King of Beasts

“Alright, let’s not waste any more time. I’ll handle this matter. You can tell your people to disperse.”

Manager Ying spoke up, addressing Zhao Chen, “With too many people around, we might tip off the target and let it escape, which would be troublesome.”

“Do you need any help?” asked Zhao Chen.

“No need. It’s just a necromancer,” Manager Ying said with an easy expression.

“Maybe it’s safer to bring a couple more helpers…”

“You’re really annoying,” Manager Ying snapped, irritated. “Are you worried that if I handle it alone, you won’t get any credit?”

“!!!” Zhao Chen’s expression stiffened, and he replied awkwardly, “How could that be? Since Manager Ying suggests so, we’ll follow your plan.”

“Hmph.”

“As for a helper, this one will do. I’ll have it lead the way and also give it a chance to see a necromancer in action,” the cat manager said, looking at Lu Ran.

“This…” Zhao Chen was taken aback. You were supposed to pick a helper, not a burden, his expression shifted as he said, “Manager Ying, having Lu Ran lead the way is fine, but let’s not involve him in dangerous activities like contacting a necromancer. Lu Ran is still a newcomer…”

“At the very least, after we capture the necromancer, Lu Ran could observe then.”

“Don’t worry, I’m here, nothing will go wrong,” Manager Ying assured. “A captured necromancer won’t pose any threat worth observing.”

“It’s still a bit…” Zhao Chen looked troubled. “Lu Ran is a newcomer highly regarded by Dr. Gu. Maybe I should contact Dr. Gu first for advice…”

He was still uneasy about Lu Ran going alone with just a cat to face such danger.

Even though there were legends of Manager Ying’s formidable strength, Lu Ran’s identity was somewhat sensitive, connected to another significant figure.

Even if Lu Ran was quite capable, the adversary was, after all, an international criminal group.

“Ah? He’s also favored by Gu Qingyi?” Manager Ying paused, looking towards Lu Ran, who suddenly coughed.

“Cough, cough, Uncle Zhao, it’s fine, I want to go too,” Lu Ran said, somewhat embarrassed. Ah, Xiaobailong and the others had already assumed too much.

But this cat seemed to know Gu Qingyi. It would get awkward if they actually made contact, considering Gu Qingyi didn’t even know him, Lu Ran…

“No wonder you mentioned Gu Qingyi; turns out you’ve had contact with her,” Manager Ying mused, nodding at Zhao Chen. “You don’t need to worry about it anymore. I know Gu Qingyi better than you do. I’ll take care of this kid. Considering Gu Qingyi’s connection, I’ll make sure he comes back in one piece.”

“This… Okay then.” With those words from Manager Ying, and since Lu Ran had agreed as well, Zhao Chen didn’t have much else to say.

In a moment, he couldn’t help but feel envious. Having connections really made things smoother—not only did he have Dr. Gu as a supporter, but now he was easily connected with Manager Ying as well.

“Let’s go,” said Manager Ying to Lu Ran.

“How are we going…?” Lu Ran asked.

“Have you heard of Space skills, like teleportation?”

…

In the hills behind Tianhong Town in Jinling.

With a flash of light, two figures appeared.

Upon landing, Lu Ran silently surveyed his surroundings.

“That was fast!”

Just moments ago, Manager Ying, using a Space skill called teleportation, had covered several leaps in less than a minute, bringing Lu Ran back to the mountain where the sudden death king was catching grasshoppers!

Throughout the journey, because the teleportations were to familiar places, Lu Ran had an experience different from teleporting in Infinite City.

It was too convenient.

Lu Ran swore to himself.

No matter which pet beast it was.

In the future, he definitely needed to awaken a Space species!

Not for anything else, just because using Space skills for travel was incredibly convenient!

With teleportation, who needs high-speed trains or planes?

“Is nobody here?” After landing, Lu Ran noticed that there was not a single person around. The mound where bodies had been buried was restored to its original state.

Since the identity of the body had been confirmed, it surely had been excavated before, and now it seemed to have been restored for Manager Ying to re-investigate.

They really cleared out everyone!

“Lu Ran, right?” Suddenly, the cat Manager Ying spoke up. “I wasn’t very fond of you initially, but since you’re a beastmaster highly regarded by Gu Qingyi, how about trying something big to test your skills?”

“Ah,” said Lu Ran. “What kind of big thing?”

“Necromancers that pop up domestically aren’t usually very strong, mostly on par with an apprentice beastmaster, but their abilities can be particularly troublesome,” Manager Ying explained.

“I could easily handle him myself, but that would be too boring. Since you’re a superpower user and you know Gu Qingyi, I’ll leave this training opportunity to you.”

“After I find him, you’ll take him down, and I’ll cover you.”

Lu Ran: ???

“Me, take on the necromancer?” Lu Ran was shocked.

He could distinctly feel movement in his pocket, likely the sudden death king getting scared. Ever since Manager Ying, the cat, had shown up, the creature had been playing dead for quite a while, probably sensing that Manager Ying was not to be messed with.

Afraid of being eaten by the cat?

“Exactly, it’s a rare experience.”

“Actually… I’m not that familiar with Dr. Gu; she doesn’t even know me. It’s just that my sister is favored by her. Handling a necromancer… I think I’ll just watch from the sidelines.” Lu Ran backed down, not particularly keen on personally dealing with a member of an international criminal organization. What if he got targeted?

“Do you think I believe that?” Manager Ying mocked. “Are you scared?”

Scared? As if. At most, I’m just getting ahead in adapting to the sudden death king’s super beast mimicry!

“I just don’t want to get too involved with The Other Shore… Besides, I really don’t know Dr. Gu that well.”

“That organization isn’t one you can avoid just because you want to. Later, when you enter the breakthrough secret realm, you might encounter members of The Other Shore with hidden identities. The system in the breakthrough secret realm is random, making it an ideal hunting ground for them. They won’t care who they’re after, and you’ll be even less prepared. If it weren’t for the fact that you know Gu Qingyi, I wouldn’t bother with you.”

Lu Ran gave a wry smile, feeling a big misunderstanding was afoot. He was telling the truth, why wouldn’t this cat believe him?

However, Lu Ran could tell that Manager Ying really wanted him to seize this opportunity for training to prepare for future dangers.

“Well, alright… If the opponent isn’t strong, I’ll give it a try,” Lu Ran said.

“That’s right, what’s there to be afraid of?” Manager Ying, looking like a mentor pleased with their pupil’s progress, said, “Besides, if you really take down the necromancer, the official reward won’t be small. Although I don’t care about it, for a newcomer like you, it could be a substantial amount of crystal coins, enough to last a long time.”

“The reward will be yours, and internally, we’ll claim I handled it, to avoid drawing too much attention to you. Of course, if you can’t handle it, let’s pretend I never said anything. As a superpower user, your strength shouldn’t be too weak, right?”

“A substantial amount of crystal coins???” Lu Ran was taken aback.

Why didn’t you say so earlier?

Had he known, Lu Ran would have eagerly volunteered to capture such a criminal deserving of punishment!

The path of justice is clear and must be pursued!

Lu Ran suddenly felt full of righteousness.

This change left Manager Ying slightly stunned. What happened? Could it be that this guy is really short on crystal coins?

It seemed likely. Manager Ying could sense that the lizard in Lu Ran’s pocket hadn’t awakened its attribute yet—was it short of money for materials?

Oh well, it’s none of its business.

It turned its head towards the graveyard.

First, it silently mourned for this unfortunate new beastmaster for a few seconds.

Then, pale golden-blue ripples began to emanate from its body.

The golden-blue ripples expanded rapidly, soon enveloping the entire hill!

Countless traces appeared, flitting across its vision like a quick review of images.

A moment later, the light faded.

“Alright,” Manager Ying said calmly. “That necromancer is also a novice, and left quite a few traces behind.”

“Let’s go find him. As long as he’s still in Jinling, it won’t take long to locate him.”

“Hmm, if he has left Jinling or even gone to Infinite City, it might be more troublesome, but let’s start searching.”

“Okay!” Lu Ran nodded.

“If he’s still in the city, you’ll need to act as bait to lure him into a less populated area. Is that okay? We don’t want to fight in crowded places, and he certainly wouldn’t either.”

“I’ll stay out of sight if possible, to avoid alerting him and impairing his performance.”

Lu Ran’s expression darkened. So he was still going to be the bait?!

“Why do I feel like directly luring him is a bit unreliable?” Lu Ran said. “If the necromancer isn’t foolish, he surely won’t attack a stranger beastmaster without first investigating their strength…”

The cat slightly raised the corners of its mouth and said, “Devouring souls, for lower-level necromancers, can be addictive, like something that few can control. Typically, those in our country who practice this are minor players without the resolve. Only the core members and higher-ups of The Other Shore have truly mastered this occupation.”

Which ‘something’ was that? Lu Ran was puzzled.

“These minor players are basically spread widely by The Other Shore, mass-produced and bewitched, just like breeding insects. It doesn’t matter if many die, only those who truly master the occupation of necromancer are genuinely absorbed by The Other Shore.”

“Just take your lizard and walk around the other party. Given their sensitivity to souls, they will be able to sense that you are both desirable and weak. After all, your lizard is indeed weak, but considering it’s still uncontracted and level 1, that’s to be expected. However, the opponent won’t be able to tell whether or not you have a contract, and will definitely assume that the creature is your pet beast.”

Sudden Death King: I’m going to die suddenly!

Lu Ran thought it might work. He patted the pocket where Sudden Death King was, “Don’t die suddenly on me now.”

Did you hear that?

Just stick with me and get stronger!

Otherwise, there are still beings out there who can “level up by killing monsters,” and you’re even more in danger!

Sudden Death King shivered but felt that Lu Ran made sense. The world was indeed dangerous… To avoid being killed, it needed to follow Lu Ran and become stronger. Ideally… even its soul would become so resistant that the enemies couldn’t touch it!