The group arrived outside the Exotic Beast Holding Cell. Xie An peered through the glass window at the beasts inside.
They were two Exotic Beasts resembling greyhounds, but much larger. They stood over two meters tall, and their long legs alone were a meter and a half. They were also extremely aggressive.
Humans had named them "Wind Chasing Beasts."
The moment they spotted people outside the window, the Wind Chasing Beasts immediately let out furious barks.
Xie An frowned. "Why haven't these two Exotic Beasts been tamed yet?"
Hong Kun, standing beside him, feigned confusion. "Chief Xie, these two were only delivered last Friday. How could they possibly have been tamed so quickly?"
Xie An turned and fixed him with a stare. "President Hong, I looked into it. Your Skyfire Club has completed 26 beast-taming contracts in the past two months, taming as many as 45 Exotic Beasts."
When Hong Kun didn't respond, he continued:
"I know the Alliance has no law requiring private clubs to hand over special techniques to the government. But if you really have a way to tame Exotic Beasts in a short time, I still hope you'll contribute it to the military. It would mean a great deal to the entire Interstellar Alliance."
"On behalf of the Jinzhou Military, I promise you that if you hand over the method, the Skyfire Club will be well compensated."
"Chief, you're joking. We really don't have any rapid-taming method." Hong Kun had known the other man would try this.
But he wasn't lying. Rapid Taming depended entirely on that kid, Lu Feng.
He couldn't exactly hand over a boy who was barely a teenager.
Besides, he was counting on Lu Feng's ability to earn more Military Merit Points.
Seeing that Hong Kun wouldn't budge, Xie An said no more.
"Fine. Let's say I came all this way for nothing. We're leaving!"
With that, he turned to go with the soldiers accompanying him.
After a few steps, Xie An stopped and added over his shoulder, "Your club's application to Join Expedition with the military has been temporarily denied."
At those words, Hong Kun panicked.
This was clearly an intentional threat.
He hurried forward and blocked Xie An's path. "Chief Xie, you can't do this!"
"What can't I do?"
"This matter and our Expedition application are two separate things!"
Xie An replied bluntly, "We in the military decide who gets to join an Expedition. Since your club is so selfish, there's no need for you to accompany the military."
"No, Minister Xie..."
Hong Kun felt as if his weakest point had been seized. He didn't know what to say.
Joining an Expedition with the military had been his dream for years.
If he lost that opportunity, his Martial Path would have no future.
Seeing his expression, Xie An couldn't help finding it amusing, but he kept his face stern.
"Fine... I'll tell you the truth." Hong Kun shook his head helplessly. "We don't actually have any special taming method. We were able to fill so many orders in such a short time thanks to one person."
"One person? Who?"
Hong Kun didn't answer. Instead, he took out his Communicator and contacted Lu Feng.
Before long, Lu Feng hurried over from the Mecha workshop.
Xie An recognized him at once as the boy he'd encountered on the way there.
"Chief Xie, you're about to see something incredible." Hong Kun gestured for Lu Feng to tame the two Wind Chasing Beasts.
The boy walked up to the Holding Cell door and peered through the glass at the Exotic Beasts inside.
Then, something miraculous happened—
The Wind Chasing Beasts had been aggressive moments ago, but now they suddenly lowered themselves to the ground, as if they'd seen a Deity. They became remarkably quiet and docile.
Lu Feng didn't know what was happening. He simply watched them in silence, endured the burning sensation in his chest, and continued absorbing the energy within the Exotic Beasts.
Several military personnel nearby, Xie An among them, crowded around and stared at the strange scene in disbelief.
With just a glance, he'd made two ferocious Exotic Beasts so obedient...
"How... how did he do that?" Xie An couldn't help asking.
Hong Kun spread his hands. "I don't know either. He can't explain it himself. It seems to be an ability Lu Feng was born with."
"Something like that is possible?" Xie An studied the boy in disbelief. "Your name is Lu Feng?"
"Yeah." Enduring the sharp pain in his chest, Lu Feng gave a slight nod.
"Would you... be willing to join the Alliance military and become a member of Jinzhou Base?"
As soon as he'd asked, Xie An noticed how pained the boy looked. "What's wrong?"
Hong Kun quickly explained, "He's like this every time he tames an Exotic Beast. He looks like he's in a lot of pain, but he recovers once it's over."
"So it really is like that... The world is full of wonders."
Xie An interrupted Lu Feng's taming and led him aside. Then he asked again, earnestly, "Young man, with an ability this remarkable, have you considered joining the military? I promise your prospects will be limitless."
Looking at the middle-aged officer before him, Lu Feng fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. "Sorry, Officer. I don't want to join the military for now."
"Why not? You should know that ordinary people have to get into a Martial Arts University and reach at least the Third Realm of the Martial Realm to become soldiers. Once you join the military, you'll receive support and resources beyond the reach of ordinary people."
The Interstellar Alliance military was the dominant force in this world.
The benefits a soldier could receive far surpassed anything available to Warriors in ordinary society.
Almost no one would turn down an opportunity like that.
Yet Lu Feng shook his head again. "I just want to live an ordinary life, earn some money, and give my family a better life."
He had his own reasons.
Joining the military certainly offered unimaginable benefits, but Lu Feng was still too weak. His younger sister was also in the hospital, waiting for surgery.
More importantly, two months ago, he'd just had his Martial Arts University admission spot taken away.
That had left him instinctively distrustful of the Alliance—and he could even say he resented them.
Seeing how resolute he was, Xie An didn't press him further.
After all, even the military couldn't force an ordinary person to do something against their will.
He sighed and patted Lu Feng on the shoulder. "All right. We won't force you. If you change your mind, you can contact us anytime."
Hong Kun, standing nearby, was also a little surprised.
He hadn't expected Lu Feng to turn down the military's offer. In a way, it made the Skyfire Club seem to have struck a lucky bargain.
After leaving the club, Xie An said to one of the people accompanying him, "Look into that young man's background at once. The more detailed, the better."
"Yes, sir!"
The soldier immediately took out a military computer and quickly pulled up Lu Feng's detailed information from the Jinzhou resident registry.
"Chief, Lu Feng is eighteen this year. He lives in Xiangyang Residential Area in North City. Both his parents are ordinary workers. He also has a thirteen-year-old younger sister, Lu Mingxue. She suffers from congenital spinal nerve and muscle damage. She was admitted to Jinzhou People's Hospital yesterday and is preparing to undergo spinal nerve repair surgery..."
"Oh?" Xie An interrupted. "Wouldn't that surgery cost at least a million?"
"At least 1.5 million."
"His parents are ordinary workers. How could they have saved that much?"
"Lu Feng paid for it himself. Last Friday, ten million was transferred into his Personal Account."
"Ten million? Who transferred it?"
"We can't trace the source. It was probably transferred from an official account."
The subordinate continued, "There's one more thing. Two months ago, Lu Feng graduated from Jinzhou Third Martial Arts High School with a college entrance exam score of 625. But strangely, his name doesn't appear in the college admissions system."
At that, Xie An's brow furrowed. "What happened?"
Before you continue