Luxury

That morning, Zuo Yi walked out of the pet store with barely any savings left.

By the time he returned to the old Linjiang house that afternoon, not only had his account balance been emptied, but he had also maxed out quite a bit of his credit limit.

Money really flowed away like water!

Besides buying Taike a doghouse and a space capsule backpack, Zuo Yi took Bao'er to the supermarket for a major shopping trip. Steaks and beef alone cost two or three thousand, and he also bought over a hundred pounds of beef bones for Taike to snack on.

He bought Bao'er plenty of snacks, nutritional milk powder, and more. Then Zuo Yi fitted his Harley with a child safety seat. Since it was a specialized imported device, that cost him another thousand-plus yuan.

Still, the money had been well spent. With it, Zuo Yi could legally take Bao'er around the city on his motorcycle. They no longer needed to take buses or taxis into town, making everyday travel much more convenient.

In truth, even without the safety seat, Zuo Yi was fully capable of keeping Bao'er safe.

For example, if he rode his Harley head-on into a heavy tank at high speed, the one that got wrecked would definitely be the latter.

But order was Zuo Yi's most important belief.

Obeying the laws and regulations of the Main World was precisely one way of upholding order!

It was just that, very often, strictly upholding order came at a very, very high price.

Poor...

Sitting in a recliner beneath the eaves, Zuo Yi watched Bao'er play with Taike in the courtyard, his brow furrowed with worry.

The man who had used materials worth three hundred million that morning to make Bao'er a wooden sword was now worrying about money.

As the saying went, a mountain of wealth would eventually run dry if all one did was sit and spend. Raising a daughter was expensive enough now, and with an even bigger food-devouring magical pet to feed, Zuo Yi felt that he really needed to find another way to make money.

His credit limit was high, and overdrawing two or three hundred thousand yuan for now was no problem. But money borrowed from the bank still had to be repaid. Finding ways to earn more was the proper path.

And the money he earned had to be proper money too—clean and honest money!

Zuo Yi rubbed his chin and sank into thought.

"Daddy!"

Bao'er ran over excitedly and threw herself into his arms, panting for breath.

Zuo Yi wiped away her sweat and smiled. "Stop playing. You're all sweaty. Go take a bath in a little while."

"Mm."

Bao'er raised her flushed little face and nodded.

Zuo Yi chuckled. "You're hungry, right? Daddy will make dinner now."

Woof!

Taike chased after her and vigorously rubbed against Bao'er's leg, wanting her to keep playing with him.

Zuo Yi shot him a glare on the spot. Taike could only tuck his tail and slink miserably back into his doghouse.

Zuo Yi went into the kitchen, lit the stove, and began preparing dinner.

That afternoon, he had also bought a home-style cookbook at the supermarket. He planned to put more skill points into cooking, so Bao'er could eat healthy and delicious food every day from now on.

After a busy spell, Zuo Yi managed to prepare three dishes and a soup for dinner: braised beef, steamed perch, blanched choy sum, and tomato egg soup.

Aside from the tomato egg soup, the other three dishes had all been made according to the cookbook.

Though it was his first attempt, they turned out fairly well. At least they were edible.

Zuo Yi felt rather pleased with himself, with no small sense of accomplishment.

"Sweetheart..."

He arranged the dishes on the dining table and called upstairs, "Come down and eat!"

"I'm coming!"

Bao'er came running downstairs with a rapid patter of footsteps, with the glutton Taike following behind her.

Although Zuo Yi was not particularly fond of the little fellow, he had prepared food for him as well: two pounds of beef, two steaks, and two large beef bones. Everything had been seared directly with battle aura flames, then seasoned.

Taike ate just as happily as ever.

Together, Zuo Yi and Bao'er wiped out all three dishes and the soup.

Of course, Zuo Yi ate most of it.

Zuo Yi had worried that the food made during his first culinary attempt might not suit Bao'er's taste. Yet she ate with great relish and was not picky at all, leaving this newly minted stay-at-home dad feeling delighted.

After dinner, Agu cleaned up the mess as usual. Bao'er ran off to watch television in the living room, while Zuo Yi brewed a pot of black tea and watched Tom and Jerry with her.

As for Taike, he lay beside the sofa, hugging a large beef bone and gnawing on it endlessly.

One thing was certain: he would gnaw that bone clean without leaving even a scrap behind. Though he was still a pup, his teeth were absurdly strong!

After watching Tom and Jerry, Zuo Yi took Bao'er upstairs to bathe and sleep.

By the time Bao'er went to bed, it was already past eight in the evening. Zuo Yi sat at the edge of her bed, keeping her company and coaxing her to sleep.

Only after she had fallen asleep did Zuo Yi quietly leave the room.

Before leaving, he also grabbed Taike, who was hiding in the corner and pretending to be a dead dog, and carried him away.

Carrying Taike, Zuo Yi entered the study connected to the master bedroom.

He tossed the little fellow aside, switched on the desk lamp, and sat down at the desk.

Taike, having no idea what was going on, trembled all over.

He wanted to run, but he did not dare move recklessly. Bao'er was not around—his greatest backer was gone!

Yet after throwing him aside, Zuo Yi paid him no further attention.

He took out several materials and tools from his Spatial Ring.

Zuo Yi planned to make Taike a collar and leash, so Bao'er could take him out for walks in the future.

He had not bought ready-made ones from the pet store because ordinary items could not restrain this little fellow at all.

Zuo Yi first cut out a piece of dragonhide.

The dragonhide was silvery white, thick and tough in texture. A faint sheen flowed across its surface, and it gave off an icy aura.

The items Zuo Yi stored in his Spatial Ring were precious things he had accumulated over decades through hundreds of planar wars and adventures. Virtually all of the materials were top-grade goods.

This dragonhide was no exception. It came from a silver dragon known as Frost Silverwing.

Zuo Yi had slain that giant dragon on a Frozen Plane and harvested a great deal of material from its body. He had used much of it over the years, but some still remained.

He folded the dragonhide into a long strip and secured it with rivets forged from Scarlet Essence Copper, quickly completing a leather collar.

Though the collar looked simple, its value and usefulness were beyond imagination. The dragonhide could withstand both physical and magical attacks, and it also possessed extraordinary elasticity.

Frost Silverwing had been extremely famous on the Frozen Plane. It loved transforming into human form and causing trouble in the human world. Its hide could stretch and contract at will, extending dozens or even hundreds of times its original length with ease.

Furthermore, the frost power contained within the dragonhide could effectively suppress the restless bloodline power inside Taike, preventing him from accidentally causing unnecessary trouble.

Zuo Yi reached out, grabbed Taike, and slipped the dragonhide collar around his neck to try it on. The size was just right.

Taike had no ability to resist in Zuo Yi's grasp. Though he greatly disliked having this thing around his neck, he could only endure it obediently.

After finishing the collar, Zuo Yi took a bundle of dragon sinew and cut off a section a little over a meter long to use as a leash.

The dragon sinew also came from Frost Silverwing, harvested from the silver dragon's wings. It was therefore also called Dragon Wing Sinew. Compared to the main tendons in a dragon's body, it was much thinner, but no less resilient.

Even with the indestructible Falling Star Dagger, Zuo Yi had to infuse it with battle aura to cut it.

Dragon Wing Sinew was even more elastic than dragonhide, and far tougher than Dragonblood Vine Tendril. In the Sadea World, there was probably no more extravagant dog leash than this.

Zuo Yi fixed one end of the Dragon Wing Sinew to a dragon toe bone. The dragon toe bone, about three inches long, was perfect as a handle—and exceptionally beautiful.

Next, Zuo Yi took out two pieces of Falling Star Core Iron.

Falling Star Core Iron came from the core of star meteorites. It was one of the finest materials for refining law weapons and forging rune weapons.

This type of meteoric iron was scarce and extraordinarily expensive.

Zuo Yi placed a small piece of Falling Star Core Iron in his right palm.

The next instant, the meteoric iron silently floated upward and hovered half a foot above his hand.

An incomparably blazing flame suddenly surged from Zuo Yi's palm, rising to envelop the meteoric iron. The bright flames instantly illuminated his face and the entire study.

This was the strongest blazing flame Zuo Yi could ignite with his own battle aura!

Under the scorching battle aura flames, the Falling Star Core Iron rapidly melted, condensing into a ball of glowing red liquid.

Under his control, the liquid meteoric iron continuously twisted and changed. Two exquisite connected leash hooks gradually took shape.

At that very moment, a sudden warning surged in Zuo Yi's heart!

The Gargoyle guarding the courtyard sent him a telepathic message.

Here comes the second update. As usual, please vote!