I’m Surrounded by My Own Pets! 3

Chapter 3: Virtual Battle

Pet Beast Evolution Battle, rather than being a man-made online game, felt more like a programmer directly copying the template and data of an entire different world. This was because there were millions of initial Juvenile Species pet beasts alone, and combined with the ever-changing evolutionary paths branching from the five categories, each stage became increasingly complex as they advanced. Especially in the late game, it was almost impossible for two Beast Tamers to have the same pet beast.

A set of values that even the programmers themselves couldn’t fully test maintained a delicate balance within the game, a system of checks and balances. Even if professional players directly shared their templates and evolution plans, the chances of other players successfully replicating them were slim to none. Either the evolution would deviate midway, or it would fail outright, wasting all the materials. This meant that each player developed unique systems and lineups, relying on their own continuous research and understanding to grow stronger.

However, Lian Xing, who had abandoned PVP competitive battles midway and switched to PVE training for many years, could be considered the player with the most theoretical knowledge in the entire game. She remembered every pet beast lineup and data that had appeared in the game, known as the walking pet encyclopedia. Even professional players would consult her before matches, reviewing and adjusting their lineups.

Therefore, at first glance at her own combination, she sensed a faint dissonance.

“Hiss…”

“Flexibility Enhancement as the initial talent, paired with the Mechanical Species evolution path?”

“It’s not that it’s bad, but it feels a bit strange. It has something going for it, but not much. Can this kind of combination really be one of the 36 Supernovas?”

“At least the training points should all be allocated to agility, right? What’s the point of putting them all into attack? Doesn’t that completely negate the Flexibility Enhancement talent?”

It might be passable with other pet beasts, but Lian Xing knew the Moonlight Rabbit too well…

The Moonlight Rabbit was the first pet beast she drew when the game launched in her previous life, and it was also her strongest main battle pet in the late game. Piled with countless resources and support buffs to a degree unimaginable to ordinary people, it swept away everything in its tier.

It could even be said that all her experience and accumulation were dedicated to the Biological Species evolution path of the Moonlight Rabbit.

Choosing the Mechanical evolution path was simply a waste…

“Sigh, there’s no helping it. The battle is about to start, it’s too late to change the build now. I’ll have to deal with it later…” Lian Xing sighed helplessly, kicked off her shoes, and sprawled lazily on the large bed in an ungainly pose.

Then, following the actions of her predecessor’s memory, she tapped the electronic band on her wrist.

“Connect!”

With a “Whoosh,” a flash of particle light flickered, and Lian Xing’s consciousness soared like a rollercoaster, connecting from reality to the virtual world.

After about ten seconds, the illusory particle world gradually took shape. As Lian Xing slowly opened her eyes, a dreamy holographic virtual space appeared before her.

[ID: Lian Xing]

[Official Certification: Youlan Academy Student, Public]

[Followers: 3063]

[Age: 15, Hidden]

[Appearance: Public]

[Main Battle Pet: Mid-Tier — Mechanical Species — Moonlight Drive]

[Other Pet Beasts: None]

[Casual Battle Record: 61 Wins, 14 Losses]

[Academy Ranking Battle Record: 19 Wins, 3 Losses]

[Academy Ranking Battle detected, commencing in 30 seconds, forced transfer——]

“So that’s how it is. No wonder someone like me can be considered a Supernova. It’s just the top 36 in the Academy ranking…” Lian Xing crossed her arms, blinking thoughtfully as she looked at the displayed battle record.

In her view, the situation of these Beast Taming Academy freshmen was very similar to the early days of Pet Beast Evolution Battle. Since there were no pre-made strategies to copy like in other online games, almost every system had to be researched independently, figuring out lineup and strategy combinations on their own. In the early stages, even a slightly reasonable combination could make someone stand out among the freshmen, becoming a regional overlord.

Although the combination of the Flexibility Enhancement talent and Moonlight Drive was unusual, it was still within the realm of humanoid creatures, barely qualifying as…somewhat civilized.

As for the other bottom-tier students…she hoped they would graduate from the ranks of the bizarre and ape-like soon…

30 seconds passed in a flash.

A white light flashed, and Lian Xing’s consciousness was transported directly to a virtual battle space.

[1V1 Map Randomly Generated: Iron Cage Arena]

[Youlan Academy Supernova Rank 12, Yin Huomei]

[Mid-Tier — Weapon Species — Fire Scythe]

[VS]

[Youlan Academy Supernova Rank 11, Lian Xing]

[Mid-Tier — Mechanical Species — Moonlight Drive]

[Live Viewers: 461]

Even before the character data of the two combatants had finished loading, fans who had pre-booked the match began sending barrage comments after the virtual battle space opened.

“Lian Xing-sama, I’m your dog!!!”

“Ah, I want to lock Lian Xing in my basement and torture her until she begs for mercy…”

“Hey, pervert above, dare you say that with your real name!!!”

“I’m Lian Xing-sama’s classmate. I have to say, Lian Xing-sama’s meltdown in class today, crying and rolling around on the floor, was so cool!!!”

“I can’t take it anymore, just seeing Lian Xing-sama’s starry eyes up close is too much, I’m dying!!!”

After a while, the loaded character models of the two combatants appeared.

Opposite Lian Xing was a heroic girl with a fiery red ponytail, Yin Huomei, the twelfth-ranked Supernova of Youlan Academy.

Since Lian Xing had the barrage comments disabled by default, she didn’t see the perverted comments from her obsessive female fans. But it had to be said, her stunningly gorgeous appearance could attract a wave of fanatic fans even if she just stood there and did nothing.

Meanwhile, Yin Huomei, who had the barrage comments enabled, frowned slightly at the screen full of lewd and obscene messages. Sigh, she also wanted to be harassed by so many female fans with such comments…

“Whoosh——!!!”

In the next second, with a burst of flames, a blood-red flying knife appeared beside the red-haired ponytail girl, Yin Huomei. High-temperature flames rose from the hilt as the knife rapidly sliced through the air, its blurred afterimages forming a dazzling trajectory wreathed in fire.

Mid-Tier, Weapon Species, Fire Scythe!!!

After painstakingly leveling up, finally enhancing its speed by 10 points and unlocking an arcane art on the same day, Yin Huomei couldn’t wait to challenge Lian Xing for her ranking. Surely, if she could defeat Lian Xing, her pitiful follower count would increase a little…