Pet Beast Center.
After taking a number, Qiao Sang and Tang Yi went to different windows to wait.
The layout of the task hall in the Pet Beast Center of the Lower Districts was somewhat different from other Pet Beast Centers’ halls. In addition to going to the window to find a staff member who could help sift through suitable tasks, one could also look for tasks they liked directly from the task bulletin board on the wall.
Because of the excessive number of wild pet beasts, nearly hundreds of new tasks were posted every day.
Some tasks that had not been taken for a long time would be pinned on the task bulletin board. freewebnσvel.cøm
Qiao Sang had waited for quite a while and seeing that it would still be a long time before his turn, he walked over to the task bulletin board to take a look.
[Task: Expel the Hedonistic Python]
[Task Location: 102 Tongfu Street]
[Task Reward: 10,000 Alliance Currency]
Qiao Sang looked at a yellowing task slip nearby and thought to himself: Is this task very difficult? Isn’t it just driving away a pet beast, and yet no one’s taking it?
At this moment, a woman dressed in a black dress with her hair pinned up high approached Qiao Sang and asked,
"Are you interested in this task?"
Qiao Sang glanced to the side to confirm she was speaking to him and replied,
"No, I’m just curious why no one has taken this task?"
The woman’s gaze casually swept over Yaobao, then she countered with a question of her own, "You’re not from around here, are you?"
Qiao Sang nodded and responded with a sound of affirmation.
The woman withdrew her gaze and did not probe further. She answered the previous question, "The tasks on this wall either have too high a difficulty, too low a reward, or, like this one, have mismatched information."
"The task to expel the Hedonistic Python has been taken by several Beast Tamers before, but they all returned immediately after going there to cancel the task."
"Why?" Qiao Sang asked curiously.
The woman shrugged, "Because it’s not a single Hedonistic Python that needs to be expelled, but a group of them."
The difference in difficulty between the two tasks was completely different... Qiao Sang was taken aback and asked, "Since the task information is known to be incorrect, why not change it?"
The woman replied indifferently,
"The wild pet beasts here are too numerous, and there are only a limited number of Beast Tamers. We don’t have enough people to verify each task’s information in detail. Some tasks’ details might only be looked into after a year has passed."
No wonder so many tasks were left untouched, taking on work worthy of 100,000 for just 10,000 in reward, any sensible person would be reluctant... Qiao Sang inwardly complained.
Following this, Qiao Sang continued to look at the task slips on the bulletin board for a while longer.
The woman didn’t leave but kept making casual conversation from time to time.
Suddenly, the woman asked, "I have a task, would you be interested in it?"
Meanwhile, a few Beast Tamers not far away looked over this way, chatting with the attitude of watching a spectacle,
"Mai Ya is looking for someone to do her task again."
"It’s been almost three months, and she still hasn’t given up."
"If it weren’t for Nadapeng issuing his word, I would have quite liked to help her."
"Look at her, now she’s even asking a child."
"This kid can be seen not being from our Lower Districts, I haven’t even seen the pet beast she’s holding before."
"Mai Ya’s targets now are all people from other districts."
"Didn’t she find someone from District Sixteen last month? But that guy gave up because of Nadapeng in the end."
On the other side, Qiao Sang asked,
"What task?"
"There’s a Mula Monster that dumps various kinds of trash at my doorstep every day, and sometimes it even comes into my house to make a mess. I hope you can help drive it away," Mai Ya said gravely.
Mula Monster, a mid-level Grass Element pet beast... Qiao Sang had a flash of information about Mula Monster in her mind; the late-night studying recently wasn’t for nothing, as she had gained a vague understanding of some of the pet beasts on Chao Su Star.
"Why don’t you go directly to the staff at the window to post the task?" Qiao Sang asked curiously.
Mai Ya’s eyes flickered, "I did, but nobody is taking it at the moment, and I don’t really want to wait. It seems like your pet beast is of the Fire Element, which should be just right to counter the Mula Monster."
After thinking for a moment, Qiao Sang declined,
"Sorry, this task might not be suitable for me."
The assessment at school entailed higher difficulty tasks for higher scores, and driving away a mid-level Grass Element pet beast clearly was not much of a challenge; even if completed, it probably wouldn’t earn her many points.
"Why?" Mai Ya asked, perplexed.
Because it’s too easy... Qiao Sang frankly said, "I’m still a student, and the tasks I’m here to take are part of a school assessment, which has requirements. I need to at least accept tasks suitable for a D-rank Beast Tamer."
Mai Ya’s eyes brightened, she knew it—a student!
She had noticed the girl the moment she entered, who, be it her demeanor or her pet beasts, was clearly not from District Twenty-Five. Young and a Beast Tamer with a pet beast she didn’t recognize and a Little Steel Falcon: if nothing unexpected, this was likely a student from the Upper Districts here for training.
Students training from the Upper Districts were always secretly protected by higher-ranked Beast Tamers, ensuring they wouldn’t be harmed in any substantial way.
Only people with such background wouldn’t be threatened by that Nadapeng fellow!
Mai Ya took a deep breath and said seriously,
"My task was rated two stars by the Pet Beast Center, which means it’s suitable for C-rank and D-rank Beast Tamers."
She quickly scanned them but didn’t find any particularly challenging tasks.
Originally in her mind, a task needed to take her deep into the active areas where wild pet beasts congregated to reflect true difficulty.
After all, if it were on Blue Star, one would need to venture into a Secret Realm for assessments. The intention of the assessment tasks should also be to allow participants to encounter wild pet beasts more often, but there was none of that here.
After thinking for a while, Qiao Sang carefully asked,
"Can I ask why a task to drive away a Mulag Beasts is classified as a two-star?"
"Do you know the name of the person who posted the task?" the staff member inquired.
Qiao Sang nodded, "Mai Ya."
She had mentioned it during their earlier conversation.
"Please hold on," said the staff member, who then began to look up the information.
About two minutes later, she looked up and said,
"This task has been posted for nine months. In that time, a total of 16 Beast Tamers have accepted but ultimately expressed their abandonment of the task. Due to the time it’s been posted and the number of incomplete attempts by various Beast Tamers, the task has been upgraded from a one-star to a two-star."
Driving away just a mid-level pet beast, and yet 16 Beast Tamers had failed to complete it... Qiao Sang realized this task wasn’t as simple as it seemed on the surface.
She decided to take a gamble; after all, the other tasks weren’t especially difficult either... With that thought, Qiao Sang decisively said,
"I’ll take this task."
"Alright," the staff member said while working on the computer. "Please sign on the screen in front, then click confirm."
The display changed, presenting the task handover form.
Qiao Sang swiftly signed her name and pressed confirm.
...
Meanwhile.
Beast Taming Center.
Second floor.
Task Management Department.
The work telephone rang.
A staff member in a black uniform answered the call.
A clear and resonant voice came through the speaker, "Task number 0396268801, driving away Mulag Beasts, has been verified; there are two sources of resistance behind it, the first is human, and the second is a group of wild Scale Armored Moths. It is suggested that the task be upgraded to three-star."
"Received," the staff member hung up the call.
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