Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

Most pet beast eggs are easy to distinguish, except for a few that are extremely similar.

The egg in the Treasure-Seeking Ghost's hand had a gray base with a yellow ring, clearly indicating that the pet beast inside was of the same species as it.

Qiao Sang's heart sank.

Could it be that, like the Budblossom earlier, this Treasure-Seeking Ghost wanted the one inside this egg to become her pet beast?

But she had never considered contracting a Ghost-type pet beast at all.

It's not just beginner beast tamers, even some professional tamers avoid contracting Ghost-type beasts.

Unlike the fiery-tempered Fire-type beasts, when Fire-type beasts are angry, at least it’s obvious, and anyone can tell right away.

But when Ghost-types are mad, it may not show on the surface. However, they are ruthless when it comes to getting revenge in secret.

The way they retaliate depends on their abilities. For instance, with a Treasure-Seeking Ghost, it wouldn’t be surprising if it stole your toilet paper while you were in the bathroom or your clothes while you were showering.

Seeing this, the Treasure-Seeking Ghost grinned even wider and nodded toward a shadow in the upper right corner.

The shadow received the signal and relayed it to two other shadows, which then flew off in different directions.

Before Qiao Sang had taken a few steps, the Treasure-Seeking Ghost appeared in front of her again.

Before she could walk around it, the Treasure-Seeking Ghost transferred the egg to its left hand.

Its limbs were short, with only three short fingers on each hand.

Balancing the egg in its left hand, it waved a short finger in front of Qiao Sang with its right.

Qiao Sang was puzzled.

Is this... the price of the egg?

100,000? Or 1,000,000?

Just as Qiao Sang was trying to figure out what it meant, the Treasure-Seeking Ghost forcefully poked the egg with its short finger.

Qiao Sang: …!

A hole appeared in the egg, and from it, a short gray finger poked through. The crack quickly spread, and soon the egg broke in half.

A miniature Treasure-Seeking Ghost, about 20 centimeters tall, blinked its eyes and made eye contact with Qiao Sang.

Two seconds later.

"Treasure~" The little one opened its arms and cooed.

Qiao Sang stood frozen in place.

Is it... treating me like its mother?

Seeing that Qiao Sang wasn’t holding it, the little Treasure-Seeking Ghost pouted, and tears began to flow down its face.

The Treasure-Seeking Ghost’s smile widened with satisfaction, but then it too began to wail.

"Treasure!"

"Treasure!"

People nearby began to glance over.

There stood a large and a small Treasure-Seeking Ghost, both crying their eyes out in front of a young girl.

It was hard not to associate the two with her.

Qiao Sang was caught in a dilemma. The small Treasure-Seeking Ghost was just born and hadn’t absorbed any nourishment yet. Its cries were genuine, as if it had suffered a great injustice.

In no time, its voice grew weaker, seemingly out of strength.

In a moment of weakness, Qiao Sang put the Fire fang Dog down and picked up the little Treasure-Seeking Ghost.

Yabao: ...

The little Treasure-Seeking Ghost immediately stopped crying, though tears still welled in its eyes.

Meanwhile, the larger Treasure-Seeking Ghost continued bawling.

Before long, a blond male staff member walked over and asked, "What’s going on here?"

The Treasure-Seeking Ghost floated over to the staff, showing him the broken shell and glancing toward Qiao Sang, crying bitterly.

"Treasure!"

"Treasure-treasure!"

"Treasure-treasure!"

Qiao Sang: ...

Well, there was no mistaking it now. This Treasure-Seeking Ghost was pulling a setup!

Suddenly, the little one in her arms felt even more burdensome.

The blond staff member watched the display calmly.

He had been working here for three years. While he didn’t know everything about the pet beasts in the base, he was quite familiar with most of them, especially those that remained unsold.

Ghost-type pet beasts are expensive, and their personalities are quirky, making them hard to sell.

As one of the least popular choices, they often resorted to all sorts of tricks to force their preferred beast tamers into a contract.

This wasn’t the first time this Treasure-Seeking Ghost had pulled this stunt, always using an egg on the verge of hatching to blame the beast tamer for breaking it.

Most pet beasts form a bond at first sight, developing an attachment and affection for the first living being they see. The Treasure-Seeking Ghost was no exception.

It specifically targeted female beast tamers because they were often more soft-hearted and couldn’t bear to see a young pet cry.

If the targeted woman had the means to buy it, the plan would likely succeed.

The base didn’t mind, as they were more than happy to help push the sale if it worked out.

After all, if successful, it was a win-win.

"Miss, can we discuss this outside?" The blond staff member asked.

Seeing more and more people gathering around, Qiao Sang agreed.

They went into an office where a middle-aged man in his 50s, dressed in a work uniform, was already sitting.

Upon seeing the two Treasure-Seeking Ghosts, he instantly understood what had happened.

Though the two staff members knew the situation, the blond staff member still formally reported what had transpired.

The middle-aged man cleared his throat and said, "Miss, this pet beast egg had already been reserved by one of our customers. Now that this has happened, it will be hard for us to sell."

Most beast tamers who buy eggs want to be the first thing the pet sees when it hatches. Since it had already seen someone else, the likelihood of a return was high.

Qiao Sang understood, but that didn’t mean she was responsible.

"You can check the surveillance footage. I didn’t break the egg. It was the Treasure-Seeking Ghost who poked it in front of me." She pointed to the ghost beside her.

"Treasure!"

"Treasure-treasure!"

The Treasure-Seeking Ghost shook its head, looking as though it had been wronged.

The middle-aged man replied, "Then let's check the footage."

He knew the Treasure-Seeking Ghost had already made all the necessary preparations.

Sure enough, when they pulled up the footage, the cameras only showed the faces of three Ghost-type pet beasts.

Qiao Sang turned and glared at the seemingly innocent Treasure-Seeking Ghost.

It even had accomplices?!

"Miss, were you here to buy a pet beast today?" The middle-aged man changed the topic without mentioning the footage.

"I was looking to buy a pet beast egg." Qiao Sang replied.

The middle-aged man smiled slightly but before he could say anything, Qiao Sang added, "A Cherry wood cotton."

The man's face froze. He continued earnestly, "Let me give you some heartfelt advice. Ghost-type pet beasts are easier to sell as eggs. Once they’re born, they become much harder to sell. The Treasure-Seeking Ghost is stronger than the Sakura Cotton. Look how much the little one likes you. Why not consider taking it instead?"

His words were half-true. The second part was genuine, but the first was a lie.

In reality, Ghost-type pet beast eggs were hard to sell too…

Not just because of their personalities but also due to their high price.

Ghost-type beasts are elusive and hard to come by, and their strength is formidable. They’re only countered by Ghost-types and Dark-types, making them more expensive than most pet beasts.

But even with price cuts, they remained hard to sell.

Qiao Sang looked down.

The little Treasure-Seeking Ghost stared back at her with its wide, tear-filled eyes, as if afraid she would let go.

Qiao Sang’s heart skipped a beat.

It's all fake... It's all just an act...