Posting a mission? Although Qiao Sang was curious, she didn't think to ask.
After all, what kind of mission one posted was a matter of personal privacy; some missions were even unsavory. Besides, while she and Shi Gaofeng were technically acquainted, they weren't actually that close. They might have chatted a bit more back in school, but elsewhere, they were barely on speaking terms.
"Guess what kind of mission I'm here to post," Shi Gaofeng said in a lowered, conspiratorial voice.
"What mission?" Qiao Sang asked instinctively, following his lead.
At this moment, curiosity triumphed over rationality. Since the other person had offered to tell her, there was no reason to be shy about listening.
"It's all because of that fat-suction mission. You were right, that guy's eight-pack abs really were sucked out via liposuction!" Shi Gaofeng looked indignant, feeling cheated as he spoke of the matter.
Qiao Sang paused and asked, "What does that have to do with the mission you're posting?"
Shi Gaofeng scratched his head and said awkwardly, "I failed the mission and got a one-star bad review. Zheng Baolong definitely won't let me off the hook during the next assembly. My mind and body will absolutely suffer severe trauma."
"So, I want to rent a Phantom Water Baby to take my place for one day during the assembly."
Qiao Sang was stunned for a moment. A Phantom Water Baby was a water-type pet that could change its form to mimic others.
They were exceptionally popular among office workers and students.
The higher the level of the Phantom Water Baby, the more perfect its mimicry, but it had one fatal weakness.
"I remember that Phantom Water Babies can't mimic human speech, right?" Qiao Sang reminded him. "If Zheng Baolong finds out, you might end up being in charge of cleaning the toilets for a month."
"I know," Shi Gaofeng said, looking at Qiao Sang with total sincerity. "That's why I need your help."
She really shouldn't have been curious about what the mission was... Qiao Sang sighed helplessly.
"How can I help you?"
Given that Shi Gaofeng was the kind of person who got caught by Zheng Baolong every time he tried anything, she could already imagine the scene where the Phantom Water Baby was exposed and Zheng Baolong transformed into a literal Tyrannosaurus.
Shi Gaofeng's face lit up with joy. "It's not anything difficult. You just have to make sure you don't talk to me at the time and help me cover for me. I've already told Xu Yajie about this, and he'll help me too."
"I was actually planning to send you a message asking for a favor, but since we ran into each other, I don't need to send that message anymore."
So even if she hadn't been curious about the mission, Shi Gaofeng would have asked for her help anyway...
Thinking this, Qiao Sang felt much better.
"What about Wang Yao? Does she know too?"
"She can't know!" Shi Gaofeng said seriously. "I've known her longer than you, so I know what kind of person she is. If she finds out, she'll 100% laugh herself into a seizure. Even if Zheng Baolong is right in front of her, she won't be able to control her facial expressions. Zheng Baolong will definitely sense that something is wrong."
The image of Wang Yao laughing hysterically upon finding out involuntarily surfaced in Qiao Sang's mind.
The mental image was too vivid; she had to admit that Shi Gaofeng's concerns were not without merit...
...
Twenty minutes later, Qiao Sang walked out of the Beast Taming Center dragging a somewhat worn-out suitcase.
The process of claiming the reward was much simpler than she had imagined.
She had thought the staff would call or text the owner of the Beast Taming Badge—the old lady—to ask for a verification code or something similar.
It turned out she had overthought it...
After the staff verified her own information and the information on the old lady's Beast Taming Badge, they handed the suitcase over to her.
However, it wasn't as if just anyone holding a Beast Taming Badge could come and claim items.
While verifying the badge's information, Qiao Sang discovered that the old lady had recorded a video inside, specifically stating that the items should be given to the person who completed the mission on her behalf.
This was the first time Qiao Sang realized that a Beast Taming Badge could also be used as memory storage.
...
Upon returning home, Qiao Sang immediately opened the suitcase.
Ya Bao and Little Treasure Hunter gathered around curiously.
As the suitcase opened, a silver-gray helmet and five discs were revealed inside. Each disc had different pictures and text pasted on it.
This... could this be the legendary Virtual Helmet?!
Qiao Sang was stunned looking at the contents of the box.
In her previous life, virtual helmets were futuristic conceptual tools born from the accumulation of words like "virtual," "game," and "helmet"—the ultimate fantasy of shut-ins.
But here, the Virtual Helmet was no longer a fantasy, but a reality.
By wearing the Virtual Helmet, the brain's nerves would interface with the device, allowing the user to perceive everything in the virtual world more realistically.
However, the people of this world didn't invent the Virtual Helmet for people to play games, but to help pets learn skills.
Pets could learn skills not only through a Beast Tamer's hands-on guidance but also through self-study via imagery.
Later, some researchers felt that imagery alone couldn't sufficiently immerse a pet to learn a skill, which led to the creation of the Virtual Helmet.
The principle of the Virtual Helmet was to use an optical system to magnify images produced by a small two-dimensional display. Different discs corresponded to different skills, allowing pets to immerse themselves better in the learning process.
But everyone soon discovered that a pet's ability to self-learn skills still depended on talent.
The appearance of the Virtual Helmet increased the enthusiasm of pets to learn skills, but in reality, the probability of learning a new skill was still far lower than with hands-on teaching.
Consequently, after the Virtual Helmet was popular for a short while, it almost became an obsolete product.
After all, the thing was expensive and easily addictive for pets.
It would be one thing if the pets actually learned new skills, but the problem was that most of them still couldn't.
They couldn't learn, yet they still wanted to play; if they weren't allowed to play, they would cry, throw tantrums, and go on hunger strikes in reality.
The original intent of buying a Virtual Helmet was to let the pet progress by learning new skills, but in the end, not only was there no progress, but the pet developed an internet addiction. Who could stand that?
Qiao Sang looked at the Virtual Helmet in the box, feeling both excited and hesitant.
With the memories of her previous life, she longed for a Virtual Helmet, but this was for pets to learn skills. Looking at the size and model of the helmet, it was obvious that only Little Treasure Hunter could wear it.
If Ya Bao used it, it would be fine; she believed that given Ya Bao's desire to become stronger, it wouldn't get bogged down even if it didn't learn the skill.
But Little Treasure Hunter was a different story...
It already had a playful personality. If it were like most pets—unable to learn but insisting on playing—wouldn't that be a huge hassle?
The more Qiao Sang thought about it, the more likely she felt this was.
Although Little Treasure Hunter had high talent and a high chance of learning, it was better to be safe than sorry.
To be safe, this thing absolutely must not be touched by Little Treasure Hunter... After analyzing the situation, Qiao Sang calmed down and made a secret decision. She turned around only to see Little Treasure Hunter holding a disc, looking at it curiously.
The four large characters written on the disc were facing her.
Darkness Shadow Control.
Qiao Sang's expression instantly went blank.
(End of Chapter)