Under the enthusiastic invitation of the short man, Su Su and Pang Cancan prepared to head to the headquarters of the Battle Pet Guild.
Sun Zhichun had other matters to attend to at the Northern Base, so he did not accompany them.
His understanding of this place was quite limited, and he had already guided them as much as he could. If they encountered any trouble, with the formidable strength of these two ability users, they would likely be able to handle it on their own, without necessarily requiring his intervention.
The short man somehow found a small electric vehicle and waved eagerly, “Ladies, hop in my car. I’ll take you there.”
The Northern Base’s territory had shrunk by more than half, and the commonly used modes of transportation had become bicycles and electric vehicles. Some even used battle pets as their means of transport, resulting in a variety of travel methods.
While they were riding in the vehicle, Su Su suddenly noticed a cheetah chasing right up to the car window.
Wait—was a cheetah keeping up with their car?
She jerked her head around and saw that the swiftly running cheetah’s head had already surpassed her window. In just a few more seconds, it might even overtake the entire electric vehicle.
What was most eye-catching, however, was the strong man sitting on the large cheetah’s back.
He seemed to notice Su Su’s gaze and sharply locked eyes with her.
The moment Jiang Hong recognized her, the cold sharpness in his eyes subconsciously softened a little. Then, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a familiar figure.
“Shorty?”
The short man driving the car chuckled, “Boss Jiang, you’re back from your mission?”
“Mm.” Jiang Hong glanced at the two young women in the back seat. “Who are they?”
“They’re new ability users at the base. They rented the quadrangle courtyard we manage. I’m taking them to the guild to see Sister Yun.”
Jiang Hong understood. He reached out and lightly patted the cheetah he was riding. The battle pet, which had been sprinting at full speed, immediately slowed down in perfect sync with the electric vehicle, maintaining a steady parallel pace.
His gaze returned to Su Su. “What kind of injury did your battle pet sustain?”
“……”
Su Su did not answer.
Jiang Hong also did not look away. He kept his eyes locked on the beautiful woman inside the car window, seemingly waiting for her response.
Sensing the growing tension, the short man quickly stepped in to ease the atmosphere, “Miss Su, this is Boss Jiang from our guild. He’s a Tier 6 ability user, and his battle pet is also Tier 6.”
Su Su had long noticed the extraordinary aura surrounding the cheetah. She nodded, “I see.”
You see? And then? At least respond to Boss Jiang’s question!
Just as the short man was growing anxious, Jiang Hong withdrew his gaze. “If it’s inconvenient to talk about, forget it.”
He didn’t seem to mind Su Su’s silence or disregard. He simply patted the cheetah’s back again. Receiving the command, the cheetah instantly leaped forward, leaving only an afterimage as it disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving the electric vehicle far behind.
After Jiang Hong left, the short man hesitated as he looked into the rearview mirror, as if he had something to say.
Su Su raised her eyes to him. “What do you want to say?”
Thinking of the giant python by her side, the short man weakly said, “Miss Su, Sister Yun is the best healer for battle pets, and she works under Boss Jiang. Even if you don’t answer now, he’ll find out sooner or later.”
“Mm.”
Mm—what does that even mean?
The short man stole a couple of glances at the breathtakingly beautiful young woman in the back seat through the rearview mirror, unable to tear his eyes away. In the end, he could only comfort himself—beautiful women were always proud, and even more so when they were powerful. Ignoring Boss Jiang… well, any man would probably not take offense, right?
He decided not to say any more.
Su Su ignored Jiang Hong purely because she disliked the way he looked down at her from above. Even more so, she had no intention of casually revealing Xiao Hei’s injuries.
At the end of the day, she wasn’t part of the Battle Pet Guild, so why should she obey some so-called “Boss Jiang”?
After another ten minutes or so, the electric vehicle finally arrived at the Battle Pet Guild.
Contrary to the grand building she had imagined, this place looked more like a repurposed pre-apocalypse zoo, which had been converted into the guild’s headquarters. The area was massive, with various buildings scattered across different sections. After getting off the electric vehicle, they had to switch to pedal-powered sightseeing tricycles to move further inside.
The short man grinned fawningly. “Electricity is scarce, and gasoline is even scarcer. The guild mainly uses these pedal-powered bicycles for internal transport. You two beautiful ladies don’t need to pedal—I’ll handle it from the front!”
The two women sat in an old-fashioned open-top tricycle.
Despite being a Tier 4 ability user, the short man effortlessly pedaled the tricycle forward for several kilometers without even breaking a sweat.
“Sister Yun is in the far east section of the guild. I’ll take you there first.”
Along the way, many people—and even battle pets—cast curious glances in their direction.
At one point, an ostrich even trotted up to them, its long neck stretching out right next to Su Su’s cheek.
“Hiss—!”
A ferocious giant python suddenly shot out from Su Su’s backpack, nearly sinking its fangs into the ostrich’s slender neck.
“Guh!!”
The ostrich shrieked in terror, yanking its neck back as it spun in circles on the spot.
Meanwhile, the python coiled around Su Su’s neck, its cold gaze sweeping the surroundings. Its overwhelming aura immediately intimidated all the other battle pets that had been attempting to follow.
Su Su had actually been startled by the ostrich’s sudden approach and instinctively tightened her grip around Xiao Hei’s serpentine body. “…Are all battle pets here allowed to roam freely?”
“Yeah, our guild moved to this location specifically to provide enough space for everyone’s battle pets to move around,” the short man explained. “But don’t worry, they’ve all been strictly ordered not to leave the guild grounds or harm people at will.”
Pang Cancan was curious. “And they actually listen?”
“The ones that are allowed to roam freely in the guild are at least Tier 4. By that stage, they’ve already developed a certain level of intelligence, so most of them are willing to follow the rules.”
“What about the ones that don’t listen?”
“The disobedient ones? They either died or were expelled from the Northern Base.”
For the Battle Pet Guild to establish itself within the Northern Base, it had to abide by the rules set by the other two major guilds—strict management of all battle pets was mandatory. They were not allowed… or at least, on the surface, they were not allowed to harm people indiscriminately.
The pedal-powered tricycle quickly outpaced the wandering ability users and battle pets, finally arriving in front of a bright white building.
“We’re here!”
The short man led the two women inside. The hall was empty, save for a single door at the very back, which was tightly shut.
Just as Su Su’s right foot stepped inside, the door was suddenly slammed open by a dark shadow.
“Catch it!”
“Awwooo—!”
The young man immediately rushed out of the room, grabbing the “dark shadow” by its hind leg.
“It’s you!”
“It’s you guys!”
The two sides collided and instantly recognized each other—it was the people they had almost clashed with outside the city wall.
The young man’s expression darkened immediately. Just as he was about to say something, a booming voice shouted from inside the room, “Hurry up and drag it in! Do you not want your legs anymore?!”
Only then did Su Su see that the black wolf’s hind leg was still oozing fresh blood.
The young man shot them all a fierce glare before dragging the struggling black wolf back inside. “Ah Hei, get in there!”
Ah Hei???
The black snake, nestled in Su Su’s arms, suddenly twisted its head around and stared at the female human up close, its gaze almost piercing. “Hiss!!!”
Su Su: “…”
She immediately hugged Xiao Hei tightly, feeling guilty yet coaxing as she nuzzled its head. “I’ll think of the most unique and one-of-a-kind name for you tonight, okay? I promise it won’t clash with anyone else’s!”
The black snake furiously bit her neck, its two sharp fangs rubbing against her skin for a long while before reluctantly letting go.
The door slammed shut again, and before long, the room echoed with heart-wrenching wolf howls.
The black snake’s attention was instantly drawn away. Its deep green vertical pupils stared intently at the door.
Su Su also felt uneasy and turned to the short man. “Didn’t you say Sister Yun is a healing-type ability user?”
The short man scratched his head. “She was a veterinarian before the apocalypse. Sometimes, she prefers traditional treatment methods. That black wolf got a few bullets in its hind leg earlier—she has to dig them out before she can use her ability to heal it.”
Having held back her thoughts for a while, Pang Cancan finally clenched her fist and whispered, “I knew it. When we saw that wolf outside the city wall earlier, its hind leg was slightly limping.”
No wonder they ran into it again here.
After saying that, Pang Cancan fell silent again, keeping up her cold and aloof demeanor.
It didn’t take long—just a few minutes after the wolf howls stopped, the door opened once more.
The now fully healed black wolf was the first to walk out, its head hanging low in dejection, as if it hadn’t recovered from the treatment ordeal.
The young man followed closely behind. He had originally wanted to pick a fight, but when his gaze landed on the giant python in Su Su’s arms and the dozens of poisonous insects surrounding Pang Cancan, he silently swallowed all his words.
“Ah Hei, let’s go!”
The black snake watched the retreating black wolf with a deep, eerie gaze, its fangs suddenly itching.
Why did that coward get to be called “Hei” too?
“Next!”
Su Su quickly carried Xiao Hei into the treatment room.
Inside, a middle-aged woman in a white medical coat was washing her bloodstained gloves. She turned her head at the sound of their entrance and was instantly captivated.
“Oh?”
Sister Yun put on a fresh pair of gloves and walked over in surprise. “This is the first time I’ve seen someone keep a python as a battle pet.”
As she spoke, her gaze finally shifted from the black snake to Su Su’s face.
“Whoa!”
What a beautiful young girl!
Sister Yun’s eyes gleamed with admiration as she took several more glances before finally shifting her attention back to the equally striking yet intimidating giant python. “What kind of injury does it have?”
“It’s been shedding its scales continuously since last month. I consulted some veterinarians, and they said normal shedding doesn’t happen like this.”
“Put it on the table and let me take a look.”
Su Su immediately placed Xiao Hei on the operating table.
The snake lay there all alone, fully exposed under the bright surgical light. Without anything to conceal it, the mottled patches on its body became glaringly visible, and its half-bald tail looked downright hideous.
“Hiss…”
The black snake silently buried its head beneath its coiled body, attempting to escape reality.
Sister Yun grabbed its partially shed tail, which immediately earned her several sharp hisses of warning. The tail in her hands also flailed violently in irritation.
Unfazed, she skillfully restrained the “patient” and firmly examined every inch of its body, especially the shedding areas.
The process took quite a while.
Standing by, Su Su felt like she was accompanying a partner undergoing a medical check-up, terrified that the results might reveal a terminal illness. Even her breathing became unnaturally light.
After thoroughly checking for a long time, Sister Yun finally murmured, “Did it go into estrus not long ago?”
She could tell just from looking?
Su Su nodded. “Yes. Does that have something to do with its shedding?”
“Not directly.” A hint of amusement flickered in Sister Yun’s eyes. “I was just curious. After all, everyone knows that snakes have…”
Without even touching her face, Su Su could feel the heat rising to her cheeks.
She couldn’t help but recall the scene she had accidentally witnessed in the stairwell before… Damn it, now even her ears were burning.
Why was Xiao Hei the one who embarrassed itself, but she was the one feeling ashamed?
Sister Yun, however, remained completely composed.
After all, during the past spring, she had treated countless battle pets in that state. The variety of bizarre cases she had encountered was beyond imagination.
“Forgive me for asking, but what exactly is the relationship between you two?”
Su Su fell silent.
She wasn’t sure either. Companions? Companions whose bond surpassed that of ordinary people?
One thing she did understand was what had been on Xiao Hei’s mind when it was in estrus.
In a low voice, she muttered, “Is there any other kind of relationship besides companions?”
“Of course there is.” Sister Yun clicked her tongue. “You two must be new to the Northern Base, right? It’s obvious you haven’t seen much. Ever since battle pets gained the ability to take human form, quite a few people have formed partner relationships with their own battle pets.”
As the most knowledgeable veterinarian and a healing-type ability user, Sister Yun had truly worried a great deal about the lives of these “partners.”
Hearing those words, Su Su’s pupils widened slightly.
Partner?
Was… was everyone really this progressive?
Swoosh!
The black snake, which had buried its head under its own coils, suddenly lifted its head, its vertical pupils locking onto the woman in white.
It understood.
Sensing that things were going in the wrong direction, Su Su quickly changed the topic. “What does this have to do with its shedding?”
“Of course, there’s no direct correlation.” Seeing that the beautiful young girl refused to answer directly, Sister Yun smiled slightly. “I just wanted to ask in advance. After all, what I’m about to say next is good news for anyone looking to form a partnership.”
Su Su instinctively asked, “What good news?”
“This snake isn’t sick. On the contrary, it’s in very good health.”
“As for the shedding… Before battle pets take human form, they go through various abnormal changes. In this snake’s case, that manifests as large-scale shedding.”
“Don’t worry. Once it fully transforms into human form, the shedding will stop automatically.”
Wait—human transformation?!
Xiao Hei had already entered the transformation stage?!
Su Su was utterly shocked as she looked at the black snake lying on the operating table. The snake, which had been staring intently at Sister Yun, seemed to realize something was off and slowly lowered its head, curling it back into its unsightly, half-shed body.
“Why do you look so surprised? You didn’t know that once battle pets break through Tier 6, as long as they have self-awareness, they naturally begin the transformation process?”
Su Su stiffly shook her head.
She didn’t know.
She had always assumed that the Northern Base had some other method that enabled battle pets to take human form.
Sister Yun’s gaze returned to the large black python, and she rubbed her chin in mild confusion. “By all logic, if it wanted to, it should be showing some signs of transformation by now.”
“Could it be that… it doesn’t want to take human form at all?”