3: Chapter 3 The World Crisis Two Years Later

At the thought of this, Su Qingyuan couldn't help but sigh.

For the past year, she had been having the same dream every month.

A nightmare that predicted the future.

The nightmare was long; she dreamed that after graduation, she went to an academy in the Star Dome Federation for further studies, achieved a series of brilliant results with her outstanding performance, and subsequently became an Advanced Beast Tamer early on, hailed as a genius Beast Tamer of the new generation.

Unsurprisingly, she would forge ahead on the path of a Beast Tamer, bringing supreme glory to herself and her family.

But two years later, the apocalypse arrived.

A type of pet beast known as the Dark Species swept across the entire world like a tide, ravaging every corner of human civilization.

No, it wasn't just human civilization; even those pet beast civilizations were brutally ravaged, leaving the world in misery.

Cries and howls of despair filled the entire world.

In this crisis, her family and friends departed one after another, and she was forced to stay in the Star Dome Federation due to the breakdown of connections between federations.

Four years later, struggling in the dark crisis, she had to exhaust her potential and promote to a Master-level Beast Tamer through a certain forbidden method.

In the world before the darkness descended, this speed of promotion would have been considered unprecedented.

But amidst the dark crisis, a Master-level Beast Tamer was like a willow catkin in the wind, unable to cause even the slightest ripple.

In a desperate city defense battle, she stepped forward but was powerless against the seemingly endless Dark Species, eventually dying of exhaustion.

Every dream felt like a segment of a real life.

Su Qingyuan initially thought it was just an accidental nightmare under the pressure of the college entrance exam, but when she had the dream at a fixed time every month and the nightmare was identical every time, she clearly realized one thing—she had foreseen the future of humanity.

A future that could only be described as desperate.

Because of the series of identical nightmares, her mental state had weakened and she was in poor condition this year; she was even taken to consult a psychiatrist, but no problems could be found.

No one believed her nightmare, just as no one believed that human civilization would fall into a dead end in two years.

But last night, an unprecedented change occurred in this dream.

The events of the first three years remained the same, but in the final city defense battle, while she was surrounded by endless Dark Species in a moment of despair, a pet beast tore through the infinite darkness shrouding the sky and brandished a sword to defeat all the Dark Species.

She looked up and saw the appearance of that pet beast.

A pet beast she had never seen before.

Its body was covered in black-gold battle armor, its head was majestic, a metallic shield was spread across its back, its arms were dragon claws like blazing flame blades, and its tall posture was like a god of war, with an awe-inspiring aura.

Later, she learned the news from those around her—a Donghuang Beast Tamer had come from across the ocean to rescue the surviving citizens.

The dream ended there.

Su Qingyuan knew that the future had undergone a massive change.

The savior of humanity had appeared.

“Yuanyuan, let's go.”

Zhang Xiaoxiao's voice reached her ears. Su Qingyuan gathered her thoughts and looked up to see that the unfamiliar classmate Lin Chen had already left with the Flame Claw Beast.

“What are you thinking about?”

Zhang Xiaoxiao waved her hand in front of Su Qingyuan's slightly dazed face, then giggled and hugged the latter's arm, her voice light and cheerful. “Let's hurry up and go pick a pet beast too.”

“Okay.” Su Qingyuan snapped back to her senses and nodded gently.

The two walked forward, passing through the common pet beast breeding area. Zhang Xiaoxiao suddenly asked, “Yuanyuan, are you really planning not to go to the Star Dome Federation?”

Su Qingyuan's eyelashes trembled slightly. She didn't answer immediately but looked around—various pet beasts lived harmoniously in the breeding rooms, the midsummer breeze brushed against the vegetation, and the warm sunlight was reflected in her eyes through the glass.

“It's so nice.” she whispered.

“What?” Zhang Xiaoxiao was stunned.

Su Qingyuan's brows gradually relaxed, and a bright smile spread across her face. “Days like this are truly wonderful.”

No disgusting and cruel Dark Species, no life-and-death crises, and certainly no global catastrophe.

For the sake of such a peaceful life, and for ordinary people like Xiaoxiao and that classmate Lin Chen, she decided this time to stay in Donghuang to find that savior and end this world-destroying crisis ahead of time.

But where would that savior be at this very moment?

Since he possessed the strength to save the world four years later, he must surely be a world-renowned Title-level Beast Tamer right now, exploring the limits of pet beasts and on the path to becoming a Legend-level Beast Tamer.

“The weather is really nice today.”

Through the front desk glass, the bright sunshine and azure sky outside were visible. As a new Beast Tamer, Lin Chen stretched, his expression comfortable. “I really hope every day has such good weather.”

The front desk staff smiled and said, “It will be.”

With the help of the staff, Lin Chen finished signing the purchase contract, then looked at the Flame Claw Beast. “Let's begin.”

The next moment, he put away his smile and focused his mind.

Following the method taught by his teacher, Lin Chen mobilized the weak spiritual power within his body and carefully guided it out.

The invisible spiritual power was like a slender and warm thread, slowly extending and transforming into an invisible spiritual bridge, gently connecting to the Flame Claw Beast in front of him.

The Flame Claw Beast paused slightly; it clearly sensed that there was no malice in this spiritual power, only a comfortable warmth, as if it were lying on soft sand basking in the sun, with lazy sunlight wrapping around its entire body.

In a moment, the spiritual connection was completely stabilized.

Immediately after, the Flame Claw Beast's figure turned into a faint white light and vanished from the spot.

Lin Chen closed his eyes, his mind sinking into the Beast Taming Space within his body—it was an infinitely large mental space where the Flame Claw Beast was jumping around with a face full of curiosity, its eyes filled with novelty.

Sensing this scene, Lin Chen slowly opened his eyes, the smile at the corners of his mouth growing more intense. “It's a success.”

[Player has successfully obtained Agumon, task completed]

[Task Reward: EXP x10, double exp card x1, Small Blast Move Learning Machine x1]

[Main Quest ①: Evolve Agumon into Greymon]

[Task Reward: badge of courage]

The rookie task was completed, and a new main quest appeared.

Lin Chen didn't have time to think too much. With a thought and a flash of white light, the Flame Claw Beast's figure reappeared in front of him.

The Flame Claw Beast shook its head, its eyes looking around, clearly curious about what had just happened.

“Gagu?”

Perhaps due to the spiritual connection, the vigilance and wariness on the Flame Claw Beast's face dissipated a lot. It tilted its head and looked at Lin Chen: “Gagu!”

Play again!

Lin Chen couldn't help but laugh.

The staff member said at the right time, “Student, congratulations on successfully contracting the Flame Claw Beast. You need to pay 80,000 Federation Coins. Would you like to pay with cash or card?”

Lin Chen took out his bank card and handed it over, while saying:

“Please also give me four bottles of Tier 1 energy liquid for pet beasts, and three energy cubes for fire-type pet beasts.”

A pet beast's daily activities and training consume a large amount of energy. Ordinary food is difficult to maintain this energy consumption, so it must be supplemented with energy liquid in a timely manner.

And energy cubes can not only supplement energy but also accelerate the growth of fire-type pet beasts and enhance their physique. Although the price is more expensive than energy liquid, this money must be spent for the Flame Claw Beast to become stronger quickly.

One bottle of energy liquid can last the Flame Claw Beast for a week, while the consumption speed of energy cubes depends on the pet beast's own consumption rate.

While quickly calculating the costs, the front desk staff said:

“One bottle of Tier 1 energy liquid is 500 Federation Coins, one fire-type energy cube is 1,000 Federation Coins, plus the 80,000 for purchasing the Flame Claw Beast, the total is 85,000 Federation Coins.”

Lin Chen felt a pang of pain for his wallet, but the Flame Claw Beast's cultivation was urgent, so he nodded and signaled the staff to swipe the card for payment.

But he suddenly remembered and asked, “Are there any promotions or discounts now?”

Upon hearing this, the front desk staff pondered:

“Student, if you go to the Beast Tamer Association now to get certified as an Apprentice Beastmaster, you can enjoy a 2% discount when purchasing pet beast supplies at our breeding house.”

Despite saying so, the staff member didn't expect Lin Chen to actually go.

Even with the discount, Lin Chen would only save 100.

But the round trip from here to the Beast Tamer Association would take an hour, and this period was the peak time for Beast Tamer certification, so the processing time would be indefinitely extended.

For the vast majority of Apprentice Beastmasters who had just graduated, they would rather not have the 100 discount than go through the hassle of the trip.

After all, for those with the financial strength to become a Beast Tamer, who would care about a mere 100?

Lin Chen's eyes lit up, however.

He had forgotten that in this world where the status of a Beast Tamer was extremely high, Beast Tamers could enjoy exclusive discounts on many occasions, and buying pet beast supplies was no exception.

Although the 2% discount for an Apprentice Beastmaster wasn't particularly large, he would have to buy pet beast supplies frequently, and over time, it could save a significant amount of expenses.

Furthermore, after becoming a higher-level Beast Tamer, the discounts he could enjoy would be even greater.

“Thanks for the reminder, I'll go get certified right now.”

Lin Chen thanked them with a smile, left his personal information at the front desk first, and then turned to leave the pet beast breeding house.

He didn't walk or take a taxi; Lin Chen waited at the bus stop at the entrance for ten minutes and boarded a bus heading to the Beast Tamer Association.

An hour later.

Having successfully certified as an Apprentice Beastmaster and purchased the pet beast supplies with the discount, Lin Chen stood outside the breeding house as the midsummer breeze blew against his face.

Traffic flowed on the streets, pedestrians were noisy, and the sunlight falling on his body carried a faint warmth.

Lin Chen carefully put the pet beast supplies he had just obtained into his backpack, looked down at the relaxed-looking Flame Claw Beast beside him, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

“Let's go, we're going home.”

[Ding—]

A cold and clear system prompt sounded in his mind without warning.

[The growth of a Digimon begins with the first step.]

[Saving the world starts from this moment]

[Task Content: Please complete the first basic training with Agumon by running back to your residence from your current location.]

[Task Reward: EXP ×5, double exp card x1]

“Hmm? Another task that rewards experience points?”

According to his memories from his previous life, experience points were very important in the game "Digimon Grand Evolution," as they were the only way to increase a Digimon's level.

And there were two ways to obtain experience points: one was to complete tasks; the other was to defeat other Digimon.

As the thought flashed through his mind, when Lin Chen noticed the specific content of the task, his movements visibly paused.

He silently pulled out his phone, opened the map, and located his home address.

The navigation route clearly showed—a total of fifteen kilometers.

Lin Chen: "..."

The corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.

Fifteen kilometers, even if his physical fitness far exceeded that of an ordinary person after becoming an Apprentice Beastmaster, it was by no means easy.

Where was the logic in a Beast Tamer training alongside their pet beast?!

This isn't right!

I apply for the task to be reissued!

The system was quiet, with no reaction at all.

Lin Chen sighed, looked at the Flame Claw Beast, and spoke: “Let's play a game.”

The Flame Claw Beast was stunned:

“Gagu?”

Lin Chen was expressionless, his tone showing no sign of anything unusual:

“A good game that can temper the body and will, let the skin feel the midsummer temperature, let the footsteps measure the earth, and let the heartbeat accelerate.”

“Gagu?”