Beast Taming? I Choose Chaos!

"I want to ask, can I learn how to make potions?"

Chen Shu asked solemnly.

In truth, he also wanted to learn potion-making, since any potion for beast tamers was incredibly expensive.

And these were only lower-grade potions, effective only for contract beasts from level one to three.

If a king-level beast tamer needed potions, how much would those be worth?

This was a golden road paved with wealth!

"Forget it."

The salesperson rolled her eyes and turned away without hesitation.

Damn!

Chen Shu hadn't expected to be looked down on.

...

...

Was his question really that stupid?

After wandering around the department store for a while and filing a complaint against the salesperson, Chen Shu quietly left the shop.

Even though he couldn't afford any potions, at least his slime got a slight defense boost.

"Looks like I need to go back and study potion knowledge."

After hundreds of years of development, human pharmaceutical science had become extremely advanced.

Chen Shu pedaled his bike toward home.

Just then, he suddenly heard a woman's cry for help.

"Help! Somebody help me!"

Chen Shu looked toward a dark alley.

With the dim streetlights, he could barely make out the scene inside.

Two men were surrounding a woman, each holding a shiny fruit knife — clearly in the act of robbery.

At the same time, three new options appeared before his eyes.

[Option 1: Pretend you didn't see anything and leave quickly. Reward: a small amount of beast-taming power]

[Option 2: Fearlessly charge in and knock the two thugs down. Reward: a large amount of beast-taming power. Note: life-threatening danger]

[Option 3: Intervene and stop the criminals' behavior. Reward: Skill Book: Gigantification!]

Chen Shu quickly analyzed the situation and decisively chose the third option.

He took a deep breath, gripped the bike handle with his right hand, pointed toward the alley with his left, and shouted:

"Stop! Under broad daylight—cough cough, on this dark and windy night, you dare commit crimes in public? I, Zhang Dali, will not let you off lightly!!"

In that moment, Chen Shu seemed like a righteous hero,

The streetlight behind him cast a holy glow around his figure.

But in the very next moment,

He grabbed the handlebars with both hands, pushed hard with his legs, and pedaled off at lightning speed like a blazing wheel of fire.

Leaving only the stunned robbers staring at his vanishing silhouette.

The smooth and fluid sequence of actions left both men utterly dumbfounded.

At the same time, a loud and passionate song echoed in the distance:

"When I see injustice, I shout aloud, shout and keep moving forward!"

…

"Is that guy... mentally ill?"

One of the thugs muttered, completely baffled.

He and his partner were both speechless.

Just then, the woman in the alley shoved the two aside, ran off into the distance, and called the police.

"Boss, are we chasing her?"

"Chase my ass! Didn't you see she's calling the cops? What bad luck—we're running into all sorts of people tonight."

…

Chen Shu, humming the heroic song, returned home.

From the system's options earlier, it was clear the third one had the best payoff.

The first option was simple, but the reward was too little.

The second had a good reward but came with life-threatening danger, so Chen Shu dismissed it right away.

The third one seemed very difficult, but the system merely said to stop them, not necessarily succeed in doing so.

As long as he shouted, that technically counted as stopping them.

Sure enough, just as he suspected, he successfully received the reward.

A golden skill book appeared in his hand, but he couldn't flip through it—it only allowed him to choose whether to use it.

In an instant, the skill book disappeared,

And on the golden slime's skill bar, a new skill appeared: Gigantification.

Gigantification: Temporarily doubles the slime's size, slightly reducing its speed.

If paired with the slime's Charge skill, it could probably now ram into a 20-jin (10 kg) enemy.

It didn't seem all that useful, and in fact, it wasn't…

"Xiao Huang, when are you going to weigh a few thousand jin?"

Chen Shu rubbed the slime and shook his head. A level-one contract beast's combat power was basically zero.

The next day, Chen Shu came to class with dark circles under his eyes.

After spending most of the night researching online, he finally gained a basic understanding of potion-making.

It was actually a proper profession—one with extremely high social status, known as Alchemist.

But the first requirement to become one was a graduation certificate from a top university's alchemy program.

No wonder the shop clerk looked so scornful last night.

"Looks like potion-making is a dead end."

Just as Chen Shu was about to doze off, homeroom teacher Fang Ke appeared at the door.

"Chen Shu, come to my office."

In that moment, Chen Shu perked up and followed him to the office.

"This is your score from yesterday!"

Fang Ke's previously kind expression turned extremely stern—he had an even more oppressive presence than "Black Whirlwind"*.

(*Nickname implying someone fierce or intense.)

He waved his right hand and flung the test paper toward Chen Shu.

Chen Shu, caught off guard, missed catching the paper.

He glanced down and saw the score—and actually felt relieved.

"Teacher, I admit I've been a bit distracted lately. I only got 91 this time, but I'll work even harder next time."

Chen Shu looked innocent and determined.

"That's 16, dammit!"

Chen Shu looked again—he'd read it upside down.

"Care to explain? You spent two years of high school playing in the mud?"

Fang Ke looked dead serious. Honestly, this score had pushed past his bottom line.

This time, Chen Shu ranked dead last—second-to-last scored in the sixties. The gap was massive.

At that moment, Chen Shu's expression froze, and new options popped up before him.

[Option 1]: Admit fault honestly and promise to do better next time. Reward: Double cultivation speed for three days.

[Option 2]: Solemnly respond, 'There's no mud at school.' Reward: Mastery of basic strength potion crafting, unlock Beginner Alchemy.

[Option 3]: Request to retake the test to prove your stable performance. Reward: Moderate amount of beast-taming power.

He hadn't expected even a scolding from Fang Ke to trigger system options.

Option one was too basic and the reward rather average.

He didn't even have the talent for cultivation, so doubling his efficiency wasn't helpful.

Option two and three, however, offered tempting rewards.

The third could boost his beast-tamer level to the peak of level one—still bottom of the class, but a clear improvement.

The second would directly let him craft strength potions and begin alchemy studies.

Chen Shu made his decision and said seriously, "There's no mud at school."

"Huh?" Fang Ke froze briefly, then realized what just happened.

"Get lost and copy your test ten times!"

He'd never met such a smart-mouthed student—completely disrespectful.

Chen Shu left the office light-footed, a smile on his lips.

Even though he'd been scolded, he had learned how to make strength potions and unlocked alchemy in the system.

"I'm gonna be rich, I'm gonna be rich…"

He grinned like a fool as he walked—clearly not your average student.

Just then, a staggering figure suddenly appeared and crashed straight into the dazed Chen Shu.