189: Chapter 189 Good brother, I need a good brother who can handle things!

"Oh, this."

Su Ming looked enlightened.

"This one is a female cow, females don't have horns!"

"..."

Lieutenant Colonel Chu Feng almost crushed the tablet in his hand.

Do you really think my position as a Lieutenant Colonel in the City Defense Army was bought through the back door?

The obvious break at the tip of the snout, the fresh flesh fibers, and the still-bleeding wound...!

This was clearly ripped out violently while it was still alive!

"Su Ming, bring it out quickly," Lieutenant Colonel Chu Feng lowered his voice.

"When high-Rank Source Beast carcasses are stored as evidence for a case, they have to go through a complete verification process.

Every part must be photographed and registered. If a core material is missing, the report can't be written."

Su Ming curled his lips reluctantly.

"That... someone already reserved it."

"..."

Su Ming felt a bit hairs-raising under that stare.

If he didn't take it out today, he definitely wouldn't be able to complete the procedures.

He couldn't fall out with his guarantor at this critical juncture.

He could only go to the Source Abyss to restock next time.

He sighed and flipped his hand.

A towering thunder horn, two meters long and thicker than an adult's waist, was pulled out by him with one hand.

The horn was deep purple all over, its surface covered in dense thunder patterns,

and the residual violent lightning energy gathered at the tip of the horn, forming a visible purple ball of electricity.

The moment the thunder horn appeared, the originally quiet thunder-attribute pressure surged once again.

It was more than a Rank stronger than the residual aura on the carcass just now.

The few Tier 1 and Tier 2 recruits in the distance could no longer stand at all; their legs went soft, and they fell directly to one knee on the ground.

Lieutenant Colonel Chu Feng's gaze stared dead at the base of the thunder horn.

He had vaguely guessed that the horn had been taken by Su Ming.

But he had thought it was cut off with some high-Rank cutting tool or a sharp Source Weapon.

However—

the bottom of that intact horn did not have a smooth cut.

It was entirely uneven, torn flesh.

Stark white bone fragments and torn, thick nerve bundles were still hanging from it.

The root of the Thunder Horn Rhino's horn was deeply embedded in the skull and connected to the spinal nerves, making it no less sturdy than the skull itself.

It was pulled out with bare hands.

Looking at Su Ming's slender wrist, Lieutenant Colonel Chu Feng's scalp went numb.

In his extreme shock, he waved his hand.

"Disperse, everyone! Today's training is ending early! All non-essential personnel evacuate the drill ground!"

The recruits watching from afar felt as if they had been granted a great amnesty and were quickly led away from this high-pressure area by the second lieutenant.

Lieutenant Colonel Chu Feng immediately used the intercom to call over two technical officers from the military logistics department.

The technical officers jogged over, pushing a heavy Source Energy detector.

The moment the instrument's probe touched the thunder horn,

the red indicator light flashed violently, and an ear-piercing alarm sounded.

"Sir, Source Energy fluctuations are overflowing. Conservative estimate is Peak Tier 6 thunder attribute. The accumulated lightning amplitude far exceeds the instrument's measurement limit."

The next half hour consisted of various scans, photographs, and records: Source Energy Rank, lightning amplitude, residual Law intensity...

With every piece of data that came out, the face of the technician operating the instrument grew a shade paler.

Lieutenant Colonel Chu Feng stood by the entire time, saying nothing, his expression shifting unpredictably.

...

Ye Xiao reluctantly climbed down from the Thunder Horn Rhino and jogged over to Su Ming's side.

"Brother Ming," he whispered, his face full of excitement.

"Take me with you next time you hunt exotic beasts, alright?"

"The energy radiating from this thunder beast's crystal core resonates too strongly with my Nine Heavens Thunder Body. As long as I absorb a portion of it, I'll definitely be able to Breakthrough to Tier 4!"

Su Ming looked at his face, which was practically screaming "please carry me," and fell silent for two seconds.

Suddenly, he sighed.

"Sigh. I really envy you guys."

Ye Xiao was stunned.

"...Envy me for what? I was just locked in a dark room all night."

Su Ming raised his hand and patted Ye Xiao's shoulder, speaking in an earnest, gravity-filled tone.

"Envy you guys for having such a powerful and reliable big brother like me whose thighs you can cling to."

Ye Xiao: "..."

King of Posers!

Are you envying me, or are you just finding a roundabout way to praise yourself?!

But after today's experience, Ye Xiao was completely won over.

He straightened his back, his face solemn.

"Big Brother, a big brother for a day, a big brother for life!"

"From now on, in life I am your man, in death I am your ghost."

Su Ming thoroughly enjoyed this flattery and waved his hand smugly.

"Easy, easy. When I'm free in the next couple of days, I'll go to the Source Abyss and stock up on another one for you, so you can Breakthrough to Tier 4."

Beside them, Lieutenant Colonel Chu Feng, who was supervising the technical officers verifying the documents, stumbled and almost fell.

Only you!

Could talk about hunting high-Rank Source Beasts—

as casually as going to the wet market to buy two pounds of pork ribs.

Ten-odd minutes later.

The verification was complete.

The technical officers quickly wheeled the equipment away.

Lieutenant Colonel Chu Feng signed his name on the case closure report with a flourish.

Then he turned around and waved his large hand.

"Alright. The physical evidence has been accepted. The blackout case is officially closed and resolved. Ye Xiao is cleared."

After that, he looked at Su Ming.

"Take the thunder beast back."

Su Ming raised an eyebrow.

"Take it back? Didn't I hand it over as evidence?"

Lieutenant Colonel Chu Feng tossed the tablet in his hand onto the table and rolled his eyes at him in annoyance.

"The military department only needs to confirm the fact of the hunt, file the case to eliminate the hazard.

As for the Materials, according to the Federal Military's rules, they all belong to the one who made the first kill."

"Our small City Defense Army headquarters can't afford such Peak Tier 6 Materials anyway.

Keep the beast core, rhino horn, and beast hide for yourself. The Southern War Zone's warehouses don't lack this little bit of stuff from you."

A complete set of Materials from a Peak Tier 6 Thunder Horn Rhino would be worth at least five hundred million on the market.

Just that horn alone would be enough to forge a top-tier Tier 6 thunder-attribute armament.

Lieutenant Colonel Chu Feng let it all go without even batting an eye.

You'd be a fool not to take advantage of a bargain.

Su Ming grinned.

"Thanks, Brother Chu! You're so righteous!"

He a wave of his hand, he stored the Thunder Horn Rhino carcass and the giant horn into his System Space.

Then he kicked Ye Xiao, who was still savoring the residual feeling of the lightning.

He turned and walked out of the drill ground.

"Wait."

Su Ming paused his steps and looked back.

Lieutenant Colonel Chu Feng stood where he was, hands in his pockets.

The usually decisive and ruthless Lieutenant Colonel of the City Defense Army slowly lit a cigarette.

Lieutenant Colonel Chu Feng looked at Su Ming with a subtle expression.

"A while ago, an old squad leader from the Southern Garrison Regiment invited a Daoist Great Master to read my fortune."

Su Ming: "?"

"The Great Master said that I'm offending the Tai Sui star this year, and my fortune is unfavorable."

"Look at what's happened over the last few days..."

"Source Beast rampages, Tongyuan Society raids, city-wide blackouts, gravity anomalies in the north of the city..."

"Not a single thing isn't bizarre!"

Su Ming's lips twitched.

These few things... seemed to all have been caused by him.

Was this Great Master some kind of mighty expert in Luck? To actually calculate this and have it land on him from afar?

Were they really that amazing?

Just as Su Ming was about to ask about that Great Master,

he heard Lieutenant Colonel Chu Feng continue.

"That old charlatan said the way to break the situation is also very simple."

"He said my destiny doesn't lack anything."

He grinned, showing a bit of a veteran's mischievousness.

"Except I'm missing a good big brother who can shoulder troubles!"

...