"Because picking these Water Leap Fruits will trigger an attack from the nearby wild pet beasts." Yuan Jiewen said, "Although these fruits can only be consumed by Water-type Pet Beasts, it seems all the wild pet beasts around here protect them."
He paused, then added, "Once, there was a five-member team, four of whom were C-rank Beast Tamers, and one was even a B-level expert. They came here and picked the Water Leap Fruits, but ended up being surrounded by wild pet beasts from land, sea, and air. Later, a King-level Pet Beast even showed up."
"There was no choice. A B-level expert might have been able to handle one King-level Pet Beast, but with so many wild pet beasts and the need to protect the other four people, they had to throw away the Water Leap Fruits and escape. That incident buzzed around for a while on the forum for Secret Realm 88."
As they spoke, Little Treasure Hunter teleported to the fruit tree and extended its sinister claw.
"Don’t pick it!" Qiao Sang’s heart tightened upon seeing this and she hastily shouted.
"Xun Xun..."
Little Treasure Hunter silently withdrew its claw.
Qiao Sang let out a sigh of relief and continued the previous topic, "What’s so special about these Water Leap Fruits?"
Yuan Jiewen thought for a moment and said, "I once saw a post mentioning that a powerful water-type healing Pet Beast lives in this water pond, and injured wild pet beasts nearby would seek it for treatment."
"The Water Leap Fruits are protected by this Water-type Pet Beast, so the nearby wild pet beasts do not allow others to pick them."
"Of course, none of this has been confirmed, and I don’t know who made the post. I saw it by chance, but the post disappeared not long after." Yuan Jiewen explained, then asked:
"Boss, what do we do now?"
Qiao Sang pondered for a moment and said, "Sleep here."
Yuan Jiewen: "???"
Mikaela glanced at Qiao Sang upon hearing this.
Yuan Jiewen then thought of something, showing an expression of hesitation.
After struggling internally for a while, he couldn’t hold back and asked, "Boss, are you planning to use yourself as bait?"
"Just testing. We’re not even sure if we can lure out the beast that took Lin Bo." Qiao Sang replied calmly, "If we can’t, we’ll head to the spot where Lin Bo sent his last distress signal."
"Isn’t this too risky?" Yuan Jiewen’s expression shifted dramatically.
The most terrifying enemies are the unseen ones. Back then, no one heard a thing before Liu Bo vanished. If something happened to Qiao Sang, how could he and this clearly weaker breeder possibly make it out of this Secret Realm alive?
Qiao Sang looked at him, "Do you have a better plan? Or do you know where the Pet Beast that took Liu Bo is?"
Yuan Jiewen fell silent.
He didn’t have a better plan, didn’t know which Pet Beast had taken Liu Bo, and certainly didn’t know where that Pet Beast was...
"Where was your sleeping spot last time?" Qiao Sang asked.
Yuan Jiewen pointed about five meters from the water pond: "Over there."
Qiao Sang walked to the spot Yuan Jiewen had pointed at, bringing Yaobao with her, and nodded toward Yaobao.
"Ya Ya!"
Yaobao understood her Beast Tamer’s intent. It placed its paw on the grass and closed its eyes.
Qiao Sang followed suit, closing her eyes as well.
"Boss, you..." Yuan Jiewen looked at the scene before him, puzzled, wanting to ask a question.
At that moment, Mikaela, who had been mostly silent, interrupted in a low voice, "Don’t make a sound. She’s likely channeling some kind of skill."
Being a C-rank Beast Tamer, Yuan Jiewen knew a thing or two.
Some skills might be executed by Pet Beasts, but with high enough mastery, others could also benefit and share in the experience.
He instantly quieted down and turned to look at the breeder beside him, thinking: This guy is so clearly weak, yet hearing Qiao Sang say she would use herself as bait didn’t make him flinch. Could it be he doesn’t even realize how dangerous this is...
Qiao Sang kept her eyes closed.
Yaobao’s Tactile Power had already been cultivated to the Mystique Level; in theory, given enough energy, it could look back at all the events that had occurred in the past month.
But that was just theory—a textbook claim. Yaobao had never tested such a long time frame before, not even a week prior, and it didn’t know how much energy this would drain...
As fleeting thoughts passed, Qiao Sang watched the grass change under shifting skies, groups of people coming and going, resting, and leaving.
Among them, many rested on the grass, but of those sleeping or standing guard, none mysteriously vanished.
After some time, Qiao Sang saw the face appearing in the mission review materials, along with Yuan Jiewen and Qu Yang’s images.
The uploaded materials included photos, which made them easy to recognize.
The three first washed their faces at the water pond, then each took a sip of water.
Yuan Jiewen and Qu Yang moved away, opened their backpacks, and took out food and drinks.
Meanwhile, Liu Bo stood up, walked to the fruit tree, and placed his hand on the front of his pants.
Qiao Sang froze for a moment, sensing something was off.
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