My beast taming system has absolutely no problems!

Their appearance and their unique trait of "ugliness" have always made them look at with strange eyes.

And the more they feel this way, the more insecure they become, and the stronger those uncomfortable pheromones become.

The more disdainful looks they attract, the more disgusted they become.

This vicious cycle trapped the gray-striped loach firmly in the bottom layer of the swamp.

interesting.

Xia Yu bent down, wanting to examine the irregular patterns on the gray-striped loaches more closely.

According to his speculation, it was this strange pattern that produced the pheromones that people wanted to avoid.

But the gray-striped loach didn't give him that chance at all, burrowing even deeper into the silt at the bottom of the tank.

Xia Yu straightened up and looked at Gu Weizhong with some helplessness, saying, "Elder Gu, could you ask their beast tamers to give them an order to come out and cooperate with the observation?"

Gu Weizhong nodded and asked Xu Yuanchuan to call over a few beast tamers.

There were five teenagers in total, all of whom had signed up for the "Gray-striped Loach Beast Tamer Volunteer Recruitment" event that Xu Yuanchuan and Ye Nannan had previously launched online.

Children who grow up in the countryside have dark, rough skin.

Standing in the laboratory of the Institute of Evolution, filled with sophisticated instruments, one feels somewhat cramped.

After hearing the request, the four exchanged glances but said nothing more.

They each walked to the water vat and gently called out to the bottom of the water in their local accents.

"Little Grey, come out, it's okay."

"Muddy, listen to me, this Teacher Xia is not a bad person."

The bond between pets and their tamers still exists.

Upon hearing their owner's familiar voice, several gray-brown figures slowly emerged from the mud.

Although they refused to swim any further once they reached the middle of the tank, they still subconsciously avoided the gaze of the strangers outside the glass.

But at least it's something we can observe now.

Just as Xia Yu was about to lean closer to take a look, Xu Yuanchuan's voice came from behind him.

"Young lady, we have signed a contract. The research institute provides you with subsidies, and you are required to cooperate with the institute's research work. You have already received the money, so why are you not cooperating now?"

He turned his head and realized that there was still a girl standing there without moving.

She was thin and small, her ten fingers tightly intertwined, her knuckles white from gripping them.

She didn't let her gray loach come out.

Xu Yuanchuan was about to say something more when Ye Nannan stopped him first and said softly, "Let me do it."

Ye Nannan walked up to the girl, bent down slightly, and said gently, "Xiaoxin, what's wrong? You can tell your older sister what's on your mind."

The girl named Zhao Xin raised her head and said stubbornly, "I'll give the money back to you, I don't want it anymore, just let me and Chou Chou go!"

Xu Yuanchuan leaned close to Xia Yu's ear and whispered, "This Zhao Xin's gray-striped loach is the one among the five that tested positive for emotional energy... meaning it has the highest intimacy level. But since we've already confirmed that evolution conditions and intimacy levels aren't related, why don't we just let her go? Anyway, we still have four more to use."

Xia Yu shook his head, not responding to the conversation.

He walked up to Zhao Xin and asked softly, "Are you worried that we might do something harmful to the gray-striped loach?"

Zhao Xin did not answer, but just stared down at her toes.

"Don't worry, this is the Donghuang Beast Taming Evolution Research Institute. No one will hurt your Ugly."

Zhao Xin remained silent.

He changed his approach and asked softly, "Do you think... that what we're doing will make your gray loach feel even more inferior?"

Zhao Xin's body trembled.

She finally raised her head, her slightly reddened eyes brimming with tears.

"Hmm... Ugly doesn't like other people looking at it."

The girl's voice trailed off, "Brother, I don't want that money anymore... Please let me and Ugly go."

Xia Yu looked at her and asked softly, "Don't you want Chou Chou to evolve and stand with you on the battlefield?"

Zhao Xin was stunned.

Of course she wanted to.

How could I not want to?

She was so excited when she received an email from the Donghuang Beast Taming Evolution Research Institute that she couldn't sleep all night.

The Donghuang Beast Taming Evolution Research Institute is the most advanced pet evolution research institution in the entire alliance.

They invited themselves and Ugly to participate in the evolution experiment.

This undoubtedly means there is hope for Chou Chou!

With this in mind, she took a train for a full eleven hours, bumping all the way from her rural hometown to Beijing.

But reality is completely different from what I imagined.

Every day, I'm scanned by various instruments, tried different spiritual materials, and then faced rejection after rejection.

She stood outside the glass tank, watching Chou Chou cower and tremble under the beams of energy she couldn't name, and her heart ached.

A few days ago, she even overheard researchers whispering in the corridor.

They said things like, "The grey-striped loach, as a pet, doesn't have an evolutionary chain, so there's no need to waste money on it."

She was not disappointed.

I just don't want Ugly to get hurt anymore.

Enduring the disgusted gazes of these beast-taming researchers every day is a form of harm for Chou Chou.

Xia Yu used his mental power to sense Zhao Xin's emotional changes.

He said earnestly, "Give us another chance, okay? Just this once."

Zhao Xin hesitated and lowered her gaze.

Ye Nannan chimed in, "Xiao Xin, this brother is really amazing. He just discovered two new evolutionary forms of the Spirit Velvet Beast a few days ago. If you have a phone, look it up online now."

Zhao Xin looked at Xia Yu with a skeptical expression.

After a few seconds of silence, he finally nodded slightly.

"...All right."

After the little girl followed Ye Nannan aside to calm her down, Xu Yuanchuan came over and asked, "Aren't there still four gray-striped loaches we can use? Why do you insist on having her stay?"

Xia Yu looked at the few gray-striped loaches that had finally floated to the middle of the water tank and explained softly, "She is the only one who loves her gray-striped loaches without any prejudice."

He turned his head and looked at Xu Yuanchuan.

"The gray-striped loach must also be able to sense Zhao Xin's love."

"It is easier to change a person's inferiority complex if they have someone who truly loves them. Such a sample is essential for the success of our experiment."

Xu Yuanchuan nodded, but felt somewhat ashamed.

The ability to observe these subtle human details is probably the reason for Xia Yu's success...

After all the gray-striped loaches have come out.

Xia Yu stood in front of the water vat for a while, pretending to be serious.

It would occasionally lean close to the tank wall and murmur incoherently, saying things like "Hmm...that's interesting" or "Ah, I see."

Xu Yuanchuan, standing behind him, held a notepad, his pen hovering over the paper for a long time, but he didn't write a single word.

Finally, Xia Yu stood up and said to Gu Weizhong, "Old Gu, it's almost done. I have a good idea of ​​what to do, but it will take some time to study the formula to make an energy cube that can change the appearance of the gray-striped loach."

Xu Yuanchuan: "......"

Almost there...

The grey-striped loach we were observing together, I can't see a single clue...

Is this the difference between me and the Sword of Genius?

Gu Weizhong nodded. "Okay, there are small rooms in the research institute. You can stay here for the next few days to save yourself the trouble of traveling back and forth."

He turned to Ye Nannan and said, "Xiao Ye, take Xia Xia to her place and see if there's anything else we need, and get it all ready."

"okay!"

Ye Nannan agreed with exceptional enthusiasm.

The scale of the research institute once again exceeded Xia Yu's expectations.

Ye Nannan led him through several experimental buildings, turning left and right.

After passing through a greenhouse area filled with various rare and exotic fruit trees, we finally stopped in front of a two-story building hidden behind a ginkgo tree.

The building is small, with white walls and gray tiles, and a small courtyard in front of it.

It can't compare to the grandeur of the lakeside villa at the Donglin Temple, but it has the advantage of being quiet and secluded.

Xia Yu was quite satisfied with the environment.

"Sister Nan, please help me buy some spiritual fruits and materials. I'll try to figure out the recipe. Please write it down."

After Ye Nannan took out her phone's memo app, he told her the materials needed for Beautiful Cube.

The final memo listed about ten kinds of spiritual fruits and materials.

Most of them have absolutely nothing to do with BeautifulCube.

But there's no way around it; since we've already started pretending, we have to play the part completely.

If you only buy the exact few materials needed for the Beautiful Cube, it won't be easy to fool people.

Ye Nannan didn't ask any further questions and nodded seriously: "Leave it to me, store manager, I'll bring it over to you in a bit!"