Chapter 291 - 290: Want a Contracted Beast?

Lu Qi snapped out of his excitement.

He opened his mouth to thank her, but when he turned, he saw Jian Yu walking forward with a stiff, uncoordinated gait.

Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were sparkling, and the corners of her eyes were a little red and teary.

"Junior Sister Jian, are you alright?"

Jian Yu looked up a beat later. "I’m... I’m fine."

’Just a little flustered.’

’It wasn’t my fight, so it felt a bit like I was sticking my neck out.’

’I freeze up just giving a presentation for a group project, let alone demanding justice for someone else.’

Jian Yu pressed her lips together and unclenched her fists. "I have something to do. I need to make a trip to Zone Five."

Lu Qi quickly said, "Then you should get going. I was just heading back to my dorm anyway."

After walking a short distance, Lu Qi stopped. "Um, my dorm is this way, too."

Jian Yu breathed a sigh of relief. "I’ll get going first, then."

"Okay." Lu Qi scratched his head, confused.

Jian Yu walked straight ahead, then used a few Instant Teleportations to turn right.

As she passed the Social Sciences Building, she heard two guys chatting idly.

"Bro, that person who just showed up at the Mission Administration was Jian Yu, right?"

"She even dares to mess with Zhao Yun. Who else could it be? Who would dare to impersonate her?"

"Senior Lin Yu doesn’t seem to be with her today. You think Chief Sheng and his group got tired of her? For someone like Lu Qi to catch her eye, she’s really not picky."

"I also didn’t expect her to hang out with a low-level guy like Lu Qi. No wonder I can’t bring myself to like her."

It was the first time Jian Yu had ever directly faced such baseless malice.

She lifted her gaze, her lips tightening into a thin line.

A torrent of curses scrolled through her mind, but she couldn’t find a single one suitable to retort with.

’If I can’t win with words, I can win with my hands.’

Jian Yu’s fingers twitched.

Just as she caught sight of Zhang Qin and Wang Hu rushing over, she hastily withdrew the attacking soul mist.

’I almost hit them by mistake.’

Zhang Qin flashed forward and punched each of them once.

Wang Hu had a string of grilled sausages hanging around his neck, which swayed twice as he charged forward.

He was also holding a pork knuckle. "Wow, Li Qi, your ’like’ for her is sooooo important."

He turned to Zhang Qin. "What should we do, Zhang? It looks like Yu can’t possibly go on living without their approval."

Zhang Qin’s fists landed with meaty thuds. "It’s always you two brothers starting shit."

Li Lu came forward to help.

Zhang Qin kicked him away. "Get lost if you don’t want to die. All you do is run your mouth all day. Why does it stink so much?"

Li Lu lay on his side on the ground, the pain causing his brain to short-circuit.

’Is my Spiritual Power Shield a little too brittle?’

Wang Hu took a bite of sausage. "If you’ve got the balls, say it to her face. What’s the point of talking behind her back, you cowards?"

Zhang Qin casually flung him aside.

Down went another.

"Zhang Qin, I really underestimated you," Li Qi said grimly, propping himself up with one hand.

Zhang Qin’s tone was disdainful, his gaze condescending. "And why the hell would I care if you think highly of me? Is that supposed to be some great honor?"

Wang Hu chimed in, "Exactly. Can you get us more High-level Beast Crystals? Or can you guarantee we get first place on every mission?"

Li Qi’s eyes were filled with malice. "You got first place by a fluke, and that’s all you can talk about."

His expression was mocking. "With a 3S Awakener like Chairman Sheng as a teammate, who couldn’t get first place? Jian Yu’s Healing Soul Beast? How powerful can it be? It’s just Sheng Yue building her up. You only have Chief Sheng following your team because Jian Yu is on it. You’re trying to step on us to curry favor with others, but you should take a look at whether they even acknowledge you."

Zhang Qin hauled him up and rained another flurry of punches on him. "Curry favor? I just wanted to beat the shit out of you."

Li Lu came to his senses. "Bro, hit him! We can take them! They don’t have Contracted Beasts yet!"

Two commands rang out simultaneously.

Two palm-sized Fog Lizards appeared at their feet.

Li Qi’s eyes were locked on Zhang Qin. "Bite him to death."

Their fluorescent green pupils lit up, and the scales on their bodies bristled.

The two Contracted Beasts lunged straight for Zhang Qin’s throat.

Their sharp claws tore through the air with an ear-piercing screech.

Wang Hu was startled and quickly pulled Zhang Qin back. "He’s serious!"

The two dodged.

The Contracted Beasts pressed their attack relentlessly.

Li Lu stood to the side, sneering triumphantly. "Watching you two scurry around, you really look like rats."

He lowered his voice. "Bro, they started it this time. Just act a little angrier. Once Zhang Qin is dead, no one will be able to hold us down. We can pretend it was an accident."

Li Qi’s eyes darted about as he secretly nodded in agreement.

He glanced at Zhang Qin’s sorry state and scoffed. "An S-Class versus a Level 2S—you should win for sure. But what if we add two Level 2S Contracted Beasts to the mix?"

"Then I’ll just sever your contract with them," Jian Yu said, stepping out from the shadows.

A red mist surged from all around, forcibly entering the bodies of Li Qi and his brother.

With two bloodcurdling screams, the Contract Chain that bound the Half-awakened to their Contracted Beasts was violently severed.

Zhang Qin froze. ’What kind of Skill is that? I thought she only had Healing and attack buffs?’

Wang Hu picked up the grilled sausages from the ground and blew on them. ’My sausages are dirty.’

"AHHH!!!" Li Qi clutched his head, his eyes wide with terror. His Spirit Domain throbbed with a pain like an electric drill boring into his skull.

He realized he had lost control of his Contracted Beast.

Blood trickled from the corner of Li Lu’s mouth. "Bro, what do we do? I don’t think I can sense my Contracted Beast’s aura anymore!"

Their family had gone to great lengths to find those beasts for them, and they had only forced the Contract three days ago!

Their eyes rolled back, and they collapsed, completely unconscious.

This left the two Fog Lizards tilting their heads in confusion.

’New master!’

They looked at each other, then scrambled up the hem of Jian Yu’s skirt, climbing all the way up to occupy her shoulders.

Lin Yu hurried over.

His voice was a mixture of gruff and gentle. "Junior Sister Jian."

Jian Yu stroked the Fog Lizards’ heads and looked up at Lin Yu with a perfectly well-behaved expression. "Senior Lin, they were spreading rumors about me."

Lin Yu nodded slightly. "Understood."

He glanced at the people on the ground and waved for someone to carry them away.

Zhang Qin and Wang Hu stood at a distance, their expressions friendly but with a hint of fear.

Lin Yu’s gaze first fell on the Fog Lizards on Jian Yu’s shoulders, then drifted lightly toward Zhang Qin and Wang Hu.

Jian Yu subconsciously shielded them a little. "I know them."

Lin Yu withdrew his scrutinizing gaze. "Chief Sheng is awake. I’ll take you to him now."

Jian Yu nodded. "Okay."

Zhang Qin waved.

As she walked past Zhang Qin and Wang Hu, Jian Yu couldn’t resist asking, "Do you guys want a Contracted Beast?"

She pointed to the two Fog Lizards, who were getting bolder by the second and had started climbing into her hair.