Later that noon, Huaxi City;
Ding!
[Po has reached Level 16]
[Po has reached Level 20.]
[Po learned a new skill.]
[Po has reached Level 23]
.
.
.
[Po has reached Level 30.]
[Po learned a new skill]
*Ding!
[Growth Pills will no longer be effective. The current creature has reached the maximum limit for artificial growth through external supplements.]
Notification after notification popped up in succession as Lin Fang sat cross-legged on the bed, using the growth pills one after another on Po, which clung onto his body like a Koala. Its size hadn't changed a bit. But its level continued to rise.
Lin Fang muttered, prying himself out of the bear hug. "Okay… that's eight pills, I still have many to use, but based on this growth rate, it is safe to say that I would need 7-10 growth pills for a beast to reach Commander Tier. 10 pills mean 5000 coins, equivalent to 500,000 credits. Well, it's not bad. I can actually sell these to the rich for 2-3 million credits, but there are two problems."
"First, we aren't sure if it works on other monsters or just the system-created monsters."
"Secondly, while there are supplements in the market that increase the rate of a monster's level and growth, they don't have such a great effect as a Growth Pill. Most of the tamers use beast cores, special fruits, or high-level monsters' meat from the wilderness to level up their monsters. The Growth Pill would reduce that risk to nothing. The problem is the same as why I can't put a Nemesis Egg on the market. I'm not strong enough to protect myself. Anyways…"
He glanced over at the few remaining growth pills in his inventory. "Guess I'll save these for the others… oh wait…"
He hesitated.
Xuan Hei was a mythical grade. Obviously, he can't use the growth pills on it. And for others, he can use them, but with Po on his side, he might not need them for the exam anyway. Moreover, as a plainfolk, controlling a bunch of monsters will lead to unnecessary suspicions. It's better to quietly get the certificate.
"Right," he muttered. "Let's go with that new feature."
He opened up the system's Character Interface and scrolled down.
His eyes landed on the glowing new tab: Nursery Pen.
As he tapped it, it expanded, revealing ten slots. There was no description of what it does. So, in order to experiment a bit, he cautiously clicked one of the slots.
At once, the illustrations of his four monster companions appeared. He selected Lei Fei.
*Ding!
[Lei Fei is detected to be in Epic grade. Daily Cost for Nurturing: 50 coins. Effects: (1-5 levels increase per day.)]
Lin Fang rubbed his chin. "So it's like daycare, but for leveling? Hmm… let me calculate it first. If I keep ten days in the Nursery Pen, I can level up Lei Fei to atleast Commander Tier, and I would only pay 500 coins in the end." When he realized the difference, he couldn't help but groan in complaint. "Ugh… this is a lot better than Growth Pill."
*Ding!
[Select the number of days you wish to place Lei Fei in the Nursery Pen]
"Hmm… 8 days left till the examination. So… let's pick 7."
[Lei Fei is placed in the Nursery Pen]
[350 coins are deducted]
Next was Yunfeng.
*Ding!
[Yunfeng is placed in the Nursery Pen.]
[350 coins are deducted]
Then came Xuan Hei.
[Xuan Hei is detected to be in Mythical grade. Daily Cost for Nurturing: 1000 coins. Effects: (1 level increase per day.)]
[Xuan Hei is placed in the Nursery Pen.]
[7000 Coins are deducted]
Lin Fang winced. "7000 coins for 7 levels. You bloodsucking capitalist…" He knows that it is a fair price for a mythical grade beast like Xuan Hei, but he still can't stop himself from cursing the system anyway.
With that, all three of them were sent into the Nursery Pen while Po continued to stay beside him, munching on a bamboo shoot treat like it was a meat skewer.
Lin Fang turned back to the system interface once again. His eyes were momentarily on the remaining money he was left with.
[40,388 Coins]
Just as he wondered what he should do with the remaining coins, the familiar chime from the system rang in his head.
Ding!
[Order Received: 1x Luminous Panda Egg, 1x Terran Panda Egg, 1x Hydro Panda Egg, 1x Electral Panda Egg, 1x Blazing Panda Egg, 1x Shadow Panda Egg.]
[Total Transaction: 240,000 Credits]
Lin Fang blinked. "What?"
He rubbed his eyes. No mistake. The numbers stood proudly at the top of the transaction list.
"Who the hell is this guy?" he muttered. "Throwing money like that even after increasing the price…"
Lin Fang couldn't help but narrow his eyes. "Is it the same person from last time?"
His mind drifted back to the previous sales, and how every Panda Egg was instantly snatched up the moment it was listed. That's anything but abnormal. After all, he didn't even have a single rating on his products.
A possibility struck him. "If he is the same buyer, then…"
He reached into his inventory and scrolled past all the clutter—materials, leftover food, and furniture—until he spotted a half-forgotten item. A little box filled with old business cards, back when he used to run his old store.
He fished one out.
The name is printed in clean gold font: Origin Pet World. A tagline below read, "Trusted Egg Broker. Exotic Creatures. Guaranteed Potential."
And his old phone number, still active, was printed near the bottom.
"If it's truly him," Lin Fang muttered with a glint in his eye, "then let's bait him properly. Maybe I can strike a deal…"
Without wasting time, he summoned the packaging interface, pulled out a finely polished wooden box from his inventory, and gently placed the Luminous Panda Egg and Thunder Eagle Egg inside, carefully cushioned with soft impact-resistant padding.
Just before sealing it, he slipped the business card inside the crate, letting it rest atop the eggs like a calling card from a mysterious merchant.
With a grin, he sealed the package, then opened the website on his laptop, then went to his seller account and orders section, tapped the Ready to Send to Fulfillment Center button. Tomorrow morning, the guys will pick it up from his residence just as they always did so far.
"Let's see if you bite, mystery buyer."
The next morning;
Finishing his breakfast, Lin Fang left the house on his motorcycle to report to the guild.
But when he arrived at Zero Guild, the scene inside wasn't what he expected.
Two men were leaning over the reception counter, their voices were low, but their body language gave away their intentions.
They were talking to Li Xue, who seemed… off. Even from a distance, Lin Fang could sense her discomfort as the two men talked to her with smiles. It wasn't overt, but it was enough to make Li Xue shift uncomfortably from side to side, occasionally darting her eyes to the side.
Are they flirting with her? Lin Fang couldn't help but wonder as he parked the two-wheeler nearby and entered the building, intending to intervene to help her.
But when he stepped inside, the door's faint creak caught their attention. Li Xue's eyes shot toward him immediately, and before he could even process the situation, she squealed, "Hey, darling, you're here."
"Say what…" Lin Fang halted in his tracks in surprise.
She rushed toward him, leaving the reception desk in a hurry, throwing herself into his arms for an unexpected hug. Before he could even react, she placed a quick kiss on his cheek.
Lin Fang stood frozen, utterly taken aback by the sudden affection. "Uhh... hi..." he muttered, still processing what had just happened.
The other two men, now clearly looking uncomfortable, stood there staring.
And then Li Xue pulled back just enough to look Lin Fang in the eyes with a mischievous glint in her gaze. Her eyes narrowed, and Lin Fang instantly understood the situation.
He played along, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer. "What's wrong?" he asked, looking at her with exaggerated affection all of a sudden. "You missed me already? We just spent last night at my house."
Li Xue's eyes widened in sudden surprise, and so did the other two men.
One of them, clearly caught off-guard, stammered, "Xue'er, you said you were out with your friends at the club last night. Did you sleep at your boyfriend's house?"
The other man, his hands now firmly on his hips, scowled, "How far have you two gone? If this is a serious relationship, you should've told us, at least your mom or dad."
Lin Fang: "…"