My tamed beasts can't be demons.

Chapter 4 Is this mushroom serious?

"These mushrooms... they shouldn't be poisonous, right?" Zhou Lu asked hesitantly, looking at the mushrooms in Wu Xiaoqing's hand.

He had suffered at Wu Xiaoqing's hands before.

"It's alright! It's alright!" Wu Xiaoqing assured, patting the surging waves. "Although it was a Class A poison when it was at Tier 1, I have thoroughly tested it after its evolution, and it showed no signs of poisoning during animal experiments."

"..."

While Zhou Lu remained silent, Xiao Xi had already moved closer.

She looked at the mushrooms in Wu Xiaoqing's hand curiously and asked, "Are these the kind of mushrooms you applied for?"

"Yes, it was specially prepared for exploring the S2933 secret realm."

The S2933 Secret Realm is the latest discovered spirit beast secret realm by humankind. It is said to be an endless desert, and to this day, the exploration team has not been able to successfully cross the desert in front of them.

As Wu Xiaoqing spoke, she began to proudly recount the advantages of the mushroom in her hand.

"Even if it's digested and excreted, the undigested parts can regrow in extremely harsh environments," Wu Xiaoqing said proudly. "In a sense, this is an infinitely regenerative food!"

Once such food is created, Wu Xiaoqing will surely become a saint in this world!

"Come on, come on!" Thinking about this, Wu Xiaoqing's enthusiasm soared even higher. She took out a bunch of seasonings and placed them in front of Zhou Lu. "Hurry up and make me some stir-fried mushrooms!"

Although Wu Xiaoqing was a woman living alone, her cooking skills were truly indescribable compared to her ability to criticize others, at least leaving a very deep impression on Zhou Lu.

Zhou Lu looked at the mushroom in his hand. As expected of a second-tier spirit beast, even after being picked and detached from the wood it was attached to, the mushroom in the plate still stubbornly twisted its body.

Is this mushroom really a legitimate product?

Zhou Lu was a little afraid that if he stabbed the mushroom, it might fight back.

This is a second-tier spirit beast!

However, Wu Xiaoqing repeatedly assured her that there was absolutely no problem.

Zhou Lu had no choice but to believe this forgiving older sister.

The production process went even more smoothly than Zhou Lu had imagined.

During the production process, Zhou Lu wanted to complain countless times: Is it really appropriate to use laboratory equipment to make dishes in a laboratory?

"Don't worry, Xiao Lu!" Wu Xiaoqing said, giving a thumbs up. "Cooking in the lab is something that the Breeding Institute has to experience."

The discipline of breeding is divided into combat breeding and people's livelihood breeding.

The former specializes in breeding suitable combat beasts, and studying the evolutionary and special evolutionary paths of spirit beasts is their forte.

Breeding for people's livelihood focuses more on developing the application of spirit beasts in the field of people's livelihood, such as transportation, energy, medical care, and naturally food.

Wu Xiaoqing is a graduate student majoring in breeding for people's livelihood.

However, Zhou Lu had serious doubts about her professionalism.

It must be admitted that Wu Xiaoqing's work this time, at least in terms of the appearance of the finished dish, is impeccable.

The stir-fried mushrooms are crystal clear and even faintly glow.

The enticing aroma quickly spread throughout the laboratory along with the rising steam.

"It looks delicious!" Wu Xiaoqing's appetite was whetted, and she happily patted Zhou Lu's shoulder. "It was worth it for stealing the chili peppers from my senior."

"Huh? Robbery..."

"Of course. Recently, their flying jade bees have been disappearing frequently, and they even suspect that I'm the culprit, so they won't give me any chance to get close to their vegetable garden." Wu Xiaoqing was still very angry when she said this.

However, the delicious food in front of her still soothed Wu Xiaoqing's mood, and she couldn't wait to pick up her chopsticks.

"Xiaoqing, not yet..."

Before Zhou Lu could finish speaking, he saw Wu Xiaoqing take a delicious bite.

"Are you alright?" Zhou Lu asked cautiously.

"It's fine!"

The next second, Wu Xiaoqing collapsed onto the table.

Seeing Wu Xiaoqing's expression, Xiaoxi exclaimed in surprise, "Is it really that delicious?"

Is this supposed to be a sign that it tastes good?

"It's a pity there's no 'clothes ripped off'," Xiaoxi said disappointedly.

"This is not the time to worry about this!" Zhou Lu said, pointing at Wu Xiaoqing. "She's practically growing mushrooms!"

Beautiful white mushrooms are growing wildly on Wu Xiaoqing's body.

Oh no, my future mentor is probably going to die here—because of eating mushrooms indiscriminately.

Just as Zhou Lu was in despair, a card flew out from Wu Xiaoqing's body. Then the card was released, and a strange-looking giant toad appeared in the laboratory.

This is Wu Xiaoqing's initial spirit beast: Cursed Frog.

The cursed frog skillfully stuck out its tongue, rolled up Wu Xiaoqing on the ground, swallowed her into its mouth, and then began to chew her.

Just then, the system's voice rang in Zhou Lu's ears.

[Ding! Mission failed.]

You nearly killed Wu Xiaoqing, but failed at the last moment.

Although the mission failed, your decisiveness and courage deserve praise.

You have received 90% of the mission reward. Please check your account.

The system has reset this task. Please try again.

While Zhou Lu was still in a daze, the cursed frog had already finished its work.

With her mouth open, the wet Wu Xiaoqing, covered in clear mucus, rolled onto the ground and tumbled to Zhou Lu's feet.

"Eek~"

Wu Xiaoqing opened her eyes, murmuring to herself.

Zhou Lu silently took a step back: "Are you alright?"

Wu Xiaoqing rubbed her head and sat up: "I think I just saw heaven..."

She shook her head, seemingly clearing her mind a bit, and looked up to see Zhou Lu's strange gaze.

Seemingly remembering something, Wu Xiaoqing smiled at Zhou Lu and said, "Don't worry! My frog is a girl, I wasn't defiled."

That's not what I care about at all!

"Hmm." As if to convince Zhou Lu, Wu Xiaoqing even produced evidence, "Several senior students next door often ask me for frog slime to verify whether the spirit beasts they raise are pregnant."

"..." Zhou Lu was completely speechless.

"Looks like the experiment failed." Xiao Xi flew to Wu Xiaoqing and said, "Although it passed the animal experiments, it's extremely lethal to humans. Hmm... judging from what it looked like just now, it's one of the most powerful even among Class A poisons. If it weren't for your cursed frog, you'd probably be dead here."

Wu Xiaoqing also sighed, but she was not discouraged: "It doesn't matter. At least apart from being poisonous, its other properties meet the requirements."

"Oh, right!" Wu Xiaoqing seemed to remember something and looked at Zhou Lu, saying, "You should be preparing for your exams, right?"

Unlike Wu Xiaoqing, who studied in the breeding department, Zhou Lu studied in the combat department of Xin'an Beast Taming Academy.

There are essentially two career paths for combat-oriented Beast Taming students.

One is the competition route, where you use your own bred spirit beasts to fight against other beast tamers and win competition prizes and fame.

The other option is an adventure route, which mainly involves taking your own bred spirit beasts to explore secret realms and places that humans have never explored before, obtaining rare materials and official rewards, and also trading with knowledgeable fairies based on the information gained from the explorations.

The former is safe, stable, and easy to become famous and a superstar, while the latter is very dangerous. Even in the secret realms pioneered by the pioneers, one can easily lose their life, and the rewards are very unstable. Therefore, many combat students nowadays prefer to pursue the competition route.

If it weren't for this system, Zhou Lu would probably have chosen the former as well.

Of course, since his initial spirit beast was a plant, he didn't expect to achieve any results on the field. He just wanted to compete in a few matches, then retire and become a beast taming teacher in a remote town. With the insurance compensation from his father's accidental death, he could live a stable life.

"Here you go." After receiving Zhou Lu's affirmative reply, Wu Xiaoqing operated her phone.

Zhou Lu's phone vibrated. He looked down and saw that Wu Xiaoqing had transferred a few Fairy Coins to him.

Fairy coins, a currency obtained through trade with knowledgeable fairies, can be used to purchase skills and knowledge from them, as well as in trades with Beast Tamers. They are an extremely valuable resource.

"Take these and buy some skills," Wu Xiaoqing said with a smile. "The exams are very difficult."

New author, new book, please read it! This is really important to me!

(End of this chapter)