Chapter Seven

Life is like opening a mystery box—so thrilling that you never know what surprise awaits the next moment.

At this very moment, Zhou Wanli was miserably sprawled on a tree, suddenly feeling like a joke. How could she be so terrified by a baby dragon still in its early developmental stage?

The Provocative Monkey was quietly tugging at the nerve tendrils around its neck nearby, trying to escape, but Zhou Wanli barely glanced at it, instead staring thoughtfully at the ground below.

How on earth did a baby dragon appear here?

The baby dragon belongs to the dragon family species, yet in truth, it possesses only a trace of the dragon bloodline. Aside from that, all its abilities are unrelated to dragons.

On the contrary, it masters most earth-type skills, making it a purely earth-elemental extraordinary creature.

But “purely earth-elemental” does not mean it’s weak. In fact, at every stage, a baby dragon’s strength is among the elite of extraordinary beings, with an extremely high growth ceiling.

Even a newborn baby dragon can reach a low-tier E rank in power, and through continuous evolution, it can ultimately attain a double S rank.

However, baby dragons are exceedingly rare creatures, usually residing only in deserts or wastelands—environments conducive to their growth, as they require massive absorption of earth energy.

Thus, Zhou Wanli could never have imagined that a baby dragon would be an accomplice of the Provocative Monkey.

Despite the baby dragon’s cute name and appearance, once it evolves again, it transforms into the notorious bully of the extraordinary creature realm—the Bully Dragon.

It jumps from a chubby little cutie about 1.5 meters tall to a huge, ill-tempered giant that bites any beast it meets.

In this light, these two beasts were quite the partners in mischief, sharing a similar foul character.

Zhou Wanli sighed helplessly.

The baby dragon persistently crashed into the tree below, occasionally unleashing earth skills like raging sandstorms and chaotic rock whirlwinds, trying to attack her up in the tree.

Unfortunately, the banyan tree she chose was massive, and wood counters earth, so the earth skills had little effect.

Yet Zhou Wanli dared not leave the tree for the time being. The baby dragon was a rare pet beast, strong and without obvious weaknesses—not something she could easily handle.

Though the baby dragon looked adorable and cuddly, it was an earth-elemental extraordinary creature, containing vast reserves of heavy earth energy.

In its clan, newborns already weigh around 200 kilograms—not to mention this one.

Judging by the dust clouds kicked up by its repeated impacts, this creature was definitely overweight, and if it kept growing, its mass might soon be measured by the ton.

Zhou Wanli gasped inwardly.

She quietly retracted her head and glanced at the time on her left wrist. This relentless pounding had been going on for nearly half an hour.

Doesn’t it hurt its head?

Thinking this, she poked the Provocative Monkey, who was nearly asleep on the branch.

“Hey! Your buddy is risking his life to save you, and you have the nerve to sleep?”

“That’s so heartless!”

The Provocative Monkey opened its sleepy eyes, clenched its fists, bared its teeth in a grimace, and disdainfully replied, “Squeak! Squeak-squeak!”

[Who says he’s my brother? I don’t make brothers with fools!]

Zhou Wanli was puzzled.

“Squeak—”

[Foolish human, you didn’t expect I was lying to you, did you? Ha ha ha!]

The monkey laughed wildly, rolling left and right. After a while, under Zhou Wanli’s death glare, it stopped, curling its lips smugly and explaining:

“Squeak-squeak—”

[That guy down there suddenly appeared in the secret realm. He’s been trying to find his way home. I said I knew the way, so he’s been following me ever since.]

“Ha ha, do you think he’s dumb or what?!”

“So you’ve been deceiving and using him all along?” Zhou Wanli frowned, staring at the figure below who, despite exhaustion, stubbornly refused to give up.

She pressed her lips, her gaze turning cold.

The Provocative Monkey, still proudly beside her, squeaked:

[Squeak! What do you mean by lying? He agreed to it! Warning you: If you don’t release the great Monkey King, your mission is doomed to fail!]

Zhou Wanli was truly surprised. She hadn’t expected this monkey to be so intelligent, even able to guess things about humans.

“How do you know I still have a mission?”

“Squeak-squeak!” You humans always show up this time of year—there must be a conspiracy. Only fools wouldn’t figure that out!

The monkey scratched its ear, bored.

“Squeak—” So aren’t you worried? Hurry up and release me; maybe if I’m in a good mood, I’ll help you.

“Well, you guessed wrong,” Zhou Wanli tilted her head and smiled faintly. “My mission is already complete. I’ll leave tomorrow. As for you—”

“Before I go, I’ll deal with you, this poison, so you stop tricking others!”

The monkey froze, staring at her in disbelief as if she were a traitor.

“Squeak—” After all I’ve done for you, and I told you the truth.

Zhou Wanli: …This stinky monkey sure knows how to put on an act.

As dusk fell, the mysterious green world seemed to fall into slumber, growing quiet.

The ancient banyan tree above spread its giant canopy, creating a safe, comfortable shelter for Zhou Wanli.

Accompanied by the rhythmic thuds from below, both she and the Provocative Monkey yawned and accidentally dozed off in the tree.

Upon waking, Zhou Wanli rubbed her forehead and checked the time—6 p.m.

Eight hours had passed since she entered the secret realm.

At some point, the sounds below had ceased.

Looking down, she saw the baby dragon curled up by an exposed tree root, sleeping soundly.

Her stomach rumbled loudly. Fortunately, her backpack still held some dry rations and tree fruits gathered earlier in the forest—these fruits packed considerable energy, suitable for both humans and extraordinary creatures.

The Provocative Monkey was still sprawled nearby, sleeping on its back.

After some thought, Zhou Wanli left a few fruits beside it and carefully climbed down the tree to the baby dragon’s side.

She crouched gently and examined the creature’s injuries with her naked eye.

Covered in dust, its original skin color was obscured. It was bruised and scraped all over, many wounds bleeding.

The forehead was the worst—constant collision with the tree had caused a large, deep purple-black bruise, with a central area so mangled that bone was faintly visible.

Zhou Wanli gasped, her headache intensifying. This little one was way too harsh on itself.

The Provocative Monkey was tightly bound with vines, its nerve tendrils retracted by Zhou Wanli.

For her, this was a rare opportunity—a chance to contract with a rare extraordinary creature: the baby dragon.

When extraordinary creatures are injured, they enter a weakened state. In this state, if a beast tamer resonates with their mental field, the creature’s resistance weakens greatly, making a contract much easier to achieve.

However, Zhou Wanli didn’t act immediately. She took out gauze, iodine, and medicine from her backpack.

Though the baby dragon’s severe injuries increased the odds of success, forcing a contract now would make its already paranoid and sensitive nature even more uncontrollable.

A beast tamer’s contracted pet should be a companion, not an enemy. She didn’t want the baby dragon to think she was a villain. Moreover, a failed forced contract would cause considerable harm to the pet.

The baby dragon couldn’t withstand a second injury.

Despite Zhou Wanli’s gentle movements, the baby dragon suddenly woke with a start.

The chubby little dragon shivered, blinking in confusion until it met the girl’s gaze.

Terrified, it quickly rolled behind a thick tree root, peeking out with half its head.

Zhou Wanli stayed still, trying hard to convey a friendly, harmless demeanor.

After a while, the baby dragon remained hidden, body tense and wary, as if ready to flee at the slightest sound.

Yet its trembling hind legs betrayed its poor physical state.

This baby dragon was likely recently born and, lacking experience and elders’ guidance, was naive and easily deceived by the Provocative Monkey.

Having attacked for so long, its strength and energy were probably drained. It likely realized this, too weak to flee far, which explained its fear of Zhou Wanli.

Though she could wait patiently until the dragon’s suspicion faded, too much time had already been spent, and no one knew what dangers the forest might bring at night.

She had to find another way to earn the baby dragon’s trust.

Having fought intensely since entering the secret realm, Zhou Wanli was also tired. She sat down, placing her backpack in front of her, and casually pulled out several earth-energy tree fruits, tossing them nearby.

She then took out a bottle of water and some dry rations, gulping them down slowly.

Whether influenced by the girl’s calm or tempted by the food, the baby dragon wagged its little tail, sneaking glances at Zhou Wanli and inching forward.

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