AdinishiâŠ
Qiao Sang suddenly realized something. Her expression changed dramatically, and she urgently said, âQuick! Check how the other things inside the ring are doing!â
âXun Xun!â
Upon hearing his Beast Master's command, Little Treasureâs body abruptly stiffened. Then he enlarged his ring and hurriedly shoved his entire head inside.
No sounds could be heard from within the ring, but Little Treasureâs body, more than half of it still sticking out, twisted and squirmed violently. Clearly, he was frantic and furious.
At that moment, Qiao Sang had a terrible premonition.
About a minute later, Little Treasure pulled his head back out of the ring, snot and tears all over his face as he looked pitifully at his Beast Master. Qiao Sangâs heart sank, and she asked, âHow is it?â
âXun Xun!â
Little Treasure couldnât hold it in anymore and burst out crying.
Most of the food was gone!
âYap?!â
Upon hearing this, Yabaoâs fur bristled. He wanted nothing more than to rush in and fight whoever had eaten everything.
âLu AiâŠâ
Lubaoâs eyes darkened, and two water bubbles puffed out from her nostrils.
âGang SliceâŠâ
Gangbaoâs face turned completely grim.
Qiao Sang had mentally prepared herself and remained relatively calm as she asked, âWhat about everything else, aside from the food?â
âXun⊠XunâŠâ
While using telekinesis to float a tissue from the coffee table and dab at his tears, Little Treasure shook his head, indicating that the rest of the items were unharmed.
It was better than she had expected.
It seemed Adinishi had only touched the food. Since her unlimited card hadn't expired yet, she could still return to the 1st District and stock up on all kinds of energy-rich foods again. It was just a shame about the special energy pills the Vice Principal had made for Yabao and the others⊠But that wasnât too big of a problem. As long as Adinishi was willing to play the flute later, the loss of the food would be worth itâŠ
While mentally consoling herself, Qiao Sang didnât forget to comfort her pet beasts: âI heard Adinishi only wakes up once every hundred years. It hasnât eaten in a century. Itâs understandable that itâs starving like this. When we get back, we can just buy more of the food.â
âXun⊠XunâŠâ
Little Treasure continued wiping his tears.
âYapâŠâ
Yabao pouted, still frustrated, but since his Beast Master had spoken, he had to let it go.
âLu AiâŠâ
Lubao froze for a moment. The two still-growing and shrinking bubbles from her nostrils popped with a
pop
sound, she had calmed down.
Sleeping for a hundred years without eating, then being chased upon waking up⊠quite a pitiful situation indeedâŠ
âGang Slice.â
Gangbao, though, still looked furious and made a growling noise, expressing that no matter what, one shouldnât eat someone else's entire food stash.
Qiao Sang looked at Gangbao and sent a thought:
We canât beat him.
âGang SliceâŠâ
Gangbao, having been outside earlier, had of course seen Adinishi fight the other King-level pet beasts. She quickly calmed down.
But once weâre safe, we can have him repay you by predicting your next evolution location.
Qiao Sang added in her mind.
Gang Slice.
Gangbao replied via thought.
Thatâs all they could do for now.
After settling things with Gangbao, Qiao Sang walked over to the coffee table, pulled out a tissue, handed it over, and softly said: âYou worked hard. Donât cry. We might still have a tough battle coming up.â
âXun⊠Xun!â
Upon hearing the first half of her words, Little Treasure took the tissue and wiped his tears. When he heard the second half, his spirit instantly revived.
All the food was gone, if that flute-playing guy also got stolen, then itâd be a total loss!
But if he could protect it and become the boss in the future, then the food sacrifice would be worth it!
For a moment, Little Treasureâs fighting spirit was reignited.
Seeing Little Treasure bounce back, Qiao Sang was relieved. She tapped the service button on the nearby virtual screen.
âHello, how can I assist you?â Came a pleasant voice.
Qiao Sang stated her request, âPlease bring me a few bottles of energy recovery fluid.â
With VIP service, they were always well-stocked with food-related items, and of course, energy recovery fluids were part of that.
âUnderstood. Please wait a moment.â
After about four or five minutes, a knock came at the door.
âCome in.â Qiao Sang said.
A uniformed female staff member pushed open the door and entered.
With her arrival, the air seemed to be filled with a fresh scent.
The staff member placed four bottles of energy recovery fluid on the coffee table and respectfully said in a slightly low voice: âHere are the energy recovery fluids you requested.â
Qiao Sang looked up at her.
Fair skin, some freckles around the nose and cheeks, a mole on the lower left lip, and meticulously tied-up chestnut hair. She looked exactly like someone Qiao Sang had seen in a photo not long ago.
!!!
Furetin TateâŠ
Qiao Sang almost blurted out a curse.
How did she know I was here?
What about the real staff?
Did she really replace them that easily?!
Qiao Sangâs mind was in turmoil, though her face showed no expression. She quickly looked away and silently communicated to Gangbao in her mind: [Use Air Absorption on her.]
Gangbao remained still.
âDo you need anything else?â Furetin asked in a polite tone.
Qiao Sang
: ???
Whatâs going on?
Could Gangbao not hear her telepathic commands?
Had their bond weakened at some point?
Her mind was filled with confusion. On the outside, she looked calm, about to respond-
âAhâŠâ
Suddenly, she heard an extremely pained sound, as if from far away, yet right beside her.
That kind of painful sound, Qiao Sang knew it too well.
It was the sound a person made when they couldnât breathe.
Qiao Sang paused for a long moment and then said in her mind: [Use your feather to stab me.]
Gangbao in front of her didnât move.
But suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed her hand, like something had pierced it.
In that instant, the scene before her eyes quietly shattered.
The respectful Furetin was now lying on the ground, gasping for air.
Gangbao stood next to her with a confused expression, raising a wing, seemingly preparing to stab again.
Yabao and Lubao stood in their original positions, but their eyes were dull and lifeless, as if their souls werenât present.
Little Treasure also had the same blank look in his eyes, and beside it was a pet beast around 80cm tall. It wore a mini shrinking ring, its body a reddish-purple with a diamond-shaped nose, two large yellow gem-like structures on either side of its head, and several translucent tentacles at the bottom.
It was using one of its tentacles to try and place a transparent device over Little Treasure.
Qiao Sangâs adrenaline surged. Instinctively, she waved her hand and recalled Little Treasure into the Beast Codex.
WhewâŠ
Seeing Little Treasure safely return, she finally let out a breath of relief.
âAgate.â
The purplish-red pet beast missed its chance, turned its head, and looked over.
Furetin had already recovered her breath by then.
She climbed up from the ground, looked at Qiao Sang, and asked with an ugly expression: "How did you wake up?"
Qiao Sang looked back at her, her own expression not much better.
Furetin Tate, her general-level beast, Agate Lily, was a dual water-and-poison type. It could release toxins that induced hallucinations in its targets.
That fresh scent from earlier when she entered the room was likely the poison at work.
If she hadnât previously seen Furetinâs photo and instantly grown alert, using mental communication with Gangbao, Little Treasure might really have been taken away.
Thankfully, this hallucination seemingly couldnât block mental links, allowing Gangbao to hear her command and use Air Absorption to not only attack but also wake her up.
But even so, it seemed Gangbaoâs perception of the world wasnât entirely accurate either.
Qiao Sang stood up, dodging the feather Gangbao had been about to stab her with again, her expression grave. She asked knowingly: âWho are you?â
At the same time, she shouted mentally: [Wake up! Youâre trapped in a hallucination! Stab yourself with your feather!]
Gangbao paused, then immediately raised her feather and stabbed herself hard.
âGang Slice.â
Gangbaoâs eyes cleared. She instantly sensed something and turned, alert, toward Agate Lily, who had not previously appeared in the room.
Seeing the Steel Falcon awaken, Furetinâs heart sank.
Even Steel Falcon had woken up. What in the world had gone wrong�
There was no more time to delay. If Fire Qilu and Ice Aipalu also woke up, the hard-earned opportunity would go to waste.
With that thought, Furetin stopped wasting time and ordered: "Venom Surge!"
âAgate!â
Agate Lily opened its mouth and sprayed out a tidal wave of corrosive teal liquid.
The entire room was instantly filled with a foul, nauseating stench.
The venom wasnât aimed at Gangbao but at Qiao Sang.
âGang Slice!â
Gangbao began to enlarge, instinctively trying to shield her Beast Master.
Just then, her Beast Masterâs voice rang in her mind: [Donât worry about me, go wake up Yabao and the others!]
Gangbao trembled inside, reluctant, but still spread her wings and shot off like a flash of white light toward where Yabao was.
Once under a hallucination, real external pain could generally snap one out of it. Qiao Sang had also received feedback protection from Lubao. Coach Elma had once said her immunity was beyond human levels. Even if she was poisoned by a general-level pet beast, she wouldnât die instantly.
As long as Gangbao could wake the others, she should be able to hold on until Lubao recoveredâŠ
Thinking this, Qiao Sang quickly flipped the coffee table and turned it sideways to shield herself.
With her current strength, lifting the table was effortless.
Even though she wouldnât die instantly from the poison, it didnât mean she was going to stand there and let it spray all over her.
âSsshhhhhâŠâ
The teal liquid slammed into the coffee table, causing green corrosive smoke to rise. Some seeped through and touched Qiao Sangâs hand.
Pain immediately shot through her.
A dark red wound appeared where the venom hit.
Hiss⊠That hurtsâŠ
Qiao Sang gritted her teeth, forcing herself not to cry out.
She knew that if she did, it would definitely distract Gangbao.
Furetin began forming hand signs.
An orange-yellow star array lit up.
At the same time, Gangbao used Quick Attack, slamming into both Yabao and Lubao one after another.
âYap!â
âLu Ai!â
The pain snapped both of them out of their daze. Their eyes immediately regained clarity.
When they saw the situation around them, their expressions turned furious.
Stay calm. As long as I capture Qiao Sang first, her beasts wonât be a threat. This distance, Iâll strike before she reacts.
Furetin, just two meters away from the black-haired girl, was about to command her summoned Electric Toad to attack.
Suddenly, she was slammed to the ground by a tremendous force.
Pain radiated through her back, and her face twisted from the impact.
She tried to get up but couldnât move at all.
Furetin looked up and saw Fire Qilu stepping on her. His eyes seemed to burn with fire. Her heart skipped a beat, panic surging through her.
She screamed: â100,000 Volts!â
She had received feedback from the Electric Toad before and had some resistance to electricity. So she wasnât afraid of collateral damage from 100,000 Volts.
What mattered most now was getting this Fire Qilu off of her!
âElectric Toad!â
The Electric Toad croaked, and countless yellow arcs of electricity crackled across its body.
Yabao stared at the human beneath him, opened his mouth-
Several blazing flame-shaped Fire Qilu heads condensed before him.
Although Yabao was still in his mini form, the Fire Qilu heads werenât that large, but the heat they emitted could burn anything.
Furetin felt the heatwave rush toward her. Her face turned pale, and sweat the size of beans rolled down her forehead.
Suddenly, a blazing bolt of yellow lightning came crashing down toward Yabao.
Yabao seemed completely unaware of the impending strike. His mouth opened wider, revealing flame-licked fangs, biting down ferociously.
Just then, ice formed beneath the Electric Toadâs feet, and it slipped forward, body leaning back. The lightning arced upward, slicing through the air and blasting into the ceiling.
BOOM!
The ceiling exploded into fragments. Stone debris rained down like a storm.
âAgate!â
Agate Lily bolted forward, trying to save its Beast Master.
But just as it took the first step, it suddenly couldnât breathe, asphyxiated, she halted and winced in pain.
Gangbao stood nearby, mouth open, using Air Absorption.
Furetin felt the blistering heat close in, and only one thought flashed through her mind:
Itâs over.
But the expected burning agony never came.
Furetin opened her eyes and saw that Fire Qilu had vanished from on top of her.
Before she could feel any relief, a rain of stone chunks came crashing down, burying her completely.
Elsewhere, Lubao had grown large, using her body to shield her Beast Master.
Stones pelted down with thudding sounds as dust billowed around them.
âAgate!â
âElectric!â
Agate Lily caught its breath again, and the Electric Toad steadied itself. Seeing their Beast Master buried in rubble, they both rushed over, panicked.
Just then, the door slammed open.
Several staff members appeared at the entrance.
âOh my god! What happened here?!â
One woman, whose uniform was different from the others and appeared to be a supervisor, gasped in shock.
Of course. Not a second sooner or later, only after the place turns to ruins do they show up.
Qiao Sang, who still had PTSD from Yabaoâs previous destruction spree, was uneasy.
Climbing out from under Lubao, she looked at the wrecked room and decided to strike first: âI want to file a complaint.â