30: Capturing sea monsters

The Colorful Sound Spirit Finch, having received praise, held its head so high it seemed about to reach the sky, making Luo Chen find it quite amusing.

"Ahem, are there any other Sea Beasts on this street?"

The water on the street outside was turbid and carried the salty, fishy smell of seawater. Luo Chen couldn't see if any Sea Beasts were lurking beneath the murky surface.

The Colorful Sound Spirit Finch flew to the shop entrance, stared intently at the flowing muddy water for a moment, and then answered Luo Chen's question.

"There are two more ferocious beasts and one spirit beast."

Luo Chen's heart sank. After all, Chenyang Pet Store was a shop located near the city center of Qingyang City. If even here so many Sea Beasts had managed to infiltrate, the situation must have reached a critical point.

"Dealing with all the Sea Beasts on this street shouldn't be a problem for you, right?" Luo Chen asked uncertainly, looking at the Colorful Sound Spirit Finch.

The Colorful Sound Spirit Finch cast a disdainful glance at the street outside. "For me, that's as easy as turning over my hand. But you have to let me leave the shop first."

As if remembering something, the Colorful Sound Spirit Finch added a final prerequisite.

"Alright, no problem. But if I asked you to capture them alive, could you do it?"

The Colorful Sound Spirit Finch gave Luo Chen a resentful look, as if to say, 'Kid, why are your demands getting harder and harder?' Perhaps due to its strong confidence in its own abilities, it ultimately nodded with difficulty.

"Then off you go." Luo Chen looked at the Colorful Sound Spirit Finch with bright eyes, even clenching his fist and waving it up and down as a gesture of encouragement.

The Colorful Sound Spirit Finch shook its head with an air of world-weariness, spread its colorful wings, and before Luo Chen and Luo Yang could react, it had already arrived at the center of the street.

Although the rain was still falling, an orange shield of light surrounded the Colorful Sound Spirit Finch, protecting it from the rain.

The water surface, which had been slightly rippling just moments before, became eerily calm after the Colorful Sound Spirit Finch appeared.

Perhaps these Sea Beasts also sensed the formidable aura emanating from the Colorful Sound Spirit Finch and its ill intentions.

However, if they were in the actual sea, hiding at a certain depth, the Colorful Sound Spirit Finch might have had no way to deal with them.

But now they were on a street with water less than two meters deep. No matter how much they tried to lower their presence, it was difficult to escape the perception of the Colorful Sound Spirit Finch.

The Colorful Sound Spirit Finch performed a graceful 360-degree spin in the air. During this, resplendent, multicolored light radiated from its body, and then a large version of a Colorful Sound Spirit Finch, composed purely of seven-colored light, appeared behind it.

Luo Chen immediately recognized it. This was the Colorful Sound Spirit Finch's Skill, 'Spirit Finch.' It looked rather beautiful.

Without the Colorful Sound Spirit Finch itself making any visible movement, the 'Spirit Finch' energy construct behind it plunged headlong into the water.

Luo Chen and Luo Yang couldn't see clearly what kind of battle was happening underwater, but judging by the splashing and churning water, it seemed quite intense.

They didn't have to wait long. The 'Spirit Finch' flew into the air with a strange-looking fish about two meters long held in its beak.

"Open the cage. Lock it up." The Colorful Sound Spirit Finch shouted to the two brothers watching the show by the door.

Luo Chen looked back at the three-meter-diameter cage, then at the two-meter-plus-long strange fish. It would fit inside, but if they just threw it on the floor, wouldn't the fish die of thirst?

After only a moment's hesitation, Luo Chen decisively opened one of the cages. Then the 'Spirit Finch' flew in, carrying the barely-alive strange fish, and dropped it into the cage from above.

In the brief moment the 'Spirit Finch' flew into the shop, a large amount of water suddenly splashed on the street. The other figures hidden underwater, sensing that this Colorful Sound Spirit Finch was not to be trifled with, seized the opportunity and swiftly fled in two directions along the street.

"Trying to run? Did you even ask if your granddaddy agrees?" The words spoken by the exquisitely elegant Colorful Sound Spirit Finch were unexpectedly fierce.

After saying this, it let out a sharp, urgent cry. To Luo Chen and Luo Yang's ears, it just sounded a bit piercing.

However, the figures underwater trying to flee the street seemed to suffer a severe blow. All they saw was a patch of crimson rising to the water's surface in that area.

The water surface temporarily calmed down. It was unclear whether the Sea Beasts that had been attacked were dead, unconscious, or had escaped by some means.

Inside the shop, the 'Spirit Finch,' after dropping the strange fish from its beak, immediately flew back outside. Then, following the trail of crimson blood left earlier, it dove down and actually managed to bring up another strange fish.

It took several trips back and forth to transport all the injured strange fish.

Looking at the strange fish in the cages, Luo Chen was extremely excited. Now the shop finally didn't seem so empty.

Although Sea Beasts weren't very popular among Beast Masters, especially in inland cities, this was essentially free merchandise. If they couldn't sell them, they could always kill them and sell the meat.

But the next thing that worried Luo Chen was that these six Sea Beasts clearly couldn't survive out of water for too long. How to arrange for them was an urgent problem that needed solving now.

Luo Chen thought carefully and decided to go to the secret realm on the third floor to dig a large pit to temporarily house these six strange fish. "Brother, let's go to the third-floor secret realm to dig a pit to place them."

Luo Chen naturally shared his idea with Luo Yang. Luo Yang, snapping out of his daze from witnessing the Colorful Sound Spirit Finch's formidable combat prowess, nodded obediently.

The Colorful Sound Spirit Finch had just returned from outside when Luo Chen assigned it a new task. "Ah Que, we're going to the third floor. Remember to sprinkle some water on these Sea Beasts regularly so they don't die."

Temporarily unable to check the information on these strange fish, Luo Chen could only refer to them by that name for now.

The Colorful Sound Spirit Finch, standing on the checkout counter preening its feathers, looked at Luo Chen suspiciously. "What are you going to the third floor for? Just leaving these Sea Beasts like this?"

Seeing the Colorful Sound Spirit Finch's puzzled expression, Luo Chen could only patiently explain again. After all, it was the biggest contributor today.

Hearing that Luo Chen planned to dig a big pit in the third-floor secret realm to place these strange fish, the Colorful Sound Spirit Finch suddenly burst into strange laughter.

"Hahaha, you're actually going to arrange these Sea Beasts in the secret realm. Hahahaha!"

Luo Chen looked at the Colorful Sound Spirit Finch, who was laughing so hard it could barely catch its breath, his face darkening. He was considering whether to impose another silencing command on it.

But then he saw the Colorful Sound Spirit Finch fly directly to a cage containing a strange fish and press a small spot on the cage with its delicate claw.

The next moment, the bottom of the cage sank half a meter. Then the strange fish inside shrank proportionally in all dimensions, directly reduced to one-fifth of its original size. Originally two meters long, from the outside it now appeared to be only about forty centimeters, and its appearance became much cuter.

Then, the cage bottom began to seep clear water upwards. Soon, the water level rose above the ground plane, but the outside of the cage was now enclosed by a layer of glass, sealing the water inside and preventing it from flowing out.

The strange fish, which had been barely alive before, now regained its vitality and was swimming freely in the water.

Luo Chen and Luo Yang stared at this scene in astonishment, especially Luo Chen. As the shop owner, how did he not know the cage had this function?

After a long while, Luo Chen finally snapped out of it. "Uh, Ah Que, how did you do that just now?"

The Colorful Sound Spirit Finch raised an eyebrow at Luo Chen, putting on a thoughtful expression.

Seeing its posture of expecting a reward, Luo Chen understood perfectly. "Tomorrow's ferocious beast meat will be replaced with spirit beast meat."

"Just for tomorrow?" The Colorful Sound Spirit Finch sighed with feigned sorrow.

Luo Chen gritted his teeth. "Three days. For the next three days. You know spirit beast meat is very expensive."

The Colorful Sound Spirit Finch chuckled, knowing when to quit while ahead. It flew to another cage, waved its wing, and beckoned the two brothers over.

As it worked, it explained to the brothers, "Look, there's a hidden compartment here. You just need to open it like this, then press this red button. The interior of the cage will, based on the type of tamed beast inside, simulate a suitable living environment for them."

Luo Chen noticed a diamond-shaped slot next to the button, seemingly for placing something. Curious, he asked the Colorful Sound Spirit Finch, "Ah Que, what is this slot for?"

"That's for placing energy stones. Once an energy stone is placed, besides the basic environmental simulation, the cage can also provide suitable elemental energy, making it more conducive for tamed beasts to absorb and accelerating their growth."

"Energy stones? What are those?"

Luo Chen's numerous questions were starting to tire the Colorful Sound Spirit Finch. "Uh, energy stones are stones that contain energy."

Great. That explanation was as good as no explanation at all.

It was probably like someone asking Luo Chen what money was—a question about common knowledge.

Luo Chen didn't ask further. Instead, he and Luo Yang went to the other cages containing strange fish and activated the environmental simulation function. Sure enough, the living environment inside each changed to an aquatic one.

After finishing with the strange fish cages, Luo Chen curiously went to the Fragrant Rabbit's cage and activated the environmental simulation function. As expected, the environment inside the cage changed.

However, it didn't fill with water. Instead, it transformed into a grassland. The grass was short, retaining the appearance of green grass while preventing the Fragrant Rabbit from hiding beneath it, making it difficult to observe from outside the cage.

The environment inside the Frost Wolf's cage changed to an icy plain with some snow covering the ground. The previously listless Frost Wolf actually showed signs of comfort in this harsh environment.

The environment inside the Lightning Rat's cage changed the most. Apart from the side facing outward for observation, the rest was covered in peculiar ore. The Lightning Rat, shedding its previously lazy demeanor, excitedly scurried about inside.

Seeing all this, Luo Chen also marveled at the thoughtfulness of the shop's facilities. This would greatly help prevent tamed beasts from developing psychological issues while in the shop.

After all, psychological problems in tamed beasts were difficult to treat. A suitable living environment could at least prevent such issues from arising due to living conditions.