Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

Chapter 21: The Eight-Tentacled Coral

"Hmph, this is my stop. I can't be bothered to argue with you." The square-faced man said as he turned to leave the bus. The young man standing to his right held a plastic bag.

The square-faced man pushed the young man aside and hurried toward the bus's rear door.

Qiao Sang noticed that his hand brushed against the young man's shoulder without touching anything else, yet the plastic bag made a rustling noise.

"Fire fang Dog, use Ember on his waist." Qiao Sang ordered directly.

Fire fang Dog was already in a state of high alert.

It had been irritated by this human for a while now. If its master hadn't been holding it back, it would have already unleashed its full arsenal on him.

Now that it had the command, it gathered all its energy and shot it out with full force.

The ember, usually the size of a baby's fist, grew as large as an adult's hand.

A sharp, piercing scream echoed throughout the entire bus.

The passengers were startled, and those just stepping onto the bus through the front door were so frightened that they backed away onto the platform.

"Driver, close the door!" Qiao Sang shouted at the driver.

The driver was stunned for a moment as he glanced at the situation in the rearview mirror.

A two-meter-long, white hydra with eight tentacles had suddenly appeared inside the bus. As it emerged, its tentacles dropped a pile of various items onto the floor.

"Driver, close the door!" Qiao Sang had to remind him again when she saw he hadn't moved.

"Oh, right!" The driver snapped out of it and hurriedly pressed the button to close the doors.

Once the door was closed, Qiao Sang focused her attention on what was happening in front of her.

What is this?

Despite cramming a lot of knowledge into her head recently, Qiao Sang still couldn't recognize the extraordinary creature in front of her.

Turning to the female student next to her, Qiao Sang asked, "What is this?"

"It's my phone!"

Qiao Sang: "..."

"And mine!"

"My Sand Fruit!"

"The necklace I bought for my girlfriend!"

"My height-increasing insoles!!!"

One by one, the passengers excitedly identified their belongings.

The square-faced man's expression darkened as he watched everything unfold.

It had all happened too suddenly. His Eight-Tentacled Coral had been injured, preventing him from getting off the bus in time. Now, the doors were closed, and all the stolen goods had spilled out.

It's all that girl's fault!

The square-faced man glared venomously at the girl with the Fire fang Dog.

If it hadn't been for that dog and this girl, how could he have failed this time?

Now it was too late. The passengers were all staring at him. If he tried to escape, he'd have to destroy the bus, which would definitely injure the people on board.

He knew the difference between the charges of theft and assault. The former might only result in a fine and a month or two in jail, while the latter could lead to several years or even decades in prison.

All he could do now was sit quietly and wait for the police to arrest him.

Seeing the square-faced man's expression turn sullen, Qiao Sang put away her still-unnamed extraordinary creature, showing that she had no intention of resisting.

"Everyone, hold him down! Don't let him escape!" Qiao Sang shouted.

She swung her fist at him. The square-faced man instinctively took two steps back, and the others, thinking he was trying to flee, swarmed him, pinning him to the ground.

Someone shouted, "You still dare to fight back?!"

The crowd, already furious, erupted. How dare he be so brazen after being caught stealing?

Instantly, punches and kicks rained down on him.

"I didn't do anything!" The square-faced man roared in anger.

But no one was listening to him. His voice was soon drowned out by the sound of blows landing on him.

Qiao Sang contributed eighteen kicks before she grew tired and sat down.

It wasn't clear how long had passed before the crowd dispersed.

The man lay on the ground like a dead pig, his face bruised and swollen, with claw marks of unknown origin.

His square face was now puffed up like a steamed bun, making him unrecognizable.

Fire fang Dog squeezed out of the crowd, blinking its moist eyes at Qiao Sang.

One person and one beast exchanged a knowing glance and smiled.

Someone had called the police, and the patrol cars arrived quickly.

The three officers who arrived couldn't recognize the man due to his disfigured face, but fortunately, he was still wearing his Beastmaster badge.

The police scanned the badge to confirm the man's identity.

"Who was the first to notice the theft?" one of the officers asked.

"It was her!" The female student raised Qiao Sang's hand as she answered.

The surrounding passengers nodded in agreement.

The officer approached Qiao Sang and gently said, "We need you to come to the police station to make a statement."

Qiao Sang hesitated, "My mom's waiting for me to come home for dinner."

The officer smiled, "It won't take long. This is a good deed, something to be proud of. Just call your mom and explain, she won't blame you."

Qiao Sang shook her head and refused, "Everyone here on the bus is a witness. You can ask them. I really need to get home first."

The officer persisted, "This man is Chen Jianhui, a repeat offender. We've had a reward out for his capture for some time. Since you caught him, you should claim the 50,000 Alliance Coins reward."

Qiao Sang was taken aback. There's a reward?

Immediately, she responded, "Making a statement is my duty. When do we go?"

The officer: "..."

As Qiao Sang was about to board the police car, the female student grabbed her arm. "My name is Bai Yunmiao. Can I add you as a friend?"

"Of course," Qiao Sang smiled and pulled out her phone to add her.

---

By the time Qiao Sang got home, it was already 8:48 PM.

Luckily, she had called the police to explain her situation to her mother, so when she returned, she was greeted with a warm welcome.

"You're home late; you must be tired. Come eat, I just reheated the food."

Qiao Sang was starving; the five skewers of lamb she had eaten hours ago hadn't been nearly enough. She sat down at the table and began eating ravenously.

"Fire fang Dog must be hungry too. Here, I made you a special nutritious dinner."

Her mother brought a specially prepared energy meal to Fire fang Dog with a smile.

Qiao Sang suddenly found her meal less appetizing. She stopped eating and anxiously looked over.

Fire fang Dog didn't notice her gaze. It barked at the energy meal and then happily dug in.

Qiao Sang breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, her worst fears hadn't come true...

After she finished eating, she noticed that Fire fang Dog had long since finished its meal and was wagging its tail, waiting for her.

Qiao Sang was a bit surprised.

Is Fire fang Dog's appetite bigger than usual?

She didn't dwell on it. She hugged Fire fang Dog and went to her room, opened her computer, and began searching for the unknown extraordinary creature from the bus.

Since she didn't know its name, she had to search by its appearance.

[Anyone know what kind of extraordinary creature is white, has eight tentacles, and can turn invisible?]

There are millions of extraordinary creatures in the world, and many share similar traits.

Qiao Sang spent over ten minutes filtering through the results before finding the answer.

[Eight-Tentacled Coral]