Chapter 147 — This Time, Shi Jin Cheats on His Own
The Beast-Taming Craftsman Page 1 of 2
Shi Jin held the phone's bestiary and sank into thought.
He had specifically asked for a non-mechanical life form precisely to avoid unnecessary trouble.
But he had forgotten that even an ordinary phone might come with an AI or virtual assistant program!
The problem was, fine, it has one—but at least give the thing a proper name.
"What's the meaning of 1111?"
"Double Eleven?" Shi Jin's face darkened.
"Do I really have to name it..."
"Then I'll just call you 'Bestiary.'" Shi Jin dug at his ear and said perfunctorily, "From now on, any data I don't know, I'm counting on you."
After entering the power-on password, Shi Jin named the virtual assistant.
[Naming successful.]
[Archaeology-type Model 1111 Intelligent Bestiary [Bestiary] is at your service.]
Shi Zhuo smiled faintly. This virtual female voice was actually quite pleasant.
Bestiary girl?
Without thinking much about it, he began searching for Eleven, Chongchong, and Baby Ginseng.
Those three...
Shi Zhuo fell silent. The three of them were baring their teeth and grimacing at that ice dragon whisker he had put away.
"Awoo!!!"
"Squeak!!"
Eleven and Chongchong stared wide-eyed, sweat streaming down their heads as they made contact with the intimidation coiled around the ice dragon whisker.
Using the pressure of the dragon might, they were training.
"Eep!"
Baby Ginseng wanted to try, but didn't dare.
Shi Jin came over to their side and looked at them, speechless.
"Bestiary, test energy values."
Shi Jin had already put in a contact lens. As he gave the command, a set of numbers immediately surfaced before his eyes.
Floating above Eleven was "7596."
Floating above Chongchong was "3046."
Floating above Baby Ginseng was "7408."
"Chongchong is really slacking," Shi Jin muttered to himself.
Not even half the energy value of Eleven and Baby Ginseng.
No wonder it got panting halfway through flying—short and weak.
"Squeak?" Chongchong turned its head with a look of 'I was born a bug, and I'm sorry.'
It was just a Green Fluffworm—why make things so hard for it?
"Alright, we can now see your exact energy values ourselves." Shi Yan chuckled at the three beasts:
"Eleven, you're 7596, the highest. Baby Ginseng, you're 7408. Chongchong, you're 3046, currently dead last."
Eleven and Baby Ginseng also turned their heads.
"Ying!" Eleven looked utterly self-assured.
"Eep!" Baby Ginseng was delighted that it was so much higher than Chongchong.
But soon, its expression collapsed.
What use was a high energy value without any attack skills?
"Eep..." Baby Ginseng looked at Shi Jin expectantly.
Teach it Intimidation first!
"That's not entirely impossible." Shi Li: "No rush on Intimidation—let's teach another one first."
"ヽ(??▽?)ノ Eep!!"
Really?!
"Eleven, Chongchong, you two play among yourselves."
"I'm going to remodel Ginseng Baby a bit. In a moment I'll have it PK with you."
On one trip to the snow mountain, Shi Tan had copied two skills.
One was Energy Fruit, the other Frost Qi.
Of the two, Energy Fruit was the offensive technique meant to be taught to Ginseng Baby.
Under the blank, exchanged stares of Eleven and Chongchong, Shi Jin simply dragged Ginseng Baby away.
A moment later.
Ginseng Baby, having prepared its sweet aroma, looked at Shi Jin with a face full of excitement.
"Eee..."
What skill is it, I wonder?
It was curious beyond measure.
"You've actually seen it before," said Shi Yan.
Then he reached out and placed his hand on Ginseng Baby's head.
"Energy Fruit. Instruction."
"Once you've learned this move, you must burn one sentence into your memory."
"The art of battle is explosion!"
Light flowed in. Shi Jin breathed in the sweet aroma, and only then did he recover his breath.
And at this moment...
Inside the ruin space, Ginseng Baby was utterly stunned.
It was as if a cook from a field kitchen mess—no, an ingredient—had suddenly been stuffed full of the combat experience of a whole squad of munitions experts.
The methods for using Energy Fruit were instantly mastered by Ginseng Baby.
[Skill]: Energy Fruit (Beginner)
"Eee..." Once it came back to itself, Ginseng Baby stared blankly at Shi Jin.
"Want to try?" said Shi Li.
"Eee!!!" Ginseng Baby signaled that it understood, its expression turning solemn at once.
Bzzz!!!
It multiplied itself on the spot, growing taller than Shi Yu, like an enormous white radish.
Having grown large, it lowered its head to glance at Shi Jin, then stretched out its stubby little hand.
The next moment, countless motes of light swirled around its stubby palm, swiftly condensing into a white fruit with green leaves, shaped like something you couldn't quite call a ginseng or a white radish.
The fruit gave off a faint, delicate fragrance, an utterly enticing aura—though compared with Ginseng Baby's sweet-aroma skill, it was obviously still worlds apart.
"Eee!!" Having produced the Energy Fruit, Ginseng Baby was wildly excited.
It grabbed the leaves outright, took a few wind-up swings, and hurled it like a pebble.
Ginseng Baby's strength was not great, yet the fruit still swiftly reached the sky a hundred meters away. Then, at a single thought from Ginseng Baby—boom!—the fruit instantly underwent a strange transformation in the distant sky.
The white fruit first flashed a dazzling white light, then instantly let out a tremendous roar, and right after, like a super bomb detonating, the white light kept expanding.
The instant Ginseng Baby detonated the fruit with its mind, a vast energy surged out from within it. Amid a heaven-shaking, earth-rattling roar, rolling tides of energy rose into the air like a dust storm blotting out the sky.
The billowing white smoke, sweeping up waves of energy, was like cluster upon cluster of alluring white roses bursting into bloom in the sky in an instant.
The violent gale could be felt clearly even by Shi Jin and the others a hundred meters away.
"Eee..." Ginseng Baby was dumbstruck on the spot.
This was the destructive power it had caused??
This was the destructive power a single Ginseng Baby's skill could cause?
It defied all science.
At this moment, Ginseng Baby felt an urge to cry. It had finally mastered a skill of massive lethality!!!
Shi Jin stood beside it with his hands behind his back, looking profoundly unfathomable.
"From now on, when you run into a bad person who wants to eat you, don't resist first."
"Obediently make them an Energy Fruit. The moment they put it in their mouth, you detonate it!"
"But if you want to pull off a perfect smoke screen, you'll first have to refine the Energy Fruit properly—blend the sweet scent and the nutrients into its outer appearance. Understand?"
"A top-tier hunter often appears in the form of prey..."
Ginseng Baby: (?_?)
It didn't quite suit the awe-inspiring air of Ginseng Emperor, who swept across the Eight Desolates—but you're the beast tamer, so what you say goes.
"Go on, show Eleven and Chongchong your new skill."
"Eeh!!!" Ginseng Baby was beaming—yes, yes!!! It loved Shi Jin the most.
With that, it immediately shrank back to its normal size and scurried off toward Eleven and Chongchong.
Watching the little fellow, Shi Jin rubbed his chin. Ginseng Baby really couldn't run fast, just like the Frozen Ancient Tree...
"In the Earth Chain state, it's even harder to move."
"Ginseng Baby is doomed to be a stationary fighter in the future, just like the other plant-type beasts."
"Looks like I'll need to find it a skill that boosts its defensive capabilities next..."
"Hmm, as for attack power, Ginseng Baby's is enough for now, but this skill isn't very flexible—it'll still need improvement."
The Energy Fruit was a high-tier skill. Though Ginseng Baby had only mastered the entry-level version, combined with its energy value of over 7,000, its power was still tremendous.
It could even break through the defenses of little Yin's Rock-Mane Beast with a single fruit, no problem.