Zhou Ran quickly rode his bike home.
Would this home still be the same as before?
Zhou Ran was very doubtful, after all, he had travelled through time.
'I'm home!' Zhou Ran opened the door and shouted.
'Ran'er is back, hurry up and wash your hands and eat.' A woman's voice came from inside the house.
A middle-aged woman wearing a yellow shirt walked out, her face looking haggard, as if she had just recovered from a serious illness.
Looking at the woman before him, Zhou Ran was stunned.
She looked exactly like his mother on Earth, but her face was extremely pale, with no colour at all.
Zhou Ran recalled the memories in his mind.
It turned out that Zhou Ran's parents had both been beast tamers. During an outing on a mission, an unexpected incident occurred: a team member's beast suddenly went berserk and rampaged, killing indiscriminately. Zhou Ran's father had died at that time, and his mother had been severely injured, losing all her cultivation.
Afterwards, the team member, relying on his powerful background, had settled the case with a compensation of a certain amount of Blue Star Coins.
'You must be hungry. Today, I made your favourite braised pork knuckle,' Wang Qian said with a smile.
Zhou Ran suddenly woke up, feeling deeply moved. This was his only family in the world.
Silently, Zhou Ran vowed to become a powerful beast tamer and cure his mother's illness.
'Mmm, this is delicious!' Zhou Ran took a deep breath and began to eat heartily.
'Oh, you must be exhausted. Unfortunately, you don't have Star Spirit Power, so you can only become a Breeder.' Wang Qian looked at Zhou Ran with sympathy.
'Mom, do you think someone could awaken Star Spirit Power the day after tomorrow?' Zhou Ran wiped his mouth and asked.
'It's possible, but it's extremely rare—almost impossible.'
"Don't dwell on it too much. Breeder is also a great profession." Wang Qian comforted Zhou Ran.
"No, I was just asking. Mom, go rest. I'll clean up the rest." Zhou Ran smiled.
Wang Qian glanced at Zhou Ran before slowly returning to her room.
Soon, Zhou Ran finished cleaning the dishes and returned to his room.
Although he hadn't eaten anything all day, strangely enough, he didn't feel hungry. He just felt unusually tired. It was only a little past 8 o'clock, and Zhou Ran was already lying on the bed, fast asleep.
...
The next morning at 8 o'clock, near Ranran Pet House.
'Everyone, listen to me. Based on my years of breeding experience, this shop must have used some special technique yesterday to breed such a powerful orange shadow cat.'
'Everyone knows that orange shadow cats are just low-level beasts, suitable for beginners. How could they become so powerful?'
"So I immediately conducted an investigation yesterday and indeed discovered a suspicious drug." By early morning, a large crowd had gathered outside Zhou Ran's shop, all listening to the middle-aged man next door speak.
"Cut it out, old man. You're just jealous and starting to spread rumours!" a man in green clothing shouted from the crowd.
The middle-aged man's lips twitched slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.
'You may not believe it, but you've probably heard of a drug called Catalyst Pill.'
'After a beast takes this drug, its strength increases to an unimaginable level in a short period of time, and it becomes extremely violent, causing great harm to other beasts. After taking it, it usually doesn't survive more than three months.' The middle-aged man said confidently.
Upon hearing the term 'Catalyst Pill,' everyone's expressions changed, and they all recalled the strange behaviour of the Orange Shadow Cat from yesterday. The crowd fell silent.
'I knew there was no way such a skilled breeder could exist—they must have used banned substances. It's utterly cruel!'
'That's right! To gain a little fame, they harm innocent beasts. How despicable!' A few people in the crowd began to stir up emotions, occasionally glancing at the middle-aged man.
'If you don't believe me, come and see. This pool of light yellow liquid on the ground is what the beasts expel after taking the Catalyst Pill.' The middle-aged man pointed to the liquid he had poured out the previous night and shouted.
Sure enough, more and more people gathered around. After seeing the liquid on the ground, everyone turned red with anger.
Because beasts that consume the Catalyst Pill typically die quickly, their deaths are gruesome.
"This heartless merchant is despicable. We must catch him today and send him to the Beast Regulation Bureau." A woman in blue said.
'That's right. We thought yesterday that a master breeder had come to our city, but it turns out he was a fraudster.'
'Spit. Scum.'
At this moment, the middle-aged man sneered a few times.
'If you dare to challenge me, you'll be finished this time.' ...
Zhou Ran was exceptionally happy today. He was about to redeem his points and become a beast tamer, which excited him greatly.
'Mom, I'm going to the shop.' Zhou Ran bid farewell to his mother, rode his beloved electric scooter, hummed a song along the way, and arrived at the shop entrance in a leisurely manner.
'Wow, there are already so many customers this early? It seems yesterday's fame has spread, ha ha!' Zhou Ran happily parked the electric scooter to the side and locked it with the key.
" Everyone, look! That heartless merchant is here! Catch him!" The middle-aged man saw Zhou Ran arrive and immediately incited the crowd to rush towards him.
'Something's wrong? There's something off here!' Zhou Ran's expression changed as he noticed something was amiss.
They swarmed around him, surrounding him completely.
"You heartless merchant! You dared to use that banned drug, the Catalyst Pill, just for a little fame. "Exactly! That adorable orange-shadowed cat—you used this banned drug on it, turning it so brutal. You're too cruel!" The crowd shouted in unison.
The middle-aged man remained silent, only grinning secretly to himself.
Zhou Ran froze.
Catalytic Pills? What are those?
He immediately began searching his mind for information on Catalytic Pills...
"Are you guys misunderstanding? How could I possibly have this banned substance? Could this be someone's frame-up?" Zhou Ran kept explaining, while noticing the middle-aged man hiding behind him, mocking him.
"Misunderstanding? Isn't this evidence?" The middle-aged man immediately adopted a serious expression, pointing at a pool of yellow liquid by the door.
Zhou Ran immediately walked to the store entrance and looked at the pool of liquid.
"Damn it, it must be this scum framing me!" Zhou Ran glanced at the middle-aged man and clenched his fists.
"Still trying to deny it? Come with us to the Beast Regulation Bureau!" Just as Zhou Ran was about to open the door, his hands were suddenly grabbed by two people.
What should I do?
If he couldn't prove his innocence, he was finished.
In this world, those who used such drugs privately usually didn't end well.
At that moment, Zhou Ran's eyes lit up, and he shouted, 'I absolutely did not use the Catalyst Pill. I also bred a Snow Woman Beast. If you don't believe me, you can come and check!'
The middle-aged man paused for a moment and shouted, 'No, he'll definitely try to escape. Take him away immediately.'
"Hey, sir, there are so many of you. How could I escape? Are you feeling guilty?" Zhou Ran said.
"Hmph! Let him bring out the Snow Woman Beast. Let's see what else he can do." The green-clothed man beside him said.
The two men holding Zhou Ran's hands both looked at the middle-aged man, as if seeking his opinion.
The middle-aged man clenched his teeth and shouted, 'I'm nervous? Ha! Let's see how you prove your innocence.'
The middle-aged man was confident. He had secretly watched from the neighbouring room yesterday and hadn't seen Zhou Ran cultivate the Snow Woman Beast at all. This time, he was definitely finished.
Soon, the two men let go of his hands, and Zhou Ran immediately opened the door and walked inside.