On the lawn in front of the entrance to Xifeng Village, the students of Class Four of the Battle Training still had not recovered from the intimidation of the Giant Battle Bear. Some of them were hugging their pet beasts, while others were sitting on the ground trembling with fear, their eyes filled with terror.
Sun Qiang stood beside the Giant Battle Bear with his arms crossed, looking proudly at the embarrassed students. Sun Qiang, with his broad build and narrow mind, was quite petty.
Suddenly, he made a light "hmm" sound. Among the students present, there was actually one who had not made a fool of himself. Although his face was equally pale, he was still staring directly at the Giant Battle Bear. What a good seedling.
Sun Qiang rubbed his chin with his hand and glanced around once more but did not see Shao Zifeng's pet beast.
"Student Shao, come here for a moment."
While checking the information on the Giant Battle Bear, Shao Zifeng suddenly heard someone calling him. He looked up to see Sun Qiang grinning widely, gesturing for him to come over.
"Sun... Qiang... um..." Shao Zifeng stood in front of Sun Qiang, looking at this towering man, suddenly unsure how to address him. Calling him Mr. Sun or Mr. Qiang seemed rude.
"Hahaha... no need to be so formal, just call me Brother Qiang." Sun Qiang waved his hand, pretending to laugh heartily as if he really did not mind.
"Student Shao, where's your pet beast? Let it out so Brother Qiang can take a look." Sun Qiang said as he patted the Giant Battle Bear sitting beside him. He bragged to Shao Zifeng, "Don't worry, Brother Qiang has a good eye. I personally picked this bear, hahaha, isn't it cool?"
The Giant Battle Bear seemed to be annoyed by Sun Qiang's patting. It glanced disdainfully at its owner, stretched out its big furry paw, and gently pushed him, causing Brother Qiang to stagger and almost fall.
"Hahaha, it's just being playful, it often jokes around with me." Sun Qiang, slightly embarrassed, forced a laugh and explained. Then he glared at the Giant Battle Bear.
The Giant Battle Bear turned around, facing away from him, indicating it did not want to pay attention to him.
Shao Zifeng smiled at their antics but felt a little downhearted because he still could not contact Qiuqiu. He had also tried to open the pet beast space before, but there was no response at all.
He wondered how Qiuqiu was doing now. It hadn't eaten anything since yesterday.
After the incident with the Giant Battle Bear, Sun Qiang did not insist on seeing Shao Zifeng's pet beast. He called out to the gradually recovering students of Class Four, summoning them to gather.
The students of Class Four hesitantly glanced at the Giant Battle Bear before slowly moving closer. Their pet beasts, however, were unwilling to come over.
"Alright, look at you all acting like scaredy-cats..."
"Huff~"
The Giant Battle Bear was displeased at being compared to them, snorted heavily through its nose, and interrupted Sun Qiang's speech, expressing its dissatisfaction.
Sun Qiang wore a sour face. This silly bear always opposed him. Out of spite, he opened the pet beast space and put the Giant Battle Bear away.
With the departure of the Giant Battle Bear, the pet beasts on the lawn, who had been huddling and trembling, seemed to come back to life. They rushed to their owners, whimpering as if complaining. The lawn burst into noise again.
"Quiet!" Sun Qiang, in a bad mood, glared and shouted loudly.
Once the lawn quieted down again, Sun Qiang continued, "The wild training lasts for three days. You can act in groups or explore freely. Each of you will get a signal gun and a locator from me. Do you understand?"
"Understood!" The students of Class Four reflexively shouted in unison.
"If you encounter a problem you can't solve, run if you can. If you can't, fire the signal gun... make sure you all come back safely, got it?" Sun Qiang seldom expressed concern, but now his expression looked awkward.
"Got it."
"Now, I'll call your names to come and get your items. Sun Qiang..."
...
Shao Zifeng stood by the minibus with one hand in his pocket. After distributing the items, Sun Qiang went back to the bus to catch up on sleep. The classmates formed small groups to explore the forest, and a few of them invited him, but he politely declined with a smile.
Feeling his empty pocket, Shao Zifeng swiped his right hand in the air, but after waiting for a while, there was no response.
Shao Zifeng's expression was gloomy. He felt that something must be wrong with Qiuqiu. Even if Qiuqiu was sulking, it would not be completely unresponsive. Under normal circumstances, he should be able to forcibly summon it.
After his classmates left, he had tried many times, but the result was always the same: he could not contact Qiuqiu at all.
Sighing heavily, Shao Zifeng turned and walked towards the village.
...
In the vast desert, several volcanoes had long ceased to erupt. Thick fire elements gathered from the lava at the craters and converged on the light egg floating on the central volcano. The light egg, burning with a red flame, became increasingly solid, and one could vaguely see something incubating inside.
"Squeak~"
A ripple appeared near the light egg. The beast shadow within the light egg struggled weakly as if being awakened, letting out a low cry. Then the ripple was shattered by the fire elements, and everything returned to normal.
...
Near Su City University, there were many small inns where one could stay without registering, as long as they paid the fee. These places were typically rendezvous spots for couples... though not always.
In one of these cramped and stuffy rooms, a small window was covered by an old curtain. Without turning on the light, the entire room was dark, filled with a faint musty smell and indescribable odors.
Pei Yong lay on a single bed, with his arms under his head, staring blankly at the ceiling. His expression alternated between softness and ferocity, giving off a sense of contradiction.
"Ding~"
The phone screen lit up, bringing a cold gleam to the dark room. Pei Yong did not pick up the phone, still staring blankly at the ceiling.
"Ding~"
The phone screen went dark and then lit up again, but Pei Yong remained unmoved.
After the phone lit up several more times, the person sending the messages seemed to lose patience. An urgent ringing tone echoed through the empty room, sounding exceptionally jarring.
Pei Yong hesitated for a moment and then chose to answer the call.
"..."
"Pei Yong, the target is not in the city right now. I've sent the address and information to your phone... I hope you don't disappoint me." A processed voice spoke through the receiver.
"..."
Pei Yong said nothing, just listened quietly.
"Come back quickly. I'll have champagne ready at your place, to celebrate your son's rebirth." The person on the other end sneered when Pei Yong remained silent.
"Don't... don't hurt her. I'll complete the task... please." Pei Yong said urgently, his voice hoarse and dry.
"Heh~ I'll be waiting for your good news."
Then the call was disconnected.
"Click"
The room light came on. Pei Yong's face was ashen, his chin covered in stubble. His bloodshot eyes stared intently at the phone.
"Xifeng Village... Shao Zifeng."