Beast Taming: My System is Bugged

The post-New Year travel rush made the Sky Dome Residence in the north exceptionally busy.

Gu Ming followed the crowd out of the massive Cloud Shuttle’s cabin door, concluding his first voyage aboard a non-biological transport.

It was a starkly different experience from traveling on a Sky Humpback Whale, a journey filled with a living rhythm.

Inside this steel creation, a property of Beichen Heavy Industry, was absolute silence, constant temperature, and intelligent regulation.

Floating service units glided by without a sound, meals were delivered with precision, and the flight was so smooth it made one forget they were even moving.

Everything was a highly automated and lifeless experience, somewhat disconnected from the society of Beastmasters.

Or perhaps, this was simply a highly advanced aspect of Beastmaster society that he just hadn’t encountered before.

Beastmasters could normally communicate via Divine Sense and transmit information over long distances with Arrays, yet industrial creations like cell phones still existed.

’I guess I just haven’t been exposed to it enough,’ Gu Ming thought.

The miracles of Intelligent Mechanisms built upon Beastmasters and Pet Beasts had always existed; Gu Ming simply hadn’t encountered the cutting-edge technology of this field.

Thinking of this, he didn’t leave immediately but turned into the outer, circular observation corridor.

He needed the real, cold wind and the vast view to process the impact of this industrial might and feel grounded again.

Below him was a churning sea of clouds, gilded with dark gold by the twilight.

Beneath the clouds, the steel jungle and neon veins of the Zhou Capital were awakening in the night.

The radiant, three-dimensional transportation network was a world apart from the scattered lights of the distant slums.

And closer by—

"Excuse me, data needs to be transmitted back to the Thousand Machines Dome for verification."

A calm, young voice sounded out.

Gu Ming stepped aside as three young men in silver-gray uniforms, wearing badges with a gear and lightning bolt, hurried past.

With them were Mechanical Pets of an industrial aesthetic:

One was a multi-legged "Surveyor IV," and the other a streamlined "Low-Altitude Courier" with its wings retracted, its optical sensors blinking rhythmically.

Divine Strategy University.

Information about it surfaced in Gu Ming’s mind.

It was the nation’s premier institution of higher learning, specializing in Magnetic and Mechanical Element Pet Beasts.

With "Mechanical energy as the bone, Intelligent Mechanisms achieving divinity" as its core philosophy, its influence in high-end military, aerospace, and precision manufacturing was nearly monopolistic.

This very airport, four thousand meters high, was part of their campus.

Applicants were required to have a Magnetic or Mechanical Element Pet Beast and pass a grueling "Neural Load Test."

Behind the steep tuition fees were sets of "Targeted Cultivation" contracts, which were neither free nor flexible.

From a technological standpoint, however, it was the most powerful school in all of Great Zhou.

Even the Great Zhou Royal Academy was weaker than Divine Strategy University when it came to the Magnetic and Mechanical Elements.

The way these students walked carried an air of elite, militaristic training, causing Gu Ming’s three Pet Beasts to take several long looks and ask him what school that was.

"Divine Strategy University," Gu Ming briefly explained to his Pet Beasts. "Their Mastery is in the Magnetic and Mechanical Elements."

Compared to the cyberpunk-esque sight of the Zhou Capital before him, the tranquility of Lanqi City and the fog of his investigation felt like a world away.

’Right, it’s time to think about my fourth Pet Beast...’

Gu Ming muttered to himself. After personally experiencing the industrial might of the Cloud Shuttle and witnessing the sharp, reservist-like aura of the Divine Machine Students, the thought had become more concrete and urgent than ever before.

He then recalled his time in Lanqi City, and the vast, mysterious, and instinctively terrifying Spiritual Aura of the Ancient Divine Deer.

Two starkly different images swirled and collided in his mind:

On one side was the Mechanical Element, representing new order and technology.

On the other was the Mysterious Element, unfathomable and inexplicably powerful.

’Should I pursue the Magnetic Element for absolute control over mechanical units?’

’Or do I need a pure mechanical body, a Steel Barrier that ignores fatigue and possesses immense defense and sustained combat capability?’

Cyan Treasure seemed to sense its master’s turbulent thoughts. It poked its head out from his collar and flicked its forked tongue.

It sent a thought through their Divine Sense, laced with curiosity and encouragement:

’Master, aren’t you going to look for that Nian Beast you mentioned before?’

At the mention of the "Nian Beast," Ah Kun also cast a look of interest from the Beast Taming Space.

Even Ah Ji, who was usually as quiet as a shadow, looked over.

When they had listened to Gu Ming and Lu You talk about those ancient legends, they had been completely engrossed and had fantasized about it in private for quite a while afterward.

Well, even though the Mechanical Pets that just passed looked imposing, as cold metal creations, they weren’t as endearing as living, breathing beings with a unique Life Breath.

They instinctively yearned more for Pet Beasts that held ancient, mysterious power.

Gu Ming felt his partners’ anticipation and was a bit speechless.

"That’s not something people like us can find easily."

He shook his head, responding to them as much as to himself.

"Besides, whether the Nian Beast even exists in this world is another question entirely."

"Oh? You’re planning to find a Nian Beast for your new pet?"

Suddenly, a familiar, steady voice sounded from behind him.

Gu Ming turned around and saw it was Teacher Tang from the Cultivation Method Company. He hadn’t expected to run into him in the bustling Sky Dome Residence.

"Teacher Tang." Gu Ming was a little surprised.

Gu Ming wasn’t offended at being caught indulging in his "unrealistic" daydreams.

He just smiled, shook his head, and explained:

"Teacher, I was just joking with them. You don’t have to take it seriously."

Teacher Tang didn’t just laugh it off, however. Instead, he pondered for a moment, his thoughtful gaze drifting toward the brilliant yet cold city lights outside the window.

"Uh... Don’t tell me you have some information?"

Seeing this, Gu Ming’s heart skipped a beat, and he asked tentatively, unable to believe it.

In his understanding, the legend of the Nian Beast was practically a ghost story, the kind that every household might have heard of but no one actually took seriously.

However, seeing this senior, Six-star Level expert showing such a contemplative expression, the little bit of hope he had suppressed began to sprout uncontrollably.

Almost at the same time, a system notification quietly updated at the edge of his vision:

Teacher Tang heard your ’grand’ aspiration and nodded.

He prompts you: The Nian Beast is not a myth; it simply requires immense luck and opportunity.

Teacher Tang withdrew his gaze and looked at Gu Ming, lowering his voice slightly.

"That night, the Celestial Lanterns gathered into the shape of a dragon, a dragon’s cry echoed across the land, and auspicious signs showered down... In all records, this was one of the most significant phenomena in recent decades."

"And just before the ’dragon’s cry’ reached its peak, our monitoring equipment captured an extremely brief, peculiar frequency of ’background noise’."

"We recorded that sound wave and performed divinations on it using both Prophetic Element and Divination Ability Pet Beasts. The results were surprising. It’s highly likely that it was the voice of a Nian Beast."

"Right now, this matter hasn’t been widely publicized. It’s only circulating within top academic circles."

Teacher Tang paused, seemingly choosing his words carefully.

"Huh?" Gu Ming was completely stunned.

He never expected that after his casual remark, his teacher would actually have real information.

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