Chapter 66: 65: The Snail’s Special Hobby
Chapter 66: Chapter 65: The Snail’s Special Hobby
Jincheng, suburban district of the new area.
A series of sprawling factories were located here, the largest of which was the new area headquarters of the emerging company, Tianlan Pharmaceuticals.
Steel freight trucks transporting their cargo stopped in an open space outside.
Workers donning white uniforms from Tianlan Pharmaceuticals approached.
The driver handed the leader a pack of cigarettes and said affectionately, “Brother Liu, can we settle the freight charges in advance?”
The man known as Brother Liu took the cigarettes, glanced at them, and saw they were Forty-five Yuan’s Iron Gate Mountain brand.
“Don’t worry, our Tianlan has a big business and won’t delay your payment.” Brother Liu opened the pack and distributed some cigarettes to the fellows around him.
“Thank you, Brother Liu, thank you,” the truck driver nodded repeatedly and hurriedly took out a lighter from his pocket to light Brother Liu’s cigarette.
“We need to check the condition of the goods, open the back door.”
The driver opened the rear door of the steel cargo hold, releasing a blast of cold air.
Once the smoke cleared, eight unconscious star-spotted mud loaches lay quietly in the spacious cargo hold.
“Go,” commanded Brother Liu, and a dark shadow darted out from behind him.
A white bear climbed onto the truck, its rough nose sniffing the mud loaches before it couldn’t help but stick out its tongue for a lick.
“Come back!” Brother Liu scolded. “If you dare to steal a bite, you’ll starve for a month!”
Hearing the consequences involved a month of starvation, the Nurse Bear clutched its head in alarm and turned to look at its Beast Tamer.
“Any issues?” Brother Liu asked.
The Nurse Bear with white fur shook its head, thinking the eight star-spotted mud loaches smelled so healthy, and so tasty…
“Come back. I’ll take you to eat lamb tonight,” Brother Liu said with a slightly concerned expression, his voice much gentler.
Upon hearing about the lamb, the Nurse Bear licked the corners of its mouth with its bristly, curled tongue.
His position was secured by his Beast Taming Nurse Bear, named for its white fur and its awakened healing Skills.
Most importantly, his Nurse Bear had awakened the Innate Skill: Nasal Checkup.
It could sniff out whether the subject was healthy through its breath. The Nurse Bear evolved this Innate Skill because it had “food cleanliness obsession” and wouldn’t eat unhealthy food.
With this talent, he secured his current position, specializing in health inspections and selection for creatures transported from various places.
Brother Liu made a call, and someone from finance arrived to issue an invoice and settle the payment on the spot.
After they left, the others summoned their monkey Beast Tamers to carry the unconscious creatures into the factory.
A little later, Brother Liu received a phone call.
After hanging up, he let out a breath, “Follow me inside in a bit, and don’t speak or look around too much. Just carry these fish to the entrance and leave, got it?”
“Don’t worry, Brother Liu, it’s not our first time. We know the rules,” they responded.
The group summoned monkey Beast Tamers to carry the creatures through a concealed entrance into the underground.
The damp and cool passageway gradually led deeper underground, where at a corner, a water pipe had burst, and cold water flowed along the edge of the passage.
After a few hundred meters, a spacious square hall appeared at the end, with a giant iron door on the back wall.
The monkey Beast Tamers cast a fearful glance at the door and placed the star-spotted mud loaches on the ground.
Brother Liu pressed the red call button next to the iron gate.
A moment later, with a click, the gate’s lock disengaged.
Several workers in white hazmat suits and helmets came out, picking up the mud loaches from the ground and transferring them inside.
There was minimal exchange between the two parties.
However, at the moment the iron door closed, those outside faintly heard an excited roar coming from even deeper within…
…
Arriving back home, Chen Xing saw the curious look in his sister’s eyes and guessed she must have many questions.
After knowing her for so long, he could read her thoughts with just one glance.
When she pouted her bottom, he knew she needed to use the bathroom.
“Xing, who was that just now?” Liu Yuzhen couldn’t help but be curious about the identity of the person they had just encountered.
Chen Guohai, much calmer now, interrupted his wife, “It doesn’t matter how our son knows them, as long as the illness is cured.”
Liu Yuzhen sighed in resignation, “Okay, okay, I was just being nosy.”
Chen Xing couldn’t help but smile wryly, as this was not a secret that couldn’t be shared.
He immediately recounted how his Beast Taming, because of effective training, had caught the principal’s attention, who then introduced him to Qiu Qiuyu, and through her, he met Elder Qiu, quickly summarizing the whole process.
After listening to Chen Xing’s story, his parents, Chen Guohai and Liu Yuzhen, were quite shocked.
They hadn’t realized their son had unconsciously made the acquaintance of such important figures.
And the Miss Han who had just been treating them turned out to be from the Nine Dragons Han Family.
After hearing the story, Chen Lingya looked complex; originally, she had joined a private high school partly to develop Beast Taming since Wan Hailong had promised more resources than what the public high school offered.
On the other hand, Wan Hailong agreed that if she performed well in the college entrance exam, he would invite someone to heal her father.
That’s why she chose the private Wanhai High School.
But she hadn’t expected that the very goal she earnestly pursued would be so effortlessly achieved by her younger brother.
Chen Lingya felt a sense of emptiness inside.
Relieved?
Happy?
She didn’t know how to describe her current complex emotions, but she supposed she was happy.
A hand patted her shoulder, “Dad’s illness is cured, which is great news. What are you thinking about?”
Chen Lingya playfully swatted away her brother’s big ‘hoof’.
“Of course I’m happy, what else could I be thinking?”
Seeing the siblings get along so well, Liu Yuzhen and her husband felt extremely comforted. Now that her husband’s illness was cured, she only hoped that the siblings could maintain a good relationship.
As long as they grew up to be successful, that was enough for her; she didn’t ask for much else.
“What about Xiao Wo? Let’s see how you’ve nurtured Xiao Wo lately.” It had been a while since she played with Xiao Wo and Chi Yu, and she hadn’t even used them to collect Skill Point Fragments.
“Xiao Wo…” Chen Lingya’s expression grew peculiar.
Her tone was a bit strange when she mentioned Xiao Wo.
“Is Xiao Wo hurt?”
“No, it’s very healthy, hopping around energetically… You’ll see when you look.”
She pushed the door open and entered her sister’s room.
Upon entering, they smelled a faint salty and damp scent in the air.
In the corner, a fishbowl was placed.
Next to the fishbowl, a snail about the size of two fists was perched on the edge, staring intently at the fish inside.
After a while, it slowly opened its mouth and extended a snow-white proboscis into the fish’s head, slurping… like drinking coconut juice, the brain was emptied in a gulp.
After eating, it smacked its lips contentedly.
Then, green dust started to appear in the air around it, blending into the water.
Once the fish sensed the dust, they swam around chaotically like headless flies.
Xiao Wo buried its head in the water and took a deep breath.
Then its eyes moved from side to side, and its head swayed back and forth – it was high.
This was the Primary Skill, Hallucinogenic Powder.
It could create a powder that induced hallucinations. Once formed, the powder could last for quite a while and could be stored. Unless disturbed, it would slowly settle to the ground like dust.
Therefore, Hallucinogenic Powder was often used in combination with other Skills, or it would be smeared onto certain tools.
“I kind of regret letting it learn this Skill. The once obedient Xiao Wo has now become like this, and I’m mainly to blame,” Chen Lingya said gravely.