Chapter 49: The Scent of Money

"Could they be related to one of the investors?"Everyone quickly dismissed the idea.

If they were really related to the investors, they probably wouldn’t have contracted with just a Cottonbug…

Qiao Sang relaxed a bit.

It was hard to say if it was their first match, but it seemed to be Fang Sisi and her Cottonbug’s first official competition.

Just getting through it without any issues was already a good start.

"Fire fang dog, who do you think will win?" Qiao Sang asked.

The opponent, the No. 12 contestant’s pet beast, was a Sand Rat, skilled in self-defense and evasion.

On the other hand, the Cottonbug was synonymous with weakness, ranking at the bottom of the strength list among beginner pet beasts until its first evolution.

Barring any surprises, Fang Sisi’s chances of winning were slim.

Qiao Sang was only asking Fire fang Dog to help it learn to observe and assess the situation on the field, hoping it could develop the ability to judge the levels of both sides.

“Yap!”

Fire fang dog pointed its paw toward Fang Sisi’s direction and barked.

Qiao Sang: ...

Does Fire fang dog have such poor judgment?!

"Why?" Qiao Sang couldn’t help but ask.

“Yap yap.” Firefang explained with its slightly hoarse voice.

That person had just complimented how cool it looked.

Qiao Sang breathed a sigh of relief.

At least its eyesight wasn’t the problem…

"Contestant No. 12, Zhang Shuo, is 16 years old and has a year of experience as a pet beast trainer. His opponent, Fang Sisi, only recently became a trainer. San Duo, how do you see this match going?"

The middle-aged commentator with slicked-back hair asked the handsome young man beside him.

In a normal pet beast competition, there’s usually a main and a secondary commentator.

The main commentator typically has sharp eyesight and a quick tongue, responsible for giving a blow-by-blow account of the match.

The secondary commentator is often a guest invited by the organizers, usually someone with their own following.

Their role is to offer professional insights on strategy and tactics, helping the audience understand the game.

For this Hundred New Competition, the guest was San Duo, who recently gained popularity.

He had won over the audience during the Yu Hua District tournament with his handsome looks and never-give-up spirit until the last moment.

Although he only made it to the top 24, his popularity surpassed even some of the top 10 contestants.

“I think…”

Before San Duo could share his opinion, the match had already ended.

He continued, "Well, I guess I don’t need to say anything."

As soon as the match started, the Sand Rat burrowed into the ground, and the Cottonbug, standing there clueless, was knocked out cold when the Sand Rat emerged and attacked.

Qiao Sang put away her phone, having just recorded the match, and checked the time.

21 seconds.

Not surprising…

Fang Sisi returned to her seat with the Cottonbug, sighing deeply, “I lost so badly.”

Qiao Sang nodded, "It was a bit rough."

Fire fang dog didn’t say anything but nodded a few times in agreement.

Fang Sisi: … Shouldn’t her best friend be comforting her right now?!

"But the Cottonbug doesn’t have much of an advantage at this stage. Once you evolve it into a Basho Butterfly, your opponent probably won’t stand a chance." Qiao Sang said.

Fang Sisi looked at her now rounder Cottonbug and felt somewhat comforted.

She hadn’t come to the competition expecting to go far, she just wanted to join in the fun and gain some experience.

Soon, Fang Sisi adjusted her mindset.

She pointed at the seventh match and laughed, “Haha, look at that Deepfur Turtle! It’s just standing there foolishly, letting itself get hit.”

Qiao Sang: …

Did she forget that her Cottonbug also got taken down just by standing still?

The matches weren’t particularly exciting.

Most of the audience were friends and family of the contestants. As more people were eliminated, the audience thinned out.

However, soon after, the spectators who had just left overheard some chatter and gradually returned to their seats.

"Oh my god, it’s a baby dragon!"

“Which young master brought this to play?”

“Didn’t you hear the announcer? His name is Lu You.”

“In Hanggang, there’s only one Lu family with that much clout besides the Lu Group.”

“Isn’t the Lu Group one of the investors in this tournament? Could it be that they invested just for their young master?”

The battles between F-rank trainers didn’t draw them in, but an unevolved dragon-type pet beast was more than enough to lure them back.

Qiao Sang’s eyes were fixed on the little dragon on the field.

This was her first time seeing a dragon-type pet beast in real life.

Those scales…Those claws…That horn…

Every part of it screamed the scent of money…

As expected, the match ended with the little dragon’s overwhelming victory.

Dragon-types were widely recognized as the strongest attribute, and for good reason.

Their defense and attack power were leaps and bounds ahead of regular pet beasts.

Fortunately, they were rare and developed slowly with long evolution cycles. Otherwise, they’d leave no room for ordinary trainers to survive.

“Contestant No. 67, Lu You, just delivered a truly impressive victory. It looks like he’s the seed player for this tournament.” Praised the commentator.

Qiao Sang agreed with the latter half but found the former to be an exaggeration.

Although the little dragon was a dragon-type pet beast, it was still a beginner-level creature.

It was clear that it hadn’t been trained for long. In just two rounds of exchanging special moves, it won with a powerful Dragon Claw attack.

Compared to the earlier matches, it was indeed more exciting, but calling it truly impressive was a bit much.

Qiao Sang put down her phone and started reviewing the footage she had just recorded.

If they kept winning, there was a high probability they’d face each other later.

As a competent pet beast trainer, analyzing opponents and formulating strategies was part of the job.

“Qiao Sang, could you send me the video you just recorded? I was too focused on the match and forgot to record it myself.” Fang Sisi suddenly said.

“You like the little dragon too?” Qiao Sang asked.

She had a reason for asking this. There had already been over 30 matches, yet Fang Sisi hadn’t shown any interest in recording videos before.

“What? No way! The little dragon is so ugly, I don’t like it at all. Didn’t you notice the Apricot Mushroom just now? It’s so cute, especially that little cry it made when it was defeated! So adorable! Hurry, send me the video—I need to watch it again!” Fang Sisi said excitedly.

Qiao Sang: …

She forgot that Fang Sisi was all about looks…

---

After a few more matches, the first F-rank trainer with an intermediate pet beast finally appeared: Contestant No. 99, Guo Yiqi.

This was a truly one-sided match. Seaʀch* The NôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

With just a flap of its wings, Guo Yiqi’s Venomous Butterfly scattered poisonous powder, knocking out the opponent’s White Sand Fox.

Qiao Sang watched the video she had just recorded and made some notes on her memo app.

“What do you think of the Venomous Butterfly?” Fang Sisi suddenly asked.

Qiao Sang was slightly surprised that Fang Sisi would discuss this with her.

She thought for a moment and seriously replied, “Fire-type counters Bug-type but not Poison-type. Fortunately, the Venomous Butterfly’s poison isn’t too strong. Fire fang dog could use high heat to neutralize the poisonous powder. However, in this match, the Venomous Butterfly only used poison powder without any other skills. If we encounter it, we should strike first and control the tempo.”

Fang Sisi: …

“I wasn’t asking about that. I was asking what you think of the Venomous Butterfly’s appearance.”

Qiao Sang: …