Monster Pet Evolution

"I don't think the fish should be that cheap," said Goldie, who was sitting on the King Eel's head.

"Five hundred dollars still isn't enough for you?! Da Zi and the others only earn ten bucks per month, and I'm already offering you 50 months' salaries for it. Are you trying to make me bankrupt?" said Gao Peng, raising his voice to a half-shout.

Da Zi simply hugged its 50 dollars' worth of beef jerky in a corner without a word. It licked one of them.

Goldie frowned and inclined its head to one side as if deep in thought.

"I feel like I can still make more," said Goldie. "You've always been a crafty human, Gao Peng."

"No, I'm resourceful," corrected Gao Peng.

"Five hundred dollars for one fish, you say?" the duck said.

"Yes, 500."

"Then I have three fish here! You'll have to give me 1,500 Alliance Dollars!" said Goldie. A cunning twinkle crossed its dull eyes as it pulled two Golden Moorish Idols out of its bottom and threw them to the ground. The two fish corpses stared at Gao Peng lifelessly, their eyes nearly popping out from their sides.

One fish costs 500 Alliance Dollars. There are three fish here. That's 1,500 Alliance Dollars.

Goldie looked smugly at Gao Peng. Its only regret was that it hadn't thought of this sooner. It could have gotten a lot more from Tyrant Gao by catching a few more fish back then.

Oh, Gao Peng, in spite of all your machinations, you were still outsmarted by me, a mere duck. Why am I such a crafty... no, a resourceful little duckie?

Goldie puffed up its chest, evidently proud of itself.

Gao Peng looked at the Golden Moorish Idols on the ground and then looked at Goldie.

No matter how hard Goldie tried to suppress its feelings, the corners of its mouth curved upward into an awkward grin. It even failed to hide the excitement in its eyes. It wagged its tailfeather excitedly like a dog.

Gao Peng remained silent for a moment.

Then he stepped forward and patted Goldie's thigh. "I've underestimated you. You're quite a cunning little duck."

After hearing Gao Peng's praise, Goldie could no longer contain its excitement. It began leaping up and down on the spot.

Oh yeah, that's right! In your face!

"Quack, quack, quack!!!" The duck's excited quacking echoed far and wide. I've finally made money off of Tyrant Gao!

Gao Peng took out his wallet and gave 1,500 Alliance dollars to Goldie. He then said to Da Zi, "Stay here and look after the King Eel. Don't let anyone or anything else take a nibble out of it."

Da Zi nodded obediently.

Gao Peng picked up the two Golden Moorish Idols by their tails and calmly walked towards a group of trainers not too far away. "We have some freshly caught Elite-tier Golden Moorish Idols and a couple of monster core crystals here, come and get them while they're still fresh. Twenty Alliance credits for two, get them while they're still fresh!"

Some of the trainers came forward, looking to buy Gao Peng's fish. An Elite-tier monster carcass was usually in the neighborhood of ten or so Alliance credits. One Alliance credit was worth 10,000 Alliance dollars.

Silly duck, thought Gao Peng as he looked at Goldie doing a gleeful little dance in the distance, a bemused look on his face. He transferred all 198,500 Alliance dollars that he had earned to another account, which was named "Goldie's Trust Fund." Its balance was currently sitting at 3,215,456 Alliance dollars.

The line of defense around the Peach Bay area stretched as far as three to four miles.

The things that had happened there were usually reduced to material merely for after-dinner conversations among the monster trainers in the area.

"Sir, we leave the defense of the beach area in your capable hands. We won't interfere with your upcoming battle. We'll back you up by concentrating our cover on the long-range monsters out in the sea," said a bushy-browed man.

Both his legs snapped shut as he gave Gao Peng a standard military salute.

"At ease. As long as I'm here, this line of defense won't crumble. This I promise you," said Gao Peng cheerily. "Now go back and tell your superior officer what I told you."

"Understood!"

The roars of familiars and wild aquatic monsters could be heard in the distance.

"Gao Peng, the fight's already started," said Flamy through its Blood Contract. It was currently flying high in the air. "That's a lot of fish and so many huge prawns... Are those blue-finned tunas?!" said Flamy, its voice cracking somewhat from all the excitement it was feeling right then.

Flamy was about to rush over there and steal a bite in the midst of the confusion when Gao Peng's voice sounded in its head.

"Don't leave your post. I'll treat you to Lord-tier meat when all this is over."

He had already given his word to defend this part of the beach. He couldn't simply abandon his position. He had a strict code of keeping promises that he had made to others.

Gao Peng rummaged around in Silly's portable space for a moment. After a while, he pulled out a bag of melon seeds and a camp chair.

He then cracked open a seed and casually flicked it into its mouth.

Goldie looked at him, impressed by how cool Gao Peng looked every time he cracked a seed and flicked it into his mouth.

What a cool way of eating seeds. As a cool duck myself, I have to master this as well.

After mulling over it for a while, Goldie pulled out a bill from the stack of money that Gao Peng had given him and placed it before him on the sand.

"I want to buy some seeds from you."

Gao Peng rolled his eyes and said, "These melon seeds will be ground into dust like sesame seeds in your wings. If you really want to buy some, just go buy some monster sunflower seeds and plant them in the backyard."

Goldie lowered its head, looking somewhat disappointed.

The sea monsters came out of the sea without any signs of stopping. Most of them seemed to be amphibious in nature. At times, a couple of saltwater fish could be seen leaping out onto the beach Their mouths opened and closed, gnashing their teeth noisily at anything that got a bit too close to them.

Flamy flew around in the air, spewing flames at the aquatic invaders like an airborne flamethrower.

Most of the beach had been turned into a sea of fire.

Even though the fire was weak against water, these aquatic creatures still made for a delicious meal after being roasted alive.

Suddenly, the sea began to roil. In the next second, a huge wave surged forth, making a sound like thunder in the air.

It was as if a giant living being in the depths of the ocean had suddenly lashed out in anger.

The huge wave came down on the sea of fire like a wall of water.

Psssh...

The flames were mercilessly extinguished. The ground shook violently when the huge wave came crashing down on the beach. Seawater seeped into the soil, causing it to turn soft and soggy.

The burnt soil was completely turned into a black, unrecognizable mess.

Endless troops of aquatic monsters marched out of the sea, baring their teeth and fangs at anything that moved on the beach.

The trainers on the front lines seemed to be on the verge of being overwhelmed by the interminable onslaught of monsters.

While these creatures might not have been as good in one-on-one combat as these trainers' familiars, even ants could subdue an elephant through sheer numbers.

"Pull back." Gao Peng's calm voice echoed across the battlefield.

Suddenly, a black streak flew towards Gao Peng from behind.

Gao Peng barely caught a glimpse of a hint of gray mingled with the black streak.

A Golden-Shelled Magic-Clawed Crab suddenly stopped in its tracks. Without warning, its body exploded into pieces.

Dumby stood hunched over, its body still in combat stance. It stuck its left hand through its own ribcage and grabbed its Heart of the Bloodseeker.

Boom!

Fragments of the crab exploded around Dumby in all directions.

Water droplets flew up into the air from the ground and struck all the monsters in the vicinity like bullets.

"Mass Resurrection!"

Dumby fell to the ground on one knee, with one hand propping itself up.

At that moment, a shapeless force flitted across a ten-mile radius of the battlefield.