Chapter 1076: Tingbao vs. Electric Mad Dog

Read at: https://blogspot-translatedstories.blogspot.com/?m=1 

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Qiao Sang blanked out for a moment: "Meichouni went to enter the tournament too?"

"Xun xun~" Little Treasure nodded.

"It's nothing to be surprised about." Mikayla stated. 

"Wild pets and contracted pets can participate in this tournament. The champion decided at the end gains massive public recognition alongside rich prizes. Naturally, almost any pet meeting the rank criteria would want to enter."

Even wild pets enter the tournament across cities... It seems the popularity of this competition is indeed through the roof... 

Reining in her thoughts, Qiao Sang looked at Qingbao and said: "Do your best in the tournament today as well. If your match is in the afternoon, I'll head over as soon as Tingbao's morning match concludes."

"Qing qing~"

Free from the foul odor, Qingbao was in a great mood, nodding her head in agreement.

Little Treasure's eyelids twitched, throwing Qingbao a glance that clearly said, What are we going to do if our Beast Tamer actually comes over?

With an unyielding expression, Qingbao responded with a look: If the match really takes place in the afternoon, wouldn't it be fine if we just go out to play in the morning?

Little Treasure put on a Why didn't I think of that? expression, stealthily giving a thumbs-up.

Qingbao accepted it with delight.

Using Spatial Shift to teleport to the Hourglass Tower, Qiao Sang watched Little Treasure and Qingbao leave with her own eyes before using Spengami's Mei's Spatial Shift alongside Professor Mikayla to arrive at the entrance of the Mulan Stadium.

Almost the instant they appeared, the surrounding humans and pets gathered their gazes on them.

When that attention-seeker Little Treasure was around, I didn't even get this high of a head-turn rate. It seems everyone saw yesterday's match... While thinking, Qiao Sang walked toward the fast track in the contestant area.

Suddenly, a bipedal lizard-like pet holding a microphone and a man carrying a camera ran over at a brisk pace.

"Du du?" The bipedal lizard pet uttered an inquiry, then handed the microphone over.

Do I look like I can understand you... Qiao Sang fell into a brief silence.

Just as Yabao and Gangbao were about to translate, the bipedal lizard pet displayed a "I almost forgot" expression, turned to shoulder the camera, and passed the microphone to the man.

Taking it naturally, the man asked: "I am a reporter from the Beast Taming Winds and Clouds Channel. May I ask you and Tingbao a few questions?"

Aren't you the cameraman? How did you turn into a reporter... Qiao Sang grumbled internally, saying: "Sure."

"Regarding Tingbao jumping a rank to defeat Shell Snail yesterday, do you have anything you'd like to say?" The man asked.

"No." Qiao Sang shook her head.

The man: "...Didn't you say I could ask questions?"

Qiao Sang spoke with a sincere tone: "I genuinely have nothing to say regarding the question you just asked."

The man: ...

"Du du." The bipedal lizard pet called out while holding the camera.

Hearing this, the man pointed the microphone at Tingbao, asking: "May I ask if you have anything to say about jumping a rank to win against Shell Snail in yesterday's match?"

Tingbao cast a glance at him, turning his head to the side with an air of disdain to answer.

"Tingbao." Qiao Sang called out.

"Lei lei." Only then did Little Tingbao turn his head back, letting out a reluctant call, signaling that he had nothing to say either, that was already yesterday's match.

"Du du."

The bipedal lizard pet translated.

Displaying an awkward expression, the man asked again: "May I ask through what channel you two met each other?"

"Lei lei." Tingbao called out without a second thought.

She had already chosen me before I was even born.

Even though he clearly didn't want to answer, he patiently answered others' questions for Qiao Sang's sake... Mikayla watched this scene from the side. Recalling the scene from her youth when she was interviewed and Debt Collector Dragon turned his head and walked off with a face full of impatience, a wave of mixed feelings surged up within her.

At this moment, her phone vibrated repeatedly.

Pulling it out to look, Mikayla saw a series of voice messages sent by Debt Collector Dragon, causing the corners of her mouth to twitch.

Without listening to the voice messages, she transferred a sum of money directly and put the phone back into her bag.

This time, however, the phone continued to vibrate.

Mikayla pulled out her phone once more.

It was an incoming call.

Caller ID: Debt Collector Dragon.

Mikayla fell silent for a moment, walked a short distance away from Qiao Sang, picked up the call, and said: "Dragon King?"

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Half an hour later.

Inside the Mulan Stadium.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the live venue of the Contract Synergy Tournament!" 

The host stood on the field, speaking in a loud voice: "After four days of intense competition, we have officially determined our top 16 contestants!"

"Over these past few days, we have witnessed the seamless synergy between humans and pets, as well as noticed that some humans and pets do not possess that much synergy. I believe everyone will reconsider their contractual relationships after the tournament concludes. However, synergy can be cultivated through spent time together. That is also one of the goals of our tournament, allowing everyone to discover the issues between themselves and their pets..."

The host droned on and on with a mountain of words, noticeably far more talkative than in the previous few rounds of competition.

After roughly ten minutes had passed, he declared: "For today's top 16 into top 8 matches, we will no longer use the simultaneous battle format. Instead, contestants will take the field one by one to determine the top 8!"

Simply put, the number of contestants was simply too small.

Matches between Low-level and Mid-level pets were brief. If all contestants competed simultaneously, even with camera coverage for every field, it wouldn't take much time. To extend the broadcast duration on the television channel, having contestants take the field group by group was the optimal choice.

The same would hold true for the next few rounds of competition.

The person in charge of the venue had already explained this to all contestants upon entry.

Qiao Sang arrived at her seat in the front row of the contestant area to wait quietly.

The matchup list was drawn up by the special guests.

Fu Jian drew "Qiao Sang, Tingbao," while Tie Daoyi drew "Yu Shike, Electric Mad Dog."

An Electric Mad Dog, a Mid-level Electric-type pet. It possesses a habit of being strongly attracted by fast-moving objects, often chasing vehicles or pets all over the place on roads... 

Details regarding her opponent's pet flashed through Qiao Sang's mind, and she let out an internal sigh: Yet another Mid-level pet...

In the previous match, Tingbao got lucky by triggering the Multiscale trait, coupled with the opponent proactively executing Flame Wall around itself to enhance the power of his attack, allowing him to win the match.

Now, all remaining contestants likely knew that Tingbao possessed the Multiscale trait. This match would probably not be so fortunate.

Out of the tiny pool of Mid-level pets in total, how is my luck this bad to encounter two in a row before even reaching the top 10...

Little Tingbao hung around Qiao Sang's neck, displaying little interest in his opponent, seemingly unaware of the gravity of the situation.

The matches proceeded in an orderly fashion.

Battles between Low-level and Mid-level pets were extremely fast, essentially concluding within five minutes per match.

Qiao Sang watched with considerable interest.

Although the ranks of the competing pets were low and the commands issued by the instructing Beast Tamers were mostly unremarkable, these pets were species she had never seen back on Blue Star or Chaosu Star, making it quite novel.

Before long, after a green monkey-like pet collapsed to the ground, the host announced: "Next up on stage are Contestant Qiao Sang and Contestant Tingbao, against Contestant Yu Shike and Contestant Electric Mad Dog!"

Under the gaze of the crowd, Qiao Sang took Tingbao onto the field and stood firm.

A black-haired, black-eyed man who looked around twenty years old took a canine pet, roughly eighty centimeters in size, predominantly yellow, with short limbs and a lightning-shaped tail, to stand firm on the opposing side.

Up in the spectator stands, the crowd began discussing animatedly: "How did Little Thunder Dragon get matched up with a Mid-level pet again?"

"Just bad luck! But he won't necessarily lose, didn't Little Thunder Dragon beat Shell Snail under Qiao Sang's command yesterday?"

"An Electric Mad Dog seems stronger than a Shell Snail, though."

"Contestant Qiao Sang is really unlucky. Dragon-type pets generally possess arrogant temperaments. Wasn't there news previously saying a genius Beast Tamer contracted a Dragon-type pet, then lost in a battle tournament? The Dragon-type pet didn't break the contract, but moved away to live on its own independently. During mediation, the Dragon-type pet stated outright that its Beast Tamer was too trash and unworthy of it. Do you think if Contestant Qiao Sang loses this match, Tingbao will still form a contract with her?"

"Of course he will! Qiao Sang clearly looks like a genius-tier Beast Tamer too, otherwise, it would've been impossible for Little Thunder Dragon to beat Shell Snail yesterday. Besides, judging by the vibe around her, she's clearly a child from a wealthy family. When a Dragon-type pet looks for a Beast Tamer, it looks first at money and second at talent, she has both."

"That's not certain! Didn't that genius Beast Tamer in the news meet all those criteria too?"

"Don't forget, this Little Thunder Dragon is a pet from Blue Star. Its temperament might be a bit better than the Dragon-type pets around here."

Amidst the sea of discussions, the light-shadow of the number "3" appeared on the field.

Shifting continuously alongside a mechanical voice: "3, 2, 1, Match Start!"

Rows of yellow electrical arcs surfaced across Tingbao and Electric Mad Dog almost simultaneously, converging into bolts that struck forward.

Qiao Sang estimated the power of the Electric Mad Dog's Discharge, deciding decisively: "Dodge!"

Hearing this, Tingbao moved rapidly to the side out of instinct.

Two yellow lightning bolt, one thick, one thin, collided in midair. The thicker yellow lightning quickly overwhelmed the thinner one, striking toward the spot where Tingbao had originally been standing.

Bang!

The lightning struck empty air.

"Quick Attack!" Yu Shike commanded.

"Discharge around your body!" Qiao Sang issued her command almost 0.1 seconds after the opponent spoke.

Quick Attack possesses explosive power, given Tingbao's speed, he won't be able to dodge it at all. The best approach is to release lightning the moment the opponent draws near.

Pushing off with its four limbs, white light abruptly surfaced across Electric Mad Dog's body as it darted forward, speeding like a bolt of white lightning.

Simultaneously, rows of yellow electrical arcs surfaced across Tingbao's body.

Just as the white lightning was merely three meters or so away from Tingbao, it suddenly leaped into the air. The white light vanished, revealing Electric Mad Dog's figure.

At the same time, rows of yellow electrical arcs condensed across its body in an instant.

Qiao Sang's pupils shrank slightly as she shouted: "Move!"

Tingbao wriggled his body, wanting to dodge.

However, the speed of lightning was simply too fast.

Tingbao had barely moved his body when the yellow lightning energy shot forth furiously from Electric Mad Dog's body. With a bang, it struck Tingbao head-on.

"Lei lei!"

Tingbao let out a painful shriek.

A look of surprise flashed across Yu Shike's face.

"Dian kuang."

Electric Mad Dog put on a proud expression that clearly said, Didn't you still get hit by me?

To actually forcibly switch Quick Attack into Discharge mid-action... Qiao Sang felt an inexplicable surge of thrill.

This was a feeling that hadn't surfaced in the previous few rounds of competition.

Her gaze landed on Yu Shike's face, confirming her suspicion even further: The sudden switch in skills just now was Electric Mad Dog's own idea!

In the guest panel area.

"Leaping into midair while executing Quick Attack, Electric Mad Dog forcibly converted the skill into Discharge to strike Little Thunder Dragon successfully. I wonder if this was a plan Contestant Yu Shike had decided on long ago, or a spur-of-the-moment decision by Electric Mad Dog." Fu Jian marveled:

"Regardless of whose idea it was, I can only say: Beautifully done."

"Tie tie."

Tie Daoyi nodded in agreement.

Fyodor remarked: "I believe this was Electric Mad Dog's own idea. It likely saw the electrical arcs surfacing on Little Thunder Dragon, realized Contestant Qiao Sang's intent, and converted its close-range attack into a long-range one."

On Flame Star, during battles between professional Beast Tamers, many pets would temporarily alter their attack patterns based on the battle situation, yielding exceptional results.

Qiao Sang has finally encountered a pet like this... Mikayla thought to herself.

In interstellar competitions, professional Beast Tamers from Flame Star were the most troublesome to face.

The point that made them troublesome almost always lay within their pets.

Whether on Blue Star or other planets, when a pet failed to follow its Beast Tamer's commands, the outcome was usually failure.

On Flame Star, however, that was not the case.

Because the pets here grew up under the influence of battle competitions, they possessed sharp combat instincts and reaction capabilities, allowing them to alter their initial actions at the very first moment based on the opponent's movements.

Their ability to handle such situations could yield unexpected results on the field.

And these results were almost always positive.

On the field.

"Dian kuang..."

Electric Mad Dog's proud expression snapped back, its brows furrowing as it stared at the opponent in the distance.

The shrieking Tingbao suddenly stopped his voice, blinking his eyes under the power of the lightning, as if encountering something he couldn't quite wrap his head around.

As the yellow lightning dispersed, he remained entirely unharmed.

"Lei lei!"

Tingbao blanked out at first, then rows of yellow electrical arcs rapidly surfaced across his body, converging into a bolt that struck toward Electric Mad Dog.

The power of the lightning actually appeared a touch stronger than before.

This... Yu Shike realized something was terribly wrong.

The Lightning Rod trait! Seeing this, Qiao Sang's eyes lit up.

Pets possessing the Lightning Rod trait were immune to Electric-type moves, and when struck by Electric-type skills, their Special Attack power would be boosted!

To think Tingbao actually possessed this trait as well.

In that case, against an Electric-type Electric Mad Dog, what was there left to fear!

In the span of a flashing thought, Electric Mad Dog dodged rapidly, evading the lightning attack

"Continuous Discharge!" Qiao Sang issued her command.

"Lei lei!"

Rows of yellow electrical arcs surfaced across Tingbao's body, striking continuously toward Electric Mad Dog.

Realizing Tingbao's trait, Electric Mad Dog refrained from retaliating right away, dodging in a flustered state.

This Little Thunder Dragon actually has the Lightning Rod trait too! Could it be that in this match, it's going to jump a rank to challenge successfully again... The crowd stared intently at the field.

"Quick Attack!" Yu Shike shouted loudly.

"Dian kuang!"

Transforming into a bolt of white lightning, Electric Mad Dog dodged left and right, moving rapidly to evade the incoming yellow lightning bolts as it charged straight toward Tingbao.

In the guest panel area.

"Little Thunder Dragon possesses the Lightning Rod trait, so Electric Mad Dog's Electric-type moves have no effect on him and will instead boost Little Thunder Dragon's Special Attack." 

Fu Jian analyzed: "The Quick Attack Electric Mad Dog is executing now is a Normal-type skill. It can use high-speed movement to dodge attacks while seizing the opportunity to launch an offensive. Contestant Yu Shike's command is very appropriate."

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T/n: Guys guys choose one: Mysterious Option 1 or Mysterious Option 2?

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