Call It "Mom"-Do You Know What's on Its Mind?

Lin Yuan looked at Liu Xing's message and was momentarily speechless.

He wasn't particularly fond of the verb "catch."

But it was a fashionable expression among Beast Tamers, alongside phrases like "catching the two-day weekend bug" and "catching the leaving-work-on-time bug."

The everyday things ordinary people enjoyed seemed to become signs of wasting one's life when it came to Beast Tamers.

After some thought, Lin Yuan didn't feel he could say much, so he sent back a short message: "Keep it in moderation."

Five minutes later, the two met up.

Liu Xing looked miserable. He raised his head, confusion in his eyes. "Lin Yuan, do you think I should call Zizi 'Mom'?"

Lin Yuan's face was full of question marks. "Huh? Why?"

Liu Xing said, "I read a novel where the protagonist's [Illusion Dream Butterfly] loved beauty and initially looked down on the protagonist's appearance."

"Later, they took a two-week vacation on an island by the coast. The protagonist called the [Illusion Dream Butterfly] Mom and spent a lot of money."

"Then the [Illusion Dream Butterfly] evolved. Its pursuit shifted from outward beauty to inner beauty, and their hearts connected. They finally learned to get along and began embracing a new world."

Lin Yuan: "..."

Lin Yuan said, "What on earth are you reading? Why is the logic so weird? Let me see."

Dazed, Liu Xing handed over his phone. Lin Yuan quickly checked the synopsis, cover, first chapter, publication date, completion date, and so on. In less than three minutes, he let out a breath and said:

"Didn't you hear about that news story that went viral a while ago? There's a new mechanical-type pet beast, the [Intelligent Domain Spirit], that can rapidly generate novels."

"Look at this one. It churned out 2.87 million words in less than three months. Is that something an ordinary person could do?"

"And look at the first chapter. All those modifiers—it spends eight paragraphs describing the same rocky shoal over and over. This isn't how people write. You can't trust the contents of this book, not a single word."

"I'll teach you a few tricks for finding completed novels. If all else fails, read a new book that started within the last twenty days and is doing well. You can't go wrong with that."

Lin Yuan earnestly "tutored" Liu Xing for twenty minutes before the light finally returned to his eyes.

"Just as I thought, my Zizi isn't that kind of shallow butterfly. I'll keep calling it Zizi!" Liu Xing threw up his arms and cheered.

"Yep, yep!" Lin Yuan nodded rapidly.

He wanted to say something, but held back.

He suddenly realized that someone like Liu Xing, who had never read novels before, really did seem to lack some basic discernment.

From that perspective, describing it as "catching the novel-reading bug" wasn't entirely unreasonable.

With his energy restored, Liu Xing continued enthusiastically hosting Lin Yuan.

Before dinner, they returned to Liu Xing's breeding facility. Lin Yuan was quite interested in his research topic, so he examined the sample data and progress of several experiments. Along the way, he offered some suggestions, including changes and additions to the variable control groups.

Liu Xing kept exclaiming that Lin Yuan was a genius and even said he would add him to the acknowledgments.

Lin Yuan honestly couldn't bear to tell him that he thought the overall approach and structure of his paper were off. Besides, Liu Xing had already been through some intense emotional swings that day.

So he didn't mention it.

Liu Xing had only just graduated from high school. It was better to let him experience setbacks gradually.

Dinner once again showed Lin Yuan the resources of a wealthy Lineage.

The head chef at Liu Xing's home was a four-star spirit chef with exceptional skills.

The graded ingredients Lin Yuan ate that evening probably amounted to more than everything he had eaten in his previous sixteen years combined.

Liu Xing also thoughtfully prepared food for Lin Yuan's pet beasts.

As Lin Yuan headed home laden with goodies, Liu Xing looked at his bulging backpack and said:

"When you negotiate tomorrow, I think you could ask whether they have any [storage-type] [Beast Gear]. That would make traveling much more convenient."

Lin Yuan nodded.

The following afternoon.

Lin Yuan arrived twenty minutes early at the place he had agreed on with Huang Tao and Huang Zixuan—a restaurant owned by the [Yellow Crane Tower Shop], the [Yellow Crane Tower Restaurant].

He made his way to their reserved private room, Room 302.

The father and son were already there.

What made Lin Yuan's eyes light up with delight was the [Fortune Dog] he had seen so often in news reports, now nestled beside Huang Tao's feet.

Its expression and eyes looked a little more aged than in the photograph he had seen.

Its fur, however, looked glossier.

Huang Zixuan's [Wonderstar Grass] was beside it too, its leaves wrapped around its body as though it were comfortably enjoying the warmth coming from the [Fortune Dog].

The big yellow dog's panel also appeared before Lin Yuan's eyes.

[Fortune Dog]

[Attribute]: metal

[Quality]: Ordinary Mid-Grade

[Sex]: male

[Level]: ordinary level 10

[Trait]: [Fortune Attraction]

[Personality]: loyal, obsessive, resistant to change

[Status]: a [Fortune Dog] with less than two years left to live. The injuries, illnesses, rises, and falls it has experienced have given it an extremely change-resistant and obsessive personality.

It is unwilling to undergo a fundamental change in form, because it believes its unchanging appearance carries nearly twenty years of weathering life's storms, as well as its bonds with its past owners.

It has an underlying ailment, but after years of treatment with various products, that ailment is no longer a major cause of its physical decline. Its emotional troubles are the primary reason for its poor condition.

It has deliberately concealed its worries and secrets even from its closest Beast Tamer, who remains unaware of them.

Evolving into a [Fortune Field Dog], whose appearance is almost identical to a [Fortune Dog], could extend its lifespan by at least ten years. However, resolving its emotional troubles is a prerequisite for evolution.

[Evolution Path]

Evolution path one: Fortune Spirit Dog, quality: transcendent high-grade, compatibility: 1%.

Hidden evolution path: Fortune Field Dog, quality: transcendent high-grade, compatibility: 100%.

After quickly reading its status, Lin Yuan greeted Huang Tao and Huang Zixuan in turn.

"Little Yuan, right? May I call you Little Yuan?" Huang Tao's expression barely changed, but his voice was quite warm. "Come, sit down."

"Uncle Huang, yes, of course. My parents call me that too." Lin Yuan smiled, set his backpack on another empty chair, and then sat down.

Huang Zixuan, beside Huang Tao, had been a little nervous at first. He had come to "back Lin Yuan up," to keep his father from being too overbearing toward his academically brilliant classmate.

But his father was clearly much gentler today than he had expected, completely unlike the attitude he remembered his father taking toward him.

"Have the dishes served. We can talk while we eat. Don't be too nervous," Huang Tao said. Then he took out a paper contract and handed it to Lin Yuan.

"This is a draft contract I've put together based on current market conditions and my demand for [Spirit Dew]. Take a look. If you have any questions or additional requirements, feel free to bring them up."

Lin Yuan took the contract and began reading it slowly.

He had already rehearsed this scenario with Huo Yu yesterday. Many shop owners habitually opened by tossing out a drafted contract to seize the initiative.

But there was no need to panic in that situation. He just had to read through it slowly, identify every potential pitfall, and then reasonably state his boundaries and requirements without either groveling or acting arrogant.

Lin Yuan read very carefully.

He also located some of the key information he needed between the lines.

"Purchases of [Yuanming Pet Food Shop]'s top-tier transcendent-quality product, [Spirit Dew], shall be for internal use only and shall not be resold."

"The minimum monthly purchase quantity shall be 600 drops (30 mL), at a price of 80,000 alliance coins per 10 drops (0.5 mL), or in exchange for goods or materials of equivalent value."

"If [Spirit Dew] is used as a raw ingredient for further processing, the product and its source shall be credited: [Yuanming Pet Food Shop], Lin Hua City, proprietor Lin Yuan."

"The contract term shall be two years. Should the quality of [Spirit Dew] improve or its market price rise during this period, a new purchase price may be negotiated, but it shall not fall below 80,000 alliance coins per 10 drops."

"Three months before the contract expires, both parties may evaluate and discuss whether to renew."

In fact, these key terms in the contract already met Lin Yuan's basic requirements.

Honestly, this was much gentler than the swords-drawn, bows-bent confrontation they had imagined.

Combined with what he had seen on the panel, it made Lin Yuan even more certain that [Spirit Dew] was one of the products Huang Tao intended to use to care for the [Fortune Dog] through its final two years and see it through to the end.

The terms were quite good, but Lin Yuan remembered something Huo Yu had said yesterday:

"You need to demonstrate your value as an investment and a partner—in other words, whether [Spirit Dew] is the ceiling of what your pet food shop can offer."

At present, this contract was based solely on [Spirit Dew].

If Lin Yuan wanted a deeper partnership and to round out his family's business structure in a short time, he needed to do something.

And he had already decided what to do now.

Setting down the contract, Lin Yuan didn't discuss its contents. Instead, he glanced at the [Fortune Dog], then at Huang Tao.

"Uncle Huang, there's something I'd like to ask first. How many years have you been contracted with the [Fortune Dog]? Do you know what's on its mind?"

Huang Tao had been about to pick up a shrimp with his chopsticks. His hand suddenly paused.

We're already contracted, and our minds are connected. What secrets could there be that I don't know?

But on second thought, Fortune Attraction had already been almost twenty when he contracted with it. He knew a great deal about what had happened since then, but he couldn't guarantee that he fully understood its earlier worries and thoughts.

Meanwhile, the [Fortune Dog], which had been sitting quietly, abruptly stood up, startling the already sleeping [Wonderstar Grass] awake.

It began barking, "Woof, woof!" Its voice was actually filled with hostility.

Lin Yuan's words had pierced straight to the heart of the matter. It had indeed been hiding some of its true thoughts from Huang Tao, despite their contract.

Was this child a Beast Tamer who could read the minds of other people's pet beasts?

Those were the Beast Tamers it hated most in its entire canine life!

Huang Zixuan, meanwhile, was rather dumbfounded.

This wasn't how he had expected things to go!

His normally stern father was so gentle and kindly today.

Fortune Attraction, the [Fortune Dog] that had always treated him better than anyone, and that he had barely ever seen snarl at anyone throughout his childhood, was now barking at the classmate he had come to "protect."

What was going on?

Could Lin Yuan's [Living Creature Affinity] have just sensed something?