Li Qian was very confused. Just now, as he was placing the Sparrow-tailed Fish into the Beast Taming Ball, he had clearly seen a number carved onto its dorsal fin—45!
'How could there be a number on its dorsal fin?'
'What has it been through?'
'Why did it show up in the pool?'
'Why was it so badly injured?'
Li Qian couldn't figure out these questions, so he decided not to dwell on them.
He knew that the most important thing right now was to get this injured Sparrow-tailed Fish to the Pet Beast Hospital for treatment.
Given its current state, if he delayed any longer, there was no telling what irreversible consequences might occur.
At this thought, Li Qian subconsciously pedaled faster, and the bicycle's speed picked up once again.
Originally, the distance from the school to the artificial waterfall and from the artificial waterfall to the Pet Beast Hospital was about the same.
However, after his bike's speed shot up, the latter part of the journey surprisingly took less than half an hour.
Weaving through streets and alleys, twisting and turning, the bicycle made full use of its small and agile frame. Before long, he arrived at the entrance of the Lingshui City Pet Beast Hospital.
Once at the hospital entrance, the bicycle's mission was complete. Li Qian casually parked it to the side.
Without a moment's hesitation, he grabbed the Beast Taming Ball and rushed inside.
Upon entering the Pet Beast Hospital, he gave the area a quick scan and made a beeline for the emergency treatment room.
As soon as he pushed open the door to the emergency room, he was greeted by the sight of a female nurse in a pink uniform and a matching pink hat.
Next to the pink-uniformed nurse stood a Pet Beast—a chubby, adorable creature shaped like a goose egg with short, stubby limbs.
Li Qian recognized this Pet Beast. It was a Cloud Valley Egg, a Life-type Pet Beast.
Because these Pet Beasts were proficient in various healing Skills and weren't very difficult to raise, they were common in Pet Beast Hospitals all across the Federation.
"I'm sorry to trouble you," Li Qian said, his face etched with anxiety as he handed the Beast Taming Ball to the nurse in pink.
The pink-clad nurse glanced at the Cloud Valley Egg beside her and said, "Xiao Gu."
"Gugu..."
The Cloud Valley Egg took the Beast Taming Ball, and as it did, a Light of Healing already began to glow from its hands.
It could even heal through the Beast Taming Ball. This showed that the Skill Level of this Cloud Valley Egg named "Xiao Gu" and its Light of Healing must be quite high.
"Don't worry, we'll do everything we can!" the pink-uniformed nurse said to Li Qian in a serious tone.
After handing the Beast Taming Ball containing the Sparrow-tailed Fish to the Cloud Valley Egg, Li Qian left the emergency treatment room.
...
「Half an hour later.」
Li Qian was on a bench outside the emergency treatment room, waiting for the results.
Just then, the door to the treatment room opened, and a female Pet Beast veterinarian in a white uniform walked out.
The veterinarian looked at Li Qian, her voice tinged with disapproval. "How do you take care of your Pet Beast? Why did you let it get so severely injured?"
Li Qian had no intention of arguing with the veterinarian. He quickly explained, "Doctor, you must have misunderstood. This Sparrow-tailed Fish isn't my Pet Beast."
"I was training my Pet Beast by the river just now when I came across it. I saw how badly it was hurt, so I brought it here."
Hearing this, the veterinarian's attitude softened considerably. "Ah, so it's a wild Pet Beast."
"However, its injuries weren't caused by fighting another Pet Beast. Or rather, not entirely."
Li Qian was a bit confused. "Doctor, is the Sparrow-tailed Fish's condition very bad?"
"It is indeed not good. There are seven visible injuries," the veterinarian said, her brows furrowed. "But those aren't the most life-threatening part. The biggest problem is internal."
"It ingested a large amount of Dragon Bone Powder, causing the Energy in its body to stagnate and then run rampant. If you hadn't brought it in when you did, the consequences would have been unimaginable."
Li Qian was worried. "Can it still be saved?"
"Healing it isn't the problem, but it will likely take a long time—possibly over a month." The veterinarian looked at Li Qian. "And the cost is also an issue."
"The treatment costs could exceed 100,000. Since it's a wild Pet Beast, our hospital will cover the expense, but after the treatment is complete, it will have to be sent to a Pet Beast rescue center."
"If you want to form a contract with it or adopt it, then you will have to pay the fee."
Hearing this, Li Qian nodded. "I'll... need to think about that."
In the end, Li Qian left the Pet Beast Hospital with a furrowed brow, lost in thought.
The Sparrow-tailed Fish had high Potential. If possible, he naturally wanted to adopt it. Even if he didn't form a contract with it himself, leaving it for his parents to contract with would be a good option.
But he was in urgent need of money right now and didn't even know if he had enough. If he spent an extra hundred thousand-plus, he might face a shortage and be unable to buy the evolution resources for his Koi Carp, which would be an awkward situation.
But if he didn't take this chance to adopt it, once it was sent to the rescue center, it would likely be contracted by another Beast Master.
The rescue centers in this Beast Taming World were a bit like orphanages in human society. As long as you met the requirements, paid a certain fee, and the Pet Beast wasn't opposed to it, you could adopt and form a contract.
If this Sparrow-tailed Fish were contracted by another Beast Master, Li Qian would feel a pang of regret.
'It appeared in the pool, and I was the one who saved it. Maybe this is fate.'
The moment he stepped out of the Pet Beast Hospital, Li Qian opened his task panel.
[Current Task Progress: 99%]
That's right. Just now, the moment the veterinarian mentioned Dragon Bone Powder, the progress of his research task, "Evolution Method for the Koi Carp," had increased by another bit.
Li Qian knew about Dragon Bone Powder. Although it could stimulate a Dragon Bloodline, its effects were rather average.
Among the many Dragon Element resources, it was considered one of the cheaper ones.
He never expected that it would also be one of the evolution resources needed for the Koi Carp.
But he was a little puzzled as to why discovering an evolution resource by chance had only increased the task progress by 1%.
As for this research task, "Evolution Method for the Koi Carp," Li Qian understood it less and less.
Logically speaking, the Blood Orchid Potion and Dragon Bone Powder shouldn't be usable together. One was a potion for stimulating a Western Dragon bloodline, and the other was a powder for stimulating an Eastern Dragon bloodline. And yet, the task required both.
Unable to figure it out, Li Qian decided not to overthink it.
He'd figure it all out sooner or later anyway. Besides, he already had a flash of inspiration.
Li Qian remembered that the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon's attributes were Water and Wind. The Koi Carp already had the Water Attribute. Both the Dragon Bone Powder and the Blood Orchid Potion were for stimulating a Dragon Bloodline. So, where did the Wind Element come from?
'It can't just appear out of thin air, can it?'
Therefore, for a Koi Carp to evolve into a Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon, it must require at least one Wind Element resource.
And what Li Qian had to do was find that Wind Element resource.
This time, he could truly feel it: a Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon with Dominator Level Potential was getting closer.