Seeing that everyone had arrived, the old man nodded. "Let's eat."
A group of young women in sexy maid outfits began serving dishes from their trays.
Jiang Hao sat bolt upright, eyes lowered to his nose and mind focused inward, though his gaze occasionally stole a peek.
Then someone stomped hard on his foot. Grimacing in pain, he glared at the girl opposite him, furious but not daring to say a word.
The girl flashed her playful little fangs, her mischievous eyes curving into crescents. She looked adorable, but the mockery practically overflowed.
After dinner.
Once the sexy young maids cleared the plates, the Dragon Venerable finally spoke for the second time.
"Today is the seventeenth birthday of the three of you siblings, born on the same day of the same month of the same year. It is also your coming-of-age ceremony, when you contract a Beast Pet. As your father, I have prepared a lavish gift for each of you."
With that, he raised a hand and waved.
Soon, five young maids came to stand behind the Dragon Venerable, each carrying a tray covered with red cloth. Whatever lay on the trays was hidden from view.
The Dragon Venerable continued, "Luck is also a form of strength. These five trays hold keys to five rooms. Choose one each. Your contract rituals are ready. You may begin choosing."
Jiang Hao was the first to rush up to the young maids. "I'm the oldest. I go first."
The girl, a step too late, pouted in displeasure. "Third Brother, you're cheating! You don't know the first thing about respecting your elders and caring for the young. I hope you pick a wimpy Beast Pet. Hmph!"
"Ptooey, ptooey! You crow-mouthed jinx." Jiang Hao looked at the five trays, unsure which to choose. Although he was choosing first and had the widest selection, with one choice out of five, his chance of picking a good Beast Pet was still only one in five.
In the end, he chose the one in the middle. Whether counting from left to right or right to left, whether the choices were good or bad, the middle one should at least let him break even, provided his luck wasn't too terrible. Between the best and worst, take the middle. Comforting himself with that thought, Jiang Hao picked up the key to Room Three and happily left.
At the door to Room Three, Jiang Hao felt both excited and apprehensive. It was like opening a blind box: until the moment you opened it, no one knew whether a pleasant surprise or a nasty shock awaited inside!
"Someone as handsome as me shouldn't have terrible luck. Heaven, bless me. Your humble disciple doesn't ask to wear imperial yellow robes someday or feast on fish and meat at every meal. All I ask is to never worry about food and clothing, and not get bullied by that she-tyrannosaur."
Having made his wish, Jiang Hao calmly opened the door.
There was only a table in the room, with an egg on top and a small knife beside it.
Both the egg's color and its size gave him a vague sense of foreboding.
"Did that little brat Luo Su's crow mouth really jinx me?"
Muttering to himself, Jiang Hao shut the door. He refused to give up. What if a phoenix hatched from this chicken egg?
A six-pointed star was inscribed around the egg. Contracting a Beast Pet was simple: he only needed to drip his blood onto the design and silently recite the spirit of the contract.
Whether he could become a Beast Tamer depended on this opportunity. A Beast Tamer could contract only one life-bound Beast Pet in their lifetime, because successfully contracting one would open a beast-taming space linked to that Beast Pet, where they could store it. Maintaining a beast-taming space consumed a great deal of the Beast Tamer's energy. Keeping even one open was already their limit.
He picked up the small knife beside him and cut his index finger. Bright red blood dripped onto the egg as he began silently reciting the spirit of the contract.
Over and over.
Half an hour passed. Just as Jiang Hao thought the ritual was going to fail, the eggshell cracked-and so did his hopes.
"Cheep, cheep, cheep!"
A chick's shrill cries immediately filled the room, but to Jiang Hao, they were like rolling thunder that refused to leave his mind!
A voice kept telling him that this was not a phoenix's cry. It was a chick.
It was a chicken.
It was nothing but a chicken.
"Haha, it's a chicken. My Beast Pet, Jiang Hao's Beast Pet, is actually a wimpy chicken." Jiang Hao nearly went mad.
Another half hour passed before Jiang Hao pushed open the door, looking as though he had nothing left to live for.
"Cheep, cheep, cheep!"
Behind him, the fluffy, wobbly little chick followed at his heels, stumbling forward every few steps.
Everyone turned toward the sound.
When they saw the little chick beside Jiang Hao's feet.
"Wah-haha!"
A clingy little chick!
Liao Yunxiao burst into merciless laughter, completely disregarding her ladylike image.
Then everyone else started laughing.
"Heeheehee!"
"Hahaha!"
Their merciless mockery did not crush Jiang Hao.
Only the Dragon Venerable looked at Jiang Hao sympathetically and comforted him. "Hao, your luck is truly awful. I originally prepared only four gifts. Then, on a sudden whim, I took an egg from the kitchen and put it among them."
Jiang Hao felt his health bar empty in an instant.
As he turned to return to his room, a tear slid from the corner of his eye.
Lying on his bed, Jiang Hao's mind was utterly blank.
What he wanted most was a combat companion. Even a support-type would have been fine. But things had gone against his wishes. What could a wimpy chicken good only for its meat do? Nothing, that was what.
Was there anything more devastating than this?
"Cheep, cheep, cheep!"
The little chick had followed its owner all the way to his room, only to find that he wasn't paying it any attention. Thinking it was too small for him to see, it chirped to get his attention.
The result.
"Shut up and stay out of the way. You're so damn noisy. Keep it up and I'll stew you into chicken soup."
Little chick: ???
It timidly huddled in a corner, not knowing what to do.
Unable to come to terms with it, Jiang Hao drifted off to sleep.
In his dream, the only thing that could still lift his spirits was the Survival Simulator.
He opened the Survival Simulator. Suddenly, a voice rang out in his head, jolting him awake.
Ding! Beast Pet detected. Beast Pet owner: Jiang Hao Beast Pet: Unnamed (little hen) Realm: None Combat power: 1 Attribute points: 0 Skill points: 0 Attributes, strength: 1 (increases attack power) Stamina: 1 (increases vitality) Defense: 1 (increases defensive power) Agility: 1 (increases speed) Critical hit rate: 0 (increases critical hit chance) Critical strike: 0 (increases bonus damage) Skills: None
An interface popped up before him.
With the Survival Simulator, checking Beast Pet information would be ridiculously easy from now on.
Ding! Beast Pet detected. Would you like to officially start the Beast Pet survival simulation game?
Seeing attributes that were all either one or zero, Jiang Hao rolled his eyes so hard he nearly toppled over.
His wimpy Beast Pet certainly lived up to its name.
Wait!
The Survival Simulator!
How had he forgotten such an important cheat? This thing was mysterious, but right now, he couldn't afford to worry about that.
Just then, the notification sounded again.
Ding! Beast Pet detected. Would you like to officially start the Beast Pet survival simulation game?
Jiang Hao selected yes without hesitation.
The next second.
Ding! Character successfully locked in. Beast Pet owner Jiang Hao, would you like to lead your pet little hen into the survival simulation game? Please select a survival mode before beginning. Available modes: easy, normal, hard, extremely hard, insane, inferno.
This was incredibly user-friendly.
He would start with easy. With the little hen's pathetic combat ability, it seemed he had no choice besides easy mode anyway.
Please select a game type.
Soon, a dense array of game icons appeared on the Survival Simulator.
Jiang Hao knew these were all online games developed by people on Earth.
He casually tapped an egg-pet icon.
Then.
Welcome to the Demon Prison. The world of the Demon Prison is more exciting with you in it. You can now join the adventure with your pet. Good luck.
Jiang Hao's vision blurred.
Then a beautiful melody lingered in his ears.
Jiang Hao felt a chill all over. Looking down, he found himself wearing nothing but his underpants, with a battered blade now in his hand.
Could this thing kill monsters?
Should he get a different one?
Scanning the unfamiliar game world, Jiang Hao saw a sexily dressed young woman standing beneath a ramshackle thatched hut. He eagerly trotted over with the little hen at his feet.
"Welcome, adventurer. What do you need?"
Jiang Hao said, "I need a different weapon."
NPC: ???
And then, there was no then. The sexy young woman stopped responding altogether and merely stared blankly at him. Or rather, at the space in front of him.
Well.
Had he stumbled into some blind spot in his knowledge, or had he not been polite enough?
So he began circling the sexy young woman, hoping to trigger some hidden interaction or hint. The result was exactly what one would expect.
Before you continue