Red flames danced wildly, unrestrained and blazing. A distinctive triangular pair of sunglasses and a familiar figure instantly made her recognize him as her own, Yabao.
Qiao Sang was stunned for a moment. Rather than feeling joy at Yabao's quick arrival at the relay point, she was deeply worried.
Isn't this Blaze mode?! What's going on? Why is the Blaze trait out?! Did it activate from exhaustion during the marathon?
Thinking about it, Qiao Sang suddenly felt a bit guilty.
It wasn't entirely impossible...
Yabao stopped at the third relay point, not looking for the figure of the Roaring Swamp Crocodile, but instead smirked disdainfully at Bouncing Pig, who had been half a step slower, raising his right paw and extending his pinky.
Bouncing Ball Pig glanced at Yabao out of the corner of its eye, and the next second, passed by it, handing the yellow relay band to a small Rain Frog at the shore.
Yabao maintained his cool pose, but his stiff smile made it clear that he had frozen on the spot.
Less than half a year old, Yabao was experiencing the ups and downs of life for the first time.
Even the flames on his body, once fierce, now seemed dimmed.
"Yabao, pass the relay band!" Qiao Sang shouted.
Yabao snapped back to reality and turned to pass the baton to Roaring Swamp Crocodile, who had been waiting almost in tears.
"Yap?!" Where's the relay band?! ...
The pet marathon in Qitang Town had, for the first time in history, encountered a missing relay band mid-race.
No other choice but to rush and issue a new one.
No one had expected the band to be burned up by a Yabao who had activated his Blaze trait.
Fire-type pets were already rare in the town, and those with the Blaze trait were even more uncommon. For the locals, seeing a pet trigger Blaze during a marathon was a first.
In a way, Yabao had become famous in Qitang Town.
For future pet marathons, the organizers would specially provide relay bands made from fire-resistant materials for fire-type pets.
Of course, that was a story for another time.
By the time the staff rushed over with a new relay band, three minutes had already passed.
The pet marathon competitors were divided into four ranks based on their performance.
First, those far ahead of the pack; second, those keeping up with the main group; third, those barely making it on time; and fourth, those who dropped out midway.
Yabao's performance this time was decent, placing him in the second tier.
However, the pets in the second tier were quite close in strength, with only a few seconds separating the ranks.
Due to the three-minute delay, Yabao's original 51st place in the second leg dropped to 62nd.
"No worries, I never expected us to get 62nd in the first place." Qiao Sang comforted.
Yabao's eyes were teary with sorrow.
He had never lost before, and now he had not only lost but was beaten by 61 others.
Little Treasure, ever timely, handed over a ring and some milk.
Yabao took the milk and, still bitter, began drinking.
Despite the sadness, the milk was still worth drinking.
"Look at you, back when you activated Blaze, you fainted shortly after. Now, you're staying conscious and still able to drink milk. That's progress." Qiao Sang continued to comfort.
Yabao paused mid-drink and stared blankly at his beastmaster.
That... made sense...
Yabao's eyes brightened, and his mood instantly lifted.
Ye Ranyan, watching Qiao Sang revive Yabao with just a few words, marveled, "I suddenly think Jingwen was right. You really do have a knack for being a breeder."
A breeder not only needed to understand the care and health of different pets but also had to tailor different growth plans based on the pet's current mental state and strength.
One of the exams to become a breeder was Pet Psychology.
Qiao Sang, having only recently contracted with Yabao, could already grasp his mental state clearly, definitely a talent.
"It's rare to see a fire-type pet so young triggering Blaze. Ah-Sang has talent, and so does her pet. She should become a professional beastmaster."
Her Third Uncle commented while watching the Roaring Swamp Crocodile half-submerged in water, a smile on his face, clearly satisfied with Yabao's timing.
"Today, Ranyan and Ah-Sang, you’ve worked hard. If we win first place this time, feel free to browse through the photo album." He added with a smile.
That’s really unnecessary!
Ever since she learned what the personal prize was, Qiao Sang had been too embarrassed to even look at her Third Uncle.
His prize choice did not match the diligent, mature, and stable image he usually portrayed.
Who knew what her Aunt and Jingwen thought of his motivation for participating in the marathon?
Qiao Sang instinctively looked around for her Aunt and Jingwen.
They were engrossed, excitedly taking pictures of the competing pets, completely oblivious to the conversation happening over here.
Qiao Sang watched and chose not to disturb them.
For the ordinary residents of the town, this was a rare opportunity to see so many pets in person at once.
As one of the few pet beastmaster events in town, the whole town was paying attention.
Most people gathered at the starting line, but the rules didn’t allow following the race. With the hot weather, standing outside wasn’t pleasant.
So the live broadcast at various locations was packed with people. The rightful source is N0v3l.Fiɾe.net
Su Song Old Street, being near the third relay point for the fifth leg, had set up a venue to watch the live broadcast in its hall.
Qiao Sang, a participant in the first lane, had to send Yabao to the second relay point and hurry to the third to wait, leaving no time to watch the live stream.
Qiao Sang stood on tiptoe, trying to see the big screen in the hall, but the crowd blocked her view.
Yabao, copying his beastmaster, also stood on tiptoe, but of course, he couldn’t see anything either.
Only Little Treasure floated half a meter higher, taking in the live broadcast scene with ease.
"Ah-Sang, stop struggling. I'm taller than you, and even I can't see. How can you?" Ye Ranyan said beside her.
She couldn't argue with that...
At that moment, a man standing in front suddenly turned around.
He saw Qiao Sang and paused, then looked to the side.
Sure enough, he spotted the memorable fire-type pet from the earlier broadcast.
"Isn’t that the little fire dog who fell, got up, overtook the pig, then got overtaken by the pig, and burned the relay band?!" The man exclaimed excitedly.
In an instant, everyone in front turned to look.
"Where is it? Let me see!"
"Let them through! Don’t block them outside!"
"I know! It’s the Fire fang Dog!"
"Move aside and let them through!"
Thanks to Yabao, Qiao Sang and Ye Ranyan found themselves with prime VIP seats at the front of the hall to watch the live broadcast.