Chapter 84: My Hat Evolved
Gao Peng picked up Stripey’s shed skin. He still harbored thoughts that the shed skins of familiars could have all kinds of magical effects, like in the novels.
Then he realized he had fantasized too much. The shed skin was weak beyond reason. A light rub was enough to turn it into dust that littered the ground and Gao Peng wasted some time cleaning the place up after.
Gao Peng discovered that Stripey had actually managed to level up in the day that he was out. It sure grew a lot. Gao Peng patted Stripey’s head and said encouragingly, “Continue eating, keep it up! It is best if you can eat up and be nice and chubby.”
Stripey’s pupils continued flashing brightly as a sound reverberated in Gao Peng’s mind.
Yes! Yes! Stripey thought.
“Wait ’till you become fat! We’ll go and eat fried spider meat.”
Stripey froze. It looked up and glanced at its master. It looked at the can before letting go guiltily.
…
The items required for Silly’s evolution were all gathered. However, this time, they could not be stewed as a large pot of food. Silly had a weak constitution and could not take any stress, so the materials needed special preparation.
Gao Peng got up and moved downstairs with Silly. He walked towards the studio in the city center. The studio had a more complete set of experimental equipment.
I have stock options for the studio, so these things should be treated as my own. Using my things after work shouldn’t be counted as misappropriation of public goods, right? Gao Peng thought. He still felt guilty.
He got out of the car in the city center. It was seven in the evening, the busiest time of the day. Colorful lights lit up the bustling street. People walked shoulder to shoulder, and it was amazingly crowded and lively.
It had been a long time since he had gone shopping. Gao Peng’s mind suddenly wandered as he gazed at the busy street.
He remembered that the last time he went out shopping was when he was still with his parents. His mother had bought a suit for his father in the clothing store at the corner of the street. It was gray, and it was still in his cupboard.
Sadly, their things remained while they were no more.
“Gao Peng!” He heard something, as if someone was calling for him from behind.
He ignored it.
“Scholar Gao Peng!”
Gao Peng turned around. This time he recognized it: it was fellow student Li Zigong.
“Why do you never turn around when I call your name out in the streets! You only turn when I call you scholar Gao Peng,” Li Zigong complained after moving closer.
“There’s just too many people with the name Gao Peng in this world. But Gao Peng with ‘Scholar’ in front is rare,” Gao Peng answered with a poker face.
“Alright, you win,” Li Zigong said as he rolled his eyes.
Beside Li Zigong was his entire family. Mother Li recognized Gao Peng, as Gao Peng’s performance at the Monster Breeder Association last time was eye-catching. It was hard to forget him.
She remembered that she was still worried about passing the examination for the Intermediate Monster Breeder Certificate while her son’s classmate had already become an Intermediate Monster Breeder. She could not help but lament why Gao Peng was someone else’s child.
After a casual chat, Mother Li looked at Gao Peng’s figure from behind before glancing at her lazy youngest son. She said, “Let’s go, we’ll go to the bookshop after we finish shopping later.”
Li Zigong suddenly had a bad premonition of his comparison. He thought, Gao Peng, you bastard!
…
The workday had already ended at the studio. Gao Peng walked out of the elevator and pressed a finger on the biometric lock. The signal lit up, going from red to blue.
The metal door opened slowly. The studio was completely empty and seemed somewhat spacious.
Inside, another layer of bulletproof glass door opened at the same time that the fluorescent light on the ceiling lit up and brightened the studio.
Silly sat quietly on Gao Peng’s shoulder. It was curious about all the new things around them. It floated around in the studio and only flew towards Gao Peng when he called out to it.
After taking the materials out from his bag, Gao Peng started to busy himself.
Some materials needed to be processed in a special way. For example, refrigeration, high-temperature burning, or corrosion using a strong acid.
After a full half hour, all the materials were prepared.
Finally, it was time to put all the materials together and brew a cup of greenish fluid. Gao Peng also took out the Wood Space Heart and put it in the grinder. He then pushed the “on” button.
After a minute, Gao Peng poured all the green-colored powder into the fluid. The medicine bubbled uncontrollably. Large bubbles appeared from within and popped, releasing a sweet fragrance into the air. None of the materials used were poisonous, so in theory, he could also drink it.
Before Gao Peng could open his mouth, Silly leaped into the medicinal fluid with a plopping sound.
Silly’s frame instantly began to expand after going into the fluid. It grew several times its size and its color also became more transparent. The changes were unpredictable. Light flashed softly while small colorful spots were obscured within the medicinal fluid.
The green medicinal fluid gradually lost its color, dulling as Silly’s color strengthened. The other colors on Silly gradually disappeared. What was left was a lush green color.
Gao Peng suddenly jolted up. Silly’s favorite place was on top of his head, which meant…
Gao Peng suddenly felt that it was the wrong decision to choose the Wood Spirit Jellyfish evolution path. The medicinal fluid had completely lost its color, and all the colors were transferred onto the body of the Wood Spirit Jellyfish. Silly transformed into a green jellyfish, so green that he panicked.
It was too bright…
Because of the state of Silly’s body, its body was semi-transparent, which was why the jellyfish shone brightly in the air.
I don’t like this color, Gao Peng cried in his heart.
“Evolution completed– [Wood Spirit Jellyfish]”
[Monster Name]: Wood Spirit Jellyfish
[Monster Level]: Level 6 (Normal)
[Monster Grade]: Perfect
[Monster Attribute]: Space/ Wood/ Wind
[Monster Condition]: Healthy (Happy)
[Monster Weakness]: 1. Electric 2. Ice
[Requirements for promotion to Epic Grade]: …
Silly succeeded in evolving. Gao Peng silently closed up after taking a look at the materials needed for promotion to Epic Grade. The other items were still alright, but what the heck was the Space attributed material called Magical Space Sand? Gao Peng remembered hearing about it before somewhere, but thought it was ridiculously rare.
Perfect Grade was sufficient for now. At least it was no longer a problem to promote commander-tier familiars.
Gao Peng cleaned up all the equipment he used and also cleared residual waste before leaving with Silly.
After Silly’s promotion to Perfect Grade and Stripey’s promotion to Excellent Grade, Gao Peng felt that his Soul Strength had increased considerably. Based on his assessment, he was still some way away from being able to make a contract with Dumby. But as long as he put in the effort, it would probably only take a couple of days.
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