Luminous Fruit Tree

The morning sun grew ever more scorching,

Moistening Duck stood in the fields with its butt sticking up, watering the fruit pits one by one.

It hummed the incomprehensible "Duckie March" as it delighted in the joy of watering.

Once it finished, it put on airs and wiped its forehead, fixed its feathers, then backed up to Chen Yuan's side.

Chen Yuan gave it a thumbs-up. "Good. We're having fried dried fish for lunch today."

"Quack quack."

Moistening Duck immediately beamed with delight.

Afterward, Cola prepared to take Moistening Duck around to familiarize it with the farm, but the latter shook its head and swaggered over to the fishpond, where it lay down.

It had started sunbathing again.

"What a retired old cadre's life." Chen Yuan smiled helplessly.

After breakfast,

Chen Yuan, who had been about to head out for a stroll, received a call from Song Guohao.

"Brother Song, what is it?"

"There's something I need your help with." Song Guohao's deep voice came through.

Chen Yuan smiled. "Why are you being so polite with me, Brother Song?"

"Then I'll get straight to the point." Song Guohao paused briefly, choosing his words before explaining, "Actually, Uncle Zhao's family has run into some trouble."

"Oh?" Curiosity appeared on Chen Yuan's face.

"Doesn't he have a Gray-Armored Mountain Pig?"

"Yes." Chen Yuan nodded. He had even gotten Origin Points from approaching that Gray-Armored Mountain Pig before.

"It's like this. For the past two nights, Uncle Zhao has heard the Gray-Armored Mountain Pig letting out miserable cries every night. Whenever he went to check on it, he found it covered in scratch marks."

Chen Yuan's eyes flickered as he instinctively guessed, "It fought another Extraordinary Creature?"

Song Guohao neither confirmed nor denied it, continuing, "Uncle Zhao asked us to help investigate. When we went over, we found a Spiritual Plant on his farm."

"You should understand now why the Gray-Armored Mountain Pig was injured, right?"

Chen Yuan froze slightly, his mind spinning at high speed. Then he came to a bold guess. "An Extraordinary Creature wanted to fight over the Spiritual Plant, and the Gray-Armored Mountain Pig tried to stop it, so the two sides fought?"

"That's my guess too. It should be eight or nine parts out of ten correct." Song Guohao spoke gravely, then said helplessly, "But you know the situation at our rescue station. We don't currently have a Beast Tamer capable of handling something like this, so we can only ask you to make a move."

Chen Yuan readily agreed. "It's a small matter."

"Then do you want to come over and check things out first, or just come directly tonight?" Song Guohao asked.

Chen Yuan thought for a moment. "I'll come take a look first."

"Alright. I'll have Zhang Hao wait for you."

More than ten minutes later,

Chen Yuan met Zhang Hao at the entrance to Uncle Zhao's farm, while Uncle Zhao stood nearby as well.

After Chen Yuan greeted them, Uncle Zhao hurriedly said, "Little Chen, they all say you're the most capable Beast Tamer in Xuanhe Village. You have to help me with this."

"Don't worry, Uncle Zhao. Let's look into the situation first." Chen Yuan soothed him, then asked warmly, "Uncle Zhao, tell me first—when exactly did this start happening?"

"It started the night before last, and it happened again last night. It's got Auntie Wang and me worrying all day long. We can't even get any work done properly." Uncle Zhao looked worried and let out a long sigh.

"It's alright. We'll help you solve it," Chen Yuan said calmly.

After entering the farm,

Chen Yuan soon spotted the Gray-Armored Mountain Pig wandering around. On closer inspection, there really were several shallow claw marks on its body.

The Gray-Armored Mountain Pig was now a full size larger than when Chen Yuan had first seen it. Combined with the wounds across its body, it exuded a ferocious aura that rushed straight at him.

Its wary eyes assessed Spark and Cola beside Chen Yuan. Then it repeatedly stomped the ground with all four limbs, snorting out bursts of hot breath. It looked exceptionally restless.

Chen Yuan paused. "Uncle Zhao, you just let it wander around the farm? You don't keep it in a pigsty?"

At that, Uncle Zhao let out a long sigh. "I'd like to, but that pigsty can't hold it. It can jump out without any effort."

Chen Yuan smiled helplessly. "Then there really isn't much you can do."

Giving the Gray-Armored Mountain Pig a wide berth—it was like a powder keg that would explode at the slightest spark—Uncle Zhao led the two of them to a towering tree more than ten meters tall.

The tree was lush with branches and leaves, and more than a dozen golden-yellow fruits hung from it.

Chen Yuan had never seen this kind of tree, nor had he seen these fruits before.

"Brother Song looked it up. This is a Luminous Fruit Tree. The fruits it bears can increase an Extraordinary Creature's comprehension." Zhang Hao's voice sounded beside his ear just then.

Chen Yuan turned his head and saw Zhang Hao raise an eyebrow as he continued, "Luminous Fruit is a Level Two resource. If sold to the Association, each one is worth at least ten Contribution Points."

Chen Yuan raised an eyebrow. "Uncle Zhao really is lucky."

Uncle Zhao listened to their conversation with a baffled expression. Only after a moment did he realize what they meant. "You mean these fruits can be sold for money?"

The two nodded.

"Sell them to the market or the supermarket?" Uncle Zhao continued asking.

Chen Yuan smiled. "Neither. You sell them to the Beast Tamer Association."

Uncle Zhao's expression became even more bewildered.

Chen Yuan stopped dwelling on the subject and waved a hand. "Let's find a way to deal with the trouble in front of us first. We can discuss this afterward."

A long while later,

Chen Yuan and Zhang Hao walked out of the farm side by side.

"Looks like we guessed right. An Extraordinary Creature probably tried to seize the Luminous Fruit and fought the Gray-Armored Mountain Pig." After investigating the scene, Chen Yuan was even more certain of his conjecture.

"These Extraordinary Creatures have pretty sharp noses, huh? They actually managed to find this place."

Logically speaking, Uncle Zhao's farm was located in the center of Xuanhe Village, some distance from the nearest woods. It should have been quite safe.

"It would've been great if there were surveillance cameras. Then the truth would have come to light immediately." Zhang Hao shrugged.

"Indeed." Chen Yuan nodded in full agreement, while deciding to install surveillance cameras on his own farm as well.

In this brand-new era, surveillance cameras were absolutely necessary.

"By the way, have you contracted a pet beast?" Chen Yuan turned to Zhang Hao and asked curiously.

"Ahem." Zhang Hao showed a rare look of embarrassment, and his voice grew quieter and quieter. "I have. It's the kind you just saw."

Chen Yuan was stunned at first, then suddenly understood. "Oh, a Gray-Armored Mountain Pig."

Looking at the sheepish Zhang Hao, he teased, "So you finally came around and decided to become a piggy knight."

Then,

He patted Zhang Hao on the shoulder and said earnestly, "It's fine, Haozi. Every Extraordinary Creature possesses limitless potential and possibilities."

"The Gray-Armored Mountain Pig isn't bad. In my opinion, it's actually very good."

Zhang Hao abruptly raised his head, his expectant gaze urging Chen Yuan to continue.

Chen Yuan cleared his throat and went on, "The Gray-Armored Mountain Pig has thick hide and can take a beating. Doesn't that complement you perfectly as a Beast Tamer?"

Zhang Hao, who had been listening intently, underwent a dramatic change in expression and cursed, "Get lost, you bastard."

After a round of laughter and banter, the two quietly waited for night to fall.