Beast Whisperer Rise of the Nation - Chapter 3: Rewards

 Chapter 3: Rewards

Wu Bowen stumbled back to the dormitory, colliding with his roommate. Instead of apologizing, he shoved him aside and frantically searched for the lottery ticket.

After acquiring the ticket that Jiang Shiyan had bought, Wu Bowen hadn’t redeemed the prize right away. He knew it was valid for 60 days, and his plan was to wait until the last few days to avoid suspicion.

But he never imagined Jiang Shiyan would return!

"My lottery ticket... where's my lottery ticket?" Wu Bowen muttered, his behavior becoming increasingly erratic. He looked terrifying, and even the roommate he had bumped into, who initially wanted to confront him, recoiled in fear, inching closer to the others.

As they gathered the courage to ask what was wrong, Wu Bowen, in a daze, clutched his head. "I didn’t kill anyone... I didn’t... The lottery ticket, it’s mine…"

He suddenly erupted, "Go to hell, Jiang Shiyan! The lottery ticket is mine!"

His wild eyes darted around, and he spun towards his roommates, grabbing one by the collar and snarling, "Where’s my ticket? My first-prize lottery ticket!"

"Dude, are you crazy?"

"Give me the ticket! I’ll kill you, Jiang Shiyan! I’ll kill you!"

Without warning, Wu Bowen wrapped his hands around his roommate's throat, squeezing with terrifying force. The commotion quickly drew the attention of nearby dorms. Seeing Wu Bowen in a murderous rage, several people rushed to help, and it took the combined effort of many to pry his hands off the poor boy’s neck and pin him to the ground.

"You’re insane!" gasped the boy, who had narrowly escaped strangulation. His eyes red with fury, he grabbed a stool and hurled it at Wu Bowen, striking him hard on the head.

As Wu Bowen collapsed, his vision dimming, he thought he saw Jiang Shiyan standing there in a white dress. Panic overtook him, and he passed out.

He could never forget the day of their photoshoot when Jiang Shiyan wore that very same dress...

After Wu Bowen was taken away by ambulance, Jiang Shiyan calmly returned to her home, crouching by the bushes outside.

A few moments later, a small, patterned snake slithered up to her, raising its head slightly and flicking its tongue in excitement.

[Xiao Yanyan, did I do well?]

"You were perfect," Jiang Shiyan praised, gently brushing a leaf against the snake’s triangular head.

Snake language was the first skill she had unlocked. Given that snakes were the most common creatures on the isolated island, she had long mastered the ability to communicate with them.

The little snake wriggled happily.

"Next time I see that bad man, I’ll bite him again!" Jiang Shiyan whispered softly.

[I bit him with Xiao Hei’s help.]

Although the snake’s venom wasn’t lethal, it could induce strong hallucinations. When people are overwhelmed with fear and stress, their minds often unravel, revealing secrets they never meant to share.

Jiang Shiyan had been meticulous in spreading the news of her survival, ensuring it reached certain people at a specific time and place. She knew that the guilt-ridden Wu Bowen would inevitably come to her house to investigate. The little snake had been lying in wait for its moment to strike.

"Yanyan, dinner's ready!" her mother’s voice called from upstairs.

"Coming!"

Jiang Shiyan waved goodbye to the snake and headed upstairs, humming a cheerful tune.

…

The police showed up at Jiang Shiyan's house sooner than she had anticipated.

They were conducting a routine inquiry, asking if she had encountered Wu Bowen. Jiang Shiyan didn’t hold back and explained everything.

"Officer, I only scared him because I was angry. Is that illegal?" Jiang Shiyan asked, feigning innocence.

"It’s not illegal, but it’s certainly not nice," the officer replied, giving her a stern look.

Jiang Shiyan lowered her head, pretending to be remorseful.

Considering her ordeal, the police didn’t press the issue further. After all, how could they possibly accuse her of commanding a snake to bite Wu Bowen? No one would believe such a story.

When Wu Bowen regained consciousness, he found himself handcuffed to the hospital bed. His eyes widened in realization.

A police officer stood by his side. "Awake?"

"You… you’re…"

"Wu Bowen, we have evidence linking you to a murder case. Due to your injuries, you’ll stay here for now. Once you're discharged, you'll be coming with us for further investigation."

Wu Bowen’s face drained of color.

…

The police didn’t have much evidence at first, but Wu Bowen had inadvertently provided them with plenty of clues while hallucinating. Those clues led to further searches, and they found just enough to implicate him.

Wu Bowen was arrested.

The moment he was taken into custody, the system sent Jiang Shiyan a congratulatory message:  

[Congratulations! You’ve completed the task and earned your reward: the ability to unlock a new animal language. Please choose from the following options:]

A transparent panel appeared before her with three choices:  

a. Dog  

b. Cat  

c. Rabbit

These were all animals not found on the isolated island.

Jiang Shiyan’s thoughts wandered to her brother Jiang Yiheng, who owned a pet hospital. An idea sparked, and she selected option "a."

All her life, Jiang Shiyan had dreamed of owning her own zoo.

In the past, she had no money, no connections, and no education, and had only managed to get a job as a temporary worker at a failing zoo. But now, fate had given her another chance.

[The selection is complete. The Wanshou Fan system has been upgraded to Level 2, and you now have a chance to draw a prize from the system mall. Would you like to proceed?]

Curious, Jiang Shiyan asked, "What kind of rewards are available?"

[The prizes are random, dear.]

Intrigued, Jiang Shiyan clicked on the lottery option.

A gift box appeared, charging for a few seconds before exploding in a burst of light. A small card popped out, displaying a line of text: *Unlock a new animal language.*

[Congratulations on receiving the reward: ‘Unlock a new beast language.’ Would you like to select one now?]

Jiang Shiyan smiled. This was a pretty good reward. Without hesitation, she chose *cat* as the new language.

Still upset over the ruined lottery ticket, she had sent Xiaohua to sneak into Wu Bowen’s dormitory to retrieve it. The ticket was found, but it had been so badly damaged that the numbers were unreadable. It was practically worthless.

Five million...Jiang Shiyan thought bitterly. She felt like storming into the prison to give that scumbag Wu Bowen a good beating.

…

Sometime later, Wu Bowen’s family visited Jiang Shiyan, begging for forgiveness and asking her to sign a letter of understanding, hoping to ease the situation given their past relationship. However, before they could finish their plea, Jiang Shiyan’s mother, broom in hand, kicked them out of the house. Always known for her elegance and grace, Jiang's mother didn’t hesitate to scream at the Wu family right there in the university campus, throwing aside any concern for appearances.

When Jiang's father’s students heard about the incident and came to investigate, they were furious, forcing the Wu family to leave and even calling the police to escort them to the station.

After several failed attempts to reconcile, Wu Bowen’s family realized there was no hope with the Jiang family. Defeated and unfamiliar with the city, they finally left in disgrace.

Around this time, Jiang Shiyan took the opportunity to express her desire to intern at Jiang Yiheng's pet hospital.

To her disappointment, Jiang Yiheng immediately refused. "No way!"

"Why not?" Jiang Shiyan asked, annoyed.

"Because ever since you were little, you've killed six rabbits, ten hamsters, forgot to lock the door and let the cat escape, and once forgot to leash the dog, leading to it biting you… to death."

Jiang Shiyan: “…”

Am I really that bad?

Determined, she clasped her hands and pleaded, "Brother, please, just give me one chance! If I mess up, you can kick me out, I promise!"

"No." Jiang Yiheng was firm. He knew his sister too well and refused without hesitation.

After begging for what seemed like an eternity, Jiang Shiyan finally played her trump card. "Mom! Brother’s bullying me!"

Jiang Yiheng spat out a mouthful of water, spraying Jiang Shiyan, who hadn’t managed to dodge in time.

Their mother, who was watering the plants on the balcony, heard the commotion and hurried into the house, arriving just in time to witness the scene.

"Jiang! Yi! Heng!" she shouted.

"Mom, wait! Let me explain!" Jiang Yiheng stammered, darting around the house as his 1.80-meter-tall frame tried to dodge the shovel their mother was now wielding.

Watching the chaos unfold, Jiang Shiyan felt a sudden wave of dizziness. Images flashed through her mind, overwhelming her senses. Her head throbbed with intense pain.

She groaned and collapsed, fainting before she even hit the floor.

In the last moment before losing consciousness, a familiar mechanical voice echoed in her mind:

[Zzzt… System failure… Zzzt… System rebooting… Reboot failed… Two souls matched… Assessing compatibility…]

Then, Jiang Shiyan blacked out completely.