Chapter 76: Extortion

Most pet beast eggs are easy to recognize, except for a few that are extremely similar.

The egg on the treasure hunter's hand was gray with a yellow circle, clearly indicating that the pet beast inside was of the same species.

Qiao Sang was taken aback.

Could it be that it, like the previous yellow bud flower, wanted the treasure hunter inside the egg to be its pet beast?

However, she had never considered a ghost-type pet beast.

Not to mention new beast masters, even some professional beast masters dare not contract ghost-type pet beasts.

Unlike the fiery-tempered fire-type pet beasts, which are straightforward and easily recognizable when angry, ghost-type pet beasts show no outward signs of anger.

But they are relentless in their methods of tormenting people behind the scenes, which depend on their abilities.

If it's a treasure hunter, it would definitely do things like stealing toilet paper or clothes while you're in the bathroom or shower.

Qiao Sang pretended not to see it and walked past it.

The treasure hunter's grin widened, and it nodded at a shadow in the upper right corner.

The shadow received the message and signaled to two other shadows, after which the three shadows flew off in different directions.

Qiao Sang hadn't taken two steps when the treasure hunter darted in front of her again.

Before she could try to walk around it again, the treasure hunter moved the pet beast egg to its left hand.

Its limbs were very short, with three short fingers on each hand.

The treasure hunter held the pet beast egg in its left hand and extended one short finger in front of Qiao Sang, wiggling it.

Qiao Sang was confused.

What is this?

The price of this pet beast egg?

100,000 or 1,000,000?

Just as Qiao Sang was trying to understand what it meant, the treasure hunter's short finger jabbed the pet beast egg forcefully.

Qiao Sang: "…!"

A hole appeared in the pet beast egg, and a short, gray finger emerged. Then the egg began to crack from the hole.

The pet beast egg quickly split into two halves, revealing a 20-centimeter miniature treasure hunter blinking its eyes at Qiao Sang.

Two seconds later.

"Treasure~"

The little treasure hunter opened its arms and cooed in a coquettish manner.

Qiao Sang stood there, stunned.

This can't be mistaking her for its mother, can it…

Seeing that Qiao Sang didn't pick it up, the little treasure hunter pouted and tears streamed down its face.

The treasure hunter smiled triumphantly and then pouted as well, wailing loudly.

"Treasure!"

"Treasure!"

"Treasure!"

People around them started to look over.

They saw a large and a small treasure hunter crying their eyes out to a young girl.

It was hard not to connect the dots.

Qiao Sang, seeing the two crying treasure hunters, didn't know whether to leave or stay.

The little treasure hunter had just hatched and hadn't absorbed much nutrition, so its crying was genuine, as if it had been greatly wronged.

After a while, its voice became weaker, as if it had no more strength to cry.

Qiao Sang, in a moment of impulse, put down the Fire Fang Dog and picked up the little treasure hunter.

Fire Fang Dog: "…"

The little treasure hunter immediately stopped crying, but its eyes still welled up with tears.

The treasure hunter was still crying loudly.

Soon, a man with yellow hair, a staff member, came over and asked, "What's going on?"

The treasure hunter floated in front of the staff member, showing him the broken shell while glancing at Qiao Sang, sobbing dramatically.

"Treasure!"

"Treasure, treasure!"

"Treasure, treasure!"

Qiao Sang: "…"

There was no mistaking it.

This treasure hunter was trying to extort her!

For a moment, she felt the little treasure hunter in her hands was burning hot.

The yellow-haired staff member watched the treasure hunter's performance calmly.

He had worked here for three years and knew a lot about the pet beasts in the base, if not everything.

Especially the pet beasts that couldn't be sold and remained in the base…

Ghost-type pet beasts were expensive and had peculiar personalities, so few beast masters were willing to spend a lot of money to contract them.

As the least popular pet beasts, they often used various methods to force the beast masters they found appealing to contract them or their kin.

The treasure hunter in front of him had done this more than once, always accusing the beast master of breaking the egg that was about to hatch.

Most pet beasts form a bond with the first creature they see upon hatching, developing a liking for it.

The treasure hunter was no exception.

This treasure hunter specifically targeted female beast masters because most women are easily moved and can't bear to see a young pet crying.

If the female beast master happened to have the means to buy it, the treasure hunter's plan would succeed.

The base was also happy to see this, as they would always take the opportunity to push the young pet out for sale whenever the treasure hunter did this.

After all, if it worked, it would be a win-win situation.

"Miss, can we talk outside?" the yellow-haired staff member asked.

Seeing more and more people gathering, Qiao Sang agreed.

The two of them went to an office, where a middle-aged man in his fifties, dressed in work attire, was sitting.

The middle-aged man understood everything as soon as he saw the large and small treasure hunters.

Although the two staff members knew the truth, the yellow-haired one still pretended to report the situation.

The middle-aged man cleared his throat and said, "Miss, this pet beast egg has already been reserved by one of our customers. It's not good for us to sell it like this."

Most beast masters who buy pet beast eggs want the pet to see them first upon hatching. If the first thing the pet sees is someone else, it's likely to be returned.

Qiao Sang understood but didn't feel she should take responsibility for this.

"You can check the surveillance. I didn't break the egg; this treasure hunter deliberately poked it in front of me." Qiao Sang pointed to the treasure hunter beside her.

"Treasure!"

"Treasure, treasure!"

The treasure hunter shook its head, explaining with a look of being wronged.

The middle-aged man said, "Let's check the surveillance then."

He knew the treasure hunter was well-prepared.

Sure enough, the three surveillance cameras that could capture that area showed the faces of three ghost-type pet beasts during that time.

Qiao Sang turned to look at the innocent-looking treasure hunter.

There were actually accomplices?!

"Miss, are you here to buy a pet beast?" the middle-aged man asked, not mentioning the surveillance.

"I'm here to buy a pet beast egg," Qiao Sang replied.

The middle-aged man's face lit up with a hint of joy but didn't speak.

Qiao Sang continued, "I want to buy a Cherry Cottonwood egg."

The middle-aged man's expression froze, and he said sincerely, "Let me be frank with you. Ghost-type pet beasts are easier to sell as eggs, but once they hatch, it's very hard to sell them. The treasure hunter is stronger than the Cherry Cottonwood. Look how much the little treasure hunter you're holding likes you. Why don't you consider changing your choice?"

This statement was partly true and partly false. The latter part was true, but the former was not.

Ghost-type pet beasts are hard to sell even as eggs…

Not only because of their personalities, but also because of their price.

Ghost-type pet beasts are elusive and hard to obtain.

Moreover, they are very powerful, only being weak against ghost-type and dark-type pet beasts, making their prices naturally higher than those of ordinary pet beasts.

However, in the difficult situation of selling them, discounts are often given.

But even with discounts, few beast masters are willing to buy them…

Qiao Sang looked down.

The little treasure hunter was blinking its watery eyes at her, as if afraid she would let go.

Qiao Sang's heart trembled.

Illusion, illusion, this is all an illusion…