My Pet Beast is Super Fearsome

Chapter 60: Chapter 60: See If You Won’t Die

“I know it was wrong of me to issue the appraisal report on my own, and I apologize to you,” Chen Yixin said seriously as she looked at Shao Zifeng. “I can assure you that no one besides you and me will know about this appraisal report. Can you accept my invitation?”

After understanding the reason, Shao Zifeng felt a bit uneasy, but the hostility he initially had was no longer as strong. He pondered and then said, “I’m sorry, I…”

“I can offer a salary to the armadillo lizard,” Chen Yixin said with a determined look in her eyes.

“It’s not about the money…”

“Social insurance, housing fund, and a formal position,” Chen Yixin said earnestly.

“What I mean is…”

“Every month I will provide five bottles of energy potions of the same tier and attributes as a meal subsidy,” she added, raising her eyebrows.

“It’s not…”

“The private villa the state awarded me can be rented to you for one yuan, and you decide the lease term!” Chen Yixin’s mouth twitched, her tone remained firm, but there was a tremor in her voice.

“I…”

“In the future, every field investigation in national reserves will include you, and I can also offer you an opportunity to sign a contract with a beast from the reserve. Even when visiting world-class reserves next time, I can take you along, and if you discover the remains of prehistoric creatures, I will fully support their recovery. Tell me what else you want, as long as it’s not too much, I can agree,” Chen Yixin abruptly stood up, her hands pressing down on the table, leaning forward to look at Shao Zifeng.

Cough…

Shao Zifeng opened his mouth.

Glancing at the hidden curves under the white lab coat, he slightly averted his gaze.

All these demands. @@novelbin@@

It’s all you talking, okay?

I haven’t asked for anything at all.

Shao Zifeng ranted inwardly in madness.

Actually, he had been tempted since the third condition Chen Yixin mentioned.

But she did not give him a chance to speak at all.

Salaries, positions, the villa—he didn’t care much about those. In the Great Xia, the ordinary positions for beast handlers and the level of felon dogs didn’t pay much.

What tempted him was the five bottles of energy potions, which was no small matter. As Qiuqiu’s strength improved, the monthly consumption of energy potions would certainly be a significant expense.

Not to mention the national and world-class reserves she mentioned at the end.

National reserves are the habitats planned by Great Xia for unique cherished mutant creatures; some areas, even if you spend a lot of money, you can’t enter, let alone be offered a contracting opportunity.

World-class reserves are even more impressive; the only world-class reserve recognized by all countries is the continent known as the “Pure White Continent,”—the ice-bound Antarctica.

Antarctica is located at the southernmost tip of Blue Star and is the last continent discovered in the world, with over 95% of its area covered by astonishingly thick ice and snow. This massive ice cap acts like an enormous hat, covering most of Antarctica tight and secure.

Therefore, since the discovery of Antarctica, there have been various speculations surrounding this ancient and mysterious continent.

For instance, beneath the ice cap of Antarctica, there’s a magical space heated by geothermal energy, melting the ice and providing living space for countless magical creatures.

Or that Antarctica is actually the entrance to the Earth Core World, and so on…

Setting aside the legendary allure these rumors bring.

In recent years, numerous prehistoric creatures have been found in the ice layers of Antarctica by international scientific research teams, attracting countless enthusiasts.

The Ice Plateau Saber-Toothed Tiger that Chen Yixin revived was brought back from Antarctica by the Great Xia national research team.

As the world’s last untouched land, under the United Nations proposal, all countries signed the Antarctic Treaty. The treaty stipulates that Antarctica is a world-class reserve; any country can send research teams, but no excessive exploitation or destructive research is allowed, and no group or individual is permitted to explore privately without national certification.

While it protects the untouched land of Antarctica to the greatest extent from damage, it also adds more mystery to the already legendary Antarctica.

The terms Chen Yixin offered were exceptionally generous, so generous that Shao Zifeng became suspicious of her motives: “Is the armadillo lizard that important to you?”

Hearing Shao Zifeng’s question, Chen Yixin hesitated: “It’s not the armadillo lizard; the research topic is very important to me. The armadillo lizard is just one path to the research of ancestral evolution, and at present, the closest path for me.”

“Is it worth it?” Shao Zifeng continued to ask.

Chen Yixin bit her lip, and her mature and intelligent face showed a hint of reminiscence: “It’s worth it… For me, as long as I can see him again…”

She suddenly fell silent, no longer speaking.

“I understand,” Shao Zifeng said quietly in his heart, not quite understanding the last part of what she said, but from the empathetic feedback, she had no ill intent towards him from start to finish.

She should be trustworthy, right?

Lately, Shao Zifeng had indeed become aware of his problems; perhaps because he often used empathy, he found himself a bit too “reclusive.” Maybe he could use this opportunity to attempt to interact with others?

Because Shao Zifeng did not speak right away, the office fell into dead silence.

Chen Yixin had been leaning over with her hands on the table for a while, her arms growing sore and trembling due to the weight of something from above.

She stole a glance at Shao Zifeng and, seeing that he wasn’t paying attention to her, quietly withdrew her hands from the table and positioned them behind her back to flex her wrist joints, grimacing at the tingling sensation.

As Shao Zifeng made up his mind, he looked up to see Chen Yixin grimacing with bared teeth.

They made awkward eye contact.

But as a mature big sister, Chen Yixin was the first to break the awkward silence, lifting her slightly trembling right hand to brush back her hair behind her ear and giving Shao Zifeng a smile, even winking at him.

Shao Zifeng curled his lip: “Got something in your eye?”

The smile on Chen Yixin’s face froze.

Can’t that pesky brother say something nice?

…

After agreeing on the specific terms, Chen Yixin promised various benefits and compensations. A special clause was added that before Shao Zifeng voluntarily disclosed any information, Chen Yixin must not reveal Qiuqiu’s details to anyone.

Having reviewed the contract printed by Chen Yixin and finding nothing amiss, Shao Zifeng signed his name on it.

Strictly speaking, Shao Zifeng, or rather Qiuqiu, didn’t need to fulfill many obligations, just to provide some of Qiuqiu’s Scale Armor fragments or blood when she required it.

Another requirement was to regularly check Qiuqiu’s physical development and the increasing power of its abilities.

It is worth mentioning that, as Qiuqiu’s owner, Shao Zifeng was entitled to the treatment of a scientific research assistant.

Yes, they could receive two salaries.

As for Qiuqiu’s share…

After all is said and done, it’s mine.

Cough…

The old Shao Zifeng might not have thought this way, but for some reason, the idea just popped into his head as soon as he saw the contract.

After signing the contract, Chen Yixin breathed a sigh of relief, put the documents into a folder, and extended her hand gratefully, “Pleasure doing business with you.”

Shao Zifeng hesitated as he looked at the delicate and fair hand before him, then reached out his right hand.

“Now, shall we get to work?”

Shao Zifeng, looking befuddled, stared at the joyful Chen Yixin, “Work? What work?”

“Summon your armadillo lizard and help me complete the first record of testing,” Chen Yixin said with a look that suggested she was dealing with an idiot, surprised he had forgotten right after signing the contract.

“Cough… What I mean is, don’t you all need to eat?” Shao Zifeng, feeling somewhat uncomfortable under her gaze, clarified.

It was not Shao Zifeng’s fault, they had spent the better part of the day discussing and finalizing the contract, and it was already afternoon; he was indeed getting hungry.

Chen Yixin glanced at her watch after hearing his words, and her face showed a hint of surprise—it was already three o’clock.

Although she felt embarrassed, she still pleaded, “I’ll have someone send up a meal right now. Time waits for no one; how about we start with that while we wait?”

Shao Zifeng shook his head helplessly; the contract was signed, what could he do? Since he had made up his mind, he decided to try and trust her.

Then, he waved his hand in the air.

The space in front of him rippled, and a translucent Space Rift slowly opened, causing the room’s temperature to rise.

“Ying?”

A joyful chirp came out of the rift.

Qiuqiu, with its little paws clutching the edge of the rift, stuck out its bare head and looked around curiously.

Inedible chairs, inedible tables, inedible square boxes, an inedible female biped, inedible…

Wait…

A biped?

⊙▽⊙

Upon seeing Chen Yixin, Qiuqiu jumped back, quickly retracting its head into the rift. It wasn’t scared, but it remembered what Egg had told it, not to reveal itself in front of others.

Seeing Qiuqiu popping in and out, Shao Zifeng’s face softened, and he called out gently, “Qiuqiu, come out.”

“Ying!”

Hearing Shao Zifeng’s familiar voice, Qiuqiu shot out, darting into his arms, clutching the clothes on his chest with its little paws, and making cooing sounds as it rubbed its head against Shao Zifeng in coquetry.

Shao Zifeng held Qiuqiu with one hand, and lovingly rubbed its bare head.

A short distance away, Chen Yixin looked at Qiuqiu in Shao Zifeng’s arms, somewhat at a loss for words, and hesitantly asked, “Didn’t I ask you to summon an armadillo lizard? How did you end up summoning a hairless dog?”

“Oh no.”

Hearing this, Shao Zifeng’s expression froze, and he inwardly cursed.

Before he could intervene,

Intense waves of heat burst out from him as the center, the invisible heatwave sweeping across the room, flipping chairs over, and sending papers flying everywhere.

Chen Yixin was swept by the gust, stumbling a bit and hastily bracing herself against a nearby table. Her disheveled hair covered her face, and her white lab coat clung to her body, revealing her shapely figure.

Qiuqiu’s eyes ignited with two flames, glaring fiercely at the annoying female biped across from it. Strands of flame spilled from the corners of its mouth, emitting a violent aura.

How dare she call it a hairless dog in front of Egg!

Let’s see if you survive this!

“Roar!”

The more Qiuqiu thought about it, the angrier it got. Its eyes gleamed menacingly as it let out an angry roar.

A blinding firelight exploded.

The temperature in the room rose again.

A ball of fire formed within the blaze, shrinking inward and condensing into a soccer ball-sized fireball.

Whoosh!

The terrifying heat twisted the air around it, and the fireball turned into a streak of light, hurling towards Chen Yixin with a trail of exploding flame.