Chapter 76: Bait-and-Switch
Chapter 76: Bait-and-Switch
Familiars' eggs are generally easy to identify, except for a few that are extremely similar.
The egg in the Treasure Seeker's hands was gray with a yellow ring, clearly indicating that the familiar inside was of the same species.
Qiao Sang's heart skipped a beat.
Could it be that it, like the Yellow Bud before, wanted the familiar inside this Beast Egg to be hers?
But she hadn't even considered bonding with a Ghost Familiar.
Not to mention, even some professional Beastmasters dare not bond with a Ghost Familiar, let alone a new Beast Tamer.
Unlike fiery-tempered fire-type familiars,
fire-type familiars at least show their anger openly, making it easy to tell when they're upset.
But Ghost Familiars can hide their anger, and when they decide to cause trouble, they do so without mercy.
The methods they use depend on their abilities.
If it were a Treasure Seeker, it would definitely do things like stealing toilet paper or clothes.
Qiao Sang pretended not to notice and walked past it.
The Treasure Seeker's grin widened, and it nodded at a shadow in the upper right corner.
The shadow received the message and signaled to two other shadows, and then all three flew off in different directions.
Qiao Sang hadn't taken two steps when the Treasure Seeker darted in front of her again.
Before she could walk around it, the Treasure Seeker moved the Beast Egg to its left hand.
Its limbs were short, and each hand had three short fingers.
The Treasure Seeker held the Beast Egg in its left hand and extended a short finger in front of Qiao Sang, wiggling it.
Qiao Sang was confused.
What was this?
The price of the Beast Egg?
100,000 or 1,000,000?
As Qiao Sang tried to understand, the Treasure Seeker's short finger jabbed the Beast Egg forcefully.
Qiao Sang: "…!"
The Beast Egg cracked, and a tiny, gray finger poked out. The egg then began to split from the hole, eventually breaking into two halves.
A mini version of the Treasure Seeker, about 20 centimeters tall, blinked and looked directly at Qiao Sang.
Two seconds later.
"Seek~"
The little Treasure Seeker opened its arms and cooed, acting cute.
Qiao Sang stood there, stunned.
It couldn't be thinking she was its mother, could it?
Seeing that Qiao Sang didn't pick it up, the little Treasure Seeker pouted and started crying, tears streaming down its face.
The Treasure Seeker grinned triumphantly, then pouted and wailed along.
"Seek!"
"Seek!"
People around them began to look over.
They saw the large and small Treasure Seekers sobbing in front of a young girl.
It was hard not to connect the dots.
Qiao Sang, caught between walking away and staying, found herself at a loss.
The little Treasure Seeker was just born and hadn't absorbed any nutrients, so its cries were genuine, as if it had been wronged.
Soon, its voice grew weaker, as if it had no strength left to cry.
Qiao Sang, on impulse, put Fangflare down and picked up the little Treasure Seeker.
Fangflare: "…"
The little Treasure Seeker immediately stopped crying, though its eyes still welled with tears.
The Treasure Seeker continued to wail loudly.
Soon, a blonde male staff member walked over and asked, "What's going on here?"
The Treasure Seeker floated in front of the staff member, showing him the broken shell while glancing at Qiao Sang, sobbing dramatically.
"Seek!"
"Seek, seek!"
"Seek, seek!"
Qiao Sang: "…"
It was clear what was happening.
The Treasure Seeker was setting up a bait-and-switch!
Suddenly, the little Treasure Seeker in her hands felt unbearably hot.
The blonde staff member watched the Treasure Seeker's performance in silence.
He had worked here for three years and, while not an expert, knew a thing or two about the base's familiars.
Especially those familiars that can't be sold and end up staying in the base...
The Ghost Familiar is both expensive and has a quirky personality, so few Beastmasters are willing to spend a large sum to bond with them.
As the least popular familiar, they often use various methods to force themselves or their kin to bond with any Beastmaster they find appealing.
This Treasure Seeker had done this more than once. Each time, it would accuse the Beastmaster of breaking the soon-to-hatch Beast Egg.
Most familiars decide their fate at first sight, forming an attachment to the first living being they see upon birth, developing a liking for them.
The Treasure Seeker is no exception.
This particular Treasure Seeker specifically targets female Beastmasters, as most women are more likely to feel sympathetic and can't bear to see a baby pet crying at them.
If the female Beastmaster happens to have the means to buy it, the Treasure Seeker's scheme might just work.
The base is happy to see this happen. Every time the Treasure Seeker does this, the staff will go along with it, trying their best to sell the baby pet.
After all, it's a win-win situation if it succeeds.
"Miss, can we talk outside?" the blonde staff member asked.
Seeing more and more people gathering around, Qiao Sang agreed.
The two of them went to an office, where a middle-aged man in his fifties, dressed in a work uniform, was sitting.
The middle-aged man immediately understood the situation upon seeing the two Treasure Seekers.
Although the staff members knew what was going on, the blonde one still put on a show of reporting the incident.
The middle-aged man cleared his throat and said, "Miss, this Beast Egg has already been reserved by one of our customers. It wouldn't be right for us to sell it to you."
Most Beastmasters buying Beast Eggs want the familiar to see them first upon hatching, so if the first thing the familiar sees is someone else, it's likely to be returned.
Qiao Sang understood, but that didn't mean she should take the blame.
"You can check the security camera. The egg wasn't broken by me; this Treasure Seeker deliberately poked it in front of me", Qiao Sang said, pointing to the nearby Treasure Seeker.
"Seek!"
"Seek, seek!"
The Treasure Seeker shook its head, looking as if it had been wronged.
The middle-aged man said, "Let's take a look at the security camera then."
He knew the Treasure Seeker had prepared thoroughly.
Sure enough, the three security cameras that could capture that area showed the faces of three Ghost Familiars during that time.
Qiao Sang turned to look at the innocent-looking Treasure Seeker.
It even had an accomplice?!
"Miss, are you here to buy a familiar?" the middle-aged man asked, not mentioning the security camera footage.
"I'm here to buy a Beast Egg", Qiao Sang replied.
The middle-aged man's face lit up, but before he could speak, Qiao Sang continued, "I want to buy a Cherry Cotton."
The middle-aged man's expression faltered, and he said sincerely, "Let me speak from the heart. Ghost Familiars are easier to sell as eggs, but once they're born, it's much harder. The Treasure Seeker is stronger than the Cherry Cotton. Look how much this little Treasure Seeker likes you. Why not consider buying it instead?"
His words were a mix of truth and lies. The latter part was true, but the first part was false.
Even as eggs, Ghost Familiars are hard to sell...
Not only because of their personality, but also because of their price.
Ghost Familiars are elusive and hard to catch.
They are also very powerful, only being weak against Ghost-type and Dark-type familiars, which naturally makes them more expensive than other familiars.
But in such a difficult selling situation, selling at a discount is common.
However, even at a discount, few Beastmasters are willing to buy them...
Qiao Sang looked down.
The little Treasure Seeker was staring at her with big, watery eyes, as if afraid she might let go.
Qiao Sang's heart trembled.
It's all an act, an act, just an act...
(End of Chapter)
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