What should I do if my pet loves watching anime?

On the evening of the sixth day, as Gu Beiri walked out of the Linhai Arena, his personal terminal once again emitted a notification sound indicating a change in his score.

Trainer: Gu Beiri

Current star rating: One star

[Points: 488/500]

Six-game winning streak.

Including his previous two victories, he has now achieved an impressive eight-game winning streak in the Linhai Arena, all of which were at the one-star level!

This is an extremely rare achievement among one-star trainers.

Typically, when trainers reach around 300 points, they will start to encounter strong, even experienced, players who deliberately hold back their points, making it easy for their winning streak to be broken.

But Gu Beiri did not.

Every victory he achieved was clean and decisive. The strength, tactical awareness, and utilization of the "Electric Terrain" feature that Mosquito displayed far exceeded the level of an ordinary one-star trainer.

The announcement screen in the arena lobby is displaying highlights of today's matches.

Among them, the scene of Mosquito using iron sand to form a spiral binding and then crashing into Psyduck with an electric net to instantly kill it was played repeatedly, attracting many trainers to stop and watch and discuss.

"It's him again, Gu Beiri! He won again today!"

"Eight consecutive wins! One more win and it'll be nine, directly advancing to two stars!"

"This is outrageous! What kind of monster is that fluffy sheep? With its electric field and those self-created skills, no one in the one-star realm could possibly stop it!"

"I heard he has connections with Dr. Dongfang and the Special Investigations Department..."

"Did you guys see what happened just now? Mochi took a hit from a Water Gun, then unleashed a Railgun! The power was so great, I'd believe it if you told me it was a two-star Pokémon!"

Gu Beiri ignored these discussions.

He strode towards the Pokémon Center area, preparing to give Fizzy a post-match recovery session.

Six consecutive days of intense battles, though all victories were decisive, took a toll on Rongrong Sheep's physical and mental strength.

"Kitahi!"

A familiar voice came from the lounge area, and Chen Xing stood up from his seat and walked over quickly.

Unlike his previous slightly tired appearance, Chen Xing now looked refreshed, with sharp eyes and a powerful stride, although his dark circles were still quite noticeable.

"Uncle Chen." Gu Beiri nodded.

"That's the eighth match." Chen Xing looked at Gu Beiri's score on his terminal and smiled. "At this rate, you'll advance to two stars by tomorrow, or at the latest the day after. That's much faster than we agreed!"

His excitement was barely contained.

Gu Beiri's strong performance proved his foresight and allowed him to see the glimmer of a rich return on his initial do-or-die investment.

In the past few days, he has begun to use his identity as an independent agent to quietly contact some potential business partners. Although it is only a preliminary intention, Gu Beiri's competitive value and popularity have already attracted attention.

"How is Rongrong Sheep doing?" Chen Xing asked with concern.

"I'm a little tired, but it's okay." Gu Beiri glanced at the Poké Ball. "Recover well tonight, and we can continue tomorrow."

"Okay!" Chen Xing patted Gu Beiri on the shoulder. "Let's go, let's recover first. Then we'll go get something good to eat and replenish our energy! It's on me!"

Just as the two were walking toward the Pokémon Center, Gu Beiri's communicator on his waist vibrated.

It was an unfamiliar number, originating from the official website of Linhai Arena.

Gu Beiri frowned slightly and answered the call.

"Hello, are you Trainer Gu Beiri?" a formulaic female voice asked.

"it's me."

"Congratulations on your outstanding eight-game winning streak! The Arena Operations Department has taken note of your excellent performance and is sending you a special 'Rising Star Challenger' invitation. Would you like to view the details now?"

"A rising star challenger?" Gu Beiri looked at Chen Xing, who also showed a puzzled expression.

Clearly, Chen Xing had never heard of this thing.

"Yes.

This is a special tournament designed for promising newcomers, offering more challenging battles and accelerating the growth of skilled trainers. Invitation details have been sent to your Arena account; please check.

The communication was disconnected.

Gu Beiri opened his personal terminal and entered the Arena APP. Sure enough, there was an unread email in his inbox marked "Operations Department - Special Invitation".

Opening the email, the content was concise and clear:

[To Trainer Gu Beiri:]

In recognition of your recent outstanding performance (eight-game winning streak), the Arena Operations Department cordially invites you to participate in a "Rising Star Challenge".

Your opponent will be: Lin Yan, a two-star trainer.

[Battle Mode: Standard 1v1 Singles]

【比赛时间：明日（10月27日）下午3:00，主会场3号场地。】

[Special Note: If you win this match, you will directly receive an additional 200 points, and depending on your performance, you will also receive the Arena "Potential Rising Star" certification and related rewards.]

At the end of the email, some of the publicly available information about the opponent, Lin Yan, was attached: a two-star trainer, whose main Pokémon is Red-faced Dragon, a popular Dragon-type trainer in the Coastal Arena, with a win rate of 68%.

"A two-star trainer? Lin Yan?" Chen Xing frowned deeply. "No, something's not right!"

"What's wrong?" Gu Beiri asked.

"I know Lin Yan. His strength is definitely in the middle range among two-star trainers. His red-faced dragon is very well raised, and the power of its dragon claws is quite amazing."

Chen Xing spoke faster, his face darkening. "More importantly, according to the arena rules, a one-star trainer being matched with a two-star trainer requires a low-probability arrangement by the system when there is no match for an opponent of the same star for an extended period of time."

You're only level 20-something now, so theoretically you shouldn't be matched with a two-star character, let alone someone like Lin Yan!

He stared at the email: "'Rising Star Challenge'... It sounds impressive, but this is practically a challenge beyond our capabilities! And it's a challenge directly assigned by the operations department! This isn't normal!"

Chen Xing had worked in the arena for fifteen years and knew all too well how things worked.

These so-called special invitations, seemingly intended as opportunities for newcomers, are in reality often a way to put down or test those who are too high-profile.

Winning can certainly bring more attention and resources; but losing can easily dampen morale and even interrupt the upward momentum.

Gu Beiri, currently a one-star trainer, is challenging a seasoned two-star trainer.

The odds of winning don't seem high at all.

Dragon-type moves are resistant to Electric-type moves, so the power of Eevee's Electric Terrain and Electric-type moves will be greatly reduced.

Red-faced Dragon's powerful physical attacks and Dragon-type moves pose a huge threat to Goat.

"Someone doesn't want you to advance to the second star too easily," Chen Xing said in a low voice, a cold glint in his eyes. "They want to dampen your spirits."

He thought of Li Mingze.

When Li Mingze resigned, his last words, seemingly expressing regret, actually contained a hidden threat.

Gu Beiri's recent strong performance is undoubtedly a slap in the face to Li Mingze's risk assessment theory.

As the operations director, Li Mingze has the authority to arrange some special matches.

"What should we do? Should we refuse?" Chen Xing looked at Gu Beiri.

"Refusing an invitation will not affect your normal matchmaking."

We can continue to progress step by step, and if we win two more regular matches, we can still advance to two stars.

There's no need to take that risk.

"Uncle Chen, it's different."

Gu Beiri pondered for a moment, then shook his head.

"Since Li Mingze made this match, it means that the higher-ups may have put pressure on him."

Even if we refuse this offer, he might find some other way to sabotage things.

What he wants to do now is simply to prove his choice was right by my failure.

At this point, Gu Beiri smiled slightly and tapped the large "agree" button on the screen.

"Bei Ri, what are you doing! This is a trap!"

"Uncle Chen, who set up this trap?"

"Xiang Yu."

Who won in the end?

Chen Xing was slightly taken aback when he heard this.