"Is... is it going to eat me?" Gu Weilan’s heartbeat suddenly accelerated, and her hand, which had been about to push it away, froze in midair.
The Black Panther’s throat was already emitting the low "GRRR" of a feline deterring an enemy.
"Host, w-why don’t you try soothing it with your spiritual power?" Pomegranate Seed’s voice trembled noticeably. "Seeding expended a massive amount of energy to send Host here! If Host dies right at the beginning, Seeding will suffer a huge loss!"
Steeling herself, Gu Weilan slowly reached out and tentatively scratched the Black Panther’s chin.
At first, the Black Panther peeled back its lips, baring snow-white fangs that glinted coldly in a highly aggressive display. However, after being scratched a few times, it couldn’t help but let out a comfortable PURR. A second later, it fiercely glared at her again, only to resume its comfortable PURRING after being scratched a couple more times. This back-and-forth reaction made it look somewhat conflicted and comical.
Taking advantage of the Black Panther’s lowest moment of vigilance—as it was PURRING and licking the bloodstains on her chest—Gu Weilan used her other hand to slowly tap its forehead, following the method taught by the system.
The next second, her pitifully weak spiritual power, which had only just been Promoted to the Second Rank, was drawn by a massive suction force into the Black Panther’s frenzied Spiritual Sea!
"Pomegranate Seed... you bastard!" Gu Weilan cursed inwardly.
As soon as her spiritual power entered the Black Panther’s Spiritual Sea, it was swept into over a dozen violent tornadoes. A severe, piercing pain radiated from her brain, throbbing in waves that nearly made her pass out.
She forced herself to stay conscious, desperately dodging the tornadoes’ tearing force according to the system’s instructions, while struggling to emit a faint trace of sunlight energy. Surprisingly, those violent tornadoes actually slowed down because of this sliver of sunlight energy.
Gu Weilan felt like she was about to collapse; lasting even three seconds in this frenzied Spiritual Sea was already her limit. Yet, the moment she thought about withdrawing, the tornadoes instantly grew even more violent, frantically tearing at her spiritual power. Cold sweat rolled down her temples, soaking her hair.
Gritting her teeth, Gu Weilan continuously emitted a faint glow with her fragile spiritual power. It wasn’t until she had endured for a full minute that she couldn’t hold on any longer, violently retracting her spiritual power.
Drenched in cold sweat, she gasped for air and collapsed onto the marble bench, lacking the strength to even lift her hand.
"Host! Someone else is coming!" Pomegranate Seed’s voice suddenly turned urgent. "They aren’t here to dump a body this time; it seems they came here specifically to search!"
"Damn it! Will this ever end?!" Gu Weilan cursed inwardly. "System, are they here to hunt down this Black Panther and confirm if he’s dead? Or are they here to save him?" she asked, forcing her weak body to sit up.
Just as she spoke, the Black Panther beside her slowly transformed back into a human form. Messy black hair hung down, obscuring most of his face. In a voice as hoarse as sandpaper, he muttered softly, "Thank you..."
"What the hell! What if they’re here to finish him off? I can’t let his death drag me down with him!" Gu Weilan thought in shock. Exhausting the last ounce of her strength, she staggered away from the plaza as fast as she could.
She really had no strength to go far. Following the system’s guidance, she found a place with surveillance cameras, sprawled onto a stone bench, and once again pretended to be at death’s door, gasping for breath.
Pomegranate Seed kept urging her in her mind, "Host, you need to hurry up and rent a place, or you won’t have anywhere to go tonight! You can’t possibly go back to the original owner’s home, right?
"Because when the original owner died earlier, her identity information went dark. Now, you either have to reactivate it!
"Or, you can go to the black market to buy a new Light Brain, transfer the original owner’s Star Coins over, and then cancel her identity!"
Gu Weilan thought about it and decisively chose the latter. The original owner’s identity carried too much trouble. Only by getting a new identity could she completely rid herself of the shadow of the Gu family.
One month later, relying on the unique advancement method of basking in the sun, Gu Weilan successfully Promoted her Beast Rank to the Fourth Rank! This leveling speed—without having to fight Star Beasts or collect Star Cores—was so exhilarating that it sent her over the moon!
At the same time, she received two important notifications. First, the Beast God System informed her that on her birthday, it would match her with a male Beast Husband; she needed to go to the Interstellar Beast God Matching Management Center within a week to handle the relevant procedures. Second, her application to the Pharmacy major at the Central Beastman Academy had been approved, and she could enroll next week.
Fortunately, this interstellar beast world offered exceptional preferential treatment to females! Even if the enrollment period had passed, as long as a female was willing to attend, took the online exam, and passed the review, she could smoothly enroll. Otherwise, with only five thousand Star Coins left in her pocket after getting her new identity, even affording basic meals would be a problem.
Her ultimate reason for going to school was this: not only were tuition and accommodation fully waived for female Beastmen, but the academy also provided daily meals!
Not cold, unfeeling nutrient solutions!
Proper meals!
Braised pork ribs, sour and spicy shredded potatoes, black pepper flatfish... meals that were fried, boiled, cooked, and stir-fried!
In the nine years of the Apocalypse, she hadn’t had a proper, hot meal in eight whole years! After transmigrating to the Beast World, she hadn’t touched a single bite of hot food!
Because here, a single fist-sized potato cost eight hundred Star Coins—something she absolutely could not afford.
Looking at the meal introduction on the electronic admission notice, Gu Weilan couldn’t help but let "tears of happiness" drool from the corners of her mouth.
Gathering her emotions, Gu Weilan walked with brisk steps toward the Interstellar Beast God Matching Management Center. The sunlight spilled over her, warm and comfortable. She could clearly feel the energy slowly accumulating in her body. This reassuring sensation made her naturally curl her lips into a smile.
In the past, when the original owner wanted to upgrade her Beast Rank, she had to collect massive amounts of Star Cores and filter out the ones that matched her attributes—a difficult and dangerous process. But Gu Weilan could Promote just by basking in the sun. According to Pomegranate Seed, the higher her Beast Rank, the higher the bloodline purity of the cubs that males would bear for her in the future!
With her small hands clasped behind her back, Gu Weilan walked at a leisurely, relaxed pace.
Right at this moment, a hovercar with completely tinted windows slowly drove past her. The insignia printed on the car’s body was none other than that of the Gu family.
"Mother, that figure just now looked like my older sister," a man whose features resembled Gu Weilan’s said, pointing at her outside the car.
Gu Mother didn’t even look out the window. "A female with a Fertility value of only 0.1, who was also... You must have been mistaken!
"Transferring you from the Legion’s Ninth Academy to the Central Beastman Academy cost the family a massive amount of funds! We even bought you the most fashionable UV-proof school gear!
"You must do your best to show off your male charm, otherwise your Fertility of 6 will go to waste! The Central Beastman Academy has the most females. You absolutely must find a female with a Fertility of 5 or above! Otherwise, by the time you reach twenty-four, you might not be matched with one!"