Chapter 7: Mutation
"Fifteen thousand."
Looking at Brother Snake’s exaggerated expression, Zhou Ming calmly stated his price.
“Ha… haha.”
“You messing with me?”
Hearing Zhou Ming’s offer, Brother Snake almost didn’t react at first. Then his expression darkened as he looked at Zhou Ming with dissatisfaction.
Zhou Ming completely ignored Brother Snake’s unpleasant look and said indifferently,
“Brother Snake, since you deal in serpent-type Dark Pets, you should know what it means when red dots appear on the white fangs of an Ironthread Snake, right?”
Hearing that, Brother Snake immediately snatched the glass box from his subordinate’s hands.
After provoking the Ironthread Snake a couple of times and seeing it open its deadly jaws, he indeed spotted two tiny red dots on each of its fangs.
“Haha, didn’t expect you to have such sharp eyes, little brother. Consider that my apology for earlier. Fifteen thousand it is.”
“Brother Snake, straightforward as always.”
Since the other party was so forthright, Zhou Ming didn’t mind flattering him a little—it cost him nothing, and keeping Brother Snake in a good mood could prevent unnecessary trouble.
Then Zhou Ming took out fifteen thousand Alliance Coins, fetched a bag, packed up the Ironthread Snake, and left.
“Boss, why’d you sell it to him for fifteen thousand? I remember the Ironthread Snake goes for at least twenty thousand.”
Slap!
Brother Snake, who was fond of using his hands, smacked his underling across the head.
“I told you lot to read more books, but you’d rather go chase women!”
“But ain’t that what you’re here for, Brother Snake?”
Rubbing the sore spot on his head, the underling quickly flattered him.
“Hmph, today I’ll teach you properly. If Brother Snake’s own men don’t understand venomous snakes, how would I show my face?”
“Boss, you teach! We’re listening!”
Seeing Brother Snake’s anger subside, the two quickly chimed in.
“When red dots appear on an Ironthread Snake’s fangs, it means it’s been affected by something—it’s showing signs of mutation.”
“Wouldn’t a mutation make it more valuable?”
“Of course I know a mutated Ironthread Snake is worth a fortune! But the damn mutation success rate is terrifyingly low!”
Brother Snake instantly regretted keeping the new underling around and sending his capable men to fetch goods instead.
……
Outside the alley, Zhou Ming quickened his pace once he secured the Ironthread Snake.
Though this place wasn’t a den of man-eaters, there weren’t many decent people either.
The “Dark Pets” he and Brother Snake discussed were actually venomous or ferocious beasts.
Some ordinary people, seeking thrills, would buy venomous pets to raise.
But unlike Ferocious Beasts implanted with Spiritual Seeds, these regular poisonous pets couldn’t be controlled by Beast Tamers, and ordinary people often ended up injured or dead.
If abandoned or escaped, such pets could even cause public safety incidents.
Therefore, the authorities classified them as banned goods. But as long as there were buyers, there was a market—and since trading venomous pets wasn’t a major crime, some thugs naturally jumped at the easy profit.
It was lucrative enough for small gangs but not enough to attract large powers. And since it wasn’t considered a severe criminal offense, a few bribes could easily make investigations disappear. That’s why semi-open black markets for venomous pets existed at all.
Otherwise, how could his previous self have known so much?
As for why he specifically sought out Brother Snake—it was because Brother Snake mainly dealt in snakes, making it easier to find the Ironthread Snake Zhou Ming needed. Moreover, his predecessor had heard that Brother Snake had a bold and forthright personality.
Otherwise, Zhou Ming wouldn’t have deliberately offered fifteen thousand after discovering the Ironthread Snake’s mutation—he was exploiting Brother Snake’s straightforwardness to stop him from haggling further.
The trip back went smoothly, without any unexpected incidents. Perhaps he’d already exhausted his bad luck earlier.
“Didn’t expect to still have over ten thousand left.”
Looking at the stack of Alliance Coins he’d tossed onto the bed, Zhou Ming sighed at today’s fortune.
The fifteen thousand came from what his predecessor had painstakingly saved over time. He’d planned to use it to buy resources required for Beast Tamers, only to find that prices had surged—and what he had wasn’t enough.
He’d scrimped and saved, but one sudden price increase had rendered all his efforts meaningless. That frustration had driven his predecessor to risk everything, forcing the condensation of a Spiritual Seed—resulting in his death.
When Zhou Ming went to resign from his job today, he thought he’d only get last month’s and withheld wages—about six thousand Alliance Coins. Unexpectedly, Sister Wu, within her power, added another four thousand to round it up to ten thousand.
“Sigh, didn’t think I’d end up owing someone a favor so soon.”
Now that Zhou Ming urgently needed money, he had no choice but to accept Sister Wu’s kindness, though he silently noted the debt in his heart.
“Still, I really lucked out this time.”
Picking up the glass box beside him, Zhou Ming carefully observed the Ironthread Snake within.
Ever since the appearance of Dimensional Rifts, animal mutations had become commonplace—especially among ordinary creatures.
But most mutations ended in death. Even successful ones that turned out benign were extremely rare.
The main reason was that ordinary animals lacked the physical endurance and potential to withstand the toll of mutation. Additionally, they couldn’t guide the process themselves.
However, for a Beast Tamer, such matters were simple. Although implanting a Spiritual Seed couldn’t control the mutation process, it could guide it in a favorable direction. With the Beast Tamer’s Spiritual Power supporting it, the creature’s chance of a successful mutation increased significantly.
But few Beast Tamers would bother doing so, because most mutated creatures were just ordinary animals. Even successful ones were no match for true Ferocious Beasts.
And no one would risk removing a Spiritual Seed afterward just to sell the creature—doing so would harm the Beast Tamer’s own spirit. That would be like begging for food while holding a golden bowl.
But for Zhou Ming, things were different. In every sense, taming a mutated Ironthread Snake could only bring benefits, not harm.
Staring at the snake inside the glass box, Zhou Ming stopped preparing further and decided to implant the Spiritual Seed directly into its consciousness.
After all, a mutating Ironthread Snake could go berserk at any moment, and he didn’t have the money to buy another.
“Pa, pa…”
As the Spiritual Seed entered the Ironthread Snake’s consciousness and fused into its soul, the snake thrashed violently. Its tail repeatedly struck the glass box, and the sesame-sized, dense scales scraped harshly against the surface.
Watching its transformation through the link of the Spiritual Seed, Zhou Ming sensed the Ironthread Snake’s mutation accelerating rapidly.
He immediately sat cross-legged on the bed, closed his eyes tightly, and held the glass box in his arms. Using his mental thread, he continuously guided the snake’s mutation and poured his own Spiritual Power to sustain it.
Inside the dimly lit room, under the orange glow of the incandescent bulb, Zhou Ming’s body remained motionless like a statue—utterly focused on assisting his beast.