"It possesses emotions and thinking abilities close to humans, also has the work capabilities of AI, and can continuously strengthen both through learning."
A new type of high-IQ "human" has appeared.
Charlotte was ecstatic.
More importantly, it's also a beast, and it's impossible to truly replace humans.
Isn't this exactly the artificial assistant with autonomous thinking ability she's dreamed of?
'Perfect!'
Charlotte now, immediately and at once, wanted to make a contract with the little octopus.
Mechanical Little Octopus: "Zzz?"
'That gaze, isn't it a little too fiery?'
The mechanical little octopus took a step back.
"Thank you, Professor Asher," Charlotte, however, didn't care at all about whether her gaze was fiery or not.
Color scheme? Is it important?
No. Inner beauty is the real beauty. [T/N: Guys, remember, that's what ugly people say. Jk]
Whether others could see the inner beauty of the mechanical little octopus was uncertain, but in Charlotte's eyes, this mechanical little octopus was undoubtedly the most beautiful.
Charlotte's attitude changed so fast that everyone around her was caught off guard, unable to react for a moment.
The gazes cast at Charlotte were filled with deep confusion.
'You changed your mind just like that?'
Charlotte held her head high and chest out.
'Why not change?'
In the face of a little octopus with such abilities, no matter how she changed her mind, it wasn't overboard.
Seeing this, Asher smiled and gave Charlotte a thumbs-up.
'Very good. That's the right attitude, keep it up.'
"What do you think, this ten million was worth it, right?"
Charlotte gave Asher a thumbs-up in return, "Worth it! Totally worth it!"
Intermediate mid-level beast. Combined unlocked and yet-to-be-unlocked abilities.
Even if she had to continue investing steel and other material resources later, it was still a pretty good deal.
If you asked Charlotte, a beast like this, if placed in a normal pet house, would go for at least twenty million.
At least another six to eight million more.
That's nearly thirty million.
Upon hearing this, the Beast Tamer contractor next to them revealed a toothache-like expression, "Tsss—this is way too profitable."
Thinking about how much he could earn per job…
Well, it wasn't little. But compared to the mechanical-type beast in front of him, it was still far off.
"It's not unreasonable though," Upon hearing this, Eliana, with arms crossed, calmly analyzed, "Materials cost money too."
"And for Beast Tamers, things that can be solved with money are actually the easiest."
More often, even with money, it's hard to buy a good beast that meets personal needs.
The Beast Tamer contractor was stunned for a second.
No lie. That really made sense.
For many Beast Tamers, maybe at the beginning they don't have much money.
But as their strength grows, their ways of making money will also increase.
Saving money isn't that difficult, it just takes a bit of perseverance.
But a beast that meets their needs and expectations…
Thinking of this, the Beast Tamer contractor looked at the Heart of Machinery behind the glass with a gaze that gradually grew fiery.
"Professor Asher, um…", the Beast Tamer contractor couldn't help rubbing his hands, looking at Asher with a hesitant expression.
Asher instantly knew what he wanted to say, "If you have a need now or in the future, you can always come and customize."
"I'll give you a ten percent discount then."
Asher had just glanced at Angel.
Because the material used this time was special steel, Angel also got quite a few benefits.
The progress bar for the 6% form advanced by one-third.
'Two more times…'
Asher lightly sighed.
'Still quite far.'
Either expand the blind box business or keep stockpiling materials himself.
As for Asher's final choice… of course he wants both. Dual-pronged approach. Only that way could Angel restore its original form as fast as possible.
Someone wants to customize a mechanical beast? He will gladly welcome.
"Thank you, Professor Asher," Hearing this, the Beast Tamer contractor grinned widely, couldn't help letting out a series of silly laughs.
Ten percent might not sound like much, but when the base price is in the millions, it still saves a lot.
"I'll pass for now, all six of my pet beasts are complete. But I do want to customize one for my daughter in the future."
"In two more years, she'll need to prepare to contract her first pet beast. As her dad, if I'm able, I want to help her get something better."
Hearing this, Asher looked at the Beast Tamer contractor again.
After a moment of thought, "If your daughter can get top three in her class then, I'll give an extra ten percent off."
"Eh?", The Beast Tamer contractor was stunned, then showed an embarrassed look and waved his hands repeatedly, "That's not necessary."
"Professor Asher already giving me ten percent off is very…"
Asher interrupted him, "It's fine. Consider it encouragement for future Beast Tamers. I also want to see more Beast Tamers shine."
Asher said with a smile.
The Beast Tamer contractor rubbed his face awkwardly, looked at Asher with gratitude, and kept thanking him.
Although these matters caused a slight delay, the newly renovated room didn't have any issues.
Once confirmed and accepted, this special Beast Tamer construction team quickly left.
Only Asher and the others remained.
"So are you taking this little guy back to Star City HQ now?", Asher looked at Charlotte, who was crouched next to the mechanical little octopus and reluctant to even look away, and asked helplessly.
Charlotte didn't respond.
Asher asked again.
"Eh?", Only now did Charlotte react. She half-turned, looked toward Asher, and pointed at her own nose, "You were talking to me?"
Asher just looked at her silently.
Charlotte finally realized. She stuck out her tongue a bit awkwardly.
"My bad, I was too focused on bonding with the little guy."
"By the way, this mechanical little octopus is just so cute," Speaking of it, Charlotte's eyes lit up.
Asher: "..."
'Woman, you clearly didn't say that earlier.'
Charlotte didn't think her changeability was a problem at all.
Problem?
Not at all. It's not being fickle. It's reasonable respect for a useful being.
"Forget going back for now," Fortunately this time Charlotte heard Asher. She rubbed her chin and looked at the mechanical little octopus in front of her.
"I'm also worried about Little Machine's condition."
"After all…", Speaking of Thousand Machine, Charlotte's brows furrowed slightly, completely different from her earlier joy.
"If it's really like you said, with Thousand Machine's spontaneous pregnancy, Little Machine is the only unique case among them. Who knows what might happen during delivery."
Hand her to the Pet Center?
Absolutely not, she wouldn't feel at ease.
Compared to the Pet Center, Charlotte still trusted Asher more.
As long as Little Machine stayed at Asher's lab, no matter what happened, he would surely be able to solve it with ease.
Asher met Charlotte's gaze.
The corners of his mouth twitched slightly.
"…How should I put it. Ever since you appeared at my lab, I had a faint illusion of being entangled with you."
"I just didn't expect that illusion to become reality so soon."
Charlotte giggled and gave Asher a thumbs-up, "Professor Asher's sixth sense is amazing."
Asher: "…"
Should he be thankful, that Charlotte remembered he had mentioned sixth sense as his talent skill?
'Forget it.'
Asher waved his hand.
Too lazy to argue with this person anymore.
If he did, in the end, it would just be him getting upset. Totally unnecessary.
———
[Radiant City]
[Radiant University]
"Ivy! Come quick!", Outside the Pet Beast Care class, a girl in a hot tank top and short shorts, with a high ponytail, waved frantically at a long-haired girl inside.
Ivy, who just finished class, slowly packed up her desk.
In no time, everything was neatly organized. Only then did she shoulder her little crossbody bag and, with a brilliantly colored fluttering fairy butterfly, head to the door.
Her long hair was braided into a thick braid at the back, forming a full and rounded arc.
In this gradually warming season, it carried a unique sense of coolness that was refreshing to see.
Ivy walked up to June, smiled at her overexcited friend, and asked, "What is it now?"
"Is there new news from Asher?"
Before June could even respond, she heard Ivy say it in a curious yet certain tone.
June: "…"
"You already know?", June pouted, looking annoyed at Ivy.
Ivy shook her head, "I guess I don't know."
June: "?"
'But you guessed it has to do with Asher right away?'
"That's because you're being too obvious, okay," Ivy gave her bestie a knowing look.
Although, however, June had a foul temper, didn't always speak nicely, her personality was also a bit… ahem.
Anyway, nothing serious.
It's just that to people unfamiliar with her, June was like a fiery little chili.
One slip-up and you'd get burned.
"Last time when there was a trending post about Asher online, you acted the exact same way."
Ivy was referring to the time when "Heart of Machinery" was trending.
June had totally lost it back then.
Luckily that trending post disappeared the next day.
Otherwise, June might have spent a whole day fighting online.
Thinking of that, Ivy couldn't help but chuckle again.
"So what's the matter this time?"
Seeing that Ivy truly didn't know, June nodded and cheerfully began to share, "The first mechanical-type beast!"
"Look!"
"Sounds super awesome from the description!"
June flashed her phone.
It showed a public post from NY City.
After Charlotte gave permission, Asher shared the mechanical little octopus info with the NY City Beast Tamer Union.
Although it didn't detail the octopus's abilities, as its customizer, Charlotte also appeared in the public post, wearing a huge smile.
You could tell at a glance she was super satisfied. Charlotte herself wasn't bothered by it. The NY City public post even hyped it up.
Not everyone might see it, but June would.
She always kept up with NY City news.
"See?", June puffed out her chest proudly, walking next to Ivy, "First thing I did when I saw the news was come share it with you."
"Mechanical-type beast!"
Looking down at a close-up of the mechanical little octopus on her phone, June clicked her tongue.
"Yeah, it's a bit ugly."
"But it's awesome!"
"And it doesn't seem very expensive either."
'Only ten million.'
For a pet beast, that's really not bad. Might even be slightly below market price.
June stroked her chin, "In a while, I'll need to contract another pet beast. Should I…"
Then looked at Ivy, "How about it, Ivy, want to do it with me?"
Even though her buddy already had several pet beasts, but pet beasts are one of those things, as long as you have the ability, the more you can contract, the better.
"Mm…" Ivy listened and felt a little bit tempted, but looking at the photo of the mechanical little octopus on her phone, her eyes flickered a few times.
"Although, but… I still want to contract a slightly better-looking pet beast, I think?", After speaking, Ivy blinked with a guilty look on her face, like she was confessing her sin of being a face-con.
June: "..."
"Alright then," June nodded, "Indeed, strength can be cultivated and trained after the fact, but whether it's good-looking really is something one's born with."
"If you hadn't said anything, I didn't feel anything, but now that you say it…"
June lowered her head again. When she looked at the photo of the mechanical little octopus on her phone, she also vaguely felt a bit… not ugly, but that kind of hard-to-describe eye-burning.
"I'll think about it again," June said repeatedly.
She felt, indeed, contracting such an beast into one's spiritual sea beast space requires a certain amount of courage.
Otherwise, what if she got scared?
This is something that requires her to think seriously. She'll wait until she's thought it through.
"But it's not long until summer vacation, right?", June skipped the topic, "Didn't go home during the last Double Glory Festival, this time when we go back for the holidays, we must meet up with Asher properly."
"Oh right!", Speaking, June suddenly seemed to remember something, her eyes lit up sharply, "In a few days, it's the grand finals of the South Soren regional major colleges league tournament, right?"
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