1: Pet Shop System

The heavy rain in Qingyang City had been falling intermittently for several days, and although it was still the height of summer, this heavy rain did bring a long-awaited coolness.

Luo Chen sat quietly by the window, staring blankly at the pouring rain outside, his gaze distant, lost in thought.

A small furball stretched out its short legs, struggling to pull at his pant leg, then tried to climb upward.

However, the furball's legs were too short, and after a few wiggles, it failed to climb up even a few steps.

Luo Chen's attention was also drawn by the movement at his leg; seeing the furball, a gentle smile appeared on his previously somewhat dazed expression, suddenly bringing the entire room to life.

“Furball, are you hungry again? Wait, I’ll get you some cat food.”

Luo Chen skillfully scooped up the small kitten by his leg and held it in his arms, then walked to the cabinet, took out cat food, poured it into a bowl, and pushed it towards the furball.

“Here, eat.”

The furball unceremoniously plunged half its body into the food bowl, and seeing its satisfied eating, Luo Chen's face also relaxed.

But in a short while, a pile of cat food, larger than the furball itself, was devoured.

Seeing such a scene again, Luo Chen still found it hard to accept this fantastical sight.

That's right, the little guy in front of him was not an ordinary kitten, but a Beast, named Light Spirit Cat.

Luo Chen discovered the world had changed after waking up one night, but the people around him and the environment had not changed much.

The biggest change was the sudden appearance of a race called Beast, these Beasts possessed various magical Skills, and people could command these Beasts to enhance their own strength.

“Beep, please choose a suitable shop to bind as soon as possible.”

A voice suddenly sounded in Luo Chen's mind; this was the voice that appeared after Luo Chen woke up and found the world had changed.

The changes in Luo Chen's world and this voice in his mind must be related. Every hour, this voice would sound, making him almost neurotic.

Luo Chen looked at the weather outside, patted the Light Spirit Cat's head, placed the small furball on his shoulder, then opened an umbrella and went out.

The number of pedestrians on the street was not small, but compared to them, there were more various strange-looking Beasts, perhaps some Beasts who liked rain and their Beast Masters took advantage of the weather to go out.

Luo Chen could now view these strangely shaped Beasts with a very normal attitude; at least, he wouldn't show any unusual expressions on his face.

The rain was quite heavy, and even with an umbrella, some raindrops inevitably splashed onto his pant legs. Luo Chen frowned uncomfortably.

He could only try his best to pay attention to the road ahead, choosing places without puddles to walk.

The small furball on his shoulder seemed to sense Luo Chen's mood, and a gentle light spread from his shoulder to all parts of his body.

From a distance, it looked as if a layer of white membrane covered Luo Chen's body. At this moment, when Luo Chen stepped down, the white membrane seemed to have solidified, separating Luo Chen from the rainwater.

Luo Chen, who had been diligently catching up on Beast knowledge recently, knew that this was the only Skill the Light Spirit Cat on his shoulder currently possessed: Spirit Membrane.

Luo Chen turned his head to look at the furball on his shoulder, finding it a bit listless. He couldn't help but gently stroke the little guy's head.

“Furball, I’ll give you an extra meal when we get back.”

Hearing about an extra meal, the furball finally opened its eyes, staring at Luo Chen with some anticipation.

Taking advantage of the Spirit Membrane's presence, Luo Chen quickened his pace, as this Spirit Membrane would disappear after about ten minutes.

He didn't want to experience the feeling of his clothes being soaked by the rain.

After crossing two streets, the shops on both sides became more numerous.

Luo Chen stopped in front of a shop named Chenyang Pet Shop, then pushed open the door without hesitation and walked in.

He tore off the white paper, which advertised the shop for rent, from the glass door, then observed the shop's interior environment again.

Because it was originally prepared for rent, the shop was very clean, but it was also empty, without any furniture.

Luo Chen sighed. This shop was a property his missing parents had left him. Since he himself was not a Breeder and couldn't run this shop, he had originally planned to rent it out and become a landlord.

But now, the persistent voice in his mind had changed his plans, so he could only bind this shop first.

“A suitable shop has been found. Do you wish to bind it?”

Sure enough, shortly after Luo Chen entered, the voice sounded again, but this time it was asking if he wanted to bind it.

Luo Chen had been prepared for this and no longer hesitated, nodding and responding in his mind: “Yes.”

“Shop successfully bound. Pet Shop System is dedicated to serving you.”

As the voice in his mind faded, the entire shop underwent a mysterious change.

First, the shop's internal space seemed to stretch, suddenly doubling in size.

The original shop, which was only over a hundred square meters, should now have expanded to over two hundred square meters. Not only that, but some exquisitely beautiful furniture also appeared in the empty interior.

However, the majority of the first floor consisted of grid shelves for small pets. These shelves, made of an unknown material, felt slightly warm to the touch.

Luo Chen looked in surprise at the suddenly enlarged shop, then quietly stepped back, opened the shop door, and walked out. From the outside, the space occupied by the shop had not changed.

Luo Chen couldn't help but wonder if this was a space-Type Skill?

He reopened the door and walked back in. If the first floor had undergone such changes, then wouldn't the second floor also have changed?

Without checking the second floor first, Luo Chen sat at the cashier's counter by the door and quietly asked the voice in his mind, “What exactly are you? Can you get out of my head?”

Unlike before, when there was no response to his various inquiries, after the shop was successfully bound, the voice seemed to gain some intelligence. For the first time, it finally answered Luo Chen's question.

“This system is the Pet Shop System, designed to help the shop owner cultivate Beasts and then sell them.”

“Uh, how do you help me cultivate Beasts?”

“Shop owner, you will possess two abilities: Eye of Truth and Evolution Deduction.

Eye of Truth allows you to display all information about a Beast in text form, and Evolution Deduction can help you find the possible Evolution Paths for a Beast.”

Hearing these two abilities, Luo Chen excitedly clenched his fingers, pinching himself hard, and only realized it was real after feeling the pain.

Luo Chen, who had been diligently catching up on Beast knowledge recently, had learned some things about Beast Masters.

For example, all Beast Masters would awaken their own talent after contracting their first Beast. This talent might allow their Beasts to evolve faster, or their Skills to be more powerful.

And while Eye of Truth did not have any positive bonus for Beasts, it was a necessary talent for becoming a Breeder, and his father had previously possessed this talent.

That's why he was able to open such a shop in Qingyang City and accumulate a considerable family fortune.

However, with the disappearance of his parents, Luo Chen himself had no way to run the shop, so it had fallen into disuse.

Evolution Deduction was something Luo Chen had heard for the first time. As the name suggested, could it be for deducing the Evolution Path of Beasts?

Luo Chen held the furball from his shoulder in his palm, then used Eye of Truth to view its information.

“race: Light Spirit Cat

Rank: Fierce Beast Three Stars

Type: Mental Type · Psychic

State: Healthy

Aptitude: Excellent

Skill: 1. Spirit Membrane: Attaches a layer of energy-formed membrane to the target's body surface, preventing the target from exchanging matter with the outside world.”

Luo Chen carefully studied the information of his Beast, the small furball, and found that it was basically similar to what he had learned from books.

It seemed that the content in these textbooks was compiled by Breeders.

Luo Chen then tested his other new talent, Evolution Deduction, with the small furball as the target.

“Evolution Path: 1. Light Spirit Cat → Moon Spirit Cat

Moon Spirit Cat: Moon Type, capable of wielding moonlight power in battle, an excellent mage.

2. Light Spirit Cat → Shadow Cat

Shadow Cat: Dark Type, an assassin lurking in shadows, high burst damage, relatively fragile physique.

3. Light Spirit Cat → Double-tailed Cat

Double-tailed Cat: Mental Type, customize your exclusive Skill combat style according to your will.”

Because the small furball was his own Beast, Luo Chen had thoroughly checked the Light Spirit Cat's evolution information.

He had only seen the “Light Spirit Cat → Moon Spirit Cat → Moon Spirit Cat King” path among the officially released Evolution Paths; the other two were not seen.

Is this the power of Evolution Deduction? Luo Chen's heart was filled with surprise, knowing that with the development of Beasts, the current Evolution Paths had become stable.

Therefore, the appearance of every new, undiscovered Evolution Path meant an astonishing fortune.

And as long as the Evolution Path deduced by the Evolution Deduction talent was indeed feasible, Luo Chen could already see a broad road beckoning to him.

Taking a deep breath, Luo Chen calmed his excited mood.

Then he looked in the direction of the stairs, somewhat anticipating what the upstairs had been transformed into.