Meng Chao caught his breath.
Knowing he had arrived abruptly, he could only respectfully serve the old man tea and water. After hesitating, he asked, "Senior, aren't you planning to make a move?"
Ning Xueshi's pretty face flushed with anger. "You're stealing techniques and still being picky? It's only a Level One extraordinary beast. Do you expect my grandfather to act personally?"
"A Level One extraordinary beast?" Meng Chao was stunned, his expression strange.
Ning Xueshi frowned. "Don't tell me you don't even know the Seven-Eyed Wolf Spider. Then there's no need for you to add to our trouble. You won't understand what you see, so don't waste your time."
Watching the extraordinary beast die before his eyes, Meng Chao could only bite the bullet and say, "I know it was originally a Seven-Eyed Wolf Spider, but it isn't one anymore. Right now, it's a 'Seven-Eyed Dragon Tarantula' in the midst of evolution, stuck between Level One and Level Two."
"Though its appearance still retains the shape of a Seven-Eyed Wolf Spider, many of its internal organs have begun to mutate. Those newly formed organs are extremely fragile, making it even harder to handle than a mature Seven-Eyed Dragon Tarantula."
"What?"
Ning Xueshi was dumbfounded. An extraordinary beast in evolution?
The girl turned her head and silently mouthed a plea for help to her grandfather.
The old man fell into thought, his expression turning grave as well.
"Young man, how did you know?"
He fixed Meng Chao with bright, piercing eyes. "This old man inspected it carefully just now. There was not the slightest abnormality on its exterior. You ran all the way here without even sparing it a glance—how could you be certain that it was evolving?"
"I heard it."
Meng Chao explained, "This extraordinary beast isn't completely dead yet. Isn't it still letting out shrieks? Though the Seven-Eyed Wolf Spider and Seven-Eyed Dragon Tarantula belong to the same species, they are ultimately separated by a whole level. Their death shrieks differ in subtle ways. It isn't hard to tell them apart."
"Isn't hard..."
Ning Xueshi and her grandfather were both left speechless.
"Who are you trying to fool? Even my grandfather didn't hear it, yet you, an intern, could?" Ning Xueshi planted her hands on her hips, watching Meng Chao warily as though he were some swindler.
Yet the old man did not dare underestimate him. Cautiously, he said, "May I ask...?"
"My name is Meng Chao. My family is preparing to open a Resource Recycling company."
Meng Chao never missed an opportunity to expand his connections, so he bowed to the grandfather and granddaughter.
The Harvester's etiquette he performed was meticulous and perfectly standard.
The old man gained a little confidence in him. He nodded faintly and said with restrained pride, "This old man is Ning Shewo."
"..."
The two stared at each other wide-eyed. Three seconds later, Meng Chao suddenly understood and slapped his forehead. "So it's Senior Ning. Your name is like thunder in my ears; I have long admired you."
"Cut it out. You've never even heard my grandfather's name, have you? You don't even know 'White-Haired Ghost Hand Ning Shewo,' and you call yourself a Harvester? Yet you can hear the difference between the shrieks of a Seven-Eyed Wolf Spider and a Seven-Eyed Dragon Tarantula? What a joke!" Ning Xueshi was furious.
"Xue Shi, quiet."
Ning Shewo's bearing was quite good. "Little Friend Meng has extraordinary hearing and has truly opened this old man's eyes. But may I ask who your master is...?"
"I taught myself. I've been an old Harvester for decades," Meng Chao admitted frankly.
The old man took a deep breath.
"What is your company supervisor's phone number?" he asked pleasantly.
Meng Chao obediently shut his mouth.
He took two steps back, squatted on the spot, and made a gesture: I won't say another word. Please, begin your performance.
Ning Xueshi was so angry her lungs were about to explode. She swore she would teach this brat a lesson later.
But now, the last thread of the Seven-Eyed Wolf Spider's life was rapidly fading. She had to race against time to harvest the freshest materials.
The girl cast aside distracting thoughts and treated Meng Chao as though he did not exist.
Just as she was about to begin, Ning Shewo suddenly stepped forward.
"I'll do it."
"Grandfather?"
"I'll open the shell first and suction out the mucus for a look. If the organs haven't mutated, you can take over afterward."
Ning Xueshi stomped her foot hard, so furious that the world spun around her.
Ning Shewo wielded a dissection knife in each hand and began with practiced ease.
Yet as his fingers trembled slightly, the tips of his blades also quivered almost imperceptibly.
"So Old Ning was injured," Meng Chao muttered. "No wonder."
Those words lit the fuse. Ning Xueshi whirled over like a cyclone, her willow-leaf brows standing on end. "Do you know any rules at all? Can you just talk nonsense at a time like this?"
Meng Chao's face reddened. During a Harvester's delicate operation, being disturbed was the greatest taboo. He had violated professional etiquette and truly should not have spoken.
After thinking it over, he decided that although the girl had a rather fiery temper, the old man seemed decent enough and was worth lending a hand.
"Miss Ning, could you let me look at your equipment? I need nine of the finest hair-thin probes and three soft coiling needles." Meng Chao lowered his voice. "Also, do you have three hundred thousand in cash in your account?"
Ning Xueshi was utterly baffled.
"Here's the thing. The structure of a Seven-Eyed Dragon Tarantula juvenile undergoing evolution is too fragile, especially its newly formed venom sac. The sac membrane is as thin as cicada wings. The slightest touch will rupture it, spilling venom all over its abdomen and ruining every last material."
Meng Chao explained with complete sincerity, "Old Ning has a neurological problem, right? He may not be able to complete the entire operation independently, so I need to familiarize myself with your tools first and sharpen my spear before battle."
That explanation was like pouring oil on the flames. Ning Xueshi gritted her teeth in fury. "Even if Grandfather is injured, he is still the White-Haired Ghost Hand! How could a mere Seven-Eyed Wolf Spider stump him? Besides, I'm right here. Why should we let you do it? Wait, what's this three hundred thousand in cash for?"
"Naturally, it's the fee for hiring me."
Meng Chao counted on his fingers as he calculated for her. "In Old Ning's current condition, the harvested materials definitely won't be in very good shape. Altogether, they'll be worth at most three to five hundred thousand. But with my help, combining my experience with Old Ning's technique, two swords joining as one, we should be able to perfectly separate the most valuable venom sac. The venom sac alone can sell for over five hundred thousand, and all the materials together will come to nearly two million.
"There's a difference of over a million here. Since I'm still an intern and only an assistant, and since meeting is fate, after all the discounts, I'll charge just three hundred thousand. Consider it my contribution to society."
Ning Xueshi stared at Meng Chao in utter disbelief.
A moment later, she took a deep breath and was about to explode.
Then she suddenly heard her grandfather's voice, trembling with unusual intensity. "Xue Shi, come here."
The girl hurried back to her grandfather's side.
In just a few minutes, her grandfather seemed to have aged five years. Even his full head of white hair had lost its spirit, strands drooping against his sweat-soaked forehead.
Following the old man's somewhat unfocused gaze, Ning Xueshi saw clusters of savage organs inside the opened shell of the Seven-Eyed Wolf Spider. Like grotesquely mutated tumors, they gave off a pungent odor.
At one glance, all her lingering anger froze on her face. The girl cried out, "These organs are wrong! This isn't a Seven-Eyed Wolf Spider!"
"It truly isn't a Seven-Eyed Wolf Spider. It is an exceedingly rare Seven-Eyed Dragon Tarantula undergoing evolution." Ning Shewo gave a bitter smile, his face filled with desolation.
Ning Shewo did not care much about a low-level extraordinary beast that had yet to reach Level Two having a corpse worth several million.
When his nerves had been completely intact, he could activate his extraordinary ability and use naked-eye x-ray vision to see through the distribution and structure of its organs.
But now, a tiger fallen onto the plain was bullied by dogs. He had never expected the dignified White-Haired Ghost Hand to stumble over a thing like this.
Ning Xueshi opened her mouth, suddenly recalling Meng Chao's words. Her expression turned horrified.
At that moment, Meng Chao also walked behind the grandfather and granddaughter, stood on tiptoe, and glanced into the Seven-Eyed Dragon Tarantula's abdominal cavity.
He remembered the Harvester's rules.
Even when Ning Xueshi turned to look at him, he remained silent and pressed his lips tightly together.
"...Little brother, please speak." After being stifled for quite a while, Ning Xueshi gritted her teeth.
"It's alright," Meng Chao said.
"What do you mean, 'alright'?" Ning Xueshi's eyes widened.
"I mean this Seven-Eyed Dragon Tarantula evolved alright. It's very ordinary and hasn't developed any bizarre super-mutations." Meng Chao let out a sigh of relief.
Very ordinary...
The grandfather and granddaughter both looked completely lost.
"Y-you really can help Grandfather complete the harvest, and you'll only charge three hundred thousand?" Countless thoughts ran through Ning Xueshi's mind as she asked in disbelief.
"Five hundred thousand!"
Ning Shewo stared fixedly at Meng Chao. "Young man, if you can truly give this old man a hand, it needn't be perfect. As long as it is decent and the venom sac retains seventy percent of its venom, this old man will transfer five hundred thousand to you immediately!"
Meng Chao whistled, the corners of his mouth lifting involuntarily.
"I haven't become extraordinary yet. My strength and perception are both mediocre, so I can't harvest an extraordinary beast directly. I can only—"
Meng Chao had intended to say, "I can only guide you through the operation," but swallowed the words at the very tip of his tongue and changed them to, "I can only be your assistant."
"Then you will be the first assistant: pass instruments, spray disinfectant, expose the cutting surface, mark the incisions, monitor the degree of organ decay... My granddaughter will be the second assistant. Is that acceptable?"
"Yes."
Meng Chao nodded. He squeezed disinfectant gel from the pouch at his waist, carefully rubbed it over both hands, switched it to spray mode, sprayed himself from head to toe, and took up the assistant's position to Ning Shewo's right.
Ning Shewo focused his mind and said, "Number three—"
Before he could finish, a Number Four handle fitted with a Number Seven diamond blade was placed in his hand.
Ning Shewo frowned slightly.
The young man's theoretical knowledge had sounded impressive, yet he had passed the wrong instrument on the very first try. Could he really be someone who only talked big?
"I know you wanted a Number Three handle with a Number Twelve forceps blade, to separate the book lungs first. Whether on a Seven-Eyed Wolf Spider or a mature Seven-Eyed Dragon Tarantula, that is the absolutely correct classic procedure. But this evolving mutant has developed many leaf-like folds on its sac-shaped book lungs. Look carefully—the structure is extremely fragile and tightly bound to the surrounding tissues. If you proceed rashly, I'm afraid the quality will be damaged."
Meng Chao used a probe to indicate the area without touching it. "I suggest starting with the ducts behind the book lungs and separating them against the grain of the veins. Clear out the surrounding area first, then deal with the book lungs last. Don't worry—these ducts are much tougher than before and won't break easily. What do you think, Old Ning?"