Jiang Lijin returned to her room, closed the door, pulled out her portable optical computer, and began to search: ways for females to make money.
The search results popped up instantly, filling dozens of pages. Jiang Lijin scrolled down one by one, her face growing darker the more she read.
What kind of nonsense was this? Things like "marry a powerful beast husband," or "collect trash in the most central district of the capital planet, earning over ten thousand a day is not a dream," or "pursue higher education, enter a research institute after graduation, and reach the pinnacle of life"... As she read through them, she felt like she had accidentally wandered onto a scam website.
[Host, you don't actually need to be so anxious. Don't you still have one million in your account? If you spend it sparingly, it will last a long time.]
"Spend it sparingly?" Jiang Lijin sneered. "A single cabbage costs fifteen hundred. Tell me, how am I supposed to save?"
[You could just consume more nutrient solutions. Nutrient solutions are cheap, and even a mid-grade one only costs a few dozen star coins to keep you full.]
Remembering that taste, like spoiled bitter melon juice, Jiang Lijin's stomach churned. She shook her head. "Making me live off that stuff every day would be worse than death. I'd rather go collect trash, seriously."
[Then...] Xiao Yi thought for a moment, suddenly struck by an idea. [Host, how about you check the forums?]
"Forums?"
[Yes, the largest gossip forum in the interstellar network. Beastmen from all thirteen galaxies discuss things there. There's a dedicated section for females, so maybe you can find a way to make money there.]
Jiang Lijin raised an eyebrow. "How did you know about that?"
[Hehe,] Xiao Yi's voice carried a hint of pride, [Although I'm a new system, I still have some basic information in my database. Forums are basically standard issue in every world, so I just tried searching for one. I didn't expect to actually find it, and it's quite large too.]
Jiang Lijin didn't say anything and searched for "forum" on her optical computer. The page redirected, and a forum with a clean interface appeared before her eyes. At the very top of the homepage were a few pinned posts, and scrolling down revealed a wide variety of threads:
[Shocking! Major General of the Ninth Military District secretly met with a mysterious female last night. The two spent three hours together, and insiders reveal: it wasn't the first time!]
[Rational Discussion: Is this year's selection of the Top Ten Outstanding Beastmen fair?]
[Help! My beast husband's mental energy went out of control and he has been taken away by the Security Bureau. What should I do? Waiting online]
Jiang Lijin casually scrolled through a few more and found that the style of this forum was quite similar to a certain microblogging site from her original world, except the main characters were beastmen instead of humans.
Just as she was about to click into the female section, she caught sight of a post on the homepage from the corner of her eye—
[Lord Chiron is so handsome again today!!!]
Jiang Lijin's finger paused. She stared at the title for three seconds, then clicked on it as if possessed.
The main text of the post was just one sentence: "I bumped into Lord Chiron at the entrance of the capital planet's Central Hospital today and snapped a quick picture. Who gets it, family?" Below it was a photo.
Jiang Lijin opened the picture, her mouth twitching slightly.
Chiron in the photo was indeed wearing the same outfit she had seen him in today, walking into the main gate of the capital planet hospital. The shooting angle was from the side and pointing downward. The problem was, Jiang Lijin remembered that location; there was a flowerbed there. Was this person squatting in the bushes to take the picture? Or lying on the ground?
She scrolled down to the comments:
"Holy crap, were you camping there? This angle, this clarity, it's incredible!"
"Asking for Lord Chiron's work schedule today, I want to bump into him too."
"Too strong, with these photography skills, I suggest you apply directly to be a reporter for the Capital Planet Daily."
"Lord Chiron's side profile is killing me! That nose bridge, that jawline, I'm dying right here!"
"Hold on upstairs, remember to call an ambulance from the Capital Planet Central Hospital."
Jiang Lijin silently watched the boiling comment section. Sure enough, even though this world claimed that females were precious, protected, and cared for, the ones who were truly sought after were those high-ranking beastmen.
She backed out of the post, only to find another post popping up right below it, its popularity skyrocketing—
[Our Lord Baal is the most handsome in the entire universe, okay?]
Jiang Lijin raised an eyebrow and clicked into it as well. The main text of the post also came with a picture. She zoomed in on the image and froze.
The man in the photo was sitting on a black leather sofa, wearing a well-tailored black-grey suit, with his legs crossed and his hands folded over his knee. The photo only captured his side profile, but one could still tell that his facial features were extremely deep. His brows and eyes carried a sharp, oppressive feeling, and even through the photo, one could sense his forbidding aura that warned strangers to stay away.
He frowned slightly, as if thinking about something, or perhaps just very impatient.
Jiang Lijin stared at that face for a few seconds, then objectively evaluated in her heart: truly handsome.
Unlike Chiron's gentle, jade-like, ascetic vibe, this man possessed a sharp, piercing intensity. Just looking at the photo made him seem dangerous. Yet, that handsome face made it impossible not to be drawn in.
She scrolled down to the comments, and the comment section was even crazier than she had imagined:
"Lord Baal! This aura, these legs, these hands, I'm ascending to heaven right now!"
"It's such a pity for Lord Baal, a 3S-grade male, yet the entire interstellar network can't find a female to match him..."
"Don't say it upstairs, I'm going to cry. No 3S-grade male ever meets a good end. Our Lord Baal is so strong, why is it so unfair?"
"It can't be helped, 3S-grade females simply don't exist. If an S-grade female is matched with a 3S-grade male, she would be blown apart by the mental energy within a few years. That's not a match, that's murder."
"If I could be matched with Lord Baal, I'd be willing even if it meant my death."
"Wake up upstairs, you're a male."
Jiang Lijin clicked her tongue softly. Her mind recalled how Xiao Yi had mentioned this person, Baal, before. He was Kieran's direct superior, and in the plot, he would die at Kieran's hands. And this plot point was merely to highlight Kieran's intelligence and pave the way for him.
But she hadn't expected Baal to be the supreme commander of the Central Military District. Such a person would actually die by Kieran's hands in the end?
She couldn't help but say aloud, "What a pity, such a handsome man."
[But Host,] Xiao Yi's voice suddenly rang out, [He is also a 3S-grade.]
Jiang Lijin froze for a moment, then realized what Xiao Yi was hinting at.
3S-grade. According to the matching rules of this world, when she was officially confirmed to have 3S-grade mental energy, this name would very likely appear on her future spouse list. Or rather, it definitely would appear! There were fewer than ten 3S-grade males in the entire interstellar network, and there were only a few of suitable age to be matched with her.
She raised an eyebrow and said in a lazy tone, "If he really gets matched with me, I'll figure out a way to save him."
[You are just being swayed by his looks.]
"I am rationally utilizing resources." Jiang Lijin rolled her eyes. "Since I can't refuse the matching anyway, rather than getting someone I don't know, it's better to get a handsome one. This is called strategic slacking, what do you know?"
[Yes, yes, yes, you are absolutely right.] Xiao Yi's voice was perfectly well-behaved, but he was clearly holding back a laugh.
"Besides, those three ex-husbands of mine kept nagging about how a C-class female like me wasn't worthy of three S-class males like them. So an S-class like Kieran is worthy of killing a 3S-class? I'm just standing up against injustice!"
[Host,] Xiao Yi's voice suddenly turned serious, [you are actually quite kind-hearted.]
Jiang Lijin: "?"
[I mean it. Even though you always say you just want to slack off, you still feel bad when you see a handsome guy about to die.]
Jiang Lijin: "..."
Who wouldn't feel bad seeing a handsome guy die?
