HLnovel Ch. 22 - My Journey is the Stars and Seas
Ch. 22 - My Journey is the Stars and Seas
Options appeared before Chen Shu again.[Accept Zhou Cheng's offer and become the company's dedicated Potion Master.]
Completion reward: All potion recipes unlocked, contract spirit consumption eliminated
[Politely refuse and firmly become a Beast Tamer.]
Completion reward: Medium amount of Beast Taming Power
Chen Shu made his choice almost without hesitation—he picked the second option.
Though the first reward was extremely tempting—unlocking it would instantly make him the world's top Potion Master—
What was the point?
In the end, Potion Masters always served Beast Tamers.
"Uncle Zhou, my destiny lies among the stars and seas.¹" Chen Shu refused.
"..." Zhou Cheng laughed. "Admirable! If you ever want to become a Potion Master, the company's doors will always be open for you." After a brief handshake, he turned to Xu Xiaoyu. "Xiaoyu, I didn't expect your school to have such talent. You should communicate more with Chen Shu and learn from him."
Even though Chen Shu had rejected the offer, Zhou Cheng wasn't ready to give up. If he could convince the boy to stay, he would be a veritable money tree for the company.
"It's closing time now. Need Uncle Zhou to give you a ride?" Zhou Cheng asked.
"No need, I'm leaving with my friend."
"That's fine too. Xiaoyu, see your classmate out." Zhou Cheng left the potion lab.
"I can't believe you can actually brew potions." Xu Xiaoyu studied him with newfound admiration. Although she was her grade's top student with prospects of getting into China Academy, she was completely clueless about potion-making. In fact, many college graduates were nowhere near his level, as they still needed years of practice and refinement.
"How could someone your age know how to brew potions?" Xu Xiaoyu was incredibly puzzled, finding it hard to understand.
"That goes back to when I was little."
The two walked and talked.
"That day, storm clouds gathered, the sky was dark, and violent winds and rain were approaching. I was walking down the road eating spicy strips."
Chen Shu seemed to be recalling that day.
"Suddenly, winds rose and clouds surged. Deep in the cloud layers, a golden dragon was faintly rolling—its mouth could easily fit an entire football field, looking terrifyingly huge."
"I seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up, locking eyes with the golden dragon. To my surprise, it spoke human words."
Chen Shu deliberately paused and swallowed.
"What happened next? What did it say? What did it say?" Xu Xiaoyu's eyes showed interest and curiosity.
"I'll remember the dragon's words for the rest of my life." Chen Shu pressed the elevator button for the first floor.
"It exclaimed in amazement: 'Incredible, incredible! Young man, there's a spiritual light shooting from your head—you're truly a once-in-ten-thousand-years genius! I have this priceless treasure called "The Art of Potion-Making." I see we're fated to meet, so I'll sell it to you for just ten yuan.'²"
Xu Xiaoyu fell completely silent.
What was I thinking...
"So you bought it for ten yuan? And then automatically learned potion-making?" Xu Xiaoyu's head was lined with black lines as she frowns.
"You think I'm stupid?" Chen Shu said. "I questioned it right away—what kind of junk costs that much?"
"Who knew the golden dragon would writhe and roar: 'Holy crap, you think I'm some jianghu swindler? We intellectuals have integrity!'"
"..." Xu Xiaoyu rubbed her head. My head really hurts.
"I can verify it's true—I was that dragon." A voice suddenly rang out.
Zhang Dali in his security uniform walked over with complete seriousness.
"Chen Pi, I didn't expect you to still remember childhood events. When are you paying me that ten yuan?"
"Dear God! Help me!"
Xu Xiaoyu slapped her forehead and decisively left.
She was afraid that if she stayed with these two any longer, she'd go crazy too.
"Chen Pi, how did the interview go today?"
"You can now call me by my other name—Master Potion Maker Chen!" Chen Shu coughed and deliberately emphasized the words "Potion Maker."
"Worthy of being my best buddy!"
The two went together, and after eating their fill in the city center, they returned home.
...
"Mom, Dad, I forgot to tell you—this is the 100,000 yuan reward from the Spirit Suppression Bureau."
Chen Shu took the money from his backpack. He'd been so busy with interviews that he'd almost forgotten about it.
"Son, what did you do?" His father, Chen Ping, frowned, his expression serious rather than joyful.
Only after Chen Shu's explanation did his father breathe a sigh of relief. "There can't be a next time. A wanted criminal with a 100,000 yuan bounty is sure to have blood on their hands—that's not something a student like you can handle."
Chen Shu nodded repeatedly, surprised at his parents' refusal when he had expected them to accept the money gladly.
"The family doesn't need it right now. You're cultivating Beast Taming Power now—buy whatever potions you need yourself. If it's not enough, tell your old man."
"Don't need it? Dad, am I really from a rich family?"
Chen Shu's eyes widened. This was just an ordinary family, and 100,000 yuan was a huge amount of money, yet his parents refused it.
"Don't worry about it. The family doesn't need it anyway." Father Chen Ping didn't explain further.
Chen Shu had no choice but to put away the 100,000 yuan and return to his room.
Could the family really have been secretly rich?
A flicker of suspicion ignited in Chen Shu as he connected the dots. Why would Uncle Zhang, a Black Iron rank Beast Tamer, always call his father "Brother Chen" with none of the usual arrogance? Shaking his head, he pushed the thoughts away. If his family had secrets, his father would tell him when the time was right.
He placed all the Strength Potions from his system space on the table.
"So many Strength Potions—wealth comes so easily."
A full forty bottles of Strength Potions at 5,000 yuan each meant a total of 200,000 yuan.
"Hope you won't disappoint me."
Chen Shu focused his thoughts, and a golden slime appeared in his arms.
"Goo-gii! Goo-gii!" The slime shook its head happily, constantly moving in his arms with complete affection.
Though the slime's potential rating was only E, its personality was extremely gentle, with over 80% obedience to its master.
Chen Shu opened bottle after bottle of Strength Potion and fed them all to the golden slime.
Strength Potions permanently increased a contract spirit's power, though a single bottle only provided a minor boost of about 0.5%.
"Goo-gii! Goo-gii!"
The golden slime opened its big mouth and drank all forty bottles of Strength Potion.
"Burp~~" The slime contentedly burped and kept bouncing around excitedly.
Though weak in strength, it sure could eat.
Chen Shu rubbed the golden slime in his arms, like a villain caring for his precious cat,before storing it in his Beast Taming Space.
Forty bottles of Strength Potion permanently increased power by 20%—enough to give his contract spirit a real advantage in battle.
Pay-to-win never goes out of style. This is the kind of pressure you get from a whale player!³
FOOTNOTES:
[1] "My destiny lies among the stars and seas" (我的征途是星辰大海) is a famous quote from "Legend of the Galactic Heroes" that became a popular Chinese internet meme for expressing grand, sometimes comically oversized, ambitions.
[2] This entire dragon encounter sequence parodies a famous scene from Stephen Chow's comedy film "Kung Fu Hustle" (2004), where a beggar sells a boy a "priceless" martial arts manual for pocket change. Chinese readers would instantly recognize this reference.
[3] Whale player (土豪玩家): Chinese gaming slang for a player who spends massive amounts of real money on microtransactions.