Chapter 176 - 122: The Wandering King_2
“Boss Xu, I have come to deliver resources for you again.” The Leadership Level Beast Master who had delivered resources to Xu Ran last time laughed heartily, carrying a large alloy box, he walked into the shop, “It seems I’ve come at an inopportune time, you have a guest…”
Upon seeing Boss Cat inside the shop, the Beast Master’s voice abruptly stopped, his expression suddenly becoming strange.
“Your timing is perfect.” Xu Ran turned his head to glance at the deliverer, who he was meeting for the second time, and slightly sighed in relief, “This Leader Stage Pet Beast has no Beast Master, it’s wandering around the city.”
“I know.” The Leadership Level Beast Master nodded slightly, “The Beast Master Association is aware of this situation, let your Pet Beast discard its aura first.”
They knew?
Xu Ran exhaled in relief.
Since the Beast Master Association knew about it and yet had not taken any action, it suggested that the threat posed by these stray Pet Beasts was controlled.
He gestured at the still vigilant Ziyun.
“Meow-” (Alright then.)
Ziyun slowly calmed its aura, and Star, knowing what to do, gradually faded the auxiliary effect of the Twilight Watch.
The stagnant atmosphere in the shop gradually dispersed, and the deliverer placed the alloy box on the counter, “Boss Xu, please check it.”
Then, he walked directly towards Boss Cat, face full of smiles, and casually patted its shoulder, “What brings you here?”
It seemed Boss Cat also knew this Beast Master, its expression slightly eased as it started “meowing” in conversation with him.
On the other hand, Xu Ran opened the alloy box and checked the resources inside that emitted a strong energy fluctuation, then looked back to see the one-man-one-pet cordial conversation. An idea came to him.
“This senior, the checking is done, you can sign off now.”
“Alright.” The deliverer cheerfully stretched out the signing form.
“We’re meeting for the second time, how should I address you, senior?” Xu Ran asked while signing.
“Zhang Heyear.” The strong man retrieved the receipt, glanced at it, and nodded in satisfaction.
“Uncle Zhang, do you know Boss Cat?” Xu Ran asked the question that mattered most to him, “Why would a Leader Stage Pet Beast be wandering?”
“Well…” Zhang Heyear turned his head to look at Boss Cat and, upon seeing the cat nod, slowly started, “Actually, it was the Pet Beast of a late colleague of mine.”
“When one side dies in a Beast Master Contract, the other side does not die with them, so when the Beast Master dies accidentally, the Pet Beast regains its freedom.”
“Boss Cat and my former colleague had a deep bond, so after his untimely death, Boss Cat refused to contract with other Leadership Level Beast Masters and chose to live alone.”
“In this situation, the Beast Master Association allows a time of observation. Once it is confirmed that Boss Cat poses no threat to human society, it is left alone.”
“But even if a Leader Stage Pet Beast leaves its Beast Master and lives alone, it shouldn’t be roaming the streets, right?” Xu Ran glanced at Boss Cat once more, still a bit baffled.
“That was its decision.” Zhang Heyear shrugged, “In a sense, it could be said that it had contributed to the safety of Qingzhou City.”
“Contributing to public safety?” Xu Ran thoughtfully pondered.
“Before Boss Cat appeared, the stray Pet Beasts of Qingzhou City were a constant headache for the Beast Master Association.”
Zhang Heyear sighed slightly, “Those stray Pet Beasts have complicated origins.”
“A portion of them are beasts with defects bred by Pet Beast breeding bases due to illegal practices.”
“Another portion are those who lack survival skills after their Beast Masters die unexpectedly.”
“In addition, some of them are offspring of these beasts.”
“Without restraint, these stray beasts even harbor animosity towards humans.”
“Moreover, they are quite clever. They know that if they harm humans, the Association will take drastic measures to hunt them down, so they never harm humans and only steal.”
“The Association frequently receives complaints, but by the time our staff members arrive, they have already bolted. In the end, it’s the Association that compensates for losses and wraps up the case.”
“Over time, even the Association itself became exasperated.”
“This…” Xu Ran’s expression gradually became strange.
The stray beasts from before were like that?
“What about after Boss Cat arrived?” He couldn’t help but be curious.
“The change was dramatic.” Zhang Heyear laughed heartily, “Without the nurturing and investment of resources from a Beast Master, the stray beasts could never achieve Leader Stage through robbery.”
“So Boss Cat, being a Leader Stage beast, easily rounded up all the stray Pet Beasts.” Zhang Heyear glanced at Boss Cat, “Since then, the number of robberies by stray Pet Beasts has rapidly declined, there has almost been no such incident for nearly a year now.”
“Besides, stray pet beasts have become more friendly towards humans. In the recent months, there have already been five stray pet beasts contracted by Beast Masters, which was unimaginable before.”
“Meow-”
Not five, but six! Another one was contracted yesterday!
Boss Cat was standing aside, quietly listening to Zhang Heyear talking about his own affairs. At this moment, he suddenly corrected him, showing a slightly proud expression.
“Alright, that’s six then.” Zhang Heyear nodded, “Anyway, all of this was thanks to Boss Cat.”
“So, that’s how it is.” Xu Ran showed an enlightened expression, and his eyes looking at Boss Cat became a little bit more benign.
Ziyun, standing aside, no longer showed hostility after hearing Boss Cat’s story.
Thinking about it, the situations that it had heard from it’s other stray buddies had probably happened before Boss Cat’s arrival.
This was obviously a misunderstanding.
“Meow-” (Sorry, I got it wrong!)
It put its head down, looking a little ashamed, and started to apologize on its own.
“Meow-”
Boss Cat shook his head, apparently not minding the little interlude just now.
“As long as the misunderstanding is cleared, that’s good.” Zhang Heyear smiled, “Anyway, Boss Cat can be trusted, Boss Xu, you don’t need to worry too much.”
“Meow-”
Boss Cat suddenly gestured at Zhang Heyear a few times.
Although it was not his own pet beast, Zhang Heyear was quite familiar with Boss Cat, and quickly figured out what it meant.
“Boss Xu, Boss Cat would like to bring all the stray pet beasts here for a washing and protection session,” Zhang Heyear patted Boss Cat on the shoulder, “it wanted me to ask if there could be a discount. It doesn’t have that much money saved.”
“Meow-”
Boss Cat nodded, looking at Xu Ran with hopeful eyes.
“Discount…”
Looking at Boss Cat, Xu Ran suddenly laughed, “Let’s forget the discount.”
Before Boss Cat’s expression could turn disappointed, he leisurely added, “Just waive the fees.”
“Meow?!”
Really?
Boss Cat’s eyes lit up quickly.
“Really?” Even Zhang Heyear looked somewhat surprised.
The number of stray pet beasts in Qingzhou city was not small.
To waive all of their fees, Boss Xu would be giving up a large sum of money. “Right!” Xu Ran nodded seriously and spoke in a confident tone, “In order to express our care for the stray pet beasts, Starfire Foster Shop, as a socially responsible place, has launched a free washing and protection service for stray pet beasts!”
“All stray pet beasts can come to the shop for a free wash and protection, not just now but in the future too.”
“We hope that the relationship between pet beasts and human society can thus become more harmonious, and we also hope that more human Beast Masters will be willing to contract these stray pet beasts.”
“Good!” Zhang Heyear couldn’t help clapping, and his eyes looking at Xu Ran contained a bit more admiration, “Boss Xu, your level of ideological awareness is simply too high.”
“On behalf of the Association, I want to thank you for your contribution.”
“It’s my duty.” Xu Ran showed a warm smile, and then suddenly changed the topic, “In that case, can the Association help us publicize this on Qingzhou Daily, to encourage everyone to care about stray pet beasts?”
“It would be even better if they could mention the new accompanying training service launched by our shop.”
“Of course… Eh?”
Zhang Heyear blinked, showing a puzzled expression.