Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

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Qiao Sang was led into the observation room, while Yabao was blindfolded and brought into the secret chamber leading to Lost Town.

Before leaving the house, Qiao Sang had already told Yabao about coming to the secret chamber to play.

Knowing that he might break through and become stronger, Yabao naturally had no objections and was even eager to give it a try.

The observation room was somewhat like a cinema.

However, the space was not as large, and the lights were not turned off.

Instead of a custom special white screen, they used a virtual screen that was live-streaming Yabao's movements in real-time.

There were a few scattered people inside, all beast trainers playing NPC pets in the secret chamber.

Some beast trainers, worried about their pets, would accompany them backstage in the secret chamber, but most preferred to watch from outside.

As soon as Qiao Sang walked in, a girl in the back row stood up and waved, "Qiao Sang! Over here!"

After choosing the Lost Town secret chamber, she had contacted Fang Sisi via her phone, and sure enough, she was here.

Qiao Sang sat down next to Fang Sisi.

"Wow, you only told me after arriving, were you planning to surprise me?" Fang Sisi asked with a smile.

"Not at all, it was a spur of the moment decision." Qiao Sang replied honestly.

If Lost Town hadn’t been a single-pet secret chamber, she might not have even thought of bringing the cotton bug here.

Fang Sisi didn’t mind.

She gazed at Yabao on the large virtual screen and sighed, "Had I known Fire Fang Dog could evolve into such a cool form, I wouldn’t have minded it burning my hair, heck, I’d let it burn anything and still contract with one. What do you think about me contracting a Fire Fang Dog if I manage to fill the second page of my Beast Codex?"

When the news came out that Fire Fang Dogs could evolve into Flame Hounds, the ones most excited were naturally the beast trainers who owned Fire Fang Dogs, along with their friends and family.

When Fang Sisi saw the news, she immediately contacted Qiao Sang, and was one of the first to know that Qiao Sang’s Fire Fang Dog was the first to evolve into a Flame Hound.

After a moment of silence, Qiao Sang said, "You should really think it over. It's not just burning hair, it'll burn through your wallet too."

Fang Sisi: ...

On the screen, Yabao had just had his blindfold removed.

The surroundings were dark, with only faint red lights barely illuminating the area, just enough to prevent total darkness.

However, an eerie wind blew, and the shadows of objects swayed under the strange light, giving the place a spooky atmosphere.

As a fire-type pet, Yabao had a natural warmth and didn’t feel cold.

He twitched his ears as he looked at the only passage ahead and walked forward without hesitation.

Suddenly, something rolled over, making a loud noise in the otherwise silent space.

Yabao didn’t lower his head to investigate and continued moving forward.

The staff in the control room paused for a moment and then spoke into the intercom,

"Bite its leg."

"This is the Doppelgänger Puppet. Most pets that come here are scared out of their wits by it. My cotton bug normally won’t even move if I tell it to exercise, but the moment it saw this puppet, it sprinted 100 meters like a pro." Fang Sisi said with a laugh while watching Yabao on the screen.

"But the Flame Hound is a fire-type pet after all. Do you think it’ll just burn the puppet down?"

"Quite possible." Qiao Sang replied.

Pet secret chambers are different from those for humans; pets can use various skills to deal with obstacles and NPCs.

The chambers adjust the difficulty of the challenges based on the pet's level.

Though this shop wasn’t large, it still had secret chambers designed to challenge intermediate-level pets, as most beast trainers could nurture them with some effort.

To help Yabao overcome his fears, he needed to face them head-on, rather than being scared into running around.

Inside the secret chamber, in the dim light, a head covered in fur and sporting sharp fangs opened its eyes and mouth in response to the command from the intercom.

It lunged toward the red-and-white figure not far ahead.

Just as it was about to bite down, the red-and-white figure’s right hind leg suddenly kicked back, hitting the head dead center, sending it flying several meters away.

"Magog!"

Amidst a pitiful scream, the head rolled several times, stars spinning in its eyes. One fake tooth fell out, and a tuft of poor-quality fur came loose.

The staff in the control room froze for a moment before snapping back and shouting into the intercom, "Number 2, get ready! Number 2, get ready! The player is advancing."

In the observation room, Fang Sisi stared wide-eyed at the screen, unable to believe what she was seeing.

"Damn, are all fire-type pets this brave? And how did it kick with such precision? Does it have some kind of omniscient view?"

Qiao Sang was equally confused. This wasn’t what she had expected…

Yabao walked forward with a conflicted expression, his footsteps echoing loudly in the dark, accompanied by... voices.

"Number 2, get ready! The player is advancing."

"Copy that."

"I heard the pet playing today is the legendary Flame Hound. What do you think about asking its trainer for a photo after it's done?"

"Sure, let’s go together."

"Is the Doppelgänger Puppet alright? It still has more scenes to act in later."

"It’s fine, its body and limbs are already set up for the next part."

"Ghosty!"

"Don’t worry, Grudge Ball. Once we’re done with this chamber, I’ll take you out to eat."

"..."

The incessant chatter filled Yabao’s ears, leaving him bewildered.

Where was the promised eerie silence?

And that Doppelgänger Puppet from earlier, how could it scare anyone when its actions were announced beforehand with so much talking? How was he supposed to get scared and grow stronger like this?

After mulling it over, Yabao remembered what his trainer had said, followed by scenes from horror movies he had watched. His expression grew resolute again.

His trainer had mentioned that there were many ghost-type supernatural creatures here. Yabao couldn’t let his guard down!

"Yap!"

Yabao pumped himself up and kept walking forward.

At the end of the passage, the scene shifted dramatically.

Before him lay a small town street, shrouded in purple mist. The surrounding buildings were dilapidated, and the occasional mournful cry of crows added to the eerie atmosphere.

The door to the passage behind Yabao slowly and automatically closed.

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed as a distant house was violently shattered, and a woman covered in blood frantically rushed out.

Upon seeing Yabao, her eyes lit up, and she ran toward him, only to stumble and fall just before reaching him.

"Save me, save... me. Please! Take me away! I don’t want to die! I beg you!" She pleaded, her voice trembling with sobs as if Yabao were her only salvation.

She didn’t get up but extended a blood-stained hand toward Yabao.

"Yap..."

Yabao stared at the human in front of him, momentarily dazed. Even though he had heard voices earlier, her performance seemed so real...

The next second, a pool of sticky black liquid appeared beneath the woman, rising up to envelop her completely.

"Save..."

Before she could finish her words, the black liquid dragged her down into the ground, disappearing from sight.

Yabao stood still, troubled.

The acting was impressive, and the scene was frightening. If only there weren’t so many voices, it would’ve been perfect.

"Wow, Number 2’s getting better at this!"

"If you had to repeat the same lines and actions over a dozen times every day, you’d get good at it too... by the way, did Black Sludge not brush its teeth today? Feels like it’s got bad breath."

"Black Sludge! Black Sludge!"

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