Starting With Contract Pets
chapter-105

"What time is it?"

Chen Rouxue turned over and patted Su Bai's face.

"It's still early. Let's sleep a little more, baby."

He hugged her waist and yawned.

Yes, they were now sleeping in the same bed. In the middle of the night, Su Bai had run over shamelessly to sleep in her bed.

Of course, he only hugged her to sleep and, at most, kissed her. Nothing else happened…

After all, it was impossible to be so careless in the wilderness, and their relationship had yet to reach that point.

Chen Rouxue looked at her phone and returned to sleep using Su Bai as a pillow.

About an hour later, when the sky was completely bright, Su Bai woke up with a yawn.

Glancing at the girl beside him, he smirked. "It's really comfortable sleeping with you in my arms."

"Hmph. I haven't yet scolded you for sneaking into my bed!"

Chen Rouxue snorted and glared at him. She put her hand on his waist and squeezed his flesh. "I thought you're a gentleman, but you disappointed me."

"I'm not a piece of wood; I'd be foolish if I didn't hug my girlfriend since there's a chance," replied Su Bai matter-of-factly as he got up from the bed. "Okay, let's go. We should set out to explore the ruins and then prepare to go home. We should come back later; this place is too dangerous."

"Hmph. I already woke you up earlier, but you wanted to keep sleeping."

Chen Rouxue squeezed Su Bai's face and put on her coat.

After eating breakfast, they went to the Scarlet Hunter Trade Union to purchase some maps of the ruins.

"This trade union was built decently; it looks rather important." Su Bai looked around from the gate of the Scarlet Hunter Trade Union and thought that it was rather grand.

"It's pretty good." Chen Rouxue also nodded.

Even in the early morning, the place was crowded, and there seemed to be an endless stream of people. However, they were far away from one another and were all wearing masks and hats which covered their faces.

Su Bai lined up. Soon, it was their turn.

"What business are you here for?" asked the staff without looking up.

"I want to buy this map of the ruins," he replied after he selected a map from the table before him.

The ruins were divided into five grades according to the degree of danger, corresponding to the five levels of pets: servant, warlord, commander, monarch, and emperor.

Su Bai first looked at the emperor-grade ruins and saw only one. It was called the Blood Beach, where emperor monsters roamed. The death rate there was said to be as high as 99%.

[The truth is that there's some other internal information.]

He checked the monarch-grade ruins' section and saw quite a few of them. After browsing through, he clicked on the warlord ruins. The ruins of this grade reflected that most of the monsters there were warlords, but it did not rule out the possibility of there being other higher-level monsters, for this was just the rough data.

"I want this, Thousand Chance City," Su Bai looked at the map and said. The ruins occupied a vast area, so there would not be much competition if they entered.

Another reason was because the octahedral amethyst that he bought yesterday was used in this city.

"Twenty spirit crystals," said the staff without looking up.

Su Bai paid the money, and the staff handed him an electronic map with a supplementary strategy and a crystal guide.

Actually, from what he had heard, they could obtain a map or a simplified version of it for free by showing a scarlet badge, but after thinking about it, he decided against exposing it.

"I want these three."

Su Bai thought for a while and bought another three, which cost him a total of 80,000 yuan.

"Come on; let's go."

He took the things and gestured to Chen Rouxue.

"Okay."

They went out on the street and found an empty spot for the Little Tyrant to activate its Bury skill. Their aura immediately disappeared as they were concealed.

In fact, most of the people walking here did the same. It was very important to hide oneself, and those who remained exposed were either big bosses or deliberately luring people.

"Thousand Chance City has been long exposed, so slightly stronger players usually won't choose it since there's not much to be found, but it's just right for us, for we can familiarize ourselves with such ruins first. Furthermore, it's a city site with a large base area, so we're bound to discover things that others are selling."

Su Bai explained to his girlfriend while he was checking the map.

Chen Rouxue nodded, fully agreeing to his choice. They had already discussed it before choosing the ruins map.

"Still, it's so far. This just proves more how important it is to have a mount, especially one that flies."

She stretched her body lazily and complained.

"Wait a little more; I think it won't be long before we have a mount, and it'll be a very cool mount, too. I promise."

Su Bai grinned. Once the Little Bloodworm transformed into a dragon, he would have a dragon to ride.

"Really?"

"Of course!"

Along the way, the two encountered some monsters that they easily dealt with. Both had their pets deal with the monsters first before letting the Little Bloodworm take the last kill.

Although the Little Bloodworm had not changed much, it had accumulated more than two hundred Dragon Breaths.

At about 10 a.m., they finally arrived at the remains of Thousand Chance City.

"These are void ruins; can treasures really be found here?" Su Bai surveyed the ruins in disbelief. On the surface, the place looked like a vast area of land. If not for the guidelines, no one would think that there were ruins here.

The place was empty, and Su Bai could not see anyone in the area.

Of course, it did not mean that others were not hiding like them.

"Stop complaining. Let the Little Tyrant find a secluded entrance, then we'll go through it. This place seems desolate, but the concentration of spiritual power is pretty high. There might really be some treasures."

Chen Rouxue sighed. Since they were already here, they had no choice but to go in and explore.

"Roar~"

The Little Tyrant pointed ahead to indicate an entrance there.

"No rush. This is just the edge of the city. Let's walk further and get closer to the center," said Su Bai.

They continued walking forward with the Little Tyrant opening the way. Big Demon and Purple Jade trailed behind them.

None of them knew if there was any danger ahead, but since the Little Tyrant could not die, it was perfect for leading the way.

"Let's go in from here."

After walking for a while, Su Bai saw the aforementioned entrance.

The Little Tyrant nodded and took the lead to go in.

Just as it stepped into the entrance, a huge mouth rushed up and swallowed it whole.

Bang bang bang!

Raging fire and the burned smell of something wafted as a huge fireball exploded. The Little Tyrant then jumped up.

"Roar~"

It was now holding a warlord crystal nucleus in its claws as it appealed to Su Bai.

"Amazing! Come and drink a potion to replenish your spiritual power." He praised the little fellow. It was indeed safer for the Little Tyrant to lead the way. After all, the cub's detection skills were not omnipotent.

Many monsters had ways to avoid being detected, just like this dirt monster.

"Hey, it looks like there are ruins inside," Su Bai said.

They went through the entrance and saw many civilized buildings, but they were all severely damaged, and even the rudiments of the streets could be seen.

Because this place had been often explored, there were a lot of channels inside. Some even had fluorescent stones which made it easier for their party to orient themselves with their surroundings.

"D*mn it. This place has been wiped clean. Most of the houses are open, indicating that there aren't many monsters or people here."

Su Bai complained after exploring for a long time. They only occasionally discovered a few undesirable ores.

"It feels like the trade union's map isn't real; I'm afraid that it's from a few years ago. Next time, let's not go to such ruins and just head straight to the natural ruins. At least, lots of monsters and spiritual plants can be found there."

Chen Rouxue also complained, feeling that they had made a wasted trip.

"Still, this civilization is rather interesting. It says here that they can use a special card to collect pets."

Su Bai looked at the broken stone card in his hand. There were many such cards here, but no one bothered with them.

"It's quite interesting, but only archaeologists are most likely interested in that stuff." Chen Ruoxue was indifferent and found their first expedition disappointing.

"Roar!"

The Little Tyrant plunged underground, dug out another ore, and handed it to Su Bai.

"Wait, Rouxue, look at this."

Su Bai took out the octahedral amethyst from his backpack, which shone with a faint purple light.

"There's no such change when I put an ore earlier, but now there is."

Su Bai knew that this key was related to the Thousand Chance City but did not know where to use it. After all, these ruins were too big.

"Could this be some kind of a key? Can it open a treasure?"

Chen Ruoxue took the amethyst and walked in different directions. The amethyst shone with different light as she moved forward.

"Let's go this way."

Interest ignited in her anew as she spoke excitedly.

"Purple Jade, look around and keep watch."

Su Bai instructed, then walked forward.

Surprisingly, the direction the amethyst was pointing toward was not the center of the ruins but rather the edges.

"There's no way ahead. Little Tyrant, it's up to you."

He instructed his pet.

"Roar! ヾ(o・ω・)ノ"

Look at what I can do; I hate detours the most!

With a low rumble, the Little Tyrant tore the wall in front with its Crush Claw. Their party entered through it as the cub condensed Shield Strike to protect them.

They slowly went deeper and deeper. It took them more than an hour to find the source.

"Can this thing be opened?"

Su Bai looked at the silver iron stake in front of him. There was a groove on it, obviously for an octahedron.

"Since this key is still intact, it should work."

"Little Tyrant, go slot the amethyst there. We'll take a few steps back first. Anyway, it's fine even if you die. You can do it; I'll give you food later."

He instructed and retreated decisively.

The Little Tyrant: "…"

It looked at the iron stake and raised its claw to press the amethyst down.

After several minutes, purple lines appeared on the iron pillars and then the ground vibrated. An entrance of over four meters long and three meters wide appeared below.

Su Bai walked over and glanced down at the small spatial door.

"Buddy, use Vine Whip and reach in; see if it's dangerous."

"Howl~"

The cub probed in with a vine, but there was no movement.

"Alright, then. Let's head inside."

Since they were already here, they might as well go inside to explore.

"Roar~"

After he finished speaking, the Little Tyrant went in without hesitation. It knew that its owner was a weakling and could die easily.

Su Bai and Chen Rouxue went in next while holding hands.

They entered what seemed like a cave, which was not big and was about a hundred square meters, with all four sides visible at a glance.

Many things, such as cards, weapons, et cetera, were inside. All of these items were in various states of corrosion and petrification.

"It seems to be a war preparation room which contains supplies. I don't know if any of these pet eggs are alive. Presumably, the quality of pet eggs stored in this place should be good."

Chen Rouxue walked to a pile of pet eggs and said.

Unlike the other items, some pet eggs could survive for a long, long time provided that there was spiritual power. Obviously, the spiritual power here was in abundance.

Moreover, these pet eggs were placed on a special giant card as if to safeguard them from external elements.

"Buddy, come over and take a look."

Su Bai also walked over and saw nearly two hundred pet eggs, but only the two in the middle seemed alive.

He stared at it for a few seconds and obtained its information:

[Introduction]: A Thousand-face Fox spirit egg that has a serious loss of origin. Under normal circumstances, it is a spiritual attribute with a fantasy side branch that can reach the monarch level. It has the Thousand Face feature, which allows it to steal its opponents' skills.

The contracted Thousand-face Fox can obtain the summoner skill, Thousand Variations. This skill can change the Pet Tamer's appearance. This is a special spirit prepared by the card civilization for scouts on espionage.

Because these two Thousand-face Fox eggs have spent thousands of years together, their weak auras accompanied each other in the baptism of time, giving them a new bondage skill, Never Walk Alone. It is a skill that allows them to perceive each other's existence and never be alone.

...

****

Thousand Variations summoner skill?

Su Bai repeated it inwardly. If Chen Rouxue contracted a Thousand-face Fox and then changed her appearance, he would be a thousand times happy…

A rush of excitement suddenly washed over him. What was it? The feeling of having a girlfriend with a powerful skill was equivalent to owning an entire forest…

"What are you thinking about? Why are you smiling like that?" Chen Rouxue patted him and then glared at him.

"Nothing. I was thinking of how long these two spirits have been together. I think we should hatch and contract them," he replied.

The only two living eggs were very easy to find since their shells were of different colors.

"It's indeed rare. If they have good potentials, I'll consider it." Chen Rouxue nodded, completely unaware of her boyfriend's bad thoughts.

"Okay, let's pack them up first, then see if there are other treasures."

Su Bai put the two eggs into two plastic bags with cultivation solution and then carefully put them inside his backpack.