Black Mud, a ground-type pet, is entirely made of black mud. Because of its overall black color, its sclera and teeth appear exceptionally snowy white.
Its racial limit allows it to evolve only up to a high-level pet. Logically, no beast tamer should be willing to contract with it, but in reality, a significant number of tamers do so every year.
This is because it is easy to keep; it can fill its stomach simply by eating soil.
Consequently, most tamers from poor family backgrounds choose to contract it, while a small minority do so because they value its special traits.
Independent Space and Mud Liquefaction.
The former allows it to store anything it swallows within its body without harm, provided it doesn't actively absorb the object. The latter allows its body to liquefy, enabling it to slip through any available gap.
Combined, these two traits make it a top-tier asset in the world of theft.
"Wake up." After confirming that the pitch-black pet in her hand was indeed a Black Mud, Qiao Sang held it up and shook it, attempting to wake it.
Seeing that it had no effect, she pinched the flesh on its face.
Black Mud remained unresponsive, like a puddle of sludge.
It seemed it was hopeless...
Qiao Sang immediately decided not to waste any more time and turned to Fang Sisi. "There should be a female NPC down here, right? Check if she's inside," Qiao Sang reminded her.
Although she desperately wanted to run and find Ya Bao, such a bizarre event had occurred, and she only had a Little Treasure Ghost that was barely a month old. Naturally, it was better to be cautious.
"Okay..." Fang Sisi snapped back to her senses, knocked on the ground twice more, and asked loudly, "Is anyone down there?"
No one answered.
"Hello? Is anyone there?"
Still no movement.
Fang Sisi turned around and shook her head. "It seems no one is inside. Let's keep moving."
"Wait," Qiao Sang said.
"What..." Fang Sisi watched Qiao Sang's movements, her words catching in her throat. With a look of horror, she collapsed onto the ground, pushing herself back several meters.
Qiao Sang had reached out and patted the air above her head, and a grayish-yellow pet without legs appeared out of thin air above her.
A—a ghost-type pet!
Fang Sisi's heart hammered wildly, her eyes widening. The reason she hadn't been afraid of this secret chamber previously was that she was intimately familiar with all the horror elements inside and knew some of the NPCs.
But that didn't mean she was brave!
The ghost-type pet appearing above Qiao Sang's head was definitely not an NPC from the chamber!
The sudden appearance of a ghost-type pet, combined with the anxiety of being unable to summon the Cotton-Joint Bug and the surrounding eerie atmosphere, sent Fang Sisi's heart straight into her throat.
Just then, Qiao Sang spoke: "Little Treasure, go down and take a look."
"Xun~"
The Little Treasure Ghost nodded and floated beneath the stone slab.
Fang Sisi was stunned, momentarily forgetting how to think. What on earth?
Little Treasure?
A Treasure Ghost?!
Yes, this ghost-type pet looked like a Treasure Ghost...
But the question was, why could Qiao Sang command it?!
Fang Sisi swallowed hard, looking at Qiao Sang with a complex expression. "This Treasure Ghost is...?"
"It's my pet." Qiao Sang looked at Fang Sisi, paused, and asked, "Why did you run so far away?"
Fang Sisi: "...!"
Why do you think!
"A Treasure Ghost is your pet?" Fang Sisi confirmed in disbelief.
"Mm."
"You've contracted two pets?!" Fang Sisi's volume spiked instantly.
"Yes. I know you want to praise me, but now is not the time. Finding Ya Bao and the Cotton-Joint Bug is more important," Qiao Sang said calmly.
Fang Sisi: "..."
She didn't want to talk anymore.
Soon, the Little Treasure Ghost floated back out from the stone slab.
"Xun."
"Xun xun." The Little Treasure Ghost came before its tamer and began gesturing.
"You're saying she's lying on the ground with her eyes closed?" Qiao Sang asked.
"Xun." The Little Treasure Ghost nodded.
Qiao Sang was silent for two seconds before continuing, "Is she still alive?"
Fang Sisi: "!!!"
Holy crap! Why ask such a terrifying question so suddenly!
"Xun."
The Little Treasure Ghost nodded.
Fang Sisi breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness...
The two of them set off toward the nearby prop room, which had almost finished burning. This was the house that NPC No. 2 had run out of, and it was the only way to reach the second stage.
The house was mostly burnt, but the passage remained.
Fang Sisi led the way with a flashlight, while Qiao Sang followed behind, carrying the Black Mud.
Black Mud wasn't heavy, and pets had much better recovery rates than humans. Thinking it might wake up soon, Qiao Sang brought it along.
"We're here." Fang Sisi stopped by a wall.
Qiao Sang watched as Fang Sisi felt around the wall a few times, and then the stone slab on the ground suddenly slid open.
Halfway through, it seemed to get stuck on something.
Seeing this, Qiao Sang stepped forward, placed her phone on the ground, held Black Mud in her left arm, and used her right hand to lift the obstruction and toss it aside.
"Hiss..." Fang Sisi gasped as she watched Qiao Sang's action.
"What's wrong?" Qiao Sang asked, picking up her phone.
"Nothing, let's just hurry." After saying this, Fang Sisi gave Qiao Sang a look of admiration and hurriedly descended into the passage.
Qiao Sang noticed Fang Sisi's strange behavior but didn't ask, following closely behind.
The Little Treasure Ghost walked last.
It didn't enter the passage immediately. Instead, it floated over to the obstruction its tamer had tossed aside, blinked its eyes and looked at it a couple of times, and then floated into the passage.
Just as the Little Treasure Ghost disappeared into the entrance, the previously opened stone slab slowly closed on its own.
After climbing through the passage.
Qiao Sang shone her phone forward and discovered that the interior was laid out like a sewer system.
Before she could observe further, Fang Sisi suddenly spoke: "Do you know what that thing you just threw away was?"
Although she wasn't interested, Qiao Sang politely played along. "What was it?"
"A Masked Wanderer, the boss among the first stage NPCs. You can only enter the second stage after defeating it," Fang Sisi said, looking at Qiao Sang with utter admiration.
Her former desk-mate was simply too cool! To throw a ghost-type pet without changing her expression, as if she were tossing a rag!
Such courage! Such spirit!
No wonder she dared to contract a fire-type and a ghost-type as her first two pets.
Qiao Sang was stunned for a long while. "You're saying that was a Masked Wanderer?"
"Yes." Fang Sisi nodded.
Qiao Sang fell silent for a moment. No wonder it felt so strange in her hand...
But why was it unconscious? Was it caused by Ya Bao's Fire-Spark Rain or some other reason?
While Qiao Sang was pondering, a sound similar to a baby crying suddenly echoed from the nearby sewer. Then, a pair of hands covered in red liquid emerged from the water's surface.
Since the water where the hands emerged was behind Qiao Sang and Fang Sisi, they didn't see it immediately.
The Little Treasure Ghost saw it.
It floated over to the hand, tilted its head and looked at it curiously, then reached out its claw and yanked the red-stained hand out of the sewer, bringing it close to sniff it.
"Xun..."
The next second, with a look of disgust, the Little Treasure Ghost threw the hand back into the sewer.
Hand: "???"
(End of Chapter)