Chapter 907: Windshaping Ability (Part 2)
Chapter 907: Windshaping Ability (Part 2)
The next morning, Qiao Sang quickly freshened up, had breakfast, and then took Fangy and the others to the Indoor Training Ground for training.
The Beastmaster Center's Indoor Training Ground could be reserved for private use, so there was no need to worry about interruptions.
Qiao Sang checked the time around three in the afternoon and set off for Fragrant Street.
The ground was still covered in petals, and there seemed to be even more than last night.
Obviously, they hadn’t been cleaned up yet… Qiao Sang sighed, pulled out his phone, and dialed the contact number he had added the previous day.
After several rings, the call was answered.
"Hello?"
"It’s me, the person who added your number last night", Qiao Sang identified himself.
"Oh, I know, I know", the woman replied. "Is there something you need?"
"I noticed the petals on Fragrant Street haven’t been cleared yet. Is there a reason for the delay?" Qiao Sang asked tactfully.
The woman was silent for a moment before sighing, "The Scent Ants are being uncooperative. Two of them ran away today, and we just managed to find them."
"If the Scent Ants keep refusing, how will you handle it?" Qiao Sang inquired.
"That depends on what the higher-ups decide", the woman said. "I’m just a caretaker."
Qiao Sang pondered for a moment and then asked, "Could you send me the address of your Pet Beast Facility?"
The woman was taken aback for a second but then said, with a hint of excitement, "Sure, I’ll send it to you right away!"
Qiao Sang hung up, opened the address she sent, and started the navigation.
...
Hua Tianqi District Pet Beast Facility.
After hanging up, the woman looked quite pleased.
"Who was that?" a colleague asked.
"A Beastmaster who took on the Fragrant Street mission", the woman replied.
"Why are you so happy about it?" the colleague was puzzled.
These kinds of missions were a nightmare for the lower-level staff. Not only were they under pressure from above, but now a Beastmaster had been sent to specifically check on their progress, making it seem like they weren’t trying to solve the problem.
"You wouldn’t understand", the woman said, lowering her voice and speaking mysteriously. "She has a Red Fire Pet Beast with Flame Wings."
The colleague was confused. "So what?"
The woman hinted, "Don’t you think a Beastmaster with that familiar sounds a lot like someone mentioned online lately?"
The colleague was reluctant to think. "Who?"
The woman gave her a look that said, "How can you not know this?"
"The Beastmaster of Qingqing Ni! She has a familiar just like that."
The colleague was taken aback and laughed, "Are you overthinking this? Familiars that fit that description are rare, but not nonexistent. I can name a few right now."
The woman was firm in her belief.
"Trust me, that familiar looks exactly like the one in the pictures online. Someone has already identified it as a Flame Kiru from Yuhua Region, and it’s in its new form. They say it’s the only one of its kind, and no one has figured out its evolution path yet. If there’s only one, it has to be Qingqing Ni’s Beastmaster."
The colleague was starting to be convinced but still had doubts.
"Aren’t some Beastmasters just trying to get attention by bonding with Transformation-type familiars and pretending to be rare ones?"
The woman was confident.
"You’ll see when the Beastmaster arrives."
As if on cue, another colleague walked over.
"Zhao Xin, someone’s looking for you. They say they just called you."
At this, the woman and her colleague exchanged surprised glances, wondering how quickly the person had arrived.
"Hello, are you available now?" Qiao Sang, carrying Fangy, stepped out from behind the staff member who had led the way.
The Pet Beast Facility was only 6.2 kilometers from Fragrant Street, well within the range of a Treasure Seeker's Spatial Shift. Qiao Sang hadn’t moved far enough, so he had ended up inside the facility. Fortunately, a staff member was nearby and offered to guide him.
Zhao Xin was taken aback for a moment before quickly regaining her composure: "Yes!"
The colleague standing nearby stared at Fangy for a while, then stepped forward with enthusiasm: "I do too!"
Qiao Sang was slightly taken aback, not understanding why the other person’s attitude was so welcoming, as if she were a big client, when she clearly wasn’t there to buy a familiar.
Seeing the situation, Zhao Xin quickly explained: "She’s also a caretaker of Scent Ants, just like me."
Qiao Sang looked over at the caretaker with a short bob of hair, who immediately broke into a smile.
The staff member guiding them understood that they were no longer needed and turned to leave.
Having one more person would be helpful... Qiao Sang nodded: "Thank you for your trouble."
"Not at all, not at all", the short-haired caretaker said as she quickly stepped forward, beaming. "Let me take you to meet the Scent Ants responsible for Fragrant Street. Actually, the problem isn’t too difficult to solve. It’s just that the leading Scent Ant is leading the protest, and the other dozen or so Scent Ants are following its lead. Once we solve the problem with the leader, the others will fall in line."
"However, that leading Scent Ant is quite stubborn and hard to reason with."
"But it’s not a major issue. If we can find some Flying-type familiars or familiars with strong Wind Skills to blow the petals on Fragrant Street to one place, and then get a few Garbage Gobblers to eat the rotten petals, the Scent Ants will be willing to Absorb the fresh petals that fall each day."
Garbage Gobblers are fond of living in places with garbage, feeding on it and possessing the ability to decompose it. Ideally, they would be great for street cleaning, but because of their foul smell, even their breath is odorous, making them unsuitable for frequent appearances on the streets.
The short-haired caretaker rambled on about many things.
She even said I’m overthinking it... Zhao Xin thought back to the earlier conversation and the colleague’s current attitude, feeling a bit speechless.
As they talked, the three of them arrived at the Scent Ants’ breeding base.
The Scent Ants, upon seeing the two caretakers, immediately turned away and silently moved to a distance.
"They don’t want to go to Fragrant Street, so they react like this", Zhao Xin explained as she stepped forward.
"That’s the Scent Ant leading the protest", the short-haired caretaker pointed to a Scent Ant nearby that was eating Energy Pills. Compared to the others, this Scent Ant was noticeably larger.
"Xiangshi..."
The large Scent Ant noticed the attention, glanced at them, took a few steps, and then turned its back to them to continue eating the Energy Pills.
Qiao Sang: "..."
Indeed, it looks quite stubborn...
"You see", the short-haired caretaker said helplessly. "That’s why I think the second solution I mentioned is more practical. We’ve actually submitted this proposal, but..."
"But what?" Qiao Sang asked, playing along.
Zhao Xin explained:
"Fragrant Street doesn’t allow Garbage Gobblers to work before midnight. Garbage Gobblers usually go to sleep around 10 PM, but this can be solved by using Awakening Powder on them."
"However, to gather all the petals on Fragrant Street in one place, we need familiars with strong Wind Skills and good control."
"All the Flying Beasts in our Pet Beast Facility are either Junior or Intermediate, and we need a large number of them. However, the managers at the Flying Beast breeding base have been holding back on approval, saying that the Flying Beasts are still too young and difficult to manage in large numbers. So, the matter has been put on hold."
She paused for a moment before adding, "But this issue will be resolved sooner or later. After all, it's our job, and the higher-ups will take it seriously."
The problem is that "sooner or later" is too late for me... Qiao Sang thought of something and asked:
"Would Scent Ants be harmed if they fed on already rotten petals?"
"Of course not", the short-haired handler replied. "We wouldn't let them feed on anything harmful. Scent Ants are called 'fragrance eaters,' but they can actually eat any plant. They just prefer to feed on fragrant ones."
Qiao Sang's mind raced at this.
If it's not harmful, I could have Lulu use Healing Waves to calm the Scent Ants down, and they would go and feed on the petals on Fragrant Street, right?
Just as this thought crossed her mind, Zhao Xin sighed.
"We first tried the first plan, but the leading Scent Ant was too stubborn. Later, I requested a Heart Purifier to purify their minds, which made them start feeding on the petals. It worked well, but after about five minutes, the Mind Purification effect wore off, and they became even more resistant."
Upon hearing this, Qiao Sang immediately abandoned her idea.
So we just have to wait it out?
Steel Treasure does have the Gale skill, which can blow away petals over a wide area, but it's hard to control and would definitely affect the surrounding flowers...
Qingbao's Tailwind skill could work, but its range is too small. Relying on it alone would probably take several days.
After all, Fragrant Street is two kilometers long.
And Qingbao is still a Beginner Beast, and Tailwind is only at the Proficient level...
While Qiao Sang was pondering, the short-haired handler tentatively asked:
"Do you have a Flying Beast with a Wind skill?"
Qiao Sang nodded. "I do, but its skill is Gale, which is difficult to control."
The short-haired handler continued probing, "What about a Fairy Companion Beast?"
Qiao Sang looked at her.
Zhao Xin tugged at her colleague's clothes.
The short-haired handler decided to be straightforward, her gaze intense. "I know you're Qingqing Ni's Beastmaster. I don't have any ulterior motives; I just want to help you complete the mission quickly."
Qiao Sang recalled her first mission after bonding with Qingbao and realized, "You want me to use Qingqing Ni to charm the manager at the Flying Beast breeding facility?"
I was right! Zhao Xin's eyes lit up.
The short-haired handler hesitated for a moment, then instinctively retorted, "He's not worthy of it!"
She realized what she had said and coughed to cover it up. "That's not what I meant. I just wanted to say that Qingqing Ni is the Darling of the Wind. With it, the wind will follow its will. You can use Qingqing Ni to gather all the petals in one place, and then we can arrange a time for the Garbage Gobbler to come and clean up."
She gave Zhao Xin a meaningful look.
Zhao Xin immediately chimed in, "That's right. The manager of the Flying Beast breeding facility is dragging his feet, but if he knows you're Qingqing Ni's Beastmaster, he might make unreasonable demands like touching or kissing Qingqing Ni."
"The manager in charge of the Garbage Gobbler is more reasonable. If you can, we can bring the Garbage Gobblers over at midnight tonight."
"It's definitely possible!" the short-haired handler added.
Qiao Sang fell silent.
She felt that the people of Hollow Plains seemed to have mythologized Qingqing Ni. After all, Qingqing Ni was still just a Beginner Beast. Even as Wind's Darling, it could only max out its talent in learning Wind Skills. No matter how strong it became or how effortlessly it could control the wind, it would only be after becoming a Wind Deity Cloud.
"Is there something you're worried about?" the Short-haired Handler asked, noticing Qiao Sang's silence.
"Qingqing Ni is still just a Beginner Beast", Qiao Sang gently expressed her concerns.
Zhao Xin was taken aback, recalling another piece of information he had seen online. He cautiously asked, "You're not from our Hollow Plains, are you?"
"Right", Qiao Sang nodded.
"No wonder", the Short-haired Handler said, suddenly understanding. "You might not fully grasp the meaning behind Qingqing Ni being Wind's Darling."
Qiao Sang adopted a posture indicating she was eager to hear more.
"Qingqing Ni is born with the ability of Wind Transformation, allowing it to move through various winds and make the wind act according to its will", the Short-haired Handler explained, then added emphatically, as if afraid she wouldn't believe him, "Really, it's all written in the books!"
Qiao Sang fell silent, thinking for a few seconds.
She recalled Qingbao's Wind Transformation Trait, which had directly maxed out.
Could it be that, besides moving through the wind, it could also perfectly control it?
After some thought, Qiao Sang said, "Let me think about it. I'll contact you later."
Zhao Xin quickly nodded, "Sure!"
The Short-haired Handler's eyes lit up, "We'll be waiting!"
...
7:00 PM.
Beastmaster Center.
Indoor Training Ground.
"Qingqing."
Qingbao pouted, and instantly a gust of wind blew.
"Try to make it stronger", Qiao Sang said from the side.
Qingbao maintained the pouting posture, her face slightly reddening from the effort.
The wind grew a bit stronger, but only slightly.
It still depended on energy; it wasn't as simple as wanting the wind to grow stronger. Qiao Sang summarized her thoughts and then had an idea. She looked at Steel Treasure and said, "Use Gale."
Qingqing Ni is born with the ability of Wind Transformation, allowing it to move through various winds and make the wind act according to its will... If that's the case...
"Steel Blade." Steel Treasure flew to the ceiling, and its wings flapped powerfully downward.
A strong gale immediately surged, kicking up dust and causing the windows to rattle.
Qiao Sang looked at Qingbao and raised her voice, "Use Wind Transformation to try and control it!"
"Qingqing!"
Qingbao looked at the howling gale with a glint of excitement in her eyes, and without hesitation, she used Wind Transformation to charge into it.
The gale raged, but in a moment, it seemed to be controlled by some force, starting to spin upward, forming a small tornado.
Then, the tornado grew larger and eventually dissipated.
"Qingqing~"
Qingbao emerged from the center, a happy expression on her face, calling out to indicate that it was quite controllable.
Damn!
It really does work!
Qiao Sang was shocked. She had never known that the Wind Transformation Trait had such an incredible function!
If that was the case, Qingbao wouldn't have to fear any Wind Skills in the future!
After a brief moment of shock and joy, Qiao Sang eagerly pulled out her phone and dialed Zhao Xin's number.
"Hello?" came the voice from the speaker.
"Tonight at midnight, I'll be waiting for you on Fragrant Street!" (End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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