Beast Taming: I Can Add Points

Wang Haokun pushed up his glasses. "You can never be too careful."

Chen Xinghao shrugged, as if to say, ’Suit yourself.’

"As for Su Zhi, we’ll need to keep a close watch on him over the next few days. When it comes to that guy... we can’t let our guard down for a second."

At the mention of this, the corner of Wang Haokun’s mouth twitched.

The memory of being spectacularly outplayed during the mock tournament began to assault him once more.

Even though Chen Xinghao would be the one facing Su Zhi, Wang Haokun still stuck to his guns: playing it safe was paramount.

When facing an opponent who doesn’t play by the book, you can never be too careful. Just when you think he’s out of tricks, he’ll pull out another, even bigger surprise.

"Alright. I think you’re being a little paranoid, but since our opponent is Su Zhi, I guess this level of caution is justified."

Chen Xinghao glanced at the list of precautions on the paper, then looked up. "Anything else?"

Wang Haokun tapped the spot between his eyebrows, seemingly trying to remember.

Just then, a student raised his hand. "What about ringers? Do you think they’ll bring in outside help?"

"That’s a good point. They are a bit short-handed."

Chen Xinghao nodded in agreement, then raised an eyebrow. "But if I recall correctly, any ringers have to be officially enrolled in a school within the city. They also can’t be exchange students at other universities in Shanyou. Besides the ones they managed to scrape together, does Huai City even have any other decent students?"

Wang Haokun shook his head. "Not necessarily. Some students are enrolled in Huai City but are attending school out of province. That situation would fit the rules."

Chen Xinghao laughed. "Hardly anyone studies out of province, unless their guardian has a special job. And even if someone like that exists, why would they be willing to join their team? I really don’t think it’s worth worrying about."

"...Alright, we’ll table the idea of a ringer for now. If they show up with one during the selection tournament, it won’t be too late to come up with a counter-strategy."

Having said that, Wang Haokun let out a long sigh, slapped his pen onto the desk, and finally broke into a relieved smile.

He had considered the expected and the unexpected. This time, his plan was truly foolproof.

The group raised their glasses, which were filled with juice.

"These last few days of training have been tough on everyone. Victory in the selection tournament is within our grasp! Let’s all give it our all for this final battle!"

"Hoorah!"

CLINK! The crisp sound of glasses tapping together echoed through the room at the Shanda University Affiliated School, as if foretelling the battles to come.

·

「Huai City First Middle School Dorm Room」

"ACHOO!" Su Zhi sneezed, his brow furrowing.

’The timing on that sneeze was a little different from the others... Who’s thinking about me now?’

Shao Ya blinked. "Su Baby, did you catch a cold? Are you feeling alright?"

"I’m fine, I’m fine." Su Zhi glanced at Xiaoyue, who was beside her, and chuckled. "Why not let Xiaolan out? What’s she doing hiding in your Beast Taming Space?"

Shao Ya smiled helplessly. "Xiaolan says it’s her first time in a Beast Taming Space and she finds it fascinating. She insists on having a good look around before she comes out."

Su Zhi raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "Elaborate on ’good look around’?"

"Stop being dirty! I oughta punch you!" His comment made Shao Ya’s cheeks flush red.

’Su Zhi has been making so many more dirty jokes lately. I wonder who corrupted my Su Baby. Come to think of it, he has been hanging out with Liu Yuhang a lot...’

’Hmph! It’s all Liu Yuhang’s fault!’

Fang Yuan raised his hand, a look of resignation on his face. "Uh, sorry to interrupt, you two, but from what I know about the Shanda University Affiliated School, Chen Xinghao and his team are probably working on a strategy to use against us right now. If we make it to the finals and face them, it’s going to be a tough fight."

Su Zhi stopped messing around and nodded. "The others are one thing, but the one I find most troublesome is Chen Xinghao’s Thunder Qilin Beast. I faced him at summer camp, and it’s an incredibly powerful Pet Beast. What’s even more baffling, though, is his Beast Taming Talent."

"Back then, I was teamed up with a Stone Armor Rhinoceros against him. It was a tough battle. Just as the Stone Armor Rhinoceros was about to knock the Thunder Qilin Beast out of the arena, it somehow managed to stabilize itself in a bizarre way, then turned the tables and won the match in one fell swoop."

"Yeah, I saw that final match too! Chen Xinghao’s Thunder Qilin Beast definitely left a strong impression on me."

Shao Ya tilted her head. "Maybe it’s a gravity-control Talent? Like Shan Bao’s Super Heavy Gold Fall?"

Su Zhi shook his head. "I don’t think so. I talked to my teammate after the match, and we were able to rule out anything related to gravity. But as for what it actually is, we couldn’t figure it out."

A brief silence fell over the living room.

"Woof!" Yu Bao, however, just waved its paw with a placid expression, as if to say it wasn’t a big deal.

A hint of a smile appeared in Su Zhi’s eyes. "And what has the Great Sage Yu figured out now?"

"Woof woof." Yu Bao seemed to say, ’You wouldn’t get it even if I told you. Never mind.’ It then turned and trotted into the bedroom.

"Cheep!" Shan Bao chirped, watching Yu Bao’s retreating figure with a look of pure adoration.

"..." Su Zhi was speechless.

"Alright, alright, Su Baby, don’t be like that." Torn between laughter and tears, Shao Ya patted Su Zhi’s shoulder. "There’s no time to waste. Let’s work out our own strategy!"

"Aren’t we waiting for Liu Yuhang and Katie?"

"Nah, it’s fine!"

And so, everyone logically proceeded to ignore a certain classmate with the surname Liu, hunching over the table to discuss their strategy.

...

「11:00 AM」

"Alright, that’s the plan!"

After a lengthy discussion, the group reached a consensus.

Unlike the clear, detailed tactics of the Shanda University Affiliated School, Su Zhi’s approach—heavily influenced by Liu Junpo’s unorthodox teaching—was to simply establish a few general guidelines.

It’s hard to say which method is better, but most Professional Beast Tamers lean toward the latter, which allows for greater flexibility in the heat of battle. The trade-off is that it’s much harder to execute. The "by-the-book" types who are just good at passing tests are completely unsuited for it.

Fortunately, none of them were what you’d call "proper" students.

Just then, Liu Yuhang pushed the door open. "I’m back..."

The listless Liu Yuhang was laden with shopping bags in both hands, wearing the dead-eyed expression of a man who had nothing left to give.

Katie trailed behind him, chin held high with a smug, self-satisfied look in her eyes.

The others watched the pair, trying to suppress their laughter.

Su Zhi tucked his hands in his pockets. "Well, well? If it isn’t our esteemed class rep. Haven’t seen you all morning. How’d you get so pathetic?"

Shao Ya grinned at Katie. "So, how was he?"

Katie hitched up her pants and gave a shrug, as if to say, ’Just okay.’

Liu Yuhang said wearily, "What the f—"

Katie: "Hmm?"

Liu Yuhang’s expression instantly switched to a grin. "It was my honor to be of service to my new teammate."

Katie nodded with satisfaction. The others burst out laughing, and a joyous mood filled the dorm room.

Fang Yuan chuckled for a moment before his smile faded. He had only been laughing to go along with the group, not because he genuinely found it amusing.

"By the way," Fang Yuan said, "while you two were having your ’quality time,’ we already worked out our strategy for the upcoming matches."

Liu Yuhang’s eyes went wide. "Hey!"

Su Zhi clapped him on the shoulder. "Don’t worry about it. No need to thank me, it’s just a captain doing his duty!"

’I was trying to say, how could you make a strategy without me...?’ Liu Yuhang had a million complaints but didn’t know where to begin. Su Zhi had already shoved the battle plan into his hands, stretched, and headed out the door with the others.

"You two have fun chatting. We’re off to get lunch."

Liu Yuhang reached out to stop them. "Wait! Who eats lunch at eleven—"

"We follow our hearts! We eat when we want, even if the time isn’t right! This—is youth!" Cao Mingyu declared, his eyes blazing, as he pulled his hand away and shut the door.

"..."

After standing frozen for a moment, Liu Yuhang sighed and looked down at the battle plan Su Zhi had left him.

Katie leaned in to look over his shoulder.

"Hmm, not bad," Katie commented. "Even though he didn’t ask us, this plan actually works really well for me."

"Yeah, Brother Shu has always been good at this kind of thing." Liu Yuhang turned to her, scratching his head. "Well, uh, I’m going to get some food..."

"Oh, go ahead."

"Are you eating?"

"No, you go ahead."

"Oh..." Liu Yuhang left.

Katie picked up her bags and headed to her room, covering her mouth with her hand to hide a smile.

’Heehee, he actually remembered to ask me this time.’

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