Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Puke! Look at your stinky attitude. You’re pretentious!”
Sun Laisi’er walked out of the MAD and puked in front of the entrance. He felt like he had a really bad day. Just when he thought he had landed a big fish, two officers jumped out of nowhere and ruined it. Not only had he gotten an earful but his merchandise had also been confiscated. On top of that, the ten bottles of fake Energy Potion Type I had contained the genuine substance, diluted at one-tenth of the original. Although the efficacy of each bottle of the potion was much lower than that of the original, overall, it still matched.
The more he thought about it, the angrier and sorrier he felt. Turning back, he spat in front of the entrance again. When the security personnel at the entrance glared at him, he ran away as quickly as he could.
“Don’t let me out if you dare, bugger!” he cursed while he ran.
Just then, a tall young man stood in Sun Laisi’s way and stared at him with a grin.
…
“You’re Laisi’er?” Shao Zifeng grinned at the sneaky old man, who only stood at 1.6 meters. He also had a pointy mouth with a chin like an ape.
Laisi’er was transfixed, and his eyes rolled inside their sockets as he broke into a contemptible smile. “So, you’re that student whom I saw this afternoon? What can I do for you?”
It was not that Shao Zifeng had gone through many vicissitudes of life, but he had at least seen enough evils. He knew that he could not reveal his intention to such a person before he knew for sure that he was in control. Otherwise, such people would bite him like greedy rats.
“Nothing. I just noticed that you, Lord Si, knew someone in the MAD. I would very much like to get to know you, Lord Si. One more friend means one more opportunity, don’t you think so?” Shao Zifeng tried to flatter him.
He knew that he should have something up his sleeve when he dealt with a sneaky old man like Sun Laisi’er. Nonetheless, it was still a tall order for an introvert like him to butter up the old man without looking unnatural.
Sun Laisi’er was a street rat who had spent his entire life in the lowest level of society, surviving only on his eloquence and sleight of hand. He could see that this student needed a favor from him, though he was not sure what it was all about. So, he played along to see if he could get anything from him.
Besides, it felt good to be bootlicked by a university student despite his awkwardness.
“Let me tell ya, I, Lord Si have some influence in Sucheng. I can surely be of great help if you need my favor. The only thing is…” Laisi’er rubbed his fingers together with a big grin on his face.
“I am only a student. How dare I bother you, Lord Si? I just feel as though you and I have known each other for a long time, Lord Si. I just want to buy you a drink.” Shao Zifeng was inexperienced but not so dumb to reveal his intention.
Laisi’er’s eyes lit up at the mention of drinks. He immediately brought Shao Zifeng to the restaurant opposite the street. Shao Zifeng’s expression stiffened as he tried hard not to shake him off while he followed him.
It was a tiny restaurant, but it had everything they needed. Shao Zifeng asked for a private dining room, ordered some dishes, and started to drink with Laisi’er—most of the time, it was just Laisi’er drinking. As Shao Zifeng said something to suck up to him from time to time, Laisi’er felt even more flattered and drank even more.
Shao Zifeng discovered that as much as Laisi’er enjoyed drinking, he was not a good drinker. After downing a few glasses, Laisi’er had started to babble. Shao Zifeng only responded occasionally since he was working hard to collect any useful intel from his words.
…
“Burrrp… If you like anecdotes, burrrp… let Lord Si tell you one.” Laisier held a bottle of booze in his hands and leaned on the table partially as he looked at Shao Zifeng with a mysterious expression.
Shao Zifeng was getting annoyed by Laisi’er’s bragging. He got to his feet and poured Laisi’er a glass of booze. “One more glass, Lord Si!”
Laisi’er chuckled, looking very pleased. He picked up the glass and drank a mouthful.
“Kid… I… I wonder if you… you have ever heard of the black market…”
…
Shao Qifeng stood up without any expression on his face and looked at Laisi’er, who was lying on the table, completely hammered. He frowned in disgust. He paid and left the restaurant. Shao Zifeng felt more awake as the wind blew on his face.
Recalling what Laisi’er had said earlier, a smile appeared on his face because he could now find the potion needed to nurture the little guy during the early stage.
According to Laisi’er, every Saturday from three to four in the morning, while the city was at its quietest, people living in the dark side of the city would hold a trade fair in an abandoned neighborhood. It was located in Shucheng’s old section, and there was no limit to the number of participants or types of merchandise. As long as you found that something was of value, you could trade there.
Laisi’er had gotten the diluted Energy Potion Type I from that black market. Shao Zifeng did not take his words in their entirety because he also said that his friend had discovered a bull demon king that had evolved from a baby weasel. What was that if not bullsh*t?
Forget about the fact that there was no bull demon king among Daxia’s twelve national beasts, just the story of a weasel evolving into a bull demon king was just over the top.
…
After he took a bus and arrived back in his neighborhood, Shao Zifeng sensed a mixture of emotions: loneliness, indignity, and a hint of attachment as well as longingness.
Was the little guy capable of having so many emotions now? These emotional changes were so quick that it deserved an Oscar.
The moment he opened the door, he saw the bald little thing staring at the door.
Seeing Shao Zifeng come in, a sense of joy flashed in its eyes.
However, it quickly spun around and curled its body into a ball to ignore Shao Zifeng.
Crouching down to check on the little guy, which had its own attitude, Shao Zifeng smiled gently. He poked the ball that had become soft because of the lizard’s baldness.
“Hey, little guy. I figure I shouldn’t keep calling you little guy. How about we get you a name?”
The little guy was unmoved, but Shao Zifeng could sense its emotional changes. After a period of perception, he had gradually understood what kind of talent empathy was.
The closer a human and a pet beast—such as he and the little guy—got, the easier he could feel the little guy’s emotional changes because they shared an emotional resonance.
However, his emotional perturbation was lesser toward those whom he was not familiar with, such as Qian Cheng and Laisi’er, whose emotional changes were not perceivable to him. On the other hand, he could sense the malicious intent from Li, who had something personal against him.
Thinking of that jovial MAD officer, Shao Zifeng felt a gloomy cloud hanging over his head.
“Awww!” Shao Zifeng said that he would give it a name, yet he was now in a daze. The little guy could not care less about the awkwardness. It spun around and used its puppy dog eyes on him.
Shao Zifeng shook the thought out of his head and patted the little guy gently.
“This little demon sticks like glue.”
As if it was cozying up to him, the little guy snuggled its bald head against Shao Zifeng’s big hand.
“Listen.” Shao Zifeng had a thoughtful look.
“Oh!” The little guy nodded as if he was listening intently.
Shao Zifeng smiled. “How about Kuntuku Takatakat Suvasirasson?”
The armadillo lizard was like, “What the heck are you saying?”