Warden of the Beast World: Everyone is a Hakimi

"Little Tangtang, there seems to be someone outside." Chi Heng lay groggily on the mat beside the bed. His senses told him that there were two more presences in the courtyard. One was Lu Yu, and he didn't recognize the other, but the intensity of the spiritual energy fluctuations made him instinctively alert.

"Oh, I see." Ye Tang pulled the blanket over her head. A moment later, she suddenly opened her eyes—someone?! She grabbed her personal terminal, the screen displaying a bright number—a little past eleven. She sprang out of bed, brushed her teeth, washed her face, and changed her clothes within two minutes. Pushing open the courtyard gate, she saw An Ning squatting by her catnip patch, holding a leaf in her hand, examining it intently in the sunlight, her expression as focused as if she were holding a rare treasure.

"Good morning," Ye Tang greeted, forcing herself to remain calm. Her mind replayed the images of her all-night mahjong session from the previous night: the mountain of gold coins on the mahjong table, and Ling Shou, who had even bet his cufflinks on her. Mahjong was a curse; being caught late for work by her boss had ruined her reputation.

Anning carefully placed the leaf back in its place, stood up, and patted the dirt off her knees. She looked at the little female in front of her, whose eyes were curved and whose smile seemed a little guilty, then at Qi Xuan, who was still blowing bubbles in the water tank, and then at the catnip growing well in the yard.

"Warden Ye, are you really not considering joining the research institute?" An Ning extended an olive branch for the 101st time, her tone carrying a hint of stubbornness that she knew she would be rejected but still couldn't help but try.

"Not considering it." Ye Tang's answer was exactly the same as before, crisp and decisive, leaving no room for negotiation. The research institute's compensation was indeed frighteningly generous: a million-dollar monthly salary, a medal of honor, and a lifetime position in the empire's highest academic institution.

But in her past life, she worked so hard that she developed osteoporosis, a herniated disc, and cervical spondylosis. In this life, all she wants is to lie down and relax. Financial freedom, early retirement, waking up naturally every day, cooking for her furry friend—this is the life every working-class person on Earth dreams of. She doesn't have such grand ambitions, nor does she want to be some great hero who saves the empire.

Seeing that she still refused, An Ning felt it was a pity, but didn't try to persuade her further. Everyone has their own ambitions; this little female didn't want to work in an office at the research institute, at least she didn't say she wanted to resign from her position as warden.

Zero Prison is a subordinate institution of the research institute. In essence, she is still working for the research institute, only working remotely and on a flexible work schedule.

An Ning felt relieved after thinking about this and changed the subject: "I heard from Lu Yu that you sang for Qi Xuan and even fed him a bottle of beast milk."

"Mm." Ye Tang nodded. The bottle of milk was from the prop shop, which automatically restocks; they can have as much as you need.

"I'm willing to pay a high price for that bottle of animal milk. Name your price." An Ning suppressed her excitement and tried her best to make her tone sound like she was discussing a normal purchase.

Ye Tang was still calculating in her mind how much to sell this bottle of milk for. The cost was zero, and it was automatically restocked, but the fact that An Ning, the director of the Imperial Research Institute, personally came to buy it meant that this thing was extremely rare.

She was just about to quote a price slightly higher than catnip as a token offer when Chiheng poked his head out from behind her and blurted out, "One hundred million."

Ye Tang's eyes widened. Good heavens, this firebird really dared to ask for money. One hundred million star coins for a bottle of milk? This wasn't just outrageous; it was like bringing the entire zoo's lions with it. She was about to ask for a discount when An Ning made the final decision.

"make a deal."

The notification sound of the transfer rang crisply, and one hundred million star coins were instantly deposited into the account. Ye Tang looked down at the long string of zeros that had appeared in her account balance, then looked up at An Ning.

She silently took out the bottle of beast milk from the spatial item shop. The milky white liquid inside the transparent bottle swayed slightly, and a faint milky fragrance emanated from the bottle opening.

The moment An Ning saw the baby bottle, her pupils contracted sharply, and she completely lost control of her expression. She took the bottle with both hands, carefully holding it up to the sunlight, staring at the milky white halo swirling around the bottle and the faintly visible silver particles in the liquid, her voice trembling: "Spirit-Crossing Dew…it's actually Spirit-Crossing Dew…"

This is not beast milk at all. The Spirit-Crossing Dew is the sap of the Beast God Ancient Tree from the Holy War ten thousand years ago. It is the most powerful weapon of the orcs against the fallen beasts. Just one drop can purify a polluted spiritual core.

However, the ancient tree exhausted its vitality in the holy war, and the core area within a radius of fifty kilometers is still a dead land. The ten drops that the research institute has inherited for tens of thousands of years are still diluted, and every drop used is one less drop.

Now, Ye Tang casually pulled out an entire bottle and fed it to Qi Xuan as beast milk. What shocked her even more was Ye Tang's offer: one hundred million. One hundred million for a whole bottle of pure Spirit-Crossing White Dew—this wasn't a transaction; this was charity.

"What's wrong?" Ye Tang looked at An Ning's hands trembling slightly as she held the baby bottle, and wondered if this highly respected old dean was going to back out.

One hundred million is a lot, but she won't force anyone to buy it. If it really doesn't work out, she can return half of it. Anyway, she didn't spend a penny on this milk.

"No, it's nothing." An Ning took a deep breath and carefully put the bottle into her storage ring, her fingers still trembling slightly. She had received too much information today; she needed to go back and digest it properly.

Her fingers were still trembling slightly, and her amber eyes, which had seen countless storms, were now surging with barely suppressed excitement and awe. She looked up at Ye Tang, trying to keep her voice steady, but her speech was still a few beats faster than usual.

"Warden Wild, how much of your beast milk can you provide?"

"Um, well, maybe, perhaps, I don't know." Ye Tang's eyes darted around. She originally wanted to say that she could probably empty the imperial treasury, but seeing An Ning holding a bottle of milk and her hands trembling with excitement, she thought it was better to keep a low profile.

If she were to upset the 147-year-old headmaster, Lu Yu would probably fight her to the death. Anyway, the prop shop automatically restocks, so she can always get something for An Ning whenever she needs it.

An Ning automatically interpreted her hesitation as something else entirely. Sure enough, there couldn't be many treasures of the level of the Spirit-Crossing Dew.

She had already used one bottle to treat Qi Xuan, the empire's war god; it was entirely worthwhile to use it on him. But the remaining stock could probably be counted on one hand. An Ning didn't press for the exact amount, but instead opened her personal terminal again and transferred another 100 million star coins in front of Ye Tang.

"Warden Ye, you may not know the value of this beast milk. If you have any more in the future, please prioritize providing it to the research institute. It is a national treasure for the empire."

An Ning's voice carried an almost pleading solemnity. This leader of the empire's highest academic institution and the only existing S+ level therapist was now extremely humble in front of a young female who had just come of age.

"Okay." Ye Tang looked down at the scrolling transfer numbers on the personal terminal, then at the new beast milk in the prop shop that had been automatically restocked and was lying quietly in the first empty space, and fell into a brief silence.

Two hundred million for a single bottle of milk—the research institute was practically her ATM. She resisted the urge to reach for another bottle, telling herself that one shouldn't be too greedy. She'd already made two hundred million today; there was plenty of time.