Hearing Adan's voice, Xie Sen immediately laughed, "I just activated 60 kinds of plants. How are you feeling now?"
Adan's voice suddenly rose, "60 kinds? Let me see... it's really true!" Its voice paused for a moment, then it shouted, "Asen, you are absolutely amazing! I feel wonderful, I couldn't feel better."
Its voice was full of energy, clearly brimming with vitality. Xie Sen's lips curled up, "That's good. All this energy comes from the chili peppers. You're the hero."
Adan felt the energy belonging to the plants and said cheerfully, "No, no, no, it's still Asen who's the best. You activated the chili peppers too. You're amazing. I'll try to sense the remaining water energy."
It quieted down, and Xie Sen didn't disturb it. After a while, Adan exclaimed in surprise, "How could this be!"
Xie Sen quickly asked, "What's wrong?"
Adan's tone was vague, "No, nothing. I might be imagining things."
Xie Sen raised an eyebrow. The system can be imagining things?
Adan activated its sensing power to the maximum using its own energy, but couldn't sense any water energy. Prepared for this, it activated the plant energy to increase its sensitivity. As
it was mobilizing its energy, the feeling from a while ago returned; the plant energy seemed to be pulled, a reverse suction preventing it from using its energy.
It carefully sensed the source of the resistance, and its conclusion remained the same: a weak energy body, and belonging to a human.
But how could this be? How could there be another human energy body inside Asen's body!
Adan felt something was wrong.
It thought for a moment and said to Xie Sen, "Asen, I need to activate self-check mode. The whole process will take about fifty hours. After the self-check, I'll look for water energy."
Xie Sen asked worriedly, "Is something wrong with you?" Normally, a self-check wouldn't be necessary.
Adan said, "Hmm... there's a slight problem with the senses, but don't worry, the system is generally normal, just a minor issue. I should have done a self-check as soon as I came to this world. I couldn't do it before because my original energy was insufficient, but now most of the energy has been recovered, so I can do it."
Xie Sen breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, "That's good. The energy is still increasing, and after you finish your self-check, you can activate some more plants."
Adan said, "Ah Sen is great! I'll come find you after I finish my self-check."
Xie Sen smiled and replied, "Okay."
Just as he finished speaking, he was suddenly picked up. He opened his eyes abruptly, and Maine looked down at him, "Tired?"
Xie Sen was a little surprised. He had been focused on the energy and Adan, and hadn't even noticed that he had closed his eyes. But upon reflection, closing his eyes was the most natural thing to do; otherwise, his expression would have looked strange when looking at the system panel and communicating with Adan.
"Not tired," he shook his head, patting Maine's shoulder. "I can walk by myself."
Maine didn't let go, leading him directly to the bathroom, running hot water for him, and massaging his lower back: "Soaking in hot water can relieve fatigue."
Xie Sen pouted; this action clearly showed he didn't believe him when he said he wasn't tired. However, soaking in hot water was indeed very comfortable, and he soon felt sleepy.
In his drowsy state, he felt Maine lift him up, and he turned his head to bury his face in Maine's chest. The familiar scent relaxed his whole body, and he quickly fell asleep. Maine
dried him off and put him in the soft blankets, his expression gentle and doting. He lay down beside him, his hand still massaging his lower back, feeling a little annoyed. He had to restrain himself in the future; Xie Sen had never gone to bed this early before.
The next day, Xie Sen woke up refreshed. After exchanging good mornings with Maine, he washed up and ate breakfast.
The energy increase notifications still appeared in front of him from time to time. He opened the system panel; he had more than 7,000 energy remaining, more than 2,000 more in one night.
He felt much better. Thinking it over, he realized he had already activated many plants. Two days later, after Adan finished its self-check, it would likely be able to sense the location of the remaining water energy. If that happened, he would have to go out again.
So he decided to hold the contracted beast meet-and-greet first.
He opened his bracelet, made a rough plan, and discussed it with Maine.
Maine, dressed in a neat suit, kissed him on the cheek: "Very good. I'm going to Guangyao today. You hold the meet-and-greet tomorrow, I'll go with you."
Xie Sen nodded: "Okay, I'll go discuss it with the contracted beasts later. We'll select the participants this afternoon and hold it tomorrow to avoid delays."
After Maine left, Xie Sen thought for a moment, then contacted Sun Mao and formally resigned. His work hours were too unstable; taking such long leave all the time wasn't good.
Sun Mao, prepared for this, chuckled, "It's much later than I expected. Your abilities are wasted at Gold Medal."
Xie Sen ignored his teasing and sincerely replied, "Thank you for your consideration, Manager Sun. If Gold Medal needs my help in the future, please don't hesitate to contact me directly."
"Don't worry, I won't hesitate."
After hanging up, Xie Sen fell into deep thought. Although he had plenty of energy now, activation and exchange both required energy. Without a way to increase his energy, it would eventually run out.
The impact of the press conference was diminishing, and the rate of energy gain was noticeably slowing down. It would probably be gone in a few days.
He rested his chin on his hand, pondering the scene of his boiled fish at the press conference, the aroma wafting to the audience, and the resulting energy gain.
He could definitely gain energy through food!
Especially now that he had all the ingredients—scallions, ginger, and garlic—although the seasonings were still scarce, the food he made would definitely taste better than the boiled fish he had made before.
However, to gain energy, it was best to cook in a public setting. After all, aroma is crucial; people can't smell it unless they're there. Moreover, he should let the public taste it, letting them eat something they hadn't tried before, which would increase the likelihood of gaining energy.
This would cost some food, but compared to the energy gained, it was negligible.
He needed to think about the specifics carefully. Considering his remaining energy, he wasn't in a hurry; the system's energy was sufficient for now. Whether it was lacking or not, he'd only know after Adan finished his self-check.
With that in mind, he temporarily put aside the idea of gaining energy by cooking and got up to find his contracted beasts to discuss the meet-and-greet.
Most of the contracted beasts were still outside their dwellings. Except for rest time, they spent most of their time outdoors, preferring open spaces. The Flying Eagle Beast hovered in the air, occasionally swooping down to chat.
He temporarily shut down the livestream and gathered the contracted beasts, along with Big Crab and Little Silver, to ask them for their requests and suggestions regarding the meet-and-greet.
Black Panther, as their representative, told Xie Sen the results of the contracted beasts' discussion. Xie Sen praised them repeatedly: "Great idea! Let's do it your way. How many people should come?"
"Twenty in fours, excluding Little Silver. We'll each take care of two people; too many wouldn't be fun," Black Panther said.
Xie Sen thought for a moment. Including the Flying Eagle Beast, there were eleven contracted beasts in total, plus the Giant Crab, making twelve in total. That made a perfect one-to-two, which would be quite convenient for playing.
Little Silver opened and closed its seashells: "I'll be your cheerleaders! Look..." As it spoke, the speed of its opening and closing suddenly changed, and silver and colorful lights flickered, comparable to stage lights. "Isn't it more powerful than glow sticks!"
Xie Sen chuckled: "Yes, yes, much more powerful."
After discussing it, he reopened the live stream.
"What happened? Did the internet just drop?"
"Looks like this new place isn't working either, the internet keeps fluctuating."
"Streamer, which region are you in? I'll complain about the internet provider for that region!"
Xie Sen quickly replied, "The internet here is fine, I turned off the stream," he laughed, "Haven't you all been wanting a fan meet-up in the stream? I've got the plans."
The chat exploded immediately, praising Xie Sen's speed and clamoring for votes.
Xie Sen smiled, "The meet-up will be streamed live, but because of the special status of the contracted beast, the number of attendees can't be too large, but of course, more than last time, twenty-four." As
soon as he finished speaking, the system gift announcements almost crashed, the stream screen was flooded with watermelon rain, and the platform-wide announcements kept coming one after another.
Xie Sen quickly said, "Everyone, don't rush to send gifts. This time, we won't be looking at the Guardian rankings. I'll hold a small giveaway later, and the winner will receive a ticket to the meet-and-greet. As long as you're a loyal viewer of the live stream and like the contracted beasts, you can participate by spending 1 star coin."
"The streamer is awesome!"
"Students are so happy!"
Xie Sen directly explained the rules: "To prevent vote manipulation, only viewers who have watched the live stream for more than 50 hours can participate in the giveaway. Also, for fairness, each ID can participate in the giveaway a maximum of ten times. Winners can choose not to participate, but tickets cannot be resold. There will be strict checks upon entry, and anyone who violates the rules will be banned from future giveaways."
"This rule is great!" "
I've already prepared 10 star coins, hurry up and start the giveaway, I'm definitely the luckiest person!"
"I love the streamer, finally it's not a pay-to-win game."
Xie Sen glanced at the comments and continued, "The giveaway ends at midnight tonight. Tickets and details will be sent to the lucky viewer's wristband. The meet-and-greet starts at 9:30 tomorrow morning, and will be streamed live."
"So fast?"
"Ahhh, I need to ask for leave right away!"
Xie Sen switched to the streamer's interface, wrote down the meet-and-greet announcement and related rules, and set up a lottery for 24 lucky winners of Little Watermelons before clicking start.
Instantly, the chat screen was flooded with messages gifting Little Watermelons. Xie Sen watched his account balance rise rapidly, marveling at the power of numbers.
Even if each person only gave 10 Star Coins, the total amount was astonishing.
The schedule was too tight this time, and some viewers might not be in the live stream. He thought for a moment and copied and pasted the announcement and rules to the Contract Beast live stream forum.
Soon, someone replied: "Oh my god, what if I'm not in Star City? Even if I win, I can't make it there!"
"I'm crying in the bathroom while traveling on Blue Star!"
"Waaah, I realized the live stream time is too short. I don't have enough viewing time to even qualify for the prize draw. Streamer, when is the next meet-and-greet? Tell me in advance, I'll boost my viewing time!"
Xie Sen saw this and replied: "Sorry, the arrangement was indeed a bit rushed this time. If there's time in the future, we'll hold one every month, with a prize draw at the end of the month and a meet-and-greet at the beginning of the month, so that all friends who like the live stream will have a chance to participate."
"Catching the streamer, that's awesome! I've decided to start watching the live stream from today!"
"Waiting for next month."
Xie Sen smiled, turned off his bracelet, played with his contracted beasts for a while, and started preparing for the meet-and-greet.
The next day, while Xie Sen and Maine were having breakfast, a lot of people had already gathered outside the door. Maine frowned as he looked at the surveillance footage outside the door.
Xie Sen glanced at the screen and chuckled, "Sure enough, there are a lot of young people, and they're really enthusiastic. There are still two hours before the meet-and-greet starts!"
Maine put down her chopsticks. "I'll go verify their identities. Don't go out yet."
Xie Sen finished the last mouthful of his congee and cleared the dishes. "If their identities are fine, let them in. Besides them, there will definitely be other people coming. It'll be too chaotic if they're all mixed together. Once everyone's here, close the door."
He finished clearing the dishes and sat on the sofa in the living room to watch the monitor. Seven people had already entered and were curiously looking around the contracted beast's living area. There were still five people at the door, and Maine was verifying their identities.
A cry of an eagle came from the sky. The seven people looked up and saw a flying eagle beast with outstretched wings flying above them, its round eyes scrutinizing them.
"Chirp~" Tuan Tuan perched on Xie Sen's right shoulder and chirped crisply at the video.
Xie Sen reached out and ruffled its fluffy head feathers. "You can go out and play with the flying eagle beast. There will be many people coming today, so be careful."
Tuan Tuan nodded, rubbed its head against his hand, and flapped its wings and went out.
Xie Sen looked at its round, chubby body, very curious about what it ate every day; it seemed to have gained even more weight.
At 8:30, all twenty-four audience members had arrived. Besides them, many others had come, but were kept outside. Maine activated its protective mode; the surface of the courtyard wall emitted a faint blue light. Anyone attempting to climb over the wall would be electrocuted.
Xie Sen was worried about damaging the land where the seeds had been planted, and because the indoor facilities were better, he arranged the meet-and-greet indoors. The contracted beasts were all in the accommodation area preparing and didn't show themselves.
The lucky fans knew it wasn't time yet and didn't wander off. Xie Sen observed them; they all looked very young, but their actual age might not match their appearance.
Two looked very young, probably only fourteen or fifteen years old, and their expressions were much more lively.
One of them suddenly pointed with a surprised expression at the artificial river not far away. Instantly, everyone's eyes turned towards it.
Little Silver swam along the water from the living area to the outside, intending to sneak a peek at the visitors, but was immediately discovered. Under the watchful eyes of many, it quickly swam back to the accommodation area.
"It's even bigger than the live stream room!"
"So beautiful, I wonder if we can touch it!"
"Hahaha, it looks like we scared them, so funny."
Xie Sen smiled helplessly, got up and walked outside. Since he had nothing else to do, he might as well let them get to know the contracted beasts first.
He walked over, and Maine put her arm around his waist, her gaze towards the lucky viewers not very friendly. Xie Sen blushed slightly: "Hello everyone."
"Hello, streamer," everyone greeted, and someone said, "Sorry, we're too early, streamer, you should go and rest first!"
"Yeah!" they said, secretly glancing at Maine's expression.
Xie Sen smiled and said, "It's okay, let's go, let me introduce you to the contracted beasts first. You don't need to be afraid of them, as long as you don't have any ill intentions towards them, they will definitely not attack you."
The youngest boy said, "I really like them, I'm not afraid." Many people echoed.
Xie Sen smiled and turned on the live stream as he entered the accommodation area.
"I knew it had to be early! I'm so smart, I was already waiting!"
"Aww, these twenty-four lucky ones, I'll remember you all!"
"Early? Haha, so lucky! I was planning to AFK to pad my playtime, thank goodness I didn't miss it."
Xie Sen glanced at the comments and greeted them with a smile.
The contracted beasts saw the group enter and immediately approached to examine them.
The lucky fans were excited, and someone asked, "Streamer, can I touch them?"
"Sure!" Xie Sen replied.
The black panther let out a soft growl, and the contracted beasts moved to the center and lay down, swishing their tails as they looked at the fans. The fans were stunned: "So smart!"
The viewers in the live stream screamed: "I want to pet them too!"
"They're so smart, I want to go to the live event, I'm too unlucky, boohoo..."
Xie Sen led the fans to the center, taking the lead in rubbing the neck of the giant tiger beast. Seeing this, the fans immediately and carefully petted the contracted beasts.
Their movements were extremely light, as if they were air to the contracted beasts, who leisurely swished their tails and chatted.
A continuous low growl came from the right. Xie Sen looked over and saw the giant armored beast with its head down, backing away. In front of it stood a young man with a gentle expression. He smiled apologetically at the giant armored beast and took a few steps back.
"Maine said, 'The Giant Armored Beast Master.'"
Xie Sen nodded. Seeing the Giant Armored Beast's reaction, he had roughly guessed it. He walked towards the Giant Armored Beast and reached out to stroke its long, sharp snout. "Don't be afraid."
"I'm not afraid," the Giant Armored Beast said softly, glancing up at the young man. "He's fine. I just couldn't control myself."
Xie Sen comforted it, "This is a normal reaction for a contracted beast when facing its master."
"Master?" the Giant Armored Beast asked doubtfully. "Our clan has very few masters. I've heard many stories about masters from the Big Black and A Python families, but I know very little about masters from the Giant Armored Beast Clan."
The young man kept his distance and said gently, "I'm sorry, this is the first time I've seen a Giant Armored Beast. I just wanted to say hello. I meant no harm."
Xie Sen nodded. "It's alright, I understand. Are Giant Armored Beast Masters rare?"
The young man smiled regretfully. "Yes, Giant Armored Beasts are very rare. They usually live deep in the mountains and forests, and it's hard to encounter them. There are only a handful of people in our clan who have formed contracts. Without contracted masters, the chances of future generations becoming masters of the same level gradually decrease. I consider myself very lucky."
"Can...can I form a bond with him?" the giant armored beast whispered.
Xie Sen was somewhat surprised. The giant armored beast was shy, and he hadn't expected it to take the initiative to propose a bond, especially since it was the first time it had met the other person.
He asked, "You like him a lot?"
The giant armored beast nodded, "Yes, I like him a lot. He's very gentle, not instinctively repulsive. Looking at me from afar makes me feel comfortable, like being next to you."
Xie Sen sized up the young man. The young man had gentle features and a warm smile, and his whole demeanor was indeed like a breath of fresh air. "May I ask your name and profession?"
The young man said, "My name is Lu Qingxing, I'm an archaeologist, and a visiting professor at Xingcheng University."
Xie Sen thought about the giant armored beast's hobby and ability to dig, and suddenly felt that it was indeed quite a good match for an archaeologist.
Xie Sen asked, "Are you willing to form a bond with him?"
Lu Qingxing's eyes widened slightly, revealing a surprised expression, "Really?"
The fans at the scene and the viewers in the live stream had been paying attention to Xie Sen, and they were all shocked to hear his words.
He just agreed to form a bond like that?
Xie Sen nodded: "It likes you very much. If you're willing, to be on the safe side, let's measure the synchronization rate first."
"I'm willing," Lu Qingxing said firmly. No beast master would refuse to form a bond.
Xie Sen looked at Maine, who took out a measuring device and measured their synchronization rate.
The measurement result was surprising again: a synchronization rate of 78.
Many viewers remembered the last meet-and-greet and quickly reacted, sending barrages of comments: "Streamer, don't turn off the live stream! I want to see the bond-forming scene!"
"Yes, don't turn it off!"
Some people were worried that Xie Sen wouldn't see the comments, so they sent him a shower of watermelons to urge him not to turn off the live stream.
Xie Sen said, "I won't turn off the live stream," he laughed, "Didn't some people doubt the live stream? Let them see what natural bond-forming is like."
Maine put his arm around Xie Sen and walked to the side. Xie Sen asked the fans to stand over as well. The contracted beasts got up and moved to the side, giving the middle seats to the giant armored beast and Lu Qingxing.
Lu Qingxing smiled gently at the giant armored beast: "Don't be nervous, I won't hurt you." The giant armored beast nodded.
The next moment, a gentle yet forceful aura emanated from the center, instantly turning the two young fans pale and causing them to groan involuntarily.
Xie Sen also felt a wave of dizziness and a tightness in his chest. He frowned and patted Maine's hand: "Look at them."
Maine released him and pulled the two fans behind him to stand. Seeing this, the other fans voluntarily stood in front of the fans with pale faces.
"Wow, look at the audience's reaction, the aura is very strong!"
"The Giant Armored Beast is an A-rank contracted beast, of course it's strong."
As time passed, both the person and the beast in the middle showed subtle reactions.
Xie Sen's brows furrowed even more tightly. He felt something was wrong. Even at an S-rank contracted event, he hadn't had such a strong reaction. Especially since this contracted event was relatively gentle due to the personalities of the beast master and the contracted beast.
He grabbed Maine's arm, about to say something, but before he could speak, he turned his head away and couldn't help but gag.
Maine's expression changed instantly, and she caught Xie Sen's falling body, crying out, "Ah Sen!"
The giant armored beast, perceptive as ever, sensed Xie Sen's condition and its aura suddenly weakened. Lu Qingxing, caught off guard, overwhelmed it with his own power. The beast lay down, glanced at Lu Qingxing, and then looked at Xie Sen.
Lu Qingxing's lips were pale, and he looked somewhat annoyed. He hadn't reacted in time. He said gently, "Go check on him. We can form a contract later."
After gagging, Xie Sen seemed to have expelled all the pent-up air from his chest, feeling much better, though still weak. He smiled and said, "I'm fine."
One of the fans said, "I'm a doctor. Let me take a look at you!"
Xie Sen was about to shake his head when Maine nodded, his face tense, "Thank you."
The fan looked very young, with only slight wrinkles around his eyes indicating his advanced age. He took Xie Sen's wrist, his expression gradually becoming distorted.
"What happened?" Main asked urgently.
Seeing the doctor's reaction, Xie Sen also became nervous. "I don't feel uncomfortable, I just felt a little dizzy."
The doctor took out a stethoscope-like device from his backpack and said to Main, "Please hold the anchor horizontally."
Main easily lifted Xie Sen horizontally in his arms. The doctor, wearing an earpiece, placed the other end on Xie Sen's stomach. After a while, he excitedly said, "Anchor, you're pregnant. During pregnancy, the body is more sensitive to external stimuli. Your dizziness just now was because you were stimulated by the bondage energy wave."
Everyone in the studio and the live broadcast room fell silent.
Xie Sen was also stunned, vaguely thinking he had misheard. He glanced at his stomach, then quickly looked away, his body trembling slightly. He gritted his teeth and said firmly, "Impossible!"
Seeing his flustered appearance, Main hugged him tightly with heartache and looked at the doctor with hostility. "Don't talk nonsense, I've always worn a condom."
The doctor was particularly puzzled by the two's reactions. Anyone else would have been overjoyed to tears at this moment.
His expression was serious: "Absolutely no mistake. Are you sure you've been wearing it all along? What brand are you using? I think we can report this to the quality inspection department."
Maine's eyes changed slightly: "I only forgot once..."
The doctor's eyes also changed, and his voice suddenly rose: "You got pregnant after just one time?"