"Yar!"
The Fire Tooth Dog barked cheerfully, seemingly quite pleased with its name.
"That name is so overused! Even my neighbor's daughter’s boyfriend has a Fire Tooth Dog named that," Bai Yunmiao remarked.
Qiao Sang fell into deep thought beside them. Naming was something she hadn't really considered. In this society, not every Beast Master bothered to give their contracted beasts a name. Some might choose names similar to online usernames, not taking it seriously at all. The idea was merely to stand out and catch people's attention.
Others might seek out experts to name their beasts based on attributes, birth date, or birthplace. Then there were those who would carelessly pick a species name and just add a repetitive syllable to it to call it a day. Yet, as the contracted beasts evolved, those repetitive names could feel rather strange. After all, many beasts would grow dissatisfied with their original names.
Take the Cotton Moth, for example. Many Beast Masters affectionately called it "Bug Bug," yet after it evolved into a beautiful Baxi Snow Butterfly or a Baxi Poison Butterfly, it would no longer find being called "Bug Bug" acceptable. It had gotten used to its original name, and changing it to "Butterfly Butterfly" seemed awkward.
As a result, some Beast Masters simply referred to their beasts by their species names. After all, once they had entered into a contract, contracted beasts were well aware of who was calling them. Normally, using a species name was fine, but when a beast had a representative, it needed a proper name of its own.
"How about we call it 'Yarbao'?" Qiao Sang suggested. Since they were naming it, she thought it better to choose a name that wouldn’t feel out of place even if the Fire Tooth Dog evolved.
"Yaya!"
The Fire Tooth Dog protested, preferring to be called the Handsomest Tooth of Hanggang.
Qiao Sang sighed. "Isn't 'Yarbao' basically saying you are my treasure? Don't you like that?"
The Fire Tooth Dog hesitated, then quickly smoothed things over with its Beast Master.
"Yar!"
"Yaya!"
"Yar!"
It liked the name. "Yarbao" it would be then!
"Good!" Qiao Sang's previous look of disappointment vanished instantly.
Bai Yunmiao was used to this. Meanwhile, Song Yuan stared in disbelief for quite a while. She couldn't help but admire Qiao Sang's ability to make a Fire-type beast comfort her in return—what a talent…
And just like that, the naming was settled.
...
In Qingcheng Gardens, Ye Xiangting returned home to find the table laden with a feast, complete with the delicious Quick Temptation Fruit that her flying-type beast loved. Each of these fruits cost 1500 Alliance Coins, something she usually couldn't bear to buy.
Furrowing her brows, Ye Xiangting's first thought was how her ex-husband found out that their daughter had been accepted into Holy Water Middle School, and had gotten in touch with her.
While she was lost in thought, Qiao Sang stepped out of her room.
"Mom, you’re finally back! The dishes I made are all cold now."
Ye Xiangting was taken aback, hesitating, "You made all this?"
"Yep! It’s to celebrate that I got first place in the Hundred New Contest," Qiao Sang announced as she pulled out a chair at the dining table.
"Yar!"
The Fire Tooth Dog dashed out from the room and leapt onto Qiao Sang's lap at that moment.
First place in the Hundred New Contest…
Ye Xiangting was stunned again. While she knew her daughter had been participating in the contest, she had thought it was just for fun. First place?
Weren't the contestants all freshly graduated middle school students like her daughter?
Even such a win was quite impressive…
"I won 200,000 Alliance Coins! I bought some Quick Temptation Fruits for Plump Dove—go ahead and eat!" Qiao Sang pushed the fruits toward the Plump Dove.
"Dove!"
The Plump Dove flapped its wings happily. When it had come home earlier, it had been drooling over the Quick Temptation Fruits but hadn’t known who had bought them, so it had been hesitant. Now that it was clear that they were bought by its little master, the Plump Dove wasted no time and immediately grabbed a fruit to eat.
Throughout the dinner, Ye Xiangting listened to her daughter talk and felt as if it was all unreal.
200,000 Alliance Coins…
Pet eggs below 500,000…
Maybe she should tell someone about this…
At 7:22 PM, Qiao Sang returned to her room, opened her computer, and prepared to research her second beast. Habitually, she glanced at the trending topics.
The hot searches were all about new happenings in the Interstellar Cup.
“True Dark Horse, Felinus!”
“Akihisa Yuuki Hates Leaving the Interstellar Cup!”
“Dream Demon Spirit Achieves Epic Feat!”
“Blue Planet Beast Masters Have All Been Wiped Out!”
“This afternoon, eight people who sneaked from Blue Planet to Tianyuan Star were captured.”
Tianyuan Star was the planet hosting this year’s Interstellar Cup. Every year, there were always a few sneaky folks wanting to catch the live matches who ended up getting caught, and this year was no exception. This time, however, the people trying to sneak in were from Blue Planet.
Not bothering to click the details, she knew the comments would be full of criticism, blaming the stowaways for bringing shame to Blue Planet. The Interstellar Cup was a sensitive topic.
The Beast Masters competing were a matter of national pride, which had escalated into competition between planets.
As Qiao Sang scrolled down, her gaze landed on a particular trending topic that stood out among all the others.
“A-Level Wanted Notice: The Handsomest Fugitive”
She clicked on it.
She swore it wasn't the allure of the term "handsomest" that prompted her to click.
The man on the wanted notice had no beauty filters, with cold white skin, deep-set eyes, and a pair of piercing phoenix eyes that seemed cold as a gloomy lake, stagnant and lifeless. His crimson lips were tightly pressed together, giving off an aura that warned strangers to stay away. There was no denying that he possessed an exceptionally handsome face, fitting the title of "handsomest" among fugitives.
Qiao Sang continued reading.
“Zhou Xian (Male, 28, from Zhehai Xianglin) and accomplices murdered researcher Qin Yuxin and stole confidential research materials.”
As she read further, Qiao Sang caught her breath.
Five million Alliance Coins!
This guy was worth a lot!
She couldn't help but scroll back up to study the wanted notice again. Since he was from Zhehai Xianglin, he might very well return home one day. They were all from the same province, after all; what if they crossed paths…
Someone with such a bounty had to be dangerous, but if she ran into him, she could just call the police!
That would include a reward for information too.
Although the chances were as slim as winning the lottery, it was still good to have a dream.
Qiao Sang memorized the man's features before returning to the trending topics and then began her research on water-type, grass-type, and flying-type beasts.
In terms of which attributes she prioritized for her second beast, it went grass first, water second, and flying last. Grass-type beasts were self-explanatory; they were just a bit pricey but otherwise perfect. Water-type beasts didn’t have many that could wield their full strength on land, but they might learn healing skills, which was what Qiao Sang wanted most. As for flying-type beasts, they were simply a way to satisfy her desire to soar to the skies.
(End of Chapter)