The Renovated Shop

[Beginner Mission 3: Self-reliance (Completed)

Mission description: Host, please personally travel to the designated area outside Qingzhou City and gather one hundred jin of [Azure Jade Fruit], an essential resource for Contract Beast feed.

Mission reward: Boarding Feature module, system upgrade EXP +150]

[Click to claim mission rewards]

Seeing Beginner Mission 3 change from "In progress" to "Completed," Xu Ran breathed a sigh of relief as he carried the sack into his foster shop.

That trip had been far too grueling.

He had encountered a beast tide and nearly died in it. To run into something so rare, he really did have rotten luck.

Fortunately, it had all paid off.

After closing the shop door, Xu Ran glanced at Purple Cloud, who had carried out a small packet of purple candy beans, bitten it open, and started eating. Without hesitation, he clicked to claim his rewards.

A dazzling light flashed before his eyes, followed by a line of text.

[Shop upgrade and renovation in progress. Time remaining: 02:59:59]

The renovation would take three hours?

Xu Ran felt a little excited.

As far as he knew, boarding Contract Beasts required a great deal of space.

For example, a small Contract Beast one meter long and fifty centimeters wide and tall needed far more than a cage large enough to fit it. It needed enough room to move around freely.

So even a small Contract Beast required a room of at least a dozen or so square meters for boarding. If it needed substantial exercise or had other special requirements, it would need even more space.

If that was true for small Contract Beasts, it went without saying for medium and large ones.

Adequate space was a basic hardware requirement, but the corresponding environmental design also demanded care. Contract Beasts of different attributes preferred different living conditions. To make all kinds of Contract Beasts comfortable, the division into different environmental zones also had to be considered.

Given the system's commitment to perfection, the shop's current space definitely would not be enough for it to work with.

So how would the system handle the renovated boarding facility?

Was it going to acquire the nearby land and build something new for me?

Oh, it really shouldn't have. But I'd gladly accept.

"Come on, Purple Cloud. Let's go upstairs and rest for a while. We won't open just yet."

Xu Ran picked up Purple Cloud, along with the little bowl of purple candy beans Purple Cloud had poured out, and headed straight upstairs.

Three hours later, an eager Xu Ran thumped down the stairs. When he saw that the first floor had not changed at all, his face fell.

"Where did the Boarding Feature go?"

Unwilling to believe it, he made a circuit of the shop. The only change he could find was a new set of boarding price signs on the wall. The prices were practically highway robbery, making him suck air through his teeth.

Unlike Grooming prices, boarding prices had to account for both a Contract Beast's strength and its size. The former determined the daily feeding cost, while the latter determined how much space it needed.

[Boarding for small and medium transcendent rank Contract Beasts: 266/day]

[Boarding for large transcendent rank Contract Beasts: 666/day]

[Boarding for small and medium elite rank Contract Beasts: 2,666/day]

[Boarding for large elite rank Contract Beasts: 6,666/day]

[Boarding for small and medium commander rank Contract Beasts: 26,666/day]

[Boarding for large commander rank Contract Beasts: 66,666/day]

Anything without a listed price was something the shop could not accommodate yet. That included both marshal rank Contract Beasts, which ranked above commander rank, and extra-large Contract Beasts bigger than the large category.

"Meow~" (Over there!)

Purple Cloud poked a head out of Xu Ran's arms and sniffed, seemingly catching some unusual scent, then fixed a gaze on a door.

That door led to the Starfire Foster Shop's backyard, an open space of roughly a dozen or so square meters. Xu Ran had previously set up a stove there to cook, and also used it to store things he was not using.

Following Purple Cloud's gaze, Xu Ran's heart sank.

Had the system turned that tiny backyard into the boarding facility?

That couldn't possibly be enough, could it?

Dubiously, he pushed the door open and looked into what had been the backyard. His expression froze.

It really was in the backyard!

But it was nothing like what he had imagined.

The original open space was completely gone. In its place was an underground entrance resembling the entrance to an underground parking garage, wide enough for large Contract Beasts to enter.

Of course! There wasn't enough room aboveground, but the system could work wonders. It could easily expand underground!

If one level wasn't enough, it could add a second and a third!

Once he understood the system's plan, Xu Ran immediately perked up.

"Come on, let's take a look!"

"Meow~"

As it turned out, the system had only expanded one underground level for now.

But that expanded space was truly enormous.

The boarding facility's floor area was nearly ten times that of the shop's ground floor. It had probably hollowed out every available space beneath the surrounding block.

Moreover, the underground level had a ceiling twenty meters high, enough to make flying Contract Beasts that needed more vertical space feel comfortable.

Although it was underground, the boarding facility had plenty of concealed ventilation points. Even living here for extended periods would not feel stuffy.

Without a doubt, this boarding facility met the space requirements.

And the system's environmental design pleased Xu Ran just as much.

It used a dynamically adjustable boarding setup, modifying the environmental layout at any time according to the number and attributes of the Contract Beasts staying there.

For example, if all the boarders were fire-attribute Contract Beasts, the entire boarding area would adjust in real time to a simulated volcanic environment suited to them. If a Contract Beast of another attribute joined them, part of the facility would change environments.

It could even adjust whether they were separated. Contract Beasts on good terms could visit one another, while those that did not get along could stay peacefully apart.

After inspecting everything, Xu Ran had only one comment.

System, you're freaking awesome.

Looking at this boarding facility, he could practically see countless Happiness Points flying toward him!

No time to waste. Open for business!

"Starfire Foster Shop. So this is the young owner's place..."

Following the directions his teammates had given him, Du Heng soon spotted the shop right ahead.

After returning to the city, he had quickly screened the nearby foster shops, but still had not found one where he felt comfortable leaving his Steel-Armored Rhino.

When he met his wife's disappointed gaze, Du Heng suddenly remembered Xu Ran's foster shop, so he decided to come and check it out.

Standing outside the entrance, he took a look and frowned slightly.

It didn't look very big. Was there really enough room to board his Steel-Armored Rhino?

Since he was already here, he might as well go inside and look.

With that thought, Du Heng stepped into the foster shop. "Is the young owner here?"

"Uncle Du, you're here!" Xu Ran, who had only just opened for business, brightened.

Wasn't this boarding business coming straight to him?

"I came to take a look." Du Heng glanced around. "Where do the boarded Contract Beasts stay?"

"Not here. Follow me, Uncle Du." Smiling, Xu Ran led Du Heng to the backyard.

A short while later, standing in the surprisingly spacious underground level, the usually taciturn Du Heng could not help sucking in a sharp breath.