Beast Taming: I Can Add Points

With a crisp thud, Selena, clad in a beige trench coat, landed steadily, her disheveled, ice-blue hair whipping in the wind.

BOOM!

The Extreme Ice Phoenix, Xue Mei, beat her massive wings, flinging the debris into a deserted area nearby.

”Xue Ao! Cryo-treatment!”

WHOOSH!

Xue Ao gently lifted the girl. The rebar, made brittle by the extreme cold, was deftly extracted by Xue Ao without disturbing the wound. The localized cold even staunched the bleeding.

Selena then injected a green serum labeled ”Emergency Medical” near the girl’s wound.

The girl slowly opened her eyes.

Tears of joyful relief welled up in the boy’s eyes as he looked at the ice-blue-haired Beast Tamer, his mouth opening and closing, unsure of what to say.

Selena patted his shoulder, then quickly stood and ran off into the distance.

The boy remained kneeling, her retreating figure seeming impossibly tall. He would never forget that disheveled yet strikingly beautiful ice-blue hair.

Following her with his gaze, he saw team after team of Beast Tamers on giant Pet Beasts, all clad in light gray Alliance Member uniforms, rapidly descending into the ruins to begin rescuing the wounded.

Amid the cheers of the residents, countless figures emerged from over the horizon, speeding toward the Celestial Paradise City District.

”Mobile Team One has reached the designated location!”

”Mobile Team Two has reached the designated location!”

”Mobile Team Three has reached the designated location!”

Selena pressed her earpiece, switching to the public channel.

”All received.

”Everyone, the time has come for the Alliance and the people to test us. This disaster is our command, and the people in the disaster area are counting on us! We are the first boots on the ground. Our mission is to prevent any more deaths and buy time for the main forces!”

A unified roar, more powerful than the earthquake itself, came in response: ”WE WILL NOT FAIL!!”

On the ruins left by the quake, the Flying Shadow Alliance—having just completed a 3,800-kilometer rapid deployment in five minutes—dove straight into the relief effort without a moment’s rest.

...

「Huai City First Middle School.」

It was morning reading period, but Class Ten was deathly silent.

The teacher patrolling the hall felt the urge to offer a few words of criticism, but upon seeing the equally silent Zhou Shengfa at the front of the class, he swallowed them.

’Forget it. I’ll go check the other classes...’

”No, I still can’t get through...”

Shao Ya’s hand fell limply onto her desk. Her body trembled, her voice strained with utter fear and helplessness.

The surrounding students wanted to comfort their class monitor, but no one knew what to say.

This was the ninth time she had tried to call. The first seven times, the line was busy. The last two, the phone was off.

By now, the main tremor in Hundred Rivers had ended, and the Flying Shadow Alliance’s first relief team had already moved in. Anyone who had safely weathered the quake should have been settled.

Besides, all specialized Beast Tamer phones were satellite-based; they weren’t affected by local cell towers.

Su Zhi’s phone being off had to mean something had happened.

’If I assume the worst...’

Shao Ya suddenly shot to her feet. A light green Beast Taming Light Array flared to life beside her, and within it, Xiaolan’s figure materialized.

Zhou Shengfa, at the front of the room, raised an eyebrow. ”What do you think you’re doing?”

”Going to find him!”

The girl tossed out three words and charged out of the classroom with her Pet Beast.

Liu Yuhang instinctively rose to give chase, but seeing that Old Ban at the front hadn’t moved, he paused. ”Should we stop the class monitor?”

”...Don’t worry about the class monitor. I’ll watch over her.”

Zhou Shengfa took a deep breath and stepped away from the podium. ”Everyone, continue your morning reading or study on your own.”

”Oh, okay!”

·

「At the Alliance Headquarters, the Flying Shadow Alliance’s garrison was a hive of activity.」

Red warning lights, signaling an emergency scramble, flashed across the entire airfield. On the runway, massive Y-99 transport planes, colossal as the mythical Kun-Peng, stood ready.

In fact, these very Y-99s had just completed a high-intensity supply transport mission for the Hundred Rivers Earthquake a few months prior, with their duties only officially ending at the beginning of this month.

Today was the first chance they’d had for a thorough cleaning and maintenance. In fact, the work had begun just a few dozen minutes ago...

Upon receiving the call for support, all cleaning and maintenance was immediately halted. The Y-99s were switched back to active mission status on the spot.

With Alliance Members and their Pet Beasts working in tandem, batch after batch of relief supplies and personnel were loaded with incredible speed. This included food, fresh water, temporary shelters, medical supplies, and even Healing-type Beast Tamers from the Huichun Alliance.

In two hours, the massive shadows of these transport planes would be cast over the Hundred Rivers Earthquake Zone, delivering not just supplies, but hope to the people below.

But even before the supply transports were officially underway, large contingents of relief troops had already departed, riding high-mobility Pet Beasts toward the Hundred Rivers Disaster Area.

The Flying Shadow Alliance’s average travel speed was 4,000 km/h, a fact recorded in the Alliance History Hall.

In reality, the Flying Shadow Alliance never bothered with ’average speed’ during a disaster.

Get to where you’re needed most, as fast as humanly possible—that was the Flying Shadow Alliance’s creed!

In the Alliance Leader’s office, Alliance Leader Chopper and Shao Yun were rapidly coordinating with one subordinate commander after another.

”Report! Selena has led three mobile teams into the periphery of the disaster area! They’re conducting joint rescue operations with the local Hundred Rivers City earthquake response squads!”

”Report! The First and Second Airborne Divisions have taken off! ETA thirty minutes to the Celestial Paradise Domain!”

”What about the transport planes? When can our supplies be delivered to the disaster area?”

Shao Yun’s brow was deeply furrowed. ”Two hours is too long! Some of the critically injured won’t make it!”

”Reporting to the Vice Alliance Leader! Alliance Leader Chopper has formed a special medical transport squad by requisitioning all Beast Tamers in the Alliance contracted with Space Element Pet Beasts! A number of Huichun Alliance members have already departed with the First and Second Divisions!”

”Good... It seems Xiaosai and Xiaoqiao can hold their own now.”

Only then did Shao Yun’s brow relax slightly as he let out a long breath.

A commander couldn’t help but interject, ”Vice Alliance Leader, perhaps you should get some rest? You’ve been directing the response ever since the first alert came in...”

”Just talking doesn’t tire me out. No need for rest. The ones on the front lines are the ones doing the real hard work.”

Shao Yun sighed, rubbing his temples to muster his energy. ”This is just the beginning. The middle and later stages of disaster relief are when things get truly hectic... Ugh.”

The commander added with a note of awe, ”I heard from our people in the Divine Strategy Alliance that this earthquake was originally projected to be a 9.5 magnitude. Apparently, a few of their members used some special means to knock it down to a 7.”

Shao Yun looked at him in surprise. ”Is that so?”

The difference between a 9.5 and a 7 wasn’t just two and a half points on a scale. The devastation and death toll from quakes of those two magnitudes were on completely different planets.

What did a 9.5 even mean?

The Hundred Rivers Earthquake a few months ago had been a 9.6, and its epicenter wasn’t even in Celestial Paradise, but in the unpopulated highlands near Hundred Rivers.

Even so, the disaster relief forces within Hundred Rivers province itself had been almost completely crippled, and several cities had been reduced to rubble.

The Flying Shadow Alliance had to mobilize almost all of its forces for the rescue, even calling in reinforcements from the Cui Feng Alliance. The Huichun Alliance’s medical corps worked nearly around the clock for almost a month before the relief effort was considered largely complete.

If this 9.5 magnitude earthquake had truly struck the outskirts of Celestial Paradise City as the intelligence had predicted, all of Hundred Rivers would have likely become a living Purgatory.

”An incredible person... They indirectly saved tens of thousands of lives.”

Shao Yun said, feeling both emotional and curious, ”And this was one of the Divine Strategy Alliance’s people?”

”A member of one of their research projects who just happened to be in Hundred Rivers. I don’t have the details.”

”I see...”

Shao Yun breathed a sigh of relief, only to tense up again.

He’d just spoken to Shao Ya last week. His daughter had mentioned that Su Zhi was planning to go to Hundred Rivers to evolve his Pet Beast. He’d even told her to talk him out of it. ’Did he really end up going?’

’Knowing Su Zhi’s personality, he probably went anyway.’

’Can’t really blame the kid... A huge earthquake had just happened, so it should have been safe for a while. Who could’ve predicted another one would strike so soon?’

’Damn kid. Had to go at this exact time. What perfect timing.’

’Just don’t get yourself into trouble... If Su Zhi dared to get himself hurt, I’d drag him back for my daughter’s sake, no matter what it took!’

·

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