Xie Sen and his four companions arrived at their landing point the previous day before 7:00 AM. Maine and Li You contacted the aircraft company separately, and an hour and a half later, two aircraft arrived one after the other.
Li You thanked them again, and he and Xie Sen and the other four boarded their respective aircrafts for the return trip.
"Land at the parking lot at the edge of the forest," Xie Sen told the pilot, then reminded Long Teng, "Contact Gold Medal. At least seven large shuttles will be needed to transport them."
A herd of high-level contracted beasts galloping along the road would be too impressive, and their enormous size would easily cause traffic jams. Transporting them directly by car would be most convenient. As for the Eagle Beast, it could fly, so there was no need to worry about it at all.
Long Teng nodded and contacted his father, directly asking to borrow the gold medal's feeding area. The other party seemed to ask what he was doing, and he smiled broadly: "Raising a contracted beast!"
"Oh, not my contracted beast, I found one in the forest," he said, and asked Xie Sen, "Which district is your store located in?"
"The Anguang branch."
Long Teng did as he was told, and then said, "We need to send people to transport them away. Large shuttles, at least seven."
The handsome middle-aged man sitting on the luxurious sofa leaned forward slightly: "You mean seven?"
"Eight, "But Arsen said seven cars would be enough," Long Teng said honestly. "We'll be at the parking lot at the edge of the forest in an hour and a half. Dad, you have to arrange some people quickly!"
The middle-aged man, Long Teng's father, Long Yu, was silent for a moment. He then suddenly jumped up from the sofa, his calm and elite demeanor instantly disappearing. "Stinky boy, you haven't contacted your father in so long, and now you
're joking with me? Are you itching for trouble?" A slender, handsome hand reached out from the side and pressed against his lips, silencing Long Yu immediately. Then, Long Teng heard his father's gentle voice through the communication line: "We'll make arrangements."
"Thanks, Dad!" Long Teng happily hung up the phone.
Long Yu grabbed his partner's hand and bit it gently: "Aming, you only know how to pamper that brat."
An Ming gave him a helpless look, opened his bracelet, and pulled up Star City News. He pointed to the news item at the top with a hot logo: "A Teng may be stubborn, but he never jokes."
Long Yu glanced at the headline: "Shocked! A large number of high-level contracted beasts appeared at the edge of the forest!"
He continued reading, quickly finishing the news. "Nine? Has Ateng's arithmetic gotten this bad?" An Ming glanced at him. "Perhaps something changed along the way. Contact your staff and ask them to pay attention to our son's affairs.
He doesn't need any help all year long."
Long Yu pulled him into a hug. "I'm just paying attention to you. You've got that kid on your mind anyway."
He said this, but his hands were moving quickly. He quickly arranged for his men to pick up the contracted beasts and then contacted the person in charge of the Anguang District, asking them to clear all available space in the feeding area.
The general manager of the Anguang District was stunned for a moment, then his voice suddenly rose with ecstasy. "Boss, did you get all those contracted beasts reported in the news? Are you going to sell them in my store?"
"No," Long Yu said. "The specific arrangements will be handled by Long Teng. Don't interfere. Just follow his instructions."
"Yes," the manager's voice suddenly became weak.
Before the aircraft carrying Xie Sen and his four companions landed, the pilot spotted a dense crowd of people standing at the edge of the forest from a distance. He was stunned: "Why are there so many people all of a sudden? There weren't many people when I passed by this morning."
Long Teng leaned out the window and looked down: "Really? A lot of people!"
Xie Sen looked out and saw that the crowd was some distance from the edge of the forest, with no one in between, and the crowd faced the forest.
A little above the forest, a model-like aircraft appeared. He touched Maine's arm: "What's that?" Maine glanced at it: "
A drone.
" Xie Sen rubbed his forehead: "I think I know why there are so many people."
Bai Jiao smiled: "It seems the giant tiger beasts are faster than us."
"Wow, you mean they're watching the big guys? I want to see them too. Asen said there were eight, but I've only seen four. I wonder what the others are like?" Long Teng pressed even harder against the window.
The pilot was shocked. His hand accidentally touched a button, causing the aircraft to suddenly turn right. Xie Sen's inertia caused him to crash into Maine.
Maine grabbed him and coldly reminded the pilot, "Pay attention."
The pilot quickly apologized, steered the aircraft back on track, and landed safely in the parking lot.
Xie Sen and his companions disembarked and ran toward the crowd, but the crowd was so dense they couldn't squeeze in. So they simply circled to the edge of the forest and ran along it.
"The First Army and the Contracted Beast Research Institute are currently facing off. These people are incredibly bold, just running over there, treating the First Army and the Institute like nothing? Are they planning to forge a bond right under their noses?" "
You're truly young, thinking it's easy to form a bond? High-level contracted beasts have bad tempers and generally won't harm humans on their own initiative, but if they get too close, it's a different story if they sense a provocation."
"Why do they look familiar to me?"
"Hey, isn't the tallest one the illegitimate child the Kes family disowned yesterday?"
"Are they trying to give it a try, hoping to form a bond to improve their abilities and win over the Kes family?"
Various discussions rose from the crowd, but Xie Sen and his three companions were some distance away from the edge, so they didn't hear them.
They hadn't been running long when they came upon the contracted beasts. Each one was enormous, and standing together, they stood out.
He also noticed that at the front of the crowd, closest to the contracted beasts, there were two groups of people: one wearing dark green military uniforms, the other in light green uniforms.
Xie Sen was no stranger to the light green uniforms; he'd seen them before at the Contracted Beast Research Institute, where all the researchers wore them.
Suddenly, an eagle's cry echoed from the quiet group of contracted beasts. Then, the beasts, having previously remained quietly in their positions, all broke into a run.
The crowd erupted in a commotion, and those at the front instinctively stepped back. Even accidentally stepping on these massive beasts would be enough to hurt them.
As the people in front stepped back, they stepped on the feet of those behind them. The crowd jostled and clamored, and chaos erupted.
The men in dark green uniforms immediately became alert, their hands on the weapons at their waists.
The calmest were those at the institute. With their extensive knowledge of contracted beasts, they could tell at a glance that the beasts had no intention of attacking; instead, they were delighted.
As the beasts began to run, Xie Sen felt the ground begin to shake. In the blink of an eye, the massive beasts were before them.
The giant tiger beast raised its paw and stretched it out in front of him. He reached out to touch it, and immediately heard the giant tiger beast's energetic voice in his mind: "You're finally here. They're so annoying, they kept staring at us." "
Although I'm annoyed, I always remember what the flying rhinoceros beast said about keeping a low profile. I didn't roar at all!"
Xie Sen's mouth twitched. Didn't it realize that it was no longer low-key just by appearing in front of people?
He rubbed its paw: "Great! Sorry to have kept you waiting. We've arranged accommodations for you. Are all your companions here?"
"Yes."
Xie Sen said, "That's good. Wait a moment." Considering the crowd around him, he withdrew his hand. The giant tiger beast also retracted its claws and looked down at him.
The flying eagle beast circled above them. The other contracted beasts stood beside the giant tiger beast, barking softly. The giant tiger beast turned its head and growled softly, communicating with each other.
Xie Sen asked Long Teng, "Have the people your father sent here?"
Long Teng looked toward the crowd, jumping up and down, trying to see what was happening behind them. "They've arrived, but they said the shuttle can't get in because the crowd is blocking the way."
Xie Sen made a quick decision. "Then let's walk to the parking lot!"
As he spoke, a man strode over. Xie Sen was startled, then smiled and greeted, "Dean Mu."
Mu Lin nodded his chin towards the contracted beasts. "Did you find this in the forest?"
"I guess so," Xie Sen asked curiously. "How did you get here?"
"Of course it's because of them? High-level contracted beasts without bonds are extremely rare. Nine of them showed up here at once. Our Contracted Beast Research Institute had to come and see what was going on," Mu Lin said.
Xie Sen looked at the contracted beasts, but his vision was completely blocked by the giant tiger beast, and he couldn't see the others at all: "Nine?"
"Yes," Mu Lin's eyes lit up, "Among them is an S-rank flying eagle beast. Not only that, there are two giant elephant beasts that are the only vegetarians that have disappeared. The other giant tiger beasts, giant lion beasts, giant leopard beasts, giant wolf beasts, and giant rhinoceros beasts are all contracted beasts with top-level combat power."
He paused and added: "They are also the contracted beasts most desired by the powerful families at present."
Xie Sen calculated in his mind: "Are there any two?"
"Giant leopard beast," Mu Lin raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you find it? Don't you know?"
Xie Sen was very helpless with the giant tiger beast's arithmetic level. He laughed dryly and said, "I'm not very familiar with their species." He changed the subject. "I'm too tired in the forest. I'm going to go back and rest." As
he spoke, he patted the giant tiger beast's front legs and said in his mind: "Follow me." At the same time, he said to Maine and the others, "Let's go to the parking lot first."
"Good!" Long Teng looked at the giant tiger beast with a gleaming smile. He followed it, glancing back and suddenly patting Maine's shoulder excitedly. "There's a giant lion beast!"
Maine said calmly, "Yeah, I saw it."
Long Teng blinked and smiled. "Is the synchronization rate low? It doesn't matter. We'll look for it later. We'll definitely find it."
Maine's gaze flickered across his flawless smile and nodded, "Yeah."
Xie Sen couldn't help but feel happy watching this. Maine could actually make friends, but he was just too defensive and unwilling to trust.
Although Maine's attitude towards Long Teng had only improved slightly, it was a good start. With more time together, things would definitely get better.
He smiled at Maine, and Maine's expression softened as he looked at him.
As they walked, a lion's roar came from behind, followed by the roars of various contracted beasts. The combined roars were truly deafening.
Xie Sen frowned subconsciously, and the next moment, someone covered his ears. He turned his head and saw Maine looking at him worriedly.
Xie Sen coughed dryly, grasped his wrist, and removed his hand. "I'm not that fragile. You don't have to be so cautious."
Maine seemed overly cautious with him, even more so than his roommate had been with his girlfriend. But he was a man, and being treated like that made him uncomfortable.
He said, "Let's check the situation first."
He took two steps and said to Long Teng, "Take them to the parking lot."
He ran to the back and saw the giant lion beast walking at the back, its front body slightly lowered, and a warning growl emanated from its throat. Across from him were four men in military uniforms, armed with weapons.
Mu Lin also walked over with an unhappy look on his face: "What, the first army still wants to take them?"
The leading soldier said: "Dean Mu, these are all uncontracted beasts. They are ownerless when they appear in the wild. Whoever gets them will own them."
Mu Lin snorted coldly: "If you can make them go with you on their own, I have nothing to say, but if you use illegal means, our research institute will definitely not sit idly by."
The soldier frowned: "Dean Mu, please don't make things difficult for us. We are just following orders. I don't care about the rest. I must take the giant lion beast away."
Mu Lin said bluntly: "It's nice to say, but can you take it away? Even Lieutenant General Kes himself may not be able to take it away."
Xie Sen touched the giant lion beast's front legs to calm its emotions. After hearing Mu Lin's words, he immediately realized that it was Meyer's men. No wonder they wanted the giant lion beast.
"Who said they're ownerless?" Xie Sen asked. "They're all Gold Medal. Are you trying to rob them? If a fight breaks out, even with your weapons, do you think you'll gain the upper hand?"
He glanced at the crowd nearby. "There are so many here, aren't you afraid of getting hurt?"
The soldier looked at him. "Gold Medal?"
"Of course," Xie Sen nodded. "The shuttle the Gold Medal is sending to ferry them has arrived. Goodbye."
As he spoke, he mentally told the Giant Lion Beast, "Go find the Giant Tiger Beast and walk with it in front."
The Giant Lion Beast roared at the soldiers with a commanding presence, their faces suddenly stiffening. The Giant Lion Beast flicked its tail and ran to the front, walking side by side with the Giant Tiger Beast.
Long Teng excitedly looked at the two giant beasts on his left and right. Tentatively, he reached out to touch them. This time, he wasn't attacked; he touched them successfully.
"Hahaha, they let me touch them!" he laughed happily.
Bai Jiao chuckled, "They're quite clever. They know we're Arsen's friends and bear them no ill will."
The leading soldier's face darkened as the giant lion beast departed, his weapon twitching. Mu Lin warned, "Harming a contracted beast will result in legal action. I advise you to remain calm."
Xie Sen, however, wasn't worried. With so many high-ranking contracted beasts, he doubted the soldiers would dare to attack.
He said to Mu Lin, "Dean Mu, we're leaving first."
Mu Lin nodded, "I'll visit Gold Medal."
To prevent further tampering, Xie Sen and Main followed the last contracted beast back to the parking lot. The crowd, amazed at the docile and obedient nature of the contracted beasts, instinctively followed their lead.
The Gold Medal staff froze at the sight of the contracted beasts approaching in a steady stream. Sun Mao, the head of the team, was stunned, but after a moment of shock, he immediately had all the shuttle doors opened.
As Long Teng approached, he asked, his eyes gleaming, "Are these all being sent to Gold Medal?"
Long Teng nodded. "Yes," Bai Jiao reminded him. "They're just staying at Gold Medal, not for sale."
Sun Mao looked surprised. Since when did contracted beasts need to stay on human territory? They are at the top of the food chain in the forest.
Long Teng checked the shuttle and said to the contracted beasts behind him: "One in each carriage, you can choose."
The giant tiger beast looked back and ran to the door of the farthest carriage and stood there. The giant lion beast followed it. Next to it, the contracted beasts behind it lined up horizontally and each chose a shuttle.
However, they all stood at the door and did not get on.
When the last giant leopard beast arrived at the destination, Xie Sen and Maine appeared in front of them.
Sun Mao ran to Xie Sen: "Why are you here?" He pointed at the contracted beasts and said, "Did you find all these?"
Xie Sen shook his head. He should have said they'd asked him for help.
Sun Mao assumed he was trying to keep a low profile and sighed, "Why are you still working? Going into the forest and selling these contracted beasts would earn you more than you can spend in a lifetime."
Xie Sen frowned. "They're not selling them. They're just borrowing the gold medal venue."
"I know. Your friend just told me," Sun Mao pointed at the massive, black giant leopard beast. "How did you get so many? I only brought seven shuttles."
Xie Sen said, "One got picked up along the way." He couldn't say the giant tiger beast miscalculated.
"What do we do now? Let it run after the car? Actually, that's fine too. The giant leopard beast is no slower than the shuttle," Sun Mao said.
Xie Sen reached out and touched the giant leopard beast's front legs. Its natural strength gave it a special feeling, and it lowered its head and called softly to him.
"Do you want to wait for another shuttle to pick you up, or run back with us?" he asked.
The giant leopard beast replied crisply, "I'll carry you back."
Then, a spectacular scene unfolded on the streets of Star City: seven large shuttles drove ahead, one after another, followed by a giant leopard beast carrying two people, and an eagle beast soaring in the sky.
At the rear was a smaller shuttle. Long Teng sat in the passenger seat, gazing enviously at Xie Sen and Maine, who were atop the giant leopard beast. "Ah, ah, I want to ride on the back of a giant leopard beast too!"
Bai Jiao shook his head in amusement. With Maine around, his dream was doomed to fail, unless he didn't ride with Xie Sen, but even then, the giant leopard beast wouldn't necessarily agree.
Xie Sen clutched the giant leopard beast's fur with both hands, held in Maine's arms. The giant leopard beast's head blocked most of the wind, keeping him steady.
The giant leopard beast was enormous, with a broad back, but its limbs pulled against its back as it ran, forcing its body forward and backward with every landing and takeoff.
Maine's hand was around his waist, and they were so close that every time they moved, they bumped into each other, creating a particularly intimate atmosphere.
Xie Sen's face flushed, and he desperately wanted to smack himself for agreeing to sit with Maine. This was so damn awkward.
He tried to move forward without showing any emotion, but Maine's hold on him tightened, pressing them together so tightly that he could easily sense Maine's reaction.
He was stunned for a moment, then instinctively glanced down at himself, thinking, "Good thing there's no one sitting in front of him.
" The hand around his waist gradually tightened, as if trying to rub him to the bone.
Mason kept reminding himself that this was normal; he would react if someone rubbed him like that.
But no matter how rational he tried, his face heated up. Suddenly, he felt a weight on his right shoulder. He turned his head and saw Maine resting her chin on his shoulder, her pretty face a pained expression, her brow furrowed.
"Asen, I'm so uncomfortable," he said in a low, raspy voice, and Xie Sen's heart trembled.
Oh my god, this is a foul! He would have reacted even if he hadn't been rubbed!
Xie Sen took a deep breath, trying to sound normal and calm. "Let me go. I'll move forward, and you move back. Just so we're not touching."
Maine, her chin resting on his shoulder, shook her head. "I don't want to let go."
Xie Sen's heart was pounding. She gritted her teeth and said, "Let go. We'll be at the gold medal soon. Be careful not to make a fool of yourself."
"Make a fool of yourself?" Maine repeated in confusion. "Why?"
Xie Sen lowered his voice and said, "Nonsense, you're reacting!"
"What reaction? I just feel uncomfortable," Maine said, subconsciously nudging him.
Xie Sen was dumbfounded, tilting his head to look at Maine's delicate face so close to him. This person... so pure and unselfish? So, innocent?
"Is this your first time?" He couldn't help but be curious.
"No, I used to be like this every morning, but I could control it. It would be fine after a while," Maine frowned. "Not right now. I want to get closer to you, a little closer."
As if to prove his point, he tightened his grip on Xie Sen's waist and nudged his chin forward, practically enclosing Xie Sen's entire body within his reach.
Xie Sen's ears flushed. Maine's words weren't overly explicit, but they had his heart racing, completely throwing his rhythm off.
He calmed himself, "Let me go first. You...if you keep reacting like this, people will notice. Calm down."
Maine didn't let go, nudging his shoulder again. Xie Sen kicked back, "Let go!" He released his grip on the giant leopard beast and tried to wrench Maine's hand.
Maine refused to let go, and the two struggled. Xie Sen's strength was no match for his, and his hand remained motionless.
Xie Sen rolled his eyes, "Hey, I'm doing this for your own good. Don't be ungrateful!" If this continued, he'd be in trouble too.
Maine said, "That's it. It's okay." "
It's okay!" Xie Sen gritted his teeth, reached back, and poked at the vital point. Maine's body trembled violently, and he retreated unconsciously.
But he still didn't let go!
Xie Sen was helpless, he couldn't think of any other way.
"You..." Maine retreated for a moment and then immediately leaned forward, pressing against Xie Sen's back, and spoke in his ear, "Touch me again."
His voice was hoarse, and the heat of his words spread to Xie Sen's ears, and Xie Sen couldn't help but tremble slightly.
It's over, Xie Sen lamented, he also needed to calm down!
He was obviously a man! A straight man of steel! He actually reacted to another man. Two big words appeared in Xie Sen's mind: It's over.
What's worse is that he actually wanted to do what Maine said!
He clenched his fists, frantically chanting, "Calm down, calm down." After a moment, he said, "Let me go now and calm down. Your request, no? We'll talk about it when no one's around."
As he finished, he couldn't help but imagine putting it into practice. Suddenly, his head felt like smoke was coming out, but his heart was itching with shame and anticipation.
Maine stared at his profile, thinking for a moment: "You won't lie to me, will you?"
"...Yes."
Maine slowly let go of him.
Xie Sen hurried forward, grasping the giant leopard's fur with both hands. Looking at the shiny black hide before him, it suddenly occurred to him that he had been so close to the giant leopard. Didn't that mean... the giant leopard must have heard everything he said!
He wanted to dig the ground and bury himself.
"You're so slow," the giant leopard beast snorted, its tone arrogant and airy. "You can even hold back from going straight for me? Your man is no match for you. Why don't you find someone else?"
Puff... Xie Sen rubbed its fleshy back vigorously: "Shut up!"
"Heh," the giant leopard beast snorted again. "My friend, I'm doing this for your own good. According to our ancestors' experience, giant leopard beast masters are all pretty good, with healthy backs and kidneys..."
"Shut up," Xie Sen interrupted it. "You better keep your cool. By the way, is the other giant leopard beast your partner?"
"No, he's my little brother," the giant leopard beast said in a particularly domineering, CEO-like tone.
It wasn't long before they reached the gold medal. Maine and Xie Sen both regained their composure, but Xie Sen inexplicably felt that Maine's gaze on him was a little more fiery than usual.
Xie Sen placed the contracted beasts in areas four and five, touching each one and asking for their opinions.
When he touched another spotted giant leopard beast, it was rubbing against the black giant leopard beast, its voice as creamy as a sachet: "Brother, brother."
Xie Sen: "You're so affectionate, do you know your brother calls you his little brother?
" "I am my brother's little brother," the spotted giant leopard beast said softly, gently wrapping its tail around Xie Sen's wrist and shaking it back and forth like a toy.
Xie Sen patted its tail with his other hand, and it let go.
At this time, the flying eagle beast flew in front of it and landed. Its round eyes blinked, and it jumped on the spot, standing sideways, its wings slightly raised, just in front of Xie Sen's chest.
Xie Sen laughed and pinched the tip of its wing: "What's the matter?"
The Eagle Beast raised its other wing and pointed to the sky: "It's too low, I want to fly out."
Xie Sen looked at the transparent dome, a little embarrassed: "This is to isolate the noise. Your random roar may scare people, and sometimes it's very noisy outside, affecting your rest."
The Eagle Beast tilted its head and looked at him: "Is there no way? Then I can't stay here."
Xie Sen said: "Let me ask."
He looked at Sun Mao: "Can the dome be opened?"
"No," Sun Mao said directly, "It not only isolates the noise, but also ensures their safety. Without the dome, it is directly connected to the outside. If someone enters from above in an aircraft, it will be very dangerous."
Xie Sen thought about it and felt that it made sense. He pinched the Eagle Beast's wings and explained to it. The Eagle Beast said: "Then I won't live here. Can someone provide me with food?"
Xie Sen said: "Okay, then where will you stay?"
"Whatever. I like flying around. My spirits will improve after a while without fighting. Then I'll return to the forest."
Xie Sen nodded and asked the other contracted beasts for their opinions. They were all very easy to talk to, simply asking that Areas 4 and 5 be connected so they could chat and avoid boredom.
This was a simple matter; the two areas were already adjacent. Xie Sen discussed it with Long Teng, who had the gold medalists do as requested. It was completed before noon.
The eight contracted beasts each chose their own territory according to their preferences and were very satisfied.
Long Teng excitedly ran around them and asked Xie Sen, "Asen, is there anything else you need to prepare?"
Xie Sen said, "The Eagle Beast doesn't like places that are not big enough, so it won't live here. Ask the feeder to put a portion of Eagle Beast's food outside every day, and it will come to eat it on its own."
Long Teng looked at Sun Mao, who looked at Xie Sen in surprise and nodded, "Okay."
After making the arrangements, several people were about to leave when Sun Mao's assistant ran over breathlessly, "Manager Sun, the Kes family, the Qiao family, the Yan family, and many other large families are inquiring about the selling price of high-level contract beasts and asking to test the synchronization rate."
Sun Mao said helplessly, "You issue a notice that these are not for sale."
Long Teng said from the side, "None of them are for sale. No one is selling them."