Astral Pet Store Chapter 1: World of Astral Pets
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“My handsome brother, time to get up.”
Eh?
“Who is calling me handsome?”
“Wait a minute.”
“Wasn’t I sleeping alone? Who’s talking?”
Shocked and baffled, Su Ping snapped his eyes open in a hurry. He twisted around for a glance. That single look nearly terrified him out of his wits!
Propped against his pillow sat a ghastly specter leaking blood from every one of her seven facial orifices. Her lips twisted into a gruesome smile that bared her eerie white fangs.
“What the f*ck!!”
Quivering in terror, Su Ping swung a backhand slap at the ghost.
His palm sliced right through her face and smacked onto the plush pillow. It felt exactly like slapping thin air!
The ghost's grin widened as she lolled out her crimson tongue.
Overcome by dread, Su Ping scrambled to turn and bolt. But in his frenzy, he misjudged his grip and plunged off the bed, smashing face-first onto the floor.
“It hurts!”
Su Ping felt like his nose had shattered, the agony searing hot.
Even so, the mere thought of that nightmarish ghost sent icy shivers racing through his entire body.
“Um, pff...”
It looked like someone was fighting back chuckles but losing the battle. Laughter exploded from the side.
Su Ping shuddered harder. Was the ghost cackling at him?!
“Ha, ha, ha... Su Ping, are you trying to kill me with laughter? How hopelessly spineless can you be, to be frightened like this!”
The peals of laughter rang out from the room's edge.
Su Ping jolted in shock.
He spun his head around.
By the bed's foot stood an adorable girl with sparkling eyes and gleaming teeth, dressed in orange pajamas printed with cartoons. She was lovely, yet her current fit of hysterical laughter stripped away all her charm.
“What is going on?”
Su Ping felt lost. Suddenly, he realized the room looked entirely unfamiliar.
Right away, a massive monster poster on the wall behind the girl caught his eye. It must have been from some film.
This wasn't his bedroom!
Su Ping never hung posters in his own space.
Where had that ghost girl vanished to?
The memory of her morning fright made him whip his head back to check the bed.
Nothing remained there. The ghost had disappeared!
“Did she leave?”
Su Ping blinked in confusion, nearly sighing with relief.
But in a flash, a dark shadow darted from beneath his covers. It turned out to be a black cat.
More like it tumbled out than leaped. The cat was so plump it resembled a fuzzy ball.
“Snowball, come here,” the girl called to the black cat.
At her command, the black cat flailed its paws to right itself from its upside-down flop. It shook out its fur, shot a disdainful look at Su Ping still huddled on the floor, and sauntered over to the girl with elegant strides.
Su Ping could have sworn the cat was looking down on him.
Right then, Su Ping spotted two sharp horns poking from the black cat's head. A few dark red strands on its forehead curled like a ring of fire.
A giant question mark popped up over Su Ping’s head.
Buzzing!
Abruptly, it was as though space and time trembled...
Su Ping’s sight grew hazy. Like raging torrents, endless streams of data flooded his mind from every direction.
“Su Ping? Su Lingyue?”
“Astral Pets?”
“Another world?”
The nonstop influx of info left him dazed and swamped. Su Ping’s skull felt ready to burst, the torment excruciating. He gritted his teeth to stifle any cry.
Only after what seemed like forever did the chaotic info storm in his brain finally subside. Memory fragments surfaced in sequence along the chronology.
He had crossed over to a different world...
Su Ping pieced it together. No surprise about the strange room, the quirky girl, and the weird cat.
“But I was just snoozing cozily at home! How did I end up transported to another world?”
“Was it from that pre-bed hand workout?”
Su Ping gave a wry inward smile. He started sifting through the host’s memories.
“This world mirrors Earth. Yet tech has soared ahead into interstellar voyages, spanning far wider than Earth. Still, the core isn't tech progress but the extraordinary Astral Pets!”
“Astral Pets vary wildly and dominate human life. Tool Pets handle building, travel, daily chores, even research! Battle pets blaze trails through the stars and back up in conflicts. In fights and national rankings, battle pet strength calls the shots!”
“Astral Pets...”
Su Ping sank into those memory flashes. The deeper he delved, the more astounded he became. He grasped what the ghost girl really was.
“Battle pet from the demon lineage, the Phantom Flame Beast excels at weaving illusions and wielding fire elements...”
That odd cat was the Phantom Flame Beast, a savage demon-family battle pet. Skilled in psychic tricks and elemental mastery, this rare breed fetched sky-high prices!
Su Ping couldn't fathom “his” little sister Su Lingyue wasting such a premium Astral Pet on daily pranks against him...
After scanning the original owner's memories, Su Ping found the tale both hilarious and exasperating. The siblings bickered endlessly from childhood, unable to tolerate each other. Su Ping once pulled endless tricks to tease and spook his sister. But as they matured, roles reversed. Now he lived in constant dread.
The shift sparked when they hit twelve and split schools.
One entered an ordinary vocational institute.
The other joined the Academy of Astral Pet Warriors!
In this Astral Pet-centric world, not all could turn Astral Pet Warriors. Only the innately gifted formed contracts with Astral Pets!
Fate doomed the old “Su Ping” to mediocrity from birth, barring him from such gifts.
As kids, the duo ignored this divide. Talented Su Lingyue endured endless bullying from talentless Su Ping.
Once reality hit, Su Ping’s nightmare kicked off.
His sister nursed deep grudges from those torments. She paid him back tenfold over the years.
Today, their chasm yawned wider. She shone as a prodigy at a top academy with a bright path, while he flunked into dropout status to aid the family shop.
“Well, what are you doing there? You didn’t damage your head with the fall, did you?”
Su Lingyue eyed the dazed Su Ping on the floor oddly. She furrowed her brow, recalling his headfirst crash.
Not out of care for him, but fear their parents might fault her.
“Eh?”
Su Ping refocused. He gazed at the haughty girl standing tall with arms crossed. He felt at a loss with her. “Don’t play pranks like this anymore,” Su Ping said.
Having hijacked this body, he refused to keep suffering her joke wars.
Su Lingyue blinked in surprise.
“Wouldn’t he usually leap up and unleash a storm of curses, calling me a shrew?
“Why so calm today?
“Could it be...
“He figures acting meek will melt my heart?
“Hmm!”
“As long as you haven’t gone dumb. Truth be told, maybe a head bash could boost your dim wits.” Su Lingyue sneered. She whirled and stormed out. “Don’t dawdle. Get down for breakfast fast. Don’t make mom send me up again!”
Slam!
She slammed the door shut.
Su Ping forced a grin. Why was his sister such a firecracker when others had sweet, adorable ones?
Whoosh!
The door yanked open once more.
Su Ping flinched. Su Lingyue peeked back in, half-hiding her menacing face. “Also, don’t snitch to mom. Or else...” She slashed a throat-slitting sign.
Slam!
The door absorbed yet another brutal bang before Su Ping could respond.
“...”
Su Ping lingered a moment, then clambered up once silence reigned outside.
He scanned the room, noting Astral Pet figurines and posters everywhere. Though ordinary here, his knowledge rivaled typical Astral Pet Warriors'.
Not from passion for Astral Pets, though. He loathed them. His studies aimed to counter them as a regular human!
Precisely, to beat his sister’s Astral Pet!
Years later, he still took beatings and scorn without retort. Imagine the hell of researching that deeply.
Reviewing 18 years stirred complex emotions in Su Ping. A total loser who alienated his sole powerhouse ally. Kid mischiefs abounded: worms in her lunch, ghost costumes at midnight. He scarred her youth.
Result? He made an asset into an enemy. And she wasn't merciful—she scarred his adulthood.
Su Ping resolved to mend ties with this mighty sister soon. Else, more weird shocks would shatter his sanity.
Su Ping dressed, slipped on sandals, and headed down.
“What took you so long? The congee is getting cold. Hurry up,” his mother Li Qingru urged. In her forties, she exuded gentle poise.
Su Lingyue had started eating at the table. She perched the Phantom Flame Beast “Snowball” on his usual chair beside her.
Su Ping twitched his lips. Even breakfast brimmed with her spite...
“Coming.”
Su Ping fetched a chair from the living room. Eyeing the hearty spread of congee, meat pies, and soy milk, hunger gnawed at him.
Su Lingyue arched a brow at Su Ping. She'd parked Snowball there to rile him into a rage, ripe for mom’s scolding. Why swallow it?
Odd.
Suspicion flickered in Su Lingyue’s gaze. Was he scheming by playing nice?
“Mom, I’m done. I’ll be heading to the academy now.” Her ploy busted, Su Lingyue lost interest. She wolfed down breakfast and said goodbye to mom.
As she turned to go, Li Qingru called, “Xiao Yue, wait.”
“Ah?” Su Lingyue pivoted.
“Recently, your brother’s store hasn’t been performing very well, it’s not quite popular. How about you put Snowball there just to put on the dog?” Li Qingru probed gently.
Su Lingyue gaped. She glanced at congee-gulping Su Ping, rolled her eyes, and huffed, “Mom, business tanked since you handed it to this guy. Why? He slacks off. Remember that near-complaint to the Association of Astral Pets?
“A ‘Messenger Bird’ boarded there. In under a week, it cursed everyone with ‘f*ck you dumb**s’ and filth. Soon after, someone pulped it. Case unsolved!”
“Do you dare let him raise my Snowball when he botched a Messenger Bird? Snowball might hit eighth-rank. If you’re fine with risks, I am. You bought Snowball, after all.”
Li Qingru fell quiet, mouth agape, then sighed.
Were she not ill and needing rest, she'd never foisted the store on Su Ping so soon.
Su Ping caught his sister’s hostile stare but stayed mum. Head down, he slurped congee, ignoring her.
“Hmm!” She snorted, noting his uncharacteristic restraint. She scooped up bone-munching Snowball, retreated to change, then left.
Moments later, Su Ping polished off breakfast. As always, after Li Qingru’s well-wishes, he biked to the store.
It was an Astral Pets store.
Su Ping was a novice trainer. His role leaned toward Astral Pet care over true training.
True masters reshaped Astral Pet potential and ranks. They held status matching or exceeding Astral Pet Warriors!
En route, Su Ping passed towering skyscrapers and grand homes like Earth's. Unique? Bizarre Astral Pets strolled with most walkers.
“I am indeed in another world...” Su Ping marveled. Dreamlike, yet utterly real.
Quickly, he reached the family Astral Pet store.
Tucked at the commercial street's end, somewhat secluded, it once thrived. Mother Li Qingru was a certified Federation Astral Pet trainer. Elementary level, but ample for this shop. Loyal patrons galore.
Prosperity crashed when Su Ping took the reins.
Who'd trust an Astral Pet hater with their pets?
Crash~!
Su Ping rolled up the shutter. Sunlight pierced in, kicking up dust motes.
Clearly uncleaned for ages. A sharp stench of pet waste wafted out.
Su Ping wrinkled his nose and held his breath.
Suddenly, robotic tones chimed in his mind.
“A suitable soul was detected within the target range. Performing contract detection...”
“Contract completed. Adding to the system...”
“Completed... Ready to launch...”
“System?”
Su Ping froze briefly. Then his eyes lit with excitement.
What was bound to arrive had come...