Very quickly, the Firefang Dog disappeared within the glow of the star array.
Inside Qiao Sang's brain domain, the blank page of the Beast Codex suddenly lit up, and a lifelike image of a Firefang Dog appeared upon it.
At the same time, lines of text emerged in the blank space of the Beast Codex:
[Name: Firefang Dog]
[Attribute: Fire]
[Level: Beginner (63/1000) +]
[Skills: Bite (Beginner 73/100) +, Headbutt (Proficient 133/500) +, Fire Fang (Beginner 1/100) +]
[Points: 0]
Several lines of text—simple, clear, and easy to understand—appeared before Qiao Sang.
She was stunned.
Did the Beast Codex ever mention anything like this?
No… right?
She clearly remembered that the Beast Codex only had two functions: forming contracts and serving as a space to house pet beasts. There was nothing remotely like a system interface.
Then again, Qiao Sang wasn't entirely confident in her own memory. After all, the original owner of this body had been a terrible student, with countless knowledge gaps.
But still…
This very well might—probably, maybe—be a cheat ability!
Everything would have to wait until she left this place to verify it.
Suppressing her excitement, Qiao Sang formed the summoning hand seal.
The next second, a white star array appeared on the ground. Starlight gathered, and the Firefang Dog emerged with an excited expression.
"Ya!"
The Firefang Dog barked at Qiao Sang.
Because of the contract, she easily understood what her pet beast meant.
It wanted to try entering the Beast Codex again.
Qiao Sang smiled indulgently and formed another seal, drawing the Firefang Dog back in.
No sooner had it gone in than the Firefang Dog started barking inside the Beast Codex, demanding to come out again.
Qiao Sang indulged it without hesitation.
As soon as it came out, it happily wagged its red tail.
"Ya!"
Smiling, Qiao Sang stored it away again.
The next moment, she summoned it back out.
The Firefang Dog blinked its black eyes.
"Ya!"
Qiao Sang's smile stiffened slightly. After a pause, she still sent it back into the Beast Codex.
When it came out again, it looked at her with eyes full of expectation.
"Ya!"
It wanted to keep playing!
Qiao Sang: "..."
When Ye Xiangting returned, what she saw was her daughter wearing a numb expression, repeatedly forming seals—sometimes putting away the Firefang Dog, sometimes summoning it back out.
Puzzled, Ye Xiangting asked, "Sangsang, what are you doing?"
Qiao Sang replied expressionlessly, "I'm playing."
…
…
After leaving the Hanggang Pet Beast Base, Qiao Sang didn't head straight home. Instead, she made a trip to the Hanggang Beast Tamer Center.
According to Alliance regulations, all pet beasts contracted by beast tamers had to be registered at a Beast Tamer Center within seven working days.
In this era, contracting a pet beast didn't mean you could just bring it home and relax. First, the pet beast needed to be registered—otherwise, it was considered a black household.
Human cities strictly prohibited wild extraordinary creatures from entering. If an unregistered pet beast was discovered, it would be treated as a wild extraordinary creature and taken away by the Inspection Department.
Wild extraordinary creatures attacking humans wasn't anything unusual. In fact, news of humans being attacked by extraordinary creatures popped up every few days.
To protect human safety—especially that of ordinary people whose brain domains hadn't awakened—the Alliance forbade the presence of wild extraordinary creatures within cities.
Extraordinary creatures came in countless forms, each wielding mysterious powers. Beast-type creatures were relatively easy to deal with, since they were easier to spot.
But spirit-type and ghost-type extraordinary creatures were different—once they hid, they were extremely difficult to detect.
Because of this, the Alliance established the Inspection Department specifically to handle such issues.
From the Hanggang Pet Beast Base to home, making a turn along the way led directly to the Hanggang Beast Tamer Center, so it was conveniently en route.
At that turn, her mother rode off ahead on Faithful Old Man, saying she had something to take care of, and left Fat Family Dove behind as Qiao Sang's means of transportation.
By the time Qiao Sang arrived at the Hanggang Beast Tamer Center, it was already 11:32 a.m., leaving only 28 minutes before closing.
Unlike brain-domain testing, which only had a single window, pet beast registration had sixteen service windows.
After taking a number, Qiao Sang found a seat and sat down.
Fat Family Dove stood quietly by her side on guard, while the Firefang Dog lay in her arms, its eyes darting around curiously, clearly fascinated by its surroundings.
"Number 06556, please proceed to Window 12."
"Number 06556, please proceed to Window 12."
Qiao Sang glanced down at her ticket.
06557.
She checked the time again—11:52 a.m.
Looks like it wouldn't be her turn before noon.
"Number 06557, please proceed to Window 12."
It seemed 06556 hadn't shown up, so they called her number directly.
Qiao Sang immediately stood up with the Firefang Dog in her arms.
Looks like her luck wasn't bad today.
At Window 12, she was received by a young man with a buzz cut.
"Hello, how can I help you?"
Qiao Sang took out her information card and handed it over. "I'm here to register a pet beast."
The buzz-cut youth placed the card on the scanner, glanced at the screen, and said, "Sorry, it shows here that you're not yet a beast tamer, so pet beast registration isn't possible."
Qiao Sang paused, then said, "Then I'll register as a beast tamer first."
"Please provide your brain-domain certification," the youth replied.
This was Qiao Sang's first time registering as a beast tamer, and she hadn't known such proof was required.
"I didn't bring it," she said helplessly.
Then she lifted the Firefang Dog in her arms. "Doesn't this prove that I'm a beast tamer?"
The buzz-cut youth silently glanced at the time on his screen—11:58 a.m.—and replied, "It doesn't."
"Why not?" Qiao Sang asked, confused.
"Are you done yet? If you didn't bring everything, hurry up and move aside."
An impatient female voice came from behind.
Qiao Sang turned around and saw a girl wearing the uniform of Xiehe Beast Tamer High School standing behind her.
The girl glanced at Qiao Sang. She had long, narrow slanted eyes that made people uncomfortable when she looked down at them.
Seeing Qiao Sang stay silent, she stepped past her and handed over her ticket. "I'm 06556, ahead of her. Process mine first. I need to change some pet beast information."
Qiao Sang frowned and prepared to give up her spot. The girl's attitude was unpleasant, but it was true that her own materials were incomplete.
The buzz-cut youth rejected her request. "We reassign numbers once they're missed."
He then returned the information card to Qiao Sang. "Beast tamer registration requires photographic verification."
The time struck 12:00 exactly.
The youth flipped the sign at the window and smiled. "We're closed for lunch. You can come back this afternoon."
With that, he left his post.
Neither of them got their business done.
Qiao Sang didn't really mind—it had been a spur-of-the-moment stop anyway.
But the high-school girl's face darkened. "This is all your fault. If it weren't for you, I'd already be done."
Qiao Sang stood up and left.
A hand suddenly blocked her.
"Hey, I'm talking to you. Didn't you hear me?"
Qiao Sang looked baffled. She glanced around and asked, "Are you talking to me?"
"Is there anyone else here?" the girl snapped, her slanted eyes widening.
At that moment, Passerby A and Passerby B silently walked past.