Chapter 237: The Power of Love
Chapter 237: The Power of Love
Li Songhai's eyes darted around as he said, "I think there might be some misunderstanding between us. I wasn't following you; I was just there the whole time. It was your Ghost-type Companion Beast that randomly used Hypnosis to knock me out."
"Hmm." Qiao Sang replied, "So, when your Flying-type Companion Beast ambushed me from behind, that was also a misunderstanding?"
Li Songhai nodded vigorously. "Really, it was all a misunderstanding. I've only bonded with Rain Swift recently and haven't trained it well yet, so it tends to use Skills randomly on the road."
Qiao Sang stared at Li Songhai, her dark eyes like those watching a clown's performance. After a moment, she spoke, "What about when your Steelclaw tried to grab my familiar from my backpack?"
Li Songhai met her gaze, feeling the pressure intensify.
He hadn't expected a high school student to be so intimidating.
What was even more surprising was that Steelclaw had tried to grab Aquariana even while he was unconscious.
How was he supposed to find an excuse for that?
"Do you know about Memory Scan?" Qiao Sang asked at this point.
Li Songhai was taken aback. "Yes."
Memory Scan, an Advanced Skill of Ghost-type Companion Beasts, allows them to enter the target's mind and directly read their deepest memories.
While this Skill is considered divine for interrogating suspects, the Alliance has strict rules. Memory Scan can only be used on humans if the familiar's proficiency in the Skill reaches mastery level.
One reason is the issue of privacy and human rights.
The other is that a Memory Scan performed by a familiar with low proficiency can cause brain paralysis, and in severe cases, even dementia.
Li Songhai didn't understand why the girl suddenly brought this up; it was quite unsettling.
Qiao Sang smiled kindly again. "If you don't tell the truth, I'll have Treasure Seeker use Memory Scan on you."
"Treasure Seeker, ready", Qiao Sang said.
Treasure Seeker flashed a toothy grin.
Li Songhai looked up at Treasure Seeker in shock.
"Your familiar can use Memory Scan?!" Li Songhai asked, disbelief evident in his voice.
This familiar looked like a Basic Familiar; how could it possibly have an Advanced Skill?
No, Li Songhai suddenly realized something, and his nerves tightened.
If this Ghost-type Companion Beast was as simple as it seemed, why would his Steelclaw and Rain Swift have been knocked out?
Just as Li Songhai was half-convinced, Qiao Sang delivered the final blow.
"Treasure Seeker, Memory Scan", Qiao Sang commanded.
"Treasure Seeker~"
Treasure Seeker complied, moving toward Li Songhai's head.
"I'll talk! I'll talk!" Li Songhai shouted frantically, terrified that the Ghost-type Companion Beast would really enter his mind.
Becoming a vegetable was one thing, but having his secrets exposed was another!
While he still doubted that this Basic Familiar-like Ghost-type Companion Beast could use an Advanced Skill, he wasn't willing to take the risk.
A person can die, but they must never face social death!
Heaven knew how many secrets he had from childhood that he didn't want anyone to know.
"Treasure Seeker", Qiao Sang called out in time.
Treasure Seeker halted.
Li Songhai took a deep breath, calmed himself slightly, and began, "It's for the familiar in your backpack."
Qiao Sang remained silent, her gaze fixed on him.
Li Songhai's scalp tingled. "I came from the Ancient Fog Region to the Yuhua Region for it."
Qiao Sang continued to watch him, still silent.
Li Songhai swallowed hard and continued, "The familiar in your backpack is called Aquariana. In our Ancient Fog Region, it's nearly extinct. Normally, such endangered familiars are protected by the Alliance, and ordinary people can't even come close to them. But this one is an exception."
"It ran out from the Mystic Rift a few months ago." As Li Songhai said this, his expression changed slightly, and he hesitated before continuing:
"I also received this mission on the Dark Web."
Qiao Sang: “!!!”
Qiao Sang maintained a calm exterior, but her mind was in turmoil, filled with thoughts of "Damn."
So it wasn't that he wanted to bond with Aquariana on his own!
That meant someone else knew about Aquariana's existence!
Seeing the girl in front of him still silent, Li Songhai explained, fearing she might not know what the Dark Web was:
"The Dark Web is an encrypted network built on top of the existing internet. Anything can be traded there. A few months ago, someone posted a mission to find Aquariana, providing the exact location where Aquariana was last seen. At the time, several people, including me, took on the mission."
Qiao Sang tried to keep her expression unchanged.
Good grief, there were several others.
Li Songhai felt his scalp tingling as the girl remained silent.
He had said so much, but why was she not reacting at all?
Gritting his teeth, Li Songhai continued, "I was just lucky. I happened to discover Aquariana's whereabouts and followed it here."
"Don't worry, no one else knows Aquariana is here. I won't tell anyone."
Qiao Sang felt a slight relief and decided to stick to her original plan.
"You mean this is Aquariana?" Qiao Sang turned and opened her backpack, bringing out "Aquariana."
"Aquariana" looked at Li Songhai with its round, innocent eyes.
Why did she bring out Aquariana? Wasn't she afraid he would just take it? Well, he couldn't right now. Li Songhai's expression was somewhat dejected as he said, "Yes, that's it."
As soon as he spoke, Li Songhai's eyes widened.
He watched as the body of "Aquariana" began to melt and slowly reformed into a large head with shiny black eyes, light blue horns on either side, a short tail, and a slimy blue skin—clearly a familiar.
Li Songhai was completely stunned.
This, this isn't Aquariana at all!
Qiao Sang spoke, "This is Phantom Water Sprite. It can transform into the appearance of other familiars. It's not the Aquariana you're looking for."
"Huanhuan."
Phantom Water Sprite called out and then melted again, transforming into a Treasure Seeker. It melted once more and reformed into a smaller version of Flame Listener.
Li Songhai's mouth dropped open, as if he were petrified. After a few seconds of stunned silence, he murmured, "Why did it transform into Aquariana's appearance?"
Qiao Sang replied calmly, "I saw someone discussing Aquariana on a forum recently and found it quite cute. So, I had Phantom Water Sprite transform into it."
"By the way", Qiao Sang added nonchalantly, "I remember the person mentioned seeing it on Gongcheng Shuwu Street."
Gongcheng? Shuwu Street? Ancient Fog Region?!
Li Songhai: “!!!”
Back at home, Qiao Sang immediately went to her room and sat on the bed to meditate.
She hadn't expected that more than one person knew about Aquariana's existence. This realization gave her a sense of impending danger.
The most important thing now was to quickly develop her brain domain, add another page to the Beastmaster Codex, and bond with Aquariana before any more unexpected issues arose.
In the courtyard, Fangy was demonstrating Blazing Charge to Aquariana.
Flames enveloped Fangy's body as he charged towards a rock about 50 centimeters tall.
"Bang!"
A loud explosion, and the rock shattered into pieces.
"Tooth."
Fangy stopped and turned to nod at Aquariana.
"Lulu!"
Aquariana felt a surge of strength as Fangy nodded at it. It adjusted its internal energy, and water began to rise from its tail.
In the next second, the water surged up, completely enveloping Aquariana's body.
(End of Chapter)
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