Beastmaster: I'm really just a forest ranger

Chapter 382 Life is tough, Longlong performs for a living

As evening fell, the setting sun turned the western sky into a brilliant orange-red, and the flowing clouds resembled rivers of molten gold.

The biting wind swept through the streets of Xuanhe Town, but it couldn't dispel the town's liveliness and energy.

Nie Li and the others hurried through the bustling streets, attracting curious glances from passersby, but they had no time to pay attention to anything else, and went straight to the quiet farm on the edge of the town.

The farm gates were wide open, and a silent, upright steel figure stood motionless at the entrance, like an ancient statue.

The setting sun cast a warm glow on its cold, hard, silvery-gray rock armor, but it did not melt away the calm and sharp aura that emanated from within.

Seeing someone approaching from afar, Steel Slash Emperor took a step forward, his movements fluid and powerful.

The massive and menacing composite steel blades at the ends of the arms did not spring out; they merely adjusted their angle slightly, their cold metal surfaces reflecting the last rays of the setting sun and gleaming with a chilling light.

Those deep blue eyes calmly swept over the visitors. Steel-Cut Earth King's face did not reveal any expression, but it showed a condescending scrutiny and obstruction.

Upon seeing the tall and imposing Steel-Slaying Earth-King, the Wild Boar subconsciously swallowed and whispered to the White Fern beside him:

"Hiss, I heard that there's a Steelheaded Gopher at Consultant Chen's farm that helps guard the gate. It's ridiculously strong and has easily defeated countless Beast Tamers who want to meet Consultant Chen. It's known as the 'final obstacle to meeting Consultant Chen'. But this guy doesn't look like a Steelheaded Gopher."

Bai Jue stared at Steel-Headed Earth Lord for a while, her eyes flickering slightly, before she explained softly, "Two days ago, the Beastmaster Association's official website updated a piece of information. Consultant Chen successfully researched the advancement conditions for Steel-Headed Earth Rat to the Morning Star quality and named the advanced form 'Steel-Headed Earth Lord.' This should be it."

"Steel-Slicing Earth Lord!?" The wild boar's eyes widened suddenly, then it realized, "You mean this pet is the evolved form of that Steel-Headed Groundhog?"

White Fern nodded.

After Consultant Chen successfully researched the evolutionary conditions of the Steelhead Gopher, the academic community was once again shaken!
The wild boar couldn't help but take another closer look at the Steel-Cut Earth Lord before it. It was tall and slender, covered in armor that perfectly combined coldness and roughness. When it stood still, it was as steady as a mountain, but when it moved slightly, it revealed the explosive power of a cheetah. In particular, the pair of concealed steel blades faintly exuded a sharp aura that made people tremble.

Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, the sturdy armor gleamed, and the powerful aura emanating from its entire body made the wild boar's heart pound: "This aura must belong to an extremely powerful Tier 3 pet beast."

As Shan Zhu's thoughts were churning, Nie Li stepped forward, her baby face revealing a composure and competence beyond her years, her voice mature: "Hello, we are the seventh squad of the eighth branch of the Criminal Investigation Department. I am the captain, Nie Li. We have urgent business to attend to with Advisor Chen Yuan. Is he available now?"

Upon hearing this, Steel Slash Earth-kun's eyes flickered slightly, as if he were analyzing the other party's identity and intentions.

It could sense that the group of people and their pets did not have any obvious malice, but since there were many of them, they could not be easily allowed into the farm.

So Ironhead shook his head, then raised a steel-bladed arm and pointed into the farm, making a "not there" gesture: "Click."

It's time for the farmer to take his after-dinner stroll, but he's not on the farm right now.

Nie Li followed its gaze and looked at the farm, which appeared exceptionally peaceful under the warm sunset and the approaching twilight. She nodded thoughtfully.

Upon hearing this, Wild Boar beside him grew anxious, rubbing his hands together and asking, "Captain, what do we do? Just wait here? Who knows when Consultant Chen will be back?"

Nie Li glanced at him sideways, said nothing, and instead took out her phone, skillfully dialed a number, and after a brief wait, the call was connected:
"Hello? Consultant Chen, this is Nie Li from the Criminal Investigation Department. Yes, we are right at the entrance of your farm. Okay, understood, we will wait for you."

After hanging up the phone, Nie Li said to her team members, "Advisor Chen said he would be back in about ten minutes, and asked us to wait a moment."

Wild Boar patted his head and chuckled, "Look at my memory, I almost forgot that the captain specifically asked for Consultant Chen's contact information."

After a brief pause, Wild Boar glanced furtively at Nie Li, whose attention was elsewhere, and muttered under his breath, "I wonder if the captain has the courage to make a move. A big shot like Advisor Chen isn't easy to approach."

The white fern beside him glared at the wild boar and scolded, "Are you trying to get yourself killed? Secretly discussing the captain and Advisor Chen behind their backs!"

At this point, she changed the subject, her eyes gleaming with fervent curiosity: "But I'm also quite curious, does the captain usually take the initiative to chat with Consultant Chen? But I always feel that Consultant Chen is engrossed in academic research and pet breeding, and doesn't seem interested in these things."

Wild Boar's eyes darted around. He stole a glance at Nie Li, then lowered his voice and said, "I know something that will definitely pique Consultant Chen's interest."

"What is it?" White Fern turned her head to look at him.

Wild Boar said, "Whenever Consultant Chen encounters a rare or unusual pet, he always takes the initiative to approach and touch it. In this way, he can take the opportunity to start a conversation with Consultant Chen and get closer to him."

Bai Jue frowned slightly: "You mean, use this kind of pet to create a buzz?"

The wild boar clapped its hands together and raised an eyebrow: "That's right, this kind of pet beast is Consultant Chen's capture device. Captain, you can definitely give it a try."

Bai Jue spoke softly, "Then the question is, where will the captain find such a pet?"

The wild boar was speechless for a moment.

As they chatted and discussed, the group waited at the farm gate in the chilly evening air.

Suddenly, a sneaky little figure flew out from inside the farm. The purple figure was clearly visible in the sunset, and the demonic tentacles on its head trembled with each flight.

Yumi completely ignored the large group of people waiting at the door. With a cheerful expression, it had a clear goal and quickly flew to Steel Slash's side.

"Goojiujiu~"

Yumi began to fly around Steel Slash's tall and imposing body, occasionally rubbing its fluffy little head against the other's cold leg armor. Its slender tail even silently climbed up the latter's shoulder. Then, it took out a shiny tree fruit from somewhere and presented it to Steel Slash like a treasure.

"Crack."

Steel-Cut Earth-Monkey silently took a half step back. First, it pried off the long, thin tail clinging to its body, then shook its head at Yumi.

Don't disturb my work.

"Coo-choo~"

The colder and more distant Steel-Slaying Earth-King's attitude, the brighter Youmi's eyes shone. It kept getting closer to the former, not caring at all even when it was ignored.

Bai Jue looked at the suddenly appearing Youmi and, recognizing its identity, couldn't help but sigh softly, "Consultant Chen's farm has such a rich variety of pets; they even have such a rare dark-type pet, Youmi."

Wild Boar chimed in nonchalantly, "What's the big deal? With Consultant Chen's abilities, I wouldn't be surprised if a dragon suddenly appeared on his farm one day!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Bai Jue's pupils suddenly contracted sharply. She stared intently at the direction of the farm gate, so excited that she grabbed the wild boar's arm and slapped it hard. Her voice changed, and her expression was excited and thrilled: "Dragon! Dragon! Dragon!"

The wild boar grimaced as it was slapped, "Ouch! That hurts! Be gentle! I was just giving an example, I wasn't saying there really would be one here."

The next moment, as he subconsciously turned his head to look inside the farm, his expression froze and his voice stopped abruptly.

A pet beast unlike any seen before peeked out from behind the farm gate, its body covered in shimmering sapphire scales, topped with a pair of small jade horns, its dark blue dragon eyes filled with anger, and its slender and exquisite petite body.
Holy crap! There really is a dragon?

The wild boar gasped in shock, his mouth agape, his face filled with disbelief.

The scream immediately drew the attention of all the team members, who began to show expressions of surprise.

Egg was staring intently at Youmi, who was trying to please Steel-Cut Earth Lord, when suddenly it was stared at by so many people. It was stunned for a moment and instinctively wanted to shrink back and go back into the farm to avoid everyone's gaze.

But then Egg suddenly remembered its noble status, and simply flew out completely, gracefully hovering in mid-air, raising its exquisite dragon head high, striving to strike its most majestic pose: "Roar~"

To further demonstrate its extraordinary nature, a moist mist, like celestial clouds, began to emanate from its body. With a flick of its small claws, a dragon's roar resounded as it began to unleash the wind-summoning and rain-summoning technique that it had diligently practiced for three days.

A muffled rumble of thunder sounded, and dark clouds rolled in.

Although the clouds were still small in size, the setting sun, the drizzling rain, and the swirling mist created a mysterious and elegant atmosphere.

"Wow!"

"So pretty and cute!"

"It really is a dragon!" The team members couldn't help but exclaim and cheer. The reaction of the crowd made Egg even more proud. It flew with even more effort, and even tried to twist its slender dragon body to try to perform more complicated flying techniques.

"Ang~"

Life is tough, so Longlong resorts to performing.

ten minutes later.

As the sun gradually disappeared below the horizon, accompanied by the steady sound of hooves, Chen Yuan rode his tall and robust Fallen Horned Beast back to the farm.

After finishing his grueling training today, Chen Yuan took the three little ones out for a stroll as usual. After all, training requires a balance of work and rest, and one shouldn't be immersed in it all the time.

Although the Morning and Evening Flower Fairy was reluctant, she went out with Chen Yuan after his patient persuasion, and enjoyed a moment of leisure.

Cola was overjoyed and rushed towards the town as soon as she left the farm, eagerly searching for the Paw Patrol members.

Back at the farm, Chen Yuan immediately saw the crowd gathered at the entrance and Egg, who was performing in mid-air and enjoying the amazed looks of the crowd.

Upon seeing Chen Yuan return, Nie Li and her team members immediately greeted him warmly: "Advisor Chen!"

The wild boar was the most impatient. Pointing at the egg in mid-air, it asked eagerly, "Advisor Chen, what kind of pet is this?"

Chen Yuan smiled, dismounted from the Fallen Horned Beast's back, and introduced it in a calm tone: "It is called the Azure Sea Spirit Lord. It is a type of dragon-like pet that has not been discovered or recorded before. Its attributes are water and spirit."

“The Lord of the Azure Sea.” The wild boar muttered to itself, staring at the egg for a while, then suddenly slapped its thigh as if it had just realized something: “This name sounds very powerful, it must be at least a Morning Star quality pet, right?”

The other team members nodded in agreement: "Water-type and spirit-type, and a dragon-type pet, it's definitely a Morning Star quality pet!"

Upon hearing this, Egg, who was proudly circling, froze instantly. It turned its head sharply and glared angrily at the wild boar: "Ang ang ang ang?!"

Morning Star?!
You are the morning star!
Your whole family are morning stars!
Egg was so angry that its whiskers stood on end, and it let out a series of rapid and high-pitched dragon roars, while its little claws were gesturing angrily in the air.

Seeing Egg's excited reaction, the wild boar became even more certain of its guess and proudly looked at its companions, saying, "Look! Look! It's so excited, I must have been right, it's definitely Morning Star quality!"

"Ugh! @##%￥!" Egg's eyes widened, and clouds of mist surged around him as he cursed.

Chen Yuan looked at this scene, shook his head and chuckled helplessly. He was too lazy to correct everyone's guesses at the moment. He turned to face Nie Li, reached out and pushed open the farm gate: "It's cold outside, come in first."

The group followed Chen Yuan into the warm and vibrant farmyard.

Without exchanging many pleasantries, Nie Li directly instructed a member to carefully place a small, transparent isolation sample box in front of Chen Yuan.

"Advisor Chen," Nie Li said, her expression serious, getting straight to the point with a steady and clear voice, "this is something we unexpectedly captured today while on a mission deep in the Qinling Mountains. The situation is somewhat strange."

In no time, she succinctly recounted how she encountered the crazed pet, discovered the insects, and how White Fern deduced that the pet was already dead but was being controlled, along with the relevant information she had gathered during that time.

Chen Yuan listened quietly, his gaze falling on the isolation box in front of him, his eyes gradually becoming focused.

"Our initial assessment is that this unknown insect-like pet likely possesses the special abilities to possess, manipulate corpses, and utilize their skills," Nie Li summarized with a serious expression and a heavy tone. "We came here mainly to ask if you recognize this insect?"

“If you don’t recognize it either, we will have to send it to the city’s research institute overnight and ask experts to conduct research and analysis.”

She paused briefly, then looked up at Chen Yuan, who was standing close by, and took a deep breath: "This matter is of great importance. Its special abilities pose a significant potential threat to the Qinling Mountains' ecosystem."

Chen Yuan nodded with a serious expression; he fully understood the gravity of the matter.

He stepped forward and carefully examined the isolation box.

Nie Li used the password to unlock the multiple locks on the isolation box, lifted the lid, and added, "Please be careful. We have had the team's mental-type pet put it into deep hypnosis, and it is currently in a coma."

Chen Yuan looked down and saw a small, dark purple beetle, no bigger than a fingernail, with an eerie, oily sheen on the soft cushioning material at the bottom of the box, lying quietly.

Its appearance is not much different from that of an ordinary beetle, but the surface of its carapace is covered with irregular, eerie black stripes, and it exudes an ominous aura, making it clear at a glance that it is no benevolent creature.

Others might find it difficult to understand what this strange little insect is all about, and even researchers need to conduct difficult and lengthy studies to crack its secrets, but Chen Yuan only needs to touch it lightly to understand its general information.

But the next moment, Nie Li's voice continued:
"But based on previous observations, it is very likely a poison-type pet that can release a poisonous mist with corrosive and disruptive effects, and its body surface may also carry toxins."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yuan paused slightly, his right hand, which was about to be extended, coughed lightly, and silently withdrew his right hand.

Then, Chen Yuan looked down at the Morning and Evening Flower Fairy in his pocket and gestured with his eyes.

"Yan~"

The Morning and Evening Flower Fairy gracefully landed on the edge of the box, her delicate petals waving gently, and her thin wings scattered a cloud of pale golden dust that exuded a soft aura, enveloping the eerie little insect.

A moment later, it raised its head and nodded at Chen Yuan: "Chirp~"

After a preliminary examination by the Morning and Evening Flower Fairy, it was found that the strange little insect contained no toxins.

Chen Yuan nodded slightly, then extended his finger again, preparing to gently touch the insect's body.

"Yingying!"

But the Morning and Evening Flower Fairy shook its head. It fluttered forward, grabbed Chen Yuan's outstretched finger to prevent him from getting any closer, and then gently flapped its wings, releasing a light pink poisonous mist around itself.

The pale pink, sweet fragrance, like an invisible cocoon, gently enveloped the drowsy little insect.

After doing all this, the Morning and Evening Flower Fairy winked at Chen Yuan and released his fingers: "Yingying~"

Now you can!
"You little rascal, well done." Chen Yuan gently tapped Chenmu Huaxian's little head and smiled approvingly.

This can be considered a double insurance provided by the Morning and Evening Flower Fairy. Even if the little insects make any unusual movements, the sweet fragrance enveloping their entire bodies can instantly put them into a deep sleep.

Seeing the intimate interaction between the human and the pet, the wild boar blinked and said in a very low voice, "I told you, Consultant Chen is very interested in this kind of novel pet and will definitely not be able to resist touching it."

The white fern nodded silently.

At the same moment, Chen Yuan gently touched the carapace of the dark purple insect with his fingertip.

[Upon first collection of the Soul-Eating Gu, Source Points increased by 5]

Race: Soul-Eating Gu (Collected)

Attribute: Poison

Level: 17 (Level )
Favorability: –20
Skill: Corpse Puppet Command (Mastery 2.1/7) +
Corrosive Miasma (Proficiency 2.5/5) +
Stinging Poison Needle (Proficiency 1.1/5) +
Quality: Leadership

Requirements for advancing to Morning Star quality: Unlockable

Looking at the information about the Soul-Eating Gu, Chen Yuan frowned slightly.

The quality of the leader is not unusual, and the two poison skills that follow are also quite common. [Corrosive Poison Mist] is the skill that Nie Li mentioned, which releases poison mist. [Stinging Poison Needle] is an attack skill that can release poison needles in an instant. The servant bees that Chen Yuan had encountered several times could master this skill.

Chen Yuan had never heard of the skill [Corpse Puppet Control] before, but the name itself was very strange. It was likely to be closely related to the "resurrection" of pets, and it was possible that this skill was what allowed the Soul-Eating Gu to control the corpses of pets.

However, Chen Yuan was always reluctant to express his opinion before rigorous verification, so after a moment's thought, he finally decided to make a phone call:
"Hey bro, have you ever heard of corpse puppet control?"

(End of this chapter)