"Our son's birthday is tomorrow. He'll be cramming for the college entrance exams in the second half of the year. How much longer do we have to keep up this act?"
"Don't worry. Once I pretend to win the lottery, won't we have money to pick out a Pet Beast? Oh, right, what kind of Pet Beast should we get for our son?"
"A young Iron Gall Lone Dragon with a Sub-dragon Bloodline, of course. Our son would never imagine that our family could afford a Sub-dragon Pet."
As Mrs. Gu spoke, the Hidden Mist Butterfly on her fingertip materialized, revealing its beautiful purple wings and a dreamlike glow.
That's right. The Gu Family wasn't on welfare, but they weren't top-tier millionaires either.
Both parents were local Five-star Beastmasters who had contracted several Four and Five-star Pet Beasts. They were a middle-class family with thirty million in savings.
As early as fifteen years ago, they felt their own family's growth had hit a ceiling, and they could no longer break through to a higher Domain.
They decided to raise their son in poverty, cultivating him to have a will of steel and a faith of iron.
After covering the daily expenses for their Pet Beasts, the couple, with their million-a-year salaries, saved up over a decade's worth of wealth to give their son a brilliant starting point on his eighteenth birthday.
To this end, starting on their son's third birthday, they staged one gambling scene after another, complete with casino bosses and a group of actors showing up at their door to demand payment for debts.
Although they were almost exposed several times, they always managed to pull through.
Thankfully, Mrs. Gu's Five-star Hidden Mist Butterfly possessed powerful Illusion and Space Abilities; otherwise, it would have been truly difficult to keep the secret.
You might be wondering, was it worth all this trouble?
They felt it was well worth it.
After all, their son was first in the written exams at Qing Lake High School and had never once fallen from the top spot for three whole years.
Gu Ming studied until midnight every day and woke up at five in the morning to exercise. He was either on his way to his part-time job, or on his way to study and train. His life was filled with hard work and sweat; it was truly moving.
It was time to stage a coincidental lottery win and then buy their son a high-Potential Pet Beast.
Mr. Gu's daily gambling addiction was all part of the plan for this day.
Gambling every day and losing every day, then suddenly hitting the jackpot one day—it wasn't impossible. It was a matter of probability and wouldn't arouse their son's suspicion.
After winning, to prevent the two of them from squandering it, their son would definitely protect the money with all his might, making every penny count.
The couple could already envision the scene. At this thought, happy smiles appeared on both their faces.
As for why they waited until he was eighteen to execute the plan...
It was mainly because when it came to the Pet Beast Contract, the earlier wasn't necessarily the better.
A growing body of scientific evidence showed that a Pet Beast Contract required a significant amount of Spiritual Power.
If a child contracted a Pet Beast too early, it would consume a large amount of their Spiritual Power, potentially leading to intellectual disabilities in the still-developing child.
Therefore, it was best to form a Pet Beast Contract closer to adulthood. The later, the better. The priority was to allow the Beastmaster's brain to fully develop before forming a contract.
Of course, this didn't mean it was best to delay it for too long.
Once past the eighteen-year-old mark, delaying any further was pointless, as the body's Sea of Spiritual Consciousness would have already taken shape.
During the third year of high school, right after a student's eighteenth birthday or just before it, was the best time for them to contract a Pet Beast.
At this stage, contracting one Pet Beast was enough.
Contracting a second one still carried the risk of excessive consumption of the Sea of Spiritual Consciousness, which could lead to intellectual impairment. Only a very few lucky individuals would remain unscathed.
Similar news stories were broadcast on television year after year, so parents no longer pursued the goal of having their children own two Pet Beasts during high school.
"Speaking of which, where's our son? We should call him back. What if he's contracting a Pet Beast right now?"
"I think today is payday for him. He probably couldn't wait to go buy a Pet Beast."
"Oh no, how could I forget about that?"
Mrs. Gu slapped her thigh and exclaimed, not having considered this possibility.
Their image in their son's eyes was already in ruins. If he went to buy a Pet Beast, he definitely wouldn't invite them along.
'I hope he hasn't left to buy a Pet Beast yet.'
'That kid has been saving his scholarship money for years, constantly studying those low-potential, common Pet Beast nurturing plans. It's really been tough on him.'
...
「After a bitter and arduous battle, the elderly dragon, its Physical Strength depleted, was the first to admit defeat.」
「Who would have thought that you, at the age of fifty, would successfully defeat a menopausal, Zero-star Time Dragon and form a Pet Beast Contract with it!」
「The path of Old Deng's counterattack has officially begun!」
「Reward: Old Deng's Training Dreamscape! Achievement Points earned in reality can be exchanged for corresponding training time.」
「Contracted a Time Dragon. Achievement Points +1.」
"How do you feel after the contract?" Ruan Jing's voice sounded by his ear.
"I feel great. Thank you, Sister Ruan."
Gu Ming opened his eyes and saw the Little Cyan Snake resting on his left shoulder, affectionately nuzzling his ear.
To be honest, he hadn't battled the Little Cyan Snake at all; he had just played with it for a few minutes.
But in the eyes of the Old Deng system, it had turned into an incredibly intense battle of conquest.
'The system must be seriously messed up.'
But back to the topic at hand. Over the past three years, he had researched numerous Pet Beast nurturing plans, both expensive and cheap.
Sister Ruan's plan was one he had also considered, and one of the nurturing paths most suited for him.
There might be better, undiscovered plans out there.
But the Little Cyan Snake was a gift from the shop owner.
This meant he had saved a significant amount on startup funds.
So, Gu Ming didn't hesitate and formed the contract on the spot.
'I should just treat the system's notifications like a joke.'
'It's clearly a Grass Attribute Little Cyan Snake, the lowest of the low. It has absolutely nothing to do with a noble bloodline like the Dragon Race, yet the system insists on calling it an elderly dragon. That's just unbelievable.'
Gu Ming teased the Little Cyan Snake beside him and glanced at the time. The clock hand had passed twelve. He needed to go home, buy groceries, and cook.
"Sister Ruan, I'll head off from work now then?"
"Mhm, go ahead."
Sister Ruan waved her hand dismissively and returned to her workstation, stretching languidly out of boredom.
Sponsoring him had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. As for what would become of Gu Ming's future, she didn't have high hopes.
The path of a Beastmaster seemed full of opportunities for advancement, but the successive hurdles of nurturing costs invisibly held back the majority of ordinary people who lacked financial resources.
The social classes were already solidified. If someone were a true genius, they would have been discovered back in high school and signed to a genius contract.
From choosing a Pet Beast in their third year of high school to which Beast Taming University they'd attend, a series of plans would be laid out in detail all the way until their retirement decades later. There were no such things as undiscovered geniuses.
In such an environment, who could possibly break through the barriers relying solely on their own effort and sweat to become the new era's King of Beastmasters?
...
"Dad, Mom, the shop owner gave me a Little Cyan Snake! Look, it seems so clever."
Back home, Gu Ming couldn't help but show off to his parents.
Even though both of them were gambling addicts.
When they weren't gambling, they were normal parents.
They would show concern for him and even wake up early to exercise with him.
No matter how crazy their gambling got, they would at least leave a little money for groceries so he wouldn't starve.
Gu Ming had thought about it countless times.
'If only Mom and Dad didn't have a gambling habit, my family would be a happy and perfect one.'
Unfortunately, there were no "if onlys."
Just as he finished showing off the Little Cyan Snake in his hand, he saw a lottery ticket on the table.
"Dad, you went gambling again!"
Gu Ming's expression instantly darkened. The good mood from contracting his new pet was completely ruined in an instant.
"Son, you... you've already formed a contract?"
Mr. Gu suddenly stuttered, his face full of shock.
He pointed helplessly at his son's Pet Beast, his mouth hanging wide open.
When Gu Ming nodded with a dark expression, Mr. Gu let out a grief-stricken cry. He clutched his head with both hands and bowed it deeply, looking exactly like a gambler in his final moment of repentance.
As for Mrs. Gu, she was speechless. Her face was blank, stunned by this "pleasant surprise."
She just stood there dumbly, staring at the Little Cyan Snake in her son's hand.
Her expression gradually shifted to one of horror, as if her world was collapsing from the very start.
Seeing this, Gu Ming became furious.
He was the one among the three of them who should be the most furious, the one whose world should feel like it was caving in.
He knew his parents couldn't save money.
So he worked hard and saved money himself.
It wasn't much, but at least he could save it.
Watching his savings grow each month, along with the scholarship money he received from school, he believed he still had a future.
But then he came home and saw this.
His dad had gone out gambling again.
Even though his dad had knelt before him countless times, saying:
"I'll never gamble again!"
But as long as his dad had money in his pocket, he always did this, unable to resist squandering it.
His mom was just the same.
Her promises were worth about as much as a fart. She'd say she wouldn't spend money on mahjong again, but she'd be back at it the next time.
"Enough! I don't want to hear your apologies anymore!"
Gu Ming said coldly, tossing the words over his shoulder. He walked past the deeply regretful pair, about to enter his room.
Suddenly, he glimpsed a bank slip next to the lottery ticket.
'What's that?'
He stopped to take a look.
He hadn't meant to look closely, but one glance rooted him to the spot, making him take a second, and then a third look.
'Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands... ten million?'
"What is this?" Gu Ming asked hesitantly.
Being a smart kid, he vaguely sensed that he had gotten angry too soon.
"Son, our family... we won the lottery..."
His dad said with a tear-stricken face, his eyes fixed on the Little Cyan Snake in his son's hand as tears streamed down his cheeks.
"Waaaah—"
His mom, standing nearby, also covered her face and began to cry, even louder than his dad, like a collapsing dam.