Beast Taming: I Can Add Points

[Gou of Gou Mao]: To be honest, I only know the plot about half an hour before the readers.

[Wu Bao]: Don’t you get writer’s block then?

[Gou of Gou Mao]: Of course I do. In fact, I get it all the time!

[Wu Bao]: So how do you usually deal with writer’s block when you get it?

[Gou of Gou Mao]: Just plagiarize the book reviews.

[Gou of Gou Mao]: The comment section is full of geniuses. Every single one of them is a better writer than me, and you can even get lewd pictures for free. Why wouldn’t I do it?~

[Wu Bao]: Th-that makes sense.

[Gou of Gou Mao]: Ahahahahaha~

The two authors chatted happily all afternoon. By communicating with the famous web novel superstar, Gou of Gou Mao, Wu Bao felt as if the gates to a new world had opened.

[Wu Bao]: Can I really plagiarize?

[Wu Bao]: I saw a comment telling my protagonist to take that whole nest of female Black Fighting Emperors for himself.

[Gou of Gou Mao]: The answer is obvious—

[Wu Bao]: I can?

[Gou of Gou Mao]: You can’t.

[Gou of Gou Mao]: Readers are here for your stat-allocating, leveling-up story. That’s your core appeal.

[Gou of Gou Mao]: If you start a harem, you’re straying from the main theme. The story will fall apart.

[Wu Bao]: But your book is clearly wuxia, and your protagonist has several female leads.

[Wu Bao]: It looks like the response in the review section is great.

[Gou of Gou Mao]: Ummm...

[Gou of Gou Mao]: It’s not out of the question to add a bit of romance.

[Gou of Gou Mao]: Some readers clamor for "no female lead" stories because most authors are bad at writing them. If they encounter a well-written one, they’ll still end up loving it.

[Gou of Gou Mao]: For some books, romance isn’t the core, but if the romance is written well enough, readers will accept it.

[Gou of Gou Mao]: But... from a Pet Beast’s perspective, taking other Pet Beasts as a harem, writing lewd scenes about Pet Beasts... that style might be a little too avant-garde for humans...

[Wu Bao]: ...

[Gou of Gou Mao]: Speaking of which, your writing style is actually well-suited for romance plots. At least, you’d be much better at it than me.

[Wu Bao]: /sigh

[Gou of Gou Mao]: Hey, it’s not entirely impossible.

[Gou of Gou Mao]: Actually, you currently have a problem similar to the mega-hit >. Your pacing is too dense. It’s all substance, one dungeon after another with no transition. It can be a bit tiring to read. It’s just that your personal skill is so strong, and you have so much you *can* write about, that it masks this flaw.

[Gou of Gou Mao]: Even though your story is from a Pet Beast’s main perspective, the Pet Beast’s Beast Tamer has a role to play, right?

[Gou of Gou Mao]: Perfect! In between dungeons, you can use the Pet Beast’s perspective and psyche to write a romance plot. It’ll fit your unique style perfectly!

[Wu Bao]: Waku waku! You’re a superstar for a reason!

[Gou of Gou Mao]: /grin

[Wu Bao]: But... I...

Wu Bao hesitated, words caught in his throat.

’I only know the details when it comes to Pet Beasts. I have no idea what the details are for humans... Writing about *that sort of thing* is a bit much to ask of a Black Fighting Emperor...’

[Gou of Gou Mao]: Art imitates life. Just be more observant in your daily life /smirk

"..." Wu Bao was lost in thought.

’Makes sense. I’ll have to observe Su Zhi and Shao Ya more closely from now on.’

’Actually, he felt it would be better to observe Su Mao and Wang Sujuan, but sometimes they drew the curtains so tightly at night that it obstructed his normal academic activities.’

’Honestly, what’s there to hide? Are they trying to guard against a Black Fighting Emperor, too?’

[Gou of Gou Mao]: Oh, right. I remember you’re not that old.

[Gou of Gou Mao]: You don’t really get it, do you? /smirk/smirk/smirk

[Gou of Gou Mao]: I happen to have a few Gigs of "study materials." Want me to send them over for you to take a look?

[Wu Bao]: Study materials? Are they about web novels?

[Gou of Gou Mao]: Thinking too small~ Way more exciting than web novels~ It can even teach you how to be a "Dua" Boy!

[Wu Bao]: "Dua" Boy?

[Gou of Gou Mao]: My.Moms.Friend.avi (1.8G)

[Gou of Gou Mao]: /smirk

Little question marks appeared above Wu Bao’s head.

’From the looks of it, this material must be about family sociology, right?’

And so, in the spirit of investigating things to acquire knowledge, he downloaded and unzipped the file, obtaining a short video that was several hours long.

And then...

As he observed the meticulously organized "study materials," Wu Bao’s mind was profoundly shaken.

’Didn’t see it clearly. Rewind and watch it again...’

[Gou of Gou Mao]: My son’s back, I’m going to make dinner.

[Gou Mao]: Talk to you later, ’kay? We can open a "full attendance" room tonight /smirk

Taking his hands off the keyboard, Su Mao looked refreshed and invigorated.

Chatting with the younger generation was really something else. He’d been infected by the other’s vibrant, energetic aura.

The thought that he had helped an ignorant young man achieve enlightenment today filled the middle-aged man’s heart with a burgeoning sense of pride.

’Alright, no slacking off today. Time to write!’

Meanwhile, Wu Bao remained frozen in the garage for a good while, his eyes glued to the screen of the "study materials."

That is, until Su Zhi knocked loudly on the roll-up door—BANG BANG—and pulled it open. "What are you doing, Wu Bao? It’s time for dinner."

"Woof!"

Wu Bao quickly hid the tablet under his butt and gave an honest, simple-looking nod. He breathed a sigh of relief after Su Zhi left.

’Huh? Wait, dinner...’

Wu Bao’s eyes went wide.

’Damn it! I chatted with Gou Mao from morning till night, and even watched the study materials twice, but I haven’t written a single word!’

’AHHHHHHH I’M GONNA DIE!!!’

...

「Late at night.」

Shan Bao was practicing Super Heavy Gold Fall, and Yu Bao was using Yellow Earth Wall to hold Shan Bao up, practicing its ability to release the Yellow Earth Wall while under a heavy load.

Before, it used to hold up Su Zhi, but now it discovered that Shan Bao was much better—much heavier than Su Zhi.

’This Su Zhi guy is so lame.’

"Don’t @ me," Su Zhi said, giving Yu Bao a deadpan look before continuing to pack his luggage for the trip in two days.

’Wu Bao was holed up in the garage doing who-knows-what, but he was probably studying too.’

’Yep, everyone is deep in their own pursuits!’

"Done." After confirming he had packed all the daily necessities for the trip to Hundred Rivers, Su Zhi let out a sigh of relief and sat on his bed.

’Packing is even more exhausting than reviewing a match. It used to be so much easier. Even if I was careless and forgot something, she would have it prepared for me...’

’Stop.’

’Are you really going to let that bad woman have you wrapped around her finger?’

’Su Zhi, oh, Su Zhi, you can’t go on like this!’

At this thought, Su Zhi’s expression turned solemn, and he felt his motivation surge once more.

Then, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

"Shan Bao, don’t sleep. Open the Flash Gold Flash Space."

"Chirp?"

After shaking the special products purchased from the Fish Dragon Race out of Shan Bao, Su Zhi tossed Shan Bao aside and picked up one of the "balls of yarn"—the Fuzzy Sea Grass—rubbing his hands together like a fly.

’Next step, the crochet hook...’

’Tsk tsk, perfect in one go! I’m a natural, a true genius with my hands!’

Full of motivation, Su Zhi opened a five-minute, step-by-step tutorial video on "the little broken station."

Five minutes later...

"Finally, trim the excess yarn, and your cute cat paw gloves are all done~" the young lady in the video said, holding up the finished cat paw gloves.

A pure white base with tender pink pads—absolutely adorable.

"..." Su Zhi looked at the tangled mess of yarn in his hands, a herd of alpacas stampeding through his mind.

’This tutorial video is unbelievable. It mentions a step for a split second and then skips right past it, as if terrified I might actually understand. No wonder it’s only five minutes long...’

’I just want to knit a pair of gloves! It looked so simple in the video, so why is it harder than Beast Taming now that I’m actually doing it??’

’With hand movements that leave afterimages even at 0.5x speed, when in the hell am I ever going to learn this?!’

’I’m tired. Let the world burn...’

Su Zhi tossed the ball of yarn aside, slumped bonelessly into his chair, and sighed.

Shan Bao hopped over curiously and started playing with the Fuzzy Sea Grass, poking at it with her feet. She accidentally spun around a few times and got tied up by the grass. The more she struggled, the more tangled the yarn became, until she was wrapped up like a zongzi, with only her little head sticking out, bobbing back and forth.

’So cool! Su Zhi must be planning to use this Fuzzy Sea Grass as a new type of training equipment, right?’

Shan Bao was overthinking things. Su Zhi untangled her, let out a long breath, and psyched himself up again.

’What’s so hard about knitting a glove? I’ll learn!’

’There’s still more than half a year until March 1st. There’s no way I won’t be able to learn by then.’

At this thought, Su Zhi rubbed his face and was about to buy a bottle of tropical-flavored iced black tea to keep going. Just then, his phone vibrated. A Huajing Cat avatar popped up in a notification at the top of his screen.

[Shao Ya]: Ura!

[Shao Ya]: What’s Su Baby up to?

[Su Zhi]: Packing.

[Shao Ya]: Mm, not bad~ Su Baby’s all grown up, packing his own luggage now.

[Su Zhi]: huajing_cat_with_paws_tucked_in.jpg

’Heh, this little vixen. Always talking to him in a condescending tone, even though she’s no better herself.’

’Just you wait. Sooner or later, I’ll have you wrapped around *my* finger for once!’

His gaze fell on the Fuzzy Sea Grass on the table, and Su Zhi’s lips curled into a smug smile.

Even though he was still completely clueless, he was filled with confidence, as if he had already finished knitting the gloves.

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