2: I want to be salted fish

The dining room of the Song family's villa was located on the first floor.

Transparent floor-to-ceiling glass windows extended outward, allowing a view of the hazy moonlight outside. In the lush summer garden, the moonlight streamed down, casting a silvery frost over the flowers and branches. 

Fireflies floated gracefully, their tails emitting a soft, luminous green glow with hints of misty blue. It resembled the brilliant Milky Way in the night sky and the sweetest dreams of a young girl deep in a forest.

However, these tiny creatures, typically only 0.8 centimeters in size as adults on Earth, were the size of adult human forearms in this world. 

They had amber-colored shells with bright orange stripes, and their shells were harder than steel plates, impervious even to large-caliber sniper rifles. 

Although their glow wasn't particularly bright, it had a dreamy and hazy beauty, and each of them was as large as a lightbulb.

"Bzz~~ Bzz~~"

They fluttered their wings, skillfully preying on various garden pests.

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

Even though she had read the novel before and knew this was a modern Blue Star world fused with foreign space rifts, where ordinary plants and animals coexisted with bizarre creatures, seeing such giant fireflies was enough to shatter her existing worldview.

"Phew~"

A fourth-rank primary Moonlight Firefly contracted by Song's father flew into the air and released a cluster of greenish gas. The mist-like green gas rose into the sky, shattered with a bang, and fell like petals on the treetops.

With the nourishment from the insect-type beasts' skills, the plants and flowers became even more vibrant. Even some with poor nutrients turned lush and radiant in an instant.

"Splash, splash~~"

In the garden filled with fluorescent light, the fireflies suddenly spread their wings, flew into the sky, and hundreds of them vanished in the blink of an eye.

Only a super-sized firefly remained, perched on a tall cherry blossom tree, its tail flickering.

Seeing the garden through the restaurant's glass windows, Song Yu had an expressionless face and withdrew her somewhat distracted gaze.

Song Yu had no doubt that if this giant firefly, as large as an adult human forearm and capable of multiplying, flapped its wings, her father would have to kneel on the ground, crying in pain and begging her not to die.

According to the novel's setting, as the lowest standard of a third-rank beast, even if it was just a primary level, it could easily defeat hundreds of ordinary people with firearms. A fourth-rank one could confront aircraft and heavy artillery head-on.

Faced with the gazes of the Song family members and considering the original storyline of the supporting character Song Yu, who would have an average combat power in this world, Song Yu's mentality felt slightly unhinged: "..."

Fortunately, with the development of the times, the readers' tastes had changed. The arrogant male leads who used to casually kill off antagonists and gather a large harem now displayed a more reserved and indifferent nature.

Especially the male lead, Bai Yuhuan, in this male-oriented beast revenge story. He was an upright and honest man who allowed beautiful women to throw themselves at him, yet he remained unfazed. He eventually retreated to the mountains with his favored beast.

Unless in an extra story, where the female lead, Su Yuexian, had searched for him for over a decade and eventually became his neighbor, the entire novel had an open ending.

With this kind of protagonist who trained every day and was on a path of challenging enemies for self-improvement, Song Yu was certain that, most likely, she would only have her beast as a companion in this lifetime.

Song Yu's eyes rolled around, and she already had some insights. As long as she acted helpless enough, she was unlikely to have any interaction with the male lead of the heavenly genius!

"The saying goes, 'Success as an beast tamer, failure as an beast tamer.' As long as I don't act as an beast tamer in the beast story, the plot can't kill me!"

"As long as I'm pathetic enough, male leads in this male-oriented story won't lower their standards to deal with me. The women who can survive until the end are the real heroes in this world of fantasy!"

Right now, in a world where everyone was gearing up and making being an beast tamer their life goal, Song Yu just wanted to shout loudly, "Beast tamers? Not even dogs!"

Even without the novel's plot, didn't these people see how high the annual death and injury rates were for beast tamers?

- Killed in the wild by beasts.

- Forced contracts with powerful beasts that turned on them.

- Crippled in combat.

- Died from excessive exertion...

With a quick scan of her mind, Song Yu could easily count hundreds of cases. It's something that would make programmers cry, coal miners go silent, and even Mario would shout, "Same here!"

The crucial difference was that in her past life, the entertainment industry had only millions of people. In this life, on Blue Star, which was a hundred times larger than Earth and had 80 billion people, everyone wanted to become an beast tamer!

The level of competitiveness and exhaustion far exceeded the entertainment industry by hundreds or even thousands of times! On top of that, her new body had mediocre innate talents, and there was the plot trying to kill her.

If she couldn't win, she would just give up. Ten minutes ago, after experiencing the painful grip of death, Song Yu had no hesitation this time.

Living for more than twenty years in the entertainment industry had shown her both the high and low points in life. She just wanted to have a healthy body, enjoy food and drink every day, earn some pocket money, and live a carefree life as a "salty fish."

Song Yu sat there lost in thought, and her expression gradually shifted from being emotionless to a vacant one.

In the eyes of other members of the Song family at the restaurant, her appearance seemed like she had been deeply shocked by the words of Song's father and couldn't recover for a long time.

Some members of the Song family had flickering gazes, others exchanged uncertain glances, and a few wore worried frowns. But without exception, everyone's attention was now firmly focused on Song Yu.

The restaurant was eerily silent. The atmosphere had turned subtly tense!

Sitting across the round table, Song's second aunt, Qian Hui, who had a slightly plump figure, couldn't stand the silence any longer.

Qian Hui shifted in her seat and began, "Xiaoyu, in three days, it will be the annual National Initial Beast Distribution Day. Every high school senior who turns eighteen can choose their desired beast on that day. According to our family's tradition from previous years, when the Song family offspring reach adulthood, the family provides financial support to purchase a spirit fruit or elixir worth up to a million credits, which can be used to contract with high-aptitude initial beasts."

"But that four-star intermediate-level Crystal Fruit costs nearly seven million, well beyond the price of a regular spirit fruit."

Qian Hui spoke with emphasis, "In the beginning, we all agreed verbally that the Crystal Fruit would be yours because we trusted your talents and believed that your companion beast space would at least reach an A or B level. We also believed in your relationship with Young Master Zhou. As a scion of a first-tier city's major business family, his girlfriend's contract beast's aptitude couldn't be too low."

"However, your recently awakened beast companion space is, unfortunately, a lowly F-level," Qian Hui pretended to look full of regret, shaking her head and sighing. 

However, a hint of shrewdness could be seen in her eyes. "Plus, Young Master Zhou broke up with you yesterday, making this four-star spirit fruit somewhat inappropriate."

While Qian Hui was speaking, she reached under the table with her foot, nudging her husband to continue.

"That's right," Song Wenshan received the signal and hastily nodded in agreement. "Xiaoyu, your second aunt is absolutely right. An F-level beast companion space is only 10 square meters in size, and it's a pitch-black void with minimal energy. It can't even compare to the training speed outside. Even slightly larger secondary-class insect-like beasts can't fit inside."

The beast companion space was a unique space that awakened in all individuals on Blue Star when they turned eighteen. It was specifically designed for the living, resting, healing, and training of contracted beasts. 

These spaces came in various sizes, often evolving different environments and properties, but every beast companion space was a small world.

The higher the completeness and the larger the area of the small world, the richer the original energy contained in the space. This made it more attractive to contracted beasts and came with various benefits.

Due to the extended childhood period of beasts, if the beast companion space had a low level, it couldn't accelerate the growth of the beasts. 

This would lead to a situation where the contract holder would have gray hair by the time the beast was still in its infancy.

F-level beast companion spaces were the lowest grade among them all. These spaces were like sealed dark voids with little to no energy. 

They even fell behind the external training speed. Contracting a newly born beast in an F-level space would likely drive them insane in a short period.

So, F-level contract holders who aspired to become professional beast tamers needed all sorts of rare materials and spiritual elixirs. It would take a vast amount of resources to provide a slightly stronger aptitude to their children.

"We may be considered quite well-off in Jianghuai City," Song Wenshan and Qian Hui exchanged glances once again. Then, they urged with heartfelt advice, "Only by selecting and focusing on the most talented offspring in our family can we bring the maximum benefit to the clan."

In reality, despite their noble words, this year there were only two high school seniors in the Song family. One was Song Yu, and the other was Song Wenshan and Qian Hui's younger daughter, Song Yaqian. 

Song Yaqian had decent talents and had awakened a B-level beast companion space, a space with a lush forest environment, perfect for wood-element beasts. It had a vast area equivalent to fifteen to sixteen football fields, and it allowed contracted beasts to train ten times faster within the space.

Song Wenshan and Qian Hui talked earnestly, acting as if the wood-type Crystal Fruit for a high-aptitude beast was right in front of them.

However, at that moment, the sound of slurping and the rich aroma of chicken soup suddenly filled the air, followed by the rustling of swallowing.

Song Wenshan and Qian Hui were left stunned. They looked to their left where the sound came from, and others around the dining table followed suit.

They saw Song Yu, who had been expressionless and lost in her thoughts, at that moment. She was now sitting with her head down, holding a white porcelain spoon, sipping chicken soup from a small bowl.

Song Yu: *slurping*

Song Wenshan and Qian Hui: *confused*

Song Yu: *slurp, slurp*

Song Wenshan and Qian Hui: *even more confused*

Other members of the Song family: *completely puzzled*

Both husband and wife blinked rapidly, and even their usually sharp minds froze for a moment. Others turned their surprised gazes towards Song Yu.

As the parents from the third branch of the family, Song's father and mother were the first to react. Song Wenhai's face looked rather embarrassed as he quickly turned to look at Song Lao Ye, who was seated at the head of the table.

Song Wenhai explained with a somewhat awkward expression, "Dad, Yu isn't doing this on purpose. It's just that she's been under a lot of stress recently due to consecutive setbacks..."

Zhou Fangmei interjected dryly, "Yeah, Dad! You also know that since Yu awakened her beast companion space after her birthday a few days ago, she has been feeling down. She even had a high fever and fell into a coma on the night of her awakening, with a temperature exceeding 42°C. She hasn't fully recovered even today."

While Zhou Fangmei spoke, she patted her daughter's arm, signaling her to support the explanation.

Didn't they notice that the old man and old lady, along with the other family members, seemed a bit displeased with her?

In the Song family, Song Lao Ye, who had built his empire from scratch and possessed a fourth-tier contract beast, maintained an imposing demeanor. 

Despite mellowing with age and having a slightly better temper than when he was younger, he was still a pillar of the Song family.

Even when he asked a question to the younger generation, they would only start eating after he took the first bite at the dining table.

Song Wenhai and Zhou Fangmei were both quite uneasy, fearing that the old man would suddenly lose his temper and slam his hand on the table.

"That's enough... You don't need to explain yourselves," Song Lao Ye waved his hand, showing no signs of anger. He simply looked at Song Yu with a serious expression and said, "What's said is said, and what's done is done. I'm not an unreasonable person. I did promise you the Crystal Fruit, and if you're unwilling to accept it, I'll still give it to you in a couple of days."

"However, as a third-tier city in Jiangnan Province, the four-star spirit fruit is a rare find. Even though the Song family's assets in Jianghuai City are quite substantial, obtaining a four-star spirit fruit won't be easy."

Song Lao Ye's brows furrowed, and his gaze, as if tangible, slowly moved away from Song Yu and scanned every person present.

His voice was deep, yet it reached everyone's ears: "But as the Song family, I hope that each and every one of you will consider the bigger picture... Only by doing so can the Song family thrive for the long term."

These words from Song Lao Ye were addressed to both Song Yu and everyone present. It was as if she had been awakened by her mother's nudge and touched by Song Lao Ye and others talking about the "family's greater good."

Song Yu, who had just been sipping her soup with her head down, now had her head slightly lowered. Her eyes were red and filled with endless sorrow and sadness.

Her already porcelain-white cheeks were now even paler. Transparent tears swirled in her reddened eyes. Seemingly determined, she resisted letting them fall.

"Hmm?"

Song Lao Ye was taken aback, clearly not expecting his usually strong-willed granddaughter to show this expression.

Moreover, the girl sitting across from the dining table, as if unwilling to show her weakness to others, lowered her head further.

Her soft bangs hung down her pale cheeks and cast shadows over her eyelids.

She bit her lips tightly, making them even paler.

Song Lao Ye's gaze softened a little more.

"Ah."

Song Lao Ye sighed.

After all, she was still a child, and it was normal for her to feel aggrieved, especially over the years, among the eight grandchildren in the family, Song Yu had always worked hard. She trained for at least two hours every day, rain or shine, and her greatest wish was to become a powerful beast tamer.

If her granddaughter's awakened beast companion space had not been of such low grade, he would not have even considered doing this.

However, Song Lao Ye remained silent, while Song Wenshan and Qian Hui were quite anxious.

In the eyes of the husband and wife, Song Yu was merely acting pitiful and didn't want to produce the Crystal Fruit. The anxious couple even disregarded Song Lao Ye's usual sternness.

Song Wenshan said hastily, "Dad! The Crystal Fruit should only be given to the most suitable person for the benefit of the family."

Qian Hui hurriedly added, "Dad! Yu doesn't understand anything, being just a child. It's best if you decide directly to whom the Crystal Fruit belongs."

The husband and wife were almost ready to shout through a loudspeaker, "If you ask Song Yu, she definitely won't agree to give up the Crystal Fruit! What does such a big child know about the family's interests?"

When such a valuable Crystal Fruit is placed in front of people to choose, even a fool knows what to pick!

What's more, it's Song Yu, who used to be so competitive and never missed any opportunity!

The husband and wife were so anxious that they seemed to be foaming at the mouth, their eyes fixed on Song Lao Ye.

Song Lao Ye remained silent, his brows furrowing, and his gaze shifted from the couple back to Song Yu.

In fact, even before Song Lao Ye asked the question, he had already calculated the odds.

Considering Song Yu's past determination to become a professional beast tamer, the probability of her choosing the Crystal Fruit was high.

But when this matter was brought up by someone, Song Lao Ye had mixed feelings.

After all, as the patriarch, he hoped to see every family member prioritize the family.

However, at this moment, Song Yu, who had been lowering her head, slowly lifted it.

Her eyes were as red as a rabbit's, with a transparent fragility, and even her starry black-and-white pupils seemed to carry a strong sense of sadness. Glistening tears slowly slid down from her reddened eyes, creating a picture so delicate it seemed to shatter at any moment.

Although Song Yu was clearly crying, she tried to hold her head high, and her smile was as bright as sunshine as she said to everyone, "Okay~ I think Grandpa is right, and Second Uncle and Second Aunt are right too... The Song family is a whole, so the Crystal Fruit should go to the most suitable person."

Song Lao Ye: "!"

Song Wenshan and Qian Hui: "??!!!!"

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