Ten boxes of A-grade energy recovery fluid, S-grade items, and a Big-Mouthed Dragon egg—this luck is simply heaven-defying!
It had to be admitted that for a brief moment, Qiao Sang was successfully spurred by an impulse to go buy lottery tickets.
Even putting aside the dragon-type pet egg, ten boxes of A-grade energy recovery fluid alone were a godsend!
Heaven knew that during this period, Yabao had been drinking energy recovery fluid like water for the sake of training Mars Rain, which had caused the most important digit in her bank account balance to shrink once again.
Thinking of this, Qiao Sang couldn't help but lament for the Nth time: raising pets was truly too expensive!
And this was just the expenditure before Yabao and the others evolved into high-level pets; if all three of them evolved, how could she possibly afford to keep them!
Maybe she should try buying a lottery ticket; what if she won... Realizing what she was thinking, Qiao Sang quickly shook her head, attempting to cast away this terrible notion.
No! An intelligence tax! This is just an intelligence tax for poor people!
This was different from when she used to bet on the Interstellar Cup. As long as one could analyze the patterns of the Interstellar Cup, the probability of a successful bet was quite high, whereas the lottery relied purely on luck, and the chance of winning was practically zero.
Calm down!
Once the news of the Flame Listening Hound and the psychic-type was seen by everyone, she wouldn't have to worry about whether she could afford to raise Yabao and the others anymore!
Various thoughts flashed through Qiao Sang's mind. Once the urge to buy lottery tickets had subsided a bit, she asked, "The person who won the jackpot three times must be quite famous locally, right?"
Xu Yixuan thought for a moment and said, "I'm not sure. This kind of news usually only lists a pseudonym and the prize amount. I only remember he was called Mr. Zhang."
***
Hongrao Town.
A middle-aged man wearing glasses with slightly curly hair and a refined appearance was riding a bicycle. In the front basket were fresh fruits and vegetables he had just bought from the market.
As he passed a small convenience store, an old man cooling off at the entrance greeted him warmly, "Rongtang, are you going to cook for that kid from the Wu family again!"
The middle-aged man slowed his pace and turned with a smile, "Yes, it's almost dinner time."
Seeing that the other party didn't stop, the old man stopped chatting.
After the bicycle had ridden far away, a middle-aged woman stepped out of the store, looked in the direction the bicycle had disappeared, and sighed, "This Zhang Rongtang is truly a good man. Since he came here, he's been cooking for that child of the Wu family for over two years now, hasn't he?"
The old man couldn't help but lament as well, "Speaking of which, that child is quite pitiful. Fortunately, he has someone to look after him now."
"What's so pitiful? He's a Beast Tamer regardless, and he even attended a Beast Taming High School." The woman shifted the topic, "But it is strange; why is Zhang Rongtang so good to that kid Wu Chang? Even a biological father wouldn't be this devoted."
"Maybe they just hit it off," the old man said slowly, as if remembering something. "But even good people have their quirks. Every time Zhang Rongtang comes back from the Wu family, he has to buy several lottery tickets. I've seen it happen many times."
"Lottery tickets, how much does one cost? He earns his own money; he can spend it however he likes," the woman felt this wasn't an issue at all.
The old man remained silent for a while before tentatively asking, "Then can I go buy a few too?"
The woman immediately roared angrily, "You dare!"
Old man: "..."
"By the way," the old man changed the subject, "I noticed the town has been doing environmental cleanup for several days, and the temporary sheds have all been torn down. What's going on?"
A middle-aged woman was still a middle-aged woman; her information channels were far more efficient than the old man's. "I heard it's the National Campus Beast Taming League. Many schools and officials will be coming here."
The old man was stunned. "Where is the competition?"
"Where else could it be?" the woman said. "Huicheng Beast Taming High School."
***
4:56 PM.
The Hongrao Beast Taming Center was already overcrowded, with vehicles nearly blocking the entrance and exit roads.
For a town, having students from dozens of beast taming high schools across the province come here for a competition was an immense point of pride.
Out of so many school venues, they specifically chose this place.
What did this indicate? It indicated the government's recognition of their environment and order!
Normally, students from Huicheng Beast Taming High School were treated like treasures in their town. Now that so many students from various beast taming high schools had arrived, the townspeople were eager to come and watch the excitement to broaden their horizons.
Even though everyone maintained their dignity and didn't cause any riots, the sheer volume of people made the order a bit chaotic.
Traffic police had to be deployed to the scene to direct the flow.
"Do you think the students from Shengshui High School will come?" a girl in the crowd asked.
Hongrao Town was in Shanglong County, and Shanglong County belonged to Hanggang City. Whenever people spoke of beast taming high schools, the first and best school that came to mind was Hanggang City's Shengshui High School.
"That looks like the Shengshui High School uniform!" a boy beside her pointed excitedly at several students undergoing inspection at the entrance of the Beast Taming Center.
At the entrance, a staff member checked the information cards of Sun Boyi, Qiao Sang, and the others before letting them in.
There weren't many hotels and inns in Hongrao Town. For the sake of the town's image, the contestants coming for the competition were required to stay at the Hongrao Beast Taming Center.
The town's Beast Taming Center wasn't large, and the number of contestants nearly filled every single accommodation room.
Fortunately, the government had made reservations with the center in advance, so all the contestants could find a place to stay.
On the way to the accommodation area, Qiao Sang couldn't help but ask, "Isn't the competition tomorrow? Why are there so many people outside today?"
She knew that the National Campus Beast Taming League grew in popularity as it progressed, but this was only the provincial group stage. Moreover, it wasn't the day of the competition, nor was it the competition venue itself, yet so many people had gathered. Qiao Sang found it hard to understand.
"You'll get used to it," He Datao chuckled. "Competitions at county and town schools are always like this; people are very enthusiastic."
"It's actually quite mild right now," Xu Yixuan added. "When the competition starts, the students of Huicheng Beast Taming High School will probably all come over, and their parents can enter too. You'll see how lively it gets then."
Qiao Sang paused, then remembered something and asked with certainty, "There should be a contestant from Huicheng Beast Taming High School in our assigned group, right?"
"Yes, there is, but it seems there's only one," Xu Yixuan took out her phone to check and said, "Named Wu Chang, a male."
"I bet the whole venue will be filled with cheers for this Wu Chang," He Datao chimed in. "Speaking of which, this guy's luck is truly great. Barring any accidents, those assigned to compete at their own school usually advance."
Qiao Sang understood.
This was the so-called home-field advantage.
The Beast Taming Center had single, double, and quadruple rooms.
Qiao Sang and Xu Yixuan stayed in a double room.
"Ya—" Yabao, who had just been summoned, walked around the room twice out of boredom. He looked out the window, and finally walked to the bed where his beast tamer was lying and used his mouth to tug the blanket down.
"Ya ya!"
Go out and play!
(End of Chapter)