King of Beasts

Chapter 2: Supernatural

Below the title was the body of the post, as described by the poster:

“Here’s what happened: about a day ago, I suddenly received a mysterious black card.

As soon as I got the black card, a string of text appeared before my eyes, and there was a prompt sound in my ear. It instructed me to use the card to contract and capture an animal as a pet beast, turning me into a beastmaster.

At first, I thought I was like anime protagonists who had stumbled upon some great adventure.

But it wasn’t that simple. Right after I followed the card’s guidance and completed the novice mission, I was teleported to a very dangerous place. It was teeming with wild beasts, and I nearly died!

My pet beast was seriously injured while protecting me. The nearby pet hospital was completely unable to treat it, and the doctors declared there was no hope. What should I do?

I have a feeling that we’re bonded—if my pet beast dies, something bad will happen to me too…”

In addition to the text, the poster also attached a photo.

It showed a large cat that appeared as if it had been petrified, its eyes gouged out, and one leg missing. Its condition was wretched, oozing grey blood, with bizarre-looking injuries.

“Mhm,” Lu Ran nodded.

Fang Lan spoke angrily, “The injuries look off; the picture must have been Photoshopped. This person… I suspect they’re an extremist who abuses pets.”

Such a poor attempt at a third-rate story seemed like a stunt to grab attention—too fake to be true!

Did they think they were “the chosen one”?

“Indeed,” Lu Ran agreed with Fang Lan. There were many such people, but his gaze remained fixed on the phone screen.

At first glance, the post indeed seemed like a ploy by an animal abuser looking to attract attention.

However, Lu Ran was quite sensitive to this kind of seemingly fake news.

Supernatural phenomena…

Images of a city being invaded by countless monsters immediately sprang to his mind…

Was he thinking about that dream again…

Lu Ran sighed inwardly.

In fact, he was extremely concerned about such supernatural information.

The reason was simple: he harbored a secret unknown to others.

He could clearly hear the “inner voice” of non-human creatures, possessing a superpower akin to understanding the language of beasts and engaging in telepathy with animals.

He acquired this superpower two years ago.

At first, he wasn’t very adept at it, but after practicing, he can now hear the inner voices of many animals.

He could predict the weather, and he could dominate the fighting bug tournament in Green Sea City—all thanks to this superpower.

And along with this superpower came a strange dream.

Every so often, he would dream of the city being invaded by various monsters, dying miserably within it, before waking up in a cold sweat.

Initially, Lu Ran even saw a doctor, but no illness was found.

However, there was no doubt in his mind that something about him was not normal.

Therefore, precisely because of his own abnormality, Lu Ran always felt that there must also be something abnormal about the world.

Yet, for so long, the only abnormality he discovered was within himself.

Even on the internet, where supernatural and ghost stories are common, in the end, he couldn’t verify any of them—they seemed fabricated.

This time, although Lu Ran took the post seriously at first, he quickly shook his head. He had been deceived too many times to believe in such casually concocted tales again.

The world, after all, is quite scientific…

“Let’s eat first.”

At that moment, the waiter finally brought the dishes to the table. Seeing this, Lu Ran put down his phone and said to Fang Lan.

“Alright,” Fang Lan nodded.

In fact, the image was quite gory, but Fang Lan didn’t seem disturbed by it, which could only be attributed to her background in a family of animal medicine.

As they picked up their dishes, Lu Ran asked, “Are you going to bring all those pets to Shanghai with you?”

“Of course,” Fang Lan replied. “I need to maintain my weekly update frequency; otherwise, my fans will miss me.”

Fang Lan was actually a cute pet blogger who regularly shared her experience of raising pets online. She never showed her own face, only that of her pets.

However, Lu Ran always had his reservations about Fang Lan’s claim to be a cute pet blogger. After all, the pets Fang Lan raised were snakes, spiders, scorpions, and centipedes—creatures far from what one would typically describe as cute.

“It looks like you’ll have to rent your own place,” Lu Ran shrugged, half-joking. With those ‘cute pets’ of hers, if Fang Lan could sneak into the dorms without getting caught, he’d concede defeat. Even if the dorm supervisor turned a blind eye, the roommates would surely have a fit—perhaps even plotting Fang Lan’s demise in the middle of the night.

Would you be able to tolerate a roommate who keeps pets like scorpions, centipedes, or snakes in the dorm?

“Living on my own is fine by me,” replied Fang Lan nonchalantly. “You better pass your exams and come over quickly so you can share the rent with me.”

“As if I’m fond of your pets,” Lu Ran said, exasperated. He wasn’t a coward, but Fang Lan had a history of using spiders and other creepy-crawlies to terrify him since they were seven or eight years old, leaving him with a bit of a childhood trauma.

What kind of girl is she? He thought. She hasn’t changed at all… Aren’t cats and dogs cute enough?

As they bantered back and forth, the rain stopped, and they had almost finished their meal.

Since Fang Lan had plans to meet up with her best friend in the afternoon, she settled the bill first and left the restaurant, leaving Lu Ran behind to pack up the leftover food. Fang Lan’s visit was only to check on Lu Ran, having heard he’d taken a leave from school. Lu Ran knew that Fang Lan’s family cared about him.

“Ah, boring~”

A moment later, Lu Ran also left the restaurant. He breathed in the moist air and gazed at the rainbow in the sky, his mood shifting.

High school is so dull, barely any leisure time for oneself…

He took a step forward, eagerly anticipating his entry into university.

But before he could take a few more steps, a sudden voice made him freeze in place.

Following that, Lu Ran lifted his hand, staring intently at the black card that had inexplicably appeared in his grasp.

It was the size of a poker card, made of plastic, and it wasn’t a membership card from the restaurant, nor was it a flyer someone had slipped into his hand. It had appeared out of nowhere, very abruptly.

Moreover, Lu Ran began to experience visual and auditory hallucinations… In that moment, he felt both the quiet and the noise around him, as if he was in a world of his own.

Text kept refreshing and the voice persisted, rendering Lu Ran’s expression increasingly incredulous.

[Beastmaster qualifications detected…]

[Contract card has materialized…]

Novice mission: [Please use the contract card to capture an animal as your pet beast to become a beastmaster!]

Prompt 1: [Beastmaster: An occupation that involves contracting, training, and commanding pet beasts for work and combat.]

Prompt 2: [Contract card: A tool that enhances the user’s mental strength to capture pet beasts; it contains a space suitable for the pet beast to rest.]

Prompt 3: [The contract card cannot be used on humans.]

Prompt 4: [The success rate of capturing with the contract card depends on the user’s mental strength and the quality of the card. Do not attempt to capture a creature that you cannot control, as it may result in damage to the contract card or backlash from the pet beast.]

Prompt 5: […]

“What is this?” Standing at the curb, Lu Ran held the black contract card, sensing the constant flow of people around him, certain that this was not the inner voice of any animal. This sensation was entirely different from when he used his superpower.

Lu Ran took a deep breath.

Black contract card, pet beast, beastmaster?

At this moment, his mind suddenly flashed back to the post Fang Lan had sent him, recalling the poster’s description!

It was an exact match!

Could it be, that person was telling the truth?