After finishing his internship, completing the necessary procedures upon returning to school, and obtaining all his certificates, William Carter returned to Pingcheng District.

Ten years ago, Pingcheng suffered a beast tide, destroying many families, and William Carter's family was not spared.

But after so many years, order here had already been restored.

A lot had changed in ten years. Previously, Pingcheng had almost no defensive facilities, but now it had tall city walls, as well as branches of the Beastmaster Association and the Beastmaster Corps stationed there.

Although Pingcheng was not as prosperous as the big cities, it was not particularly backward either. At least transportation and communication were decent; only the entertainment industry lagged behind a bit.

In Bingyuan City, there were often all kinds of beastmaster competitions.

But here in Pingcheng, beastmaster competitions were much rarer.

Finally back in Pingcheng, William Carter's first goal was not to go home.

His destination was clear: the Iron Bamboo Breeding Base, one of the three major breeding bases in Pingcheng.

He had taken care of all the procedures before coming back precisely so he could get his pet beast as soon as possible.

He really couldn't wait any longer.

There were a total of three pet beast breeding bases in Pingcheng District.

All three were jointly run by individuals and the authorities, with very few types of pet beasts. The highest species level among them was only mid-level extraordinary, which couldn't compare to the official pet beast breeding bases in Bingyuan City.

The Iron Bamboo Breeding Base that William Carter was heading to was a family-run breeding base.

The Iron Bamboo Breeding Base was located in the iron bamboo forest behind Pingcheng District, raising over 800 iron-eating beasts.

Iron-eating beasts were a specialty pet beast of Pingcheng District and even the whole country. Across the nation, the number of artificially bred iron-eating beasts probably didn't exceed 5,000.

Other countries had none at all.

It's worth mentioning that this world was different from Earth. Because most regions were occupied by extraordinary creatures, there were only seven human nations.

The country William Carter was currently in was called the Glorious Ancient Eastern Nation by others, one of the oldest countries, abbreviated as Donghuang.

Before long, William Carter took the bus to the area near the back mountain of Pingcheng District, planning to climb the mountain.

A flat path had been built in the mountain. Besides being a breeding base, it was also open as a tourist attraction at certain times.

However, it didn't seem to be an open day, and the area was rather deserted.

After just a few steps, William Carter arrived at the gatehouse of the Iron Bamboo Breeding Base. This was the only entrance, with the surroundings sealed off. William Carter glanced at the nearby pavilion and walked over.

By the window of the pavilion, an elderly man in a green coat with sparse hair was reading a newspaper. When he noticed someone approaching, he pushed up his reading glasses, trying hard to see who it was.

William Carter: "......"

So this gatekeeper is for real?

Forget it, don't judge by appearances...

Maybe someone who looks unreliable could summon a giant dragon at any moment.

"Hello, I previously reserved an iron-eating beast cub here. I plan to complete the adoption procedures soon, and today I wanted to come take a look first."

William Carter spoke loudly, afraid the old man wouldn't hear him.

"Oh." Although the old man looked a bit out of it, he was actually quite clear-headed.

Hearing William Carter's words, he immediately understood.

"Wait a moment, I'll notify one of the breeders inside." The old man replied, then dialed the desk phone.

After explaining the situation over the phone, William Carter began to wait.

He didn't have to wait long before a figure nearly two meters tall, with black and white fur, a plump and round body, and a round head with a short tail, walked over from inside the breeding area.

William Carter watched this waddling figure, falling into deep thought.

Next, this creature—no matter how you looked at it, it resembled a standing giant panda—opened the gate from inside and came up to William Carter.

It even pointed to the badge on its chest.

On it was written: "Staff."

"Hello there." It/he/she rubbed its bear paws together, speaking in a deep, indistinguishable-from-male-or-female voice.

William Carter: ???

Can we get a normal, non-gimmicky staff member?

"Don't be surprised, this is just a life-sized iron-eating beast mascot suit." The staff member explained.

It's exactly because you're wearing a mascot suit that it's surprising! Who in their right mind wears a mascot suit in this heat?

"I'm a staff member here, James Harper."

"I'm William Carter." William Carter said, "But dressed like that, aren't you hot?"

"No choice, it's all for better understanding the feelings of iron-eating beasts," James Harper said. "To raise iron-eating beasts well, you have to fully understand them."

"This is the most basic skill for a breeder."

William Carter: "Makes sense."

Yeah, right.

Whatever you say.

As long as you're happy.

"I remember from the records, Mr. William Carter, you're also a graduate of the breeding program, right? No wonder you can understand me."

There probably weren't many people reserving iron-eating beasts recently, so the other party recognized William Carter's information just by his name.

"Yes, but I'm still a rookie for now, nowhere near as good as Senior Harper."

Although the name sounded masculine, William Carter could tell from the voice that the other party was a woman, and also deduced that she was a fellow graduate of the breeding program.