Qiao Sang parked her bicycle by the roadside, took a photo to mark the location, and then joined this ride-sharing flight.
The Great-Winged Tip-Sparrow, an evolved form of the Lapis Tip-Sparrow, is roughly 2.5 meters in size.
There is no issue with a Beast Tamer riding a flying-type pet, but if they want to carry a passenger, they must have a flight license.
The Air Management Bureau has clear regulations regarding flying-type pets carrying passengers.
Flying-type pets between 1.5 and 2 meters are two-person mounts.
Flying-type pets between 2 and 2.5 meters are three-person mounts.
Those between 2.5 and 3 meters can carry four people.
The Great-Winged Tip-Sparrow hovered right on the line between the three-person and four-person mount standards.
Pets of this size that sit right on the threshold must go to the Air Management Bureau every year to have their exact measurements tested.
However, many flying-type pets that didn't quite meet the mark but sat right on the line would fly overloaded.
Qiao Sang was generally opposed to such overloading.
But circumstances change.
She didn't dare ask if this Great-Winged Tip-Sparrow was overloaded, for fear that it actually was...
Along the way, the middle-aged uncle didn't stop chatting for a second, rambling on and on.
At first, the two young people were cold-faced and reluctant to respond for some unknown reason, but under the uncle's offensive, they eventually exchanged a few words.
Through the conversation, Qiao Sang learned that these two were also heading to Jinsong Village to participate in the second leg of the race, and she finally relaxed completely.
"I feel like the prize for first place individual is better than the prize for first place team. If I didn't have to earn money to support my family, I'd definitely give it a try," the middle-aged uncle said.
Qiao Sang had been listening to them, and upon hearing this, she couldn't help but ask, "What is the prize for first place individual this time?"
Third Uncle had joined the marathon specifically aiming for first place individual.
Furthermore, the prize he wanted overlapped with what his original teammates wanted, which was why he stopped teaming up; it was clear that the first-place individual prize was indeed very popular.
Third Uncle earned money alone to support a large family.
He had two pets to raise, his eldest son was attending a Beast Tamer University—which was a time of heavy spending—and the Spirit Plant Master certification Ye Jingwen wanted to pursue was also an expensive major. Looking at the numerous spirit plants in the backyard, it was evident that a lot of money had been spent recently.
For a moment, Qiao Sang imagined various prizes.
Cash, spirit plants, several crates of pet energy food—all practical things.
"The latest photobook of God Ya and his pet, taken just now during this session of the Interstellar Cup. It's a first edition; I don't even know how our tiny broken town got a hold of it," the young man replied.
Qiao Sang: "..."
She wanted to go back...
...
By the time they arrived at the second leg handover point in Jinsong Village, many people had already gathered there.
After registering at the athlete re-inspection port, Qiao Sang took Fire-Fang Dog to the designated location—the village entrance.
"Just run with the main group. You remember the Swamp-Howl Crocodile, right? The one from this morning with the hard skin, yellow color, and huge mouth that greeted you," Qiao Sang said worriedly.
"Ya."
Fire-Fang Dog patted its chest with its paw, looking as if everything was under control.
"If you get tired, there are tables with water along the road; just take some then," Qiao Sang instructed.
"Ya."
Fire-Fang Dog nodded.
Actually, it preferred drinking milk when tired, but since its Beast Tamer didn't mention it, there probably was only water.
After saying everything she needed to, Qiao Sang stepped off the track.
Since the pets were the ones competing, the Beast Tamers could only wait on the sides of the track.
There were 233 teams participating in this marathon relay, totaling 699 Beast Tamers and 1,398 pets.
About two hundred pets stood densely packed at the village entrance, including some high-level pets.
Even so, Fire-Fang Dog was not ignored while standing among them; its unique sunglasses and flame-like fur drew the attention of many.
"Whose Fire-Fang Dog is this?"
"My god, this red pet is so cool!"
"Looking at the color and appearance, it seems to be a fire-type pet."
"It feels similar to the champion pet from the Baixin Competition in the city a while ago."
Qiao Sang turned her head. She hadn't expected there to be someone here who had watched the Baixin Competition; looking closer, it was a child about ten years old.
Good kid, you've got an eye for this.
Qiao Sang praised him inwardly.
Time passed bit by bit.
Thirteen minutes later, a rumbling sound approached from the distance.
"Xun!"
Little Treasure-Ghost pointed in the direction of the sound and cried out excitedly.
Qiao Sang looked in that direction and froze on the spot. She rubbed her eyes in disbelief, almost thinking she was hallucinating.
She saw a brown, shelled pet... rolling over.
Yes, rolling...
The brown shelled pet kept rolling. Just as Qiao Sang thought it was a pet that had accidentally wandered onto the track, a man's voice shouted from the side: "Here it is, here it is! You can stop now!"
Only then did the brown shelled pet stop rolling, slowly extending its head and limbs.
On its right front paw was the competition number A112, and around its neck was a yellow relay band.
Qiao Sang was dazed. It was actually a Twin-Tailed Land Tortoise...
This was a competing pet?
Isn't a marathon specifically for running?!
Why is it... rolling!
This Twin-Tailed Land Tortoise had clearly undergone professional training; after rolling for so long, it didn't feel dizzy at all. It steadily handed the yellow relay band to a Six-Tentacle Snail.
The next scene completely gave Qiao Sang a new understanding of the marathon relay.
The Six-Tentacle Snail, now wearing the yellow relay band, used three of its flesh-colored tentacles to spray a viscous liquid onto the ground.
Then, it crawled onto this viscous liquid.
The liquid made the ground incredibly smooth, and as soon as the Six-Tentacle Snail touched it, it slid forward several meters.
Subsequently, it slid forward while spraying mucus, moving so fast that its figure vanished in an instant.
Qiao Sang watched all this open-mouthed; what was happening before her eyes was completely different from the marathon in her memory.
Right...
This is a pet marathon...
It's normal for it to be different from a human marathon...
She had always assumed this marathon competition was a race of running on land, swimming in water, and flying in the sky.
She didn't expect it could be played like this...
Most events held in society were Beast Battles or Beauty and Coordination competitions; not everyone knew the rules of other competitions with narrower audiences.
She had taken the rules of the marathon relay for granted this time and hadn't bothered to research them seriously.
Qiao Sang looked at Fire-Fang Dog, who was wearing sunglasses with a face full of confidence, and suddenly felt a bit of regret.
If other pets were using these fancy tricks, her baby Ya, who just blindly ran with its legs, definitely couldn't compete. Would it end up in last place...
With the first relay team finished, the second relay pet soon approached.
It was a Desert-Tail Fox. It came jogging over, panting heavily, without utilizing any special traits or skills.
But perhaps because it saw the handover point.
In the next second, its tail, over two meters long, glowed with an earthy light, and a pile of floating sand appeared beneath its limbs, while a narrow path made of sand formed on the ground ahead.
The floating sand lifted the Desert-Tail Fox, and it slid down the narrow path until it reached the handover point.
Then, it took off the yellow relay band from its neck and handed it to the sunglasses-wearing Fire-Fang Dog.
Qiao Sang was shocked.
Holy crap! The second one to arrive was actually Ye Ranran's Desert-Tail Fox!
(End of Chapter)