Chapter 7 Investigation

"You at school..."

After the security officers had left, Liu Yuzhen wanted to say something, but she didn't know where to start.

On one hand, she was worried that her daughter was being bullied at school, and on the other hand, she was concerned that her words might inadvertently hurt her daughter, so she anxiously clutched the hem of her clothes.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. It was just some childish behavior, and I plan to attend the best university in the future to earn money for Dad's treatment," Chen Lingya stretched languidly, took a couple of steps, turned her head, and said, "Besides, those who bullied me are already dead. No one will bother me at school anymore."

"Sister." Chen Xing suddenly spoke up.

Chen Lingya paused in her steps, "Hmm?"

"Let Chi Yu cooperate with me in eating a piece of dried meat," Chen Xing took out some dried meat from his pocket and gently shook it.

"..." She had thought her brother was going to ask something important, but it turned out to be this.

Although she couldn't understand why her brother was so adamant about feeding Chi Yu, what could she do? She just considered it to be his peculiar hobby.

"Chi Yu." Chen Lingya's voice fell, and Chen Xing's hand relaxed.

A white flash passed before their eyes, and the dried meat in his hand disappeared, now clutched in the mouth of Chi Yu, who had appeared in another corner of the living room.

Chi Yu rolled up its tongue and swallowed the dried meat in one gulp.

Back in his room, Chen Xing looked at the 14 remaining Skill Point Fragments he had, still needing 6 more to reach his goal.

Today, having been able to feed Chi Yu, who was injured, was already enough to make him content.

Exhausting the beast with internal injuries and fractures with training would be too demanding.

However, if he could get the daily feeding and training rewards for Taotie and Chi Yu the next day, then he would be able to gather two Skill Points immediately, one day ahead of the five days he had anticipated.

Over the past few days, Chen Xing had explored other ways to obtain Skill Point Fragments, but unfortunately, after trying many methods, he still hadn't opened up a new source of income.

Chen Xing couldn't help but let his imagination run wild, thinking about whether he should simply take a part-time job at a breeding farm, get along with the tame beasts, become the most welcome man among them, and pluck Skill Fragments every day.

Regrettably, after searching through job listings, Chen Xing was disappointed to abandon this idea.

Because he wasn't even qualified to work at the Beast Taming farms. Breeding farms were basically divided into two types: one was for livestock, where ordinary chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep were raised. The other was the kind he was planning to go to, the Beast Taming farms.

Those capable of establishing large-scale Beast Taming farms were basically large local enterprises, even workers who took care of the beasts on a daily basis required a bachelor's degree and demanded a Beast Taming Level of at least 30. Chen Xing even found some farms recruiting workers with beasts possessing over Level 35 Energy Levels. High Energy Level beasts were preferred for the farm workers due to the dangerous nature of the beasts, to facilitate daily care.

Although he couldn't go to the farms, Chen Xing was already very satisfied. Ever since he obtained the Skill Tree, everything had been gradually improving, and he had never been a greedy person.

Lying in bed, Chen Xing was filled with anticipation. He had moved one step closer to his goal; tomorrow, he would be able to activate a new skill.

Under the night sky, a black crow stood on the railing of the rooftop of the building opposite Chen Xing's home, like a statue.

When the clouds covered the moon, the crow spread its wings, blending into the night, and flew through the window into Chen Lingya's room, landing on the desk.

At the very first moment the crow entered the room, Chi Yu rose to its feet, watching the crow with a vigilant stare.

Chen Lingya, who had been reading a book, put down her book. She didn't seem surprised by the crow's arrival, as she untied a box attached vertically to the crow's leg and took out two cobalt-blue glass vials from inside.

The crow picked up a pen from the table with its claws and began writing awkwardly. Although the writing was ugly, it was still legible, "You should have come with us. Staying here poses the risk of being exposed sooner or later."

Chen Lingya locked eyes with the crow's black gaze, "Next time, don't come to my home without my permission. Go back and tell them not to disturb my family."

The crow unfolded its wings and flew out the window into the night.

The clouds in the sky scattered, and moonlight once again spilled onto the desk.

Chen Lingya sat in silence at the desk for a while, and Chi Yu, sensing its owner's somber mood, moved forward and nudged her waist with its head.

Looking down at Chi Yu, who had come close, Chen Lingya stroked its head.

Thump, thump.

Hearing the knock, Chen Xing, who was rolling around on the bed with Taotie, paused, placed Taotie on the bed, then slipped on some slippers and opened the bedroom door.

"This is for you."

Standing behind the door, Chen Lingya handed over two tubes of reagent.

Those two tubes of reagent were exactly what Chen Xing had seen before; they were the same kind that had been in the box opened yesterday.

Chen Xing looked at the reagents, then at his sister.

Chen Lingya didn't seem inclined to explain where they came from, "You have a test at the end of the month, strive to achieve some ranking."

After thrusting the reagents into Chen Xing's hands, she prepared to return to her room, but a hand reached from behind, grabbed her shoulder, and pulled her back.

Chen Lingya stumbled a couple of steps and was dragged back into the bedroom; the door slammed shut behind her.

Chen Lingya tried to break free, but one hand pinned hers against the wall. Chen Xing, staring at her, said, "Sis, we're family, right? I feel like you're keeping something from us."

Chen Lingya looked at the Chen Xing close at hand, and finally, her expression changed, her eyebrows frowning slightly as she said calmly, "You have bad breath."

Chen Xing nearly lost it, laughing despite himself, "Bullshit, I just brushed my teeth."

He casually stuffed the reagents into his trouser pocket, "Don't give these to me again. Strength is the priority. You should take care of Chi Yu first, I don't need you to worry about me. However... if you really feel bad about it, how about you let Chi Yu accompany me in training for a bit?"

Chen Lingya was speechless. How had giving him something turned into her feeling guilty? Bizarre. A little brother really should be disciplined early on. "Chi Yu is my Beast Taming creature; why would you train it?"

"My Taotie is still too young to train, I want to try out the feeling of training skills. You know that Beast Taming requires a Level 5 Energy to start training skills. Before Level 5, it's the developmental stage, the body is too weak to withstand the strain. Don't worry, I won't train recklessly. If you're worried, you can stay and watch. I'll just train for about twenty minutes a day."

Taotie? Is that the Salty Bay Crocodile's name?

Chen Lingya glanced at the Salty Bay Crocodile on the bed.

But she always felt that this wasn't her brother's real intention; however, she couldn't guess why.

Could it be... he had guessed something?

Chen Lingya's gaze flickered ever so slightly.

"I still need some time before I can start training skills for Taotie, so think of this as letting me get a feel for it in advance," Chen Xing said with a light laugh.

Chen Lingya nodded slightly, "Alright, but not today. Chi Yu took some medicine today and needs to rest."

"Then it's a deal."

...

In the brightly lit villa, a woman's hysterical screams, "My daughter is dead, and you're still sitting here? You Jinghong, are you even her father? My daughter is dead, why should anyone else live? They must all die!"

"Enough." The man sat on the couch, glancing at his wife. His gaze was calm, but as she met his eyes, the wife's voice gradually lowered. The news of their daughter's death, combined with her husband's indifference, made her grief unbearable. Burying her face in her hands, she sobbed softly, her shoulders trembling ceaselessly.

"Getting angry won't solve anything," You Jinghong said calmly. "We can have another child. Right now is a critical moment in the seven-year turnover. Everyone is watching me, so I cannot afford to make mistakes."

Shhhh... shhhh... shhhh...

From the corner of the living room, a sloping passage rang out with a shuffling sound. A giant serpent with scales like forged steel emerged, its girth wider than the couch. The mere act of lifting its head slightly almost reached the ceiling. The colossal head swayed gently, causing the crystal chandelier hanging above to tremble, and light and shadow flickered throughout the room.

Beneath the trembling light, the shadows on You Jinghong's face also distorted with the shifting light.

You Jinghong's voice was delicate, slightly effeminate, "You think I'm not heartbroken that our daughter has died? Even a dog can form an attachment if looked after long enough."

"I have made quite a few enemies over the years. Don't leave the house recently, and try to stay home as much as possible. I will find a way to deal with our daughter's death."

You Jinghong's last words were addressed to his wife.

The woman lifted her head, her eyes bloodshot as she looked at You Jinghong.

She didn't speak, only silently turned her head away, looking out the window at the big tree.