Lone wolf

"Sure, definitely five stars." Lu Ran chuckled.

He hadn't expected the second-largest intelligence organization to be so down-to-earth.

"So, do you need any other information? For a newcomer like you, I'd really recommend purchasing some advanced training information." Xiao Ling's cat ears twitched, making Lu Ran pause.

"What do you mean by advanced training information?" Lu Ran asked.

"Well, things like what resources you need to raise your pet beast, which secret realms offer those resources, and which realms provide good training with relatively little danger. Those all count as advanced information."

"Monster profiles and exploration guides for specific secret realms count too. They're perfect for newcomers like you."

"And, of course, the most important thing... the optimal evolution path! Though that falls into an even higher tier of information."

Lu Ran looked at Little White Dragon.

Little White Dragon rubbed his chin and nodded. "Once you join the official organization, basic information is actually free, but you still have to pay something for advanced information."

"After all, a lot of that information was obtained at the cost of our predecessors' lives," Xiao Ling said.

Lu Ran nodded in understanding, but...

"I'll have to think about it first," Lu Ran said.

"No rush! I'll go contact the Medicine Pavilion, then," Xiao Ling said.

"Okay. Wait, I think there actually is one more thing I need to know." Something suddenly occurred to Lu Ran. He'd almost forgotten!

"Oh? What is it?" Xiao Ling asked curiously.

"If I want to buy weapons, armor, and other equipment, or buy materials and have a weapon custom-forged, where should I go?" Lu Ran asked.

"That information is a little too basic." Xiao Ling smiled. "You could get the answer just by asking Mr. Little White Dragon beside you. How about this? I'll recommend a place with a good reputation in this Infinite City for free."

"Coordinates 8766, 1273. The owner of that forge is one of the best smiths among the third-generation Beast Tamers, and the prices are perfectly reasonable. Whether you're buying equipment and items or having a weapon forged, it's a good choice."

Lu Ran noted down the coordinates, but soon another question arose. "By the way, how exactly do lifestyle Beast Tamers work...?"

He had a rough idea, but still needed to confirm it.

"Uh, haven't I told you?" Beside him, Little White Dragon spoke first, rubbing his chin.

"Both I and Xiao Ling here count as lifestyle Beast Tamers, actually."

"Lifestyle Beast Tamers are those who don't make challenging and clearing secret realms or improving their beast-taming strength their main goal."

"The most straightforward way for Beast Tamers to improve is to train in secret realms. But you've been through the Novice Secret Realm yourself, so you know how dangerous those places are. Most people decide never to enter another one after trying it once."

"So they learn specialized skills like cooking, forging, or medicine-making to earn crystal coins from combat Beast Tamers."

"Then they buy resources with those crystal coins to raise their levels and hire combat Beast Tamers to protect them in breakthrough secret realms. That's another way to advance steadily. In short, they're two different paths."

"Have you already given up on becoming a combat Beast Tamer, Mr. Little White Dragon?" Lu Ran asked.

"Yeah. I have a wife and kids. After thinking it over carefully, I decided against doing something so dangerous. I'm happy with things as they are. Even the most ordinary lifestyle Beast Tamer earns more than those elites in the outside world could dream of." Little White Dragon smiled.

"If you'd asked, I would've recommended becoming a lifestyle Beast Tamer too. They're often the ones living most comfortably. But now..." Remembering that Lu Ran had earned at least a D rating with a husky, Little White Dragon realized he probably didn't need his advice. Lu Ran would surely make his own choice.

"Yes, Mr. Little White Dragon has covered the basics. I work here because I don't like fighting either." Xiao Ling, the cat-eared maid, smiled. "I'm pretty happy with this job. The senior staff take good care of me and leave lots of work and opportunities to gain experience to me."

"Look, even an intern like me gets to manage such a big place all by herself!" Xiao Ling's eyes shone. After all, this was an intelligence center famous throughout Infinite City!

Lu Ran: "..."

Are you sure they aren't just exploiting you for overtime?

The owner of this café is downright heartless, squeezing an intern like this.

Lifestyle Beast Tamers...

Lu Ran considered it, feeling that the role wasn't necessarily incompatible with being a combat Beast Tamer.

If a Beast Tamer could prepare customized nutritious meals and craft equipment for their own pet beasts, they could certainly raise them better. Ultimately, though, it came down to time, energy, and talent.

"Lu Ran, if you need to buy a weapon, let me take you! I know my way around Infinite City, and I can offer some advice when we get there." After learning of Lu Ran's potential, Little White Dragon had become even more attentive. After all, Lu Ran was a walking bonus!

"Hmm... I'm not planning to go right now. I'll head over myself later," Lu Ran said, not wanting to trouble him too much.

"All right." Little White Dragon could only accept it.

"You two keep chatting. I'll be right back," Xiao Ling said.

"But before that, let's add each other as friends."

Lu Ran nodded again and added her to his contacts.

Then Xiao Ling told Lu Ran and Little White Dragon to make themselves comfortable while she contacted the Medicine Pavilion guild through the maid café's dedicated channels.

Meanwhile, Little White Dragon fixed Lu Ran with another eager stare. "So, young Lu Ran, just how high was your rating?"

"If it's really high, you can get generous training support from either the official organization or the major guilds. If you're interested, I can introduce you."

Lu Ran grinned. "Not that high. Lower than that pig farmer's. As for joining an organization... I haven't really decided yet. I want to learn more first."

If you encounter advertisements such as "Are you a real person?", simply close them and ignore them. Do not scan any codes or send text messages!

Little White Dragon was speechless. You really won't budge, will you?

"Beast Tamers today can roughly be divided into four groups: the first generation from three years ago, the second generation from two years ago, the third generation from last year, and our current fourth generation."

"Of Xia Country's first-generation Beast Tamers, only thirteen are still active on the front lines. All of them hold high-ranking positions in the Donghuang Alliance."

"There are a lot more second- and third-generation Beast Tamers still active. Both the founder of this cat-eared maid café and the Medicine Pavilion's guild leader are second-generation Beast Tamers. People like them are the backbone of Xia Country's Beast Tamers today."

"Although beast-taming organizations like the cat-eared maid café and the Medicine Pavilion were founded by individuals, they're still part of Xia Country's Donghuang Beast Taming Alliance. They're just subject to supervision rather than direct orders from above."

"You can think of it as the difference between fully official and semi-official Beast Tamers," Little White Dragon said. "I'm fully official, while someone like Xiao Ling is semi-official. Ultimately, there's no such thing as complete independence."

"If you want a secure job and an official post, join the official organization like I did. If you want a little more freedom, you can join a guild or trade association. Think of it as working for a company, with those companies being member organizations of the Donghuang Alliance."

"The Donghuang Alliance is Xia Country's largest beast-taming organization, made up of official institutions and the major guilds."

Although recruiting Lu Ran to his side would earn him a sizable bonus, Little White Dragon Amid the Waves didn't like misleading people, so he explained the differences clearly.

In his traditional view, most people would surely prefer a secure job!

After all, every career path ultimately led to an official post.

"Those are basically your two choices. You'll almost always need a team for secret realm instances later on. Random teams are unreliable, so nobody dares join them. If you want a dependable team, it'll either be an official clearing squad or a guild team."

"Can't I solo them?" Lu Ran asked.

"Solo..." Little White Dragon's stomach hurt. This kid really had no idea what he was getting into.

"Why do you think there are so few first-generation Beast Tamers left?"

"Apart from those who gave up being Beast Tamers or switched to the lifestyle path, most of them... died in secret realms."

"And that was with teams. Beast Tamers who can solo them are few and far between. No, you could say there aren't any."

Lu Ran pondered this. He still preferred going solo, since he had the Divine Deer Pendant and didn't want to expose it.

That was why he had kept hesitating in the face of Little White Dragon's various invitations.

If he joined the official organization or a guild, there would inevitably be situations beyond his control. He couldn't risk it!

Rather than deal with endless trouble later, he might as well go solo from the start.

So, could soloing with the Divine Deer Pendant actually be more efficient than teaming up with other people?

If it could, I'd be a lone wolf in the early stages.

Once the Divine Deer Pendant's advantage became less significant and the later secret realm instances grew trickier, he could consider joining an organization. By then, he would have some strength of his own. No, perhaps he could even form his own team or guild at that point, recruiting only people he could trust!

"What are you two talking about?" Xiao Ling came back out just then. "I've contacted the Medicine Pavilion. They'll send someone over right away."

Lu Ran looked at Little White Dragon. "I still need to think about it. Thank you."

"Give it some careful thought." Little White Dragon nodded.

"What did the Medicine Pavilion say?" he then asked Xiao Ling.

"They'll offer a wind fruit in exchange," Xiao Ling said. "On top of that, I negotiated an extra seven hundred crystal coins for John Doe."

"Thank you," Lu Ran said.

"You're welcome." Xiao Ling beamed. "Just come back and spend more here."

As an intern... she desperately needed plenty of positively reviewed orders to become a permanent employee!

"Sure... Oh, right, I'll have a cup of this." Lu Ran pointed to the Mind-Clearing Tea on the menu.

A pot cost fifty crystal coins, the same as the information he'd just purchased. It was one of the cheapest drinks here.

Mind-Clearing Tea came from Windwatch Gorge, a level-two secret realm that apprentice Beast Tamers couldn't enter.

Lu Ran was mainly interested in its effects: relieving fatigue, clearing the mind, and curing minor physical ailments.

Although the enhancement had considerably strengthened his constitution, he had spent an entire day running around the secret realm without sleep. He was starting to struggle.

He hoped this tea would keep him going a little longer.

Besides, the school's supplemental classes for students about to enter their final year had been intensely competitive lately. He hadn't slept well in a long time.

"Of course." Xiao Ling immediately went to prepare the tea.

"Extravagant, but there's nothing wrong with young people enjoying themselves a little," Little White Dragon Amid the Waves said.

"My treat. Have a few cups too," Lu Ran said.

"That's what I was waiting to hear." Little White Dragon laughed.

Lu Ran shrugged. This is so I can turn you down later.

Soon, a freshly brewed pot of tea arrived. Lu Ran immediately poured a cup for Little White Dragon Amid the Waves to thank him for his help.

As for Xiao Ling, employees were prohibited from accepting customers' treats inside the café.

The two drank tea while waiting for the Medicine Pavilion guild's representative. Just as Xiao Ling had said, the representative arrived very quickly. Before long, a cry rang out outside, and a young man in an apothecary's robe arrived outside the maid café on the back of an eagle.