"What?!"
Chen Shu's mind, which had been a bit groggy, suddenly cleared up!
"What the heck?!"
His eyes widened as he scanned his surroundings, and he immediately spotted a pair of clear, silver eyes.
"It's you?"
Chen Shu quickly backed away, his eyes filled with caution.
He saw a silver fox looking at him with a face full of smiles.
It was one of the Presidential-level contracted spirits of the academy principal!
"Why are you so afraid of me?"
The silver fox smiled slightly and said, "I'm here to give you a reward!"
"A reward?"
Chen Shu's eyes widened, and he instantly became extremely excited.
"According to the master's wishes, your hourly wage is decided to be one academic credit per hour..."
"Wait..."
Chen Shu quickly interrupted, saying, "Hourly wage?!"
"Well... don't rush!"
The silver fox flicked its tail and said, "Including hard work pay, travel allowance, and so on..."
"The final reward for you is one thousand academic credits!"
"..."
Chen Shu's mouth twitched, and he pointed at himself, saying, "I'm being exploited?!"
According to his estimations, the ransom from the Freedom Alliance was at least four to five hundred billion. Such a huge amount of resources could even significantly boost the strength of a Presidential-level Beast Tamer!
Yet, he was only given a thousand academic credits, which was a little over a hundred million...
"Can we get a bit more? Even if there's no merit, there's hard work..."
Although Chen Shu understood that the main credit belonged to the three Presidential-level figures and the silver fox, he was still a bit unwilling and wanted to try for more.
He opened his mouth and said, "At least pay me for the nuclear bomb, right?"
"Cut the crap!"
The silver fox flicked its tail and said, "The ransom isn't as much as you imagine. Representatives from the Freedom Alliance came to negotiate yesterday, and we gave a lot back."
"Why give it back? I worked hard for it!"
Chen Shu's eyes widened in disbelief, looking like he was disappointed by the lack of ambition.
"There's nothing we can do. The rescued Silver-level Beast Tamers basically lost one contracted spirit, and some even lost all three of their contracted spirits. This clearly isn't worth a hundred million."
The silver fox said calmly, "You were a bit too ruthless!"
Only now did it realize that Chen Shu had not only imprisoned thousands of Beast Tamers but also instigated the fierce beasts of the alternate dimension to chase after them.
"However, we didn't just retreat. We exchanged a lot of beast pearls for rarer materials."
The silver fox said, "This is an extra reward for you!"
As it spoke, two white stones appeared before Chen Shu, emanating a mysterious aura.
"What is this?!"
Chen Shu's expression was startled, his eyes filled with curiosity.
"Silver-level Spatial Treasures!"
The silver fox explained, "These were also exchanged from the Freedom Alliance! They are perfect for your spatial contracted spirit."
"Good stuff!"
Chen Shu snatched the two stones, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
Spatial attribute true treasures were extremely rare. Their rarity was comparable to Gold-level true treasures, and even the Huaxia Academy's treasury had no stock.
"Are there no other treasures?"
Chen Shu put away the stones and asked, "Any Presidential-level true treasures or anything..."
"Forget it!"
The silver fox pouted and said, "You kid are a bit greedy!"
"No, it's not..."
Chen Shu sighed and said, "You probably don't understand me. I'm not greedy for money myself!"
"Oh?"
The silver fox's expression was strange. How could he say such a thing?
"I am very grateful that the principal and the others came here personally!"
Chen Shu said, "I want to donate some resources to the school!"
"You don't need to worry about that!"
The silver fox smiled and said, "Half of these resources were submitted to the national treasury, and the other half went to the school's treasury!"
The pure beast pearls themselves weren't of much use. It was better to exchange them for various medicinal herbs and fierce beast materials to better cultivate students. This was also the reason for their compromise.
"..."
Chen Shu's mouth twitched. It seemed he had nothing more to say.
"By the way!"
The silver fox seemed to recall something and said, "Your contribution this time is excellent, and the officials have specially decided to give you a Star-level medal!"
As it said this, an exquisite box appeared before it, with a uniquely shaped golden medal on it.
"This..."
Chen Shu raised an eyebrow. He had already received a medal when he destroyed the Sakura country's spatial passage in the Icefire Forest.
"What's wrong? Are you looking down on it?"
The silver fox turned its gaze towards him and said, "This is the highest honor! Most Gold-level Beast Tamers haven't received one!"
"At least it's gold!"
Chen Shu snatched the medal and put it away, saying, "Big shot, are there any more rewards? Like Legendary-level protection or something?"
He could act with impunity because he had a Legendary-level contracted spirit that could descend at any time.
"No Legendary-level, but Presidential-level Three Stars, yes!"
The silver fox's eyes flashed, and a special imprint surged forward, integrating into Chen Shu's body.
"Hmm?"
Chen Shu's heart rejoiced, and he asked, "If I encounter danger, I can summon you?"
"Of course... not!"
The silver fox smiled and said, "With the Dark King's protection, isn't that enough?"
"This imprint is to prevent you from causing trouble. As long as you leave the academy, I will be able to sense you!"
"Monitoring me?"
Chen Shu's eyes widened. He hadn't expected a Presidential-level Three Star to be monitoring him.
"You just wait for the World Competition to begin. After the competition, everything else can be discussed!"
The silver fox said, "You've already offended the Freedom Alliance. If you offend all the other factions, I'm afraid even a Presidential-level expert won't be able to protect you at the World Competition venue!"
"..."
Chen Shu drooped his head and remained silent.
A portal appeared next to the silver fox. Just as it was about to leave, it seemed to remember something and said,
"By the way, you can use the Dark King's protection earlier!"
"Hmm? Why? Is there a time limit?"
Chen Shu was slightly taken aback and quickly asked.
This was his trump card for survival. If it didn't work at a critical moment, wouldn't that be ridiculous?
"The mark on you will weaken the Dark King's strength."
The silver fox explained, "If the Dragon Abyss is in critical condition, it can only recall the imprint!"
"Is that so?"
Chen Shu rubbed his chin, not particularly surprised.
"I can only do my best!"
He said. He couldn't possibly let a Legendary contracted spirit deal with a minor character, could he?
The silver fox nodded and said,
"The situation in the Dragon Abyss is currently stable. Moreover, thanks to your deception, foreign powerhouses are now coming, which has reduced our pressure."
Chen Shu had initially tricked the Freedom Alliance's Legendary Thunder Beast into believing that the treasure that closed the spatial passage came from the Dragon Abyss. The news had spread globally,
Many countries had already sent powerhouses to explore.
The ability to close spatial passages during a crisis held significant strategic importance.
"Farewell!"
The silver fox gave him a deep look and then dived into the spatial passage, disappearing.
...
"One thousand academic credits, two Spatial Treasures, plus a Star-level medal. Not bad rewards."
Chen Shu didn't get greedy anymore. Spatial Treasures were rare and could not be sought after. Getting two was already a very generous reward.
"Devour!"
Chen Shu summoned the spatial rabbit and stuffed the true treasures into it. This would increase its spatial attributes significantly.
At the same time, he stroked the Star medal in his hand and carefully put it away.
Although it wasn't a material reward, it at least represented official recognition. He didn't have to worry about being arrested...