Beast Taming Begins with the Inner Circle of Pets

Chapter 42 Snuggling Up with a Rich and Powerful Tycoon

"Just tell me straight, what do you want?" Lin Manman sat down opposite the old man.

She was now completely passive, not only were her secrets and the information she wanted to know in the other party's hands, but also, given the other party's status and the power behind them, she, a mere level 2 kid, had no chance of fighting back at all.

"Don't think too badly of the old man." The old man couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Why is it that not only are the apprentices I've taken in before becoming less and less likable, but this one I'm thinking of taking in doesn't seem well-behaved or sensible either?

"I see you have great talent and are suitable to be my apprentice. What do you say? Become my disciple, and I will not only keep your secret and tell you about the secret realm where your father disappeared, but I will also protect you."

Lin Manman blinked, her mind a little dazed. She felt as if a mountain that was about to crash down had suddenly turned into a cotton ball.

"Shall I become your disciple?"

"That's right. After you finish your studies, you can study spirit beasts with your teacher." Although Lin Manman hasn't agreed to become his apprentice yet, the old man has clearly already taken on the role of his teacher.

"Then you have to tell me who you are." Lin Manman was speechless. After all that, it turned out he wanted to be her master. He should have said so earlier. He made her so nervous.

Ever since she suffered at the hands of that man in black at the hospital, she dared not easily use the system to check on people who seemed like potential experts. When she first saw this old man, she felt something was off and didn't dare use the system to spy on him.

The old man paused noticeably, as if only then realizing that he hadn't properly introduced himself to her. "Oh dear. I forgot! I'm getting old, my memory isn't what it used to be. My name is Meng Wenbin, my main job is the director of the Spirit Beast Research Institute, and my deputy helps manage the Professional Alliance."

Lin Manman felt the name Meng Wenbin sounded familiar as soon as she heard it, so she checked it online using her smartwatch. What she found made her gasp. She exclaimed, "Why does this name sound so familiar? I heard it in my textbooks back in school!"

Meng Wenbin, one of the twelve councilors of the former Professional Alliance, was a level nine powerhouse who was renowned throughout the country forty-five years ago. She'd heard that he'd disappeared from the public eye after resigning from his position as a councilor twenty years ago. She'd assumed he was long dead, considering he was already over forty when he became famous as a level nine powerhouse.

At the same time, a sense of relief rose in her heart. Fortunately, she hadn't used the system to investigate him, otherwise she would probably have suffered a great loss.

"How about it? Want to become my apprentice?" The old man guessed it when he saw her using the bracelet to go online, and he could hardly hide the smugness in his eyes.

Lin Manman silently put away the bracelet and poured herself a cup of tea without saying a word.

Then, she got up and went to Meng Wenbin. With a "thud," she knelt down on both knees.

"Teacher! Have some tea!" Lin Manman's clear voice echoed throughout the private room.

Why wouldn't she cling to such a strong and powerful thigh? She's not stupid!

"Hahaha, good, good, good. Get up, you really knelt down." Meng Wenbin laughed so hard his eyes disappeared. He quickly took the tea from Lin Manman's hand and helped her up.

Lin Manman stood up and looked at Meng Wenbin with a grin, saying, "Hehe, teacher... since I've already become your apprentice, shouldn't there be some kind of apprenticeship ceremony?"

Meng Wenbin's smile faltered. "Didn't I give you a spirit beast?"

Lin Manman blinked. "That's something I got by asking three questions."

Meng Wenbin couldn't help but tap her, "Little girl, you're young but shrewd. Does your perfunctory answer deserve a legendary-quality spirit beast?"

When he sent the tree spirit away, he genuinely intended to take it as a disciple.

"No, that doesn't count." Lin Manman refused outright.

"Alright! Here, I'll give this to you as a gift for becoming my apprentice." Meng Wenbin took out a beautiful bracelet from somewhere. The silver bracelet was inlaid with a deep purple gemstone, which also faintly shimmered with a mysterious color like the deep space.

"What is this?" Lin Manman took the bracelet and examined it. This mysterious and beautiful gemstone deeply attracted even someone like her who doesn't particularly like jewelry.

Meng Wenbin smiled at her, then picked up an empty cup from the table, placed it directly above the gemstone on the bracelet, and pressed a small gemstone on the side of the bracelet with his other hand. The cup disappeared right before Lin Manman's eyes.

Lin Manman's eyes lit up. "Is this a spatial bracelet?"

Goodness, just a month ago, she helped the police catch the thief who stole the training center's treasures.

The thief used a spatial ring to store the safe, and she was quite envious at the time.

I never expected that finding a teacher would lead to such a wonderful thing!

"Hehe, thank you, teacher. You're so kind, teacher~" Such cheap flattery.

Meng Wenbin opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, he was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Sir, Mr. Fu has arrived." The man's voice came through the door.

Meng Wenbin couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Why did he follow me again... Oh well, let him in."

The door opened, and Fu Mingyuan, dressed in all black, walked in. He paused slightly when he saw Lin Manman.

"Come, come, let me introduce you. This is your third senior brother, surnamed Fu, named Fu Mingyuan. You know the Fu family in the capital, right? Never mind, you might not know them. I'll tell you about them when you go to the capital later." Meng Wenbin then looked at Fu Mingyuan, "This is my newly accepted junior sister, you know her too."

Lin Manman saw that it was indeed this man, and she felt no more resentment. She greeted him with a smile, "Hello, Third Senior Brother."

"Hello." Fu Mingyuan sighed helplessly. He hadn't been watching him for long before the man ran out and took him in.

"Is that all?" Meng Wenbin looked at him with dissatisfaction.

Fu Mingyuan: ...

After thinking for a moment, he took out a cloak from his spatial ring. "This cloak is engraved with a level nine protective magic array, which can withstand three level nine skills. However, because it does not require its own energy to power it, it will be unusable after three uses."

Lin Manman's eyes lit up when she heard it could withstand a level nine skill, but... it was a pity it was a single-target attack. However, she figured it could probably block even more attacks below level nine, right?

"Thank you, senior! Um... if I wear this in the later competitions, it shouldn't be against the rules, right?"

Fu Mingyuan: ...

Meng Wenbin: ...

"There's no explicit rule against using it, but wearing this to a competition..." isn't it a bit of a waste of talent?

Meng Wenbin silently finished his sentence in his mind: Using level nine protective gear for a novice professional in a competition is like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. "This is very expensive, much more expensive than the spatial bracelet I gave you. Don't take it out so easily, or you'll attract unwanted attention."

"Hmm, you're too weak right now. Taking it out will only cause trouble. I'm giving it to you so you can use it to save your life in an emergency." Fu Mingyuan glanced at his teacher. It turned out he had already been blackmailed, and now he was helping his little apprentice blackmail another apprentice.

Lin Manman touched the cloak with regret, but what her teacher and senior brother said was true.

She put the cloak into her spatial bracelet and looked at her newly minted senior brother and teacher with sincerity and emotion.

"Thank you for the gifts, teacher and senior. They are all very valuable. I am flattered."

"But... with your status and strength, teacher, if your disciple were to lose in a small beginner professional competition, wouldn't it look bad for you?"

Fu Mingyuan: ...

Meng Wenbin: ...

Okay, okay, this extortion isn't over yet, is it?

(End of this chapter)