My beast taming system has absolutely no problems!

With that in mind, he opened the reply email and started typing.

The Spirit Velvet Beast poked half its head out from the sofa armrest, curiously looking at his screen.

Xia Yu said speechlessly, "You're illiterate, do you even know how to read this?"

The spirit beast wasn't angry; it looked at Xia Yu with a puzzled expression and asked, "Eee?"

What is *Zhangyu*? Is it edible?

Xia Yu has already replied to the email.

Dear Dr. Gu, thank you for your invitation.

I have always been very interested in your institute's research areas, and I am honored to have the opportunity to exchange ideas with you all in person.

[Would it be convenient for me to visit next Monday?]

Looking forward to your reply.

Click send.

On June 3, I went to Beijing.

As soon as Xia Yu got off the plane, he felt the climate here was completely different from that of Shanghai.

The temperature is alright, but Shanghai in June is as hot as an oven.

However, it's obvious from the skin that Beijing is much drier than Shanghai.

Xia Yu took a deep breath of the dry air; his nasal cavity felt slightly dry.

I thought to myself, no wonder people from the capital speak so fluently. Growing up in this climate, their tongues probably don't get tied up easily.

As I walked through the automatic doors into the lobby, my gaze swept over the densely packed signs at the arrival gate.

I immediately spotted a girl holding a sign that read, "Welcome Mr. Xia Yu to the Donghuang Beast Taming Evolution Research Institute for Exchange."

It's not that the brand is particularly eye-catching, it's mainly the people who are eye-catching.

She was wearing a white lab coat with the institute's name tag pinned to her left breast, making her stand out in the crowd.

Xia Yu couldn't help but take a second look.

In June, the temperature in Beijing was over 30 degrees Celsius. Although the air conditioning was on in the arrival hall, the crowds were still dense.

The perceived temperature is definitely not low.

The young woman was wearing a white lab coat to pick someone up at the airport; she must have just been pulled from the lab and didn't have time to change.

Or it could be some kind of academic ritual that he doesn't quite understand.

To be honest, thanks to the white coat, he locked onto his target in the crowd without wasting a single second.

He walked toward the sign.

The girl with the single ponytail behind the sign seemed to recognize him at the same time, and waved her free hand at him vigorously.

"Teacher Xia Yu! Over here!"

Xia Yu walked up to her, nodded politely, and replied, "Hello, teacher, I'm here for an exchange and learning session."

Ye Nannan quickly said, "Please don't call me teacher. My name is Ye Nannan. You can just call me Xiao Ye."

Xia Yu was amused by her apprehensive attitude and joked, "I thought it was common for people in your circle to call each other 'teacher'. Well then, don't call me 'teacher' anymore, just call me Xia Yu."

As for why it's called "also," the originator is naturally the second dimension (or anime/manga).

Ye Nannan clearly understood the joke behind it, chuckled, and became bolder.

"Let's just call you store manager, it'll be more natural."

"Have you been to Miaomiao Pet House in Shanghai?"

Xia Yu raised an eyebrow slightly.

That shop had only been open for a little over half a month before the night raid.

Not many people have been there; those who call him "store manager" are most likely regular customers.

Ye Nannan chuckled, "No, but I always call you Manager Xia in the comments, it's just a habit."

Xia Yu: "......"

It turned out to be my own little black cat.

Ye Nannan was driving a white sedan with the logo of the Donghuang Beast Taming Academy printed on the side.

It's Monday morning, the morning rush hour is over, and there isn't much traffic on the road.

Even so, it still took nearly forty minutes to drive from Beijing International Airport to the Donghuang Beast Evolution Research Institute, located on the other side of the city.

Ye Nannan was naturally outgoing, or perhaps she was just excited to see Xia Yu.

They chatted non-stop the whole way.

From Xia Yu's rise to fame at the Qualification Cube launch event, we talked about the recent Bright Spirit Velvet and Moon Shadow Spirit Velvet.

The topics jumped around so quickly that only she could keep up.

Xia Yu leaned back in the passenger seat, occasionally replying with a word or two, but spending most of his time looking out the window at the city skyline.

Unlike Shanghai, the skyscrapers in Beijing are not arranged as closely as they are in Shanghai, but they have a sense of solemn order.

As the car entered the research institute's gate, Xia Yu's attention was drawn to the suddenly open view outside the window.

The research institute's area was much larger than he had expected.

After entering through the main gate, it took almost a minute to drive along a tree-lined avenue before the first building came into view.

On both sides of the road are large green spaces, where you can see several pets of various shapes and sizes lying lazily in the sun.

After all, it is a pet evolution research institute, which needs to raise a large number of different breeds of pets as research subjects. If the space is too small, it simply cannot operate.

The car stopped in front of a five-story gray building.

Xia Yu followed Ye Nannan inside.

The lobby on the first floor was bustling with people, and researchers in white coats were walking briskly through the corridors carrying folders or experimental equipment.

"Sister Ye, who is this...?"

A young researcher stopped to greet them as he passed by, his gaze falling on Xia Yu.

He was taken aback at first, then his expression quickly brightened with surprise.

"Oh~ You're Xia Yu, right?"

The researcher immediately put down his notepad, walked over and shook hands with Xia Yu, and spoke rapidly.

The gist is that the affinity evolution theory is so powerful that their entire research group has recently been using this theoretical framework to re-examine those pets that couldn't evolve no matter what.

Several research projects that had been stalled for years have made breakthrough progress.

Xia Yu nodded politely in response, but before he could say anything more, Ye Nannan had already pulled him further inside.

After passing through the lobby on the first floor and entering the elevator, I encountered more and more people along the way.

But not everyone is as polite and enthusiastic as that young researcher.

Some people took the initiative to greet and exchange pleasantries, while others, despite recognizing the person, chose to ignore them.

Xia Yu could roughly guess what these people were thinking.

The originator of the theory of intimacy evolution, and the discoverer of Light Wool and Moonshadow Wool.

These titles certainly shine brightly online and in the media, but within academia, there is another unavoidable hard currency.

Educational background.

Xia Yu is a college graduate. He has never published any papers in academic journals, and he doesn't even have the most basic researcher qualification certificate.

And the Eastern Beast Taming Evolution Research Institute...

The fact that it bears the name "Donghuang" is enough to say everything.

It's no exaggeration to say that Xia Yu alone dragged down the average educational level of this building.

Therefore, to some highly educated and respectable families, he was a self-taught individual.

Luckily, we caught the wave and discovered several new evolutionary forms.

Want to gain the approval of our academic school?

You need to discover at least one new theory of evolution to prove yourself!

Ye Nannan clearly noticed the subtle glances from those people in the corridor.

She lowered her voice, her tone slightly embarrassed: "Manager, please don't mind, some of my colleagues are just... well, a bit traditional."

Xia Yu smiled and replied, "It's nothing."

He really didn't take it to heart.

Ultimately, these academic criticisms are not entirely without merit.

He himself knows best whether it's the theory of intimacy evolution or the discovery of Light Spirit Velvet and Moon Shadow Spirit Velvet.

The core information sources are the system and Pokémon knowledge from another world.

The system's contribution and his own efforts are roughly 30/70.

Seventy percent of them belong to other people.

Therefore, he did not feel wronged by these questioning glances.

Following Ye Nannan up to the third floor, they arrived at the door of the room at the end of the corridor.

Ye Nannan knocked on the door, and a strong voice came from inside: "Come in."

Pushing open the door, Gu Weizhong and another researcher were staring at a data curve on a large screen in front of them.

Ye Nannan said, "Dr. Gu, Manager Xia... no, Mr. Xia Yu has arrived."