The daily life of the crew of "Beasts".

The next day,

The weather is getting cooler. The temperature has dropped, and pedestrians on the street have put on thicker clothes.

A cold wind swept through the streets, carrying fallen leaves, and people instinctively tightened their collars and quickened their pace.

On the benches by the roadside,

Tao Tao looked around impatiently, muttering to herself, "Why isn't he here yet?"

At this time,

A figure in black and white carrying bamboo on his back rushed over. He stopped in front of the bench, took a breath, and looked up with an embarrassed expression.

"You've finally arrived! I thought I'd been stood up."

Tao Tao jumped off the bench and said irritably.

Bamboo looked embarrassed and quickly explained.

"I didn't mean to stand you up, it's just that it's been cold lately and I overslept without realizing it."

"You dare say that! Believe me or not, I'll eat you up!"

"Uh, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

After her outburst, Tao Tao breathed a sigh of relief, and after more than an hour of enjoying the cool breeze, her mood improved considerably.

He turned and hopped toward a nearby alley, calling out as he went.

"Come on, I'll take you to see my brother."

Bamboo was startled, and its legs reflexively followed.

"He didn't come?"

"He's looking after someone's place; it's just a short walk away."

"To guard the place?"

The two beasts entered the alley and meandered left and right, soon arriving at a small bar.

Bamboo looked up, its expression quite interesting.

He's a bouncer at a small bar. Is Qiongqi involved in organized crime?

However, based on his image in mythology, it seems to fit the art style quite well.

With a nervous heart, Zhu Zi followed Tao Tao into the bar.

It was morning, and the bar was nearly empty, with only a handful of customers sitting alone, drinking.

To the left of the entrance is the bar, where the bartender sits dozing off.

In the center of the hall was a small stage, the colored lights of which were off. Traces of vomit were visible on the floor.

The area around the stage was a mess, with overturned chairs, half-eaten snacks, spilled drinks, and strangely smelly digested food.

Dozens of red pom-poms moved among the tables and chairs, wearing masks, cleaning up the mess from last night.

Bamboo covered his nose, unable to stand the smell in the air.

He looked at the red balls used for cleaning and asked Tao Tao, who was leading the way, with a puzzled expression.

"Those red balls are..."

"Oh, them? They're the clones of Qiongqi."

Tao Tao glanced at the casual reply.

Bamboo's face slowly showed a look of bewilderment.

"Aren't they...aren't they the bouncers?"

"I can also do cleaning part-time."

Bamboo felt that the image of the underworld boss that she had just built for Qiongqi was crumbling a bit. What the hell? One of the Four Fiends' clones was working as a cleaner at someone else's hotel!

Bamboo, her mind full of complaints, followed Tao Tao upstairs to a small private room.

Directly opposite the door was a long table, and at the end of the table, Qiongqi Hao sat leisurely, looking in this direction.

"So it's your production team that wants to invite me to act in it?"

An inexplicable sense of oppression came over him. Bamboo swallowed hard, his palms sweating, and subconsciously looked at one of the legendary Four Fiends in front of him.

Its entire body was dark red, with a pair of black wings on its back, and its face was a mix of black and red with a pair of purple eyes that made it look extremely eerie.

At this moment, he placed his two black paws on the table, his expression nonchalant.

"My appearance fee is very expensive."

Bamboo took a deep breath, calmed herself, and asked the question cautiously.

"How much do you want?"

Qiongqi pressed its claws against the table and stood up, its eyes blazing.

"At least... 500 is the starting price."

"Eh, eh?"

Bamboo's tense expression suddenly froze, and his emotions were replaced by bewilderment. He wondered if there was something wrong with his ears.

Are you sure you didn't forget to add "ten thousand" at the end?

Although 500 million is a bit outrageous, as the saying goes, it's not impossible to negotiate even if you ask for an exorbitant price.

But are you serious about this 500?

You're supposed to be one of the Four Fiends of antiquity, right? Is it too cheap to charge 500 for this kind of gimmick and identity?

Tao Tao stared at Qiongqi with a look that suggested she was looking at a country bumpkin.

"I was wondering why you've been like this for so long..."

"Cough cough cough cough! 5000 for one scene, take it or leave it!"

Qiongqi was originally looking at Taotao, ready to listen to what he had to say, but upon hearing Zhuzi's words, he suddenly stood up.

Just as Bamboo thought the price was too low, Qiongqi coughed and gave a fawning look.

"Please, please let me participate."

There was nothing Qiongqi could do; he wanted to show some backbone, but the other party had given him too much.

When Zhu Zi took out the pre-prepared contract, both beasts were satisfied after Qiong Qi signed it.

Qiongqi did this because it felt it had gained something.

Bamboo was chosen because Puss in Boots had promised to give him a raise if they could reduce his pay.

That's why he interrupted Tao Tao to stop her from reminding him, but 500 was too little and he felt uneasy, so he changed it to 5000.

Tao Tao looked at Qiongqi, who seemed to have struck it rich, and was somewhat reluctant to admit that this was her brother.

If it weren't for Bamboo's conscience, this guy's pay would have been ripped off to less than 1/10 of the original amount. How embarrassing!

Shortly after,

Several small dishes were laid out on the long table, and two or three empty wine bottles were casually tossed on the ground.

Qiongqi and Taotao sat facing each other drinking, while Zhuzi didn't drink. He ate some snacks and watched the two chat.

"Hey you, what happened to you after all this time? You just gave me 5000 yuan."

Tao Tao opened her mouth.

Upon hearing this, Qiongqi silently picked up a bottle of wine and chugged it down, looking utterly dejected.

After Tao Tao's sarcastic explanation, he realized his value as a ferocious beast in the entertainment industry.

Looking back at his previous performance, Qiongqi wanted to slap himself. How could he have been so pathetic?!

Unfortunately, I couldn't easily vent my anger on that panda, since it was only out of kindness that they raised the amount to 5000; otherwise, it wouldn't even be 1000.

Although Qiongqi doesn't consider himself a good beast, he still has his pride. It's really impossible for him to get angry at someone in this situation.

After downing another bottle of wine, Qiongqi felt a surge of frustration. Seeing his state, Tao Tao urged him on.

"Say something!"

Stung by those words, and fueled by the alcohol, Qiongqi slammed his hand on the table with a loud bang, his emotions exploding.

"It's all those mud-covered bastards' fault. They hired me to guard the place and keep order, but when it came to paying me, they were as stingy as if they wanted my life!"

"I am Qiongqi, one of the Four Fiends! And all they gave me was a pittance! They made me lose face so badly this time!"

Tao Tao said in surprise.

"Hey? You're supposed to be a ferocious beast, isn't that enough of a show of power? How did they manage to lower the price?"

Upon hearing this, Qiongqi became so angry that he slammed his fist on the table repeatedly, causing the entire table and the bowls and plates on it to shake.

"They say my clone doesn't look fierce enough, and it's not intimidating enough!"

"I went myself, but they said they only hired me and refused to pay more!"

"I'm so angry!"

Tao Tao was speechless. He thought about the appearance of his brother's clone in the group chat and couldn't help but sigh.

"That seems so."

Hearing this, Zhu Zi was puzzled and asked.

"Shouldn't you be a very capable fighter? Why isn't your appearance fee assessed based on combat ability, but rather on deterrence?"

Upon hearing this, Qiongqi and Taotao simultaneously cast pitying glances at him, as if he were mentally challenged.

"What, what's wrong?"

Bamboo was completely confused; he felt that his question was correct.

"What good is being able to fight? Even if you're a great fighter, if you hurt someone, you'll still end up in jail."

Tao Tao pouted, giving her an expression as if she were looking at someone with a mental disability.

Bamboo paused, pondered the words, and felt they made a lot of sense.

Qiongqi added to Tao Tao's words.

“The purpose of those mud-covered bastards is not to make me beat people up. If I hurt someone and end up in jail, I'll be the one who gets paid extra. What would I gain from that? I can't really go against those mud-covered bastards.”

Bamboo was speechless for a moment. He, a law-abiding citizen, had actually been taught a lesson by two villainous beasts.

"What would happen if we went against them?"

He hesitated for a moment but couldn't resist asking out of curiosity.

Qiongqi glared at him.

Have you ever heard of the Taotie?

Bamboo nodded. The other one of the Four Fiends was very famous.

Qiongqi continued.

"That guy wouldn't listen to my advice and insisted on fighting the mud man to the death. I heard he's been torn apart by five horses now."

"Hey!!"

Bamboo was terrified.

"Is it really that brutal? Even the death penalty doesn't involve being torn apart by five horses, does it?"

"not dead."

Qiongqi's mouth was opened; he took a swig of wine and gave a drunken explanation.

“We are born of heaven and earth, and the mud people don’t dare to kill us; they would be punished by heaven.”

"Then, torn apart by five horses?"

"Hehehe, ancient mythical beasts don't die so easily. Look at this hairy egg, it's just a head left, but it's still jumping around."

As Qiongqi spoke, he fiddled with the peaches on the table, which immediately made him furious.

"What do you mean by that?! You're dragging me into this! You've fallen on hard times, and you still have the nerve to mock me?!"

"Hmph, no matter how badly I'm doing, at least I still have all four limbs intact, unlike you, a cripple who has lost your body."

"Depend on!"

This sentence really angered Tao Tao. It wasn't just reopening old wounds; it was like rubbing salt into them after the wounds had been removed.

Can we tolerate this? We absolutely cannot!

"Trying to dig up my past, huh? I'm not afraid of you, Grandpa!"

"Who was it that got stabbed by that blue-haired, horned guy and came crying back to the boss, clutching their butt! I bet they were..."

“Shut up!!”

Qiongqi got angry and slammed his hand on the table, interrupting Tao Tao.

"I was the one who picked you up back then! You would have died long ago without me! Otherwise, you wouldn't be here making such a fuss!"

"Have you ever cared about me?! Wasn't I raised by the boss?!"

Not to be outdone, Tao Tao slammed her hand on the table.

Both beasts were clearly drunk, and they started revealing each other's secrets, ignoring the bamboo standing nearby.

As they argued, they exposed each other's past, and when they ran out of things to say, they started comparing who was more powerful in ancient times, going on and on from the destruction of human tribes by the Four Fiends to the modern era. Before they knew it, they went from targeting each other to complaining about each other.

"You know, I'm one of the Four Fiends, right? In ancient times, I was feared by the Mud People. But now, they all dare to bargain with me! If this were ancient times, I would have eaten them long ago!"

Qiongqi's face turned red, and he cursed loudly while holding a half-empty bottle of wine in his claws.

After hearing this, Tao Tao rolled her eyes and mumbled a curse in a slightly unclear voice.

"You've got it easy being my grandpa! Although I earn more money than you, I have none of the dignity of an ancient ferocious beast. Those guys treat me like a football to be kicked around every day!"

As the two beasts recounted their tales, a series of misfortunes flooded their minds, making them increasingly sorrowful and on the verge of tears. Finally, driven by alcohol, they embraced and wept bitterly.

"Brother, I long to return to the ancient times!" Qiongqi cried, tears streaming down his face.

"Go back to ancient times my ass. Can you stand it without the internet and food?!" Tao Tao was crying, but she still didn't hold back her words.

Bamboo watched the whole thing from the sidelines, then somewhat hesitantly put away her phone that was recording.

The director likes to collect material, and the investor likes to read gossip, but seeing how miserable these two are, is it really appropriate for him to record this scene and then show it to others?