Divine Pet Supplier

“Welcome.” On the outskirts of town was the Gale Pet Beast Shop. Luo Yu finally arrived at his destination. Of the three Mid-tier Species pet beast shops on the island, each sold a different creature: the Wind-system mutated beast “Gale Butterfly,” the Electric-system mutated beast “Thunderbolt Shrimp,” and the Ice-system mutated beast “Cold Mist Lizard.” Among them, the one with an early-stage form was the Gale Butterfly. Its lower-stage form, the Coiling Wind Worm, was a Lower Common Species... Its species ability was “Wind Gathering,” allowing it to condense fierce air currents around its body to drive off predators. That sounded about the same as the inkfish’s “Ink Spray”—purely defensive skills with no offensive power at all. But once it evolved, its fate would change completely! Once its life level reached Level 6, it evolved into a Coiling Wind Pupa; at Level 11, it evolved again into a Gale Butterfly, transforming completely into a Mid-tier Common Species flying pet beast capable of “Wind Control.” It was precisely this evolutionary potential, combined with the fact that its initial form, the Coiling Wind Worm, was especially cheap at only 998 Alliance coins each, that made it so popular and affordable. Compared with other Mid-tier Common Species that often cost over ten thousand, the Coiling Wind Worm had the lowest entry cost, and it was also the only Mid-tier Species juvenile Luo Yu could currently get his hands on... However, the shop wasn’t running a charity. Getting a Coiling Wind Worm to complete its evolution was simply too difficult. The life level cap of a Common Species mutated beast was only level 40, and as the bottom tier among Common Species, a Lower Common Species faced a nearly impossible task even in breaking through the level 10 bottleneck. So what the Gale Pet Beast Shop was really selling, rather than Coiling Wind Worms, was “superior bloodlines” and “breeding resources.” The shop’s founder was a high-level Beast Master and the leader of the “Gale Merchant Fleet.” His Gale Butterfly was the direct bloodline source for every Coiling Wind Worm in the shop. The shop promised that as long as one bought a Coiling Wind Worm in-store and continuously raised it with the shop’s designated food, final evolution was guaranteed... But if one didn’t buy the shop’s feed... the shop could not guarantee that the Coiling Wind Worm would evolve smoothly. It was textbook bundled selling; the money for the worm itself was merely a “down payment.” “Are you here to buy a Coiling Wind Worm?” In the reception hall of the pet beast shop, a clerk came up to him with a smile. “Yeah.” Luo Yu nodded, his gaze looking through the glass wall into the depths of the shop. The entire shop was a simulated garden enclosed by a huge transparent shield. Several giant trees grew within, thick with branches and leaves, lush and green. In this ocean age, contracting water-system pet beasts was the mainstream choice, but wind-system ones weren’t bad either. Besides, there were enough Coiling Wind Worms here, making it very suitable for Luo Yu to screen and pick out hidden bargains. If there was a suitable individual with premium talent, he would choose this one. “Not bad.” Luo Yu felt his heart stir. Between the enormous canopies, as far as he could see, there were at least several thousand Coiling Wind Worms. They looked like enlarged caterpillars, entirely blue-green, wriggling among the branches and leaves with a rustling sound. There really were a lot of them, and the place was impressive... It was no wonder this was the most successful pet beast shop on Jingyue Island. Though the prices weren’t much cheaper in the long run, other shops specializing in Mid-tier Common Species were lucky to have a few dozen mutated beasts. Here, among several thousand samples, the probability of finding a premium individual was undoubtedly much higher. “Can I go in and choose myself?” Luo Yu asked. “Of course, no problem. Follow me.” The clerk nodded. “All the Coiling Wind Worms inside can be freely chosen. If you need recommendations, I’d be happy to help.” Luo Yu followed the clerk into the garden. One after another, information panels for the Coiling Wind Worms appeared before his eyes. He began rapidly screening them, searching for holders of premium talents... Ordinary talent, pass! Advanced talent... also passed over for now. Was there any even higher talent? “Found one you like?” After some time, the clerk following beside Luo Yu suddenly asked. “Still looking.” “Our shop also has a special promotion. Would you like to hear about it, sir?” “Go ahead.” As more and more individuals were ruled out, Luo Yu’s mood sank bit by bit... “The Coiling Wind Worm Free-to-Take-Home Promotion.” Luo Yu: “Free here too?” The clerk smiled. “Yes...” “But the buyer needs to sign a special contract with the Gale Pet Beast Shop...” “The contract stipulates that after contracting a Coiling Wind Worm, the buyer must sell a specified amount of 'worm silk' to the Windfeather Garment Factory every month.” “You see, it’s quite worthwhile. Not only can you get a pet beast for free, but you can also use the Coiling Wind Worm to open up an avenue for making money...” Luo Yu pondered for a moment... Who were they kidding?! It seemed like selling worm silk could make money, but when a Coiling Wind Worm spun worm silk, it consumed a large amount of nutrients, stunting its growth and causing developmental issues. If growth slowed, the buyer would need to purchase large amounts of nutritional supplements from the Gale Pet Beast Shop to restore its body. And the Windfeather Garment Factory sounded like it was under the same owner as the Gale Pet Beast Shop... It was literally money earned in one place spent in another—not a single coin could be taken home. Was a Beast Master cultivating a pet beast? No, they were clearly spending their own time, energy, and money working for the bosses behind the Gale Pet Beast Shop and Windfeather Garment Factory. After all, the Beast Taming Space could accelerate a mutated beast’s growth, greatly reducing the cost for the Gale Pet Beast Shop to raise Coiling Wind Worms itself to harvest worm silk. Sure enough, the free ones were the most expensive. These merchants were truly black-hearted... However, in this era, powerful Beast Masters seemed to all be big merchants. After all, cultivating pet beasts was an extremely expensive matter. The most numerous ships sailing the seas were merchant ships trading between the various islands. And those biologists who specialized in genetics and could breed top-tier aptitude pet beasts would actually all convert their research results into profit, collaborating with major powers to provide suitable pet beasts for their novice Beast Masters. “Divine Pet Supplier” was the evaluation given to them. “No need. I’m not short on money.” Luo Yu politely declined this black-hearted promotion. “Alright...” The clerk stopped promoting, but he doubted Luo Yu’s claim of not being short on money. Was it true or not... Luo Yu continued screening. But among the thousands of Coiling Wind Worms, from start to finish, not a single one had talent beyond advanced. Damn. Luo Yu felt melancholy inside, and rechecked from the beginning, afraid of missing any. But in the end, he had to admit that the highest here was only advanced talent. “Sigh...” He sighed, looking at the little worm staring back at him. This was the individual with the best overall aptitude he had found in this pet beast shop. [Species]: Coiling Wind Worm [Attribute]: Wind [Species Rank]: Lower Common Species [Life Level]: Level 1 [Species Ability]: Wind Gathering [Individual Talents]: 1. Longevity Gene (Advanced Talent: Lifespan is several times that of an ordinary individual.) 2. Water Element Affinity (Advanced Talent: Possesses the aptitude to comprehend and master water-system abilities.) Dual-high individual! Though the Gale Butterfly’s lifespan was greatly increased due to mutation, it was still far from enough compared to humans. This “Longevity Gene” talent was quite good from the perspective of companionship. With this talent as a backing, even if it slowly dragged on, it could probably last until final evolution, saving a lot of money. Perhaps it could even pass down through three generations—the worm would still be around after the human was gone. In addition, having the aptitude to comprehend and master a second attribute, and water attribute at that, was quite good. But even though it was good, Luo Yu still wanted to first search for whether there were any top-tier talent individuals... If it was only advanced talent, probably only a “triple-high individual” could tempt Luo Yu. But unfortunately, let alone a “triple-high individual,” he hadn’t even seen a “triple-ordinary individual.” “Still picking?!” Beside him, the clerk was numb. Holding up a Coiling Wind Worm, he recommended, “How about considering this one... this one’s silk output is very...” Luo Yu interrupted him. “Are there only these few thousand?” Clerk: ??? Several thousand and it’s still not enough for you to pick?! Are you here to make trouble? Luo Yu said disappointedly, “Sorry, there’s no pet beast here that I want. Sorry to trouble you.” After that, Luo Yu left the Gale Pet Beast Shop. That clerk clenched his fist, watching him leave with red eyes. “We look forward to your next visit...” ... “Judging by your tone, you don’t really seem to be looking forward to it... But if I can’t find something more to my liking, I’ll come back.” After Luo Yu left, he muttered this and headed to the next pet beast shop. Before long, Luo Yu looked up at a shop with cool-toned decor and took a deep breath in front of it. This was the pet beast shop specializing in “Cold Mist Lizards.” The Cold Mist Lizard was a Mid-tier Common Species, Ice-system. Its ability was to spew icy mist capable of causing frostbite. When mastered to the peak, it could even freeze the sea surface. In terms of combat power, it could instantly annihilate an inkfish. But the price wasn’t cheap... The worst-looking ones would probably cost at least ten thousand Alliance coins each... Though he couldn’t afford one, since he was passing by, he couldn’t resist going in to take a look. In case there was a premium individual—even if he couldn’t afford it now, he could keep it in mind and come back to buy it when he had money, to add to the research institute. “What are they doing?” In the pet beast shop, cold as a morgue, Luo Yu discovered that one Cold Mist Lizard after another all seemed to be busy. Like an assembly line, they used “Cold Mist” to manufacture blocks of ice, which employees hauled away bucket by bucket through an underground passage. “Oh, they’re training their Cold Mist ability. That way, you won’t have to train it yourself after you buy it,” the clerk beside Luo Yu said with a straight face. “???” Like hell I believe you. Luo Yu remembered—in this era, due to the chaotic ocean magnetic field, precision instruments often failed, and there was basically no technology, at least not on Jingyue Island. Therefore, there were no refrigerators or air conditioners. In the middle of summer, it was unbearably hot. The boss behind the Cold Ice Pet Beast Shop, the leader of the “Extreme Ice Fleet,” besides the pet beast shop business, also seemed to own a massive ice processing factory. It was the largest supplier of cooling ice, edible ice, and cold-chain preservation ice on Jingyue Island. Now it seemed the employees of the processing factory were these Cold Mist Lizards... Good grief. They were both merchandise and employees. These Cold Mist Lizards could be put in the same category as the Coiling Wind Worms. Sure enough, these merchants really knew how to squeeze the value out of pet beasts. After a short while, he made a round of the shop and left. Among the few dozen Cold Mist Lizards, there wasn’t even a single one with advanced talent! He just didn’t know whether the breeders here had problems with their breeding, or whether the breeders had good judgment and took away all the individuals with high talents, deliberately leaving only some with ordinary talents for sale. “It’s good there’s no good merchandise; saves me the trouble of agonizing...” “The Thunderbolt Pet Beast Shop seems to be on the way too...” “Compared to the Cold Mist Lizard, the Thunderbolt Shrimp is much cooler, but I still can’t afford it.” Luo Yu admitted he was a sucker for looks. The Cold Mist Lizard, with its appearance like a dark blue Komodo dragon, truly didn’t match his aesthetic. The talent potential of a pet beast was certainly important, but Luo Yu also hoped to take appearance into account. Otherwise, being together day and night would really affect his mood. In comparison, the Thunderbolt Shrimp, with its appearance like a golden lobster, combined with the electric light flowing over its body, was more than just a little cooler. “Welcome!” After Luo Yu stepped into the Thunderbolt Pet Beast Shop, he fell silent again. He saw that the merchandise here, the “Thunderbolt Shrimp,” were also not idle. Each one was tightly bound with iron wire, with a “blue ore” strapped to its body, absorbing the electric light they occasionally emitted. Just what were these pet beast shops selling—pets, or black slaves? Was this a hallmark of the Age of Exploration?