...

Liu Yuhang opened his eyes.

Unlike the harsh, glaring lights of the arena, the lighting here was incredibly soft. The room was a simple white, and Su Zhi, Shao Ya, Cao Mingyu... his companions were all by his side.

This was the tournament’s affiliated hospital.

"Quack~!"

A cheerful sound reached his ears.

He glanced to the side and saw Xue Li curled into a ball by his pillow, blinking a pair of button-like black eyes at him.

You’re awake, quack~

Xue Li bobbed up and down, stretched out her neck, and planted a kiss on Liu Yuhang’s left cheek.

Then, Bling Bling, she drew closer, rubbing her fluffy body against her Beast Tamer.

"Xue Li?"

Liu Yuhang tried to pull a hand free to stroke her as he looked around.

"And everyone else."

"Don’t look like you’re on your last breath. The doctor said it was just temporary shock. You’ll be fine after a little rest."

Su Zhi gave a small smile and sat by his bed. "That was a beautiful fight. Well done."

"Hah, just a loser who got eliminated," Liu Yuhang said with a bitter smile.

"Maybe this is just my fate. No matter how hard I try, I just keep getting defeated, becoming a stepping stone for other geniuses."

"Quack!"

Xue Li shook her head in protest, flinging a mouthful of duck feathers at Liu Yuhang.

What loser? You can’t just say things like that, quack!

"Remember what Senior Peng Kai said? You’re not just some ordinary person with a low ceiling who can only rely on hard work. Your moment just hasn’t arrived yet.

"A temporary loss doesn’t mean anything. As long as you and Xue Li stay grounded and keep working, you’ll definitely have a breakthrough."

Su Zhi said seriously, "Besides, if someone who made it to the top four of the city league calls himself a loser, how do you think that makes everyone below the top four feel?"

"Thanks for the invitation, I feel called out," said Cao Mingyu, the only person in the room who ranked below the top four.

Everyone burst out laughing, and the small hospital room filled with cheerful air.

TAP TAP.

As they were talking, there was a knock on the partially open door.

Then, Fang Yuan pushed the door open and entered, a bag of oranges in his hand.

He still wore that same expressionless look, and as soon as he entered, the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.

"I came to see Liu Yuhang."

Fang Yuan said without expression, his gaze sweeping over Liu Yuhang. "Seeing as you’re awake, I assume it’s not serious?"

"Yeah." Liu Yuhang nodded, his face honest and simple.

"Good that you’re okay. The oranges are for you. I’m leaving."

Fang Yuan expressionlessly placed the oranges on the bedside table, then turned and left.

CLICK. The door shut.

The group looked at each other.

Finally, Cao Mingyu, with a somewhat emotional look in his eyes, managed to squeeze out, "This is the first time I’ve ever felt so outclassed in the social skills department."

"Pfft." The other three looked at Cao Mingyu.

"So he actually came to visit me?"

Liu Yuhang picked up an orange in disbelief. "He wouldn’t even shake my hand before the match. I thought he was some kind of cold, aloof guy..."

’He’s clearly a total tsundere...’ Su Zhi added internally.

"Brother Shu, want an orange?"

"I’ll just have two, you can have the rest."

"Get outta here. Sons are always trying to act like the dad."

The once-frozen atmosphere thawed, and laughter returned to the hospital room.

After peeling the orange, Liu Yuhang gave it to Xue Li. Xue Li stretched her neck to peck at it, one segment at a time. She would eat one segment herself, then pick one up to give to her Beast Tamer.

When Liu Yuhang accidentally bit into it and juice squirted out, Xue Li would even come closer to help wipe it off.

"Seeing you like this, I can finally relax."

Su Zhi, sitting by the bed, smiled gently. "I was worried you wouldn’t be able to bounce back from the blow. I’d already thought of how I was going to console you."

"There’s no reason to be down. I wasn’t skilled enough, so I lost. It is what it is. You just have to get back up where you fell."

Liu Yuhang finished the last orange segment and looked at Su Zhi with a smile.

"Brother Shu, the pressure’s on you now. Good luck in the finals!"

Shao Ya blinked playfully. "Go for it! You’re the hope of the whole village!"

Cao Mingyu opened his mouth, his expression solemn. "My friend, Su Zhi, I—"

"Yep, I get the sentiment!" Su Zhi stuffed an orange segment into his mouth, and the room was once again filled with cheerful air.

TAP TAP TAP. The door was knocked on again.

"He’s back already? That damn tsundere..."

Su Zhi opened the door as he spoke, and his eyes widened in pleasant surprise at the sight of the handsome, albeit unkempt, face outside.

"Senior Brother Piao?"

·

「Evening」

The midsummer days were exceptionally long. Even at eight in the evening, the sky was still a clear, watercolor blue.

"Senior, how come you’re only showing up now? My match was over this morning."

"I did come this morning. You were just too busy hugging your little girlfriend to notice."

"...Alright, fine."

"Hey, hey, tell your senior, what did it feel like?"

"I can’t really say. It’s not like you’ve ever hugged a girl."

"Damn."

Su Zhi and Liu Junpo strolled outside the stadium.

The battle stadium was a hive of activity: people were setting up the arena, others were positioning camera angles. Through the long windows, you could faintly see someone in a red vest directing the Cyan Cloud Group as they cleaned the spectator stands.

"They’re preparing for tomorrow’s finals."

Liu Junpo pointed into the distance, then looked at Su Zhi. "And that’s not all. Every major media outlet in Huai City will be broadcasting it live, and CCTV-5 will be live-streaming it too. The entire city, and even viewers from other provinces, will be watching your match against Fang Yuan tomorrow.

"Before the match starts, if you turn on the local Huai City station, you’ll even see special Alliance Members from the Alliance Headquarters predicting the outcome and giving their ’ultimate critiques’ of you."

Su Zhi shook his head and chuckled. "Are you trying to put pressure on me, Senior Brother Piao...?"

"I am putting pressure on you."

Liu Junpo smiled faintly. "In fact, the pressure you’ll feel at the venue tomorrow will be no less than what I’ve described.

"None of your previous experience will apply. The pressure of the finals is completely different, even compared to the semi-finals. Only those who have been to the finals know just how big that difference is.

"So? Faced with this kind of pressure, how are you feeling right now?"

Seeing Su Zhi pretend to look off into the distance, Liu Junpo couldn’t help but let a smile touch his eyes.

"To be honest, I feel like I’ll probably lose."

Su Zhi said calmly, taking the opportunity while Yu Bao was asleep in the Beast Taming Space.

"Fang Yuan is incredibly strong. He’s been cutting through the competition like a hot knife through butter. 004 is extremely well-rounded. Yu Bao and I aren’t confident we can win."

Liu Junpo asked curiously, "How come I don’t detect a hint of anxiety in your tone?"

"I was anxious a few days ago, but not anymore."

The corners of Su Zhi’s mouth lifted slightly as he glanced at a certain room on the third floor of the nearby hotel.

"When you doubt yourself, just think about the people who believe in you."

"Damn it, you’re feeding me another mouthful."

Liu Junpo gave him a playful PUNCH PUNCH.

Before they knew it, the two had reached the exit of the tournament’s restricted activity zone.

The Alliance Members in charge of security were monitoring the area from all angles, preventing any items from being exchanged and ensuring no contestants left.

"Alright, seeing that you’re doing okay, I can rest easy."

Standing at the exit, Liu Junpo and Su Zhi waved goodbye.

"I’ll be watching the live stream of the match tomorrow. Teacher Zhou will too. Good luck!"

"Yeah. Goodbye, Senior!"

Watching Liu Junpo walk away, Su Zhi remembered something and pulled out his phone—

19:00

[Old Ban]: Finals are tomorrow. Keep a level head.

[Old Ban]: You’ve already come far enough. Just let nature take its course from here.

[Old Ban]: To be honest, Fang Yuan is very strong. If you were to predict it with a data model, he would be the one to win the championship.

[Old Ban]: But, the whole point of a match is to fill those predictions with suspense.

[Old Ban]: Anyway, just go for it! When you doubt yourself, think about the people who believe in you!

Su Zhi smiled gently and typed a reply.

[Su Zhi]: Yeah, thank you, Teacher.

...

...

No response.

"Su Zhi" retracted a message

[Su Zhi]: Got it.

On the other side of the city, Zhou Shengfa saw the familiar two words and smiled in gratification.

·

「That night.」

Back in his hotel room, Su Zhi summoned Yu Bao from the Beast Taming Space.

"Woof..." Yu Bao flopped listlessly onto the bed, staring pitifully at Su Zhi.

He had slept all afternoon in the Beast Taming Space but was still exhausted. The battle with Xiaoyue had been intense, and he had overexerted himself just as much as Xue Li had, if not more.

Su Zhi ruffled the dog’s head and put 0.01 points into his Constitution.

"Woof!"

Yu Bao was instantly full of life and energy. With a BLING, he leaped up from the bed.

’A moment ago, I was weak, pitiful, and helpless—a useless salted fish of a dog.’

’Now, I could take on ten big brother Xiaoyues!’

’Wait, ten is too many... maybe two.’

"I wonder if this counts as a banned substance..." Su Zhi said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry as he petted Yu Bao’s head.

This was something he had discovered while allocating points: adding points to Constitution could instantly restore Yu Bao’s vitality and stamina, and even heal minor injuries.

However, it didn’t work if used too frequently. For example, using it multiple times during a battle for sustain was not feasible. But using it once was fine.

"Woof."

Yu Bao shook his head and tried to make a "you’re thinking too small" gesture with his front paws.

’This is a Beast Taming Talent, of course it’s not against the rules. As Su Zhi’s Pet Beast, it’s perfectly reasonable for me to have two health bars, right?’

"We’re up against 004 tomorrow. We still have 0.07 points, all swiped from your big brother Xiaoyue."

Su Zhi sat in front of Yu Bao and looked into his eyes. "Where do you want to add them? Or should we save them for the match tomorrow? It’s your call."

Yu Bao lowered his head and thought for a moment, then shook it.

’Don’t add them. We’ll see during the match tomorrow.’

"Okay, let’s get some sleep then."

"Woof!"

With a BLING, Yu Bao leaped onto the bed and waited for Su Zhi to turn off the lights. But when he turned his head, he saw Su Zhi crouching by the bed, looking at him with a glimmer of a smile in his eyes.

SMOOCH.

Su Zhi gave Yu Bao a light peck on the forehead.

"No matter what happens tomorrow, we’ll face it together."

"...Woof!"

Yu Bao nodded, stuck out his rough tongue to give Su Zhi’s cheek a big lick, then leaned in and nuzzled him.

Su Zhi laughed and patted Yu Bao.

"Go to sleep. I’m turning off the lights."

CLICK.

The room was shrouded in silent darkness. The night passed without a word.

...

...

「1:00 AM」

「Next door.」

Fang Yuan sat cross-legged on the floor, cultivating his Beast Taming Space through Meditation.

was practicing her Telekinesis as usual. The wardrobe, bed, and other objects floated calmly and steadily in mid-air.

She would practice until four o’clock, rest for two hours in the Beast Taming Space, and then immediately begin the next day’s training. It was the same every day.

There was very little communication between them. Or rather, aside from commands, there was no communication at all.

Suddenly, the tranquil white flame that always covered 004’s body flickered for a moment.

The levitating objects also fell into disarray, tilting precariously, and the bedside table crashed directly to the floor.

Fang Yuan opened his eyes and saw 004 twitching slightly.

"What’s wrong?"

quickly shook her head and suppressed the chaotic flame on her body until it was calm again.

A moment later, she had the objects levitating steadily again, just as before. Only her eyes showed a hint of strain, as if she were enduring something...

Of course, that wasn’t important.

Fang Yuan didn’t ask, nor did he give it a second thought.

After confirming that 004 could continue training, he closed his eyes and resumed cultivating his Beast Taming Space.

The room was shrouded in silent darkness. The night passed without a word.

·

·