Su Ping pulled up the rolling shutter. Sunlight streamed into the shop, revealing dust floating in the air.
It clearly hadn’t been cleaned in a long time. A stench of urine and pet waste filled the air, sharp and unpleasant.
Su Ping held his breath slightly and frowned.
“Target range detected. Suitable soul confirmed. Initiating contract assessment…”
“Contract complete. System binding…”
“Binding complete. System activating…”
Suddenly, a cold mechanical voice echoed inside Su Ping’s mind.
A system?
Su Ping froze, then his eyes burst with bright light.
It had finally arrived…
As an otaku who spent all his time browsing the web for "knowledge," Su Ping was no stranger to systems. Overjoyed, he immediately asked about the system’s purpose.
“I am the Supreme Pet System, dedicated to nurturing the strongest pets in heaven and earth. My creed: All things can be nurtured; everything is a pet!”
A pet nurturing system?
Su Ping was astonished and clicked his tongue.
This system had quite the arrogant tone. If everything was a pet, did that include the grass and flowers by the road?
“Once flowers and plants awaken spirituality, they can also become pets. Grass-type and wood-type pets evolve from ordinary flora!” the system replied calmly.
Su Ping froze, staring. “You can read my thoughts?”
“I am soul-bound to the host. Naturally, I know your thoughts… Warning: One count of verbal abuse.”
Su Ping fell silent.
“The system is now active. The host must bind a pet shop of their own within 24 hours. Failure will result in system unbinding and memory erasure for the day,” the system announced again.
“Unbind the system?”
Su Ping’s eyebrows shot up. Strange as the system was, it was better than nothing.
“There’s a pet shop right in front of me. Can I bind it?” Su Ping inquired mentally.
“Binding available. Confirm?”
Su Ping confirmed at once.
The shop was his family’s, anyway. He could do as he pleased with it.
“Binding successful. Pet shop reconfiguring…”
“Establishing Pet Slots… Establishing Fosterage Positions… Establishing Breeding Plane Window…”
“Setup complete. Initiating tutorial mission…”
“Two pets detected in the shop. Select one pet and triple its original strength within one week to meet the system’s ‘Qualified’ standard.”
As the system finished speaking, Su Ping immediately felt the Star Pet shop change. The stinging smell of urine and feces was gone, and the interior looked far cleaner. Though the items remained the same, the place felt brand new.
“Triple a Star Pet’s strength… in just one week?”
Su Ping thought he’d misheard, or that the system had lost its mind.
How hard was it to raise a Star Pet’s power?
It was impossible without relentless hunting and training, or expensive Star Pet food.
Not to mention tripling its strength overnight—even a ten percent boost was incredibly difficult, let alone within a single week.
“What happens if I fail the mission?” Su Ping asked.
“The host will receive a random failure penalty, including Lightning Punishment, Purgatory t*****e, and Extreme Pain Experience,” the system stated.
Su Ping rolled his eyes. The names alone sounded terrifying.
“Can I switch missions?” he tried one last plea.
“No,” the system refused coldly. “Warning: Second count of verbal abuse.”
“…”