Following the map Windchime had given him, Xia Fei quickly found Baihao’s home. Wealthy people usually lived in fortresses which had ceilings fitted with reinforced glass. This kept out the sandstorm while allowing sunlight to seep inside. As the local warlord, Baihao naturally had this kind of home.
After the sight of so many slums, Baihao’s luxurious residence was truly something to behold. The sand had painted the walls yellow, and it was no longer possible to see their original hue. The fortress stood at a height of forty to fifty meters, and it was decorated in a mishmash fashion, with no style or taste to speak of. It matched with the owner’s status as a nouveau riche.
Xia Fei jumped up the walls and arrived at the top of the fortress. Four muscular men in heavy-duty armor were standing there together. The sandstorm was blowing fiercely, so these people were constantly gesturing with their hands, only occasionally spitting a few curse words.
Using his Breath Control technique, Xia Fei silently moved past the group of four, opened the thick storm door, and entered the stairs leading into the fortress.
The walls were made of rock and pretentiously decorated with the writings of famous calligraphers. Luxurious crystal lanterns hung overhead, and even the stone steps had been decorated with glistening ores.
Removing the scarf around his neck, Xia Fei made his way down the stairs to the banquet hall on the second floor. Two guards lazily stood at the entrance, guns slung across their backs, while the sounds of raucous feasting came from within.
A servant woman with a silver tray walked out of the banquet room. The tray contained a few scraps of meat and bone.
A ponytailed bodyguard walked over and pinched the woman’s butt, and the servant woman hastily jumped to the side. Feigning anger, she turned her large eyes on the guard and said, “Annoying.”
“Gorgeous, where are you going?”
The large-eyed servant woman twisted her waist and flirtatiously replied, “Master Bai wants me to feed the leftover meat and bones to that big cat in the dungeon.”
The ponytailed bodyguard heartily laughed. “Gorgeous, that’s no cat in the dungeon but a real exotic beast. You’d better be careful, or else that savage fellow might just eat you.”
After saying this, that lecherous bodyguard lunged at her like a tiger, his coarse hands grabbing the soft lumps on her chest and kneading them.
“What are you doing?” The servant woman had to exert some effort to break free, leaving with the tray after flashing that bodyguard a coquettish smile.
Seeing the servant woman walk away, the bodyguards grew bored and began to chat with one another. Xia Fei snuck past by exploiting their blindspots, not making a single noise.
The path leading to the dungeon was much darker, the light flickering and inconsistent. The deeper one went, the more unbearable the stench became.
Phantom frowned. “How could that Bai fellow put the Gilded Greenface in such a filthy place? Greenface beasts love cleanliness and loath filth. By doing this, he’ll drive that beast to madness. What will he do if the beast becomes overly anxious and attempts to break out of its cage?”
Xia Fei replied, “How many people in this universe truly understand the habits of exotic beasts? I can only hope that this Greenface beast isn’t too angry, or else I’ll have to use the Beast Spirit Codex to control it, and that will take quite some effort.”
Before he could finish, a wailing cry came from underground. The servant woman walking in front of them was forced to use a hand to cover her ears. She looked around in panic, her face pale, and that feisty spark in her eyes when she had flirted with the ponytailed bodyguard dimmed a little.
“My god,” said the woman fearfully. Standing on her tiptoes, she rushed over and hurriedly placed the tray on a stone table. After hastily knocking on the dungeon door, she turned and left.
Xia Fei hid in the shadows, and the servant woman noticed nothing as she ran past him.
Around two minutes later, the metal alloy door flew open and a person’s big bald head poked out. It was only upon spotting the leftover meat and bones on the table that this big fatty emerged fully. As he picked up the tray, he shouted, “If you keep shouting, I’m not giving you anything to eat!”
“Awooo!”
Exotic beasts had intelligence, and the bald man’s threats only made the beast’s howls become even more unbearable.
Xia Fei shook his head. Exotic beasts were no puppies or kittens, particularly high-grade exotic beasts like the Gilded Greenface which had intelligence on par with humans. Moreover, exotic beasts had a lot of dignity and would never accept food handed out in contempt. The baldy’s words had only added fuel to the fire, and that Gilded Greenface in the cage was undoubtedly enraged.
*Zing~*
Before the bald man could react, the cold edge of the Lifeseeker Tri-dagger was pressed against his neck. Xia Fei said nothing, only indicating that he should continue forward.
This dungeon was very spacious, but he was its only guard.
The sharp dagger slit the baldy’s throat open without making a single noise.
The silver tray in the baldy’s left hand slid from his grip, but Xia Fei nimbly caught it.
Placing the corpse on the ground, Xia Fei entered the room and observed the Gilded Greenface beast.
The creature looked like a giant cat with a body covered in golden lines, but its face was green.
“Not bad! This is none other than the exotic beast Gilded Greenface, possessing the elements of ice and fire. Its golden eyes can release fire element attacks, while its mouth can breath out air which can reach temperatures of almost absolute zero. This beast hasn’t matured yet, and that’s why it was captured, but once it matures, an expert at Eternal rank is needed to deal with it!” Phantom excitedly said.
The Gilded Greenface quickly realized how dangerous Xia Fei was and slowly retreated, a low growl coming from its mouth.
“It’s afraid! This exotic beast has very keen senses and can tell that you’re more dangerous than its previous watcher. It’s threatening you but also beseeching you.” The more Phantom saw, the more he liked. The higher the grade of exotic beasts, the more they were able to understand human emotions, and the more their habits imitated humans.
Xia Fei squatted and brought his gaze level with the beast’s. This was a technique to communicate with exotic beasts, for there was no exotic beast that liked being looked down on.
“Right now, I’m going to try and use the Beast Spirit Codex to establish a connection with it. I don’t know if this juvenile beast can endure the power of the Beast Spirit Codex.”
Phantom replied, “There shouldn’t be a problem. It may be young, but its body is rather large, and its bones and muscles are dense and sturdy. Hurry and tame it so that we can leave this cursed place.”
Xia Fei nodded, his eyes turning sharp.
A large amount of information was transferred through Xia Fei’s eyes into the Gilded Greenface beast’s mind gradually.
The Gilded Greenface froze, feeling curiosity toward this new train of thought in its mind.
Danger!
Extreme danger!
The beast quickly realized that this consciousness was not friendly and that it wanted to control its thoughts!
The Gilded Greenface immediately counterattacked, attempting to drive Xia Fei’s consciousness out of its mind.
The man and beast were motionless, but the seemingly calm air was brimming with agitation. Neither side backed down, and a pitched battle unfolded in the mind of the Gilded Greenface!
Xia Fei took in a deep breath. The Greenface Beast was too young, and too much mental battle might damage its mind. He had to end the battle quickly!
“Beast Spirit Codex stage 2,” Xia Fei silently said.
The amount of information Xia Fei was sending into the mind of the Gilded Greenface suddenly multiplied, and the pressure was so great that the breathing of both Xia Fei and the Greenface Beast became heavy.
…
Some dozen of minutes later, the Gilded Greenface in the cage became abnormally docile. Through the cage bars, it tried to ingratiate itself with Xia Fei.
Xia Fei was speechless. As he stood up and wiped away the sweat on his brows, he muttered, “Why is this fellow as much of a kiss-up as Furball?”
Phantom was still overjoyed from the successful taming of the Gilded Greenface. Nodding his head, he said, “Maybe it’s because they’re both exotic beasts.”
Xia Fei rolled his eyes at Phantom. This explanation was clearly a load of nonsense.
“You’ve only cultivated your Beast Spirit Codex up to level 3, so you can just barely tame exotic beasts of this grade. You still need to work harder; don’t forget that there’s still a Thanatos-class carrier awaiting you in the Wild Star Region. That’s a carrier—a real capital ship! Just by sending out drones, it can drown the enemies to death!” Phantom gushed.
Xia Fei stroked his chin with his right hand. “You’re right. I’m already an A list supplier for the Alliance Military, so maybe I really can apply for a capital ship license, but before that, I’ll have to think of a way to handle that annoying Blackstar Phantom Bat.
It was not like anyone could get a capital ship if they wanted one. They had far too much strategic significance and were symbols of strength and status!
Xia Fei had only recently obtained a permit to own a cruiser and the authorization to establish a small armed force of his own. At most, he could set up a cruiser fleet, but as Quantum Holdings developed, there was a chance that he could get his hands on a capital ship license. Even if he could not set up a capital ship fleet, he had high hopes of having one or two capital ships under his name.
That unblemished Thanatos carrier was so formidable and so beautiful that Xia Fei would often dream about it in his sleep, but the thought of that maddening Blackstar Phantom Bat made both Xia Fei and Phantom scowl. That wicked creature was beyond terrifying. Xia Fei had just barely managed to escape from its jaws the last time. In order to take it down, he needed to be fully prepared.
“I’m not saying that you should run off to the Wild Star Region to fight with that Blackstar Phantom Bat right now. I’m just reminding you to get yourself ready. You’re much stronger than when you came back from Heritage Planet, and you’re now an A list supplier to the military; also, you’re also gradually improving in terms of your hardware as well. You might’ve failed to beat the Blackstar Phantom Bat before, and even if you had beaten it then, you wouldn’t have been able to get a capital ship license, but things are completely different now.”
Xia Fei nodded, sternly speaking. “I understand what you’re saying. Killing that Blackstar Phantom Bat and obtaining the Thanatos carrier is a long-term goal that requires a lot of preparation. Once we get back, I’ll start making plans, and when the time is right, we can execute them.”
The sharp Lifeseeker Tri-dagger broke open the cage with just a few jabs. The Gilded Greenface, which had just acknowledged a new master, wanted to win its master’s approval, so the beast jumped into Xia Fei’s bosom and affectionately snuggled against him.
Xia Fei embraced the Greenface beast and swiftly left the dungeon, preparing to return to the Impaler.
Suddenly, Xia Fei spotted a black silhouette moving past the window at incredible speed.
“This is bad! We’ve caught the eye of an expert,” Xia Fei said, placing his fingers on Celestial Moon.
