"What... what is that thing?!" Chen Hao's voice cracked. He pointed at Chu Sheng, his eyes wide as saucers.
The few classmates beside him were also staring in utter disbelief, rubbing their eyes hard.
"Holy crap! Isn't that Gu Yuexi's Contracted Beast? The mosquito?"
"How... how did it get so big?! And its appearance... it's jet-black all over, with wings like blades. Is that a fucking mosquito?!"
"It's a monster! Wasn't it just the size of a fingernail yesterday?!"
Chu Sheng's current form was simply too striking!
Ten centimeters long, its entire body gleaming with a metallic luster, it radiated a sense of power and danger. It looked like a completely different species from the "large mosquito" they remembered!
Chen Hao suppressed the horror in his heart, took two steps forward, and stared intently at Chu Sheng. He asked Gu Yuexi, "Gu Yuexi, this... is this your Contracted Beast? How could it..."
He wanted to ask, 'How could it have changed so much?' but felt the question was too stupid.
Perched on Gu Yuexi's shoulder, Chu Sheng took in their shock, feeling incredibly smug.
'Heh heh, this is nothing. Settle down!'
'This is just the beginning. Wait until I evolve a few more times and become a giant mosquito that blots out the sun. Won't I scare your eyeballs right out of your heads then?'
He deliberately vibrated his bladed wings, producing a metallic, humming roar. This scared the students, who stumbled back several more steps.
However, Gu Yuexi's reaction was as calm as ever.
She merely gave the shocked Chen Hao a faint glance, not even bothering to speak. She turned her head and went back to waiting in her line, as if they were just a bunch of country bumpkins who had never seen the world.
Her unapproachable demeanor made the smile on Chen Hao's face freeze.
'Ignored in public, and for the second time!'
The gazes of the surrounding classmates turned a little strange, as if to say, 'See? You got shot down again, didn't you?'
"Hmph!"
Chen Hao snorted heavily, and a flame of anger flared up inside him.
He forced himself to calm down, his mind racing as he tried to find a way to save face.
Shock was one thing, but he was, after all, a top student from Beast Taming Class Eight. His foundational knowledge was solid.
Soon, Chen Hao said coldly, "Everyone, don't be frightened by its appearance! This mosquito is most likely what the books call an 'Alien Species.' It just happened to evolve, that's why it turned into this!"
As soon as he said that, the expressions of the surrounding students, who had been doubtful and bewildered, instantly changed to ones of sudden realization.
"Ohhh! So it's an Alien Species!"
"No wonder. How could a mosquito possibly look like that? So it mutated!"
"An Alien Species... I've only ever read about them in books. It's said their potential is hard to predict. Some are very strong, while others are even weaker than normal Demon Beasts."
In an instant, the crowd's gazes toward Chu Sheng changed from their earlier horror and fear to simple curiosity.
Most of the sense of mystery and pressure vanished in a flash.
Chen Hao pursed his lips and continued, "An Alien Species might sound impressive, but don't forget, its original form is just a mosquito! Its foundation is too weak! I just used my Perception a moment ago. Its Qi Blood is forty or fifty points at most. It looks intimidating, but it's just an empty shell!"
He smugly patted the head of the Wind Blade Wolf beside him, showing off, "My Wind Blade Wolf has a genuine Intermediate Bloodline. Its Qi Blood was nearly eighty points at birth! Its potential is enormous—it's guaranteed to become a Fifth-Grade Demon Beast in the future!"
"And this mosquito? Even as an Alien Species, its evolutionary potential has a limit. It can evolve three times at most. The absolute best it can be is the Peak of First-Grade. It won't even be able to touch the threshold of Second-Grade!"
"So, in this lifetime, Gu Yuexi can forget about becoming a Fifth-Grade Beast Tamer, and she can forget about contracting a second Demon Beast! For her, the path of a Beast Tamer has come to a complete dead end!"
Chen Hao's well-reasoned analysis had the surrounding classmates nodding in agreement.
"Brother Hao has a point!"
"True, its base Bloodline is too poor. Even if it mutated, its potential is limited."
"Looking at it this way, the mosquito just looks scary. It's actually nothing special."
The crowd's gazes toward Gu Yuexi once again turned to pity and sympathy.
Chen Hao, having regained his confidence, put on that smile he considered "mature and composed." He once again stepped forward and spoke in the tone of a seasoned veteran:
"Classmate Gu Yuexi, don't misunderstand. I don't mean anything else by this."
"I just want to remind you that the Black Forest is very dangerous. Your Contracted Beast, while it looks... um, very special, is ultimately still too weak."
"How about this? Our team is also heading to the Black Forest. We've accepted a D-Level mission to hunt Iron-skinned Pigs."
"If you don't mind, you can come with us. It's better to have backup on the road! Don't worry, we won't have you tag along for free. We'll just give you a small share of the mission reward!"
He said it with a sincere expression, as if he were genuinely concerned for Gu Yuexi.
This time, however, Gu Yuexi couldn't even be bothered to turn her head.
It was finally her turn in line.
She walked directly to the counter, handed over her student ID, and said in a cool voice, "Registering to accept a mission."
The staff member took the student ID, glanced at it, then looked up at her. Finally, his gaze fell on the ferocious-looking "monster" on her shoulder, and his eyelid couldn't help but twitch.
But he maintained his professionalism and quickly began processing her request.
"Gu Yuexi, Jiang City Lingwu High School, third-year Beast Taming Department student, First-Grade Early Stage Martial Artist, Entry-Level Beast Tamer."
"Contracted Beast... hmm?" The staff member stared at the information displayed on the computer, stunned for a moment. "A White-striped Aedes Mosquito?"
He subconsciously glanced at Chu Sheng again, then back at the data on the screen, his expression becoming utterly priceless.
'This... is this a fucking White-striped Aedes Mosquito?!'
'And you call this thing a mosquito?!'
"Is the data incorrect? Does it need to be updated?" the staff member asked tentatively.
"'No need,' came Gu Yuexi's faint, two-word reply."
'She couldn't be bothered to explain; it was too much trouble.'
"...Alright." The staff member's mouth twitched, but in the end, he didn't ask any more questions. "What mission would you like to accept?"
"A D-Level mission. Hunt and kill three First-Grade Early Stage Iron-skinned Pigs."
"Alright, mission accepted. Here is your mission voucher."
Gu Yuexi took the voucher and, without even a glance at Chen Hao behind her, turned and walked toward the main entrance of the Lingwu Hall.
From start to finish, she was clean and decisive, without a single wasted word.
That dashing silhouette, from Chen Hao's perspective, left a bad taste in his mouth.
The smile on his face became strained, finally dissolving into a trace of helplessness and annoyance.
"Brother Hao, she's... she's way too arrogant, isn't she?" a classmate next to him muttered in a low voice.
"Seriously. After all you said, she's still going alone. Isn't she afraid of dying in there?"
"Yeah, a First-Grade Early Stage Martial Artist, with a Contracted Beast that isn't even a Demon Beast, is going to hunt three First-Grade Early Stage Iron-skinned Pigs? Is... is she crazy?"
Chen Hao took a deep breath, shook his head, and said with feigned magnanimity, "Forget it. To each their own. Since she's made her choice, we can't force her! I just hope she has good luck in the Black Forest!"
That's what he said, but he didn't actually believe Gu Yuexi could complete that D-Level mission. A Demon Beast of an Equal Tier is stronger than a Martial Artist. How could a First-Grade Early Stage Martial Artist with a mosquito possibly succeed?
'I'll just wait to watch her make a fool of herself!'