My Pet Beast is Super Fearsome

Chapter 56: Chapter 56 Reward Redemption

“Here, the thing you wanted.”

Seeing Shao Zifeng sit down, Luo Feng extended his hand to pull out a silver-white box from the drawer and pushed it towards Shao Zifeng.

Looking at the small box in front of him, a wave of excitement surged through Shao Zifeng’s heart. He glanced again at Luo Feng, who sat with his fingers interlaced behind the desk, looking proper and upright. He opened his mouth but no words came out.

“Tsk, if you want to say something, just say it. Don’t be so awkward, always making people guess what’s on your mind, kid,” Luo Feng said with a touch of mockery, not even waiting for Shao Zifeng to speak before he continued, “I understand what you’re thinking. After all, I grew up from your same age.”

As Luo Feng spoke, his gaze drifted as if reminiscing about something. He changed his posture, leaning against the chair’s back while continuing, “Some of you, especially freaks like you in the eyes of others, can sometimes overthink things. Are you always worried I’ll monitor you and then report you to the state for dissection and research?”

Shao Zifeng remained silent, neither confirming nor opposing.

Luo Feng didn’t care about his response and went on, “The Daxia nation is vast and rich in resources, ahem… except for a bit of a shortage of mutant creatures, but that’s relative to the massive population. With over eight hundred million people, everyone has their own opportunities and secrets. Should we know everyone like the back of our hand? Furthermore, personally, I was initially interested in your armadillo lizard. At least until the identification results came out, I was quite attentive to you.”

Luo Feng gave Shao Zifeng a mocking smile, pushed his glasses up and said, “But who could have imagined that this little guy would have such poor potential, not even close to their species’ average level. If it weren’t for you capturing Pei Yong this time, I doubt we would have had the chance to meet again.”

“So relax, as long as you’re not an utterly unforgivable person, feel free to show your talents and abilities. That being said, kid, my last invitation still stands. Have you given it any thought?” After finishing, Luo Feng looked at Shao Zifeng, waiting for his reply.

At that moment, Shao Zifeng’s heart felt complicated. Rationally, this nation was where he had lived since he was a child; he had no reason to always speculate about it with malice. Emotionally, his caution to view everything with the greatest malice was a habit, or rather a characteristic, developed from childhood.

He couldn’t possibly overturn his nearly twenty-year-old philosophy of life based on a few words from Luo Feng.

Neither of them spoke, and the office fell into a temporary silence.

“Alright, in front of others you’re all smiles, but you wear a deadpan face in front of me. Since you haven’t decided yet, let’s talk about the remaining rewards. But let me say this upfront, this is my second invitation to you. As the saying goes, ‘don’t let things go to three’, and I, Director Luo, do have my pride,” Luo Feng said with a twinkle in his eye that seemed to see through people’s hearts. Though his tone was joking, the earnestness was clear to anyone.

Upon hearing this, Shao Zifeng felt a sense of relief. Putting aside everything else, his interactions with Luo Feng were the most comfortable; at least he didn’t have to wear a heavy disguise.

Opening the silver-white box in front of him, two emerald-green glass vials appeared before his eyes, emanating a strong scent of flowers and herbs.

“Two ‘Energy Potions of the Wood Class Type VIII,’ market price 250,000 yuan each, but as a reward, let’s count them as 400,000 yuan towards your bonus. You still have 600,000 yuan to use. Have you decided what you need?” Luo Feng opened the folder in front of him, turned it around, and handed it to Shao Zifeng.

Taking the folder, Shao Zifeng glanced over it quickly, inside was a detailed list of various items along with their information and prices.

[Red-bellied Golden Chicken]: Grade A evaluation, fire-attribute mutant creature from Yunnan nature reserves, unique to Daxia. Innate talent: Fire Feather; Skills mastered: Eagle Strike, Fire Protection, etc. Exchange requirements: Deduct one Class C or above merit, 350,000 yuan.

“What are merits?” Shao Zifeng looked at the exchange requirements on the document, puzzled, and turned to Luo Feng.

“Oh, that’s a reward mechanism the nation has for people who have distinguished themselves. With merits, you can exchange for mutant creatures unique to Great Xia, or you can try your luck in some conservation areas that aren’t open to the public,” Luo Feng said lazily, without looking up from the book he was holding.

“But I don’t have any merits, right?”

“What are you thinking? You’re not an insider, of course you don’t have any merits. But over the years, I’ve accumulated a number of small and big accomplishments, and since I have no friends or family who need them, I might as well give them to you on the cheap,” he said, looking at Shao Zifeng with an amused smile, as if to say the young man had stumbled upon a great bargain. @@novelbin@@

Upon hearing this, Shao Zifeng felt touched but also hesitant, not wanting to owe favors or take advantage of Luo Feng.

Luo Feng, who could read him like a book, smirked provocatively, “Relax, the person we caught might have some big forces behind them, and the final credit evaluation isn’t over yet. It’s not clear yet who is taking advantage of whom. Just don’t get jealous if you see me hugging something round and fluffy that I exchanged using your merit, haha.”

Shao Zifeng looked at him, speechless. The round and fluffy thing was a panda, a national treasure of Great Xia. Since the species had a patriarch that had reversed to an ancestral form, it was said to be extremely difficult to contract, with few people ever getting the chance.

Thinking this, he felt much better and stopped paying attention to Luo Feng, continuing to look at other items.

[Golden Snub-nosed Monkey]A-class rating, no attribute mutant creature, from Yun Province’s Baima Snow Mountain National Nature Reserve, a mutant creature unique to Great Xia, racial talent: Telepathy; skills mastered: Tearing Claw Strike, Stealth Attack, etc. Exchange requirements: Deduct one B-grade or above merit, 650,000 yuan.

Shao Zifeng was somewhat shocked, even though they were all mutant creatures unique to Great Xia, the requirements for the same level of rating were so different. The Golden Snub-nosed Monkey, judging by its skills, seemed like an assassin-type pet, which suited his personality quite well—sneak attacks and knocking people out cold was just too satisfying.

And the feel of the Golden Snub-nosed Monkey must be amazing too, it has to be exceptionally soothing to hold and pet… hehe.

For a moment, he was nearly ready to make the exchange on the spot. Before he could speak up, he glanced at the exchange requirement again and suppressed the somewhat perverted thought in his mind.

Although he didn’t quite understand the criteria for the various merit levels, given Great Xia’s meticulousness, even though there is only one level difference between C-grade and B-grade merits, the difficulty of obtaining them must undoubtedly increase exponentially.

If a C-grade merit was barely acceptable to him, he definitely wouldn’t accept a B-grade one.

Luo Feng, pretending to be engrossed in his book, had been stealthily observing Shao Zifeng. He had deliberately put the Golden Snub-nosed Monkey on the top of the list to test Shao Zifeng’s character. If Shao Zifeng chose the Golden Snub-nosed Monkey, he could indeed exchange it for him, but his esteem for Shao Zifeng would undoubtedly drop significantly.

Though it was quite a clichéd method, understanding a person starts with small things from all sorts of aspects, doesn’t it?

Looking at Shao Zifeng who hesitated and ultimately gave up, Luo Feng nodded in satisfaction, thinking that this man was indeed worthy of his consideration.

No, that sounded a bit off.

Luo Feng straightened his neatly parted hair and thought for a moment.

Yep, definitely someone Luo Feng would take a liking to.

Shao Zifeng had no clue about Luo Feng’s thoughts. After deciding not to choose the Golden Snub-nosed Monkey, he felt much more relaxed and continued to browse through the other items,

[Reeves’s Pheasant]: Grade A… Exchange requirements…

[White Crane]: Grade A…

…

As Shao Zifeng looked at the list of pets available for exchange, he found himself dazzled. It was his first time realizing that Da Xia had so many unique mutant creatures, and aside from the Golden Snub-nosed Monkey, all the others required C-grade merits for exchange. He was indeed tempted by a few.

After hesitating for a while, and thinking about the two little ones at home, both big and small, who needed nurturing and would consume a great deal of resources, he gave up the idea of exchanging.

Moreover, these identifications were made by relatively crude methods, and Shao Zifeng wasn’t too trusting of their accuracy.

Thinking this way, It seemed his own cheat, aside from having a high time delay and a penchant for showing off, was quite reliable.

After finishing with the mutant creatures, the list of exchangeable rewards that appeared next included various auxiliary items and those containing energy fluctuations whose methods of use were unknown, as well as tickets to various small national nature reserves.

Having looked through everything, Shao Zifeng still hadn’t decided what to choose.

Turning to the last page, Shao Zifeng stared at the information there, first stunned, then a surge of ecstasy bubbled up in his heart.

“I’ll exchange for this,” Shao Zifeng said seriously, pointing at the document.

Luo Feng pushed up his glasses, leaned in to take a closer look at the document, then asked in a somewhat peculiar tone, “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“Alright then, but the item you want can’t be obtained right now, it requires an application,” Luo Feng said with a touch of seriousness after seeing that Shao Zifeng wasn’t joking, “And also, the state has already ceased research on this item. It’s not very practical. You still have the chance to choose something else before I submit the application.”

“I’ll take it,” Shao Zifeng firmly shook his head.

…

In the office of the director of the Department of Combat Training at Su City University, Director Zhao was receiving an unexpected visitor.

“Professor Chen, is there an issue with the assessment report for Shao Zifeng?” Director Zhao held a teacup, his tone carrying a hint of probing.

This student was someone Luo Feng had previously ordered him to pay special attention to, and the assessment report was also personally submitted by him.

Now that Chen Yixin, who was in high demand in the field of ancient biology, was suddenly asking about him, it made him wonder if there was an issue with the identification. If this ruined the task assigned by Director Luo, it would be a grave misstep on his part.

“Director Zhao, you jest. How could there be any issues with something I personally assessed? Unless you don’t trust me,” Chen Yixin sat opposite Director Zhao, legs together in a very ladylike manner, with a serene smile gracing her face.

Although her looks were not striking, the knowledgeable and tranquil aura she exuded left a lasting impression on anyone who met her.

Of course, she wouldn’t tell Director Zhao the reason. Everyone has their secrets, and since Shao Zifeng chose to keep his hidden, even if Chen Yixin discovered it, she wouldn’t tell anyone else, not even her own cousin.

“Of course not, Professor Chen is an authority in this area. I’m just curious why, out of so many people in the combat training department, you took a fancy to Shao Zifeng.” Director Zhao persisted stubbornly, still probing.

Chen Yixin was somewhat at a loss for words. As a research nerd usually confined to the laboratory, she wasn’t familiar with such roundabout inquiries. In her mind, she just needed someone as an assistant in her lab, why was this old man being so nosy; she felt somewhat indignant.

Chen Yixin’s expression changed as she struggled to think of Shao Zifeng’s positive qualities, but she hadn’t had much interaction with Shao Zifeng.

Director Zhao watched her silently, sipped his tea, and his face showed a smug smile. There certainly was an issue there.

Just as he was about to probe further, a light bulb went off in Chen Yixin’s head, and she blurted out her thought: “Because he’s handsome.”

Director Zhao’s smile froze. Because… he’s handsome?

That works?

Shao Zifeng’s handsome face came to mind, and he subconsciously touched his own beard-stubbled, seasoned face.

This tea.

Suddenly, it lost its flavor.