Some of the Arctic locals still found it hard to believe that the Icefall Bear had actually lost . It's not someone in a bear suit, is it?

Some eventually dismissed the thought . Who could possibly be desperate enough to play such a demanding role? Then again, there was no way a wild monster would abide by a human being's orders so obediently .

A couple of trainers, still unable to accept the Icefall Bear's loss, sent out their familiars to test the Six-Horned Dreadwolf . Naturally, Huang Ya accepted all their challenges .

A total of three trainers had stepped forth to challenge the Six-Horned Dreadwolf . Two of them had earned a bit of reputation for themselves in the region . However, the Six-Horned Dreadwolf defeated all three of them rather easily .

After the opening ceremony, the store was officially opened to the Arctic public . The threshold was nearly stomped to pieces as the people stormed in . Some were just checking the place out of curiosity, while there were others who were genuinely interested in buying a familiar .

“f.a.n.n.y, tomorrow's your eighteenth birthday . What kind of familiar do you want to buy?” said a huge Arctic man, stroking his stubbled chin .

“Dad, I want that one! It looks really cool!” said a blonde-haired girl, her eyes twinkling as she pointed at a huge blue-grayish centipede in a cage .

“Oh… oh my . Wouldn't you rather have something else?” said her father, his eye twitching slightly . He was, in every sense of the word, a manly man who thought that lions, tigers, and bears looked adorable . Before the Cataclysm, his family had even had a brown bear as a pet .

However, creepy-crawlies were the one thing he couldn't stand . He was fine with just looking at these multi-legged freaks of nature from a distance, but if his daughter was going to bring one home… Living under the same roof with a centipede that size would definitely be a challenge .

“My dear daughter, why don't you find another one? How does that sound?” asked Wolfgang with a strained smile .

“No, didn't you say I can pick whatever familiar I want? Do you think all centipedes look ugly? Do you hate them that much?” f.a.n.n.y was looking at her father intensely .

“Er… Of course not, my dear . ”

Wait… am I seeing things? Wolfgang rubbed his eyes . He could have sworn that a huge purple centipede was glaring at him contemptuously from a wall .

Is that hatred in its eyes? he thought, his heart racing in his chest .

Hmph, how dare you call all centipedes ugly . Da Zi narrowed its eyes at the ugly blonde-haired man .

As these meaty Arctic locals were more used to raising furry warm-blooded monsters as their familiars, monsters like the blue-grayish centipede weren't advertised as the store's main merchandise .

On the other hand, people from the Huaxia and Southeast regions loved scorpions, centipedes, and the like . They simply couldn't get enough of these twitchy little critters .

The blue-grayish centipede was a Glacial Bone Centipede, a type of Commander-tier monster . However, it was still a newborn . As soon as it entered adulthood, it would naturally reach Commander-tier .

Trainers all around the world now had a much higher expectation for familiars . This new generation of trainers wouldn't give Normal-tier familiars the time of day unless they happened to have extraordinarily high grades . As a result, Excellent-tier familiars had become the hottest products on the market .

As soon as these young people thought they had the slightest qualification to become monster trainers, they would automatically choose Commander-tier monster newborns as their first familiars .

However, Lord-tier monster newborns were still beyond the reach of most people .

“All right then, if you insist . Let's buy this centipede . ” Wolfgang finally gave in to his daughter's demands . He just couldn't say no to his little princess .

“Dad, when I grow up, I want to buy a Glacial Bone Centipede just like big sis!” said nine-year-old Tommie excitedly .

Wolfgang ruffled his son's hair lovingly .

“Son, if you do, I'll have to break your centipede's legs . ”

Tommie pouted . Why didn't you say that to big sis just now?

When Wolfgang returned home with his son and daughter, Wolfgang's wife came out to embrace him .

“Is this the familiar you bought for our daughter?” asked his wife, looking curiously at the 10-foot-long blue-grayish centipede .

“She insisted on buying it . I couldn't change her mind,” said Wolfgang, shaking his head .

“Yes, Mama . Look at how cute it is,” said f.a.n.n.y . She then produced a small, polished gray stone from her pocket and set it on the ground .

Smelling the gray stone, the Glacial Bone Centipede crawled over to it, then devoured the stone without leaving a crumb on the floor .

“All right, I'm not going to say anything about your decision… But I must know, what use does a centipede have? It's your first familiar . You really should think carefully about this sort of thing before making such an important decision, you know . ”

“It has a high defense . See for yourself . ” f.a.n.n.y rushed to her father's storage room . When she came back, she was holding a rubber band gun in her hand . She took aim at the Glacial Bone Centipede and shot at it .

Sparks flew as the gun's pellet struck the centipede's st.u.r.dy exoskeleton, letting out a hollow clang .

There wasn't a dent on the centipede's blue-grayish body . It still looked brand new .

“It just reached Excellent-grade . When it grows into a Commander-tier familiar, its defenses will become even better,” boasted f.a.n.n.y to her parents .

The familiars that these people had bought from Gao Peng's store would naturally pique the interest of their friends and family . Once word of his familiar store got out, the store would be guaranteed to receive a steady flow of customers for the next few days .

The day finally ended . Huang Ya did an inventory of the store's stock . They had sold a total of 78 monsters, 18 of them being adult monsters and the remaining 60 being monster newborns .

That day's income alone was enough to cover their travel expenses and the expenditure required to raise their monster stock . The rest of their monsters would bring them a considerable profit in the next few days .

However…

“Young Master Gao, the monsters' freight expenses are just too expensive,” said Huang Ya with a bitter smile .

The freight expenses that incurred during the transportation of all these Commander-tier monsters had reached an astronomical figure . Huang Ya feared that they might not be earning enough to pay it off .

“Don't worry . Have headquarters send over 300 more monsters . We'll just pay out of the company's pocket for now . We could also hunt for monsters with potential in the Arctic wilderness and raise them in a specially built monster training facility here . I'll need someone I can trust to oversee our operations here, someone who can really command everyone's attention,” muttered Gao Peng . He glanced at Huang Ya . “Do you have anyone in mind?”

Huang Ya fell silent as he raked his mind for someone that fit such a description . Finally, he said, “If Young Master Gao thinks I'm trustworthy enough, then allow me to shoulder such a burden! I promise I won't disappoint…”

“I'm sorry, but you'll have to remain in the Southern Sky headquarters . If you leave, I won't have anyone trustworthy enough looking after the place for me,” said Gao Peng patiently . “I'm not looking for someone high-ranking . For now, I only want someone who is loyal, not afraid of taking risks, and of course, intelligent enough to carry out this task . ”

With Gao Peng's incredible talent for raising familiars in mind, Huang Ya suddenly thought of the perfect candidate for the job . “Ji Changming . He's one of the up-and-coming newbies in the reconnaissance division . He has a decisive way of doing things and great judgment to boot . He's also an intelligent man who knows his place in the company . ”

“I see,” said Gao Peng, nodding . “Could you have this Ji Changming come to my place later? You can go now . ”

“Thank you . ”