Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

Qiao Sang felt a sense of crisis; the joy of securing first place in the special admissions exam had somewhat diminished.

Just then, Zheng Yining suggested, "Boss Qiao, do you want to join us for a celebration later? I know a new snack shop that just opened on Rongchang Street. Their signature dish, 'Cloud-baked Ham,' is made by a Magne-cook."

Qiao Sang was stunned.

"They use a Magnemite to make Cloud-baked Ham? Is that even allowed?!"

Using extraordinary creatures as ingredients wasn't unheard of in this society, but it was usually done covertly. Who would be so brazen as to advertise it as a signature dish?

And wasn't Magnemite's entire body made of magnets? Could that even be edible?

Zheng Yining paused, "The Magne-cook is the chef at the snack shop... Did you misunderstand something?"

Qiao Sang looked up at the sky, laughing awkwardly.

"Haha, the weather seems nice today. Maybe we should head home early."

She probably didn’t misinterpret Boss Qiao’s earlier thoughts...

After declining the requests from Zheng Yining, Li Yang, and the others to compete in a Murkrow race, Qiao Sang immediately took out her phone once they parted ways.

To focus on the exam, Qiao Sang had turned off her phone when she entered Shengshui High School.

As soon as she powered it on, two missed calls from her mother appeared on the screen.

Qiao Sang didn't return the call right away. She took a deep breath, her hands trembling slightly as she opened the Interstellar Betting Network.

"We won!!"

The next second, the Fire fang Dog heard its Beast Master’s excited shout.

"Yap!"

The Fire fang Dog wagged its tail, sharing in the joy.

Qiao Sang did some quick calculations.

She had lost 5000 Alliance Coins betting on Baudelaire, but after subtracting the principal, she won 1200 Alliance Coins this time. Overall, she was still down by 38...

Better not to dwell on it.

Qiao Sang decided to ignore it and called her mother back. Her mother didn’t ask about the exam, only when she would be coming home.

Since her mother didn’t ask, Qiao Sang didn’t mention it either.

After all, the final results of the high school entrance exam were still pending—better to avoid celebrating too early only to be disappointed later.

---

That evening, at her desk.

Qiao Sang held some freshly completed practice exams, checking the answers. These were last year's entrance exam papers from Hanwen City.

Hanwen City and Hanggang City both belonged to Zhejiang Province, so aside from a few different focal points, the papers were largely similar.

After checking her answers, Qiao Sang sighed.

Though she had made significant progress, she still made quite a few mistakes. With only a week left until the high school entrance exam, it seemed she would need to return to school tomorrow.

After all, it’s faster to ask others about the correct problem-solving approach.

“Yip-yip.”

“Coo, coo.”

The sounds of the Fire fang Dog and the fat dove arguing in the living room reached Qiao Sang, bringing a smile to her face. Those two little ones were getting along quite well.

Half an hour later, after correcting all her mistakes, Qiao Sang opened a shopping website.

She remembered the vice principal's instructions: three sprigs of vitality herbs, two pounds of Heat-soothing owder, seven ounces of Fiery nitrate, and six ounces of Red Honey.

[Vitality Herb]

Qiao Sang typed in the keyword.

The shopping page for vitality herbs quickly popped up.

Qiao Sang was stunned.

3,888 Alliance Coins.

Unwilling to give up, she scrolled down a few pages, but the price was consistent.

Not even a price variation?!

Qiao Sang clicked on the option to sort by price from low to high.

At the top of the page, the price was listed as 38 Alliance Coins.

Could she dare to buy it with such a huge price difference?!

After hesitating, Qiao Sang clicked on it, clinging to a sliver of hope.

When she checked the reviews, they were all negative.

[Has the seller lost their conscience? Is this even Vitality Herb?!]

[I gave it to my Cotton Tail Rabbit, and it had diarrhea for a week, losing a ton of weight (photo).]

[This isn't Vitality Herb; it's some random weed, isn't it?!]

[Fake, fake, fake!!! Negative review, negative review, negative review!!!]

[I bought a real Vitality Herb for comparison. I must say, the imitation is pretty close (photo) (photo).]

As expected, it was a knock-off...

Qiao Sang searched for Heat-soothing Powder, Fiery Crystal, and Red Honey.

Heat-soothing Powder: 2600 Alliance Coins, Fiery Crystal: 6889 Alliance Coins, and Red Honey: the cheapest was 1999 Alliance Coins per pound.

This meant that just one bath for the Fire fang Dog would cost over 10,000 Alliance Coins!

Qiao Sang quietly closed her computer.

Actually, the high school entrance exam was more important right now. The Fire fang Dog’s situation could wait. Besides, the Fire fang Dog hated water and didn’t like baths...

10:32 PM.

The Fire fang Dog had already fallen asleep, tired from playing.

As usual, Qiao Sang entered the Beast Master Codex before going to bed.

Name: Firefang Dog

Attribute: Fire

Level: Beginner (136/1000) +

Skills: Bite (Beginner 74/100) +, Charge (Adept 204/500) +, Fire Fang (Adept 188/500) +, Ember (Adept 256/500) +, Shadow Clone (Beginner 5/100)

Points: 109

Last time, the Fire fang Dog gained 55 points from three battles at the Thirty-seventh Beast High School. This time, it only gained 54 points from four battles.

The points gained from each battle vary, so the point increase is likely based on the strength of the opponent, right?

Qiao Sang made a guess and then fell fast asleep.

Today had been exhausting...

---

The next day.

Wencheng Middle School.

When Qiao Sang walked into Class 37 with her backpack, the class erupted.

"Whoa, Qiao Sang, I didn’t think you’d actually come back!"

"Where have you been all this time, skipping class?"

"Hey, watch what you’re saying! Couldn’t it be family matters?"

"What are you talking about? Couldn’t it be a relative’s issue?"

"We all missed you. Without you, the teacher kept picking on me and Fang Sisi." This was from Guo Linze, the class's perennial second-to-last student.

The teacher had essentially given up on the last-place student.

After the other students finished expressing their feelings and dispersed, Fang Sisi said earnestly, "Qiao Sang, you’ve changed."

Qiao Sang was taken aback. "How have I changed?"

"In the past, whenever you found a good excuse to skip class, you’d let me know. Now you’re going solo, not even taking me with you." Fang Sisi said with a tone of grievance.

Qiao Sang: ...

"I’ll bring you along next time."

Fang Sisi shook her head. "There won’t be a next time. There are only a few days left in school. If I skip, my mom would break my legs."

"By the way," Fang Sisi leaned in closer and whispered, "I’ve got something to tell you, but you can’t tell anyone else."

Seeing Fang Sisi’s serious expression, Qiao Sang nodded. "Go ahead."

"Last week, our homeroom teacher, for some reason, decided to get a hair transplant, but... haha."

Fang Sisi couldn’t help but laugh, "But the anesthetic was swapped with a hair removal agent."

Qiao Sang was stunned for a moment before saying, "How could that happen? The two substances are different colors, aren’t they?"

"The one who applied the anesthetic was Gigi Eye, a newly contracted pet in the dermatology department, and it’s not very familiar with these things yet." Fang Sisi explained.

Qiao Sang asked, "How do you know about this?"

"Did you forget? My mom is a nurse there. She’s met our homeroom teacher before during parent-teacher meetings." Fang Sisi replied.

Qiao Sang’s expression grew strange. Could it be that the homeroom teacher went for the hair transplant because of what she said about his wig last time?

No wonder he stopped answering calls and turned off his phone...

This medical mishap was pretty severe.

After all, for middle-aged men, hair is life—especially those who rely on wigs.

"Tell me honestly, how many people have you told about this?" Qiao Sang asked Fang Sisi suspiciously.

Fang Sisi was slightly taken aback and began counting on her fingers, "Lu Siya, Chen Jinjin, Wu Huanjun, Guo Linze, Xie Jiayi, Chen Yu..."

Qiao Sang: ...