The expert looked at Chen Muye with a helpless expression.
Composing his thoughts, he recounted to Chen Muye what had happened last night.
Listening to the expert's account, Chen Muye finally understood.
It turned out that the experts had already captured the red panda last night.
However, the moment the red panda left his house, it began to wail uncontrollably and beat frantically against the iron cage.
The experts had never encountered anything like this before.
Fearing that something might happen to the red panda, they opened the cage and let a veterinarian examine it.
The second the cage was opened, the red panda ran right back to Chen Muye's house.
Once back, it immediately quieted down.
The experts tried to catch the red panda again.
And indeed they caught it, but the end result was identical to the first time.
The moment it left Chen Muye's house, the red panda began to throw a fit, and the moment it returned, it became quiet.
After a few repetitions, the experts didn't dare to act rashly anymore.
They had stayed up all night keeping company with the red panda.
Hearing this, Chen Muye couldn't help a sense of helplessness himself.
He knew that nine times out of ten, the red panda had decided this was its master's home and refused to go eat at the state's expense.
Some creatures really didn't know when they had it good.
He had originally planned to come back early today to tidy up his house.
Because of this, he hadn't even made plans with Grandpa Li and Li Shujin.
He never expected it would turn out like this.
At that moment, seeing Chen Muye return, the red panda looked at him with a pitiful expression.
Chen Muye turned to the expert. "Uncle, can I go over and take a look? I need to go back to my room to grab some of my things anyway."
The expert hesitated for a moment. "Be careful. If it loses control, run out immediately."
"Got it."
Chen Muye walked forward slowly.
Wagging its rump excitedly, the red panda trotted up to him.
It rubbed affectionately against his trouser legs at his feet, making soft whimpering sounds.
This scene stunned the three experts present.
What the hell?
The panda was actually acting spoiled with Chen Muye?
Although the panda hadn't attacked them last night, it certainly hadn't been anywhere near this friendly.
Chen Muye took an apple from the fruit Li Shujin had given him yesterday and handed it to the red panda.
The red panda devoured it in no time.
Then it trotted happily after Chen Muye like a little shadow.
The three experts' jaws dropped into "O" shapes.
What the bloody hell was this?
How did this red panda act just like a pet raised by Chen Muye?
Wherever Chen Muye walked, it followed.
The three experts exchanged glances, looking at one another in blank dismay.
The lead expert looked at Chen Muye, his mouth opening as if he wanted to ask something, but he had no idea what to ask.
Chen Muye had been the one to call the police last night.
Because the situation involved multiple suspected offenses including illegal keeping, illegal hunting, and illegal trading of wild animals—not to mention a national treasure—the police had launched an overnight investigation.
They ultimately reached a conclusion: the red panda had run to Chen Muye's house of its own accord last night.
Therefore, there was no case of Chen Muye illegally keeping a red panda.
Yet why was it so attached to Chen Muye?
The experts couldn't figure it out.
Of course they couldn't figure it out. Chen Muye wasn't about to explain to them: *Actually, Daddy System gave this to me. Surprised? Thrilled? But I can't afford to feed it, so I can only let it go eat at the state's expense. Anyway, the panda is a national treasure, you guys can't just ignore it, right?*
Chen Muye fed the red panda a few more apple slices, then walked over to the experts. "Uncle, what's the plan now?"
The three experts were at their wits' end.
What plan?
If they knew what to do, they wouldn't have had to stay up all night.
The lead expert frowned. "Just dragging this out isn't a solution. Wait here for a moment while I call my superiors for instructions."
Half an hour later, the lead expert hung up his phone and returned to the group.
Chen Muye and the other two experts looked at him expectantly.
"The leadership says that since the panda refuses to leave here, we'll let it stay here for a few days."
"Huh? Then what about my house?" Chen Muye asked.
"Young man, don't worry. Based on our experience, the panda will probably leave after staying here for a few days. Once it leaves, you can come back. In the meantime, your accommodation expenses outside will be covered by our Forestry Bureau. Secondly, we will also provide you with a certain amount of compensation. How does that sound?"
"What if it never leaves?"
"That won't happen. This is a wild panda, and it's still a cub. Even if it doesn't leave, its mother will come looking for it in a few days."
"Well... alright then."
Not knowing how to explain, Chen Muye simply agreed.
He was entirely certain the red panda wouldn't leave.
Because it didn't have a mother.
The system had given it to him—where would a mother come from?
If it really had one, that would be Chen Muye; he supposed he could consider himself an accidental mother without the birth pains.
However, he couldn't possibly explain the system business to the experts. Even if he explained, they wouldn't necessarily believe it.
Since there was compensation and someone else would deal with the red panda, he would just go along with it for now. He could wait until the people at the Forestry Bureau came to their senses.
Once it was settled, the Forestry Bureau hired people that very day to give Chen Muye's house a thorough cleaning.
Additionally, the compensation from the Forestry Bureau for Chen Muye was 500 yuan per day for accommodation and 1,000 yuan per day for requisitioning his home, totaling 1,500 yuan daily.
Chen Muye did the math.
1,500 yuan a day came out to 45,000 yuan a month.
With treatment like this, he directly surpassed 99.9% of the working class nationwide.
He couldn't help cheering inwardly: *Woohoo! While other people live off their parents, I live off a panda! The expenses for high-end clubs in the future are secured!*
Of course, on the surface he maintained a calm composure.
He looked at the red panda with a tender, loving smile: *Little buddy, Daddy's future depends on you!*
Seeing Chen Muye smile at her, the red panda let out a whimpering, spoiled chirp.
The workers were still cleaning inside the house.
To their puzzlement, the red panda was extremely well-behaved at the moment and showed no fear of people.
This prompted the experts to try and pick it up again.
Yet the moment the experts prepared to reach out, the red panda cleverly scurried away.
With no other choice, they had to follow the plan and leave the red panda in Chen Muye's care for now, waiting until its mother came looking for it.
Chen Muye thought to himself: *Since the red panda also has a system panel, does that mean its attributes can be increased too?*
*Mental concentration.*
Ding!
A system panel appeared above the red panda's head.
[Name: Unnamed]
[Host: Chen Muye]
[Type: Iron-Eating Beast]
[Lifespan: 10,950 days]
[Level: Lv.0]
[Skills: None]
*Since you're an Iron-Eating Beast, I'll call you Tiedan.*
As Chen Muye thought this, the two characters "Tiedan" immediately appeared on the system panel.
He tried upgrading the red panda's level.
Ding!
[Name: Tiedan]
[Host: Chen Muye]
[Type: Iron-Eating Beast]
[Lifespan: 10,950 days]
[Level: Lv.0.1]
[Skills: None]
Ding!
[Name: Chen Muye]
[Lifespan: 119 days]
[Aptitude: 8.8]
[Physique: 5.1]
[Mental Strength: 7]
[Available Attribute Points: 0.3]
[Cultivation Manual: Taiji Guiding Technique (Second Realm: Initial Mastery 9%), Xingyiquan (First Realm: Beginner 5%)]
Chen Muye understood now.
As it turned out, his available attribute points could also be allocated to his pet.
At the exact same time he finished leveling up Tiedan, Tiedan looked at Chen Muye with glowing eyes, as if saying: *Daddy, do it again! Do it again! Please!*
Doing it again was out of the question.
Chen Muye urgently needed attribute points to improve his own physique and aptitude.
He would worry about it when he had surplus attribute points in the future.
Secondly, he wondered if there was a cap to Tiedan's level.
If there was no cap, what kind of creature would Tiedan grow into after leveling up?
For instance, if it reached Level 100, would it grow into a giant beast taller than a multi-story building?