Little Pink Starfish

Zhu Ning wanted to amaze everyone with a single brilliant feat, because only by doing so could he quickly gain the favor of that adult and become their exclusive stone-gambling master, and with the power of that adult, take revenge on those two little bitches!
Damn it, he would never be as foolish as he used to be, thinking that love and conscience were enough. Now, for the sake of revenge, he was willing to do anything, could do anything, and could use anything!

But damn, Zhu Ning hadn’t expected that although he won the first two rounds with absolute advantage, why would someone appear in the third round who was almost on par with him?
This was not in his interest!
He even felt that the other party seemed more relaxed and more composed than he was…

In his heart, Zhu Ning developed deep wariness toward this boy who looked about the same age as himself. At the same time, he focused his mental energy and concentrated even more, becoming more meticulous.
He had to maintain his advantage; he absolutely could not lose!

Gu Bai had a poker face.
If the protagonist shou was fast, then he was fast; if the protagonist shou was slow, then he was slow. As long as the quality of the rough stones was good, as long as what he cut out surpassed the protagonist shou, that was enough.
He could absolutely handle the task of choosing rough stones quickly and then hanging around to build presence.
He was just a shy, love-struck, homebody guy

On the stone-gambling arena, it was completely silent.
Most of the contestants were starting to get nervous. They just realized their speed was far slower than those two not-yet-adult youths. The way those two selected stones was just too composed, too flamboyant!
The attention of the onlookers was also all focused on those two youths, simply because their synchronized actions were too eye-catching, and their temperaments were too unique. It was as if a special aura had formed around them out of thin air, enveloping them completely, making everything else around them mere background!

But the most focused ones were still two beastmen with extraordinary presence.
They both looked quite young—one tall and muscular, the other strikingly handsome. Their gazes were fixed on the two youths, eyes burning with an intensity that couldn’t be ignored.
Moreover, with their sharp eyesight, they could naturally tell the true situation in the arena.

Nois furrowed his brow. “That boy is a bit excessive.”
Cecil gave a gentle smile. “He’s just trying to show off too much, that’s all.”

Nois paused. “That Carlo Louis—was he the stone-gambling master you had your eye on?”
Cecil’s gaze shimmered. “He’s the sub-beastman I have my eye on. He’s really naughty, don’t you think?” As he said this, he chuckled softly. “That Zhu Ning—do you really just like his stone-gambling talent?”
Nois paused again. “…He’s a sub-beastman I admire.”

Cecil laughed helplessly and waved his hand. “Nois, you’re too dull. You can’t treat someone you like this way. Earlier I reminded you about this—you should seriously think about it.”
Nois furrowed his brows even deeper.
Earlier, when he walked over, he still didn’t dare easily strike up a conversation with Zhu Ning. Maybe… he really was too timid.

---

On the stone-gambling arena, the time was finally up.
At this moment, everyone was basically no longer interested in others, because the two most outstanding individuals had already appeared. They had selected their stones together and ended together, their pace almost identical till the final moment—so who was better? It all depended on the results now!
So then, what were the results?

Zhu Ning felt a bit nervous inside.
But he was clever, and by the end, he had already realized that his opponent was stronger than he had imagined. It was only for some reason that the opponent had intentionally held back and not completely overwhelmed him.
—Although this might have fooled only those with exceptionally sharp eyes, fooling the majority was already enough.

Now Zhu Ning, although still wanting to use anything he could, wasn’t so petty as to hold a grudge over this. Yes, he wanted revenge, but if that meant becoming just like those two little bitches, he really wasn’t willing deep down.
So, for once in a rare moment, he actually felt a trace of goodwill toward his opponent.
As long as everything appeared fine on the surface, he could still find someone to use…

Damn it, Zhu Ning already had a feeling—he might lose.
But he also had confidence in himself. The quality of the strange stones he found wasn’t low, so even if he lost, he wouldn’t lose too badly.

Next came the stone-cutting segment.
From the good stones cut from this competition, the onlookers would also be allowed to bid and buy. They were not only interested in the genius stone-gamblers who emerged, but also in the good strange stones those gamblers cut out.

The stone-gamblers’ guild members were also knowledgeable. They had found fifty stone-cutters, who would first cut open the raw stones chosen by those contestants who looked disappointed, and then move on.
Zhu Ning and Gu Bai, the two who clearly stood out, were placed last.

Sure enough, the roughly three hundred before were decent, but not every raw stone could be guaranteed to be a good choice. Even if a stone was cut out, it often didn’t contain a very high-energy strange stone, and the number of such stones wasn’t large either.
A few bidding frenzies were stirred up here and there, but unfortunately, no particularly excellent strange stones were found.

By the time it was the last fifty, everyone’s spirits were lifted.
They were very curious—what kind of stones would these two boys cut out?

The scraping and grinding sounds of stone-cutting echoed without stop, with fine stone dust and fragments falling constantly. As the energy grew clearer and clearer, a moist luster began to appear faintly within the stone shells.
Then—

“Level 5 strange stone!”
“This one’s level 5 too!”
“Those two boys are really amazing!”

With just the first raw stone, both had cut out level 5 strange stones.
The emotions of the onlookers were instantly stirred.
But because Zhu Ning had often cut out level 5 and even level 6 stones in the first two rounds, people were only stirred—not yet excited.

Soon, the second raw stones were also cut open.

“Close to level 6!”
“This one too—close to level 6!”
“They even have the same luck!”

Gu Bai: Ge picked his stones to match the protagonist shou’s, how could it not be similar—

The third one was cut.

“Level 6! This one is really level 6!”
“Second level 6!”
“Now we can finally see who’s ahead!”

The fourth one…
“Close to level 7!”
“This one too…”

The fifth, the sixth—both close to level 7.
The onlookers erupted in excitement.

“Buy buy buy!”
“I want to bid!”
“Come back with me! My clan will surely value you highly!”
“Don’t you dare compete with me! These two talented youths are now under contract with my xxx clan!”

Gu Bai: “……”
These bumpkins, not even to level 7 yet, and already this excited! You’ve got to learn to be as composed as ge!

By the time they reached the seventh stone, the crowd no longer cared whether every raw stone contained a strange stone. All they were thinking was—what kind of surprise would the two bring them this time?
There was a surprise.
On the seventh stone, without a doubt, both of them cut out level 7 strange stones.
They remained evenly matched.

Gu Bai smirked inwardly.
In the original story, the author had used a gradual buildup to show off the protagonist shou’s stunning brilliance, with each strange stone getting stronger, especially that final one, which almost became a level 8 stone! Really showed off his reputation!
And the reason no level 8 stone appeared was because the protagonist shou’s current potential was capped at level 8, laying groundwork for future developments… But Gu Bai didn’t have such worries.

As the male side character who knew the plot, when Gu Bai discovered that the strange stones chosen by the protagonist shou matched the original exactly, of course he made a plan.
The first seven strange stones he picked to match the protagonist shou’s exactly, but for the last one, he picked a level 8 strange stone!

That’s right—this was the moment!
The final strange stone was finally cut open!

Almost simultaneously, the two half-cut raw stones radiated beautiful, dazzling colors that made hearts tremble—
Maybe Zhu Ning’s was just “beautiful,” but the one Gu Bai chose—was so breathtaking and indescribable, it made people’s hearts swoon, impossible to tear their eyes away!
The dense energy shot into the sky, instantly capturing the attention of every beastman present!

Zhu Ning’s heart, which had just tensed up again, became eerily calm after realizing he had lost by half a step.
And Gu Bai…
The thrill of beating his romantic rival with such a subtle edge… was just so satisfying!

Next, Zhu Ning and Gu Bai were both pushed forward as the top two of this stone-gambling competition.
Though one wore a serious face and the other had dead-fish eyes, they still radiated dazzling brilliance and were chased after enthusiastically by all.
Zhu Ning clenched his fist secretly—step one of success, get!

Gu Bai silently sneered. Once ge becomes famous, only then will ge even consider love! I’ll just throw out a bunch of strange stones to hire beastmen to capture that guy and lock him up!
…Wait, why did ge think of “locking him up”?
Ge clearly has no special love for imprisonment play, hey!
Something must be broken!

Later, both Gu Bai and Zhu Ning found this kind of thing annoying. Zhu Ning, for the sake of his goals, endured his disgust and interacted with those people. Gu Bai, on the other hand, just threw his sleeve and left.
Zhu Ning hesitated for a moment, then followed along.
These people’s powers… weren’t enough.

And just as the two of them finally managed to get out of the crowd,
A tall figure up ahead suddenly stumbled into view, as if someone had pushed him—
Right in front of them.