Chapter 114: A Special Pet

Once inside the pet store, Wu Hua was still struck by the changes brought about by the latest system update. This super-sized marketplace was in no way inferior to the neighboring Stardream Shopping Center.

The entire venue shimmered with brilliance under various overhead lights. Each major section exuded a high-tech atmosphere, and the luxurious facilities looked professional at a glance. Beautiful NPC sales guides assisted players with enthusiasm and patience.

The store was divided into specialized zones: the "Consultation Zone," "Sample Zone," and "Appraisal Zone." Finally, a massive electronic screen hovered above the center of the store—the "Demonstration Zone." If you wanted to know what your pet was capable of, the screen would automatically play footage showing some of the abilities it would eventually possess.

Naturally, the checkout counter was the most eye-catching and imposing feature, much like a toll booth on a highway—no matter how impressive you thought you were, you had to stop and pay up.

"The game company really knows how to make money," Wu Hua sighed, his gaze lingering on the demonstration zone, where a large crowd of players was watching with great interest.

One male warrior’s pet was a tiger cub. It was placed on a specialized "ray demonstration platform," and after a few red beams scanned it, the screen above displayed footage: In a grassland, the tiger roared, charged forward, and swept its tail like a steel whip. A "–1200" damage value floated over an attacking wolf, which promptly dropped dead. A caption appeared on the screen: "Gale Battle Tiger."

The surrounding players let out gasps of amazement; the pet was clearly ferocious. The male warrior was triumphant: "Good boy, Big Yellow, let’s go level up."

Wu Hua almost face-planted. Of all the names, why give such a fierce tiger such a spineless one? It sounded more like a puppy; he would have been better off calling it "Little Flower."

Soon, a female medic stepped onto the platform holding a small bird. Footage quickly appeared on the screen: A white eagle-vulture soared into the sky above a plateau, then flapped its wings violently. A wave of white energy descended from the sky, and a blood-stained, dying player in the grass recovered their HP and quickly stood up. Caption: "Eagle-Vulture Guardian."

The surrounding area was filled with admiration and envy. The medic was overjoyed, scooping up her pet and running toward a group of women who doted on the bird, reaching out with slender fingers to stroke its head. The fledgling responded affectionately, stretching its neck and chirping happily.

Seeing this made Wu Hua envious. With a pet, his journey would no longer be lonely. If he had a defensive pet like that, he wouldn't have been beaten so badly by the Shadow Warrior yesterday.

Wu Hua decided to stop watching and hurried to the consultation zone to understand the NPC’s explanation. Pets, like players, had attributes and status, and some could even be equipped with weapons. Naturally, there were complete control commands: summon, recall, attack, defend, protect, and so on.

In the sample zone, the specimens were mostly of two types: eggs and test tubes, all containing unused pet genes. Once a player made a selection, it was immediately sent to the appraisal zone, where the NPC pet appraisal master would complete the paperwork and finalize the bond between master and servant.

Wu Hua chose the tiger gene. His reasoning was simple: he loved high-attack builds. A man should be fierce; if he had a tiger, he would eventually be able to tear through crowds of enemies.

Wu Hua filled out the subscription form without hesitation.

"Please wait a moment, sir. This gene vial needs to be activated, and we will notify you shortly to claim it." The sales guide took the test tube and the form into the appraisal zone. Less than a minute later, she returned. "I am sorry, sir, but you cannot purchase a pet."

"Huh?" Wu Hua was shocked. "Why not?"

The sales guide said politely, "Because you already possess a pet of your own."

Wu Hua was stunned. "I do? Where? I haven't seen a single hair of it."

The guide replied, "If you wish to know the reason, please come inside with me."

Inside the store manager’s office in the appraisal zone, a middle-aged man in a suit stood up and said, "Mr. Blast-Crazy, welcome to the Starlight City pet store. I am the store manager; you may call me Number 910."

His name wasn't actually 910, but rather an NPC designation.

As soon as he heard the introduction, Wu Hua sensed something amiss. "Where is my pet?"

910 poured him a cup of coffee. "Mr. Blast-Crazy, I know that you were the one who triggered the plot quest that introduced the pet system in this update."

Wu Hua nodded. As he had suspected, the master-brain system had recorded everything.

910 continued, "The missions you completed were hidden in nature. Perhaps you didn't even know it yourself, but this mission consisted of six sub-quests. We didn't think it was possible for a player to complete them all in sequence by sheer coincidence, but you did. It is nothing short of a miracle."

Wu Hua asked, "What does that have to do with me, Manager?"

910 explained, "Because the difficulty of this mission was so high—and it was tied to the initiation of future plot lines—we provided a special reward for the player who triggered it. If they completed it, they would receive a unique pet."

Wu Hua was puzzled. "But I don't have a pet."

910 smiled. "Mr. Blast-Crazy, your pet has actually been sitting in your inventory the whole time; you simply haven't discovered it yet."

Wu Hua paused, suddenly recalling a strange item: the Voodoo Doll. No wonder even the appraiser couldn't identify that thing—it was a pet!

In that moment, everything clicked. The female ghost sovereign’s consciousness attached to it, the cryptic warnings to treat it well, the Martial Sovereign’s restorative power... it all made sense. Who could have guessed?

Wu Hua hurriedly took out the Voodoo Doll. Sure enough, its surface was coated in a layer of blue, clearly the result of the Martial Sovereign’s restorative power.

"It won't be the pet of some sorcerer, priest, or fortune teller, will it?" Wu Hua worried.

910 replied, "That possibility cannot be ruled out. In the World of Star Wars, anything can happen."

Wu Hua thought for a moment and said, "Then please process the claim for me."

910 smiled. "This pet is a mission reward and is quite special; it may take longer to activate. If you would prefer to purchase that tiger, we are willing to buy back this pet."

910’s words were clever, but his attempts to deceive Wu Hua were far from sufficient. Inviting him in so formally clearly meant the pet was unique. As for how unique, Wu Hua guessed it was one-of-a-kind. The game company was afraid it would imbalance the game and wanted to buy it back without saying so explicitly.

Wu Hua blinked. "How much for the buyback?"

910 smiled. "50,000 credits."

Wu Hua also smiled. "I'm not selling. I’m claiming this pet. Please process the paperwork for me now."

910 was momentarily stunned, then smiled again. "Very well, please wait. However, you will need to pay a processing fee of 10,000 credits."

"10,000 credits? Don't regular pets only cost 3,000?" Wu Hua’s eyes widened. But then he thought, this must be a powerful pet, his future loyal companion. Gritting his teeth, he said, "10,000 it is. If I’m going to be poor, I might as well be poor and proud. I’ll do it."

910 looked at him and smiled with profound meaning.