Chapter 844: Pantian City

The moment she thought of this, Qiao Sang’s expression grew serious. She immediately said, “Let’s go back.”

“Xun xun~”

Little Treasure’s eyes glowed blue.

In the next second, Qiao Sang reappeared in the former blind spot of the surveillance cameras.

The staff member’s heart skipped a beat upon seeing someone appear out of thin air. Cautiously, he asked, “Miss Qiao, you…”

Before he could finish, Qiao Sang spoke: “Spatial Lockdown.”

“Xun xun!”

Little Treasure hadn’t synced with Yabao’s Perception Touch to see the scene, but upon hearing his Beast Master’s command, he immediately understood, the thief they were looking for was inside this warehouse.

He put on a serious expression, and his eyes glowed blue once again.

A translucent barrier instantly spread out, covering the warehouse, excluding only the spot where Qiao Sang and the staff member stood.

“Slowly shrink the range.” Qiao Sang said.

“Stop when you sense a foreign presence.”

“Xun xun~”

Little Treasure obeyed without hesitation.

The translucent barrier began to shrink bit by bit.

The staff member seemed to understand what was happening and didn’t even dare to breathe too loudly, afraid of disturbing the operation.

Suddenly, there was a loud

Bang!

as a shelf in the distance crashed to the floor.

Startled, the staff member and his crocodile-type pet beast jumped and instinctively clung to each other. Realizing almost immediately how awkward that was, they quickly let go as if nothing had happened.

Gangbao, who had been silent until now, gave them a sideways glance.

“Don’t mind that. Keep shrinking the range.” Qiao Sang said calmly, unfazed.

The shelf’s collapse was far too coincidental. She strongly suspected that the ghost-type pet beast had done it on purpose to divert her attention.

There was no need to care about that, once Little Treasure finished shrinking the Spatial Lockdown, the ghost-type pet beast inside the warehouse would be caught without fail.

“Xun xun…”

Little Treasure nodded and continued to shrink the barrier’s range.

“Qi qi!”

When the Spatial Lockdown had shrunk to just one-tenth of the warehouse, a small pet beast, only about one meter tall, almost entirely purple, and made up of a gaseous body, appeared, looking extremely uncomfortable. It rammed its head into the barrier, trying to break out.

When that failed, it opened its mouth and formed a black shadow ball, launching it at the barrier.

The barrier rippled like water but quickly returned to calm, completely unharmed.

Qiao Sang instantly recognized it as the same pet beast she had seen through Yabao’s Perception Touch.

“Bubble Wraith?!” The staff member exclaimed in shock.

So that’s what it’s called…

Qiao Sang noted the name and turned to ask, “Oh? You know it?”

“Two months ago, we hired a warehouse inventory clerk here. His pet beast was a Bubble Wraith.” The staff member said, then hesitated.

“Could it be that the Bubble Wraith isn’t the thief? Maybe this is a misunderstanding?”

Qiao Sang glanced at the Bubble Wraith, which was still headbutting the barrier, and said, “Based on the time frame you mentioned, it’s definitely the one that took the items. Whether there’s some deeper reason is irrelevant, I’m just here to catch the thief and hand it over to the police.”

At that, the staff member shut his mouth.

The barrier’s range grew smaller and smaller. Realizing its attacks were useless, the Bubble Wraith became desperate, shrieking, “Qi qi!”

Three black shadow balls instantly formed before it, flying toward the last remaining shelf inside the barrier.

“Ah!” The staff member cried.

“No!”

“Lubao.” Qiao Sang called.

The moment she spoke, the staff member and the crocodile-type pet beast felt a bone-chilling cold sweep through the room, making them shiver.

The expected crash of a collapsing shelf and scattered items never came.

When the staff member looked again, the barrier had somehow vanished, and the Bubble Wraith was now suspended in mid-air, completely encased in ice, along with the three shadow balls, frozen in place right before hitting the shelf.

The dim surroundings contrasted sharply with the icy blue of the frozen Bubble Wraith and the shadow balls, cold mist radiating from them.

Because the freezing had stopped everything mid-air, it looked as though they existed on a completely separate layer of reality.

The staff member stared blankly, utterly baffled.

Though he wasn’t a high-ranking Beast Master, he’d watched the regional tournaments for years and had paid some attention in school. Even after graduating long ago, he still knew his basics.

This was clearly the work of an ice-type skill.

But if something was frozen, shouldn’t it fall to the ground?

Why were the Bubble Wraith and the shadow balls still suspended in the air?

What skill could do that?

And such an incredible effect at that?

Did Miss Qiao have such a powerful ice-type pet beast at her side?

Countless thoughts flashed through his head.

What pet beast could it be…?

Suddenly, he remembered something and glanced at Qiao Sang’s backpack.

The moment his gaze landed there, the Bubble Wraith fell to the floor, and the three shadow balls shattered with a loud crack.

“It’s handled. Call the police.” Qiao Sang said evenly.

“R-right…” The staff member said quickly, tearing his eyes away and pulling out his phone to dial the emergency number.

The crocodile-type pet beast looked at her with open admiration.

The police might not solve cases quickly, but their response time was decent. It wasn’t long before they arrived and took both the Bubble Wraith and its Beast Master into custody.

---

“Name.”

“Qiao Sang.”

“Age.”

“Sixteen.”

“What were you doing in the warehouse?”

“I’m participating in the regional tournament. The examiner for Changqing City’s trial tasked me with catching the thief stealing from the warehouse. That’s why I was there.” Qiao Sang answered succinctly.

The recording officer froze for a moment, staring in surprise.

He couldn’t help it, the girl in front of him looked far too young to be someone eligible to register for the regional tournament.

Qiao Sang suddenly remembered something and added, “Before going to the warehouse, I called an Officer Li here. The examiner told me he was in charge of this case, and he can vouch for me.”

She paused, then said, “My original plan was to ask him about the case and invite him to come with me, but unfortunately, he said he was about to get off work.”

Officer Li… isn’t that you?

The recording officer turned to glance at the officer doing the questioning.

Don’t look at me. If I’d known I’d be working overtime to deal with this case, I wouldn’t have hung up so fast…

Officer Li coughed, pretending he wasn’t the person in question, and continued: “How did you know the Bubble Wraith was the thief?”

Qiao Sang leaned back in her chair, answering with ease, as if she were at home.

During the process, the questioning officer even poured her a cup of tea.

---

The questioning ended quickly, and Qiao Sang walked out of the interview room.

Officer Li followed her out. After holding back for a while, he finally stepped forward and said, “Actually, I’m Officer Li, the one in charge of this case.”

Qiao Sang glanced at him.

“I know.”

Officer Li: ???

“The information from the examiner included not only your contact details but also your photo.” Qiao Sang continued.

Officer Li: …

His expression stiffened. After a few seconds of silence, he said, “I’m very sorry, but thank you for helping us catch the thief who stole the items. Just now, the Beast Master of the Bubble Wraith confessed that he ordered it to carry out the theft.”

Curious, Qiao Sang asked, “Why did he steal them? I heard from the staff there that the warehouse only stored defective items. They shouldn’t have been useful.”

“He did it to feed energy to the Bubble Wraith.” Officer Li explained. “Even though those items were defective, many still contained energy. The missing items all had some amount of energy that any pet beast could absorb. He couldn’t afford to buy energy-rich food for the Bubble Wraith, so he came up with this method.”

---

This assessment task was way too easy. If all the upcoming tasks were this simple, she could probably finish the qualification assessments for all eleven prefecture-level cities in just a month or two…

While thinking this, Qiao Sang left the police station, swung herself onto the enlarged Yabao’s back, and said, “Let’s head back to the Beast Center.”

“Yap…”

At that moment, Little Treasure appeared, staring at his Beast Master with an expression full of grievance, letting out a soft call.

Qiao Sang understood instantly. She stroked Yabao’s fur and amended her plan: “But before that, let’s go shopping and get Little Treasure some hair accessories.”

“Xun~”

Little Treasure’s gloomy expression disappeared. He floated over to his Beast Master’s side and happily nuzzled her.

“Yap!”

Yabao barked and dashed upward into the sky.

---

11:01 p.m.

Beast Center.

Residential Area.

Room 1108.

Qiao Sang used her Beast Master emblem to unlock the door and step inside.

At the same time, Mikayla, who was staying in the neighboring room, heard the movement. Her ears twitched, and she got up, slipped on her shoes, and knocked on the door of 1108.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me.”

Qiao Sang opened the door, a little surprised.

“Teacher, you haven’t gone to sleep yet?”

I’m responsible for guiding and protecting you for the next several decades, if you’re not back, how could I sleep peacefully

… Mikayla walked into the room and glanced at Yabao, who was already lying on the bed asleep.

“I already took a nap earlier.” She said.

Then she returned to the doorway and looked back at Qiao Sang.

“You should sleep early. You didn’t really rest at all today. Only with enough rest will you be able to complete tomorrow’s tasks and finish the assessments as soon as possible.”

Qiao Sang opened her mouth.

“I-”

Mikayla interrupted.

“I know what you’re going to say, but people need rest, especially at your age. Even though Ice Aipalu can use Healing Light, casting an Super-tier skill drains a lot of energy. Even with restorative potions, it still takes time to recover to full strength."

“You have more assessments and training ahead. Your pet beasts will need a lot of energy every day, so you should conserve your strength whenever possible.”

Qiao Sang was silent for a moment, then said, “No, what I was trying to say is… I’ve already completed the assessment task. We can head to the next city tomorrow.”

Mikayla: ???

Finished?

In just one night?

Mikayla was stunned and couldn’t help but ask, “How did you complete it so quickly?”

“When I got to the warehouse, I asked the staff there some questions…” Qiao Sang proceeded to recount everything that had happened earlier that night.

“…And that’s it.”

Fire Qilu’s Perception Touch, the Ghost Ring King’s Spatial Lockdown, Ice Aipalu’s Ice Field Domain… With these skills, no wonder she was able to confirm, contain, and capture so quickly…

Mikayla looked at Qiao Sang with approval.

“Well done. Get some rest. We’ll set off tomorrow.”

“Alright.” Qiao Sang nodded.

Mikayla returned to her own room. Half-lying on her bed, she suddenly thought of something, took out her phone, and canceled the remaining six days of her room reservation at the Changqing Beast Center.

---

The next day.

8:55 a.m.

Beast Center.

Third Floor.

Outside the office of the examiner in charge of assessments.

The examiner arrived for work on time. When he saw who was standing outside his office, he smiled.

“Why are you here? Is there a problem with the task?”

Qiao Sang smiled back.

“No, I’ve already completed the task and came to have you confirm it.”

The examiner: ???

“You’ve already finished?” He asked in disbelief.

He distinctly remembered assigning this task to her just yesterday.

Qiao Sang nodded.

“Mm.”

The examiner took a deep breath, hurriedly unlocked his office, and sat at his computer to verify.

Five minutes later, he dazedly clicked

Pass

under Qiao Sang’s assessment task.

---

“Where are we going next?” Qiao Sang asked after leaving the Beast Center.

“Pantian City.” Mikayla replied, already having planned ahead.

“It’s right next to Changqing City. Using the exclusive aerial passage, it only takes an hour to get there.”

Qiao Sang had been to the Hollow Central region before and knew about the aerial passages.

In the Dragon Nation, wild pet beasts were rare, so as long as nothing went wrong mid-flight, air travel was very safe, making aerial routes well-developed.

Especially in the Hollow Central region, where the government had opened special aerial passages connecting all cities.

The flying pet beasts working there were specially trained, and some universities even had dedicated programs for it.

In these passages, the first priority for flying-type pet beasts was size, the second was speed, and the third was stability.

It was said that only a few species met these criteria.

Aside from those species, even if a Beast Master brought an Emperor-level pet beast, they still wouldn’t be accepted for the job.

Because of this, many parents chose one of those species as their child’s first contracted pet beast, hoping it would secure them a stable job in the future.

Qiao Sang sat on Yabao’s back, heading high into the sky with Mikayla.

Half an hour later, they arrived at an area dense with white clouds.

Many people and pet beasts were walking or waiting on top of the clouds.

Qiao Sang, having freely flown through Hollow Central’s skies before, wasn’t particularly impressed.

Mikayla, however, marveled.

“Your Dragon Nation’s aerial transport is really impressive.”

In the Eagle Country, even if a pet beast had a skill that let people walk on clouds, it would be impossible to implement, because no one could guarantee that a rift to a secret realm wouldn’t open at any moment.