Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

But stealing…

Qiao Sang gave Ye Jingwen a strange look, thinking, So, this is the kind of person you are…

Ye Jingwen clearly read Qiao Sang’s thoughts from her expression.

“It’s not what you think! I just need you to help me steal a Magnemouse.” Ye Jingwen quickly explained.

Qiao Sang was taken aback, then asked in surprise, “Steal a pet? Did you find the nest of a wild Magnemouse?”

In the rural areas, the management of wild extraordinary creatures isn’t as strict as in the city.

And since Qitang Town is near the mountains and water, wild extraordinary creatures frequently appear.

Without resources or beastmasters, these wild extraordinary creatures mostly stay in their initial forms, making it hard for them to evolve further.

Since they pose little threat, the local government doesn’t intervene much. If someone reports it, they’ll act, but otherwise, they won\'t add extra work for themselves by patrolling.

This has led some people to smell a business opportunity.

Normally, wild pet capture happens in secret realms. Beastmasters capture wild pets not just for contracts, but also for trade.

If Ye Jingwen found the nest of a Magnemouse and wanted Qiao Sang to catch a few for sale, it made sense. The League allows only beastmasters to sell wild pets.

And even if ordinary people find other ways to capture wild pets, those creatures could easily escape, posing safety risks.

But Qiao Sang was still confused. If they were catching wild pets, why call it stealing?

It also made sense why Ye Jingwen didn’t ask Ye Ranran for help since government employees can’t participate in pet trade.

But what about her beastmaster father? Why not involve him?

Before Qiao Sang could figure it out, Ye Jingwen explained, “You’re overthinking it. I’m not asking you to steal from a Magnemouse nest. My friend caught a Magnemouse on the mountain, and I want you to steal it back to release it.”

Qiao Sang: ...

Ye Jingwen continued, “A few days ago, I went up the mountain to look for Barbicorn Grass and ran into a web-wrapped spider. It was a Magnemouse that saved me. If it weren’t for it, I’d probably be in the hospital right now.”

Qiao Sang raised her eyebrows, signaling her to go on.

“So I told my friend about it when I got back, and he suggested buying some food that Magnemouse like to go thank it. But when we went a couple of days ago, just two days ago, he brought his dad along.”

At this, Ye Jingwen’s tone turned angry. “He lied to me! Said we were going to thank the Magnemouse, but they went to catch it instead.”

Her tone didn’t sound like just a complaint about a friend, but rather the way one would criticize a scumbag.

Ye Jingwen shifted to a guilty tone.

“If that Magnemouse hadn’t trusted me, it would never have been lured out so easily by some food.”

She could still remember the look in the Magnemouse’s eyes when it saw her.

Qiao Sang was silent for a moment, then asked, “This friend of yours… he’s not your boyfriend, is he?”

Ye Jingwen: !!!

Seeing Ye Jingwen’s shocked expression, Qiao Sang instantly understood and advised earnestly, “It’s not good to date too early.”

She had thought Ye Jingwen was fully focused on her studies, but it turned out she was balancing both studying and dating…

“He’s not my boyfriend anymore.” Ye Jingwen retorted.

This indirectly confirmed their previous relationship.

Little Treasure-Seeking Ghost, who had been listening all along, took out a bottle of milk from his storage ring just as Ye Jingwen finished speaking.

“Xun~” (Seek will now be replaced with Xun)

Ye Jingwen was startled.

She glanced at the bottle, which had the words for baby pets on it, and politely declined, “Thanks, but I’m not thirsty.”

After refusing the milk, Ye Jingwen said seriously, “Qiao Sang, can you help me steal the Magnemouse? I don’t know anyone else who can help.”

She shot a glance at Little Treasure-Seeking Ghost, who was putting the milk back into his storage ring.

“Yayap!”

“Yap!”

Yabao, holding a bottle of milk in his left paw, patted his chest with his right, as if saying, Leave it to me.

Qiao Sang responded sternly, “We’re not stealing anything.”

Ye Jingwen looked instantly disappointed.

There were some things she hadn’t mentioned. If Zhang Huai could find a proper beastmaster to contract the Magnemouse, she could accept it.

But he’d told her that his father had already found a buyer—a gourmet chef.

The fate of the Magnemouse in the hands of a gourmet chef was obvious.

That’s the part she couldn’t bear.

She had already resigned herself to the situation, but then her cousin returned to town.

If her cousin only had Fire Fang Dog, she wouldn’t have brought it up. But since she also contracted a Treasure-Seeking Ghost, it gave Ye Jingwen the idea of stealing the Magnemouse.

“This isn’t stealing, it’s releasing it.” Qiao Sang clarified.

Ye Jingwen’s eyes lit up, and she excitedly nodded in agreement. “Yes, it’s not stealing! It’s setting it free!”

Qiao Sang wasn’t exactly overflowing with kindness, but since it involved her family, she naturally leaned toward helping.

However, as easy as it sounded, executing it wouldn’t be so simple.

First of all, relying on Yabao was out of the question, as it only knows how to fight head-on.

The task of releasing the Magnemouse would have to fall to Little Treasure-Seeking Ghost.

But the Treasure-Seeking Ghost was only three days old and hadn’t used any skills yet. Letting it act independently felt a bit risky...

---

11:20 PM.

Qiao Sang and Ye Jingwen rode their bikes to an apartment complex in the town center.

Yabao was already asleep, safely stored in the Beastmaster Codex.

Little Treasure-Seeking Ghost, being a ghost-type pet, was wide awake and more energetic at night.

“This is the place?” Qiao Sang asked.

“Yes.” Ye Jingwen nodded.

“Xun~”

The Treasure-Seeking Ghost let out a soft call, though there was no trace of it in sight.

Only Qiao Sang, who had contracted it, knew exactly where it was and nodded in a certain direction.

Elsewhere, in a dimly lit room, the sound of gnawing echoed, occasionally accompanied by crackles of electricity.

Magnemouse looked at its unchanged cage with a sense of despair.

It stared listlessly out the window, wondering if its mate would move on to someone else, now that it had disappeared...

The fruit on the mountain would ripen in a few days. Would it ever get to taste it again…?

Humans, it was all because of humans!

The food they used to lure it out, Magnemouse hadn’t even had the chance to taste it! What a loss!

The more it thought about it, the hungrier it felt. Magnemouse furiously bit into the metal cage, channeling its frustration into sheer force.

Suddenly, a bottle of milk appeared in front of it, floating in mid-air.

Magnemouse froze, still biting the cage.

It suddenly realized something and whipped around to look at its tail.

Its tail had somehow turned into a lightning bolt.

Oh no! A ghost-type creature!