The bus door opened and Vincent Wolf stepped in. As he was about to walk to the back, the driver blocked his way with an outstretched arm.
"Do you still need to charge a fee on the bus in the Breeding House?"
The driver shook his head and said, "We don't charge a fee, but with the clothes you're wearing, I'm afraid security will think you're a pet trafficker and take you away."
Realizing the issue, Vincent quickly pulled down his hoodie and removed his face mask.
Even though it was autumn, the bright afternoon sun still made the temperature uncomfortably hot, especially for someone wearing as many clothes as Vincent. Sweat had already formed on his forehead.
At this moment, a few strands of hair clung to his forehead, his dazzling skin reflected an enchanting glow under the sunlight, and the sweltering heat added a faint blush to his perfect features, making him appear even more handsome yet unique.
Suddenly, the hearts of the passengers inside the bus seemed to skip a beat, then began to race uncontrollably.
"This is much more comfortable," Vincent continued to walk toward the back but found the driver still blocking his path.
"You should put everything back on."
"Are you kidding me?"
Soon after, under the driver's insistence, Vincent reluctantly put his mask back on.
He found a seat and was about to take out his phone, but four or five girls tried to sit next to him.
His enthusiasm for browsing his phone diminished as he became engrossed in watching the all-female action movie unfolding before him.
After a fierce battle, a busty girl emerged victorious. She sat down, panting and glanced at the young man next to her, who was resting his chin on his hand. The courage she had earlier seemed to have vanished, and now she was contemplating how to escape.
"You're amazing. Did you practice martial arts?" Vincent asked with interest.
"No, I'm a professional beast tamer, so my physical fitness is better than most," the busty girl said softly, lowering her head.
"A professional beast tamer? That's even more impressive!" Vincent's enthusiasm heightened. "What kind of pet beasts do you have, big sister?"
"Big sister..." The busty girl shuddered as if she had flipped a switch.
"What's wrong, big sister?"
"...Ah, I only became a professional beast tamer not too long ago. My starter pet beast is the High-Level Extraordinary Species, the Fire Blasting Piglet."
"I'm here to find a good pet beast to contract with. Ideally, I'd like a Commander-level pet beast."
The busty girl escaped from her reverie and became excited at the prospect of her future pet beasts.
"Fire Blasting Piglet," Vincent recalled, "Its evolved forms are the Exploding Piglet and the Flying Piglet, right? Apparently, one is a Fire Attribute Low-Level Commander and the other is a Flying Attribute Low-Level Commander. They both sound pretty good."
After hearing this, the girl became disheartened. "The resources for Low-Level Commanders are too expensive. I have to save for a while before I can afford the down payment."
Indeed, even in this world, there are young people burdened by loans. Beast Tamers burn money at every step of the way, and maintaining multiple pet beasts takes a lot of money.
Daily training, specially customized pet beast food, Energy Fruits essential for enhancing pet beasts' potential, Spirit potion for increasing Beast Tamers' spiritual strength, indispensable Beast Techniques, and institutions that provide specialized teaching of pet beast skills, as well as the required evolution resources for pet beast evolution – all these add up.
Even if Vincent now had the Space Bracelet left to him by his cheap old father, without his [Simulation] Talent, he still couldn't say how far he could go on this path.
Unless he was willing to latch onto a wealthy woman's thigh.
The two chatted casually, and time passed quickly. In just a few stops, they would arrive at Wild Fox Plain.
As the girl saw the Wild Fox Plain on the bus's display screen, she seemed to remember something and said to Vincent:
"Have you heard? The House Treasure Three-Tailed Fox in the Breeding House has regained its contractual status. Today, a bunch of people went to Wild Fox Plain and ended up getting a hard lesson from the Intermediate Command Level Ice White Fox."
"Oh? Is that so?" Vincent hadn't heard about this and paid close attention.
"Yeah, you're not also planning to try your luck in Wild Fox Plain, are you?" the busty girl half-jokingly asked.
"Of course! That's a High-Level Commander, after all. Aren't you interested?"
"Well, if I were lucky enough to get a Low-Level Commander, I'd be satisfied. After all, with that, I would have the opportunity to become a Master-level Beast Master! Also, after the Ice White Fox got angry, it said that only those who have received an invitation may go to Wild Fox Plain, or else they will be driven away. Did you receive an invitation?"
"An invitation? I don't need one." Vincent thought, I'm here to offer a gift, not to get married. What invitation would I need? Then he asked, "Do you know who the previous contract holder of the Three-Tailed Fox is?"
"I heard it's a high school senior. People said he was either threatened by a capitalist or some noble, and he was forced to give up his contract. It's a shame. When can ordinary people stand up?"
"That's just a persecution fantasy. He just wasn't thinking straight and gave up the contract." Vincent shook his head, surprised at how quickly the rumors spread. All he could say was that the capitalists were scapegoated on a daily basis.
"Do you know him? It seems like you're quite familiar with him," the busty girl asked.
"Do you know the name of the person who gave up the contract?"
"I think it's called..."
As the bus approached the stop, Vincent stood up and whispered in the girl's ear as he passed by, "His name is Vincent Wolf, the same as mine."
...
Wild Fox Plain was a vast expanse of lush vegetation and fragrant flowers where many fox species thrived, such as the low-level species like the Moonlight Fox and the little Fire Fox, as well as Command-level species like the Ice White Fox and the Illusionary Dream Fox.
As Vincent entered Wild Fox Plain, the foxes scattered in surprise but slowly approached him once they recognized his familiar scent.
Just before entering the Wild Fox Plain, Vincent had removed his mask. With no people around, there was no need to wear a mask, and these foxes couldn't tell the difference between an attractive or ugly human face anyway. Wearing the mask just made him look like a strange man.
Dozens of little foxes flocked around him, their fluffy tails brushing against his ankles occasionally, creating a tickling sensation that felt quite pleasant.
The foxes here had a certain level of Spiritual Wisdom and could usually control the release of unpleasant smells from their scent glands. This meant they didn't smell bad.
On the contrary, they carried a pleasant aroma from the flowers in the area.
But this situation didn't last long. A sharp fox cry reached Vincent's ears, causing his ears to ring and scaring away all the little foxes around him.
"So you're the ungrateful wretch! My daughter adored you, yet you treated her like this!" Along with the fox's cry, another mechanical and monotonous translation came from a distance.