Chapter 13: Do You Want To Contract Me?
Su Wudeng looked at the dense forest with a pang of regret.
There were bound to be countless pet beasts deep within those woods, but without the power to protect herself, venturing inside was out of the question.
Just as she was about to start harvesting the nearby spiritual plants, a sudden gust of wind swept past. She looked up, only to find that the husky had returned.
This time, the husky was carrying a strange plant in its jaws. It carefully set the spiritual plant down on the wooden table, looked up at Su Wudeng, and let out two sharp barks. A glint of deep intelligence shone in its blue eyes, as if it were saying, “Here, eat up!”
So the husky hadn’t just run off; it had gone to fetch this spiritual plant for her.
Curious as to what it could be, Su Wudeng quickly adjusted her smart glasses to scan it. She gasped. “Wait, isn’t this… Red Heart Grass?”
Red Heart Grass was a legendary plant that allowed a tamer to understand the thoughts of pet beasts—and it worked even without a formal contract! She had searched high and low for a plant with this specific function during her previous runs, but to no avail. As it turned out, it grew deep within the forest.
“Man, this husky has a serious IQ.”
Realizing they couldn’t communicate, the dog had gone out of its way to find a spiritual plant that would bridge the gap. It was surprisingly reliable.
Su Wudeng swallowed the plant.
The husky sat back on the grass, its tail wagging joyfully as it stared at her with sparkling, expectant eyes. It was practically vibrating with anticipation. This human could produce mind-bogglingly delicious food; there was absolutely no way it was letting her go!
Ah, just thinking about that soft, heavenly cake made the husky’s mouth water all over again.
“Woof, woof, woof!” Hurry up! Eat it quickly so you can understand what I’m saying!
Su Wudeng stared at the husky in utter shock as its barks suddenly translated into clear, perfectly audible words in her mind.
“Hey, buddy, where did you get that stuff? It’s so delicious! Do you have any more?” The husky licked its chops and wagged its tail with wild enthusiasm, the longsword on its back catching the bright sunlight.
Su Wudeng laughed out loud. “You big, silly dog! All you can think about is my food!”
The husky clearly understood her response. It let out a rapid series of barks. “Who are you calling a silly dog? Come on! Hand it over, hand it over!”
Su Wudeng’s heart skipped a beat. If all it took was delicious food to lure this husky into following her, wouldn’t this contract be a walk in the park?
But a second later, she recalled the manual’s description of the Sword Heart Husky—the clan was renowned for being fiercely dedicated and hardworking. Gaining a husky’s favor with food was one thing, but forging a genuine, soul-binding contract was an entirely different story. In other words, if she wanted to take this husky back with her, she had to earn its true, deep-seated respect.
Meanwhile, the husky was busy sizing Su Wudeng up.
She isn’t going to cut me off, is she? No way! I’ve never tasted anything that smelled so magnificent in my entire life. It turned the problem over in its head. But she doesn’t look like she’s just going to keep handing it over… Wait, I’ve got it! What if I form a contract with her? If I lock myself in as her partner, won’t I have an endless supply of delicacies for the rest of my life?
Both human and canine had entirely different motives, yet when their eyes met, they both flashed brilliantly friendly smiles.
Su Wudeng’s plan was simple: feed the dog. She had a mountain of luxury food items in her inventory; she would completely stuff its face first! She refused to believe a husky’s heart could withstand the ultimate culinary assault.
“You want more, right? Here, try this…”
The husky’s intelligent eyes lit up like stars. Its tail wagged so hard it was a blur, and a thick thread of drool began to pool at its jaw. This human is a literal saint!
Su Wudeng cooed softly, “Take your time, eat slowly. I have plenty.”
“Woof!” It smells so heavenly!
Su Yulan had just finished a brutal training session, her uniform entirely drenched in sweat. She pulled out her communicator and spotted a notification from her sister.
Had the package already arrived?
She sprinted back to her dorm, spotting a shipping crate sitting squarely on the floor right outside her room. Making sure no one was watching, she quickly dragged it inside and locked the door.
Su Yulan’s heart pounded against her ribs. Deep down, she found it hard to believe her sister could actually source a rare, astronomically expensive spiritual plant. But Su Wudeng wasn’t the type to tell hollow lies. Furthermore, she had been keeping a close eye on her sister’s shop registry and knew she had recently transitioned to selling real, living pets.
Prying the crate open, Su Yulan stared at the contents in absolute disbelief. Her expression instantly grew heavy.
A soft silver radiance flickered within the dim dorm room.
Astraea Grass—the absolute pinnacle of top-tier spiritual plants. Compared to the Star Soul Grass Pei Xueqing had flaunted, which offered a pathetic ten percent boost to mental strength, a single stalk of Astraea Grass could amplify a tamer’s capacity by a full one hundred percent.
And that wasn’t all. Nestled deep inside the crate were three other specimens. The vibrant, blood-red vine of a Dragon Blood Vine pulsed like a living heart, sitting alongside the deep azure glow of a Sky Eye Fruit and the crystal-clear petals of a Jasper Spirit Flower.
She recognized all three of them. The Dragon Blood Vine enhanced physical constitution, the Sky Eye Fruit significantly upgraded eyesight, and the Jasper Spirit Flower served as a rare, premium mental soothing agent.
Every single one of these plants was a priceless treasure. How on earth had her sister gotten her hands on them?
Su Yulan’s heart plummeted.
“Sis…” she whispered to the empty room, her face draining of color. “You didn’t cut a deal with that syndicate, did you?”
Only that notorious, cutthroat underground syndicate possessed the reach to smuggle extinct spiritual plants and living pets into the lower sectors. But playing a game like that was a literal death sentence.
“She did all of this just for my finals… It’s all my fault. Why did I have to pressure her so hard this morning?”
Flipping open her communicator, her thumb hovered over the call button, desperate to beg her sister to stop before it was too late. But she hesitated. “Sis is incredibly stubborn. There’s no way she’ll listen to me.” Once Su Wudeng made up her mind, she was an immovable object.
The room fell into a suffocating silence. Su Yulan, who usually handled every crisis with absolute composure, felt completely lost. How was she supposed to protect her sister?
She unlocked her phone, the ambient screen glow illuminating her strained face as she typed out a message: Sis, the freshman finals are going to be broadcast live globally. Will you tune in to watch my match?
If she could prove to her sister that she was already strong enough to secure her own future, she could finally convince her to step away from the underground market.
After sending the text, she meticulously packed the priceless plants away. This was a physical manifestation of her sister’s love, and she treasured it deeply. But now wasn’t the time to consume them; she was still a significant distance away from her next tamer breakthrough, and consuming such high-grade energy prematurely would only result in massive waste.
After debating where to hide them, she ultimately chose to lock them inside her personal spatial button, securing them directly onto her uniform. She didn’t trust a soul at the academy; keeping them on her person was the only foolproof option.
Outside her window, a sudden downpour began to pelt the glass, the damp wind catching her hair.
“Time for another round of training.”
The training room door closed with a sharp click, and the sound of Su Yulan’s retreating footsteps gradually faded down the corridor.
A cluster of freshman girls exchanged uneasy glances before drifting over to Pei Xueqing’s desk, their faces tight with hesitation.
“Xueqing…” one girl whispered, swallowing hard as she chose her words carefully. “Do we really have to go that far for the finals? Isn’t it a bit much?”
“Yeah, I mean… Yulan is still our classmate. If the entire cohort coordinates an attack to target her simultaneously, it’s going to look terrible on the live feed, won’t it?”
Pei Xueqing slowly raised her gaze, a cold, sharp smile playing at the corners of her lips. The harsh overhead lighting cast deep shadows across her face as she locked her icy eyes onto the dissenters.
“Oh?” she purred, her tone dripping with a quiet, dangerous threat. “If you suddenly find yourselves no longer in need of the Star Soul Grass, feel free to do whatever you like.”
The girls’ faces drained of color instantly. They rapidly exchanged terrified looks before forcing wide, sycophantic smiles onto their faces.
“Ah, Xueqing, don’t take us seriously! We were just joking!”
“Exactly! Su Yulan is always so aloof and self-righteous anyway; nobody in the cohort even likes her. Don’t worry, we’ll follow your directives to the letter during the match.”
Pei Xueqing let out a cold scoff, turning away. She was going to utterly crush Su Yulan this time. No, crushing her wasn’t enough. Her fingers clenched into a tight fist, her knuckles turning stark white from the force of her grip.
The number one spot belongs to me.
Back in the Great Prosperity Era.
Warm sunlight cast a golden sheen across the grass, where the husky lay flat on its back with a heavily bloated, rounded belly, looking like it had achieved absolute enlightenment.
Now this is the ultimate dog life. Pure bliss, the husky thought, squinting its blue eyes as it soaked in the gentle breeze.
With a moment of peace, Su Wudeng finally had the time to properly admire the Sword Heart Husky. Its plush, thick coat shimmered with a striking silver-blue luster under the sun, swaying gently with the wind. The beautifully forged blade strapped across its back gleamed sharply.
“Can I pet you?” Su Wudeng couldn’t help but ask.
The well-fed husky was incredibly cooperative. It generously rolled over further, exposing its velvety underbelly. “Go right ahead~”
Su Wudeng buried her hand into the plush fur, finding it wonderfully thick and warm. The sheer comfort of the moment caused her mind to drift back to the original owner’s memories of her entrance exam for the Beast Taming Academy.
Ever since the Zerg invasion, the interstellar sectors had been locked in a state of perpetual warfare. The elite tamers produced by the academies formed the iron shield of humanity’s resistance. Naturally, every young citizen dreamed of passing the grueling trials to enter a tamer university.
However, the barrier to entry was astronomically high. Outstanding academic performance was a baseline requirement, but the true gatekeeper was raw mental capacity. A candidate needed to possess at least an A-grade mental threshold to effectively command a mechanical beast—the bare minimum standard for admission.
Unfortunately, the original owner had placed at a dismal C-grade, making it fundamentally impossible for her to establish a high-tier neural link with a mechanical pet. She had been ruthlessly disqualified at the initial registration phase, leaving her with no choice but to return to this backwater planet to inherit her mother’s failing storefront.
But her sister, Yulan, was entirely different. She was a prodigy born for mechanical taming, possessing a near-mythical affinity for neural synchronization.
As she lost herself in her thoughts, the husky’s voice suddenly shattered the silence.
“Are you interested in establishing a contract with me?”
Su Wudeng froze, her eyes widening. What did it just say? She had been racking her brain trying to figure out how to slowly win the dog over, and yet it had just casually initiated the contract itself? Had she misheard?
She stared down at the husky in complete disbelief.
The husky, noticing her intense stare, let out a sheepish huff and looked away, its ears flattening slightly.
“…Look, don’t get the wrong idea about me.” It muttered, its voice dropping to a low rumble. “The rest of the clan always said I was just a lazy, gluttonous parasite. And, well… damn it, turns out they were completely right.”
“I don’t have any grand, noble ambitions. I just want to guarantee my stomach is bursting with food every single day. If you become my contractor, you have to swear to provide me with this exact level of premium delicacies around the clock…”
Recalling the staggering amount of luxury food it had just inhaled, the canine felt a sudden wave of financial guilt, its blue eyes darting around shiftily.
“If… if you’re still on board with that, I’m willing to bind my soul to yours.”
Su Wudeng’s face darkened instantly.
When the husky had gorged itself earlier, she had assumed it was merely starving after going days without a meal. Are you telling her this creature required this massive, luxury food intake every single day?
Her vision went a bit blurry. If she finalized this contract, the basic daily maintenance and food expenses alone would easily clear hundreds of thousands of credits!
The husky, hyper-sensitive to her shifting energy, noticed her hesitation. Its eyes rolled comically before it leaned forward, aggressively rubbing its massive, furry head against Su Wudeng’s chest in a display of pure, pathetic grievance.
“You… you don’t want me either, do you?”
The giant hound looked like a completely heartbroken child, its blue eyes dripping with an impossibly pitiful, tragic expression as it snuggled deep into her lap. It looked as though it would literally expire from sorrow if she uttered a rejection.
Yet, beneath its dramatic whimpering, its tail was thumping against the grass like a hyperactive small fan.
Su Wudeng blinked, utterly stunned. This husky wasn’t just a glutton—it was a total, unhinged drama queen!
And yet, her heart completely betrayed her, softening instantly. She raised her hand, gently combing through the dog’s silky, silver-blue coat. The husky let out a series of low, content hums.
Even if it drained her bank account, she realized she desperately wanted a massive, beautiful dog like this. If they signed the papers, this would be a partner that belonged entirely to her. She would finally have a true, living companion to share this alien world with.
Suddenly, a sharp, unnatural cracking sound echoed from the deeper parts of the forest.
The husky’s ears snapped upright instantly. Its relaxed posture vanished as its muscles tightly coiled, its blue eyes turning dangerously sharp.
A massive, distorted silhouette violently burst through the thick foliage.
“Woof!” Danger! Stay back!
The husky threw itself in front of Su Wudeng, shielding her completely as the longsword secured across its shoulders flew into the air, flashing with an icy, lethal radiance under the sun. Its powerful frame twisted effortlessly in mid-air, catching the hilt as the blade cleaved through the wind like a falling meteor.
Clang!
