Chapter 20: The bus door opened

The bus tilted slightly.

The driver pretended to be calm while driving, but the sweat dripping down his forehead betrayed him.

"How much longer until the next stop?" A voice broke the silence first.

"About 5 more minutes," someone replied.

The bus went quiet again.

"Can you let the Fire Tooth Dog smell the scent on you? Perhaps the Fire Tooth Dog can smell where that thing is." Just as there was silence all around, Xiang Qiaosang suddenly spoke up.

Before the female student could speak, the square-faced man standing next to her sneered, "Even if there really is a wild Ghost-type transcendent creature on the bus, are you sure you want to find it while the bus is moving? What if you anger it and something happens? Can you take responsibility?"

"Yeah, let's wait until the bus reaches the next stop and stops before talking about it."

"This matter needs to be handled by the patrol department; let's not add trouble."

"Right, what's the number for the patrol department again? I'll call."

"Seems to be 669."

"... That's the control department."

People on the bus discussed it one after another.

"It's not Ghost-type," Xiang Qiaosang said.

"How do you know it's not?" someone asked.

"You were the one who said you found movement, and now you're the one saying it's not. Are you playing with us?" the square-faced man shouted.

Xiang Qiaosang looked him straight in the eye and smiled. "Uncle, I feel like you've been targeting me from the very beginning."

The square-faced man widened his eyes and roared, "I'm only 24!"

"Uncle, your voice is a bit loud," Xiang Qiaosang said, picking at her ear.

The square-faced man glared viciously at Xiang Qiaosang with a ferocious expression. If it weren't for the Fire Tooth Dog in front of Xiang Qiaosang, he would probably have started a fight the next second.

"Why is it not Ghost-type?" the female student asked at this moment.

"That auntie's pet beast is a Magnetic Hamster. If a Ghost-type transcendent creature appears nearby, its tail will become lightning-shaped, but its tail is currently pointing straight down," Xiang Qiaosang explained, pointing at the pet beast on the auntie's shoulder in the neighboring seat.

The female student was stunned for a moment, then recalled that there seemed to be such a thing...

Magnetic Hamsters had magnetic field reactions and could sense special magnetic field movements.

Magnetic fields like those of Ghost-type transcendent creatures, which were different from the surroundings, would cause the Magnetic Hamster to unconsciously stimulate its own temporal lobe, which would indeed make its tail lightning-shaped.

But textbooks were textbooks; she hadn't expected to connect such obscure content to reality so suddenly...

"Right, right, my Magnetic Hamster is indeed like that," the auntie in the neighboring seat reacted and nodded.

Hearing this, the female student didn't hesitate anymore and said, "Go ahead and smell."

Xiang Qiaosang nodded at the Fire Tooth Dog.

The Fire Tooth Dog obediently leaned in close to the female student and started sniffing.

Xiang Qiaosang noticed that the facial muscles of the square-faced man standing next to them instantly tightened.

The Fire Tooth Dog sniffed, sniffed the air a few more times, and then barked at the square-faced man.

"What are you barking at, you damn dog!" the square-faced man said ferociously.

"Ya!"

The Fire Tooth Dog's fur stood on end, its four limbs exerted force, and its sharp teeth were exposed significantly; it was clearly angered by the man in front of it.

The square-faced man was startled but still held his ground without retreating.

He looked at the girl holding the Fire Tooth Dog, wanting her to control her pet beast, only to find the girl looking at him expressionlessly, her gaze icy, giving off a feeling even more terrifying than the Fire Tooth Dog...

Xiang Qiaosang felt incredibly calm at this moment. She slowly stroked the Fire Tooth Dog's back, trying to keep it from bristling.

She couldn't attack him first; the Alliance clearly stipulated that Beast Tamers were prohibited from using pet beasts to attack ordinary citizens. Even if she wanted to attack, she couldn't do it so openly; there was a whole bus of people here.

This man clearly had a problem. He was the one who reacted most intensely when she said the Fire Tooth Dog sensed something earlier, and the Fire Tooth Dog also smelled the same scent on him as on the female student.

But to say something suddenly appeared on someone and then disappeared couldn't be something he could do himself.

Pulling stunts on a bus—either for money or for lust.

That thing would make the Fire Tooth Dog unable to sense it suddenly, and the female student hadn't noticed anything. If she had been touched, she would definitely have reacted.

It wasn't for lust.

Then it was for money.

"Did you lose anything?" Xiang Qiaosang turned her head to ask the female student.

The female student was stunned for a moment, then reacted and started checking her bag and pockets. After two seconds:

"Holy crap, my phone is gone!"

As expected, Xiang Qiaosang thought to herself.

Seeing this, people on the bus also started checking their belongings.

"My phone is gone too!"

"My wallet as well!"

"And the necklace I bought for my girlfriend is gone too!"

"What about my height-increasing insoles!!!"

"My pet beast's Sand Fruit, ahhh!"

Upon checking, one-third of the people on the bus found their things missing.

Xiang Qiaosang keenly noticed that those who said their things were missing were all people whose positions were concentrated in the middle of the bus.

Xiang Qiaosang looked at the square-faced man, even more certain of her guess.

Seeing Xiang Qiaosang looking at him, the square-faced man's expression was extremely ugly. He gritted his teeth and said, "My phone is gone too!"

Xiang Qiaosang: "..."

"Oh my... I can't be separated from my pet beast for even a moment..."

Just then, a loud ringtone rang out from the square-faced man's body.

Man: "..."

Everyone's eyes turned toward him.

The square-faced man laughed awkwardly and said, "So it was still on me; I didn't find it just now."

Xiang Qiaosang asked, "You're a Beast Tamer, right?"

The square-faced man's expression sank; he hadn't thought of how to answer.

"He is! He's still wearing a Beast Tamer badge!" The female student realized the square-faced man's abnormality and said excitedly.

Beast Tamers registered with the Alliance would be issued corresponding badges. For example, an F-rank Beast Tamer's badge had a white background with the Beast Taming Alliance emblem on top, plus an F mark.

Some people liked to wear them, some didn't. Those who didn't like to wear them were basically low-rank Beast Tamers.

The square-faced man in front of them was wearing an E-rank Beast Tamer badge with a gray background on his chest.

This meant he had at least two intermediate pet beasts.

"Do you mind letting us all see what your pet beast is?" Xiang Qiaosang asked kindly.

The square-faced man wanted to refuse, but the eyes of everyone on the bus were focused on him.

"Show us your pet beast!"

"Yeah, what are you afraid of?"

"Weren't you very arrogant just now? Speak up."

"Is there some pet beast you're hiding?"

The square-faced man's expression became uglier and uglier, his already twisted features squeezed together, and the sweat on his back made his gray vest stick to his body.

Just when he didn't know what to do:

"Yonglin Station has arrived. Passengers getting off, please take your belongings and exit through the back door."

The electronic announcement sounded.

The bus door opened. ===== CHAPTER 21 =====