Gao Zhen placed the Crimson-Feathered Eagle's corpse on the ground, then sat on it, delivering a series of fierce blows to its head. After several hits, the Crimson-Feathered Eagle's skull was cracked open by him, and blood gushed out from inside.
Then, he reached out with both hands, grabbed both sides of the Crimson-Feathered Eagle's skull, and pried hard. The skull split open like a ripe watermelon, easily separated.
"Haha, we got something! Old Ye, you're only Fourth-Degree now. This crystal core is yours—absorb it well!"
Gao Zhen said excitedly, handing the crystal core to Ye Tian.
They were both Fourth-Tier experts, but due to their different identities, their cultivation time and opportunities differed.
As the mayor, Ye Tian usually had to handle various government affairs and didn't have much time for cultivation, so his current strength remained at only Fourth-Tier Second-Degree.
Gao Zhen, on the other hand, was a soldier with fixed training and cultivation time every day, so his strength was relatively stronger, having reached Fourth-Tier Fourth-Degree.
After taking the crystal core, Ye Tian said with a serious expression: "This is public property. We can't privately possess it, and you shouldn't have other ideas either."
He knew crystal cores were very important to cultivators and could help improve strength. But as a public official, he had to follow the rules and couldn't use his position for personal gain.
Gao Zhen heard this and complained with some dissatisfaction: "Tch, every time we work ourselves to death, finally kill a mutant beast, and then we have to turn it over to the state. It really makes me unwilling!"
There was no helping it—expending so much effort only for the spoils to not be their own would make anyone complain a bit.
Ye Tian sighed helplessly and explained: "No choice—who made us government employees? If we had found and killed this mutant beast on our own time, it would be our property. But since it triggered a beast tide, this became a public matter, and the spoils naturally belong to the public."
Gao Zhen impatiently waved his hand and said: "Alright, alright, you've said this how many times already." Then he pointed at the Crimson-Feathered Eagle on the ground. "At least this mangy bird doesn't have to be turned over, right?"
Ye Tian nodded and confirmed: "This doesn't need to be. Using it to reward the soldiers is within the various benefits—it's perfectly reasonable."
Gao Zhen nodded with satisfaction, then forcefully hoisted the Crimson-Feathered Eagle onto his shoulder and said: "Fine then. I'll take it back first and let the cooking squad prepare it. You come over later to eat!" Having said that, he turned and walked toward the camp.
Ye Tian looked at Gao Zhen's departing figure, the corner of his mouth slightly raised, and answered with a smile: "Don't worry—Fourth-Tier mutant beast meat, I haven't had it many times either. I won't miss it."
After Gao Zhen left, Ye Tian also went back to process the handover procedures for that Fourth-Tier crystal core. He was just about to head to the military district when he heard a subordinate come to report.
The person who came was his secretary.
"Mayor, something's wrong!"
Ye Tian frowned: "What's with the panic? What happened?"
"Mayor, just now the Security Bureau director Li Jie told me that during their patrol, they discovered an egg. After examination, it's suspected to be a Crimson-Feathered Eagle egg."
"What?!"
Hearing his report, Ye Tian initially didn't believe it.
"Are you serious? This isn't a joke you can make!"
The secretary said anxiously: "Mayor, I'm not joking!"
He took out a photo.
"Look, this is the egg."
Ye Tian snatched the photo and examined it carefully, discovering that it was indeed a Crimson-Feathered Eagle egg.
"How... how is this possible?!"
Ye Tian's hands tightly gripped the photo, just staring blankly at it, trembling slightly. Large beads of sweat dripped from his forehead.
A Crimson-Feathered Eagle egg appearing in the city, and the one that initiated the beast tide just happened to be a Crimson-Feathered Eagle—this meant this beast tide wasn't coincidental but was deliberately orchestrated by someone!
"There was already intelligence before about traces of the Evolution Church nearby. Could it be them? But what are they after?"
If they were after something in Yan City's treasury, Ye Tian wouldn't be so afraid. After all, even if they lost many things from inside, at least they would know what was taken.
But places like that were heavily guarded, so they couldn't infiltrate silently. And no one had reported to him about anything being lost, so their purpose remained a mystery.
The unknown was what was most terrifying.
More importantly, to obtain that thing, they didn't hesitate to trigger a beast tide. That item must be extremely important—either to their own people or to the Evolution Church.
But regardless of which situation, once they succeeded, there would definitely be no good outcome.
Ye Tian asked urgently: "Has anything been lost currently?"
Secretary: "I already checked. Nothing has been lost."
"Phew~~"
Ye Tian breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"But I heard Li Jie say that when they mobilized earlier, they found Evolution Church members capturing a student."
"Ah!!!"
"But by the time they arrived, they discovered that student was quite powerful—he counter-killed all those people by himself."
"Phew~~"
"But when they went to that student's home to inquire, they discovered he hadn't returned home. We suspect the Evolution Church had other, stronger people who captured that student."
"Ah!!!"
This roller coaster of emotions nearly made Ye Tian's heart burst.
"Hurry up! Say something that will let me breathe out!"
"Um... there's nothing more, Mayor. Although the surveillance at that location was destroyed, it's now basically confirmed that the student was captured by Evolution Church members."
"Who is that student!"
"He's the first place winner of Spirit User First School's competition—Su Ke."
"Su Ke!"
Ye Tian was now truly panicked.
Su Ke was no simple minor character.
Leaving aside that he was already an Earth-grade talent himself, he had a legendary-grade talented aunt at Imperial Capital University. Additionally, according to his understanding, he had two relatives who had built substantial businesses in the Imperial Capital and held significant influence in the business world.
It could be said that in Ye Tian's eyes, Su Ke was basically a little ancestor.
"Find him! Send people out to look for him immediately! I want to see him alive or see his body if dead!"
"Yes!"
The secretary went out to relay the order. Ye Tian didn't stay idle either—he quickly ran into the military district to find Gao Zhen.
After hearing his words, Gao Zhen didn't delay a moment either, assembling the troops to go search for the person.
Not because Su Ke was special, but because this incident involved the Evolution Church. Anything connected to the Evolution Church absolutely couldn't be taken lightly—it had to be handled with the utmost seriousness.
Moreover, they had captured Su Ke, which definitely meant taking him out of the city. The Security Bureau was only responsible for inside the city—for outside the city, they still needed to rely on these soldiers.
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