One Shocked Kitty

In an old district of Jinling City.

Lu Ran wandered down the bustling street, bored out of his mind.

Manager Ying had said that the Necromancer was operating nearby. All he needed to do was lie in wait.

But he had already been strolling around for ten minutes and spent fifty yuan on street snacks. Why hadn't the Necromancer shown up yet?

At this rate, he would be full soon. He had been planning to go out for a big dinner with his master that evening.

"Waka..."

[So many people! I'm going to drop dead!]

At the moment, Sudden Death King sat on Lu Ran's shoulder, nervously surveying his surroundings. Everyone looked like a bad guy to him.

Another five minutes passed.

Lu Ran had ordered some grilled durian and started eating it while it was still hot and fragrant.

But before he could take more than a couple of bites, Lu Ran's nose suddenly twitched.

He had caught a familiar scent.

Ever since he had used Super Beast Mimicry on General Ha, his sense of smell had become more and more useful...

The familiar scent wasn't particularly strong, but if it had also appeared on Burial Corpse Mountain, that made it very suspicious.

Lu Ran kept his expression unchanged, secretly delighted. Sudden Death King tensed up, ready to play dead. Not far away, a skinny young man in a black hoodie also seemed to be searching for something.

When his gaze landed on Lu Ran eating grilled durian beside a food cart, his eyes lit up, and he instinctively swallowed.

How could a soul smell so rich and delicious!!!

Devour him! Devour him! Devour him, and you'll definitely level up!!!

A seductive voice inside his mind nearly made the skinny young man lose control.

But in the middle of a busy street, he clearly didn't dare act recklessly. After a moment's hesitation, he slowly approached Lu Ran.

Once beside Lu Ran, the young man eyed the little lizard on his shoulder and said, "Hey, buddy~"

"What's up?" Lu Ran turned around in confusion.

"You're a Beast Tamer, right? That lizard of yours looks pretty special!"

Lu Ran smiled. "You've got a good eye. I just had my Red-Eyed Hawk Lizard's attribute tested today. It's lightning!"

"Lightning? Awesome!" Hearing that Lu Ran's pet had only just had its attribute tested, the skinny young man's expression brightened.

A weakling who hasn't even awakened his attribute?!

What's with my luck these past two days?!

"Are you a Beast Tamer too?" Lu Ran looked at him, but the skinny young man instinctively took a step back. "Yeah... Buddy, what are you eating? It stinks."

"Grilled durian. It's delicious," Lu Ran said.

"Is that stuff even fit for human consumption?" The skinny young man seemed speechless. He couldn't bear to see his chosen prey eating something like that, afraid it might give the soul a strange flavor when he devoured it.

"Haha, I think it's pretty good." Lu Ran scratched his head, looking like a bashful student.

"Stop eating that, stop eating it. Got some time? I'll take you somewhere good. My treat."

"Seriously?" Lu Ran thought his attempt at luring him away was ridiculously stupid. Still, he couldn't be bothered to act too wary right now, so he played along. "I only arrived in Jinling today to sightsee. I haven't found anything good to eat yet."

"What a coincidence! I'm a Jinling local, and I only became a Beast Tamer recently too. None of my friends have become Beast Tamers, so I've been looking for someone in the same boat to chat with. Come on, let me treat you!" The skinny young man grew increasingly hospitable as he spoke with a smile.

"Sure! You're awfully nice." Lu Ran chose to follow him.

This Necromancer would most likely lead him somewhere deserted.

Then launch a surprise attack when his guard was down.

Lu Ran stayed two hundred percent alert as he followed the man.

"I know a home-style restaurant tucked away in an old residential complex. The kind only locals know about. Let's eat there."

The skinny young man seemed extremely welcoming. So far, nothing about him appeared unusual.

Before long, the two reached an old residential complex, but no matter how Lu Ran looked at it, it didn't seem inhabited.

Instead, it looked like an unfinished building that had been abandoned for ages.

"This is the place you meant? Is there really a restaurant here?" Lu Ran finally voiced his doubts.

"There is." The Necromancer still wanted to lure Lu Ran farther inside.

But Lu Ran had no intention of walking any farther. He stopped where he was and looked at him. "Buddy, there's no way anyone lives here. Are you messing with me?"

The moment Lu Ran finished speaking, the Necromancer ahead of him spun around and flicked his arm, hurling a throwing knife straight at Lu Ran. His technique was clearly well practiced. Combined with a Beast Tamer's extraordinary physique, its power and speed were enough to kill someone in an instant!

The skinny young man's objective was clear: kill Lu Ran himself first, preventing him from escaping to Infinite City. He had used this method several times already, succeeding every time. No one could react in time!

"You talk too much! Die!" As he hurled the knife, the skinny young man revealed his true colors. As far as he was concerned, Lu Ran was already finished.

But the next moment, a clang! rang out, leaving the skinny young man staring blankly.

The small throwing knife he had launched as a concealed weapon had fallen straight to the ground. Behind it, Lu Ran stood with a longsword held in front of him, apparently having knocked the knife away with it.

The sword was far longer than the little throwing knife, and much more intimidating.

Lu Ran pointed his sword at the Necromancer. "What are you doing?"

The skinny young man: ???

At that moment, the skinny young man felt as though a wild beast had fixed its eyes on him.

His heart sank. Suddenly, he felt he had picked the wrong target.

This kid... had training?

Meanwhile, Manager Ying sat atop the unfinished building, watching their first exchange. She nodded in satisfaction.

"Lu Ran has some skill, though being prepared in advance helped."

"Now let's see if he can handle an Undead pet."

By now, the skinny young man had realized that Lu Ran was no ordinary opponent. This guy had definitely come prepared.

Otherwise, that attack would have caught not only a novice Beast Tamer, but even some high-level Beast Tamers if they weren't on guard.

Unsure of Lu Ran's capabilities, he didn't even dare order his hidden Undead pet to attack rashly. He immediately activated his Black Card's teleportation function, planning to escape in ten seconds, and had his pet protect him.

He was being cautious to the extreme!

"Who the hell are you?!"

The skinny young man was starting to panic. Before fleeing, he couldn't help asking. Had he been exposed?

"Just a passerby who punishes evil and upholds justice!" Lu Ran watched him calmly as a summoning circle rapidly appeared in front of him, frightening the skinny young man even more.

That lizard... wasn't his pet!

At that moment, the skinny young man braced himself for a formidable enemy. But when Lu Ran summoned his pet and an utterly ordinary-looking husky appeared, seemingly without any special evolution, he froze again.

"Fuck, it's just a husky below level ten! Who the hell are you trying to impress? You scared the shit out of me."

"If I'd known, I wouldn't have started teleporting."

Nothing could better describe a roller coaster of emotions. After seeing Lu Ran put on such a show only to summon a Silly Husky, the young man couldn't stop himself from swearing.

He... had actually scared me.

Yet seeing that he still had a few seconds left before teleportation only annoyed him further.

"Kid, you'd better remember this..." Seeing that he was about to be teleported away, the Necromancer delivered a threat.

But two seconds later, his emotions went through another upheaval...

Because... the teleportation countdown had clearly ended, yet nothing seemed to be happening to him.

Teleportation failed?

The Necromancer panicked once again, unable to understand what had happened. His mood had shifted countless times in such a short span, leaving his expression looking utterly broken.

"Woof!" Especially now, when an exceptionally dumb-looking Silly Husky was staring at him with an oh-so-intelligent gaze, apparently mocking him. It pushed the Necromancer even closer to a breakdown.

"Remember what? You hold grudges too?" Lu Ran taunted him as well.

"I'm going to fucking slaughter you!!!" The string of unexpected developments had destabilized the skinny young man's mental state. With no time to figure out what was happening, he finally ordered his hidden Undead pet to attack.

One characteristic of Undead pets was their exceptional ability to conceal themselves!

Precisely because of this characteristic, even their Beast Tamers were extremely difficult to discover.

A Necromantic Tabby Cat appeared out of thin air beside Lu Ran, floating like a ghost. The cat attacked him, slashing forward with spectral claws.

Not only could the cat turn invisible, but the cat could float too!

"Why is it another cat?"

Manager Ying, atop the unfinished building, was also rather annoyed. First, she hated that this Necromancer had killed a cat to enslave it. Second, she hated having to watch a cat-versus-dog battle in person, especially when she was on the dog's side.

"But this Necromantic Cat is no pushover. A high extraordinary species, probably level eight. Higher than that Silly Husky. Lu Ran might not be able to handle this."

"I might still have to step in."

"Necromancy is still too tricky for newcomers."

It all happened in a flash. Lu Ran paid little mind to the Necromantic Cat's ambush, even though the cat's concealment abilities and speed seemed to surpass those of the Grass Demon Cat.

There was no helping it. General Ha was no longer the same General Ha from back then. He had long since undergone a complete transformation.

"Awooo~~~" In an instant, General Ha burst into even greater speed, immediately entering his Berserk · Energy Flow state. Fierce winds swirled around his entire body as he leaped into the air and swiped a paw at the Necromantic Cat.

Boom!

The Necromantic Cat's ambush failed. Instead, General Ha knocked the cat flying onto the ground. However, an attack like that wasn't particularly effective. General Ha's species and growth level were still low. Relying on his advantage in skills alone made it difficult to seriously injure his opponent.

"Fuck, how is this Silly Husky so fast?" Seeing another ambush fail frustrated the Necromancer, but also reassured him somewhat. According to the feedback from his Necromantic Cat, the opponent's attack power wasn't strong. He was merely a little faster.

He was definitely going to kill this man and his dog.

"Come here." He glared viciously at Lu Ran while speaking to the Necromantic Cat, who had climbed back up. The next moment, the cat floated straight over and flew into the Necromancer's body!

The second characteristic of Undead pets: they could freely possess their Beast Tamers!

This granted both of them greater power!

In an instant, black mist spread from the skinny young man's body, and his expression grew even more savage.

Seeing this, Manager Ying narrowed her eyes atop the unfinished building, knowing the critical moment had arrived. Lu Ran had raised that Silly Husky well, and his Energy Flow technique was very proficient. But constrained by his level and an unfavorable attribute matchup, could he still handle an Undead creature possessing a human...?

Just as Manager Ying was itching to act, her expression froze.

Because Lu Ran below still seemed perfectly calm at the sight.

"So this is your final trump card?" Lu Ran let out a breath.

The Wind-Slaying Sword was in his left hand, while in his right... the Windfall Sword slowly materialized!

Under the somewhat bewildered gazes of the Necromancer opposite him and Manager Ying above, he tossed the Windfall Sword into the air!

The next moment, General Ha leaped up again and caught the Windfall Sword in his mouth, a razor-sharp gleam entering his eyes.

Sword Intent... erupted!

A terrifying presence instantly bore down on the Necromancer and his pet, making their gazes sharpen in disbelief.

"What is this?!" Dumbstruck, they felt that the sword-wielding Silly Husky was extraordinarily ferocious. His presence was like a wolf king's, overwhelming enough to make them uncomfortable and afraid!

Gale Sword Aura!

"Woof! (I have a sword that can slay evil spirits.)"

With that, General Ha swung the Windfall Sword in midair. Empowered by his Gale skill, he unleashed three or four streaks of sword aura in an instant.

Having only just comprehended sword intent, Lu Ran and General Ha couldn't wait to use it.

The wild, swift streaks of sword aura came hurtling in. The Necromancer was still utterly bewildered when they engulfed him and his pet. With a boom, a violent explosion erupted where they stood, sending dust and smoke billowing everywhere!!!

Amid the blast, General Ha landed.

"Manager Ying, the Necromancer was a little troublesome, but not too bad... Hurry and check on them. Don't let them die. It's my first time, so I was a little nervous and didn't dare hold back." Lu Ran's voice rang out. "We have to interrogate him. People like this are despicable."

Manager Ying: ???

Holy shit, a dog with a sword in his mouth? What the hell! The kitty was stunned. You and your dog don't look like newbies at all!