"Sir, your scarlet-eyed demon wolf pet has been successfully strengthened. Its strength has reached two-star silver. This is the bill, please check it."
Ye Fei smiled and handed over a bill.
The customer paid the bill happily and praised Ye Fei endlessly, "Both are strengthening and upgrading, yet fewer materials are consumed here, and the success rate is higher than others..."
"In my opinion, you're the best pet caregiver in Zhongzhou City!"
Ye Fei said humbly, "You flatter me."
Even though he was being praised, Ye Fei did not feel much joy in his heart.
Ever since his parents disappeared on the battlefield, he could only run this pet shop alone and help his customers strengthen their pets to earn some living expenses for himself.
In the past, he used to receive a pension every month, and along with the income from running the pet shop, it was no problem for him to maintain his livelihood.
However, ever since he turned 18 last month, the pension was stopped and the price of raw materials skyrocketed. The operating costs instantly soared and he was just about to go bankrupt.
"If only I could be a trainer. With the income of a trainer, I wouldn't have these problems," Ye Fei muttered to himself.
It was a pity that he didn't have an initial pet.
He could only become a caregiver.
His income was much lower..
[ Beep, host detected... ]
An unfamiliar mechanical voice suddenly sounded out of nowhere.
"Who is it?"
Ye Fei vigilantly stood up and looked around, but other than him, there were only various bottles and jars in the pet shop. There wasn't a single person in sight.
The mechanical voice continued.
[ Host scanning... ]
[ Scanning complete... ]
[ Voice system binding... ]
[ Binding successful, voice skill automatically integrated... ]
A series of messages baffled Ye Fei.
"Voice system? What's that?"
No one answered his question.
Only a rustling sound came from somewhere, but it was not very clear.
Ye Fei searched for a long time to confirm that the sound came from the withered potted plant on the windowsill.
It was left behind by his parents. Ye Fei had been taking good care of it before, but he had been under too much financial pressure recently. In order to earn money, he had been busy all the time, so he had forgotten about watering and fertilizing the plants.
As a result, the potted plant now had lots of weeds growing in it as well.
"Water... I want to drink water..."
"Water..."
The voice sounded extremely weak.
A strong sense of guilt suddenly welled up in Ye Fei's heart. He did not have time to wonder why a potted plant could make a sound. He hurriedly took a small bowl of water and poured it into the potted plant.
He did not know whether it was an illusion or not, but the moment he poured the water in, Ye Fei seemed to hear a faint cheer from the potted plant.
"Water! I can finally drink water! This is great!"
The withered leaves began to unfurl at a speed visible to the naked eye. The color of the leaves turned from yellow to green, seemingly gaining a new life.
The sound of a system notification rang in Ye Fei's mind again.
[ Beep, a plant-type pet has been detected. Name: Nine-leaf Sword Grass. Level: 3-star black iron, Potential: S-tier. ]
[ Remarks: Level of pet represents its current strength. The lowest is black iron, the highest is conqueror. Each level is divided into 5 stars. Potential represents growth potential. The lowest is F, the highest is SSS. ]
[ Pet skill: Black Blade (single target attack, can be leveled up), Root entanglement (control skill, to be learned), Poisonous grass (poison skill, to be learned) . ]
Ye Fei was pleasantly surprised. "Oh my God! You're actually a pet! And you have so much potential! Fortunately, the system appeared in time to let me hear your thoughts, or else I would have lost you, my precious!"
He stroked the only green leaf on the potted plant with a face full of joy, thinking that since its name was Nine-leaf Sword Grass, then it must have all nine leaves to reach its strongest state.
Although it only had one leaf and was only at the lowest level of black iron, but since its potential level was S-tier, Ye Fei believed that under his care, it would definitely be able to break through to the next level soon!
Helping a pet to strengthen and advance, this was Ye Fei's forte!
The system continued to prompt: [ The pet has been lacking in care for a long time, and its current state is not good. It needs help to loosen the soil, remove insects, irrigate, and fertilize. After taking care of it, favorability will increase. Otherwise, favorability will continue to decrease. ]
[ Beep, the Novice Quest 'take care of the Nine-leaf Sword Grass' has been triggered. The quest reward will be determined by the final completion score. ]
Ye Fei was surprised. There was a quest so soon? There was even a reward? That would be great!
He quickly found all the tools he needed and started to take care of the Nine-leaf sword Grass.
"Loosen the soil slowly. Don't hurt the roots..."
"I'll give you a mild insecticide to remove the insects. You've just recovered and are still very weak. I'm afraid you won't be able to take it if the efficacy is too strong..."
"I'll give you the dew collected from the tranquility flower for irrigation. This will nourish you the best. What you need the most now is nourishment..."
"Fertilize... let's use the dung of the rock turtle. It's nutritious..."
Ye Fei muttered to himself as he tended to the Nine-leaf Sword Grass. This was a habit he had developed over a long period of time. He liked to communicate with the pets under his care as if they were his friends.
Even though he knew that his pets could not understand what he had said, Ye Fei still maintained this habit.
Because his father once told him that if he wanted to become an excellent pet caregiver, he had to take the initiative to understand them, get close to them, treat them as his friends, and carefully observe their needs..
A few hours later, Ye Fei stretched his body tiredly. "I've finally completed it..."
In the flower pot, the Nine-leaf Sword Grass looked completely new. The withered leaves had turned green, and the surface of the leaves was covered with a layer of lustrous luster. It was as smooth as fine jade.
Two small tender leaves could be faintly seen on the branches at the bottom.
This was a sign of improvement.
[ Beep, mission "Take care of Nine-leaf Sword grass" completed. Completion rate: 100%. Mission score: 93 points. Reward: Nine-leaf Sword Grass has leveled up to one-star silver! Unlock skill: Root Bind! ]
"One-star silver?!" Ye Fei cried out in surprise.
Nine-leaf Sword Grass had previously been three-star black iron, but now it had skipped through both four-star and five-star and had been directly leveled up to one-star silver!
How could Ye Fei not be pleasantly surprised by such a huge leap in level!?
However, the pleasant surprise was far more than that.
The system notification continued.
[ Nine-leafed Sword Grass's wish has been fulfilled. Favorability increased by 50 points. Pet healing mix recipe rewarded. Pet healing mix effect: recovers stamina and repairs abnormal status. ]
[ Pet strength potion recipe rewarded. Pet strength potion effect: Increases pet's combat strength. ]
"There's a potion recipe? Oh my God..."
Ye Fei was a little doubtful of his ears.
Pet potions were a well-known lucrative industry. A small bottle could be sold for a sky-high price.
The system actually rewarded two potion recipes directly to him! How could Ye Fei not be surprised?!