Chapter 55: The Third One

Once this thought surfaced, it became increasingly difficult to control.

Qiao Sang went directly to her phone to search for the lineup of the next match in the Interstellar Cup.

Pasol vs. Chen Mo.

Every match in the Interstellar Cup follows a 6v6 format.

99% of the Beast Tamers participating in the Interstellar Cup are S-rank Tamers possessing seven pets, so the lineups are unknown before every match.

Among the seven pets, one is always a "bye" (not participating in that specific match).

This adds significant difficulty for the spectators behind the scenes who want to analyze lineups and attributes before placing bets.

Qiao Sang did not share this frustration.

She directly searched for posters of Pasol and Chen Mo along with their respective pets on her phone and placed them in front of Fire Fang Dog.

"Who do you think is stronger and can win?"

Fire Fang Dog began to compare them seriously.

It felt that the Little Chubby Pigeon it thought would win this morning had lost, and the large bird it had pointed to just now had also lost. It was rare for its Beast Tamer to trust it enough to ask such a question.

This time, it would definitely not fail its Beast Tamer's trust; it would prove itself!

"Ya!"

After studying for a long time, Fire Fang Dog pointed at Pasol, who had a sturdier physique, and let out a bark.

Qiao Sang nodded, then logged onto the Interstellar Betting Network and placed a bet of 1,000 Alliance Coins on Chen Mo.

...

July 2nd.

The screens above the arena were displaying the photos of the contestants moving from the Round of 64 to the Round of 32 in the Baixin Tournament.

In the middle of Row 9, Sector C.

"It's rare to see you let out Gold Vine," Qiao Sang said in surprise.

She had run into Bai Yunmiao several times.

Every time, Bai Yunmiao was alone, and after yesterday's match, she had immediately retracted Gold Vine.

"I was interviewed yesterday, wasn't I? When I went home to watch the video, my Little Gold saw it. It kept clamoring to come out today to be interviewed too," Bai Yunmiao said helplessly.

Qiao Sang glanced at Gold Vine.

She saw that the single vine on its head, which used to be lonely, was now tied with a pink bow. It truly looked prepared to be interviewed...

"Don't talk about me—what's wrong with your Fire Fang Dog? It's expressionless. You didn't make it angry, did you?" Bai Yunmiao leaned in and whispered.

The reputation of Fire-type pets was quite formidable among rookie Beast Tamers.

Even though Fire Fang Dog had always seemed very well-behaved, Bai Yunmiao still felt a bit intimidated whenever it showed even a hint of displeasure.

"No, it's because of what you said yesterday about its expression being funny," Qiao Sang explained. "After it went home and watched the video of its own match, it felt that expression management was very important. So, it turned into a stone-face when it came here. It'll be fine once the match is over and we go back."

"Ya."

Fire Fang Dog nodded coldly.

"So cool!" Bai Yunmiao sighed.

Fire Fang Dog suppressed the corners of its mouth from curling up and tilted its head up at a 45-degree angle.

Qiao Sang: "..."

After the first match began, Qiao Sang looked around and asked, "Why are there so few people today?"

"Did you watch God Ya's match yesterday?" Bai Yunmiao asked back instead of answering directly.

"I only watched the last match," Qiao Sang said.

"Didn't God Ya lose? He made it into the top 10 in the previous two Interstellar Cups, but this time he fell outside the top 10. I guess most people can't accept it for now and aren't in the mood to come," Bai Yunmiao said.

Qiao Sang understood.

As the only contestant from Dragon Country on Blue Star, everyone had pinned their hopes on Lin Ya. This loss would surely feel ten thousand times more devastating than the heartbreak of the national football team failing to qualify for the World Cup in her previous life.

Setting aside everything else, purely from an emotional standpoint, the citizens back then felt nothing but heartache and frustration when the football team lost because they had no expectations to begin with.

But now, Dragon Country had placed immense expectations on Lin Ya.

...

"Player Guo Yiqi won his last match easily, but he has fallen into a predicament in this one," the middle-aged commentator said in a slightly hoarse, emotionless voice.

His mental state was worlds apart from yesterday.

In the spectator stands, various parents who had come to watch their children's matches were conversing.

"How much did you lose yesterday?"

"20,000. You?"

"100,000."

"And you're still in the mood to watch the match today?"

"My current state isn't great. I'm staying home because I'm afraid my wife will find out."

The questioner looked at the man's bloodshot eyes and nodded in understanding.

"20,000 isn't a small amount either. Does your wife know?"

"Heh, she lost 150,000 herself and was crying at home all night."

"..."

"Let's not talk about that. Which match is your kid's?"

"Son, which group are you in?" The bloodshot man turned to ask his child.

"Dad, I've already finished my match and come back."

"..."

The atmosphere of today's competition was somewhat gloomy.

Neither the spectators nor the commentators showed much enthusiasm, but Qiao Sang continued to film and record as usual.

Out of the 21 Beast Tamers on her memo, only 17 remained after yesterday's matches.

Qiao Sang deleted the eliminated contestants from her memo one by one. By the time it was almost her turn, another contestant on the memo had been eliminated.

The Baixin Tournament did not treat these contestants with mid-level pets as seeded players to be saved for the end.

Instead, they were shuffled randomly into groups, inevitably causing two contestants with mid-level pets to meet early.

In the eleventh match, Qiao Sang took the field.

Her opponent was named Jin Chengxi, one of the remaining contestants on her memo.

"Your Fire Fang Dog has decent strength."

"But you're unlucky to meet me. I won't be like that idiot Xie Jianyin, sending out a pet I haven't been contracted with for long."

"Don't worry, I won't make you lose too embarrassingly."

Qiao Sang said nothing.

"Don't you have anything to say to me?" Jin Chengxi couldn't help but ask.

"Then thank you in advance," Qiao Sang said.

She wasn't thanking him for not making her lose too embarrassingly, but for sending out his first contracted pet.

All that tactical research was finally paying off!

Jin Chengxi felt a bit embarrassed.

He hadn't expected the opponent to be so polite despite his provocations.

*Maybe I should go easy on her...*

In the next moment, Jin Chengxi summoned his pet, the Desert-Tail Fox.

At the referee's command, Fire Fang Dog was the first to split into two and charge forward simultaneously.

"Sand Spray!"

Seeing that Qiao Sang hadn't even opened her mouth to command Fire Fang Dog before it launched an attack, Jin Chengxi felt a moment of panic.

Qiao Sang smiled.

This was exactly the move she was waiting for.

The two indistinguishable Fire Fang Dogs charged directly into the dust cloud.

Jin Chengxi was stunned. Who charges voluntarily into someone's skill?

Although Sand Spray couldn't deal decisive damage, the dust entering the nose and fur of the Fire Fang Dogs would certainly reduce their status significantly.

This was the perfect time to press the advantage!

For a moment, Jin Chengxi forgot his previous decision to go easy on her.

"Use Quicksand!"

"Mo!"

The Desert-Tail Fox let out a cry, and its tail gradually glowed with an earthy light.

The area in front, where the dust was rising, instantly began to swirl and collapse into quicksand.

Two red figures struggled within the dust.

Just then, a third Fire Fang Dog suddenly appeared behind the Desert-Tail Fox.

Jin Chengxi: "!!!"

Holy crap! When did that one get there?!

(End of Chapter)