Chapter 2 (1/2)
The next morning, Zhang Che saw his mother, Sun Lan, preparing his breakfast in the kitchen right after he woke up.
After hearing the sound of Zhang Che opening the door, Sun Lan greeted him while frying eggs in the kitchen, “You’re up, Xiaoche! Go wash up first. The eggs will be ready soon.”
“Thanks, mom!” Zhang Che replied and walked into the washroom.
Zhang Che lost his father six years ago, during the third invasion of the beasts. His family consisted of only Zhang Che and his mother, Sun Lan, living in a poor neighborhood.
Their monthly living expenses came from some insurance money given to them by the government, and the small wages from Sun Lan’s job.
If it wasn’t for the fact that the government had exempted all fees for primary and secondary school education, Zhang Che’s family wouldn’t have been able to afford sending him to school at all.
In life, however, blessings never comes in pairs, and misfortune does not come singly. Sun Lan was diagnosed with a malignant tumor half a year ago. With the current technology in medical science, only the new genetic repair medicine developed using materials originating from the beasts was able to cure her ailment.
Alas, such advanced medicines weren’t something commoners were able to afford. They were priced at several hundred dollars at the minimum.
It was impossible for Zhang Che’s family to come up with such a hefty amount to pay for the medicine.
That was, unless Zhang Che could pass the beastmaster aptitude test and officially become a beastmaster. It was the only way he could possibly earn that much money.
After washing up and eating the simple breakfast his mother prepared for him, Zhang Che picked his bag and headed towards the door. “I’m off to school, mom.”
“Mmm. Be careful on your way there,” Sun Lan reminded him, looking at her son’s back as he walked down the stairs. “Do your best, Xiaoche! Mom believes that you will definitely pass the beastmaster aptitude test this time around!”
Zhang Che turned back and looked at his mother up the stairs. He revealed a bright smile and replied, “Mmm, I think so too! I’m off, mom!”
Thump thump thump, Zhang Che ran down the stairs after saying goodbye, and walked out into the neighborhood.
In his previous life, he had lived with his grandparents since he was young due to his parents’ divorce, and he had never felt the familial love from his parents. He didn’t expect to have a mother in this life; it felt pretty good!
In order to have the money to buy the genetic repair medicine, I must pass today’s beastmaster aptitude test!
—
While Zhang Che walked out to the neighborhood, Sun Lan was supporting herself on the railings by the corridor, her complexion looking rather complicated.
“Ah, Xiaoche. The truth is, your mother doesn’t wish for you to pass the beastmaster aptitude test at all! It’s not bad to just live the life of an ordinary citizen…”
Zhang Che’s father was a low-tiered beastmaster while he was still alive. During the third invasion, he lost his life to the seemingly endless swarm of beasts. As such, Sun Lan only hoped that her son wouldn’t follow in his father’s footsteps, and instead wished that he would find an ordinary woman and live out a peaceful life.
Furthermore, Sun Lan knew that her son’s aptitude was mediocre at best. Even if he passed the test by chance and became a beastmaster, he would be someone whose standing was at the very bottom among his peers. When the time came in the future where he had to fight against the beasts’ invasion, there was no way he could escape his fate of becoming cannon fodder…
——
The area Zhang Che lived at wasn’t exactly near to Qian Wei City Number Two Secondary School. He needed to go outside the neighborhood and take a public bus with over a dozen stops to reach it.
“Zhang Xiaoche, you’re waiting for the bus too!”
The bus that passed by his school hadn’t come even after waiting for a few minutes by the road, when he suddenly heard a girl’s voice from behind him.
Zhang Che turned around to look, and saw that it was his classmate, Huang Tielan. She was smiling brightly with her eyes narrowed.
-Oh, please. You don’t even live around here! Why are you acting like this is all a coincidence!-