Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

Chapter 20: The Bus Door Opens

The bus swerved slightly.

The driver forced himself to remain calm as he drove, but the sweat trickling down his forehead betrayed him.

"How long until the next stop?" A voice broke the silence.

"About five more minutes." Someone replied.

The bus fell silent again.

"Can you let the Fire fang Dog sniff your scent? Maybe it can track down that thing." Qiao Sang suddenly suggested.

Before the female student could respond, the man with a square face standing next to her sneered, "Even if there's a wild ghost-type extraordinary creature on the bus, are you sure you want to look for it while we're driving? What if it gets angry? Can you handle the consequences?"

"Yeah, let's wait until the bus stops at the next station." Someone else added.

"This is something that needs to be addressed by the patrol department; we shouldn't complicate things." Another voice chimed in.

"I think it's 669."

"…That’s the control department."

The passengers on the bus were engaged in a back-and-forth discussion.

"It’s not a ghost-type." Qiao Sang said.

"How do you know it’s not?" Someone questioned.

"You say you heard something, but then you say it’s not. Are you messing with us?" The square-faced man shouted.

Qiao Sang looked over at him and smiled.

"Uncle, I think you've been targeting me since the beginning."

The square-faced man widened his eyes and shouted. "I'm only 24!"

"Uncle, you’re a bit loud." Qiao Sang said as she rubbed her ears.

The square-faced man glared at her fiercely, his expression menacing. If it weren't for the Fire fang Dog in front of her, he might have lashed out by now.

"Why is it not a ghost-type?" The female student asked.

"That lady's pet is a Magnet Mouse. If there were any ghost-type extraordinary creatures nearby, its tail would be raised like lightning, but it’s currently hanging straight down." Qiao Sang explained, pointing to the lady's pet on her shoulder.

The female student paused, recalling that there was some truth to that.

The Magnet Mouse can detect magnetic fields and sense unique magnetic fluctuations.

Ghost-type extraordinary creatures have distinct magnetic fields that would trigger the Magnet Mouse's temporal lobe, causing its tail to raise.

However, it was hard for her to connect this obscure knowledge from textbooks to real life.

"Right, my Magnet Mouse does indeed behave like that," The lady sitting nearby nodded.

The female student, hearing this, no longer hesitated. "Go ahead and sniff."

Qiao Sang nodded at the Fire fang Dog.

The Fire fang Dog obediently approached the female student and began to sniff her.

Qiao Sang noticed the square-faced man's facial muscles tensed instantly.

The Fire fang Dog sniffed around before barking at the square-faced man.

"Shut up, you mutt!" The square-faced man growled.

"Yap!"

The Fire fang Dog's fur bristled, its limbs tensed, and its sharp teeth were fully bared, clearly enraged by the man.

The square-faced man was startled but held his ground, not backing down.

He glanced at the girl holding the Fire fang Dog, hoping she would rein in her pet.

Instead, he found her expressionless gaze fixed on him, her cold eyes more intimidating than the Fire fang Dog itself…

Qiao Sang felt a sense of calm wash over her. She slowly patted the Fire fang Dog's back, trying to calm it down.

She couldn't strike first. The League explicitly prohibits beast tamers from using their pets to attack ordinary citizens.

Even if they wanted to retaliate, they couldn't be so blatant about it; there were too many witnesses on the bus.

This man was clearly suspicious. When she mentioned that the Fire fang Dog sensed something, it was most reactive towards him, and the Fire fang Dog detected a similar scent on him and the female student.

But there was no way he could have caused something to appear on someone else and then disappear so suddenly.

In a public bus, people engaging in shady behavior typically had ulterior motives, whether financial or otherwise.

That thing would have made the Fire fang Dog unable to sense it, and the female student also didn’t notice anything. If it had made contact with their bodies, they would surely react.

It wasn’t for lust.

It must be for money.

"Did you lose anything?" Qiao Sang turned to the female student and asked.

The female student paused, then began checking her bag and pockets. After a couple of seconds, she exclaimed, "Oh no, my phone is missing!"

Just as Qiao Sang suspected.

The other passengers on the bus started checking their belongings too.

"My phone is gone too!"

"My wallet is missing!"

"And the necklace I bought for my girlfriend is gone!"

"Where’s my height-increasing insole??!!"

"My pet's Sandfruit is missing too!!!"

After the checks, a third of the people on the bus realized their belongings were missing.

Qiao Sang keenly noticed that those reporting missing items were mainly seated in the middle of the bus.

Looking at the square-faced man, her suspicions solidified.

Seeing her gaze, the square-faced man’s face turned ashen. He grit his teeth and said, "My phone is missing too!"

Qiao Sang: "…"

"Ugh... I can’t be separated from my pet for even a second..."

At that moment, a loud ringtone suddenly erupted from the square-faced man’s pocket.

The man: "…"

All eyes turned toward him.

He awkwardly chuckled and said, "Oh, I found it; it was just on me the whole time."

Qiao Sang asked, "Are you a beast tamer?"

The square-faced man’s expression darkened; he hadn’t thought of how to respond.

"He is! He’s wearing a beast tamer badge!" The female student exclaimed, realizing the man’s odd behavior.

The League issues corresponding badges to registered beast tamers. For example, a level F beast tamer has a white badge with the League's emblem and an "F" symbol.

Some people like to wear them, while others do not, and those who don’t typically have lower ranks.

The square-faced man before her was prominently displaying a gray badge, indicating he was an E-level beast tamer.

This meant he had at least two intermediate pets.

"Would you mind showing us what your pets are?" Qiao Sang asked kindly.

The square-faced man wanted to refuse, but all eyes on the bus were on him.

"Show us your pets!"

"Yeah, what are you afraid of?"

"Weren't you just being all tough? Speak up!"

"Is there something wrong with your pets?"

The square-faced man's expression grew increasingly grim, his already contorted features tightening further as sweat soaked his gray tank top.

Just as he was at a loss for how to respond…

"Yonglin Station is here. Please take your belongings and exit the bus from the rear door."

The voice of the electronic announcement echoed.

The bus doors opened.