Options appeared before Chen Shu again.
[Accept Zhou Cheng's offer and beco the company's dedicated Potion Master.]
Completion reward: All potion recipes unlocked, contract spirit consumption eliminated
[Politely refuse and firmly beco a Beast Tar.]
Completion reward: dium amount of Beast Taming Power
Chen Shu made his choice almost without hesitation—he picked the second option.
Though the first reward was extrely tempting—unlocking it would instantly make him the world's top Potion Master—
What was the point?
In the end, Potion Masters always served Beast Tars.
"Uncle Zhou, my destiny lies among the stars and seas.¹" Chen Shu refused.
"..." Zhou Cheng laughed. "Admirable! If you ever want to beco a Potion Master, the company's doors will always be open for you." After a brief handshake, he turned to Xu Xiaoyu. "Xiaoyu, I didn't expect your school to have such talent. You should communicate more with Chen Shu and learn from him."
Even though Chen Shu had rejected the offer, Zhou Cheng wasn't ready to give up. If he could convince the boy to stay, he would be a veritable money tree for the company.
"It's closing ti now. Need Uncle Zhou to give you a ride?" Zhou Cheng asked.
"No need, I'm leaving with my friend."
"That's fine too. Xiaoyu, see your classmate out." Zhou Cheng left the potion lab.
"I can't believe you can actually brew potions." Xu Xiaoyu studied him with newfound admiration. Although she was her grade's top student with prospects of getting into China Academy, she was completely clueless about potion-making. In fact, many college graduates were nowhere near his level, as they still needed years of practice and refinent.
"How could soone your age know how to brew potions?" Xu Xiaoyu was incredibly puzzled, finding it hard to understand.
"That goes back to when I was little."
The two walked and talked.
"That day, storm clouds gathered, the sky was dark, and violent winds and rain were approaching. I was walking down the road eating spicy strips."
Chen Shu seed to be recalling that day.
"Suddenly, winds rose and clouds surged. Deep in the cloud layers, a golden dragon was faintly rolling—its mouth could easily fit an entire football field, looking terrifyingly huge."
"I seed to sense sothing and suddenly looked up, locking eyes with the golden dragon. To my surprise, it spoke human words."
Chen Shu deliberately paused and swallowed.
"What happened next? What did it say? What did it say?" Xu Xiaoyu's eyes showed interest and curiosity.
"I'll rember the dragon's words for the rest of my life." Chen Shu pressed the elevator button for the first floor.
"It exclaid in amazent: 'Incredible, incredible! Young man, there's a spiritual light shooting from your head—you're truly a once-in-ten-thousand-years genius! I have this priceless treasure called "The Art of Potion-Making." I see we're fated to et, so I'll sell it to you for just ten yuan.'²"
Xu Xiaoyu fell completely silent.
What was I thinking...
"So you bought it for ten yuan? And then automatically learned potion-making?" Xu Xiaoyu's head was lined with black lines as she frowns.
"You think I'm stupid?" Chen Shu said. "I questioned it right away—what kind of junk costs that much?"
"Who knew the golden dragon would writhe and roar: 'Holy crap, you think I'm so jianghu swindler? We intellectuals have integrity!'"
"..." Xu Xiaoyu rubbed her head. My head really hurts.
"I can verify it's true—I was that dragon." A voice suddenly rang out.
Zhang Dali in his security uniform walked over with complete seriousness.
"Chen Pi, I didn't expect you to still rember childhood events. When are you paying that ten yuan?"
"Dear God! Help !"
Xu Xiaoyu slapped her forehead and decisively left.
She was afraid that if she stayed with these two any longer, she'd go crazy too.
"Chen Pi, how did the interview go today?"
"You can now call by my other na—Master Potion Maker Chen!" Chen Shu coughed and deliberately emphasized the words "Potion Maker."
"Worthy of being my best buddy!"
The two went together, and after eating their fill in the city center, they returned ho.
...
"Mom, Dad, I forgot to tell you—this is the 100,000 yuan reward from the Spirit Suppression Bureau."
Chen Shu took the money from his backpack. He'd been so busy with interviews that he'd almost forgotten about it.
"Son, what did you do?" His father, Chen Ping, frowned, his expression serious rather than joyful.
Only after Chen Shu's explanation did his father breathe a sigh of relief. "There can't be a next ti. A wanted criminal with a 100,000 yuan bounty is sure to have blood on their hands—that's not sothing a student like you can handle."
Chen Shu nodded repeatedly, surprised at his parents' refusal when he had expected them to accept the money gladly.
"The family doesn't need it right now. You're cultivating Beast Taming Power now—buy whatever potions you need yourself. If it's not enough, tell your old man."
"Don't need it? Dad, am I really from a rich family?"
Chen Shu's eyes widened. This was just an ordinary family, and 100,000 yuan was a huge amount of money, yet his parents refused it.
"Don't worry about it. The family doesn't need it anyway." Father Chen Ping didn't explain further.
Chen Shu had no choice but to put away the 100,000 yuan and return to his room.
Could the family really have been secretly rich?
A flicker of suspicion ignited in Chen Shu as he connected the dots. Why would Uncle Zhang, a Black Iron rank Beast Tar, always call his father "Brother Chen" with none of the usual arrogance? Shaking his head, he pushed the thoughts away. If his family had secrets, his father would tell him when the ti was right.
He placed all the Strength Potions from his system space on the table.
"So many Strength Potions—wealth cos so easily."
A full forty bottles of Strength Potions at 5,000 yuan each ant a total of 200,000 yuan.
"Hope you won't disappoint ."
Chen Shu focused his thoughts, and a golden sli appeared in his arms.
"Goo-gii! Goo-gii!" The sli shook its head happily, constantly moving in his arms with complete affection.
Though the sli's potential rating was only E, its personality was extrely gentle, with over 80% obedience to its master.
Chen Shu opened bottle after bottle of Strength Potion and fed them all to the golden sli.
Strength Potions permanently increased a contract spirit's power, though a single bottle only provided a minor boost of about 0.5%.
"Goo-gii! Goo-gii!"
The golden sli opened its big mouth and drank all forty bottles of Strength Potion.
"Burp~~" The sli contentedly burped and kept bouncing around excitedly.
Though weak in strength, it sure could eat.
Chen Shu rubbed the golden sli in his arms, like a villain caring for his precious cat,before storing it in his Beast Taming Space.
Forty bottles of Strength Potion permanently increased power by 20%—enough to give his contract spirit a real advantage in battle.
Pay-to-win never goes out of style. This is the kind of pressure you get from a whale player!³
FOOTNOTES:
[1] "My destiny lies among the stars and seas" (我的征途是星辰大海) is a famous quote from "Legend of the Galactic Heroes" that beca a popular Chinese internet for expressing grand, sotis comically oversized, ambitions.
[2] This entire dragon encounter sequence parodies a famous scene from Stephen Chow's cody film "Kung Fu Hustle" (2004), where a beggar sells a boy a "priceless" martial arts manual for pocket change. Chinese readers would instantly recognize this reference.
[3] Whale player (土豪玩家): Chinese gaming slang for a player who spends massive amounts of real money on microtransactions.
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