Luo Ning stood at the entrance of the washroom, lost in thought. This was a major decision concerning her life.
Now…
Should she go into the men’s room? Or the women’s room?
Huang Tao’s mouth twitched slightly as she watched Luo Ning deep in thought before the washroom door. She recalled that this seemingly super cute but wildly carefree pink-haired loli was, in essence, a boy.
Generally speaking, those who awakened Beast Taming talents were one-in-ten-thousand geniuses.
But this bizarre Beast Taming talent… Huang Tao had truly never seen anything like it.
Huang Tao couldn’t help but complain internally, though she offered a kind reminder out loud.
“This is the washroom for the work area. It should be mostly empty.”
Su Wanwan sighed helplessly. Watching Luo Ning about to step into the men’s room, she couldn’t resist stepping forward and yanking her toward the women’s room instead.
“Hey! Old Su! Even if I’ve turned into a girl, I still think I should use the men’s room!”
“Don’t talk. Hurry up and get it done!”
Su Wanwan pulled a tissue from her bag and shoved it into Luo Ning’s hand. Pointing at Luo Ning with a “pointing husky” expression, she said, “Don’t tell me you need me to help!”
Luo Ning caught Su Wanwan’s meaning and instinctively blushed. She snatched the tissue quickly, muttering defiantly under her breath, “Tch! As if I can’t handle that!”
Then Luo Ning ducked into the women’s room to handle her business.
Su Wanwan sighed lightly and shook her head, tidying her bag.
How had Luo Ning become so jumpy and unreliable after turning into a loli?
Was it the influence of gender hormones?
Why did she feel like she had become a mom raising a daughter…
Beside her, Huang Tao let out a long breath. The look of speechlessness on her face had yet to fade, and the earlier regret over Luo Ning giving up the Commander Bloodline beast resurfaced in her heart.
“Su Wanwan, are you really not going to talk some sense into Luo Ning?”
Huang Tao sighed, her tone full of sorrow. “You two are the most dazzling geniuses among this year’s newcomers in Jiangcheng. You’re firmly first in the city—perfect scores in strength, mentality, and composure. Luo Ning, relying on the merits left by her parents, is close behind in second place.”
“Miss this chance, and the starting point for his initial pet will be permanently lowered by a huge margin.”
Huang Tao genuinely felt sorry for Luo Ning. Missing this opportunity meant that Electric Eel would definitely be snatched up by someone with connections again.
If she had had this chance back in the day, she would have long ago taken the exams for one of those prestigious schools. Why would she still be here guiding newcomers?
And giving it to the third-place candidate?
Dream on! It would just end up as another favor for some connected insider…
Faced with Huang Tao’s earnest persuasion, Su Wanwan only smiled faintly. She lifted her gaze toward the washroom and spoke softly.
“I trust him. He has his own ideas. There’s no need for him to follow someone else’s definition of a strong path. Even if he doesn’t want to become a powerful Beast Tamer, I’ll support him.”
Huang Tao could only shake her head helplessly, taking Su Wanwan’s words as mere indulgence for her friend. The regret in her heart still lingered, but she stopped trying to persuade.
“After all, my life… was saved by him ten years ago…”
Su Wanwan’s eyes lost their usual calm, replaced by a faint tenderness and stubbornness. She whispered the latter half of the sentence in a breath so soft only she could hear.
It was fine.
Even if Luo Ning lived a carefree life forever—never striving, never chasing profit, never wanting to become a powerful Beast Tamer—it didn’t matter.
Back then, she had already decided. From now on, she would be the one to protect him.
Well, now it should be “her.”
Su Wanwan felt even happier inside. Because of her sexual orientation, she had previously thought she would stay single forever to watch over Luo Ning.
But now…
A faint smile curled at the corner of Su Wanwan’s lips.
Huang Tao gave a bitter, helpless laugh. She was about to follow Su Wanwan’s lead and drop the matter, waiting for Luo Ning to come out and continue selecting a pet to finish the process.
But the next second, the entire floor violently trembled!
BOOM!!!
A dull explosion erupted from deep underground. The steel-reinforced walls of the entire Beast Taming Cultivation Center shook wildly. The ceiling’s fluorescent lights flickered frantically, fine lime dust fell in cascades, and shattered glass rolled and crashed to the floor.
Huang Tao’s face turned pale. Her professional instincts kicked in, and she snapped her head up toward the ceiling!
“No! That’s not an earthquake!”
The Cultivation Center was equipped with top-tier pressure stabilization and disaster prevention systems. An ordinary earthquake shouldn’t have been able to shake it at all!
Buzz!!
An eerie spatial tremor rang through the entire building!
“Something’s wrong… It’s a dimensional rift breaking through… and it’s right near us!” Su Wanwan’s expression also darkened, shock and unease churning in her eyes.
She stared intently at the trembling ground beneath her feet, her fingertips turning pale.
Because she detected spatial ripples flickering.
Those spatial ripples were very similar to the devastating dimensional descent from ten years ago!
“The Cultivation Center is a key protected area in the city. How could a dimensional rift suddenly break through here…”
Huang Tao muttered to herself, staring at the spatial ripples before her, disbelief filling her eyes.
She had worked at the Beast Taming Cultivation Center for years, always handling civilian duties like guiding newcomers, explaining pets, and processing procedures.
Precisely because she knew the security level here so well, she felt even more alarmed.
But the violent fluctuations and spatial tremors crashing down on them now were undeniable signs of a dimensional rift breaking through!
No warning. No buffer. It slammed straight into the Cultivation Center!
And it was likely a high-level rift!
A sense of crisis completely seized Huang Tao’s heart. She dared not hesitate for another second.
Outsiders thought all the civilian staff at the Cultivation Center were ordinary workers without combat ability, but only those in the industry knew that employees hired by state-owned Cultivation Centers had at least the qualifications of a初级 Beast Tamer.
“Come out! Windwing Sparrow! Falling-feather Dove!”
Huang Tao raised her hand, and two gray Contract Arrays gradually materialized!
Whoosh!!
Two distinctly different sounds of wind breaking erupted. A flow of cyan-gray and one of milky white burst outward in succession.
A behemoth with sharp wings and a wingspan of over two meters broke through the air first—it was the Windwing Sparrow.
Its entire body was covered in light cyan feathers, the edges of its wings wrapped in faint currents of wind. Its eyes were sharp and cold, and with a light flutter of its wings, it stirred up steady streams of air.
Following closely, the graceful Falling-feather Dove circled into view, its pure white feathers clean and fluffy, with fine gray patterns at the tips of its tail feathers.
Its lively eyes rapidly scanned the crumbling environment around them, emitting short, urgent chirps, as if sending strong danger signals.
These two were Huang Tao’s only contracted beasts, and her sole reliance in this perilous situation.
She didn’t have any special Beast Taming talent. Her aptitude as a Beast Tamer was mediocre. After graduation, she entered the state-owned system and settled into a stable civilian job with regular hours. She rarely participated in trials and seldom honed her combat skills.
Years passed, and the strength of her two beasts had completely stagnated, both stuck at the bottleneck of the Medium Transcendent Level, unable to advance further.
In a normal Beast Tamer lineup, this level of strength was unremarkable—even on the weaker side. Barely enough for self-preservation, with no hope of confronting a high-level dimensional rift.
The Windwing Sparrow hovered in midair, its wings fluttering lightly, stirring up currents of air that steadily protected the two unsteady figures.
The Falling-feather Dove warily scanned the increasingly cracked and collapsing environment, as well as the rift that was gradually opening, using its feathers to fend off falling debris.
Watching her two beasts exert all their strength yet barely manage to protect a small area around them, Huang Tao’s heart sank completely, filled with a sense of powerlessness.
If this were an ordinary low-level rift, she could barely hold her own with the Windwing Sparrow and Falling-feather Dove. With luck, she might even lead the newcomers to safety.
But the chaotic spatial anomalies before her, the crushing pressure from the rift gradually opening…
This was definitely a high-level rift far beyond her knowledge!
“Windwing Sparrow, hold the defense! Falling-feather Dove, scout and alert! Lock on to all disturbances! Prioritize protecting us!” Huang Tao gave the order, her voice trembling unconsciously.