Chapter Nine

Cheng Yuan had to admit that the Explosive Overlord Turtle was indeed a perfect counter to the Golden Platinum Tiger, not only in elemental attributes but also in fighting style. Even in the wild, a king-level Golden Platinum Tiger would rather ignore the poison lurking within its territory. Compared to playing the role of a master of reverse attributes, Cheng Yuan now thought about his second monster choice. Even wild Golden Platinum Tigers found it difficult to handle the toxic Explosive Overlord Turtles in their environment. Not all monsters differed much between domesticated and wild forms, and the Explosive Overlord Turtle was one such example—there wasn’t much difference, except wild ones had a few extra tricks.

Having made up his mind, Cheng Yuan decided to visit the flower, bird, and fish market after school to see if he could find a suitable candidate. Meanwhile, the battle continued; the two little creatures on the field understood their own fighting styles, even if their masters hadn't said a word. One kept roaring, the other kept shrinking into its shell.

The second time the fear effect was triggered, it was shorter than the first, catching Wang Ningning off guard. This time, without Cheng Yuan’s prompting, the little tiger pounced and swiped its claws, leaving several marks on the side of the turtle’s shell. Clearly, now it could break its defense—if it clawed repeatedly at the same spot, the shell would give way. Now it was Wang Ningning’s turn to be cautious. Her counterattack strategy relied on catching the opponent off guard, but the little tiger’s circling made it hard to seize an opportunity. In a shell-shrinking state, if it poked its head out, it risked losing it; after all, its neck was much softer than the shell.

Cheng Yuan gazed at the claw marks, contemplated for a moment, then said to Wang Ningning, “You should admit defeat. I don’t want to waste time.” Wang Ningning lifted her head; she didn’t want to admit it, but the little tiger did have a chance to defeat the Explosive Overlord Turtle. Still, she refused to surrender; her nature was stubborn, especially in front of Cheng Yuan. “No, I won’t.”

Cheng Yuan’s lips curled into a smile, his eyes a little helpless. He raised his hand and said, “Then I’ll concede.” The crowd erupted in astonishment, and even the teacher was surprised. “Why?” Wang Ningning pursed her lips; she had won, but somehow felt unsatisfied.

Cheng Yuan scooped up the circling little tiger and cradled it in his arms. “I don’t want to waste time on a drawn-out battle. Next time, I should be able to resolve it more quickly.” At that moment, everyone saw someone who refused to tackle the abyss unless they could achieve a full-star rating—a perfectionist, perhaps?

Cheng Yuan understood that, claw by claw, he could eventually win, but it was too time-consuming. He could do it, but there was no need. Regarding victory, he realized he wasn’t as desperate as his original self; after all, it was just a ranking. He wasn’t aiming for first place—top ten was enough.

Taking the little tiger with him, Cheng Yuan left. Wang Ningning stared blankly at his departing figure. She had won, but everyone knew the “loser” wasn’t actually weaker than the “winner.”

A few minutes later, Cheng Yuan arrived at the rooftop of the school building with the little tiger. As a top student, it was normal for him to have a rooftop key. All the seniors were in the auditorium, so the upper floors were empty—no worries about disturbing anyone. There was still some time before school ended; it was the perfect opportunity to practice Tiger Roar.

On the panel, the little tiger’s Tiger Roar had already leveled up to LV2 after the battle. Cheng Yuan calculated that the fight had lasted about twenty minutes. Although leveling up would slow down as it progressed, skills at the cub stage were generally easy to train—two or three days if he worked quickly. The main issue was that Tiger Roar was a bit disruptive. He opened his phone, checked the map, and considered where to practice the skill.

A few minutes later, Cheng Yuan’s attention was drawn to the amusement park. The park had many interesting dungeons; the Haunted House dungeon was likely a supernatural one, with just three ghost-type monsters inside. The dungeon rules forced them to slaughter each other, and the resulting blood and terror were notorious.

There were also cloud-based dungeons—alternate world role-play scenarios. The internationally famous amusement park was less about entertainment and more like stepping into another world. Conveniently, Cheng Yuan planned to take the little tiger to relax there over the weekend.

In the days that followed, Cheng Yuan occasionally took the little tiger jogging, bought it a chew toy to practice biting and clawing, and otherwise stuck to his student routine. Finally, three days later, the weekend arrived. After notifying his parents, he took the spending money he’d gotten from New Year’s red envelopes and set out with the little tiger.

Following his phone’s navigation, Cheng Yuan spent an hour reaching the nearest amusement park. The little tiger perched its front paws on Cheng Yuan’s shoulders, wide-eyed and scanning its surroundings. Colorful balloons floated in the sky, enormous bird-monster models stood nearby, and everything seemed novel and fascinating to the little tiger.

He bought a ticket for just over a hundred and entered. Meanwhile, Wang Ningning was busy training her Explosive Overlord Turtle. After witnessing its shell being shattered by the little tiger’s claws, she was filled with worry. She decided to continually strengthen its defenses, focusing on the Fire Mark and Shell Shrink—the turtle’s pride. One increased the fiery damage of its shell, the other boosted its defensive power. “Ah Yuan, next time, it won’t be so easy.”

Entering the amusement park, Cheng Yuan bought the little tiger a grilled sausage. Even though it was only level six and still drinking milk, a bit of meat wouldn’t hurt. The little tiger munched happily, smack-smack noises accompanying its chewing. After finishing, it rubbed against Cheng Yuan’s neck, purring contentedly. On Cheng Yuan’s left, a staff member noticed the harmonious scene between boy and tiger and thought the moment would sell well.

A long-legged, cool beauty dressed as a succubus approached Cheng Yuan. “Young man ahead, please stop.” Cheng Yuan glanced around; there were plenty of other boys, so surely she wasn’t calling him.

He kept walking. “The boy ahead with a tiger.” Cheng Yuan looked around again. There were quite a few tigers, so it probably wasn’t him. He continued forward.

Tao Yan watched Cheng Yuan walk on, feeling a little speechless. Was it so hard to stop? “That boy over there—no girlfriend and bringing a little tiger.”

This time, Cheng Yuan stopped; everyone around looked at him. There were many people out for fun on weekends, mostly couples or small families. Cheng Yuan was one of the few solo visitors.

He turned to see Tao Yan in her succubus outfit. His youthful gaze lingered momentarily on her semi-transparent black stockings. “Are you a staff member? What do you need?” He was annoyed—calling him a single dog in public. He was still a young high schooler; who knew what the future held?

Tao Yan bowed slightly and said, “Sorry, sir. Here’s the thing: Yixin Zoo is holding a photography event. May I take a few pictures of you and this little fellow?” Cheng Yuan shook his head. “No.” With that, he turned to leave.

Tao Yan called out, “What if I add a food voucher for the amusement park? How would you respond then?”