Chapter 25: This World Is Truly Monstrous

Within his Sea of Spirit, the light sphere representing the Spirit Taming Residual Seal shone with a pale blue radiance.

Holding the Gray-Spotted Sparrow in his right palm, Cheng Han once again experienced a wondrous journey.

It was as though he had become a bird, soaring through the sky, accompanied by the breeze, resting in the forest, and traveling alongside the morning dew.

The residual seal played the role of a “bond,” helping him form some kind of contract with the bird.

Cheng Han could also faintly sense that the Gray-Spotted Sparrow’s soul was somewhat dull, as though its intelligence was not particularly high.

By comparison, the black cat was full of cleverness and vitality.

That was not strange.

If the Gray-Spotted Sparrow were smart enough, how could it have been caught?

“Chirp! Chirp!”

The Gray-Spotted Sparrow’s cries sounded crisp and pleasant, no longer filled with the previous panic.

Cheng Han smiled and reached out to play with its beak.

The Gray-Spotted Sparrow neither dodged nor avoided him. Instead, it stretched out its head and lightly pecked his finger.

This was a sign of closeness.

The black cat widened its eyes, clearly deeply shocked.

It had personally witnessed the Gray-Spotted Sparrow’s miraculous transformation. Just moments ago, the bird had looked terrified to death, yet now it had become so tame. This truly refreshed its understanding.

Master is amazing!

Cheng Han looked at the Gray-Spotted Sparrow and muttered,

“Before sending you out to work, I’ll let you eat your fill first.”

He took out a small bowl, grabbed a small handful of rice, tore off a little stewed rabbit meat, and placed it in front of the bird.

The Gray-Spotted Sparrow chirped in response and lowered its head to peck at the food.

This bird was omnivorous. It could eat plant-based foods such as seeds, and it also liked catching insects and other meat.

Compared to what its stomach was used to, rabbit meat fibers were somewhat coarse and not especially easy to digest, but as long as it only ate a little, there would be no problem.

Before long, the food in the bowl had been eaten clean.

Cheng Han extended his right palm and called,

“Come here!”

The Gray-Spotted Sparrow flapped its wings and voluntarily hopped onto his hand.

Cheng Han activated the Spirit Taming Residual Seal again and gently touched its little head.

The next instant, the Gray-Spotted Sparrow’s body stiffened completely.

This bird’s soul was far too weak compared to the black cat’s. The stream of information that the latter could easily withstand was somewhat overwhelming for the former.

After more than ten seconds, the Gray-Spotted Sparrow finally recovered, and its body returned to normal.

Cheng Han instructed,

“Come back before dark. Understand?”

The Gray-Spotted Sparrow froze for a moment before responding.

“Chirp!”

Its brain capacity was too small, and its comprehension ability was not strong, which was why its reaction was half a beat slow.

Cheng Han opened the window and extended his palm outside.

“Go.”

The Gray-Spotted Sparrow pecked his finger again, spread its wings, and flew away.

Cheng Han watched it disappear into the distance, then turned to look at the black cat and sighed.

“You’re much cleverer than that bird.”

“Meow~”

The black cat raised its head and proudly swished its tail.

Cheng Han instructed again,

“After breakfast later, go catch two more birds. Don’t catch Gray-Spotted Sparrows again. Catch other types. Understand?”

The black cat instantly replied.

“Meow~”

It seemed to be trying to prove that it was smarter than the Gray-Spotted Sparrow, so its response was practically immediate.

Cheng Han laughed inwardly.

Competition really was everywhere.

Breakfast was simple—egg fried rice.

The rice was leftover from yesterday, the eggs were bird eggs the black cat had brought back the day before, and he added some diced mushrooms before quickly stir-frying everything. Finally, he topped it with a spoonful of marinated rabbit meat.

A modest yet luxurious breakfast was completed just like that.

The black cat buried its head in its bowl, occasionally making satisfied purring sounds.

Cheng Han smiled and asked,

“Want me to add some dry-fried rabbit meat for you?”

The black cat raised its head and hesitated for a long while before shaking its head and meowing.

“Meow~”

This meant refusal.

Cheng Han did not force it.

“Alright.”

He fully understood Police Chief’s concerns. It was not that it did not want to eat, but rather that it was worried eating too much would affect its work efficiency.

Two hours later.

The black cat completed its mission, catching one Blue Pipit and one White-Clawed Crow, both small bird species.

Cheng Han used the residual seal to control the birds, arranged their usual “work meal,” and then sent them off to work.

He believed that since Qin Zicheng had the ability to evade the Omniscient Eye’s deductions, he must be hiding a powerful trump card. For safety’s sake, Cheng Han had no intention of directly confronting him.

After all, he only had one life. If he lost it, everything would be over.

Cheng Han planned to first find evidence, then notify the authorities to take action, just like last time.

In the afternoon.

Cheng Han rode his bicycle to the eastern outskirts of Qinglin City.

Looking around, the surrounding area was filled with wild rural scenery. The terrain here was not flat, and there were not many farms. Nature held absolute dominance.

He had not come here for an outing.

He had come to hunt.

Although Cheng Han had saved quite a bit of private money through the Omniscient Eye, that money had “unknown origins.” If he had a legitimate way to earn money openly, he could spend it more freely.

Especially since winter was approaching, he needed to spend a large amount of money to store plenty of heating fuel.

Ding-ling~

Cheng Han rang the bicycle bell.

A pitch-black cat head poked out from a patch of grass.

It was Police Chief.

Cheng Han called out,

“Did you find anything?”

“Meow~”

The black cat cried once and swiftly ran off.

Cheng Han hid the bicycle in a concealed spot and quickly followed.

After walking for a while, the black cat stopped beside an inconspicuous hole and meowed.

“Meow~”

Its meaning was that burrow rabbits were hiding inside.

Cheng Han performed a deduction and praised,

“Police Chief, your sense of smell is no worse than a Spirit Mastiff’s.”

The result showed that there was more than one burrow rabbit underground.

The black cat swished its tail.

Cheng Han pointed toward a low shrub in the distance and instructed,

“Police Chief, ambush over there.”

Police Chief meowed once and dashed away like a streak of smoke.

Cheng Han pulled out a knife, quickly cut a large handful of grass, stuffed it into the hole, and waved his hand toward the entrance.

A choking cloud of thick smoke instantly emerged.

Under normal circumstances, without certain techniques, producing such dense smoke would be impossible. But with the power of the True Flame Residual Seal, it was effortless.

Cheng Han picked up a stone and sealed the hole tightly.

Very quickly, within his field of vision, as many as eight smoking points appeared, most of them in hidden places difficult to see with the naked eye.

Burrow rabbits were extremely skilled at digging. They usually constructed highly complex tunnel networks underground. Even with the black cat’s abilities, catching them was difficult.

The sheer number of smoking points was clear proof of that.

His strategy was to use thick smoke to force the burrow rabbits out.

More than ten seconds later.

Near the hole where Police Chief was crouching in ambush, a gray blur suddenly shot out.

A burrow rabbit had emerged!

At that instant, the black cat displayed astonishing explosive power. Its hind legs pushed hard against the ground, and it actually leapt more than two meters, accurately pouncing on the burrow rabbit.

Cheng Han could not help secretly praising it.

Several seconds later, one burrow rabbit after another emerged from several other holes, each fleeing in a different direction.

This scene had already been predicted by the Omniscient Eye.

Cheng Han had been waiting by one hole in advance. Activating the True Flame Residual Seal with his mind, he decisively swung his right hand.

A tiny red point of light rapidly flew toward a burrow rabbit.

The burrow rabbit seemed to sense danger and actually jumped, trying to evade the red light.

However, this was still within Cheng Han’s expectations.

The point of light suddenly curved and struck the burrow rabbit right on the head, releasing a burst of heat that raised the temperature of the rabbit’s brain by more than ten degrees.

For the burrow rabbit, this was fatal damage.

Cheng Han looked at the rabbit collapsed on the ground and grinned.

“My first actual battle was against a rabbit.”

Elsewhere, the remaining rabbits escaped and vanished deep into the grass.

Looking at the scene, Cheng Han muttered,

“This world is truly monstrous. Even rabbits are this crafty. No wonder I rarely see rabbits at the market.”

This was also a good thing.

It meant he could make a tidy profit today.

The black cat exerted quite a bit of effort dragging its prey over before dropping it in front of its owner.

Cheng Han rubbed its head and praised loudly,

“You’re the most amazing cat I’ve ever seen!”

Although he possessed extraordinary power, if he had relied on himself alone, there was absolutely no way he could have caught any burrow rabbits. But with one person and one cat working together, they had done it with ease.

The black cat happily narrowed its eyes.

At five in the afternoon.

Cheng Han pushed his bicycle into a marketplace.

Tied to the rear seat were four plump burrow rabbits.

A group of sharp-eyed people quickly surrounded him.

“Young man, you’ve got real skill! You actually caught this many rabbits!”

“One hundred and twenty copper coins each. Selling or not? If you’re willing, I’ll take them all!”

“Dream on! These rabbits are at least five jin each. You think that little money is enough?”

Before long, the crowd dispersed.

Those who bought rabbits looked delighted.

Those who failed to grab one repeatedly reminded Cheng Han that he must sell to them next time.

Cheng Han agreed to each of them.

The four burrow rabbits earned him six hundred and twenty-three copper coins, quite a bit more than expected.

Cheng Han smiled as he put away the money pouch and was just about to leave when his expression suddenly changed slightly.

He clearly sensed that one of the connections maintained by the Spirit Taming Residual Seal had suddenly been severed.

This meant one thing—

One of the birds had been killed!

(End of Chapter)