Chapter 61: Fish Head with Cilantro and Chopped Chili Peppers

Many people knew that the City Lord loved keeping combat pets.

Few people, however, knew that the City Lord maintained a rather unconventional "private zoo" at his residence.

Holding Little Black, Su Su stood before the basement entrance of another villa.

He Heng had already descended several steps and, noticing that the person behind him had not followed, turned around in confusion. "Why aren't you moving?"

"This place is very strange," Su Su said calmly. "Why are your combat pets kept in the basement?"

He Heng did not seem surprised by her question; instead, he looked somewhat troubled.

"How should I explain this to you?" He pondered for a few seconds before slapping his palm against his forehead. "Some of my combat pets fly in the sky, while others run on the ground. If I really kept them outdoors, the hired hands wouldn't be able to control them while I'm away. That's why I have to lock them in the basement and bring them out only when needed for battle."

He phrased it so nicely, but it was essentially animal imprisonment.

Su Su's expression was no longer calm; it had turned solemn and stern.

Sensing her resistance, He Heng looked hurt. "Don't you understand me? I admit that keeping them in the basement lacks some consideration, but this is already the most win-win solution. Once you give them freedom, these creatures with supernatural abilities but no self-awareness would bring devastating harm to the base..."

Perhaps because she also kept a cold-blooded pet, Su Su felt a strong sense of revulsion toward the City Lord's philosophy.

Unwilling to listen any further, she interrupted directly, "I understand. Let's go."

A smile immediately returned to He Heng's face. "I knew you would understand."

"Don't worry about going down. I'm only a tier-four supernatural being; I won't cause you any harm. I genuinely want to ask for your guidance."

Su Su looked down at Little Black.

The serpent had caught the chaotic, foul scent of its imprisoned kind and flicked its forked tongue toward the female.

"Hiss~"

This meant that the creatures locked below were indeed a group of animals.

Su Su's mind settled.

If humans were locked down there, she wouldn't dare to descend so unguardedly. But since they were animals, even if He Heng released all his combat pets at once, her supernatural ability could control them and ensure her safe escape.

Zhi-la.

As her foot stepped onto the lowest level, the incandescent bulb overhead flickered for two seconds before glowing steadily.

"We have arrived."

By the bright light, Su Su saw a plaque hanging above the basement entrance bearing five large characters—"Private Zoo."

Su Su's gaze froze for several seconds.

She did not know how to describe the feeling of seeing those words; it was a palpable sense of mockery. In front of the plaque stood two people, and behind it was a group of animals waiting to be watched and stared at.

He Heng looked back again. "What's wrong?"

Su Su withdrew her gaze. "Nothing."

She followed behind He Heng, stepping fully into his private forbidden zone.

The basement was damp, cramped, and dark, with a cold, humid air untouched by sunlight for years lingering in the air. Perhaps only a cold-blooded creature like Little Black would enjoy this environment... No, no animal would like this place!

Staying half a meter away from He Heng, Su Su followed him into a long corridor.

The sides of the low corridor were divided into dozens of narrow "cells," each holding a different animal: a peacock, an ostrich, a black panther, a hyena... They exhibited only two states.

Either they lay dying in their cramped cells, painfully blinking their eyes as they weakly tracked the figures of the two people.

Or they charged furiously toward the bars, viciously slamming their heads against the iron obstacles confining them, their blood-red eyes staring fixedly at the entering humans. Clearly, this was not their first time going berserk; patches of fur had fallen out all over their bodies, making them look both unsightly and... chilling to the core.

In one ostrich's cage, Su Su's sharp eyes even caught sight of a tier-one crystal stone rolling amidst the scattered tufts of fur, making it very difficult to notice.

Su Su took a deep breath.

She could see that these animals' bodies retained a massive amount of crystal impurities, accumulated to a terrifying degree. If any more poured in, it would completely erupt, destroying their internal organs and bones... until they finally exploded to death.

This had already reached a point where even her supernatural ability could not save them.

Misinterpreting her gaze, He Heng smiled and said, "Don't worry, these cages were built by a tier-four metal-type supernatural being and are reinforced periodically. They only crash into them fiercely; they can't escape."

Su Su pointed at the ostrich. "What is its ability? What tier?"

"It?"

He Heng glanced casually at it, taking a dozen seconds to remember. "A tier-second speed-type ability. It makes quite a decent mount."

A combat pet that had already reached tier two, yet it was still being continuously fed tier-one crystal stones.

Either He Heng did not know that eating too many crystal stones had side effects... or he simply did not care.

To mask the turmoil in her heart, Su Su lowered her gaze and reached out to stroke Little Black's head.

"Hiss."

The black snake nested in the human's arms, its vertical pupils sweeping over all the imprisoned kin here.

It should have lacked empathy—that was something only humans possessed.

Yet it had somehow developed a trace of human nature. Having experienced swallowing crystal stones and nearly exploding to death, the black snake understood the current state of these animals better than anyone.

They possessed the abilities humans were most proud of, yet their strength could not shake the most intelligent creatures, reducing them merely to subjects of experimentation.

"Hiss~"

The black snake quietly flicked its tongue, gently brushing it against the female's neck.

No one noticed the dark shadow flashing in the depths of those vertical pupils.

Only Su Su knew that Little Black could both see and understand everything, and she suddenly regretted bringing it into this place.

He Heng pointed forward. "Anyway, these are all defective products. If we walk a bit further, that's what I really want Miss Su to see."

Passing through the corridor, they turned into a large hexagonal room.

The six walls had been hollowed out to form large cages holding five animals, leaving only one space empty.

The tiger seen that morning was among them.

It lay quietly on the ground. Judging from its physique and fur, it was in its most robust and vibrant state. Spiritually, however, it looked entirely like a creature entering its twilight years.

She hadn't had time to observe it closely earlier, but looking at it now, she noticed that the energy impurities accumulated in its body were no less severe, though they hadn't yet reached the dangerous state of the animals in the corridor.

"It's a tier-four fire-type, and currently my most obedient combat pet," He Heng said with a hint of pride. "The other four are all at peak tier three and will advance to tier four soon enough. When that happens, no Zombie King will be my match."

At this, he sighed softly.

"The premise is that I must tame them."

He Heng turned to look at Su Su. "As for these five combat pets, the other four attack people indiscriminately the moment they're released. Even the most obedient tiger can only accompany me out on patrol. If I were to actually take it into battle, I strongly doubt it would bite the zombies; instead, it would turn around and attack me."

At least he had some self-awareness.

Su Su asked, "What on earth does the City Lord want to say to me? Could it be that you just brought me here to tour your private zoo?"

Her words carried a strong undertone of sarcasm, which He Heng naturally picked up.

He took two steps forward and smiled faintly. "I have shared my secrets with Miss Su without reservation. As a return courtesy, shouldn't Miss Su also honestly tell me how to tame a tier-five combat pet?"

Su Su retorted, "You don't believe what I said earlier?"

"Miss Su is joking. How can animals with no intelligence trade sincerity for sincerity?"

He Heng's youthful face was terribly deceptive; just standing there, he looked as though he were genuinely complaining about her coldness.

Su Su lowered her gaze. "If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do."

Seeing her completely impervious to persuasion, He Heng spread his hands helplessly. "Fine, then please tell me, Miss Su, how one trades sincerity for sincerity. Would that work?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Of course."

"Set them free and stop forcing them to eat crystal stones. That will be the first step to success."

He Heng's smile gradually faded. "...Miss Su really is as clear-eyed as a mirror. Setting them free is easy; I can build a large zoo outdoors and give them plenty of activity space. But as for not feeding them crystal stones, please forgive me..."

Unawares, he had gradually closed the distance to Su Su, narrowing the gap to just a few centimeters and continuing to shrink it.

Finally, He Heng stepped into the black snake's strike zone.

Standing at 178 centimeters with a decent posture, he was now able to look down at Su Su.

"Miss Su, if you didn't feed this python crystal stones, how did it reach tier five?"

"Could it also be through sincerity for sincerity?"

"Can your sincerity make it advance out of thin air?"

A powerful wave of oppression suddenly surged in He Heng's gaze, almost forcing Su Su to tilt her head up and meet his eyes.

"Miss Su, do you know what your answer looks like to me?"

"It's prevarication, evasion, and putting on a mysterious front."

The man gazed into those beautiful, hibiscus-like features, a genuine flash of appreciation sliding through the depths of his eyes.

He raised his hand, attempting to stroke her rosy, upturned lips.

Closer, even closer... Yet Su Su seemed completely unaware, allowing him to approach and letting his hand come within inches of touching her cheek.

"Su Su, what a convenient name to have. It's as if just saying it carries an inherent sense of intimacy," He Heng lowered his head gradually, his voice as soft as a lover's murmur. "Tell me, why did this python reach tier five without exploding to death? And how did you tame it?"

Su Su murmured, "I'll tell you..."

"Yes, tell me quickly."

"It's..."

"What is it?"

Under He Heng's step-by-step guidance, Su Su suddenly raised her hand and pushed him away without the slightest hesitation. "It's sincerity for sincerity. Why on earth won't you believe it?"

At the same time, the black snake viciously spat out a jet of blue flame.

"Hiss!!!"

It had endured for far too long; a ball of fire was lodged in its throat. If the female hadn't given a warning pinch to the tip of its tail, it would have treated He Heng to a baldness makeover the moment he closed the distance.

He Heng dodged the attack in a panic, but a large patch of his hair was still singed off by the vanguard of the flames, instantly transforming his layered fringe into a charred, frizzy mess.