Chapter 438 284: Er Shang is Brutally Backstabbed

'So, what's going on now...'

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「Secret Realm, the following evening—」

"A-wooo!"

Yu Bao flopped onto the ground, with no intention of getting back up.

The dog's tongue lolled out, its body heaving in time with its panting. Its eyes were dull and lifeless, a picture of post-exertion apathy.

To test the theory that mastering three Attributes simultaneously would unlock a new skin, Yu Bao had been training like a madman for the past two days.

He hadn't neglected any of his old, mastered Skills, and he'd even poured his heart and soul into the new Skill he'd just learned yesterday. One could say his entire person... no, his entire dog, was running at maximum capacity.

To make use of every single second, Yu Bao had even invented a three-shift training system: while he rested, he had his clone practice Skills on the side. This way, the rat race could continue uninterrupted...

Even when doing his business, Yu Bao would use the Earth Force Field to bury it.

And in the end, he still couldn't control three Attributes at once! And there was no new skin!!

Yu Bao suspected that the three Attributes of Earth, Fire, and Gold couldn't possibly be controlled at the same time. The whole "new skin" thing was just an empty promise made by that good-for-nothing Su Zhi.

He was so angry he was trembling. This Su Zhi had no Martial Virtue, tricking even a poor dog.

Su Zhi, sitting nearby with his hands clasped, said, "Hey, don't blame me. I just mentioned it was a *possibility*. You're the one who took it as gospel."

Yu Bao: "#@$*%!"

Just then, the phone in his pocket buzzed.

Su Zhi pulled it out and glanced at the screen. Seeing the battery was at a mere fourteen percent, he sighed and turned it off.

Even a phone designed specifically for Beast Tamers, famous for its durability, couldn't last for days on end without a charge.

'Looks like it's time to fully embrace the pre-modern lifestyle...'

'But maybe it's not such a bad thing. After being shackled to the endless stream of modern information for so long, it might be a nice change of pace to get back to basics and reconnect with nature.'

"Brother."

Xiaolan, sitting beside him, asked curiously, "Why did the 'phone' go dark?"

Su Zhi chuckled. "It's sleepy and needs to rest, just like Xiaolan needs to sleep."

"Really?"

Xiaolan's brow furrowed. She propped up her chin thoughtfully, as if she'd discovered something extraordinary.

"Does the phone need to sleep to grow up? When it wakes up next time, will it be bigger than it is now?"

"That's... not quite how it works," Su Zhi said, exasperated but amused, as he patted Xiaolan's head.

"Oh, okay." Xiaolan waved at the phone. "Good night, phone! I'll come play with you again when you wake up."

Su Zhi shook the phone with a smile, bidding farewell to Xiaolan on its behalf. Then, he saw Yu Bao lying on the ground like a salted fish, and his heart gave a little lurch.

'Hasn't it been a little *too* quiet today?'

"Wu Bao? You've been quiet."

Su Zhi's gaze shifted to a spot not far off, where he saw Wu Bao, antennae drooping, cradling a tablet. He looked suspiciously emo.

Normally, when Yu Bao was frustrated, Wu Bao would have already swaggered over to mock him, and vice versa. Why were both of the little guys in a state of post-exertion apathy today?

'It's like watching passionate young lovers evolve into an old married couple...' Shan Bao thought, cupping her face with her wings, her cheeks flushing.

"Waaaah..." Wu Bao trudged over pitifully and handed the dead tablet to Su Zhi.

His pair of antennae swayed in a double-helix pattern—the body language of a Black Fighting Emperor pleading for help.

That's right. His tablet was dead, too.

"Uh, I can't help with that. There's nowhere to charge anything out here in the wilderness. My own phone is dead, too."

Su Zhi patted Wu Bao's forehead, amused and exasperated, and handed the tablet back. "Be good. I'll charge it for you as soon as we leave the Secret Realm, okay? For the next couple of days, just find something else to play with."

"..." Wu Bao flopped listlessly onto the ground, wearing the exact same melancholy expression as Yu Bao.

Of course, his melancholy had nothing to do with training...

It was because he hadn't posted an update in dozens of hours!!!

Wu Bao had plenty of drafts saved up, but he never scheduled them to be released automatically. He always edited and published on the same day.

Who could have known he'd inexplicably end up in this ridiculously off-the-grid Secret Realm with no signal? Now he couldn't publish a new chapter even if he wanted to!

'I wonder how much time has passed outside the Secret Realm...'

'Even though Su Zhi said the time flow here seems to be slower, and maybe not even a full twenty-four hours will have passed on the outside, the launch period for a new book is crucial. Missing even one day of updates basically means it's dead in the water.'

'This is torture! I feel like I have ants crawling all over me!'

"!" Hearing Wu Bao's whimper, Yu Bao perked up. He immediately trotted over, wearing his signature, heirloom-quality smirk.

"⌓‿⌓ A-woof?"

'Well, well, well, if it isn't Wu Bao. What's with the long face?'

'All mopey just because your tablet's dead? Is it because you can't watch your "special" movies~?'

"Grrr!!!" Wu Bao was incensed. He shot up from the ground in an instant.

Yu Bao turned tail and ran, with Wu Bao in hot pursuit.

Su Zhi watched the two of them chase each other, a smile on his face.

Shan Bao, however, wore a peculiar expression.

Once her two "brothers" had run a little farther away, she zipped over and hopped into Su Zhi's hands, expertly closing her eyes and settling in.

"Chirp chirp."

"Are you doing this on purpose? Waiting for them to leave so you can secretly allocate your points?" Su Zhi lightly flicked her on the head. "Yu Bao has been a terrible influence on you!"

Shan Bao nodded, her expression serene, her posture perfectly well-behaved.

'Exactly. What bad intentions could a simple little bird have?'

'It's all Brother Yu Bao's fault for corrupting me.'

[Pet Beast: Shan Bao (Flash Gold Sparrow)

Power: 1.00

Agility: 1.05

Intelligence: 1.04

Constitution: 4.29 -> 4.60

Perception: 1.02]

[Real-time Energy Value: 4134]

"Chirp!!" Shan Bao leaped up, looking for all the world like she was ready to take on anything.

Yu Bao and Wu Bao, who had been playfully bickering nearby, suddenly stopped. They, too, felt the sudden surge of Energy, and their gazes toward Shan Bao gained a hint of wariness.

'The little sister who seemed so harmless is secretly trying to outdo us!'

'This is all Yu Bao's fault!'

"?" Yu Bao glared at Wu Bao.

'What the hell does this have to do with me?!'

"!" Wu Bao glared right back.

'You have no damn self-awareness, do you? Who started this whole rat race in the first place?!'

Su Zhi came over to break them up, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "You two, pause for a second. Shan Bao wants to test out her new Skill."

Shan Bao came hopping over right behind him.

Yu Bao and Wu Bao, who had been at each other's throats a second ago, instantly threw their arms around each other's shoulders with cheesy grins. After all, they couldn't leave a bad impression on their little sister.

"Chirp!" Shan Bao asked Yu Bao to create a magnet, chirping that a bigger surface area would be better.

This wasn't difficult. It's what Yu Bao had been grinding on all day. He immediately whipped up a rectangular magnet platform for Shan Bao.

At the same time, he shot a smug little glance over at Wu Bao.

'See that? Shan Bao asked *me* for help.'

'She didn't ask you! Mwahahaha!'

Wu Bao was so angry he wanted to pummel him, but since he couldn't resort to violence in front of Shan Bao, he had to restrain himself.

'Forget it. I'm not going to engage with this loser. Let's see what new trick little sis has up her sleeve...'

And then, both Yu Bao and Wu Bao were struck dumb.

They watched as Shan Bao stood on the rectangular magnet platform and then began to slowly rise. It was only a minuscule amount, but her entire body had indeed lifted off the magnet's surface—it was magnetic levitation!

Su Zhi was also flabbergasted. "So... Shan Bao, you've been practicing Strong Magnetic Control, too?"

"Chirp chirp!" Shan Bao nodded.

She chirped that she wasn't as strong as her brother Yu Bao—she couldn't form magnetic orbs outside her body, only control the Energy within. As a Gold Element Pet Beast, that much was at least doable.

"That's pretty neat..." Su Zhi blinked. "But... what's it for?"

"Chirp." Shan Bao tilted her head, trying to get away with it by being cute.

In reality, she hadn't really thought it through. She just thought it looked fun and practiced it on the side~

Su Zhi: "Ha... hahaha..."

'Even if it's completely useless, it doesn't really matter. Yu Bao only started practicing the Earth Force Field because he thought it was cool, right? Who knows, maybe it'll have some amazing use down the line.'

Looking over at the pensive Yu Bao, Su Zhi became even more certain of this.

'You just practice the raw power, Master Yu will figure out the fancy applications.jpg'

"Chirp chirp!" Shan Bao hopped down from the magnet and settled into a Horse Stance.

That was just the warm-up. Now it was time for the main event.

To test the strength of her body after the upgrade—'My two dear brothers, please, hit me with your best shot!'

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