Inside the cool, slightly musty air of the Zero Guild's reception hall, Li Xue was still seated at the front desk with her legs crossed, flipping through a journal. The white cat was curled beside her on the countertop, breathing shallowly but peacefully.
"Hmm?" She looked up, startled as Lin Fang stepped back in. "You forgot something?"
Lin Fang gave her a sheepish smile, walking up slowly to her. "Kind of."
He looked around, confirming that no one else was in sight. He stepped closer and extended a small glass vial with bluish-green liquid inside and extended to her.
"Hmm?" Li Xue couldn't help but stare at the vial. "What's this?"
"This is called a Jade Spirit Tonic," he said simply. "Give it to your companion."
Li Xue straightened. "Jade Spirit Tonic? Never heard of it before." She continued to stare at the vial. Her eyes were almost glued to it as if she couldn't avert her gaze from it, for some reason. There was this strange attraction that she couldn't put into words.
Lin Fang took the opportunity to explain. "Jade Spirit Tonic is a curative for beasts. It can heal most internal injuries and even lingering ailments as long as the beast isn't a King Tier. I believe it can cure even the inborn illness of your cat."
Li Xue's brows furrowed as her gaze flicked from the vial to his face. "Such a thing exists?"
Lin Fang nodded. "I'll bet my life on it."
For a second, she just stared at him. Then slowly, almost reluctantly, she reached out and accepted the vial with both hands, careful and reverent.
"If what you said is true, then this must be expensive," she said quietly. "I can't accept something like this."
"Your uncle did a huge favor for me. Consider I'm paying it back to you," Lin Fang replied with a smile.
Li Xue hesitated with her fingers curled tightly around the glass. "I… uhh…" She bowed in the end, standing up. "Thank you."
Lin Fang waved his hand. "No need to mention it."
As he turned and walked away, he felt a familiar ache in his chest, not just emotional, but very much physical. "Damn expensive medicine."
100,000 credits.
That was the production price of the tonic. If he could sell it online, it would be sold even at double the price.
He wanted to cry just thinking about such a loss.
But then again, it was the least thing he could do for her, the owner of the guild that gave him Nemesis and the amulet.
Meanwhile, back in the guild hall, the moment the door closed behind Lin Fang, a low meow echoed from the desk.
Betty, the snow-furred cat, had opened her eyes. She reached out with one paw, tapping gently on the desk toward the vial in Li Xue's hand.
"Betty…" she whispered, half to herself, half to the cat. "You're awake?"
*Meow*
The feline meowed softly before extending one paw slowly toward the vial, once again, and looked at her eyes.
Li Xue blinked, startled by her pet's behavior. "You… want this?"
"Meow."
A soft, deliberate cry escaped the cat.
She looked down at the vial again, then at her companion. In all the time Betty had been sick, she had never once responded to any medicine so actively. Not the guild-approved injections. Not the spiritual ointments. Nothing.
But now, her paw trembled with eagerness. "You think this will work?" Li Xue asked.
"Meow," the cat said again, curling her tail around her body as she leaned closer.
Li Xue's lips parted slightly. She looked once more at the guild's doorway and narrowed her eyes just slightly.
She gently uncorked the vial and held it near the cat's mouth. A flick of her wrist and the liquid tipped gently between the feline's lips.
Almost instantly, a faint shimmer coursed along the cat's fur. Pale golden streaks of energy danced across its body before disappearing.
Betty let out a deep sigh, and then, to Li Xue's shock, stretched out fully for the first time in weeks.
*Meow*
An excited meow escaped Betty's lips as its eyes shimmered with a glow. As it died down, Li Xue's eyes widened. "Betty… you… Just got your strength back?"
Li Xue hurriedly scrambled the drawers of the desk, one after another, finally taking out a bio scanner and running it over the creature.
Species: Frost Veil Cat
Element: Ice
Potential: Overlord Tier (Lv-70)
Current Level: 49
"It worked," Li Xue whispered, her fingers gripping the empty vial. "It really worked…" She almost had tears well up in her eyes. She couldn't help but pick up the cat and spin it around, then rub her cheeks with it. "Haha, it truly worked, Betty."
She turned slowly, eyes drifting to the door, where Lin Fang's silhouette had already disappeared into sunlight.
She murmured. "Lin Fang, who are you, really?"
*
After a while, Lin Fang and Zhi Yan pulled up to the gates of the Hunter Association, Huaxi City Branch.
Originally, they were supposed to return home, but with Lin Fang having the Amulet of Velmura, he didn't feel the need to put away his plans. He can go ahead to register for the exam.
Inside, the lobby was modern and minimal, with marble floors, wide digital notice boards, and a reception counter manned by a young staff member engrossed in reading something on a sleek tablet.
He didn't even look up when Lin Fang and Zhi Yan approached.
Without breaking eye contact with his screen, he pushed a holographic form forward. "Name, email, phone number, address, and citizenship number," he droned. "Scan the QR code on the back of the sheet, upload any valid national ID, and bind your phone number with an OTP. Then pay a 300-credit fee online. After that, you'll get a confirmation email. Your examination pass will arrive within 24 to 48 hours with the date and venue."
"That's it?" Lin Fang asked.
"Yep," the man muttered.
Lin Fang turned to Zhi Yan. "I didn't expect it to be this… smooth. I thought we would have to wait in lines, like you told me."
Zhi Yan averted her gaze. "I guess today is a lucky day."
Lin Fang didn't say anything to that and simply nodded, taking the application sheet. Stepping aside with Zhi Yan, he quickly filled in the details and paid the fee through his bank app. In less than five minutes, a soft ding signaled the confirmation email.
"Well," he said, glancing at the screen, "it's done."
Handing over the application form to the receptionist, he turned around and walked away.
Behind them, the front desk attendant looked up briefly from his tablet, eyes trailing the plain-dressed young man and the beautiful woman beside him.
He sighed, shaking his head away. "A plainfolk wants to become a hunter? Was he living under a rock, or was he just plain stupid? Anyway, not my problem." He shrugged, getting back to his work.
After they left the association building, Zhi Yan and Lin Fang visited various pet stores, basically the ones that sell food to avian-type creatures. Zhi Yan thought Lin Fang was looking to sell them on NovaMart to get more exposure and increase sales numbers, while the latter just wanted to find some high-quality food for Lei Fei, who was currently resting in his pet inventory.
An hour later, they returned home.
Zhi Yan tapped her card. The door slid open with a mechanical click.
The moment they stepped into the apartment, they were greeted by the sight of Li Liu sprawled across the living room sofa, a half-eaten bag of chips in one hand and the TV remote in the other.
Her vest clung to her shoulder like it barely wanted to stay on, and her shorts rode high enough that Lin Fang instantly averted his gaze from her thighs.
Li Liu blinked in surprise when she saw them, "Oh… uh… you're back already?"
Her cheeks tinged red as she scrambled to sit upright, clearly flustered. And before either of them could respond, she stood up in a hurry, adjusting her shorts. "I didn't think you two would return this early from your date…"
Zhi Yan's brows furrowed as a blush crept up her neck. "We weren't on a date. We just went to the Association, that's all."
"Umm… Yeah, that's right…" Lin Fang hurriedly added, intending to clarify so that she wouldn't misunderstand.
But Li Liu was already halfway into her room, waving without looking back. "Yup, got it. Sorry. Excuse me…"
The door clicked shut behind her.
Lin Fang stood there for a moment in silence. Zhi Yan let out a helpless smile, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Just give her a bit of time. Li Liu… she takes a while to open up."
Lin Fang gave a nod, knowing that already. "Not a problem."
With that, he returned to his room.
Locking the door behind him, he finally let out a slow breath and leaned against it for a moment. "Dammit. Does Li Liu think that there's something going on between me and Zhi Yan or something?" He hurriedly shook his head, throwing away unnecessary thoughts. "Let's think about Li Liu later on. First, getting the third monster is more important."
Lin Fang walked over to his bed and sat down cross-legged.
His fingers trembled slightly from anticipation as he opened his inventory and scrolled down to the gleaming token: Nemesis Egg Token.
"Time to meet you," he murmured.