It turned out that the others had come specifically to interview her, which was quite awkward...
At that moment, a slightly plump middle-aged man wearing a white police uniform walked in, followed by two young officers in blue uniforms.
"You must be Qiao Sang. Truly successful at such a young age, to be able to remain calm in the face of danger and bring an A-rank wanted criminal to justice." The middle-aged man in the white uniform approached her with a smile.
"This is Director Pan of our Hanggang City Public Security Bureau," the male officer in the blue uniform on the left introduced.
Qiao Sang froze for a moment. Before she had a chance to speak, Director Pan smiled and said
"Several media outlets have come to report on this feat. We will certainly ensure they promote it truthfully, so everyone knows that Hanggang has produced a young female hero like you."
The beautiful reporter chimed in appropriately, "I will definitely report it well."
Qiao Sang: "..."
With things put that way, what else could she say?
It was two hours later by the time she left the police station.
The reporter friends were far too enthusiastic; Qiao Sang felt she couldn't quite handle it.
Questions came one after another. They didn't just ask about how she subdued the A-rank criminal, Huang Mingshan, but also about Yabao.
However, it was understandable. A while ago, photos of the Fire-Fang Dog's new form had been leaked, but they weren't high-definition, so the news was still a hot topic.
Any pet beast that looked like the Fire-Fang Dog's new form would certainly attract attention upon appearing in public.
Qiao Sang didn't hide anything; since it was something that would be known sooner or later, she spoke truthfully.
Who knew these reporters would go absolutely wild...
If she hadn't later recalled Yabao into the Beast Codex, those looks and that commotion made it feel as if they were about to eat it alive.
It had to be said that news media workers were truly... dedicated... for the sake of a story... they didn't even fear fire-type pet beasts like normal people do...
Upon reaching a corner, Qiao Sang summoned Yabao from the Beast Codex.
Yabao blinked, stunned by the surrounding environment as soon as it emerged.
Where were the people? The microphones? The cameras?
"It's okay now, we're out," Qiao Sang said, seeing Yabao looking around.
"Ya."
Yabao breathed a sigh of relief.
It hadn't looked in a mirror or worn sunglasses today; with so many cameras pointed at it, it was truly afraid they would capture its ugly side. Fortunately, they were out now.
Just then, the ground suddenly writhed.
A pet beast about 50 centimeters long, covered in brownish-gray short fur with short, rounded ears and a dark black stripe on its forehead, appeared before it.
"Ya!"
Yabao was startled and instinctively wanted to spray sparks at it.
Because its recent skill releases had all been sparks, the first skill Yabao thought of for an attack was Spark.
"Wait, don't hit it," Qiao Sang stopped it.
The pet beast before them was a mid-level Short-Eared Rat, which naturally possessed the ability to burrow. That wasn't the most important part.
What mattered was that the Short-Eared Rat not only had an ID badge hanging from its chest but also a camera, clearly making it a pet beast with an owner and a job.
"Short-ear."
The Short-Eared Rat greeted them politely and lifted the ID badge on its chest with its right paw.
Qiao Sang leaned down to look.
It was a press pass...
Qiao Sang looked at the Short-Eared Rat with a complex expression.
Indeed, its ability to not fear crowds and burrow directly in front of an interviewee made it quite suitable for being a reporter.
"Short-ear, short-ear."
Seeing that the other party had looked at its ID, the Short-Eared Rat pointed its camera at Yabao and let out a couple of cries.
Yabao froze for a moment when it saw the camera pointed at it. Once it realized what was happening, it puffed out its chest and put on a cool expression.
Qiao Sang: "..."
She wondered if she should remind Yabao that from the Short-Eared Rat's low angle, the photos would all be from "death angles"...
Qiao Sang looked at Yabao, who was trying its best to keep a cold face. Forget it, her Yabao was flawless from every 360-degree angle!
This was just a small interlude.
The Short-Eared Rat waved politely and left, not asking tedious questions like the other reporters.
Though, even if it had asked, Qiao Sang really wouldn't have understood...
With a huge sum of money in hand, Qiao Sang was in a fantastic mood, to the point that she practically flew on her way to school.
...
Shengshui High School.
The Vice Principal's Office.
Liu Yao crouched down, picking up Yabao's paw to examine it and flipping open its eyelid for a look.
Qiao Sang sighed from the side, feeling that this process was far too similar to a doctor examining a patient...
"Did you give it a name?" Liu Yao asked, gently tugging Yabao's ear to look inside.
Qiao Sang paused. "Yabao."
Liu Yao: "..."
"No, I mean the species name for this form. You are the first person to evolve a Fire-Fang Dog into this new form, so you have the right to name it," Liu Yao said.
"Flame-Listening Hound." Qiao Sang then remembered she hadn't told the Vice Principal the name Flame-Listening Hound yet.
"Flame-Listening Hound..." Liu Yao stopped his movements and gave Qiao Sang a surprised look. "That name is actually quite fitting."
"Is it?" Qiao Sang scratched her head bashfully.
Of course it was fitting; she didn't come up with it. The name was displayed in the Beast Codex, so the source was definitely authentic.
"When did you realize the Flame-Listening Hound's ears were unusual?" Liu Yao asked.
Unusual ears... she didn't know that...
"I knew from the moment it evolved; its ears are much larger than before," Qiao Sang blurted out.
The ears during the Fire-Fang Dog stage were already quite prominent; after evolving into a Flame-Listening Hound, relative to its current body proportions, they looked even more prominent, so it wasn't a total lie.
Liu Yao: "..."
"You're only looking at the surface. However, I'm not entirely sure myself. Let me check with an otoscope," Liu Yao finished and nodded to the Sky-Reveal Bat beside him.
The Sky-Reveal Bat vanished instantly.
Five seconds later, it returned, bringing the otoscope equipment with it.
This efficiency, this speed... Qiao Sang was truly envious.
Liu Yao placed the ultra-fine endoscope into Yabao's ear.
Yabao couldn't help but twitch its ear; it was so itchy...
The monitor connected to the endoscope was only the size of an ordinary tablet. Liu Yao looked at the monitor, examined for a while, and quickly reached a conclusion.
"As expected, the interior of the Flame-Listening Hound's ear has an ultrasonic positioning structure. I'm not sure of the specific frequency it hears, but it should be at least twenty times that of a human." Liu Yao put the endoscope aside and said, "Unfortunately, it cannot emit ultrasonic waves like an Echo Bat; otherwise, it could use the reflected echoes to move freely in the dark."
Qiao Sang realized that "Listening" in the name referred exactly to that.
As for not being able to emit ultrasonic waves, she didn't find it particularly regrettable. Normally, a Fire-Fang Dog should have evolved into a Blazing-Fire Dog.
Now that it had evolved into a Flame-Listening Hound with enhanced hearing and powerful psychic-type abilities, she was already grateful.
"I think it's great as it is," Qiao Sang said, smiling at Yabao.
"Ya!"
Feeling its trainer's gaze, Yabao's eyes curved as it wagged its tail in response.
Seeing this, the corners of Liu Yao's mouth curled up, and he didn't say anything more about the Flame-Listening Hound's hearing.
"I've finished checking the Flame-Listening Hound. I remember you also have a Treasure-Hunting Ghost; summon it now so I can take a look," Liu Yao said, standing up.
Qiao Sang nodded and spoke to the air: "Little Treasure."
"Xun~"
The next second, the Little Treasure-Hunting Ghost appeared on the monitor.
In its claws, it was holding the endoscope, imitating how Liu Yao had just examined Yabao, trying to put it into its own ear.
(End of Chapter)