"Ah!!!"

Maya's scream echoed through the house.

The little girl stood frozen in place, as if petrified by fear.

The scene before them was sudden and visually overwhelming. A chill ran from Qiao Sang's feet to her head, and goosebumps covered her entire body.

Inside the wall, white pet creatures were densely packed together, motionless, resembling specimens. It was a nightmare for anyone with trypophobia.

"Ya Ya?"

At that moment, Ya Bao entered through the door. Seeing the creatures inside the wall, it showed a puzzled expression.

"What is this?" Hearing Ya Bao's voice, Qiao Sang finally found her own voice.

Maya's legs had completely given out. She spoke in a trembling, tearful voice:

"Scale... Scale Moths. These are Scale Moths."

So these were Scale Moths. It seemed what the Wood Monster had said was true... The Scale Moths inside the wall remained motionless, which allowed Qiao Sang to regain her composure. She then thought of something and asked:

"Are the Scale Moths in hibernation?"

Through her recent studies, she had learned that some pet creatures have the habit of hibernation—some estivate, some hibernate, and some even stay awake for a year before hibernating for another year.

"They must be in hibernation," Maya also realized this, but the fear in her eyes didn't diminish in the slightest.

She wasn't a Beastmaster, and her knowledge of wild pet creatures came from daily interactions, gossip, or news online.

She wasn't clear about the hibernation patterns of Scale Moths, but she had heard before that Scale Moths were social creatures that preferred dark, damp places. If you encountered one in the wild, there were definitely hundreds or thousands more living nearby.

Last year, she had seen a news story online about Scale Moths. A homeowner in District 24 sold a house to a young couple at a price far below the market rate. The couple, who often shared their lives through short videos online, posted about this on the internet.

At the time, many online comments expressed envy, but some netizens said there must be something wrong with the house, otherwise the owner wouldn't be willing to sell at such a loss.

On the third day after the video was posted, District 24 was hit by a sudden storm and hail.

The couple's house collapsed, and tens of thousands of Scale Moths flew out from inside. The couple was crushed to death.

After an investigation, it was discovered that the house they bought had its roof, walls, pillars, and various building materials hollowed out by the Scale Moths, which had turned it into their nesting ground.

She never imagined that something like this would happen to her.

The thought that her house was already infested with Scale Moths and could collapse at any moment made Maya feel like she was on the verge of a breakdown.

The Wood Monster must have come for the Scale Moths. Perhaps everything it had done before was to lure out the Scale Moths or to make the task issuer discover them. But due to interference from Na Pengda, it hadn't succeeded... Whether Na Pengda was unaware or knew about the Scale Moths and was deliberately causing trouble... Qiao Sang speculated and said:

"Regardless of the hibernation state of the Scale Moths, it's not safe to stay with so many of them. You should quickly move to another place, call the police, or find another Beastmaster to solve this problem. I'll take the Wood Monster and leave now."

Her task was to drive away the Wood Monster; the Scale Moths were not within her mission scope.

With just one damaged wall revealing so many Scale Moths, who knew how many more were hidden inside? Qiao Sang didn't want to get involved in this mess.

"I understand," Maya forced a smile. "I won't see you out. I need to pack up quickly."

Although the child before her was a Beastmaster, Scale Moths were intermediate-level pet creatures. A few might be manageable, but this many was beyond the capability of an ordinary Beastmaster. She never considered asking the child to solve this problem as well.

Qiao Sang didn't delay either and turned to walk out the door.

Then she thought of something and looked at Little Treasure, signaling with her eyes toward Na Pengda and his unconscious grass-type pet creature, saying:

"Take them away too."

Na Pengda was a Beastmaster. If his pet creature woke up first and saw its master unconscious, the task issuer and her daughter might be in danger. It was better to take them all away... Qiao Sang thought cautiously.

"Xun~"

Little Treasure's short toes moved, and its shadow expanded and split, quickly binding Na Pengda and his grass-type pet creature.

The Wood Monster remained quiet.

Since the Scale Moths were discovered, it had been as if its task was complete, showing no movement, only occasionally casting a reluctant glance at the little girl.

Unfortunately, the little girl's attention was entirely on the Scale Moths and she didn't notice.

Seeing that Little Treasure had tied up everyone who needed to be tied, Qiao Sang opened the door wide to make it easier for Little Treasure to leave.

As Qiao Sang opened the door, a beam of sunlight shone in from outside, landing directly on the Scale Moths inside the wall.

...

At the same time.

"Pfft!"

Qu Zhuo, who had been drinking coffee in a café, spat out the coffee he had just sipped upon seeing the surveillance footage.

Without bothering to wipe the mess, he stood up and rushed toward the exit.

"Sir! Your computer!" the waiter called out, chasing after him.

Qu Zhuo, who had already summoned his flying-type pet creature and mounted it, quickly patted its back:

"Turn around! Turn around!"

The flying-type pet creature made a sharp 90-degree turn.

After retrieving his computer and sitting on his pet creature, Qu Zhuo looked at the screen with an unusually serious expression.

Scale Moths, intermediate-level insect-type pet creatures, liked to nest in dark, damp places. Without sunlight, they could sleep for years or even decades, only waking up when they were about to evolve.

But once exposed to sunlight, they would awaken immediately.

One awakening would cause all of them to wake up.

The Scale Moths Qiao Sang encountered were already in a state of hibernation, which meant there were at least a thousand of them there.

Because only when their numbers reached a thousand or more would this species feel secure enough to hibernate.

A thousand Scale Moths were far beyond what a D-level Beastmaster could handle.

Moreover, there were two ordinary people with Qiao Sang who weren't Beastmasters... Qu Zhuo's mood was extremely heavy at this moment.

...

The sunlight shone on the Scale Moths inside the wall.

One of the Scale Moths twitched its antennae and slowly opened its eyes.

Just as Qiao Sang stepped out the door, an inexplicable sense of unease washed over her.

She turned her head, her eyes widening in shock.

The Scale Moths, which had been like specimens inside the wall, were now flapping their wings and swarming outward. The task issuer, holding her daughter, was still facing Qiao Sang, waving goodbye, completely unaware of the danger behind her.

"Little Treasure! Get them out of here!" Overwhelmed by shock, Qiao Sang didn't have time to think. She shouted loudly.

"Xun!"

Little Treasure's eyes glowed blue.

In the next second, Maya and the little girl disappeared from their spot.

Countless Scale Moths flew out from the house, engulfing Qiao Sang.

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