Chapter 170: So This Is a Human Skin Seeking a Title?

"Master Fuli, please eat first!"

Lin Ying placed the little fox on the sofa, sat herself on the carpet, and gently stroked its fur, her cheeks softened with calmness, as if genuinely pleased.

Only after the butler brought the dishes into the sunroom's parlor did Lin Ying stop her actions.

Lin Ying set the little fox down opposite her at the coffee table, facing each other, so she could easily feed it.

Since falling ill, only when facing Master Fuli did Lin Ying muster any interest and show the patience she once reserved for family.

Lin Ying put on gloves, removed the hard head and tail of the shrimp, and placed them into the fox's bowl.

"Ying ying ying—"

The little fox snatched up the large shrimp, tossed it upward, and neatly bit it into its mouth to chew, never touching its own fur, crunching "crunch crunch" as it ate.

"Though being with Yu Xueqing isn't boring—we can chat idly—when it comes to food, Lin Ying is unquestionably No. 1."

Eating the sweet, fresh shrimp and drinking ice cola, An Sheng couldn't help but give Lin Ying a thumbs-up.

Where am I fat? Yu Xueqing keeps harping on me drinking ice cola—later, I'll pinch her little belly and make her learn from Mo Yiqing!

Lin Ying had little appetite; after swallowing a few bites to fill her stomach, she spent all her time feeding Master Fuli, with about eighty percent of the food on the table ending up in the fox's belly.

Lin Ying wiped her hands with a damp cloth, then looked at the fox and said: "Master Fuli…"

"Ying?"

"If possible, you shouldn't go abroad," Lin Ying considered. "At this moment, our country's leaders treat spiritual beasts as rare or non-renewable resources, primarily to aid Spirit Grain research."

"In Europe and America, it's not the state but conglomerates that lead Spirit Grain research—they only study its impact on our world after satisfying their own needs."

"The most influential among them is a sect—or rather, a club—founded by old-money elites."

"This ties into another concept: in the event 【Code Name: Spirit Resurgence】, the upper echelons regard spiritually awakened beasts as overlords—like the ultimate prodigies in cultivation novels—with high research value and necessity for scientific projects."

"But the 【Eternal Club】 and other conglomerates believe that with Spirit Resurgence, spiritual beasts are not isolated anomalies—they appear in massive numbers, cannot be eradicated, and live among us like biological invasions."

"So…" The little fox paused, then whimpered to ask Lin Ying.

"The hottest research topic abroad is to actively capture spiritual beasts, shove them into juicers, squeeze out every last value and profit, and use them to develop research that enhances individual supernatural power without damage," Lin Ying stated calmly. "It seems… reality differs from superhero movies."

"In the movies, the poor gain power through mutation, the rich through technology."

"In reality, the rich use technology to grant themselves supernatural abilities and longevity."

"If you leave the country and expose yourself, I suspect they'll send tanks to crush you—but in Xia Dong, your existence is relatively safe."

When Lin Ying said "safe," she wasn't referring to the influence of the Lin Group.

As a well-known entrepreneur in Xia Dong, Lin Ying knew something about national security policy deployments.

The coastal regions of Xia Dong are in a state of constant military readiness; during holidays, they enter Level Two combat readiness. Some officials have even subtly hinted to the Lin family that certain military camps in Xia Dong hold far more power than they appear to.

Aside from authorized spies used as mouthpieces, all other spies are under dual surveillance.

The Sky Net system detects anomalies, analyzes them, uploads data, while another monitoring system tracks them throughout.

Outsiders behave properly, and all is fine—but if they attempt any espionage, security officers have time to remove their tires before they even move.

"Is there really an organization like this—outside the state, yet above it?"

"If they're this powerful, why do they even sell life insurance? Do Westerners really have such a twisted taste?" An Sheng silently mocked in his mind at the corrupted term "juicer."

But.

As An Sheng silently mocked the capitalist distortion of human reality, he suddenly froze.

Due to East-West differences, their attitudes toward spiritual beasts diverged: the East broadly embraced them—take them all!

The West largely followed Western supremacy—divine right, I'm No. 1, everything granted by God!

That Eternal Club loved hunting spiritual beasts worldwide to turn them into canned goods.

Then—

Could the automatic rifle parts the King Cobra found on Sheshan be connected to that club?

Any non-ninth-drip Xia citizen knows: in Xia, you can steal, but don't rob—and if you rob, never carry weapons.

Here, if you rob with firearms, pray you've got a hostage.

Otherwise, artillery with 100mm sniper rifles will roll up in armored vehicles, crush your cover, and blast your forehead.

This was a real case.

"Ying ying ying—"

An Sheng felt his brain ache; he had a strong feeling the highlight of this tea duel might not even be on the competition stage.

First, confirmed fungal parasitic beasts.

Then, uncertain mysterious rifle parts.

And a political education teacher chasing him to class.

I do like spiritual power—I want to regain my form and return to the city in style.

But this is too hectic!

Do they want to kill Master Fuli with overwork?

"Ying ying ying—"

An Sheng picked up his phone and typed to tell Lin Ying about the rifle parts he'd found.

Lin Ying paused, then asked: "And then?"

【Of course I called the police!】 The little fox wrote firmly on the screen.

Lin Ying thought it over; since the rifle incident had been reported, it was likely under official investigation, so there was no immediate concern—but she'd need to call Lin's Grandfather later.

Lin Ying shifted topics and brought up the fungal parasitic beast again.

An Sheng patted his chest and assured Lin Ying the fungal parasitic beast was no problem.

Tonight, he'd take her to a place to see his newly forged divine weapon.

That parasite that scared her before? If it dares show up in Jiule City, it'll face the fox's big stick.

……………

The little fox left Lin Ying's home—it was already noon.

An Sheng thought for a moment, then headed toward the ancestral hall to submit his contest tea.

Before the tea duel began, under the guidance of respected elders and village cadres from Zhangxizhen, contestants and related personnel gathered at the ancestral hall to pray and honor ancestors, seeking their blessing for victory.

All relevant personnel were dining inside the hall.

An Sheng strolled in; villagers who had never seen him before spotted him and laughed heartily, shouting to Old Chen: "Village Chief! Fuli's here!"

Old Chen looked over and saw An Sheng.

But the middle-aged man eating at the table, upon seeing the white Fuli, immediately grabbed a large chicken leg and held it to the little fox's mouth, smiling as he asked:

"Master Fuli! Tell me—will my family win tomorrow?"

"Ying?"

An Sheng, blocked from passing, instinctively let out a confused whimper—but after the whimper, his face darkened instantly: he realized a human skin was seeking a title.

'Win your ass! Our family will win!'

"Ying ying! Ying ying ying—"

"Hahaha! Thank you, Master Fuli, for your auspicious words! If we win tomorrow, I'll definitely come back to fulfill my vow!"

An Sheng directly vented at the stranger—but the stranger just laughed happily, thoroughly enjoying the fox's insults.

"Yu Xueqing… what did the fox say?" Mo Yiqing and Yu Xueqing, seated together at the banquet, heard the familiar fox whimpers and Mo Yiqing asked curiously.

"... t was pretty vulgar," Yu Xueqing replied with a strange expression. "Little An probably watches too many livestreams—he's got an enormous vocabulary."

(End of Chapter)