Qiao Sangās ears twitched as she heard a faint "crunch, crunch" sound from beneath the ground.
"Cave!"
Once the sound faded, the Cave Rat emerged from the ground with bright eyes.
As expected, its nature is quite friendly... Qiao Sang smiled and said, "Do you want to eat more?"
"Cave!"
The Cave Rat nodded repeatedly.
"Stay with me, help me explore underground, and Iāll give you food every day, how does that sound?" Qiao Sang tempted.
Saying that, she took out another candy and handed it over.
"Cave!"
The Cave Rat stared at the candy, swallowed its saliva, then nodded and took the candy, munching on it directly without going underground.
Seeing this, Qiao Sang smiled contentedly.
Gangbao and Speed Sleep Bird can monitor movements above, Yaobao and the Little Treasure Hunter can keep an eye on the surroundings. The only place where Pet Beasts canāt be seen is underground, where they can only be detected when close, otherwise, itās hard to guard against. Now with a cave-loving Cave Rat that can move underground, the journey ahead should be a lot safer...
"Xun Xun~"
Little Treasure Hunter watched this scene and showed an expression of admiration.
Qiao Sang gave it a "keep it low-key" look.
"Qingqing?"
Qingbao called out nearby, wondering why the dark fellow from the day didnāt help too?
Because its level is low and itās a flying Pet Beast, not much use... Qiao Sang understood Qingbao was referring to the Dark Eye Bird and explained, "Thatās an Evil-type Pet Beast, unlike the friendly Cave Rat. Dealing with it is risky, while with the Cave Rat, itās not."
These words were specifically said for the Cave Ratās ears.
"Cave!"
Sure enough, after hearing this, the Cave Rat showed an expression as if someone truly understood it, immediately patting its chest to indicate it would explore the road well.
"Cave."
After a pause, it added, only if given good food.
"Xun Xun~"
Little Treasure Hunter simultaneously translated.
The effect of the Truth Flower has left a very nice feeling... Qiao Sang once again showed a satisfied expression.
"Ya Ya..."
Yaobao was beside, struggling to keep its eyes open, afraid to sleep.
The incident with the Tomb Corpse Spirit made it realize that this Secret Realm is far more dangerous than it had imagined.
In the blink of an eye, it was daytime, and the temperature suddenly rose.
"Letās go." Seeing Xu Gehong and Guo Ruiqi awake, Qiao Sang got up and said.
"Cave!"
The Cave Rat emerged from the ground, called out once, and then burrowed back into the hole.
Mikaela was not surprised.
Last night, when Qiao Sang made a deal with the Cave Rat, she hadnāt slept yet, and she heard the entire conversation.
Guo Ruiqi, upon seeing the Cave Rat emerge, was initially taken aback, then thought it was merely a Pet Beast that happened to burrow out from the ground, without paying much attention.
However, when he saw this Cave Rat emerging every few minutes on the path ahead, calling "Cave," "Cave," he finally realized something was off.
"Senior Qiao, this Cave Rat is?" Guo Ruiqi probed.
"I met it last night, itās going to follow us and help explore the road ahead," Qiao Sang said.
Hearing this, Guo Ruiqi was momentarily stunned, then showed an expression as if he had learned something.
Turns out, in the Secret Realm, you can enlist wild Pet Beasts for help.
Although this sort of thing is only something powerful Beast Tamers would dare to do...
...
Time flies like a shuttle, the seasons alternating between cold and warm.
Time passed little by little.
The search area had spanned from the mountain hollow to dense forests, to caves, valleys, across continuous ridges, and finally to the base of sheer cliffs, yet there was no sign of the Lele Seed.
Qiao Sangās heart gradually sank.
"How long has it been?" Mikaela issued a command for the Speed Sleep Bird to deal with a few attacking flight-type Pet Beasts, then asked.
Without even thinking, Qiao Sang replied, "43 days."
Sheās been keeping track of the time all along.
After a pause, she remembered something and added:
"The task I posted only requested forming a team to help in the Secret Realm, without mentioning the duration."
The implication being not to expect to demand extra reward just because of prolonged time spent in the Secret Realm.
Mikaelaās mouth twitched slightly, saying:
"I didnāt mean that."
Thatās good... Qiao Sang was somewhat displeased with her now.
days!
A full 43 days!
Almost exclusively the Speed Sleep Bird in action!
The only time using other Pet Beasts was when encountering a group of several hundred High-level Pet Beasts, over ten General-level Pet Beasts, and one King-level Pet Beast, forced by circumstances to have that Pet Beast named "Spray" participate discreetly in the fight.
Sometimes she feels that with or without this teammate thereās no difference, yet the other can recognize some rare resources and Pet Beasts she doesnāt know, preventing her from missing some things and remaining completely oblivious.