18: I want to be a salted fish

As many students faced setbacks one after another in the high-aptitude Beast contracting area.

In the northwest area, the number of students gradually increased at a visible speed.

Zhou Tao looked up and saw several Class 5 students nearby. Seeing Song Yu so determined, he pushed up his glasses and pointed to a large, burgundy building next to the playground: "Since you have decided to contract with it, then the teacher can only wish you here. Break through as soon as possible and go farther in the future!"

Zhou Tao: "...In addition, you need to register information at the exit according to the contracting process, and then go to the opposite auditorium for the contract. There are professional contract guides there to help you."

"Okay, teacher. Thank you, teacher!"

Seeing Zhou Tao giving up on persuading further, Song Yu breathed a sigh of relief and immediately revealed a bright smile while holding the Snow Civet Cat with one hand.

The little Snow Civet Cat tilted its head, shook its small pointed ears, meowed twice in response.

Usually, when a high school senior contracts with a Beast for the first time, it often requires guidance from a professional Beast Master.

Otherwise, accidents are likely to occur due to students being too nervous.

Although such accidents are not common, according to international data networks, they occur in about 2% of cases in countries with scarce resources and few professional Beast Masters.

In Jianghuai City, although it is only a third-tier city, the surrounding resources are still abundant. The city itself has many professional Beast Masters.

In addition, every year on the initial Beast distribution day, Jiangnan Province will mobilize the military district's professional Beast Masters to help. Therefore, in nearly a hundred years, Jianghuai City has never had a tragedy of a high school senior's dantian shattering and Beast Space collapsing.

 

*****

 

Song Yu followed behind the crowd slowly, lining up to walk towards the exit of the playground.

In this line, she could see every student with their Beast cubs, their faces showing excited and radiant smiles.

Some Beast cubs were relatively small, able to lie on the students' shoulders or heads, and, at worst, could be held in their arms.

But some Beast cubs had quite exaggerated sizes. Despite being newborns, their sizes were comparable to adult elephants on Earth. With every step of their four or five meters in height, Song Yu could feel the ground trembling slightly.

"The Earth-Splitting Rhino of the Earth system, a high-aptitude 96 potential Beast... Which class is that big brother from? Amazing!"

"What big brother! That's Sister from Class 13! The one who ranks in the top 5 in the grade in the annual physical fitness test!... Hey, I didn't expect the other party to quietly awaken an A-level Beast Space. It's really amazing!"

People in the crowd whispered to each other, excitedly sharing information about their contracted beasts. Some looked at their classmates who had contracted high-aptitude Beasts, showing envy in their eyes.

"Take out your ID, report the number on the card around the neck of the Beast cub..."

"Alright, you two stand together for a photo! Keep a serious expression, no smiling!"

At the entrance of the contracting area, there were six education bureau staff members dedicated to registration.

Song Yu didn't wait long before it was her turn. She faced the camera with the little Snow Civet Cat, and they took their first photo together.

The staff looked at Song Yu and reminded her, "This photo will be the identification photo for your next Beast Contracting exam. During the college entrance exam, any substitution of contracted beasts is not allowed. All the Beast cubs you've contracted have had their three-dimensional photos scanned and their hair DNA gene data entered before coming here. So, in your senior year... please nurture your contracted beasts well! Strive for good results next year!"

After each student completed registration, education bureau staff would carefully remind them of future college entrance exam precautions. They were genuinely equating initial Beast nurturing with college entrance exam performance to prevent someone from exploiting loopholes during the exam, substituting or deceiving examiners by contracting an adult Beast of the same kind.

A group of students, under the staff's guidance, nodded quickly and responded repeatedly.

Song Yu blinked while holding the Snow Civet Cat cub, looking at the scene in front of her. She felt like she had entered a large cosplay reality show.

No homeroom teacher, no little brother, and no male lead. Song Yu looked around, feeling a sense of relief.

She raised the corners of her lips and resurrected on the spot!

 

*****

 

Due to the large number of students in Jianghuai City No. 1 High School, the auditorium was very spacious.

When Song Yu entered the auditorium, many people were already waiting with their contracted beasts. Some students who had completed the contract were leaving excitedly through the other side of the auditorium's back door.

"Ah! So, you're here! I've been looking for you for a long time!" Zhao Xingrong had been staring at the main entrance of the auditorium, and as soon as she saw Song Yu, she rushed over with excitement.

Song Yu was puzzled: "??"

Countless question marks appeared in her mind. Wasn't Zhao Xingrong the one who fought with Huang Jiayan? How could she still see her in the auditorium?

"Could it be that Zhao Xingrong is here to watch others contract Beasts?" After careful consideration, Song Yu concluded with an expressionless face. She felt a pang of jealousy. Tears of envy almost welled up in her eyes, and Song Yu regretted the missed opportunity.

How good the chance was before.

A lifetime ban on raising Beasts and a ten-year ban on participating in the college entrance exam. Why did she miss it at that time?

If it weren't for her conscience not allowing her to involve others, Song Yu would have wanted to find someone on the playground to fight casually.

The intense envy in her heart was almost solidifying.

Song Yu couldn't control her expression for a moment.

Zhao Xingrong saw the envy in Song Yu's eyes and exclaimed subconsciously, "...What's going on here?"

Song Yu was shocked and cursed herself for her carelessness. How could she show an envious expression when others were sad? Wouldn't it be sarcastic in the eyes of others?

Song Yu frantically waved her hands and explained loudly, "No, that's not what I mean... I..."

Before Song Yu could finish her words, Zhao Xingrong interrupted her by patting her shoulder, saying, "I know you didn't mean that. Speaking of which, I have to thank you."

Song Yu was confused: "??"

Not understanding the current trend of developments.

Zhao Xingrong smiled and said, "Before, in the Earth System Beast Contracting area, I saw the Bloodfang Pig cub running towards you... If you hadn't given me that Bloodfang Pig cub, I wouldn't have been able to contract this high-potential Earth System Beast."

Song Yu's eyelids twitched: "..."

Zhao Xingrong held Song Yu's left hand, moved, and said emotionally, "When I saw that Bloodfang Pig cub running towards you, I thought you were having second thoughts about contracting it. But I never thought I was being paranoid..."

With teary eyes, Zhao Xingrong said, "Really! Song Yu, besides my brother, no one has ever been so good to me! Even if my dad encounters a Beast with the aptitude and potential level of the Bloodfang Pig cub, he would contract it himself instead of letting me contract it... Wuu!"

Song Yu: "..."

Song Yu, in a daze, couldn't understand. Although she was happy that her new friend could contract the Beast she wanted, she didn't expect that the ban on raising Beasts and the ban on taking the college entrance exam were just empty threats.

Regret for the missed opportunity lingered in Song Yu's heart.

Zhao Xingrong hugged Song Yu tightly. Ignoring the hot summer temperature, she pressed Song Yu's head against her chest, crying while saying, "Song Yu, you are now my half-sister! I not only want to share half of my bed with you, treat you to meals but also give you half of my brother! Wuuu~ Sister, you are really too good to me!"

"Wuu wu wu wu~ Wu wu wu~...!! Wu wu!" I'm not, I didn't... Please let go, I really didn't mean... Let go, I'm going to be suffocated!

Breathing heavily, Song Yu pushed away Zhao Xingrong forcefully, her face serious as she said, "I didn't do anything for you in the Earth System contracting area. You achieved all of that through your own efforts."

Zhao Xingrong chuckled but didn't take Song Yu's words to heart. Instead, she felt that Song Yu was not only kind to her, loyal, but also particularly modest. If it weren't for the other party's modesty, she probably wouldn't have had the opportunity to contract the Bloodfang Pig cub... To repay her, Zhao Xingrong warmly invited, "Xiao Yu, let's train together after school today, okay? My brother spent a lot of money to book a peak Beast Master dojo for a one-on-one lesson."

Song Yu: "?"

Taking a step forward, Zhao Xingrong held Song Yu's hands and said, "Anyway, teaching one person is teaching, teaching two people is also teaching. I'll send you the course right now! Let's warm up for two hours today, and tomorrow morning, let's get up at four o'clock. Since your house is quite close to mine, we can train until seven thirty and then come to school!"

With high spirits, Zhao Xingrong looked forward and said, "We'll train for three and a half hours in the morning, and two hours after school. It won't take long for the strength of our contracted beasts to improve significantly!"

Song Yu's pupils shook, trembling, "...Four... waking up at four? Training for five and a half hours a day, excluding school hours? Even the donkeys in the production team can't do that!"

Fortunately, she hadn't thought about becoming a professional Beast Master; it's even more brutal than working 996!

Thinking about the experience of overwork leading to sudden death in her previous life, Song Yu politely declined, "Xingrong, the price of the one-on-one training course at the Peak Beast Master Dojo is quite high, right? I can't take advantage of you. Moreover, since it's a one-on-one session, the teacher probably wouldn't like it if you bring other people, so I think I'll pass."

Zhao Xingrong waved her hand confidently, "What's a little money? If the teacher doesn't like it, I'll have my brother add some more money! Anyway, he's about to become a professional Beast Master, and he can earn a lot of money every year!"

Song Yu: "..."

The other person was too enthusiastic and sincere. Song Yu felt awkward about directly refusing, so she took a deep breath, closed and opened her eyes, and with teary eyes, she choked up, "Xingrong, you think of everything for me. You're really too good to me... But ever since those two incidents, my health hasn't been good. Cough... Cough. Don't mention the intensity of the one-on-one training at the Peak Dojo; even if I train at home for half an hour during the day, I can barely hold on."

On Song Yu's somewhat pale face, a touch of awkward blush appeared. She turned her head, sniffed, and spoke softly, "After a while of training, I'll have to rest. It's embarrassing."

Zhao Xingrong widened her eyes, "!"

Zhao Xingrong regretted it. Oh, right, how did she forget about this? The previous post even mentioned that Song Yu had been hospitalized twice in a row due to high fever after those incidents.

Holding Song Yu's hands, Zhao Xingrong gritted her teeth, "Xiao Yu, don't worry! Now that I've contracted the Bloodfang Pig cub, there will be a joint training battle in the next Beast Mastery class. I will definitely help you beat Huang Jiayan and Zhou Wenchang to the ground!"

Song Yu: "..."

This, this... isn't necessary.

The Snow Civet Cat lying on Song Yu's shoulder blinked its round golden cat eyes, tilted its head, and shook its fluffy little ears.

Oh my goodness~ so, its contract holder isn't well?

Can't endure even half an hour of training?

The little Snow Civet Cat looked at Song Yu with sympathy, no wonder this person would choose it as a master in the future.

She must have seen its powerful side in the future and willingly became its servant.

Great! It accepted this servant!

The little cat proudly puffed up its chest, and its tail tip stood high~

As long as this contract holder treats it well, respectfully. In the future, it will take care of this servant!

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