Hearing his name, Lin Guang turned around and saw a middle-aged man with gold-framed glasses and a scholarly appearance, exuding a "bookish" aura. His face showed some surprise and delight, but to Lin Guang, it felt somewhat deliberate for some reason.

As he pondered, Lin Guang finally remembered where he had heard this voice before.

"Are you... Hu Tuzhi, Professor Hu?" he tentatively asked.

"Yes, yes, it's me, I'm Hu Tuzhi!"

Hu Tuzhi's lips curved up, and his whole demeanor seemed somewhat exuberant, "I didn't expect your memory to be so good, Lin Guang. You even remembered my voice and name."

The intention to ingratiate was clear, even to someone as linguistically challenged as Vishdair.

But Lin Guang wasn't fooled by the emotions in the words, and he shivered for a moment.

Yesterday, he was sitting in a reflective glass compartment and wasn't visible on the camera. Logically, Hu Tuzhi shouldn't know what his voice or appearance was like.

Lin Guang remembered because he was a student with a small social circle. It was strange for the professor across from him to remember him so well.

From the looks of it, it was clearly directed specifically at him.

After a brief moment of shock, Lin Guang's thoughts raced, and combining Vishdair's mentioned sense of being watched with the recent inexplicable illusion, he drew a conclusion.

Undoubtedly, he had checked his information.

He probably started staking out from his home, then followed him all the way here.

Damn, a box!

Lin Guang's eyebrows slightly furrowed, and he looked at Hu Tuzhi without saying a word—seemingly unresponsive, but mentally, he was on alert.

This small change didn't escape Vishdair's attention. Initially yawning, she turned her gaze toward Hu Tuzhi, and her amber eyes slightly narrowed.

Seemingly thinking his chance encounter was seamless, Hu Tuzhi, without waiting for Lin Guang to say anything, began to awkwardly explain, "I came to see if there were any unique or rare skill crystals in Fenghai Province, and I didn't expect to run into you."

"..."

Then, Hu Tuzhi's face showed a trace of apology, "By the way, don't take yesterday's matter to heart. I didn't mean to belittle your parents' research; it's my lack of expertise, having researched for so many years and failing to discover that the White Phoenix Parrot actually has the primary attribute of the spiritual element."

"Just a verbal apology, and I would feel bad. If it weren't for you and Wang Dawei insisting on your views, I might have missed the opportunity to discover another primary attribute of the White Phoenix Parrot due to arrogance."

"Why don't we talk later?"

"..."

From these few sentences, Lin Guang could basically confirm that Hu Tuzhi was here for the matter of the White Phoenix Parrot from last night.

But what the other party specifically wanted to do, he still didn't know.

"I don't think discussing this topic here is appropriate."

Lin Guang deliberately showed a slight indifference, speaking with dignity and respect:

"Professor, if you have any academic exchange intentions, we can contact through official channels, like my email or my school mentors. It's bound to cause some unnecessary misunderstandings if you, as an intermediate researcher in a high-position, privately seek a student like myself."

"..."

After being stunned for a moment, seemingly realizing that his performance had the opposite effect, the joy on Hu Tuzhi's face turned to some urgency, "Sorry, sorry! Lin Guang, I have no ill intentions! Absolutely no bad thoughts on your parents' research!"

"Oh, right!"

Pausing briefly, Hu Tuzhi continued, "I just thought I heard you were dissatisfied with the skills here. Would you be interested in going up to the fourth floor with me? See if there's any skill you need, and we can have a chat to clear up the misunderstanding."

As an intermediate researcher, he indeed had the privilege of bringing one person up each month---due to the uniqueness of Spirit Masters and spirit beasts, most products must be personally selected by individuals.

Lin Guang was slightly taken aback, seeing that Hu Tuzhi's expression didn't look like he was joking, nor did it seem like he would easily let him leave. After several seconds of thought, he finally decided to hear him out and nodded, "Then I'll trouble Professor Hu."

The atmosphere finally eased a bit, and Vishdair "tsk'ed," moving her gaze away from Hu Tuzhi and her hand back into her pocket.

...

The fourth floor of the City Spirit Beast Mall indeed had things even for One-Star or novice Spirit Masters, and they were without exception top-notch---Lin Guang, of course, didn't have enough budget for them—but he could totally use his "face reputation" again, as students from the key class at the Experimental Middle School had such privileges.

The two took out their ID cards, swiped them on the machine, and the machine lit up a green light neatly. The salesgirl led them to the elevator room, respectfully sending them onto the elevator; her responsibility only covered the first three floors and she didn't have clearance to go up.

The fourth floor and the first three floors, in every sense, were not of the same level.

Firstly, in terms of brightness, each area had a Plant Spirit Beast releasing a "Sunny Day," ensuring light sources and dispelling cold while also meeting the sunlight needs of various spirit beasts;

Secondly was security, although not to the point of having guards every five steps, at a glance, many uniformed security personnel patrolled back and forth;

Finally, it was the status and breeding environment of the spirit beasts; though still contained in fully transparent metal alloy glass, the officials provided an environment for each spirit beast to feel comfortable, like a miniature ecological garden, and the spirit beasts appeared almost in high spirits, with no visible injuries.

"This place is not bad."

Vishdair looked around, clicking her tongue in wonder, "It's at least better than where I used to stay."

"Comparisons only make sense when the standards are close."

Lin Guang rolled his eyes slightly, "Are you comparing the City Spirit Beast Mall to the black market? There's no comparison in terms of either profit or investment."

Watching the two's interaction, Hu Tuzhi pushed his gold-framed glasses, with a glimmer of strange light flashing in his eyes.

An ability to communicate with Terran Demons? Is it the same type as the extremely rare [Voice of All Things], or is it a type only heard to work on Terran creatures?

"It's Professor Hu, right? According to your registered information, there are some things that need reminding..."

A burly man came over with a scent of tobacco, a narrow scar on his forehead suggesting he had often ventured into undeveloped secret realms or the wilderness, with a name tag that read "Fu Fuyou."

"You know the rules."

"Naturally."

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