7: I want to be a salted fish

The sky was a clear blue without a single cloud, and golden sunlight filtered through the shadowy leaves, casting star-like patterns across every inch of Jianghuai City. 

The sunlight spilled into Song Wenhai's family living room, creating a tranquil and peaceful atmosphere.

The Song family of four sat around the dining table, quietly having their breakfast, creating a serene atmosphere in the dining room.

The only sounds in the dining room were the clinking of utensils and the occasional sound of chewing.

Today marked the annual Initial Beast Distribution Day nationwide. Families with high school seniors were in preparation mode. 

Zhou Fangmei sat next to Song Yu, her expression stern, resembling a female warrior preparing for battle. She occasionally added some milk to Song Yu's bowl, her eyes full of care.

"Xiao Yu, did you check your backpack? Did you bring the Hundred-Flower Nectar and Energy Fruits?"

Zhou Fangmei didn't take a bite of her breakfast, repeatedly reminding Song Yu about what to bring and what to pay attention to. 

Among these, the Energy Fruits and Hundred-Flower Nectar were emphasized. She asked three times and even personally checked once.

This made Song Yu unintentionally feel nervous.

But as soon as she thought about not even wanting to become a Tamer anymore...

Song Yu calmly thought, "Oh, well, it doesn't matter."

So...

Song Yu nodded "yes" while eating breakfast.

Although she was quite perfunctory, she still displayed her acting skills.

"Mom, don't worry; I have everything I need!"

With her breakfast in hand, Song Yu pretended to be serious. Whenever Mrs. Zhou talked about how to choose the Initial Beasts, what to pay attention to, especially the Energy Fruits and Hundred-Flower Nectar, Song Yu held her breath and concentrated, wearing a solemn expression.

Whenever there was a crucial point, she even nodded to show respect to her mother.

The atmosphere was so solemn that even Song Qilian ate cautiously.

As if every deep breath he took would be a step further from his sister's success... 

Well, he couldn't blame her for not bonding with the Initial Beasts.

"Xiao Yu, don't worry! Just give it your best today! With these two items, there's definitely going to be a Beast willing to bond with you. Dad will cheer for you at the company!" 

Knowing his daughter's lifelong dream of becoming an excellent Tamer, Song's father didn't say anything discouraging like "You can't even bond with Beasts, but Daddy's here." Instead, he encouraged her, expressing his belief in her.

Song Yu nodded, and her pale, delicate face showed a firm and serious expression. It seemed as if she were saying, "Dad, don't worry, leave it to me," "Dad, trust me," and "Dad, I can definitely do it."

In reality, Song Yu couldn't help but sigh in her heart—Sorry, Mom and Dad, for the sake of my life, I have to let you down.

Fortunately, Song Wenhai didn't say anything more, and the sudden sound of horns outside the window interrupted his next words.

The sound, starting from a distance, clearly reached the ears of everyone in the dining room, prompting Song Yu to instinctively look out the window.

"Selling newspapers~~ Jiangnan Province Weekly! A new spatial rift appeared in Nan'an County yesterday. Experts detected that this secret realm is Three-Star level. Nan'an County is about to be upgraded to a Level Two city!~"

"Selling newspapers~~ Jiangnan Province Weekly! Seventh-stage Grandmaster Jiang spent 22 billion treating his main combat pet, the Flame Dragon. He signed a three-year contract with the Eastern Company to repay his debt~"

"Selling newspapers~~ Jiangnan Province Weekly! On this year's Initial Beast Distribution Day in Jiangnan Province, Beasts with potential value will be distributed to high school students according to their Taming Space level, 120%. The Sixth Army Region of Jiangnan Province has escorted the Beast cubs and arrived at 2891 high schools in the province in the early morning today~~"

Dozens of large, round, yellow, and furry bees with arm-length wingspans of grown women flew across the sky, buzzing as they traversed between floors and houses. 

Each of them had two large rolls of newspapers tied to their hind legs, with a fist-sized yellow fluffy wallet hanging from their waists.

One of them, significantly larger than the others, was the leading drone. It carried a dark green automatic loudspeaker pack on its back, with the word "Postal" written on it. The newspaper was being hawked through this speaker.

These chubby bees flew quite fast, but as soon as someone waved their hand at the window, their compound eyes accurately captured the person's movement. 

In a swift motion, they flew to the window and took out a newspaper from their legs to sell it to the person.

Song's father stood up, took out ten yuan from his wallet, and stood at the dining room window, waving at the bee.

One of the bees from the swarm immediately flew to the window and handed over a newspaper.

Song's father bought two copies of the newspaper and returned to the table. It was only after this that Song Yu withdrew her gaze.

Yellow-Mane Bees, group-living insect-type Beasts with a gentle temperament.

Yellow-Mane Bee Worker, a first-stage primary Beast, can carry heavy objects exceeding 20 kilograms for extended periods and fly at high speeds. They are proficient in using poison needles for attack.

Yellow-Mane Bee Drone, a first-stage intermediate Beast, can command and lead a group of worker bees within the hive. They usually serve as squad leaders, and their combat capabilities are stronger than worker bees.

The ones in front of you are newspaper-selling bees raised by the post office.

Song Yu, scratching her head, briefly checked the information about these yellow and brown bees from her "Superpower Beasts Encyclopedia" in her mind. 

While the size of these bees is similar to the fourth-order low-level Moonlight Firefly owned by Old Master Song, the difference in combat power between the two is like heaven and earth. 

Song Yu deeply remembered the minimum standard for a first-order low-level Beast—combat power of 10 points, while a regularly exercising ordinary adult male has a combat power of 1 point.

In other words...

This oversized bee could defeat ten of her.

Song Yu: "..."

Insults come in many forms, and combat power points happen to be the most straightforward data.

Song Yu breathed a sigh of relief; fortunately, she didn't plan to become a Tamer. Otherwise, in the wilderness and various secret realms, she might get beaten up by just jumping on a rabbit, resulting in broken limbs and a fractured neck.

Didn't today's headline in the newspaper say even a seventh-stage Grandmaster Tamer had to sell themselves to a big company for their pet beast?

Breakfast time is always short, amid the endless reminders from Mr. and Mrs. Song...

With two large black circles under her eyes, Song Yu followed behind Song Qi, slowly getting into the family car.

Looking at the backs of Song Yu and her brother leaving, Zhou Fangmei couldn't ease her worries. She grabbed Song Wenhai and said, "Wenhai, don't you think the pressure on Xiao Yu is a bit too much? She had a high fever a few days ago, and now she's been resting at home for three days. How come her dark circles are getting heavier?"

"I heard from Wang Jie that in these three days, we've been going to work while Xiao Yu sometimes didn't even come down for lunch. She forgot to eat, and Wang Jie had to bring her food upstairs."

Zhou Fangmei worriedly continued, "According to Wang Jie, sometimes when she's cleaning the hallway, she can hear strange noises coming from her room... do you think Xiao Yu might be crying under the covers?"

Song Wenhai, with his chubby arms around his wife, looked at the car leaving in the distance and consoled her, "Don't worry... it's only a few days. After the Initial Beast contract, Xiao Yu should be able to recover."

In fact, just now at the dining table, watching his daughter's eyelids darken and her slightly pale face, Song Wenhai was also quite worried.

But this Initial Beast contract is like a second rebirth in life. Any student intending to major in the professional field of a Tamer has to go through this threshold.

Without pressure, there's no growth. Song Wenhai comforted himself this way.

 

*****

 

Song Yu was completely unaware of the thoughts of the Song couple.

Sitting in the back seat of the car, she couldn't help but let out a big yawn. If it weren't for her cheap brother still sitting in the car, she might have tilted her head back and closed her eyes for a nap.

"Sigh..." Song Yu sighed in her heart. It's not that she lacks backbone.

It's just... this is a world of movies and TV dramas from another world!

So

many movies and TV shows she had never seen before! So many, many, many!
x

Sitting and watching, lying down and watching, lying on the bed and watching.

The three days of staying up all night made Song Yu feel like she had fallen into a sea of joy, and even eating was thrown behind her.

Especially in this world, many movies and TV shows are related to Beasts.

These special effects blockbusters shot with real scenes can't be compared to the computer synthesis in her previous life!

Song Yu was even happier!

Staring at Song Yu's lackluster appearance with dark circles under her eyes, Song Qi endured for two seconds but couldn't hold back.

The white hedgehog head on his irritable face raised its quills, and he sneered, "Even if you don't bond with any Initial Beast, the Song family won't collapse. Moreover, in two more years, I will definitely awaken powerful Tamer talents. By then, won't you see me crying every day? So, you better chill out."

Song Yu, who was drawn into thinking about watching the TV show "Global Outbreak of Beasts," didn't respond to her brother's words...

She silently looked at Song Qi, her expression saying it all.

Ah, a good little brother, why did you have to open your mouth?

If you hadn't opened your mouth, maybe Su Yuechan, the female lead, would be your girlfriend!

Knowing people express concern, not knowing, might think you want to fight me.

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