The mother paused for a moment. "Isn't the Firefang Dog a bit too temperamental?"
When beast tamers choose a pet beast, they undoubtedly look at three things: attributes, talent, and potential.
But for rookie beast tamers, the most important factor is actually the pet beast's temperament.
Little Chubby Dove, White Sand Fox, Short-tailed Snake, Sand Marmot, and Deepwater Turtle are all first picks for newbie beast tamers largely because of their personalities.
The pet beasts bred at official pet beast bases aren't all gentle creatures that won't attack humans.
If an inexperienced beast tamer contracts a violent pet beast as their very first one, forget about commanding it in battle—they won't even be able to make it train.
Last year, in Kai'nan City, a boy who had just finished his middle school entrance exams contracted a Flame Sparrow. Two days later, the Flame Sparrow would rather suffer backlash than continue the contract.
The boy's brain domain was severely damaged. By the time he could return to high school, half a year had already passed, and the gap between him and his peers had widened significantly.
Later, during an interview, it was revealed that the cause of the incident was simply that the boy wanted the Flame Sparrow to strike a few poses so he could post them on social media…
The news even made it onto the trending searches for several minutes.
Fire-type pet beasts were mostly rough and willful, and Firefang Dogs were no exception.
But Qiao Sang didn't think so. It was impossible for an entire species to all be hot-tempered—there were bound to be a few with different personalities.
Otherwise, if an entire species had the same personality, how boring would that be?
"Mom, didn't you say I have beast-taming talent? I think a Firefang Dog suits me pretty well," Qiao Sang said.
Firefang Dogs were fire-type pet beasts with strong attack power. After their first evolution, passing the assessment for E-rank beast tamer certification would definitely not be a problem for her.
It was just that although Firefang Dogs weren't as expensive as psychic-type pet beasts like Bubble Bell, they were still far pricier than Little Chubby Dove and the like.
A newbie's first choice like Little Chubby Dove cost around 30,000, while a Firefang Dog would run about 100,000.
Qiao Sang understood her family's situation. They could afford that amount.
"All right then. I'll take you to the pet beast base tomorrow morning," her mother agreed.
…
…
The next day, just as dawn broke, Qiao Sang was woken up by her mother.
Under her mother's urging, she finished getting ready and ate breakfast in just ten minutes. By the time they headed out, it was only 7:06 a.m.
The entire time, Qiao Sang's eyelids drooped, looking half-asleep.
That was, until she got up into the air.
The Hanggang Pet Beast Base wasn't in the city but in the suburbs over forty kilometers from the city center.
By the time the Fat Family Dove carried them to the Hanggang Pet Beast Base, it was already 8:31.
They arrived just in time for the base to open for business.
Because it was so early, they were the only two people there to buy a pet beast.
No appointment, no waiting in line.
The one who received them was a female staff member who looked to be in her thirties.
"May I ask how I can help you?" she asked with a professional smile.
"We'd like to buy a Firefang Dog," the mother said directly.
"Certainly. Please follow me," the staff member replied.
She was clearly very experienced, keeping up a steady stream of introductions along the way.
"At the moment, our base has twenty-seven Firefang Dogs. All of them are developing very well. Two are even close to evolving. Of the remaining twenty-five, nineteen have already learned Ember.
"Seven have even mastered Fireball. They're a few centimeters taller than others their age, and another five—"
While she was speaking, they arrived at the area dedicated to raising Firefang Dogs.
Before Qiao Sang could even walk closer—
"Boom!"
An explosion rang out. A streak of flame struck the ground about five meters away.
Qiao Sang jumped in fright.
She looked toward the source of the attack.
Two Firefang Dogs, clearly larger than the others, were baring their sharp fangs, their teeth wreathed in flames.
Flames covering their fangs—this was the innate skill most Firefang Dogs inherited: Fire Fang.
The staff member remained calm. "These two are the ones close to evolution. They're always fighting to prove who's the strongest, but it usually ends in a draw."
Another burst of flames shot out, landing about four meters from Qiao Sang.
Her scalp tingled.
The staff member pointed toward a nearby bush. "That Ember just now was released by that Firefang Dog. Its power is quite impressive."
As expected, the next second, the two Firefang Dogs started biting and tearing at each other.
"They're love rivals," the staff member narrated. "They're fighting over a female Firefang Dog. But it won't amount to anything—she likes another one."
Qiao Sang: "…"
After a moment, she asked, "Where is that female Firefang Dog?"
The staff member laughed. "She's the one cheering them on from the side."
Sure enough, near the bushes stood a Firefang Dog with especially clean, smooth fur, barking excitedly.
"Ya!"
"Ya!"
"She's shouting 'Fight!'," the staff member translated. "She doesn't like them, but she enjoys watching them fight for her."
Qiao Sang: "…"
Seeing the mother remain silent, the staff member asked, "Do you have a Firefang Dog in mind? I can bring it over for a closer look."
The mother shook her head. "I'm just accompanying my daughter. She's the one contracting the Firefang Dog."
The staff member's eyes lit up. "Then your daughter must be an independent awakener, right?"
"How did you know?" the mother asked happily.
"Today's Friday, and she's wearing Wencheng Middle School's uniform. She should be in third-year junior high.
"It's not yet time for the Beast Tamer Alliance's annual unified brain-domain awakening. Without independent awakening, she couldn't be here."
All of that was made up.
She'd simply received another Wencheng Middle School girl three days ago—also an independent awakener.
What kind of feng shui did that school have? Two independent awakeners from the same cohort.
She'd definitely need to discuss buying a school-district apartment with her husband. Their son was already in fourth grade.
The smile on the mother's face gradually froze.
Qiao Sang asked quietly, "Mom, did you call my homeroom teacher today to ask for leave?"
The mother laughed awkwardly. "Haha, how could I forget?"
"You asked for leave yesterday, but today…" Qiao Sang pressed.
"I asked for two days off yesterday!" her mother said, her voice unconsciously growing louder.
"That's good, then," Qiao Sang replied.
She sighed inwardly.
Whenever her mother lied, her voice always got louder.