70: Chapter 70 new map loaded successfully!

August 24th, early morning.

The sky was slightly bright, and the morning breeze carried a hint of chill.

In the Lin family's small living room, the atmosphere was a bit different.

A suitcase leaned against the wall, bulging with clothes and daily necessities packed by Liu Hui overnight, as well as the training equipment Lin Chen had prepared himself.

Liu Hui stood in front of Lin Chen, her eyes slightly red, rambling the same instructions she had repeated countless times:

"You must eat on time when you're out there, don't just focus on training and forget to rest. Get along well with your classmates, and ask your teachers more... Is the money enough? Should Mom transfer you some more?"

"Mom, it's enough, really enough. I'll take good care of myself, don't worry." Lin Chen listened patiently, nodding again and again.

Lin Jianjun stood to the side. He didn't say as much as his wife, just silently checking if Lin Chen had left anything behind.

He looked up at his son, who was half a head taller than him. His lips moved, but in the end, he just gave Lin Chen's shoulder a firm pat: "When you arrive, send a message to let us know you're safe, call home often, and don't be like your sister."

"I know, Dad." Lin Chen responded earnestly.

Beside the sofa, the Flame Claw Beast was hugging a large meat bun, working hard at it, its mouth covered in grease.

Whenever the Flame Claw Beast was happy, it would shake its head, wave its claws around, and make strange gurgling sounds.

The Songsong Dog stayed close to Lin Chen's calf, not leaving his side for a moment.

To it, it didn't matter where they were going, as long as it could stay by Lin Chen's side.

A week passed in the blink of an eye; today was the day Lin Chen headed to Qiming City.

Yesterday, he had made a special trip to Qingyang Town to visit Uncle Wang, who had taken care of the Songsong Dog, and also went to the Beast Control Bureau to officially say goodbye to his colleagues and seniors, Zhang Zhi and Old Liu.

Just as Liu Hui's instructions came to an end, his phone rang.

The caller ID showed — Big Sister.

Lin Chen was stunned for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face, and he answered the call.

"Hey, Sis."

From the other end of the line came Lin Yue's voice: "Little brother? What are you doing? Is school about to start? I remember your academy is registering around these few days, right?"

"Sis, you finally remembered to ask. It's today, I'm just about to head to the station."

Lin Chen laughed.

After his sister started her internship, her contact with the family had been minimal; the last time was when he received an award.

At that time, Lin Yue was surprised after hearing the news and even sent a large red envelope.

"Ah? Today? So soon?"

Lin Yue was clearly surprised, her voice tinged with apology, "I've been too busy lately, and plus over here... um, the signal is spotty, so I haven't had much chance to contact you all. Are Mom and Dad okay?"

Lin Chen turned on the speakerphone and placed the phone on the table.

Lin Jianjun's expression turned stern suddenly: "Xiao Yue, be honest, where exactly are you interning? What kind of organization has no cell signal?"

The Donghuang Federation had well-developed infrastructure; even in the outskirts of the wilderness, there was signal.

Unless it was deep in the wilderness, or abroad.

Lin Yue on the other end was clearly caught off guard by her father's barrage of questions, stammering:

"Uh... Dad, Mom, I'm fine, really. It's just that the nature of the work is quite special."

She tried to gloss over it, but the hesitation and concealment in her tone were obvious.

Lin Jianjun's expression was serious, unmoved: "Can it be more special than my work? Don't try to brush it off this time."

After a slight pause, he softened his tone and sighed: "Your mother and I respect your choices, but you should also understand our feelings."

"We can't reach you a few times a month, and the work content is vague. How can you expect us not to worry?"

The other end of the line fell silent, with only heavy breathing audible.

After a long while, Lin Yue's voice finally came through: "Mom and Dad, actually, I'm interning at the Special Defense Bureau."

The Special Defense Bureau?

Hearing this, Lin Jianjun was stunned.

The Special Defense Bureau was undoubtedly a good organization, with an administrative rank equivalent to the Beast Tamer Association, a place every graduate dreamed of joining.

But why was there no signal at the Special Defense Bureau?

Lin Yue's voice rang out: "To be more precise, it's a newly established department under the Special Defense Bureau, but the work involves confidentiality protocols, so I can't disclose it."

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm doing well and it's safe here, except for the poor living conditions."

Lin Jianjun and Liu Hui fell silent.

Lin Chen spoke up abruptly: "Sis, the department you're interning at is the Rift Investigation Department, right?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the line went dead silent.

A full three or four seconds passed before Lin Yue's surprised voice rang out:

"How did you know?!"

Lin Chen replied: "Because I signed an agreement a while ago and I'm now an intern agent for the Rift Investigation Department. We might even be colleagues in the future."

The name "Rift Investigation Department" did not involve confidentiality protocols; only its work content was top secret.

"..."

On the other end of the line, there was an even longer silence.

After a long while, Lin Yue seemed to find her voice, her tone filled with absurdity:

"You... you signed an internship agreement?"

To join this department, she had passed layer after layer of assessments and eliminated countless competitors before luckily becoming an intern agent.

And wasn't the minimum internship standard for this department an Intermediate Beastmaster?

"I became a Primary Beastmaster." Lin Chen gave the simplest and most direct reason, "So they invited me to participate in the internship."

"..."

On the other end of the line, there was silence for the third time.

Lin Chen could even hear Lin Yue taking deep breaths on the other end, one, two... as if trying hard to digest this overly shocking information.

After a long while, Lin Yue's voice sounded: "Meaning, you became a Primary Beastmaster in less than two months?"

"Correction, it's 44 days." Lin Chen smiled.

Lin Yue: "..."

Lin Yue: "Dad, Mom, did you put all your talent points into him when you gave birth to my little brother?"

After some banter, Lin Chen spoke seriously: "Sis, stay safe."

Since his sister was also an intern member of the Rift Investigation Department, she would inevitably have to deal with the Dark Species, but she was only a small Intermediate Beastmaster.

Oh, he forgot, he was still just a Primary Beastmaster.

"Mm, I know, you too." Lin Yue responded, her voice gradually filled with laughter, "By the way, I didn't expect you to be so talented, little brother. Work hard and become a high-level official soon."

"Your sister here doesn't want to work hard anymore."

The journey to the Qiming Beast-Taming Academy was more arduous than imagined.

Lin Chen first took a train to Qiming City, then rode a flying pet that received freshmen for about an hour, arriving at the Qiming Beast-Taming Academy, located among the mountains, in the evening.

Upon arriving at the academy, he quickly completed his enrollment registration and learned of his accommodation: Dormitory Building 13 in the South Campus.

"The dorms are two-person rooms, small detached buildings with independent bathrooms and small balconies. The South 3 area was newly built this year, the conditions are very good." The teacher handling the procedures added with a smile.

Following the road signs, he walked towards the South Campus.

The academy felt even larger inside than it looked from the air, with lush trees, clean roads, and various functional buildings distributed reasonably. After walking for nearly twenty minutes, he finally arrived at an area with dozens of two-story small buildings with a unified style and simple, modern exteriors.

Lin Chen quickly found the small building marked with the number "13".

It was a two-story building with off-white exterior walls, a dark gray slanted roof, and floor-to-ceiling windows. There was even a small private lawn in front, separated from the adjacent building by a low fence, offering good privacy.

Lin Chen used his campus card to unlock the door and pushed it open.

The first floor was a living room, an open kitchen, and a bathroom. The decoration was simple and bright, and the furniture was complete. The stairs led to the second floor, which was clearly where the bedrooms were located.

He had just put down his luggage when he heard footsteps on the stairs.

A boy walked down from the second floor.

This person had a slender and well-proportioned figure, wearing soft, light gray casual clothes.

He had a handsome face, fair skin, and exquisite features that were almost pretty. He had long, shoulder-length ink-black hair, tied back with a simple dark blue hairband, with a few loose strands hanging casually by his temples.

Seeing Lin Chen, an extremely enthusiastic smile bloomed on his face, his voice clear and bright:

"You finally arrived."

He walked up to Lin Chen and reached out his hand very naturally:

"Hello, hello! My name is Yun Chuxiu, 'Yun' as in white clouds, 'Chu' as in to come out, and 'Xiu' as in mountain peaks! We'll be roommates from now on, please take care of me!"

Yun Chuxiu?

Lin Chen was slightly taken aback; the name was quite unique.

"Lin Chen, please take care of me." Lin Chen responded calmly.