Instructor Hong looked the bearded man up and down. "Can you handle it alone?"
"My people are already on their way," the man answered with a grin. "I've also lined up backup, and depending on how things go, I'll decide whether to call them in. Mainly, I wanted to verify the situation first. Don't worry—since you thought of me first, I won't forget your cut of the benefits!"
Wu Youren watched in mild disbelief. *Are the City Guard Bureau's KPI evaluations really this cutthroat?*
"Spare me the sweet talk," Instructor Hong said, unmoved. "So long as you don't pocket the credit for yourself, I'll consider you decent enough."
"How could I do that?" The bearded man thumped his chest. "As long as it's recorded that Red Pine's informant was developed by me, that'll do!"
He was candid enough to state his conditions outright, making it a genuine win-win.
After confirming the location, the bearded man took out a disc and waved to the group. "I'll go test the waters. Thank you all in advance for keeping an eye out."
Before long, he sent word via his wristwatch, confirming that the suspect belonged to the network of fallen ability masters. However, the target was merely a small fry running errands; he intended to tail them to catch the bigger fish.
With that, the Red Pine squad's job was done, and they turned to head back to their quarters.
Namuzha happened to emerge, dragging the one-eyed middle-aged man along. "Hong Da, it's done."
"Mm." Hong Yan waved a hand dismissively. "Let him go. Remember to send intelligence to Red Pine on schedule. Fail to do so, and next time, I'll chop you into mincemeat!"
Back at the small courtyard, everyone shared the dinner Wu Youren had brought back and retired to their respective rooms.
Rossi had already eaten dinner, so he merely picked at the food. His primary interest was in the chick. If this creature could sense Guizu aura, it would truly be an invaluable asset in the future. Yet just as Wu Youren had said, the little thing genuinely refused to eat anything. Rossi had specifically gotten a few strips of fresh meat to feed it, but Aviator simply swallowed them and spat them right back out.
An hour later, Instructor Hong stood on the second-floor gallery and beckoned the youth outside. She had consulted someone on how to nurture a creature with potential into a spirit, and had specifically organized a plan.
The two-and-a-half-story building had open corridors on one side. Gazing into Tianjing's nightscape, the two spoke in hushed tones.
When Wu Youren heard that he could try feeding the chick powdered resentment crystal, he froze in disbelief. Considering that Aviator had indeed attempted to swallow a biguijue before, he figured there might be some feasibility to this advice. But that was resentment crystal... Could there be any bird feed more prodigal than that?
He had pulled himself out of abject poverty, sure, but his wallet had only loosened slightly. Financial freedom was a distant dream; he could barely even claim modest comfort!
"Give it a try," Instructor Hong said, handing him a small vial. "This is Guizu-luring agent. If resentment crystals work, this shouldn't be a problem either... You haven't tried feeding it with this, have you?"
The youth could only offer a wry smile, not even taking the vial. "How could I test with this? I can't afford it in the slightest!"
"It's just a chick; it can't eat much," Instructor Hong replied offhandedly. "This is only a dietary supplement, not its staple food."
"I still think... it's too expensive." Wu Youren glanced at Aviator on his shoulder. "Hong Da, how about I sell it to you?"
Giving it away as a gift was out of the question; benefits that could be secured had to be fought for. The people of Liang truly had no concept of polite refusal, so everything had to be spelled out plainly.
"Sell it?" Instructor Hong was somewhat taken aback. *Do you have any idea how high a price others would pay just to establish a connection with me?*
*Whatever. He's just a pathetic wretch who grew up kept like livestock.* She couldn't be bothered to argue with him. "Even if you want to fetch a good price, you still need to figure out its feeding habits first."
"Young beasts with the potential to become spirits fetch astounding prices," a voice chimed in from behind them. It was the middle-aged knight, whose experience was nothing to scoff at. "If I were you, I'd try it no matter what."
He was not the only one eavesdropping behind them.
The discipline inspector also spoke up. "Many ability masters love keeping spirits as companions. They don't give a damn about the cost."
"If you don't want to try, let me," Manna said eagerly. "The bird is yours, and the luring agent belongs to Master anyway."
"Sure." Wu Youren nodded. *You just love fanning the flames and watching the drama, don't you?*
Manna turned around and brought a strip of meat from the room, still coated with some sauce—a dish the youth had just brought back for everyone.
Guizu-luring agent was dangerous stuff. Once contaminated by it, the scent was terribly difficult to get rid of, taking at least half a day to disperse naturally. Even though they were in downtown Tianjing right now, it was better to avoid unnecessary risks.
She poured a tiny trace of Guizu-luring agent onto one end of the meat strip—just a minuscule pinch, roughly equivalent to... an eyelash?
"I just fed it earlier," Rossi offered. "It wouldn't eat at all."
Yet before Manna could even offer the meat strip, Aviator stretched its beak wide open, chirping incessantly.
*Holy crap...* Wu Youren's eyes widened in shock. Ever since leaving the military camp, Aviator had not chirped a single time.
As the meat drew near, Aviator craned its neck and greedily snapped it into its beak. The meat strip was as thick as an index finger and about two knuckles long, roughly five centimeters—in Liang's restaurants, cuts of that size were already considered delicate. The chick's body was barely the size of a palm, yet with two jerks of its neck, it actually swallowed the entire strip whole!
"Holy crap..." Rossi was dumbfounded. "Talk about an eye-opener. But let's see if it throws it back up."
The crowd stared wide-eyed, waiting in suspense for quite a while, even Senior Instructor Hong included.
Seven or eight minutes later, the middle-aged knight spoke up. "Looks like no issues. Based on this alone, this bird starts at a hundred gold!"
A hundred gold coins was ten thousand silver dollars. The key was that the meat had Guizu-luring agent on it, yet this featherless little chick had downed it in one gulp.
His appraisal was fair and objective, yet unexpectedly, a gaze swept over him, seemingly harsh and cold. By the time he looked back, the other party had already averted his eyes, making the moment seem like an illusion.
The middle-aged knight felt somewhat puzzled. *What did Namuzha mean by that look?*
"Ten thousand it is, then," Manna said without hesitation. "It can detect Guizu aura, and its potential is astonishing. Will you sell it?"
"Sell what?" someone slurred. Daiqisi had stepped out. "Don't sell it. Keep raising it." Having received substantial benefits herself, she naturally stood up for the youth. "Even if you can afford to buy it, you can't afford to raise it. Why bother?"
"I'm buying it for Master; it can become a great helper," Manna replied dismissively. "Master will raise it, right?"
Instructor Hong looked at her, caught between tears and laughter. "What nonsense are you babbling!"
"Little Wu, I suggest gifting it to Hong Da," Namuzha chimed in. "It's for your own good!"
Curiously, as he spoke, his left cheek twitched continuously, the spasming muscle revealing his inner turmoil.
"Well... all right," Wu Youren hesitated, then nodded.
In his heart, he had already condemned a certain someone to death. *You can't get it yourself, so you don't want me to have it either? Did I provoke you or offend you?*
"Don't. I can't afford to embarrass myself like that!" Instructor Hong stated bluntly. Then she snorted coldly. "Chick imprinting. Before you buy it, I suggest you consider that hurdle first!"
She was certainly right. Among wild animals, most birds were notoriously difficult to tame. Or rather, any birds easy to tame had long since been domesticated by predecessors.
"Really? I want to test it." Manna reached out to grab Aviator from the youth's shoulder.
Wu Youren did not move his shoulder, merely saying flatly, "I'm willing to sell. Starting at three hundred gold."
Whether it could fetch that price or not, he had to make it clear that he wasn't someone to be pushed around.
"Three hundred gold?" Rossi looked at him in disbelief. *Have you forgotten your own station?*
"Now you're just being contrary," Namuzha cut in as well, though his voice was drowned out the next instant by commotion.
Manna tried grabbing twice, only to find the little fellow... extraordinarily stubborn, digging its claws into the youth's shoulder and refusing to let go. She could certainly use brute force, but if she broke a claw or something, that was a minimum of a hundred gold on the line.
"Wait for me to take off my clothes!" Wu Youren couldn't take it anymore. The first time he had shaken off Aviator, he had only managed it by stripping off his clothes.
"Your bird... The clothes are in the way, strip quickly!" Manna was also growing impatient, raising her voice. "I'm afraid of breaking it!"
A flurry of rustling clothes sounded as a dozen or so warriors darted out downstairs, craning their necks upward: *Hey upstairs, what the hell are you doing?*
Though Daiqisi had drunk quite a bit, her hands and eyes were quick; she darted over and switched off the gallery lights: *What do you think you're looking at?*
The next moment, intermittent voices drifted down from upstairs. A woman's voice asked, "Why has this bird... gone limp?"
"Stop trying! It was never meant to be yours!" another female voice called out.
"Don't make it spit, or none of us will get to play with it later!" That was actually a man's voice!
Hearing this, the warriors downstairs exchanged glances, their expressions turning utterly bizarre.
Finally, someone couldn't hold back. "Are these folks from the Red Pine headquarters? Holy shit... do they really get that freaky?"
"Freaky your ass!" Hong Da's raspy, smoky voice rang out. "Get the hell back inside, all of you! We're training a bird!"
"We know you're 'training a bird'!" The guy was quick-mouthed and even quicker on his feet, vanishing back into his room in a flash.
Setting aside these chaotic reactions, the test results were finally in: Aviator truly recognized only the youth from Jin!
If others fed it, it didn't seem to mind, but if anyone tried to hold it in their hands or perch it on their shoulder, the little creature would flee. Despite wearing its aviator goggles, with tender little claws and two bare, stubby wings, once it became agitated, it was remarkably tenacious.
Oddly enough, the aviator goggles had only a tiny slit—it was a miracle it could see daylight at all—yet it could lock onto the youth with pinpoint accuracy. Even when Wu Youren was two or three meters away, it would scramble across the floor, tumbling along to chase after him.
Even Hong Da clicked her tongue in amazement. Having slaughtered countless living beings, she made a rare exception and asked, "How did it imprint on you?"
Wu Youren felt there was nothing that needed hiding, so he recounted the situation from back then. Naturally, he did not mention that he had been guarding against a potential sneak attack from a certain someone, claiming instead that he had a stitch in his side and had to rest.
"It took you for its parent bird!" Leaving behind that single remark, Hong Da turned and headed back to her room.
"Damn, talk about luck," Rossi marveled, looking at the youth. "You really take the cake."
Chapter 153