Beast Taming: My System is Bugged

Chapter 146 - 145: Still Acting

At first glance, the system’s plot seemed fine, similar to his real-life situation.

In reality, the Ruan Family had proposed a seventy-thirty split, and the system had said the same. However, the two sides had different understandings of the Cultivation Technique.

Future Cultivation Techniques were minor iterations based on widely available knowledge. Gu Ming believed that even the Microscopic Array would be a well-known research achievement in the future; it just hadn’t been applied to the Cyan Pine Skill yet.

Gu Ming quickly noticed the points where the system’s description corresponded with reality.

When the two aligned, he needed to be vigilant.

Because reality and the system’s plot were often opposites.

The system said it was a seventy-thirty split, which meant that in reality, it probably wasn’t.

After finishing his afternoon classes, Gu Ming went home and told his parents about the commercial partnership for the Visualization Image that Manager Ruan had mentioned.

Normally, he shouldn’t discuss financial matters with them.

After all, they were gambling addicts who would squander any money they got on betting or lottery tickets.

But Gu Ming suspected their true strength and used this as an opportunity to test their reactions.

His parents’ reaction was not what he expected. There was none of the delight or ecstasy he had anticipated. Instead, they thought about it seriously, exchanged glances, and fell into contemplative silence, not speaking right away.

This was a major partnership.

Anyone who understood Visualization Images and the Beastmaster industry knew just how big the market was.

If they signed the contract rashly, the Gu Family might suffer a huge loss, which was why his parents hadn’t replied to their son immediately.

In Gu Ming’s eyes, this behavior was one more piece of evidence that they were letting their masks slip.

However, the two of them quickly realized they shouldn’t be acting so serious.

After all, their established personas were that of ordinary parents, a pair of gambling addicts. They had only recently forced themselves to stop gambling because of their son’s major life event. It didn’t mean they wouldn’t gamble in the future, just that they weren’t gambling right now.

Normally, upon hearing that a major family wanted to partner with their son to sell Visualization Images—a new financial pillar for their household—they should have shown ecstatic joy, like an ordinary person winning the lottery.

Then, his parents burst out laughing. "We’re rich! We’re rich!"

"What’s the Ruan Family’s background like? Do we need to invest any money?"

"How much can the Visualization Images sell for?"

Gu Ming immediately felt his parents’ elation and their faint greed.

For a split second, he should have felt that something was off.

But in that moment, he didn’t feel suspicious. Instead, he was instantly relieved.

After all, old habits die hard.

This was the pair of old gambling addicts he remembered.

Gu Ming briefly explained the partnership model the Ruan Family had offered. They would provide the funding, the venue, and the personnel to create the Visualization Images. All Gu Ming had to do was provide the authorization and have Cyan Treasure demonstrate its Cultivation.

Cyan Treasure wouldn’t have to be present every time. It would only need to cooperate until the Ruan Family’s Painters could create a satisfactory work. After that, its presence would no longer be required, unless Cyan Treasure’s Skill Level increased by another major tier.

The retail price the Ruan Family expected to set was one hundred thousand for a single Visualization Image.

When his parents heard this, their eyes went wide.

Even their breathing grew heavy. Gu Ming could even hear them sharply inhaling.

Having explained this much, Gu Ming asked, "So, should our family partner with the Ruan Family?"

"Of course! It’s free money, how could we not take it?" Mrs. Gu laughed, rubbing her hands together with a delighted smile on her face.

Mr. Gu smiled too, a broad, happy grin that crinkled the crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes. He chimed in with a few words, affirming the family’s intention to cooperate.

Just when Gu Ming thought they were in 100% agreement, he heard Mr. Gu’s tone shift as he said:

"But this is a big deal. We should tell your grandfather."

"Your grandfather used to work in the Beast Taming Bureau’s military. We don’t understand the ins and outs of this, but he definitely knows more than we do."

"We know Visualization Images are expensive, but we don’t know how much can really be made. Even if it’s just licensing, we should ask about the profit split. What if we can get a bigger share..."

"We’re going to your grandfather’s house this weekend anyway. We can ask him then." Mrs. Gu also put on the brakes, agreeing with Mr. Gu.

His parents ended the topic with smiles. They seemed to agree but hadn’t actually made a decision, instead passing the final say to his grandfather back in their hometown.

For the next half hour, Mr. and Mrs. Gu let their imaginations run wild. They counted on their fingers, fantasizing about all the nice things they could buy in the future—designer bags, a new set of home appliances. By the end, the two were even daydreaming about moving.

The Gu Family currently lived in a rented apartment in a residential complex.

The hallway outside was spray-painted with red words like "Repay your debts, it’s only right and proper." This was not a good environment for Gu Ming to live in, and he had always been under the heavy pressure of their circumstances.

Now, the partnership plan with the Ruan Family that Gu Ming had brought up was what could truly free the Gu Family from its financial shackles and get them back on a normal track.

Gu Ming listened from the side, not doubting their ecstatic display. His Little Cyan Snake was the same, completely convinced.

After dinner, Gu Ming returned to his bedroom to feed his Pet Beasts. After giving some Future Medicinal Materials to Cyan Treasure and Ah Kun, his heated mind gradually cooled down.

He replayed the conversation with his parents. On the surface, it seemed fine, fitting his stereotype of the Gu Family.

But something wasn’t right.

’The past was the past, but now is now.’

Gu Ming knew that the future Gu Family had an inheritance. That Black and White Long-Armed Ape was very likely connected to the Gu Family, which cast doubt on his parents’ true strength.

Because of that, his parents’ ecstatic reaction was wrong.

His reason returned, and he sensed there was a problem, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

’Maybe my own strength is too low to notice the real suspicious points.’

Outside his room, a Hidden Mist Butterfly rested quietly on the living room sofa, silently extending a Barrier to isolate the sound in the living room and prevent it from reaching Gu Ming’s room.

At that moment, Mr. Gu and Mrs. Gu were discussing the Ruan Family in normal voices, their expressions completely grave. Gone was their earlier passionate excitement—the nouveau-riche ecstasy of instantly escaping poverty and entering the middle class.

Any truly experienced Beastmaster who heard that a major family wanted to partner with them would naturally see it as a good thing. But when the other party offered a seventy-thirty split, one had to consider where they planned to recoup the profits from such a generous share.

After all, capitalists don’t do charity. Especially in the current Great Zhou, where power and capital were deeply intertwined. The Ruan Family’s influence was in no way inferior to the Wang Family’s. The only difference was that compared to the Wang Family’s flamboyance, the Ruan Family was more reserved and their methods more covert. You could get swindled by them and never even know it.

"I’ll call the old man and tell him about this. We can’t wait until we see him this weekend to discuss it," Mr. Gu said to his wife after a moment of thought.

"Mm."

Mrs. Gu, distracted, picked up her phone and messaged a colleague she was close with, asking about the Ruan Family’s businesses. She planned to do some offline reconnaissance.

An ordinary family would basically have no choice. When a major family chooses you, it’s best to cooperate. Otherwise, the consequences would be dire. A family member might mysteriously lose their job one day, and it could very well be their doing.

As for the Gu Family, because his parents were Five-star Beastmasters, they weren’t considered exceptionally powerful in the city, but they weren’t complete lambs to the slaughter either.

At the very least, having options meant they could contact other capitalists to enter the fray, let the corporate giants fight over it, and the Gu Family could feed on the profits yielded from their conflict.

Their strength as Five-star Beastmasters was precisely the foundation that allowed them to navigate such situations without being easily crushed by the massive waves of capital.