43: I want to be a salted fish

In Song Yu's perception, being a Beast Tamer was always considered a high-risk profession!

After all, with the rampant competition among 8 billion people, physical training was too strenuous! Rib fractures happened at the slightest movement.

Not to mention, newspapers, magazines, and web pages frequently reported news about the hardships and dangers of professional Beast Tamers. Although she had never seriously checked the number of people who died in the wilderness area and secret realms of major cities each year...

But no matter how you look at it, the profession of a Beast Tamer should not be an easy and leisurely major, right?

Song Yu frowned, her delicate and exquisite facial features almost squeezed into a ball.

"I said, wasting your time on Zhou Wenchang every day in the past was a waste of energy!"

Observing Song Yu's expression, Song Qi smiled triumphantly without waiting for Song Yu to ask further and said, "...You're in your senior year, and you still can't understand such a simple truth?

Song Yu choked, "..."

Unable to refute, she could only sit obediently, gazing at her younger brother, waiting for him to continue.

Song Qi arrogantly played with his newly dyed red hair, raised his chin, and said, "Although newspapers and schools often talk about the hardships and dangers of professional Beast Tamers, the newspapers focus more on the promotion of status and wealth after becoming a professional Beast Tamer. Who in the society has raised their status, who has made money in the wilderness forest and secret realms, and who has opened a big company by becoming a professional Beast Tamer."

"As for what the teachers often say, those thousands of people who died in the wilderness area and secret realms of Jianghuai City last year... it's even more ridiculous."

Song Qi raised his eyebrows, spread his hands in front of his chest, and made a big gesture, "Our entire Jianghuai City has over ten million people. On average, there are eighty to ninety people who die from accidents in the city every day. Over the course of a year, there are three to four thousand people... the number of deaths in the wilderness area and secret realms can't compare to the number of deaths from accidental events in the city!"

Song Qi: "There are so many dangerous professions in the world. People even die from choking on water! Isn't being a Beast Tamer a good profession? If we don't talk about ratios and just consider the annual death toll, that's just being rogue!"

Song Yu: "..."

What to do? Suddenly, she felt that her younger brother's words made much sense.

Not talking about the total number of people, only calculating the death toll does seem a bit rogue.

"...If there are no requirements for oneself, this person doesn't even need to exercise physically. Just move the mouth and let the contracted beast fight..."

"Look at our dad, he's gotten so fat, but he still manages to go to the wilderness area every year and come back with a lot of money, right?"

Song Qi glanced at Song Yu, triumphant: "Moreover, most of the people who die in the secret realms and wilderness areas every year are those reckless fools who think they're powerful but actually have low abilities, running to higher-level areas, and pioneers heading to new space rift realms to try to seize resources."

As for the former, there's no need to mention it.

Regarding the latter type, those who rush to the newly discovered realm to search for resources and make a big profit, isn't that a bit reckless?

After all, every newly discovered realm, when entered for the first time, has resources more than ten times that of already developed realms!

"So, in conclusion, as long as you don't encounter a beast tide, the danger of a professional Beast Tamer isn't as exaggerated..."

"On the contrary, the benefits are much more than other professions... Take the speed of making money, even robbing a bank can't compare. Otherwise, why would everyone want to become a professional Beast Tamer? People aren't idiots."

Song Qi stroked his chin, reached a conclusion: "Sis, in life, you can't always focus on negative news. You have to look at positive news more!"

Song Yu: "..."

...Alright, she understood.

It turns out that the male lead, Bai Yuhuan, is just a death-prone high school student, dying wherever he goes...

So, from the beginning, she stood from the perspective of a novel reader, thinking that the entire novel world was particularly cruel, and the death rate of professional Beast Tamers was particularly high.

In an instant, Song Yu felt a bit uncomfortable, but more than that, she blamed herself.

During these days, apart from watching TV dramas, why didn't she read more newspapers?

Maybe if she read more newspapers, she wouldn't have so many biases against the profession of Beast Tamer.

But...

Song Yu had a poker face and stepped on Song Qi's foot.

"...Ah!!" Song Qi was attacked unexpectedly and howled miserably, "Why did you step on me?!"

Song Yu glanced at Song Qi and loudly defended herself, "I'm your sister, what's wrong with stepping on you? How dare you say Dad is as fat as a ball?"

Finally attracted by the commotion, Song Wenhai laboriously lifted his head from the cumin spare ribs. On his chubby face, his eyes narrowed into thin slits.

Song Qi looked at Song Wenhai, his face frozen: "..."

Damn! Is this woman unable to take a joke? Can't she even hear the truth?!

The next moment.

"Hey! Dad, don't hit me, don't hit me... I really didn't say you're as fat as a ball! It's all my sister falsely accusing me!! I only said that you're so fat, but still can go to the wilderness area to make money... Aah! Don't hit me, don't hit me! I was wrong, I was wrong! You're not fat, not fat~~" Song Qi covered his head, swiftly dodging around the dining room.

The Song family, in a simple way, celebrated with Song Yu, just enjoying a good meal and not doing anything else.

When Song Yu finished dinner and returned to her room, she threw herself heavily onto the bed, burying herself in the soft blankets.

Ah~ Song Yu sighed.

Just now, in the dining room, she pondered over things.

Rationally speaking, she felt that what Song Qi said made sense.

A Beast Tamer is like a commanding leader, moving only the mouth, letting the contracted beast do the fighting. They only need to assess their own strength, carry their daily necessities on their backs when entering the wilderness forest and secret realms, and follow behind the contracted beast to collect various valuable materials and treasures.

With more contracted beasts, they wouldn't even need to carry their luggage themselves. They could let several contracted beasts take turns standing guard, moving together with them and their luggage.

Physical training was more about not dragging down the contracted beasts, not being a burden.

As for wanting Beast Tamers to win against other wilderness area beasts with physical abilities, that was something they couldn't even dream of!

But emotionally, Song Yu felt that her brother's words were not right.

After all, Song Qi's words were too ruthless, as if all contracted beasts were tools for humans to seek greater benefits, even if they were fed various treasures. But fundamentally, it was an investment, a desire for greater returns.

Thinking carefully, whether in the novel or in real life.

Even Bai Yuhuan, who reached the seventh-level master level as a professional Beast Tamer, was still a delicate and penniless guy.

Others...

Whether it was Grandpa Song, Song Wenhai, Zhao Xingrong's family, or Huang Jiayan's family...

Who didn't rely on becoming professional Beast Tamers to accumulate substantial wealth?

You know, before becoming a professional Beast Tamer, Grandpa Song was just an ordinary worker's child in Jianghuai City.

"Ah... why am I thinking about such profound questions? I'm just a salted fish!"

Song Yu covered her head, feeling sad as she rolled back and forth on the soft bed...

Most importantly, thinking about it now is useless.

The thinking and cognition in this world have been formed for thousands of years, and she alone can't change it.

And this... is like in the past on Earth.

Some countries considered cows sacred and didn't eat them.

Other countries thought that beef was high in protein and low in fat, especially healthy, and wanted to eat more.

Different social environments, different historical cultures, everyone will have various different thoughts.

So she didn't have the right to demand what others should do.

"So... I'll just find another major to slack off in... Being a Beast Tamer is not suitable for me." Song Yu scratched her head; anyway, in this lifetime, she planned to be a slacker, so she might as well be willful and be herself.

"Ah, space-type beasts are not suitable for me either. I'll just carry my own bag for the next three months..."

Song Yu rolled on the bed again, and her shoulders, which weren't carrying any weight yet, were already aching...

Ah~ Song Yu sighed again.

If it weren't for today's conversation with Song Qi, she wouldn't have felt so deeply.

However, after today's conversation, if she were to contract a space-type beast just for her luggage, she felt that she wouldn't be able to overcome that mental threshold.

Unless she already considered the beast as a friend, a partner, and was determined to take responsibility to the end.

 

*****

 

Monday always comes especially fast.

A group of students arrived at school, each carrying their luggage, happily.

Among these students, some were alone, while others were accompanied by parents who came to see them off.

On the spacious playground, nearly a hundred extra-large buses were parked, each with class numbers written on the front.

Carrying a massive backpack weighing 28 kilograms, Song Yu, like a snail, yawned lazily as she followed behind the crowd. After finally finding the bus for Class 5, when she boarded... she found that the entire bus was already filled to the brim.

Everyone was excited, as if they were heading to a flower-filled forest rather than the wilderness.

Some people, upon seeing Song Yu boarding, even greeted her.

"Oh! Look at these dark circles under my eyes. I was so excited last night that I didn't sleep. How about you guys?"

"Hehehe, my team found 10 people this time, and three of them have first-tier contracted beasts. We should be able to go deep into the center of the Qingshan Wilderness Area!"

"I heard there are many first and second-grade mineral spirit plants in the Qingshan Wilderness Area. I wonder if we'll be lucky this time."

"Even if we don't find spirit minerals or plants, training contracted beasts to improve their strength is not bad. Don't tell me you want to get fat all at once? The most important thing is... with a group of 10 people, even if you distribute what you find to each person, it's not much money, right?"

"Ah, those students whose initial contracted beasts have reached level 2 are really good. They can enter the Qingshan Area alone."

As they spoke, many people looked at Song Yu with envy.

Currently, in the entire Class 5, only Song Yu's contracted beast had reached level 2!

The look in their eyes practically said... this woman going to the wilderness will definitely be able to kill all around and obtain various spirit minerals and plants!

Song Yu: "..."

Song Yu silently placed the extra-large backpack on the bus's upper storage rack.

She tried her best not to look at the heated gazes from those around her.

Truth be told, she had already obtained the map of the Qingshan Wilderness Area and planned to settle by a small river for the next half month.

Even tomorrow's lunch had been decided last night: braised river fish!

As for spirit plants and minerals, they had absolutely nothing to do with her!

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