With three sentences, Luo Yu saved three students over a decade of detours.
With the Eye of Data to assist him, Luo Yu's teaching was fast, precise, and ruthless.
He finished his task in almost no time, then headed to the Torrent Labyrinth himself. It had several areas, so he wouldn't run into the others.
"Come on out, July."
"Today, this is what you'll be training in."
"Wuji..." After July came out, he looked at the rapids ahead, strewn with reefs, then turned to Luo Yu...
Do I really have to do this training... Isn't there any more training like fishing that nurtures the mind and temperament?
"Go on. This is the Age of Great Navigation, after all. You can't get by without knowing how to swim."
"Unless, one day, you become the god of the earth, expand the land, and make the oceans disappear."
"..." July walked over with tears in his eyes. He and the ocean could not coexist under the same sky!
After training for a while, Luo Yu spotted Yu Wan coming over. He left July there and went into the deputy director's office with her.
"Your list of security candidates is ready."
"There are four candidates in all. Pick two, and they'll guard the institute in shifts."
Yu Wan took out a document and began introducing them to Luo Yu, who poured her a cup of hot tea.
"The first one, you've met. He's Xu Ke, who served as your chief examiner. He used to be a scout for the Little Azure Dragon Boat Gang, responsible for detecting dangers in the ocean while their ships were sailing. After something happened to the gang, he came to work at the Beast Management Bureau."
Another fleet that ran into trouble?
Teacher Wang Ze's fleet was also disbanded after something happened to it. Sailing... really is high-risk.
"A scout? Not bad." Luo Yu nodded.
"What about the second one?" But Luo Yu didn't think this one was reliable. His job was to detect danger while the ships sailed, and yet the fleet had run into trouble...
Although it probably had nothing to do with Senior Xu, Luo Yu couldn't help feeling it was a little unlucky.
"The second one..."
Yu Wan went on to describe three more people, all experienced Beast Tamers who had been on voyages. But Luo Yu kept frowning. Judging by their abilities, they were all capable of handling security, but it felt...
Their résumés sounded too ordinary, with no great prospects. It was as if they had come to retire and spend their twilight years as security guards. They were in their fifties or sixties and, like Teacher Wang Ze, were still Intermediate Level Beast Tamers... They had almost no potential left, either.
Still, that was normal. There wasn't much danger on the island, and this was only security work. There was no need to mobilize the island's top fighters. Those people were either on major fleets or responsible for security around the island.
Luo Yu had become so obsessed with breeding that even when looking for a security guard, he wanted one with better traits.
"Not satisfied with any of them?"
"You're quite picky..."
"Actually, there's one more candidate, but she's not on the list," Yu Wan said.
"Who?" Luo Yu asked.
"This person is impressive. At a young age, she became the navigator of the Mirror Moon Armed Fleet's Ninth Squad. Charting nautical maps, navigating by the stars, forecasting the weather, planning routes, observing ocean currents... She's mastered them all. Of those, she's most skilled at observing the stars to help the fleet avoid danger."
"A navigator from the Mirror Moon Armed Fleet?!" Luo Yu's eyes lit up. Now that was impressive.
The Mirror Moon Armed Fleet was Mirror Moon Island's most elite official fleet. Everyone who could join it, even a branch fleet, was the cream of the crop among Beast Tamers.
The four people mentioned earlier had all come from decent fleets, but they couldn't compare.
But how did a navigator from the Mirror Moon Armed Fleet have time to come and be his bodyguard?
Luo Yu voiced his question.
Yu Wan said, "She had an accident, and her pet beast died."
"But although her pet beast died and she hasn't contracted a new one yet, she's still capable. Her Innate Talent is 'Mental,' and she's awakened Telekinesis. Even without a pet beast, she's extremely strong on her own. She can take on a Beast Tamer of the same level and their pet beast together without much trouble."
"As a psychic, her telekinetic perception has a considerable range. She can even do the work of two people alone, so the level of security would be higher."
"Once she finds a new pet beast, she has a chance of advancing to a Senior Level Beast Tamer, so her potential is good too. She's just at a low point right now. You'd gain more by choosing her."
Luo Yu pondered for a moment.
Why are they all so unlucky?
They all came to be my security guards after something happened.
"This one really is better." If he had to pick one, Luo Yu would choose her. He still felt the Mirror Moon Armed Fleet carried a little more authority.
Most importantly, Beast Tamers with Mental Talent might not be one in ten thousand, but there was only about one among several thousand people. That was very good.
"What's his name, how old is he, and is he a man or a woman?" Luo Yu asked.
Yu Wan looked solemnly at Luo Yu and said, "It's me."
"...?"
"You want me, right? I'll go talk to the bureau chief. Fuck, I don't want to spend another day doing this lousy clerk job." Yu Wan cursed.
"The bureau chief will definitely do his best to meet your request. I'll report for duty tomorrow."
Luo Yu: ???
A navigator... skilled at observing the stars...
The pearl left behind after the Star Shell died...
Luo Yu's mind raced, and then he looked silently at Yu Wan. He should have realized it sooner.
"What's with that expression? Isn't your teacher good enough? A great beauty like me is offering to be your bodyguard, and you still need to hesitate?"
Yu Wan stood up. She was 1.7 meters tall, with black hair gathered in a low bun. She wore a smart dark-gray business suit, with a fitted skirt and black stockings. Beneath her capable professional bearing was the weathered air unique to a seafarer. Luo Yu looked her over, but immediately shook his head.
"You're definitely a beauty, Teacher, but this has nothing to do with whether you're beautiful or not..." Luo Yu said, "Aren't you the bureau chief's secretary? I wasn't planning to poach his people."
"Don't worry. I've already asked my uncle to let me resign several times. He kept refusing because I didn't have a proper job. Now that I have one as security staff at the institute, he should have no reason to refuse this time."
"Anyway, plenty of people can be his secretary, but there probably aren't many better suited than me to handle security at the Luo Yu Research Institute. Besides, you know me inside and out. You'd feel more at ease with me in charge of security, wouldn't you?"
Yu Wan slapped the table. Luo Yu couldn't refuse her arguments, but that didn't change the fact that she simply thought being a clerk was too tiring and wanted to be a bodyguard instead.
"All right..."
"If the bureau chief is willing to let you go, I naturally have no objections," Luo Yu said. A beautiful bodyguard was better than facing a bunch of old men.
"That's what I was waiting to hear," Yu Wan said with a smile.
"Don't worry. I've saved quite a bit over the years, and my Lineage will put up some money too. Then I'll see if I can buy a young Monarch beast with poor attributes. You should count yourself lucky to have a bodyguard who might contract a Monarch."
A young Monarch beast?!
That's right... Yu Wan came from one of Mirror Moon Island's three great Beast Taming Lineages. Her uncle was the third-ranking official on Mirror Moon Island, and her father was probably an officer in the Mirror Moon Armed Fleet. Her family was rich and powerful, so even though she had suffered an accident and lost her initial pet beast, it would be easy for her to rise again.
If she tried hard enough, she might really be able to buy and contract one of those young Monarch beasts with such poor attributes that they were called the shame of the Monarchs.
Of course, no matter how poor its attributes were, a Monarch was still a Monarch, not something a Common Species could compare to.
"Teacher, your previous pet beast was a Star Shell, right?"
"Yes. My family spent a fortune to prepare that Star Shell for me. With its help, studying astronomy was like having divine assistance. Combined with my powerful mental strength, I even learned Astrology." Yu Wan sighed.
"Unfortunately, it wasn't a combat-type pet beast, after all. Its life was too fragile."
"Actually, after I graduated from high school, I also took the entrance examination for Canglan Ocean University. Unfortunately, my strength was insufficient, so I didn't get in." She shrugged.
"So your father, Luo Shui, was really impressive. He earned the qualifications to enter Canglan Ocean University with a research paper of his own."
Luo Yu asked, "So this time you want to contract a combat-type pet beast, rather than a support-type one like the Star Shell?"
"Mm. The Star Shell had unusual abilities, but I've had enough of being powerless. That's why I've worked hard at cultivating my psychic abilities all these years. My Telekinesis is no weaker than a mutant beast's now, so if I get another pet beast, a mental-type mutant sea beast that can complement my Telekinesis would be best."
"Of course, a mental-type pet beast of the Monarch Species is out of the question."
"As a second choice, any Monarch Species would do. If there's no chance of that, then a mental-type pet beast of the Superior Species."
Yu Wan was clearly in no hurry. Rather than contract an unsuitable pet beast, she would prefer not to contract one at all.
Luo Yu said, "Yeah, choosing the right pet beast is important. If you can't find a suitable one, you're better off not contracting one yet..."
Just wait a little longer.
He looked out the window. Given a little more time, he might just develop a stable evolution route for a Monarch Ink Fish.
When the time came, she could just give him the money she would have spent buying a pet beast. Why let an outsider earn it?
You want a mental-type Monarch Species? Easy.
An Ink Fish with a Dominion Core and over a hundred Mental Overload talents-how about a psychic, supersized octopus?
It was just that the Water Devil Beast seemed a little sanity-draining. Pairing a beauty with a tentacled octopus monster was a little strange.
After the day's training was over, Yu Wan insisted on going back with Luo Yu to see her future working environment.
"Didn't they say the bureau would pay for the expansion? The security room is part of the institute too. Just tell us what kind of place you'd like to stay in, and we'll build one next door," Luo Yu said.
"There's no need to waste so much labor and money." Yu Wan followed Luo Yu into the institute.
"Don't you have a spare utility room or storage room or something in this institute of yours..."
"Shh-" Luo Yu suddenly gestured for silence, his expression growing tense. Seeing that, Yu Wan grew tense too.
"What is it?" she asked.
Luo Yu crept up to the wall and peeked around it. "The Ink Fish is laying eggs..."
Yu Wan: ?
Why are you so nervous about an Ink Fish laying eggs? It's not like your wife is giving birth. Should I leave you alone too?