Edited by RED
The next morning, Zhang Che saw his mother, Sun Lan, preparing his breakfast in the kitchen right after he woke up.
After hearing the sound of Zhang Che opening the door, Sun Lan greeted him while frying eggs in the kitchen, "You're up, Xiaoche! Go wash up first. The eggs will be ready soon."
"Thanks, mom!" Zhang Che replied and walked into the washroom.
Zhang Che lost his father six years ago, during the third invasion of the beasts. His family consisted of only Zhang Che and his mother, Sun Lan, living in a poor neighborhood.
Their monthly living expenses came from some insurance money given to them by the government, and the small wages from Sun Lan's job.
If it wasn't for the fact that the government had exempted all fees for primary and secondary school education, Zhang Che's family wouldn't have been able to afford sending him to school at all.
In life, however, blessings never comes in pairs, and misfortune does not come singly. Sun Lan was diagnosed with a malignant tumor half a year ago. With the current technology in medical science, only the new genetic repair medicine developed using materials originating from the beasts was able to cure her ailment.
Alas, such advanced medicines weren't something commoners were able to afford. They were priced at several hundred dollars at the minimum.
It was impossible for Zhang Che's family to come up with such a hefty amount to pay for the medicine.
That was, unless Zhang Che could pass the beastmaster aptitude test and officially become a beastmaster. It was the only way he could possibly earn that much money.
After washing up and eating the simple breakfast his mother prepared for him, Zhang Che picked his bag and headed towards the door. "I'm off to school, mom."
"Mmm. Be careful on your way there," Sun Lan reminded him, looking at her son's back as he walked down the stairs. "Do your best, Xiaoche! Mom believes that you will definitely pass the beastmaster aptitude test this time around!"
Zhang Che turned back and looked at his mother up the stairs. He revealed a bright smile and replied, "Mmm, I think so too! I'm off, mom!"
Thump thump thump, Zhang Che ran down the stairs after saying goodbye, and walked out into the neighborhood.
In his previous life, he had lived with his grandparents since he was young due to his parents' divorce, and he had never felt the familial love from his parents. He didn't expect to have a mother in this life; it felt pretty good!
In order to have the money to buy the genetic repair medicine, I must pass today's beastmaster aptitude test!
---
While Zhang Che walked out to the neighborhood, Sun Lan was supporting herself on the railings by the corridor, her complexion looking rather complicated.
"Ah, Xiaoche. The truth is, your mother doesn't wish for you to pass the beastmaster aptitude test at all! It's not bad to just live the life of an ordinary citizen..."
Zhang Che's father was a low-tiered beastmaster while he was still alive. During the third invasion, he lost his life to the seemingly endless swarm of beasts. As such, Sun Lan only hoped that her son wouldn't follow in his father's footsteps, and instead wished that he would find an ordinary woman and live out a peaceful life.
Furthermore, Sun Lan knew that her son's aptitude was mediocre at best. Even if he passed the test by chance and became a beastmaster, he would be someone whose standing was at the very bottom among his peers. When the time came in the future where he had to fight against the beasts' invasion, there was no way he could escape his fate of becoming cannon fodder…
------
The area Zhang Che lived at wasn't exactly near to Qian Wei City Number Two Secondary School. He needed to go outside the neighborhood and take a public bus with over a dozen stops to reach it.
"Zhang Xiaoche, you're waiting for the bus too!"
The bus that passed by his school hadn't come even after waiting for a few minutes by the road, when he suddenly heard a girl's voice from behind him.
Zhang Che turned around to look, and saw that it was his classmate, Huang Tielan. She was smiling brightly with her eyes narrowed.
-Oh, please. You don't even live around here! Why are you acting like this is all a coincidence!-
"Please call me Zhang Che, Huang Tielan!"
The smile on Huang Tielan's chubby face didn't fade in the least as she answered, "Alright, Zhang Xiaoche!"
Usually speaking, to have a female classmate who adores you when you'd just transcended to another world was something to be happy about, especially when Zhang Che was someone without much talent. But this lady here was over 180cm tall, and her weight was also over 180!¹
Not only that, this lady's body wasn't full of fat! You could see the defined shape of her muscles when she flexed them!
Zhang Che decided to act like how he would before his transcending, ignoring this Miss Ironman.
Tienan (Ironman) was the nickname their classmates gave Huang Tielan. Zhang Che felt that it was very apt.
"Why are you ignoring me, Zhang Xiaoche? I feel so hurt."
Loud thumping sounds rang out the moment Huang Tielan acted coyly and stamped her feet, everyone around feeling the earth vibrating.
Zhang Che couldn't think straight after that. He felt the weird looks people around them were giving him, as if they were saying, 'You have a very unique taste!'
Although Zhang Che was ignoring her, Huang Tielan wouldn't be discouraged from just that. She had a powerful aura around her, pushing away anyone between them and walking up to him, asking worriedly, "Zhang Xiaoche, I heard that you got beaten up by Wu Junyu after class yesterday. Don't worry; I'll make him pay when we reach school later. I'll definitely beat him up until he faints!"
Huang Tielan sounded rather confident. It seemed as if she had no qualms about finding trouble with Wu Junyu, who was known as a genius.
This girl indeed had the capacity to do so. She became a beastmaster at the young age of sixteen, and her father was so happy that he bought her a silver quality beast card. She was no weaker than Wu Junyu, no matter if it was physically or their subdued beasts.
Why do I feel like I'm a little miss who was wronged and is being protected by her tall and mighty boyfriend?
Zhang Che shuddered all over, and goosebumps rose on his skin. He couldn't help but look sideways at Huang Tielan and said formally, "This is my own matter, Huang Tielan. I will settle it myself. Will you please not interfere?"
Huang Tielan immediately showed a wronged expression and stamped her feet again, causing the ground to tremble around her. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she held them back and said, "Zhang Xiaoche, why have you become so distant?"
Zhang Che immediately ran away after hearing that, squeezing his way onto the public bus that had finally arrived at the stop.
Huang Tielan was caught by surprise. Seeing as Zhang Che had boarded the bus, she let out a coy humph and stamped her feet, before hurriedly giving chase. However, the public bus was already full of people. The door promptly closed in front of her and drove off to the distance.
"Aiya, how irritating! They didn't wait for me!" Huang Tielan complained coyly as she stamped her feet continuously. Dust clouds rose all around her, as if a huge beast was kicking up a fuss.
Zhang Che wiped off his sweat as he was squeezed in a crowd on the public bus. He let out a heavy sigh, looking rather traumatized.
After a half-hour long journey, the bus finally arrived at the bus stop right outside the Number Two Secondary School. Zhang Che squeezed his way off the bus and ran towards the school gates.
Suddenly, a tall teenager appeared before Zhang Che with a playful smile. He sized him up from head to toe, exclaiming,
"Aiya, Zhang Che, it's great that you're fine! It seems like my Xiaohei is rather good at controlling its strength! Otherwise, the past year's training would have been in vain!"
As he spoke, a dark green card suddenly appeared out of thin air between his fingers, and he showed it off in front of Zhang Che by waving it around.
___________________
Translator's Note:
1 - Weight unit not specified. Six foot and 180 lbs would not be unusual for a stockily built, muscular girl, however.