Qin Rui was a foolish blockhead; he should be kneeling at her feet right now, begging for her mercy.
Then, he should lean in and repeatedly plead for her to press a kitty paw print onto his face!
Of course, these were just Nuobai’s fantasies.
“Research what?”
Bai Luxin grew alert. Feeling extremely insecure at the moment, she shielded Nuobai even more tightly.
“The internal connection between inherited mutations and special skills in Beast Pets.”
Qin Rui rattled off a long string of technical terms.
“Simply put, we have discovered that Beast Pets occasionally possess something unique from the moment they are born.”
“For example, Sonic Wing Bats are usually black, but mutated ones are golden.”
“Just like Nuobai’s heterochromatic eyes.”
“These kinds of Beast Pets often awaken special skills; some are strong, some are weak, and some are even one of a kind.”
Nuobai glanced at Qin Rui, frowned, and lowered her head in thought.
“More importantly, we discovered a Skill Crystal from a mutated Beast Pet, a skill crystal that can be absorbed and inherited by other Beast Pets.”
Bai Luxin felt the tail wrapped around her wrist tighten, sensing the girl’s unease.
“I suspect Nuobai might have such an ability, and I can help her awaken it.”
“Perhaps there is a chance to uncover the secrets of these special skills and make a significant contribution to the Beast Taming Realm. Wouldn’t that be killing two birds with one stone?”
Is the talent for Rebellion a special skill? If it can be inherited, that means it can be stripped away.
Nuobai felt a sense of crisis. How many people knew about this?
If many people knew, wouldn’t she be like a child holding a gold brick while walking down a busy street?
No, she needed to gain the ability to protect herself as soon as possible.
“Sorry, I have never heard of a Skill Crystal.”
Bai Luxin had not yet discarded her suspicions, and she did not want to let Nuobai leave her to participate in any research.
“As everyone knows, for a Beast Pet to learn a skill, they must rely on their own comprehension and train bit by bit according to the skill’s mechanics.”
“You wouldn’t be trying to trick Nuobai into returning to the Beast Center to be locked up just because you saw her compete, would you?”
Well said!
As expected of her Beast Master, she had said everything Nuobai wanted to say.
Following her lead, Nuobai also looked at him suspiciously, wanting to make Qin Rui retreat in the face of difficulty.
Qin Rui simply pulled up the data to display to them.
“A Skill Crystal, also known as an Inheritance Crystal, is extremely rare.”
“Originally, they were only occasionally found in ancient ruins, but later we discovered them inside mutated Beast Pets.”
“I invited Nuobai this time partly for research, but also because I want to protect her.”
“Not going.”
Nuobai feigned laziness. “Do you mean to say every mutated Beast Pet has a special skill? I don’t want to be sliced up for your research.”
Being sliced up was an exaggeration, but never mind; this matter didn’t strictly require Nuobai.
It was just that Qin Rui had the deepest impression of this little creature, and he had hoped to use this opportunity to secure some benefits for her.
He had wanted to pick a powerful Skill Crystal for her.
“Not every mutated Beast Pet has one.”
“Fine, if you are unwilling, I won’t force you. Take this.”
Qin Rui tossed over a jade pendant.
“A Seal Pendant, a byproduct of our research.”
“It has a teleportation skill sealed inside. Remember to carry it when you go out.”
“Thanks, Uncle Qin.”
Qin Rui’s mouth twitched. He just couldn’t understand why his younger sister could tolerate Nuobai calling her ‘Auntie’.
Weren’t women most sensitive about their age? It had made him a generation older for no reason.
He might as well go see her and see if he could stir up some trouble.
After Qin Rui left, Bai Luxin stroked Nuobai. Her whiskers brushed against the girl’s wrist, seemingly there and yet not, as she sent her own blessings.
“Nuobai, congratulations on winning the championship.”
“It’s us!”
“Beast Master, we are the champions!”
Nuobai corrected her.
“Haven’t we received our prizes yet? I remember we get a piece of custom equipment and quite a bit of prize money.”
“Everyone doubted us, but in the end, we still took the championship.”
“In such a critical situation, we turned the tides. Shouldn’t the academy reward us properly?”
Bai Luxin smiled, her eyes tender, as if listening to her own child showing off.
As she listened, a wave of immense panic surged in her heart, pressing down until she could barely breathe.
It was as if her heart had been submerged into the boundless, gloomy depths of the sea. A single clear tear flowed down silently, and she could no longer control herself.
“Beast Master…”
Nuobai panicked. She had never seen such a scene and wanted to resort to her old tricks, rubbing against her to act spoiled.
According to her past experience, no matter how angry someone was, she could always coax them.
The tears stained her fur, and they actually felt a bit scorching, making her heart tremble.
“Beast Master, don’t cry… I—I will listen to you from now on, okay?”
Acting spoiled didn’t work, and Nuobai was instantly at a loss.
The command not to cry had been a seal branded into her heart since before she transmigrated.
She had never been comforted by anyone, so she didn’t know how to comfort others either.
Vaguely, she realized why she was crying; her dangerous actions on the competition field had frightened her.
She was afraid of losing her.
The feeling of happiness and the terror intertwined like a cup of fine wine—bitter at the first taste, yet faintly mixed with sweetness.
Bai Luxin shed tears, but her smile remained gentle.
She was clearly terrified, yet she acted with great restraint, suppressing herself because she didn’t want to be a burden to anyone.
Nuobai’s attempts to comfort her only made her cry harder.
Bai Luxin also felt a bit strange. She should be happy; Nuobai was safe and sound, and everything was moving in a good direction.
Yet, she couldn’t stop the tears from falling.
Wave after wave of emotions traveled along the contract. Nuobai did not resist, and she no longer fought back against her own suppressed cat-like instincts.
She sank into it, relaxed, feeling what she felt and grieving what she thought.
Her closed-off heart was pried open once more.
As a human, she couldn’t think of how to comfort someone, but her cat instincts were stirring.
They were clamoring for her to leave everything to them; they would handle it well.
For the first time, Nuobai accepted her cat-like nature.
Her small tongue licked Bai Luxin’s face, following the tear tracks to lick away the moisture bit by bit, emitting a soft, sweet sound.
“Meow-oo~”
After giving up on overthinking, an indescribable sense of ease soothed Nuobai’s heart.
Perhaps being a cat wasn’t such a bad thing.
“Alright, I’ll stop crying.”
With her face feeling tingly and numb, Bai Luxin’s emotions slowly stabilized. She first wiped the tear droplets off Nuobai’s fur.
It was hard on the girl; usually, she was too proud to let anyone touch her, but now she was actively being intimate to comfort her.
She deeply regretted letting Nuobai enter the arena alone; when she was at her most dangerous, she hadn’t been by her side.
It wouldn’t happen again. No matter what, they would stand together.
“Meow-oo~”
Under Bai Luxin’s loving gaze, Nuobai’s reason slowly returned, and a sense of shame rushed to her brain.
Her face was bright red and burning up.
Being a cat wasn’t good at all!
Her body went limp, and she skillfully fainted, pretending to lose consciousness.
Bai Luxin played along with her act, her eyes like the clear sky after rain, as she held her and headed home.
Nuobai looked quite amusing buried in her arms playing dead; she truly didn’t know what she was so shy about.
Holding the jade pendant in her hand, she decided to pay a visit to sister Qin Nian to learn more about raising Snow Joy Cats.
Additionally, if Nuobai was truly at risk of being targeted because of her heterochromatic eyes, then Qin Nian was undoubtedly their best backer.
She had to protect Nuobai well and let her grow up healthy and happy.