Chapter 413: Chapter 409: Encountering Sima Again

“I see.”

Bai Qi nodded, understanding Yi Yu’s explanation. Even though the comparison was a bit exaggerated, Eden seemed similar to the training ground managed by Old Lady Fan in some ways–both provided excellent pet contracts for the younger generation.

Thinking about it, Bai Qi began to understand why the Beast Master Association might not participate in events held by Eden.

If they already had what they needed, they wouldn’t have to go and owe someone a favor.

“I’ll decide later, depending on the situation. I might not find a pet beast I like.”

Bai Qi didn’t rush to agree with Yi Yu’s goodwill. Instead, he got to the point.

“Minister Yi, I’ve completed my task. What about my task reward?”

Yi Yu nodded slightly and replied, “Of course, you have completed your task. Do you have a preference for what type of attribute you want?”

“Do you have any materials from the Space and Time type?”

Bai Qi immediately shared his thoughts. The training camp credits could not exchange for space-time materials, so perhaps the Thirteenth Bureau could.

“I’m sorry, time-type materials are extraordinarily rare, and I can’t guarantee that I can find them for you. However, I can provide space-type materials,” Yi Yu apologized.

“Oh, I see. I’ll go with the space-type then.”

Bai Qi sighed regrettably. The scarcity of time-type materials was far beyond his imagination. It was even difficult for the Thirteenth Bureau, so Old Lady Fan’s idea seemed unlikely to come to fruition.

“Okay, I’ll find it for you as soon as possible. If all goes well, it should be delivered to you within three weeks.”

“Alright.”

Bai Qi nodded without saying anything else. Yi Yu seemed to understand Bai Qi’s character and didn’t mind. He then led Bai Qi to a cave.

“This is where the pet contract conference takes place. Beasts that wish to form a contract with humans will wait inside for their Beast Masters. We’re early, so there should still be plenty of powerful beasts inside. Would you like to take a look?” Yi Yu asked, pointing at the cave entrance.

“That’s fine. Minister Yi, please show the way.”

Bai Qi followed Yi Yu into the cave.

The cave’s interior was a lot more complex than it looked from the outside, with many branching passageways leading to various sizes of rock chambers. In these chambers, there were many transcendent creatures from outside rarely seen.

“I’m lucky. Now I can increase my progress.”

Bai Qi grinned and petted every creature he saw. The progress of the Diamond Egg instantly visible.

“Could I fill up the Diamond Egg progress bar just like that? If not, maybe I could find an excuse to see the Guardians?”

Bai Qi was happily petting the creatures, completely oblivious to the clouded expression in Yi Yu’s eyes.

“Bai Qi? I didn’t expect to see you here.”

A tall, thin man interrupted Bai Qi’s petting journey. Bai Qi turned to look, and was stunned.

“Chairman Sima? What are you doing here?”

It was none other than Sima Jing, whom Bai Qi had previously met at the Wuhou Dojo challenge.

Sima Jing chuckled and approached Bai Qi, his gaze immediately drawn to the Six Paths Rune Mark on the back of Bai Qi’s hand.

“I didn’t expect you would have already become a Six Stage Master in such a short time. My apologies for the oversight.”

Bai Qi shook his head, “No need for formalities, Chairman Sima. I still have a lot to learn from my seniors.”

“Ha, indeed…. Since you’re here, Bai Qi, you must also be here to select a suitable pet beast, right?” Sima Jing glanced at Yi Yu’s fluctuating expression, “Oh Minister Yi is here too. I had planned to show Bai Qi around, but it seems that won’t be necessary.”

Yi Yu gave a faint smile, “Your praise is too much Master Sima. I’m not nearly as knowledgeable as you. I shouldn’t get in the way of Bai Qi’s selection process.”

“Indeed, your pet beasts are all very strong, Bai Qi. I should have known you’d already be well-experienced in selecting them. How thoughtless of me.”

Sima Jing let out a hearty laugh, before looking back at Bai Qi, “Have you thought about which pet beast to contract with?”

“Not yet, I’m still looking.”

It was the first time Bai Qi upgraded without preparing a pet beast in advance, resulting in his indecision now.

Alpha was a heavy attacker, Husky was a versatile creature, Gamma provided support and defense, while Delta functioned as an all-terrain mount. As for the Insect Grass, it was barely a controller.

Warrior, Mage, Bowmaster, Cleric, Bai Qi had them all, which made it difficult to think of a specific type of pet beast he wanted to contract with.

Forcibly choosing, Bai Qi was somewhat interested in contracting with an equipment-type pet beast.

After all, which boy didn’t dream of wielding a sword and traveling the world?

“In that case, Bai Qi, if you’re interested, you can always visit our Zhonghu Dojo. The Zhonghu Consortium has many rare pet beasts not seen elsewhere.”

The moment Sima Jing made this statement, Bai Qi immediately remembered the Abominable Butcher he had confronted with Alpha in the past.

No, to be precise, it was the Death Lock on the Abominable Butcher’s body.

He had nearly forgotten that the Chairman had told him to bring this matter to the attention of the Thirteenth Bureau if he ever had the chance. Now, with Sima Jing taking the initiative, it saved Bai Qi the trouble of having to think up a plan.

“That could indeed be arranged. I remember, the last person to combat Alpha was Sima Zhao, wasn’t it? Creatures that can withstand the Sword of Death are rare.”

Hearing Bai Qi’s words, Yi Yu indeed became interested, but only gave Sima Jing an extra glance without speaking further.

It seems the breaking news he had revealed was still insufficient.

Observing this, Bai Qi felt somewhat helpless. After a moment of contemplation, he said, “Chairman Sima, I have been studying materials science recently and I need some Bright Spirit Gold, but it is hard to find. I wonder if Chairman Sima could help me purchase some?”

“Bright Spirit Gold? Of course, it happens that the Brita family is also present. They control eighty percent of the Bright Spirit Gold mines in the Western Region. Even our Zhonghu Consortium procures from them.”

Is another Brita family related to this whole affair? That’s right, they had mentioned before, the Sima family developed with the support of some prominent families in the Western Region. It seems that the Brita family must be involved in this.

However, this only seems to complicate matters.

The Chairman certainly could have asked Wang Jian himself since they are so close. To manage this whole ordeal must be rather troublesome.

Bai Qi rubbed his lips, glanced at Yi Yu who had been smiling all along, and patiently said, “Then I will have to trouble Chairman Sima.”

While he did voice complaints, Bai Qi understood the concerns of the chairman.

Whether it was the Zhonghu Consortium, the Beast Master Association, or even the Death Round Table, from the perspective of the Federation, they were all just civil organizations. Even if relations between the Federation and the Association were close, without evidence, the Federation could not claim a relationship between the Sima Consortium and the Death Round Table.

As for finding evidence …

Such matters were naturally left to the authorities; there was no need for them to worry about it.

With this realization, Bai Qi started considering his next move.

“Great timing, they just arrived.”

At that moment, Sima Jing waved to a distance, and two blond-haired, blue-eyed young men walked over.

“Allow me to introduce you. This is Charles Brita, the third-ranked heir of the Brita family, and his brother, Alulu Brita, the sixth-ranked heir of the Brita family.”

Sima Jing pointed to the two men and introduced them to Bai Qi, “This is Master Bai Qi, whom I have mentioned to both of you before.”

“Master Bai Qi?”

Charles was evidently surprised at Sima Jing’s form of address, but upon seeing the six Rune Marks on Bai Qi’s hand, his gaze towards Bai Qi became strange.

“I had not thought that Master Bai Qi would be so young. It seems I may have been somewhat negligent.”

Charles bowed to Bai Qi, and Alulu did the same, their actions identical as if replicated by a machine.

“Are all these major families composed of evolved robots? Their actions are too formulaic…”

Seeing this, Bai Qi couldn’t help but scoff internally. However, he politely reciprocated the bow, saying, “Mr. Charles flatters me too much. I am merely slightly lucky.”

“Hahaha…Master Bai Qi remains modest as always. However, I believe Master Bai Qi must be in a hurry to find a suitable pet. We should not waste the master’s time.”

After pausing for a moment, Sima Jing informed Charles of Bai Qi’s intentions.

“Bright Spirit Gold? Of course. If Master Bai Qi wants it, I will have someone deliver it later.”

Without hesitating, Charles agreed, “Although Bright Spirit Gold is exclusive to the Western Region, its quantity is still substantial, and it’s not that hard to find.”

They agreed that quickly? Could it not be them?

Bai Qi was taken aback by their immediate agreement, but Sima Jing was quick to explain.

“If Mr. Charles agrees, it’s perfect. After all, apart from friends of the Brita family, it is generally unavailable for purchase.”

No sooner had Sima Jing spoken than the doubts Bai Qi had just dismissed were resurrected. His gaze turned increasingly strange, and he couldn’t help but give Sima Jing a few extra looks.

This guy, why did it seem like he was afraid of Bai Qi not suspecting the Brita family?

Something was off.

“Then, thank you, Mr. Charles.”

Bai Qi scanned between the two for a moment, then expressed his gratitude to Charles. Apparently, Charles had other commitments; after exchanging a few polite words with Bai Qi, he hurried away.

Only after the others had left, did Yi Yu turn to Bai Qi and ask, “If I remember correctly, the Thirteenth Bureau Logistics Department has some Bright Spirit Gold. Bai Qi, if you need it, shall I help you purchase it?”

Bai Qi shook his head, saying, “Since I’ve already purchased it, there’s no need to trouble Minister Yi. I just discovered that Bright Spirit Gold seems to have a certain tolerance for the Power of Death, and just wanted to study it.”

“Is that so…”

Yi Yu nodded, a strange look fleetingly appearing in his eyes before returning to normal.

“Up ahead is the Element District. Bai Qi, would you like to take a look?”

“The Element District? Sure.”