Monster Pet Evolution

Flamy let out a timely belch. A couple of fish bones dropped out of its mouth as it did so.

"You might not believe this, but I dozed off, and when I woke up, the fish was already in my belly," Flamy said innocently.

"Eat slowly. Be careful not to choke." Gao Peng reeled in his line and put away his rod.

Flamy tapped its own head quizzically. What's wrong with Gao Peng? Why is he being so nice?

It nibbled on the fish while keeping a close eye on Gao Peng. At the first sign of anger, it would hightail it out of there.

Gao Peng didn't have time for these games. He slowly put his fishing rod on the rack.

The guard poked his head in to holler at Gao Peng. "Master Gao, that man is willing to pay 2,000 credits to challenge you!" He had actually agreed to it!

Gao Peng was intrigued. Honestly, it wasn't a small sum of money.

A Commander-tier creature's core crystal was worth only a few hundred credits. With the kind of money the challenger was bringing in, he'd be better off buying a couple of Commander-tier core crystals.

Each Commander-tier creature could only produce a single core crystal.

This wasn't a game. Monster hunting was a treacherous livelihood, especially when it came to Commander-tier creatures. Even if one was leading the hunt with one's own Commander-tier familiar, it wasn't easy.

Two thousand credit points might not have sounded like much, but it was at least 20,000 Alliance dollars.

Who was Gao Peng to say no to free money?

Gao Peng turned towards Flamy. Sensing trouble, Flamy immediately spread his wings and rocketed into the air.

"Get down here." Gao Peng gestured at him. "We have a fight. There's a delicious bluefin tuna in it for you if you win."

Blue. Fin. Tuna!

Flamy's eyes sparkled in anticipation.

That was the most delicious thing it had ever eaten in its entire life. The plump, juicy flesh was melt-in-your-mouth tender and so fresh it had practically been able to taste the sea in its mouth.

Its mouth started watering involuntarily...

A huge, modified truck was parked outside the gates, towing what appeared to be a large, mobile caravan. A couple of people were milling about, chatting and laughing easily. They were grouped around a red-haired girl who appeared to be their leader from her demeanor.

She had a smooth, chiseled jawline and creamy, alabaster skin. Long, wavy hair the color of fire fell to the small of her back. Even as she was laughing, there was a coldness that never quite reached her feline eyes. Her tight denim jeans accentuated the generous curve of her hips and her long, slim legs. She had a glass of wine in hand as she leaned lazily against the truck.

"Miss, why are we spending so much to challenge this loser?" A bald, tattooed man spoke up. "Why should I be the one challenging him when we're so much older than him?"

"Can you beat him then?" She shot him a quick glance.

The bald man stood rooted to the spot. "Why do we have to compete this way?"

"How else? Are you going to see who has more money? You and the young master of the Southern Sky Group?" The red-haired girl smiled teasingly, finishing her red wine in a single swig.

"It's all a game to him. A folly of the rich." She sighed. "I only hope he'll acknowledge us. That would save us a lot of trouble."

"What a pansy!" the bald man spat in disgust. He had barely finished his sentence when a shadow flew off the top of the building to land in front of them, kicking up a mini dust storm in the process.

He didn't know if it was just him, but the air around them seemed to get noticeably hotter.

For all his bluster before, the majestic sight of Flamy in front of him shut him up real quick. He had seen bigger creatures before but none with a presence like this.

Flamy bent down to peer at the man curiously. His scarlet eyes seemed to gleam even brighter than usual. His feathers glowed faintly in the dark, casting a dim glow on everyone present.

The bald man opened and closed his mouth several times, like a fish out of water. Hoping that Gao Peng hadn't heard his tirade from before, he smiled sheepishly. "Young master Gao, your familiar certainly seems to be in good health."

Gao Peng smiled thinly as he hopped off of Flamy. "You want to challenge me? Show me the money first."

The red-haired girl smiled. She went into the caravan and took out a small, silken pouch, then tossed it as Gao Peng. "Five Commander-tier core crystals. That's more than enough, right?"

Gao Peng loosened the drawstrings of the pouch and peered inside. Everything seemed to be in order. Core crystals were a good medium of transaction because they held their value well.

"It's my familiar that wishes to challenge a familiar of yours." The red-haired girl rapped on the back of the truck.

Boom!

A vivid emerald cobra slithered up to the girl noiselessly. This was a Level 40 Commander-tier Winged Cobra. Its Elite grade was the only thing holding it back from evolving into a Lord-tier familiar. Having personally worked with the Blood Eye Bearded Vulture, Gao Peng could tell that this wasn't the only reason behind the Winged Cobra's failure to evolve. There was a startling lack of drive on its part as well...

"Wait a minute. Can I ask why you want to challenge me?" Gao Peng asked suddenly. He couldn't figure out for the life of him what these people actually wanted.

"It was the only way to meet you." She bit her lip shyly.

"To meet me?"

"I want to join the Southern Sky Group. I knew that if I merely asked for it, I'd be laughed out the door. So I thought that I'd improve my chances by showing you what I can do instead." The red-haired girl looked intently at Gao Peng. "You might not know this, but there are a lot of people out there who want to join you. After all, you own the only two Emperor-tier familiars in the Huaxia region, maybe even the world.

"The nuclear core in the Central Region can take care of Commander-tier monsters and below, but Emperor-tier monsters are a different story—if we can't handle Emperor-tier monsters, it will be the end of humanity as we know it. Right now, Southern Sky has the greatest potential to solve this problem, so I'd like to lend you my strength."

Gao Peng didn't answer her. Instead, he tapped Flamy gently on the leg. "Let's see what this Winged Cobra is made of."

Flamy immediately launched itself into the air to battle with the Winged Cobra, flames dancing around it like spirits.

It didn't take long until the Winged Cobra was riddled with scorch marks and bloody, gaping wounds.

Just as he was focusing on the battle, he heard the thunderous crack of a gunshot from somewhere behind him. The next thing he knew, he felt a sharp sting on his forehead. It didn't hurt, but the velocity of the foreign projectile propelled him several feet backward.

Thud.

Gao Peng fell to the ground like a puppet whose strings had just been cut.

Opposite him, a wisp of white smoke could be seen curling lazily from the barrel of a sniper that was poking out of the truck's window...