Chapter 908: Wanted Familiar
Chapter 908: Wanted Familiar (Combined)
12:00 AM.
Fragrant Street.
It was already past midnight, but a few couples were still strolling around, enjoying each other's company.
Some familiars were also wandering about, unaccompanied by their Beastmasters.
When Qiao Sang arrived, she found Zhao Xin, the Short-haired Handler, and several familiars with bodies like sludge and sharp teeth already waiting for her.
Although Fragrant Street was about two kilometers long, finding them wasn't difficult. Just follow the smell.
The sky was dark, and the occasional couple passing by would gag at the stench and choose to take a detour or turn back.
The Garbage Gobblers, just as described in the book, were not exaggerating... Qiao Sang held her breath and glanced at the sludge-like familiars.
"La la."
The Garbage Gobblers noticed her gaze and smiled friendly.
Oh no, it smells even worse now... Qiao Sang forced a polite smile in return.
"You're here!" The Short-haired Handler beamed and hurried over, her eyes darting around.
"Is Qingqing Ni nearby?" Zhao Xin asked, trying to keep her excitement in check.
Qiao Sang nodded slightly.
"Yes."
She then turned her head to look for Qingbao, only to find that Qingbao had vanished.
Qiao Sang paused, then sensed Qingbao's location.
She detected it about a hundred meters behind her.
Turning around, she saw an unusual breeze swirling the petals on the ground, causing the surrounding flower trees to rustle.
"Is something happening?" Zhao Xin asked, noticing the commotion.
Qiao Sang sensed the breeze and understood the situation.
After spending time with Qingbao, she knew it preferred fresh air. It probably didn't want to come over because of the smell from the Garbage Gobblers.
Qiao Sang turned to the Garbage Gobblers, who seemed oblivious to what was happening, and said:
"Nothing to worry about. I'll start now, and we'll try to finish as soon as possible so we can get some sleep."
Seeing that Qiao Sang wasn't going to reveal Qingqing Ni, Zhao Xin and the Short-haired Handler were a bit disappointed but didn't say anything more. They pointed to a spot near the street corner and said:
"Just gather the petals there."
"Got it."
As she spoke, the Steel Treasure beside her began to grow in size.
The two women's eyes widened in unison.
They had never noticed such a handsome flying beast beside them before.
Qiao Sang climbed onto the Steel Treasure's back.
With a flap of its wings, the Steel Treasure soared into the sky.
Zhao Xin, regaining her composure, pulled out her Beast Identifier and aimed it at the unfamiliar familiar in the sky.
Soon, a mechanical voice announced:
"Sorry, this familiar is not listed in the Blue Star Familiar Catalog."
This, this... The two women exchanged glances, both seeing the shock on each other's faces.
This was an alien familiar!
Meanwhile, the Steel Treasure was already flying toward the other end of the street.
"Qingqing..."
Qingbao appeared, looking exhausted.
"Would you like to rest a bit before we start?" Qiao Sang asked.
Qingbao usually slept at this time, and staying up for the mission was a strain.
"Qingqing."
Qingbao shook its head, indicating it was ready to start.
Qiao Sang remembered something and explained, "The smell is from the Garbage Gobblers, those sludge-like familiars. The odor is natural to them, and they can't control it."
"Qingqing..."
Qingbao paused, then turned to look at the distant familiars, now mere gray dots.
By the time they reached the street corner, the Steel Treasure flapped its wings, and a strong gale swept through.
Qingbao used Wind Transformation to dart into the area.
The gale immediately began to operate in a regular pattern, no longer affecting the surrounding flowers and trees.
The petals on the ground were swept up by the gale, which had transformed into a Whirlwind, and carried to the other end of the street.
Each time the gale disappeared, Steel Treasure would promptly cast it again.
Qingbao cooperated seamlessly.
From the perspective of the onlookers, it seemed as if the Whirlwind of petals was moving with a life of its own.
A few couples nearby gasped in surprise and, in unison, pulled out their mobile phones to capture the scene.
After about five minutes, the entire two-kilometer-long street was completely cleaned.
A pile of petals accumulated at the end of the street.
The Garbage Gobblers happily devoured them.
The short-haired Handler no longer chattered incessantly as before.
"Miss Qiao, what is your familiar?" Zhao Xin approached, her eyes fixed on the now smaller Steel Treasure, her tone more respectful than before.
If their initial impression was of Qingqing Ni's Beastmaster, then the massive form of this alien familiar made them realize that this young Beastmaster was not to be underestimated.
Indeed, how could a Beastmaster bonded with Qingqing Ni be simple...
They had never even considered this point...
After all, it was clearly stated online that the Beastmaster had a new form of familiar from the Yuhua Region that had yet to be researched...
"It's called Steel Sword Falcon", Qiao Sang explained.
"From which planet?" the short-haired Handler finally couldn't resist asking.
Qiao Sang replied, "Supernest."
Sure enough, an alien familiar... The two women exchanged glances.
Zhao Xin's Beast Identifier could only recognize familiars from Blue Star, and although it had never announced that a familiar was outside the Blue Star compendium, this was the first time it had done so.
They momentarily forgot about Qingqing Ni, their gazes shifting to the alien familiar.
Steel Treasure remained calm, allowing them to observe him.
Qiao Sang checked the time on her mobile phone and said, "I'll be going now. The rest is up to you."
With that, she climbed back onto Steel Treasure's back.
The short-haired Handler suddenly remembered her original purpose, looked up, and said with a near-pleading expression, "Qingqing Ni, can we see Qingqing Ni, just for a moment?"
Zhao Xin also looked at her with a hopeful gaze.
Qiao Sang thought to herself, what was bound to happen has indeed come...
The other party had indirectly helped her discover the second use of the Wind Transformation Trait, so she couldn't deny this request.
However, they would need to go a bit further away, given the situation here... Qiao Sang glanced in the direction of the Garbage Gobblers and paused.
She saw Qingbao reappear beside the Garbage Gobblers.
Zhao Xin and the short-haired Handler followed her gaze and were stunned on the spot.
Qingqing Ni!
The genuine Qingqing Ni!
"Qingqing."
Qingbao's face turned red as he called out to the Garbage Gobblers.
"Lala!"
The Garbage Gobblers looked up and responded enthusiastically.
Qingbao's face turned even redder.
The wind blew again, scattering the piled-up petals.
"Lala!"
The Garbage Gobblers looked worried.
Qingbao paused, then reached out with his claws and patted his cheeks.
The wind stopped abruptly.
...
High in the sky.
Qiao Sang sat on Steel Treasure's back, looking down at Qingbao, who was sleeping with his eyes closed.
"Qingqing?"
Suddenly, Qingbao opened his eyes and, with a puzzled expression, wondered why she was looking at him.
Pretty alert... Qiao Sang replied softly, "Nothing, just that you look good."
"Qingqing..."
Qingbao got up and floated to Qiao Sang's knee, burying his head in her lap and lying down with his eyes closed.
"Aren't you supposed to dislike smells?" Qiao Sang finally asked.
To be honest, Qingbao appearing among the Garbage Gobblers had genuinely shocked her just now.
"Qingqing..."
Qingbao, with his eyes closed, called out drowsily.
He really doesn't like it...
Soon after, even breathing could be heard.
He was just awake, and now he's asleep... Qiao Sang glanced down at Qingbao and fell silent.
...
The next morning, Qiao Sang freshened up briefly, ate breakfast, and went to the Assessment Office to submit her mission. She then knocked on Teacher Mikara's door.
The door opened after just one knock.
"Did you complete the mission?" Migala asked directly.
Qiao Sang feigned surprise, "Teacher, how did you know?"
Really... Migala's lips twitched. "I guessed."
As she spoke, she stepped aside. "Come in."
Qiao Sang walked in and casually scanned the room, noticing that things hadn't been tidied up yet. She asked tactfully, "When are we leaving for the next city?"
"Not in a hurry." Migala sat on the bed, picked up her mobile phone, and said while sending messages, "A few researchers from the school are coming to check on Qingqing Ni. We'll leave once they're done."
Qiao Sang had no objections.
Migala, as usual, inquired about the mission details, "How did you solve the mission?"
At this, Qiao Sang couldn't help but get excited and immediately recounted in detail how she discovered that Qingbao could merge into wind-based skills to control the wind.
After listening, Migala was silent for a long time.
"You mean Qingqing Ni can directly control the wind at this stage?"
"Exactly." Qiao Sang nodded.
To be able to do this at the Junior stage... Migala suddenly realized she didn't fully understand the Dragon Nation's legendary familiars.
It wasn't her fault, really. She had only read about familiars in related books, and most of the stories were about Legends who had already reached the Divine Stage.
Some were true, some were not.
She had never directly interacted with a legendary familiar, let alone one from another country, and had not specifically studied this area, so she naturally didn't know some of the real specifics.
Even so, Migala felt she had been negligent.
She fell silent for a moment, then logged into the Imperial Beastmaster Academy's website and used the teacher's internal network to purchase a large number of books about Dragon Nation familiars.
Seeing that Teacher Migala was busy, Qiao Sang didn't disturb her.
At that moment, the door "knocked" twice.
"Xunxun~"
Treasure Seeker floated over, stuck his head out the door, and then came back, turning to mimic the appearance of the person outside.
"Go ahead and open it, it's someone from the school", Migala said with a smile.
Qiao Sang nodded at Treasure Seeker.
"Xunxun~"
Treasure Seeker opened the door.
Three people stood outside, two men and one woman, all looking efficient.
The leading middle-aged man with golden hair stepped in, greeted Migala warmly, and then his gaze fell on Qiao Sang. He exclaimed, "You must be Qiao Sang. The Beastmaster Academy has truly produced an outstanding student this year."
Qiao Sang smiled modestly and then called out, "Qingbao."
Qingbao appeared.
The three people's attention was immediately drawn to him, and they began to examine him carefully, reflecting as they worked gently.
The equipment they used was on a Mechanical Pet.
Qiao Sang couldn't understand the operations, so she sat quietly to the side.
"Xunxun~"
Treasure Seeker floated over to the Mechanical Pet, looking curiously from side to side.
The female researcher, with her sharp features, was slightly disturbed but hesitated when she saw Treasure Seeker. She changed her words and said,
"Does this Ghost Ring King feel a lot like the one that's wanted in Eagaria?"
"Xunxun..."
Hearing that there was a familiar that resembled it and was also wanted, Treasure Seeker felt a bit unhappy.
"Is there a Ghost Ring King that's wanted in Eagaria?" Qiao Sang asked curiously.
The female researcher nodded. "It's a wild one, probably from the Mystic Rift. Its appearance is quite rare in Eagaria, so it's been getting a lot of attention."
"What did it do?" Migala asked.
The female researcher, while checking, said, "It's the usual stuff wild beast companions do, but it has one unique trait. It seems to know it's wanted and deliberately lets bounty hunters catch it. Then, when they're not paying attention, it uses Hypnosis to steal all their stuff."
She seemed to recall something amusing and laughed. "There was a rather famous bounty hunter, named something like Ao, who was found completely naked outside the Police Station. The Security Camera footage showed it was the Ghost Ring King that did it."
"I've heard about that", a younger male researcher with gold-rimmed glasses, who looked like an assistant, chimed in. "They say the Ghost Ring King left that bounty hunter with significant psychological trauma. The bounty hunter offered a reward three times higher than the original to find this Ghost Ring King."
"But they still haven't caught it."
He glanced at Treasure Seeker, concerned. "When you return to Eagaria, if that Ghost Ring King is still at large, be careful. You don't want to be mistaken by a group of bounty hunters."
"Just focus on your work, and stop gossiping", the blonde middle-aged man said disapprovingly. "That's just a wild Ghost Ring King. How could it possibly look like Qiao Sang's Ghost Ring King?"
The middle-aged man's authority was evident, and the two immediately stopped talking and got back to work.
"Xunxun!"
Treasure Seeker nodded vigorously in agreement.
How could any other Ghost Ring King look like it!
Qiao Sang smiled to ease the tension. "Don't worry, my Ghost Ring King is a Variant Beast. No one will mistake it."
"Xunxun~"
Treasure Seeker crossed its arms over its chest and nodded proudly.
Variant? The female researcher glanced at Treasure Seeker but couldn't see any difference from the wanted Ghost Ring King. However, she kept her thoughts to herself.
After nearly an hour, all the tests were complete.
"Qingqing..."
Qingbao, looking exhausted, floated back to its Beastmaster.
It felt so tired from the checkup...
"Xunxun~"
Treasure Seeker, considerately, handed over a bottle of milk.
"Qingqing~"
Qingbao was taken aback but then smiled sweetly, extending its claws to take the milk.
Seeing Fifth One's smile, Treasure Seeker felt a sense of satisfaction, thinking it was getting closer to winning over the future little brother.
The three of them packed up their things, recalled the Mechanical Pet, and waved goodbye.
So efficient, they're leaving already. If this were in the Dragon Nation, they would definitely have to exchange pleasantries and stay for a meal before leaving... Qiao Sang reflected, then turned to ask, "Teacher, which city are we heading to next?"
She wasn't as urgent as before.
Now that she had completed eight missions and had over three months until the Regional Tournament began, she could take her time. Even completing one mission per month would be sufficient.
From a progress standpoint, she was on par with other Beastmasters who had also signed up for the Regional Tournament.
"Heavenly Forge City", Migala said.
(End of Chapter)
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