Huo Feng appeared contemplative. Ye Hanlei glanced at Agunas and said,
"Is it really fine for you to discuss such confidential matters so casually?"
Realizing the dissatisfaction in Ye Hanlei’s tone, Agunas flipped through his book, completely ignoring her. Feng Yuan smiled and said,
"To them, this is hardly confidential, is it?"
Ye Hanlei was dissatisfied. The higher-ups hadn’t informed them about this, and yet Agunas was so casually spilling it. Feng Yuan cracked a slight smile and said,
"After all, you guys wouldn’t just blabber about it, right?"
Ye Hanlei sighed and said no more. Alliance guidelines simply held no sway over someone like Agunas. Liao Yu took a glance at Qi Chen and Qi Xiaoshuang, who stood not far behind Feng Yuan, and asked,
"Are you here to buy stationery?"
"Nope. School starts tomorrow, and we’ve already made all the necessary preparations."
"Then what brings you here?"
"To check out the nurturing house. Aren’t they holding an event?"
"The nurturing house, huh..."
Liao Yu looked at Feng Yuan with some surprise, but remembering Feng Yuan’s eclectic knowledge, it didn’t seem strange anymore. Saying goodbye to Liao Yu and the others, Feng Yuan returned to Qi Chen’s side. Qi Xiaoshuang glanced at the three departing figures and said,
"Were they your colleagues from the special service team?"
"Yeah. No, wait! Ex-colleagues!"
Qi Xiaoshuang snorted and didn’t say much else. Observing the bustling shopping center, Feng Yuan spoke up,
"Do you want to get some stationery or anything?"
"Did you forget to prepare something?"
Qi Chen looked at Feng Yuan with some confusion. Shaking his head, Feng Yuan said,
"Not at all. I just felt like browsing around."
"Forget it. Let’s head to the nurturing house first. We don’t want to be late and miss the event."
Qi Xiaoshuang spoke up. Although not dead set on it, Qi Xiaoshuang was quite interested in the Breeder award from the nurturing house. It would probably be their only chance to experience rearing a young Spirit Beast before getting their first Beast Tamer.
Moreover, Qi Xiaoshuang was quite puzzled about her first Beast Tamer. Although not in a hurry, she didn’t know what kind of Spirit Beast she would like. Using "The Way of Serendipity" like Qi Chen seemed fine enough, but the initial period of accommodation was a different issue altogether.
Outside the nurturing house, the crowd was teeming. Many shared Qi Xiaoshuang’s thoughts, and some were indeed serious about pursuing a career as a Breeder. For ordinary folks, being a Breeder seemed too far-removed, but as the primary caretakers of the Alliance’s logistic Spirit Beasts, they actually held a relatively significant status. Plus, members of the major clans wouldn’t give much thought to such a position.
In their view, simply taking care of their own Beast Tamers was already quite demanding, leaving no room to nurture and care for the Alliance’s Spirit Beasts. Or rather, even if they had the time, why not nurture the Spirit Beasts of their own clan?
Of course, there are exclusive breeders for these clans, but they definitely aren’t cultivated by the Alliance’s nurturing house. Feng Yuan yawned, placing Xiao Ji on his head and said,
"Let’s go register first. I remember there’s a deadline for this event."
Feng Yuan wasn’t worried about running out of spots—the number of people interested in this field was scant, and most were just there for the spectacle. Qi Chen looked at Qi Xiaoshuang with some concern and said,
"Are you really considering the path of a Breeder?"
Glancing at Qi Chen, Qi Xiaoshuang retorted irritably,
"Brother! What nonsense are you spouting?"
"Let’s go, time to register—"
Glancing at Feng Yuan, Qi Chen said exasperatedly,
"You’re interested in being a Breeder too?"
"Not really. I’m interested in the event’s souvenir, though. That training device would be just right for Xiao Ji to use. Of course, as long as you don’t blast it with any special moves, we’re good."
Hearing Feng Yuan’s words, Xiao Ji chirped happily.