Beast Taming: Starting From Zero

What?! There’s something like this?!

Qiao Sang was startled, this was the first time she’d heard of something like this!

Did that mean she could see invisible ghost-type pet beasts in the future too?

Little Treasure floated over to the middle-aged man, waved a paw in front of him, and even made a silly face.

The middle-aged man’s mouth twitched.

"Your ghost-type pet beast is quite cute."

"Xun xun!"

Startled, Little Treasure immediately floated back to Qiao Sang’s side and let out a surprised cry with wide eyes.

This guy really can see me!

"It’s called a Ghost Ring Phantom. It’s my pet beast."

"Ghost Ring Phantom..." The middle-aged man repeated the name thoughtfully, muttering:

"I’ve never even heard of this ghost-type beast before..."

"It’s from Blue Star." Qiao Sang said.

The man suddenly looked enlightened and nodded:

"Ah, that explains it."

Then something seemed to occur to him. He looked at Qiao Sang and asked, “Are you here for the competition?”

Qiao Sang responded with a simple "mm."

A smile appeared on the man’s face. In a tone like he was talking to a younger family member, he said:

“Good luck, then.”

With that, he turned and walked toward the backstage area.

If his ghost-type pet can give back that much feedback, he must be really powerful. Could he be one of the judges? Qiao Sang brushed off the thought and also headed backstage.

As soon as she entered, she heard the sounds of casual chatter.

People were gathered in small groups, and with one glance around, she saw that they were all adults. Many pet beasts she had never seen before were also present, but just from their appearance, it was easy to tell they were all ghost-types.

Qiao Sang’s arrival drew many glances.

Almost everyone participating with ghost-type pets was an adult. A teenage girl like her was a rare sight.

Qiao Sang was used to being stared at like this.

She casually found a seat. When she turned her head, she spotted the man who had identified Little Treasure earlier.

He was chatting with others like a regular participant, not at all like a judge.

Noticing her gaze, the middle-aged man turned, saw her, and gave a small nod of greeting.

“You know Mr. Barnard?” A woman with light makeup and black hair sat beside her and asked casually.

“Mr. Barnard?” Qiao Sang showed no attempt to hide her confusion.

“The guy who just greeted you.” The woman clarified.

“Don’t know him.” Qiao Sang shook her head.

“We only exchanged a few words.”

Then a thought struck her, and she asked, “Is he competing too?”

The woman laughed, as if not surprised by the question:

“He’s a bit of an oddball in our ghost-type circle. He’ll enter any competition involving ghost-type pet beasts, even the lowest-tier ones.”

Qiao Sang had only one thought:

Crap. He’s a competitor? Then he’s definitely taking one of the top three spots...

“But don’t these competitions have restrictions? If he’s that strong, wouldn’t there be a lot he can’t enter?” Qiao Sang asked.

“You really don’t know him at all, huh?” The woman said.

“All of his contracted pets are ghost-types. He’s got both high-level and low-level ones. As long as the contest doesn’t limit the age or rank of the beastmaster, he can enter. Any contest that limits the pet’s level, he has a match for it.”

She waved her hand dismissively:

“What can you do, he just has that many ghost-type pets.”

All ghost-types? Qiao Sang was stunned.

Sure, she knew some people preferred a specific attribute and contracted only that type, but this was her first time meeting someone who had only ghost-types.

At that moment, a large virtual screen backstage lit up, showing a live feed of the main hall.

A host in a black suit appeared onscreen alongside a ghost-type pet beast that was purple all over, had a horn on its head, and was also dressed in a suit.

“Welcome everyone to the Ghost-Type Pet Beast Negative Energy Collection Contest!” The host announced, holding a mic.

“This year, we have 134 participating beastmasters, all prepped and ready backstage!”

“We’ll be broadcasting live as each beastmaster works with their ghost-type pets to collect negative energy.”

“The entire process will be under live supervision!”

“Everyone here will serve as the judges!”

“Krk!” The ghost-type pet next to him echoed with a shout.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

Watching from backstage, Qiao Sang looked at the screen and asked:

“What exactly are they supervising?”

The woman was briefly stunned.

“You don’t know the rules?”

Qiao Sang thought for a moment and replied, “I only know the contest lasts three hours and the top three collectors of negative energy will be selected.”

So she's a total newbie... Did she just form a contract with a ghost-type pet and sign up immediately? The woman glanced at the girl and the more she thought about it, the more she believed it.

She was already regretting striking up a conversation…

Newbies always ask the most questions…

Still, outwardly, the woman patiently explained:

“Normally, in 1st District, pet beasts aren’t allowed to absorb emotional energy at will. But for contests like this, we get special approval from the government. The audience is here to supervise, to make sure no one secretly creates negative emotions or has their pet absorb other types of energy.”

“See the input devices in their hands? If someone breaks the rules, anyone can report their contestant number. After a review, the violator will be disqualified.”

Contestant number? Like the one printed on the wristband at check-in?

Earlier, staff had handed out wristbands and emotion energy collection bottles.

“But... do you really need that many people?” Qiao Sang said, looking at the packed hall on-screen.

The woman replied nonchalantly:

“There are as many screens as there are contestants. Over time, the feed will shrink, filtering out the ones not performing well. The audience loves it, makes them feel like they're part of the event.”

These organizers really know how to spice things up, Qiao Sang thought.

“Contestants backstage, can you hear me?” The host looked into the camera.

At the same time, the massive screen behind him showed the backstage feed.

The camera panned over, and Qiao Sang saw herself onscreen.

The beast masters backstage gave polite, if lukewarm, smiles to the camera.

The host kept the momentum going:

“Ghost-type beastmasters are as quiet as ever, huh. Well then, let’s not waste time. This year’s competition area is limited to Jintong District. Anyone who leaves the district will be disqualified.”

“During the competition, you're allowed to interfere with or challenge opponents. But you may not create incidents or collect anything but negative energy.”

“No other pet beasts may be summoned, only the ghost-type pet entered in the competition.”

“It’s now 12:59 PM 1st District time. You have one minute to prepare. The contest lasts three hours. Please return by 4 PM sharp.”

The host smiled wider:

“From here on out, the stage is yours.”

“Krk!” The ghost-type pet echoed again.

The backstage screen shut off.

At that moment...

Qiao Sang saw the large doors slowly open.

Over a hundred people rushed out instantly, including the woman who had been chatting with her.

Only a handful stayed behind, moving slowly.

Qiao Sang sat silently for a few seconds, then put on her numbered wristband labeled 113, pulled out her phone, and opened the navigation app.

“You’re not going?” An older man beside her asked.

“Just checking the boundaries of Jintong District.” Qiao Sang replied without looking up.

Then she casually asked, “Aren’t you going?”

The man gave a mysterious smile.

“This hall is within the Jintong District and there are thousands of people here. Plenty of emotional energy sources.”

Qiao Sang suddenly looked up.

---

At the same time, the massive screen in the hall was now split into over a hundred sections, each showing a contestant’s current situation.

Some audience members noticed a few screens still showing backstage feeds and started talking:

“Here we go again. Every year there’s always a few trying to milk our negative energy.”

“Not me, I’ve been happy as hell lately.”

“Hey, I lost a ton at the pet beast arena yesterday. If a ghost-type pet wants my emotions, I say go for it.”

“Absorb you just so you can gamble again? Better not.”

“Huh? That ghost-type pet’s so tiny. Don’t think I’ve ever seen it before.”

They were talking about none other than Little Treasure.

Qiao Sang had walked out a minute earlier.

Though the hall was packed with thousands of people, they all knew the drill and what was going on. Under this godlike surveillance, collecting much energy here wasn’t realistic.

Qiao Sang had already considered all this. With limited time, she needed to go where negative emotions were thickest.

The hospital.

Hospitals are full of patients, and life-and-death situations happen every day, generating a ton of negative energy.

She called a ride and headed to the second-closest top-tier hospital within Jintong District.

Others were probably thinking the same.

And Qiao Sang was right.

Nearly half the camera feeds now showed contestants heading to the nearest hospital.

1st District was well-regulated. There were no wild pet beasts wandering the streets. The cab only took 16 minutes to reach "Frederbit General Hospital."

Qiao Sang quickly paid and walked into the hospital.

“Little Treasure, it’s up to you now.” Qiao Sang said.

“Xun xun~”

Little Treasure gave a confident cry, closed his eyes, and twitched his nose.