After exchanging beast mates, those crazy S-rank beasts are all vying to be my pets.

Chapter 75 Kidnapped

The trading market was packed with people, comparable to a tourist attraction during a short holiday; you had to be pushed forward by the people behind you to get ahead.

Wu Lanyuan was tall and imposing, protecting Sang Tian as they walked forward. Whenever someone tried to squeeze past, his cold, sharp eyes were like blades, frightening them into not daring to move forward.

What do you want to buy at the trading market?

Coming to the trading market was a sudden decision, and Sang Tian didn't know what to buy for a while.

Wu Lanyuan's gaze froze; it was something he wanted to buy...

"walk around."

Having received this answer, Sang Tian had no choice but to follow the flow of people, wandering around wherever she pleased, adhering to a carefree attitude.

As darkness fell, Sang Tian sent a message to Bi Jingyan while she was in the car, saying that she wouldn't be home for dinner that night, as she and Wu Lanyuan were at the trading market.

Upon hearing this, Bi Jingyan stopped shopping for groceries and insisted on coming along; they are currently on their way.

Sang Tian ignored the shops selling medicine and crystals and went straight to the clothing section.

"My lady, come and try on our clothes. They're all the latest styles. Buy two and get one free today, and get 20% off if you spend over 1,000 spirit crystals."

The trading markets are all temporary sheds, not shops or stores.

Someone rushed out and blocked Sang Tian. Just as they were about to get close, Wu Lanyuan led them to the other side and created some distance.

Sang Tian looked at the clothes on the clothes rack; there were all kinds of styles, including a short skirt made of animal skin.

She was immediately drawn in and pulled Wu Lanyuan inside to shop.

"My lady, this suits you." The sales assistant brought over a pair of leopard-print shorts and a cropped tank top to promote to Sang Tian.

Is this really suitable? Sang Tian couldn't help but glance down at her own figure.

She stole a glance at Wu Lanyuan's reaction; he remained cold and aloof, as if he had no interest in anything.

"Shall I try?" Sang Tian took the clothes, wanting to test whether Wu Lanyuan was someone who had given up all emotions and desires, leaving only his appetite.

Sang Tian pulled back the curtain and entered the fitting room.

The moment the curtain closed, she smelled a pungent odor in the fitting room that she didn't have outside. It burned her lungs when she inhaled it.

pat-

The clothes fell to the ground, and the fitting room was empty.

Hearing the commotion, Wu Lanyuan hurried to the fitting room door. "Sang Tian?"

There was no response from inside. He ripped off the curtain, but Sang Tian was already gone.

Wu Lanyuan turned around and saw that the shop assistant was trying to run away. He summoned his scimitar and used it to block the person's path.

The orc was frightened and revealed its true form: a calico cat with heterochromatic eyes.

"Where is he?" A hint of irritation flashed in Wu Lanyuan's eyes.

The calico cat tried to escape using its size, but Wu Lanyuan grabbed it by the scruff of its neck, tightening his grip. "Where are you?"

The cat's pupils began to dilate.

He patted Wu Lanyuan's hand with his paw, "It was the people from the black market who forced me..."

Before he could finish speaking, Wu Lanyuan threw the cat away, and a scream rang out.

Many people were drawn to what was happening in the store.

Looking at the crowded road, Wu Lanyuan suppressed a surge of anger and ran quickly against the flow of people.
-
Sang Tian was trapped in a dimly lit basement. In her dazed state, she could vaguely hear the sound of dripping water.

Da da da--

This was clearly the sound of stepping into a puddle, and the footsteps grew louder as they approached.

She lifted her eyelids, her vision blurry, her lungs still burning with pain, her hands and feet were bound, thankfully they hadn't stuffed a smelly rag into her mouth. "Awake?"

A bright light shone on Sang Tian. Her eyes couldn't handle the sudden brightness, so she closed them and tried her best to adjust.

"Are you from the black market?" Sang Tian's voice was hoarse. She couldn't think of anyone else who would kidnap her except people from the black market.

"You're smart." The man turned off the flashlight, plunging the basement into darkness again.

Sang Tian could only determine their approximate location based on the sounds they heard.

The fact that she was still alive enough to open her eyes means that their goal wasn't to kill her, which means there's still room for negotiation.

"What do you want?"

“My brothers and I just scraped together enough money last month to buy a storefront on the black market, and we’re moving this month. The price of the storefront in the new location has doubled. What do you think I want?”

"How many do you want?" Sang Tian tried to stall for time.

Given the abilities of the other beastmen, finding this place wouldn't be difficult; it's just a matter of time.
"Five hundred thousand spirit crystals."

Now it was Sang Tian's turn to be unsettled, genuinely feeling that the price was outrageous.

"Does the regulatory authorities in mainland China know that you set prices like this on the black market?!"

The orc turned on his flashlight again, shining the bright light on Sang Tian. "Stop talking nonsense. You can decide for yourself whether you want spirit crystals or your life."

"Brother, let's not talk about anything else. Just let me do what I think is best. Could you please turn off this broken flashlight so I can open my eyes and see?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Sang Tian's shoulder was pierced, and she gasped in pain.

"Stop wasting time in front of me. Don't think I don't know that bad people die from talking too much. Either transfer the money now, or you die."

Sang Tian felt something foreign on her left shoulder and smelled the blood that belonged to her. In her mind, she cursed the ancestors of these two people for eighteen generations.

Are kidnappers this enlightened now? They've learned the theory and are putting it into practice.

"Fools, you want spirit crystals but you've tied me up? Don't you know that cloud-based operations require hands?" Her hands were bound to the sides of the chair, and the ropes would tighten whenever she moved.

She knew that people in the black market didn't have access to the cloud, so they definitely didn't understand how the cloud operated.

In fact, the cloud can be controlled using brainwaves; she's betting that they don't know it.

"Go and untie her hands," the person who had been talking to Sang Tian instructed the others.

The lights went out again, and Sang Tian's curses were already rising in her throat. Was this orc a firefly? Its light kept flickering on and off; what a perverted and torturous habit.

After her hand was released, Sang Tian raised her hand to touch the wound on her shoulder, her fingertips stained with blood.

"I advise you not to try anything funny. You have a poisonous bee sting in your shoulder. You will die if you don't take the antidote within an hour."

The person speaking finally decided to turn on the light and stop fiddling with that broken flashlight.

Sang Tian raised her hand to cover her eyes, feeling as if her eyes were being tortured into blindness.

She squinted and saw the two people opposite her clearly: one was a centipede with the lower half of a human body, and the other had two short tentacles on its head and a pair of brown wings behind its shoulders.

"How about we turn off the lights?" The scene was too beautiful for Sang Tian to look at directly, so she simply made the request.

The two people opposite realized that Sang Tian's words were insulting, and they became so angry that their faces turned red, as if they had been hit where it hurt.

"You're asking for death! Hurry up and attack the spirit crystal!" the centipede beastman urged.

Sang Tian retorted, speaking nonsense with a straight face, "Who told you to hurt my left shoulder? Don't you know I'm left-handed? I'm definitely slower with my right hand than with my left."

"You brat, if we don't teach you a lesson today, you'll really think we're easy to bully." The centipede beastman twisted his lower body and approached Sang Tian.

Seeing this scene, Sang Tian felt a chill run down her spine. "Stop! If I faint from fright, can you guarantee you'll still get the spirit crystals?"

The centipede beastman stopped, realizing that what she said made sense.

(End of this chapter)