Chapter 264: Countdown
Chapter 264: Countdown
The teacup on the coffee table levitated and tilted at a 75-degree angle, pouring out its contents. However, the water didn't spill onto the floor; it vanished as soon as it left the cup.
"Damn! How many times do I have to tell you! Don't eat or drink anything while I'm inside you!" At the coffee table, Beanfluff, the familiar, reappeared. Yang Du, with wet hair, cursed as he pulled down the zipper and emerged from inside.
"Pull…"
"Seek!"
Before the zipper could be zipped up again, Treasure Seeker suddenly appeared from somewhere, diving in with an excited look, reaching out to pull the zipper with its paws.
"Pull…"
Beanfluff, the familiar, stopped Treasure Seeker's action and looked down into its belly.
"Seek~"
Treasure Seeker smiled friendly.
"Pull."
Beanfluff remained unmoved, reaching into its belly and pulling Treasure Seeker out by the paw.
"Seek!"
Treasure Seeker floated over to Qiao Sang, pouting and looking indignant.
"Is this Treasure Hunter Demon also your familiar?" Yang Du asked, his eyes wide open.
Ever since learning about Aquariana, his entire demeanor had changed significantly.
"Yep." Qiao Sang nodded.
"Beanfluff, that's not right of you", Yang Du said, slapping Beanfluff, who was trying to zip up the zipper. "The other one just wanted to play, no need to be so rough!"
"Pull…"
Beanfluff maintained its dazed expression, zipped up the zipper, and called out to Treasure Seeker.
"Seek~"
Treasure Seeker immediately floated in happily.
Seeing Beanfluff disappear again, Qiao Sang asked, "Is this familiar Nilaro from the Xilu Region?"
Beastmasters usually only know a lot about the familiars from their own region, while they have only a basic understanding of familiars from other regions.
Sometimes they recognize the familiar but can't name it, or they only know the name of a certain stage of its evolution, not all its forms.
But there are always exceptions.
For example, the signature familiars of each region, or those most commonly bonded by the locals.
Like Fangflare, which might be unknown in other regions, but when it comes to Puffbird, Sandfox, Shorttail Snake, Sandgopher, and Deep Fur Turtle, even people from other regions can name their entire evolution chain, not just their junior forms.
Nilaro falls into this category.
As one of the most commonly bonded familiars by novice Beastmasters in the Xilu Region, Qiao Sang was somewhat familiar with it.
Nilaro, the General-Class evolution form of Laladi, is known for its cute and dazed appearance. It has a Concealment Trait that allows it to unzip its belly and hide things, even living creatures.
This Trait is highly favored by homemakers, as it makes grocery shopping more convenient.
"Right", Yang Du smiled. "You have a good eye, kid."
Kid…
Qiao Sang had a strange expression, but then he thought about it: the person in front of him was actually 53 years old, so being called a kid wasn't so out of place…
After chatting for a while, they became a bit more familiar with each other.
Qiao Sang asked, "Uncle Yang, what's wrong with you that needs treatment?"
Since the mission's reward was medical treatment, the person who accepted the mission must have been sick and wanted to be cured.
"Young man, I'm not that old, don't call me Uncle", Yang Du said, sipping from a waterways. "Just call me Uncle."
Uncle, 53 years old, not young anymore... Qiao Sang asked again, "Uncle Yang, what kind of illness do you have?"
"It's not me", Yang Du put down his water cup and said, "It's my wife."
Qiao Sang assumed a listening posture.
Yang Du, recalling his wife's condition, fell into a somber mood again. He pursed his lips and said, "My wife's brain domain suffered severe damage due to a forced breakthrough. Now, she can only be maintained in the hospital through deep hypnosis and nutrient injections."
"If she were to wake up, she would suffer from headaches so severe that she wouldn't be able to understand anything or control her actions. She would grab things around her and hit her head, and even if we cleared everything away, she would bash her head against the wall."
Qiao Sang was surprised, "Why would she choose to force a breakthrough in her brain domain?"
The brain domain is the lifeline of a Beastmaster. It shouldn't be tampered with lightly. Even if the progress of the brain domain can no longer be developed, one shouldn't attempt a forced breakthrough. This is a lesson learned through the blood of countless Beastmasters throughout history!
He didn't expect that even in this day and age, someone would still choose to force a breakthrough in their brain domain.
Yang Du rubbed his temples and said in a deep voice, "It's all my fault. I've been away for a long time and haven't been around to keep her company. When I went back to surprise her, she wasn't home. One of her friends happened to be visiting. I knew the friend, so I didn't think much of it and invited her in."
"Then..." At this point, Yang Du remembered that Qiao Sang was still a minor and felt a bit awkward. He skipped the details and said, "I didn't do anything, but my wife came back and misunderstood the situation."
"Later, she wanted a divorce, but I refused. She went to court to file for divorce, but we have a child. Since I am a B-Class Beastmaster and I didn't do anything wrong, the court rejected her suit."
"She believed that the main reason for the failure was because I am a B-Class Beastmaster, so she decided to push herself to develop her brain domain to become stronger than me, and that's what happened."
To get a divorce, she really did go all out... Qiao Sang thought to herself.
She had expected to hear a tragic medical history, but instead, she got a bit of gossip.
Honestly, Qiao Sang could understand her actions. In her wife's mind, it must have felt like a double betrayal from a friend and her husband, which led to her extreme anger and inability to think clearly.
If that friend had been a stranger instead, she probably wouldn't have been so impulsive as to force a breakthrough in her brain domain.
Just as Qiao Sang was about to say something, she caught a glimpse of the Treasure Seeker entering and exiting Nidoran's belly.
"Lulu", Aquariana called out to the Treasure Seeker as it came out.
"Seek~" The Treasure Seeker, who was having a great time, ignored her.
Fangy, standing beside Aquariana, had a stiff expression, like a wooden post.
Qiao Sang was momentarily stunned by the scene. Then, she seemed to have an idea. She looked back and forth between Aquariana, Fangy, and the Treasure Seeker several times.
Finally, "I got it!" Qiao Sang suddenly stood up.
Yang Du was startled, "What did you think of?"
Qiao Sang giggled, "A grand drama."
With that, she bowed deeply to Yang Du, "Thank you for the inspiration."
Yang Du was utterly confused, "???"
...
That night, Yang Du moved in. The house had many rooms, so he found a room on the second floor and settled in.
After confirming that he didn't need to buy any daily necessities, Qiao Sang returned to the first floor and secretly called Fangy and the Treasure Seeker into a room to have a private conversation.
Ten minutes later, the Treasure Seeker floated out of the room, looking extremely excited.
Fangy, on the other hand, walked out with a bewildered expression, as if wondering, "Who am I? Where am I?"
Qiao Sang, meanwhile, went to her desk and opened her notebook, writing down one line:
"Countdown to Aquariana's Evolution: 8 days."
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
