Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

Adinishi…Qiao Sang suddenly realized something. Her expression changed dramatically, and she urgently said, "Quick! Check how the other things inside the ring are doing!"

"Xun Xun!"

Upon hearing his Beast Master's command, Little Treasure's 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 Treasure's 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 Sang's heart sank, and she asked, "How is it?"

"Xun Xun!"

Little Treasure couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out crying.

Most of the food was gone!

Upon hearing this, Yabao's fur bristled. He wanted nothing more than to rush in and fight whoever had eaten everything.

"Lu Ai…"

Lubao's eyes darkened, and two water bubbles puffed out from her nostrils.

"Gang Slice…"

Gangbao's face turned completely grim.

Qiao Sang had mentally prepared herself and remained relatively calm as she asked, "What about everything else, aside from the food?"

"Xun… Xun…"

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 wasn't too big of a problem. As long as Adinishi was willing to play the flute later, the loss of the food would be worth it…

While mentally consoling herself, Qiao Sang didn't forget to comfort her pet beasts: "I heard Adinishi only wakes up once every hundred years. It hasn't eaten in a century. It's understandable that it's starving like this. When we get back, we can just buy more of the food."

"Xun… Xun…"

Little Treasure continued wiping his tears.

"Yap…"

Yabao pouted, still frustrated, but since his Beast Master had spoken, he had to let it go.

"Lu Ai…"

Lubao froze for a moment. The two still-growing and shrinking bubbles from her nostrils popped with apopsound, she had calmed down.

Sleeping for a hundred years without eating, then being chased upon waking up… quite a pitiful situation indeed…

"Gang Slice."

Gangbao, though, still looked furious and made a growling noise, expressing that no matter what, one shouldn't eat someone else's entire food stash.

Qiao Sang looked at Gangbao and sent a thought:We can't beat him.

"Gang Slice…"

Gangbao, having been outside earlier, had of course seen Adinishi fight the other King-level pet beasts. She quickly calmed down.

But once we're 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.

That's 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: "You worked hard. Don't cry. We might still have a tough battle coming up."

"Xun… Xun!"

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 it'd 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 Treasure's fighting spirit was reignited.

Seeing Little Treasure bounce back, Qiao Sang was relieved. She tapped the service button on the nearby virtual screen.

"Hello, how can I assist you?" Came a pleasant voice.

Qiao Sang stated her request, "Please bring me a few bottles of energy recovery fluid."

With VIP service, they were always well-stocked with food-related items, and of course, energy recovery fluids were part of that.

"Understood. Please wait a moment."

After about four or five minutes, a knock came at the door.

"Come in." 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: "Here are the energy recovery fluids you requested."

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 Tate…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 Sang's 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.

"Do you need anything else?" Furetin asked in a polite tone.

Qiao Sang: ???

What's 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-

"Ah…"

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 couldn't 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 didn't 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 weren't 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 Sang's adrenaline surged. Instinctively, she waved her hand and recalled Little Treasure into the Beast Codex.

Whew…

Seeing Little Treasure safely return, she finally let out a breath of relief.

"Agate."

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 hadn't previously seen Furetin's photo and instantly grown alert, using mental communication with Gangbao, Little Treasure might really have been taken away.

Thankfully, this hallucination seemingly couldn't 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 Gangbao's perception of the world wasn't 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: "Who are you?"

At the same time, she shouted mentally: [Wake up! You're trapped in a hallucination! Stab yourself with your feather!]

Gangbao paused, then immediately raised her feather and stabbed herself hard.

"Gang Slice."

Gangbao's 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, Furetin's 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!"

"Agate!"

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 wasn't aimed at Gangbao but at Qiao Sang.

"Gang Slice!"

Gangbao began to enlarge, instinctively trying to shield her Beast Master.

Just then, her Beast Master's voice rang in her mind: [Don't 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 wouldn't die instantly.

As long as Gangbao could wake the others, she should be able to hold on until Lubao recovered…

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 wouldn't die instantly from the poison, it didn't mean she was going to stand there and let it spray all over her.

"Ssshhhhh…"

The teal liquid slammed into the coffee table, causing green corrosive smoke to rise. Some seeped through and touched Qiao Sang's hand.

Pain immediately shot through her.

A dark red wound appeared where the venom hit.

Hiss… That hurts…

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.

"Yap!"

"Lu Ai!"

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 won't be a threat. This distance, I'll 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 couldn't 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: "100,000 Volts!"

She had received feedback from the Electric Toad before and had some resistance to electricity. So she wasn't afraid of collateral damage from 100,000 Volts.

What mattered most now was getting this Fire Qilu off of her!

"Electric Toad!"

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 weren't 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 Toad's 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.

"Agate!"

Agate Lily bolted forward, trying to save its Beast Master.

But just as it took the first step, it suddenly couldn't 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:It's 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.

"Agate!"

"Electric!"

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.

"Oh my god! What happened here?!"

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 Yabao's previous destruction spree, was uneasy.

Climbing out from under Lubao, she looked at the wrecked room and decided to strike first: "I want to file a complaint."