Now Spark was scared, and its energy became unbalanced, causing the clone it had just learned to disappear, which it wasn't quite proficient in to begin with.
But Spark misunderstood this as a supernatural event, likely due to the deep impression left by the horror movies it had watched recently.
"Bark Bark Bark!"
"Bark Bark, Bark Bark!"
"Bark Bark!"
Spark pointed with its paw repeatedly in the direction where its shadow clone had disappeared, indicating it to Zhan Wei.
"That's your own shadow clone," Zhan Wei explained helplessly.
"Bark?"
Spark's pointing motion suddenly stopped, its pitch-black eyes showing confusion.
"Congratulations, you've learned a new skill," Zhan Wei chuckled.
Spark understood.
It stood still for a moment, sensing and adjusting the energy within its body.
An identical clone of Spark appeared instantly by its beast tamer's feet, with not a single difference, not even a hair out of place from the earlier chaos caused by dodging the ball.
"Bark!"
Spark became excited and quickly jumped out of Zhan Wei's arms, circling its shadow clone and examining it.
Because it had learned a new skill, Spark forgot about practicing dodging balls, and Zhan Wei naturally didn't bring it up.
As they walked out of the baseball training center, passing by the pet healing facility, Zhan Wei felt a slight regret.
If it weren't for losing 5000 Union Coins last night, I would have taken Spark inside to relax today.
When they returned home, Zhan Wei opened the computer and searched for a popular anchor known for pet massage techniques.
They randomly chose a live stream and called Spark over to follow the massage techniques demonstrated by the anchor in the livestream.
Although we don't have the money to go to a pet rehabilitation center, we can do it ourselves!
"Is it comfortable?" Zhan Wei asked softly.
"Bark."
Spark reluctantly responded.
It lay on its side, with its head facing the livestream.
On the screen, a well-built man was massaging a rough-skinned and thick-fleshed wild boar.
The wild boar occasionally made comfortable grunting sounds.
As Spark watched the livestream and felt the pressure of the massage from its own beast tamer, it always felt like something was off...
...
...
The next morning, at 6:10 a.m.
Zhan Wei appeared in the living room with dark circles under their eyes. Looking around, they noticed that their mother was still sleeping in her room.
Well, it was indeed quite early...
Yesterday was the day of another Star Cup bet.
Thinking back to the previous day when they couldn't sleep because of losing the game, they decided not to watch it last night in order to avoid losing and not being able to sleep again, affecting their mood for the special admission exam at Shengshui High School today.
But the more they thought about it, the less they could fall asleep...
Sometimes they would think about how the Star Cup match went, and other times they would think about tomorrow's special admission exam. They struggled to stay awake until 2 a.m.
Thinking that sleeping late because of thinking about things meant waking up early, they naturally woke up before their alarm clock went off.
Zhan Wei prepared breakfast listlessly, while Spark wagged its tail happily, waiting to eat.
This guy is quite energetic...
Not bad, the hard work they put into the massage yesterday wasn't in vain.
After breakfast, Zhan Wei left a portion in the pot for their mother and headed towards the subway station.
Shengshui High School is located in the Beidian District of Zangkong City, far away from Zhan Wei's area.
If they were to take the bus, they would have to transfer four or five times along the way, but if they take the subway, Line 2 can take them directly.
...
Shengshui High School.
Beside the open-air field, there were several scattered people sitting on adjacent benches.
"Qin Wen, has Luo Qian not arrived yet?" asked a middle-aged man with a buzz cut and a protruding belly.
They say that when a man reaches middle age and has a protruding belly, it gives off a greasy feeling of familiarity.
But the man in front of him, with his buzz cut revealing the contours of his facial features, exuded a calm temperament that gave people a feeling that maybe he was handsome when he was young.
"Not yet. I've already called to urge him, but he said he's stuck in traffic," replied the woman dressed in professional attire next to him.
"Nonsense! Clearly, he was at some bar last night and couldn't get up in the morning. He even posted on his social media, without a trace of being a teacher," Zheng Guoping sneered.
"It's because you invited him to the school," the man with the stack of papers said calmly.
"Don't blame me, Sun Boyi. You voted in favor of it too," Zheng Guoping retorted unhappily.
"That's because you gave me a water gel bead and asked me to vote for it," Sun Boyi responded nonchalantly.
"You!" Zheng Guoping was so angry that he couldn't speak.
"Alright, alright, let's stop arguing. Let's focus on the matter at hand. Are there any good candidates among the specially admitted students this time?" the middle-aged man with the buzz cut intervened to change the subject.
"The truly excellent candidates have already been recommended for admissions," Zheng Guoping said with anger still present in his voice.
"Actually, there is one," Sun Boyi's gaze stopped on a line on the paper. "You know about Lu Liangye from Taidan Junior High, right? He made the news half a year ago."
"You mean the kid who awakened his powers as soon as he entered the third year?" Qin Wen asked.
"Yes, that's him," Sun Boyi replied.
Most children who awaken their powers do so when they are close to 15 years old, but Lu Liangye, who was only 14 years old and had just entered the third year, awakened his powers.
If it weren't for the fact that the entrance examinations for that year had already ended, the enrollment quotas for various schools had been filled, and classes had already started, Lu Liangye might have been able to skip a grade and enter a prestigious Beast Control High School.