Pet King

Zhang Zian was both envious and full of hate for the lucky people who were able to pick up pearls while they were taking a walk along the beach.

Zian felt especially supportive of Fina’s opinion—one day, when power was in hand their hands, everyone that had found pearls would be sent to build the pyramids.

Binhai City was also by the sea, so there were stories there that people had managed to find pearls along the beach. Ever since Zian was a kid, he had always run up and down along the seashore, hoping that one day he, too, would pick one up––yet that wish of his never came true.

Zian let out a dry cough and said, “Even though it’s winter now and the weather is cold, it doesn’t mean that no one’s there to compete with us at the beach. If a shell with a huge pearl hidden within was washed ashore, we’re going to miss it just because we’re indoors. Aren’t we then just letting a 100 million dollars slip through our fingers? That’s not right––it’s 200 million in the United States dollar!”

Fina nodded. “That’s true. Although this queen is more fond of diamonds, pearls are nice, too.”

Snowy Lionet quickly interrupted. “Your Highness! Don’t be misled by the sweet talking of a stinking man! Even if there were pearls on the beach, it’s not assured that you would be able to find one just by going down!”

“It’s true that you might not be able to find one, but if you don’t give it a try, you will never find one ever,” Zhang Zian said, adding in a phrase that could be found in every Chicken Soup for the Soul book.

Snowy Lionet glared at him.

Zian continued with his persuasion. “No one has visited this beach since the beginning of winter, and for months, the waves have been washing onto the beach. Who knows, there might be a big shell that has been washed ashore and is still waiting to be found…”

Fina promptly made its decision and said, “No need for further words––this queen shall take a walk along the beach. This queen would not sleep well knowing that there might be a big pearl out there that would slip through our fingers if we did not go!”

Zhang Zian heaved a sigh of relief, silently giving himself a thumbs up in his heart. His idea had killed two birds with one stone––he managed to get Fina away from the fireplace, and he diverted her attention from the diamonds to the pearl. If they didn’t find a single pearl on the beach, then the blame could only be put on their luck and not on him.

“Ga ga! Going to the beach and you’re not taking me along?” Flapping its wings, Richard swayed its way into the living room. “I just went to relieve myself after having too much food and now you’re planning to discard me after you’re done using me?”

“It’s too cold by the beach, so I would suggest that it’s best if you didn’t go,” Zhang Zian said as he moved to the side, not letting Richard land on his shoulders. Only God would know if it cleaned itself after relieving itself.

Richard rolled its eyeballs. “Ga ga! I know what’s on your mind. Aren’t you just afraid that I’ll mess things up for you during your encounter with a naked beauty? Don’t worry, I won’t pull such a wicked move and interfere in the relationships of others! Besides, they speak all different kinds of language here in Europe––what if you meet a tall, green-eyed, busty blonde, a Eastern European beauty, yet you can’t make any moves on her because you can’t speak Russian?”

Zhang Zian did not believe that Richard was so kind, but what it said made sense, too. After giving it some thought, Zian agreed to let Richard tag along but also warned it not to spout any nonsense. Zian then threw Richard a towel for it to clean its butt.

As for Snowy Lionet, there was nothing much to be said; wherever Fina went, it would follow.

To prevent sand from getting into his shoes, Zian wore his boots and put on a down jacket. Of course, he did not forget to bring his binoculars, as well.

The weather outside was not as cold as Fina had expected. After all, the weather was really good; it was slightly cloudy and the wind wasn’t that strong. It was also late February, so the weather wasn’t as cold as it was during the real winter period.

They took a detour down the cliff and traversed the rugged reefs before they set foot on the beach. They then chose a direction at random and walked from the east to the west.

The elfins weren’t invisible. There wasn’t anyone else along the long coastline, so it made no difference whether or not they were invisible.

The sand on the beach was harder during winter. Only a faint line of footprints were left on the beach, unlike the beach during summer, where one’s feet would sink deep into the sand with each step.

“Famous, we’re going to play hide and seek. Are you joining us?” Zhang Zian asked.

Famous shook its head like a rattle drum and flatly refused. “Just pretend that I don’t exist.”

“Really? It’s such a pity… Galaxy, you can go and hide first, but don’t run too far.” Zian shut his eyes and said, “I’m going to start the count.”

“Meow!” Galaxy nimbly ran a distance away, as if its feet did not come in contact with the ground. It did not leave any pawprints on the beach.

Frothed with white foam, wave after wave of seawater washed onto the beach, carrying the taste of salt from the ocean.

As he continued to count, Zhang Zian walked forward with his eyes closed. There were no utility poles for him to crash into at the beach, so he was not worried.

While the other elfins were looking around and admiring the beauty of the beach, Fina kept her head down as it walked. If there was anything that resembled a shell, then Fina would dig it out with its claws to check it.

Seeing Fina behave in this manner caused Snowy Lionet to be overcome by sorrow and it cried out, “Your Highness! You’ve been fooled by this stinking man and can’t even think straight anymore!”

Fina thought differently. “This is the will of this queen, so what has it got to do with him? Since it’s an after-meal walk, it would not hurt to look for pearls along the way.”

Maybe because the area they were in was a holiday resort for the wealthy people of Berlin, the environment around the beach was well maintained. It was unlike a popular tourist spot back in China, where one could find a pile of rubbish just by digging a hole in the beach…

Old Time Tea stared at the endless sea. It watched on as the raging waves smashed themselves into tiny droplets of water when they met the unimpressive reef. As Old Time Tea lamented over the sight it saw, a thought appeared in its head. A thousand years ago, the reef might not have been so round and smooth, and a thousand years later, the reef would become power while the waves remained unchanged.

Having counted to a hundred, Zhang Zian opened his eyes, placed his hands together around his mouth, and shouted out loudly, “Galaxy, I’m coming! Be careful to not be found by me!”

His voice traveled far out on the open beach.

There was no response from Galaxy. Galaxy was not Pi––it wouldn’t be fooled by such a simple trick.

Zhang Zian was very confident in winning their game of hide and seek, as there weren’t too many places to hide on the beach. There weren’t any hiding places besides the gaps in the cliffs, behind the reef, or in the dry bushes.

Zian turned and looked at the sea. He recalled the various strange sea creatures he saw at Karl’s aquarium. Despite the great harvest in recent times, a problem still remained that was hard to solve: Where to bring in all the rare marine life?

There were some in Karl’s aquarium, but not all of them were suitable. Some of them carried a lethal poison or were very aggressive, and some were not able to escape the restrictions of the International Convention on Endangered Animals.

Karl had been honest with Zian; he had told Zian that it was difficult to acquire newly discovered marine life. He would either have to acquire it through a marine scientist or a research institute by means of private channels, or he would have to be well informed about any fishermen who had caught a strange fish. From there, he’d have to rush down immediately and buy it for a high price.

While Zhang Zian was wandering off in his own thoughts, a notification tone suddenly rang from his mobile phone. He unlocked the phone to see that it was an elfin detection message from <Pet Hunter>!

[Game Notification]: Detected the appearance of a rare pet in your city. It is up to the player to decide if they wish to proceed with the capture.

[Game Notification]: The following is the pet information:

[Pet Type]: Elfin.

[Rarity]: Epic/Legendary.

[Capture Difficulty]: Low.

[Threat level]: Low.