Chapter 35: Father?

Lu Kailin froze for a moment, turning his head to look outside the factory building.

His vision was sharper than Wang Gang’s, so he understood immediately: that was no airplane! It was clearly the golden eagle that had fought its way out of the avian glass house area.

The golden eagle flew straight toward the factory without hesitation, its sharp, predatory eyes locked onto the giant chimpanzee standing behind Lu Kailin.

Lu Kailin, his expression panicked, hurriedly signaled his "Big Black" to stand in front of him. The two-meter-tall chimpanzee, however, now wore a look of distinctly human fear, its massive eyes full of evasion.

"Have you turned against me?"

Lu Kailin was furious. The dark markings on his right arm transformed into a crimson whip, which he lashed out, striking the chimpanzee.

"Roar!"

Just at that moment, the golden eagle swooped in, hovering in place with a subtle movement of its wings. Surprisingly, it had no intention of attacking the group of humans; instead, it began to cry out urgently. The chimpanzee, which had been trying to dodge, seemed to understand something and responded with a low growl.

Seeing this, Lu Kailin retreated to the side with a gloomy expression, staring intensely at the golden eagle. His initial fear began to fade, replaced by a sudden glint of greed in his eyes.

*If I could tame this golden eagle...*

He thought this, completely ignoring the fact that his current "Big Black" was something he had merely acquired by chance.

As the chimpanzee braced its massive front limbs to step forward and assist, an arrow like a bolt of golden lightning tore through the sky, rushing toward them.

"Whoosh!"

A sharp, whistling sound rang out. Before the golden eagle could react, the golden filaments that had been coiled around its wings extended once more, anchoring to the ground and fixing it firmly in place.

The golden arrow slammed into the eagle’s body. A harrowing eagle cry pierced the air, and the adrenaline from its injury allowed the creature to break free from the golden threads. It beat its wings, which seemed to blot out the sky, attempting to return to the heavens. The golden arrow embedded in its body gradually dissipated, leaving behind only deep, bleeding holes.

A human figure glided over from not far away, looking down at the struggling eagle beneath his feet like a god casting his gaze downward.

Lu Kailin and Wang Gang stared blankly at Li Ye, unable to believe their eyes.

"Is that... a human?"

Wang Gang swallowed hard, responding in disbelief, "I-I suppose so."

Li Ye hovered in mid-air, looking impatiently at the struggling golden eagle. He opened his palm, and a tiny flicker of candlelight appeared out of thin air. It was clearly just a small flame, yet upon sensing its aura, the golden eagle displayed a terror like never before. It flapped its wings frantically, as if facing some great horror.

The effort paid off; the golden eagle managed to take flight again, not even caring about its bleeding wounds as it tried to flee.

Li Ye’s expression remained unchanged. He gave his palm a light push, and that tiny speck of candlelight drifted toward the eagle like a snowflake.

The desperate cry of the eagle rang out once more, but no matter how hard it struggled, the candlelight clung to it like a maggot on a bone. The moment it made contact, the eagle's iron-like feathers became as flammable as white phosphorus.

Lu Kailin and his group looked up in shock, watching the fireworks show taking place above their heads. The golden eagle's silhouette vanished entirely, and the chimpanzee retreated into a corner of the factory, trembling all over.

A blood crystal core the size of a pigeon egg dropped into Li Ye’s hand. He weighed the energy inside; it was just under the second tier, at the peak of the first. Satisfied, Li Ye tucked it into his treasure vault.

Returning to the ground, he swept his gaze over the humans in the factory. When he saw Lu Kailin, Li Ye involuntarily frowned.

"Lu Kailin?"

Seeing Li Ye’s face, Lu Kailin also trembled, his complexion turning pale as he took two steps back unconsciously.

"What a coincidence..."

Li Ye shook the blood off his hands as he landed. He walked into the factory, his brow smoothing out into a mocking expression.

Lu Kailin managed to force a smile, replying, "Not a coincidence. Little Ye, have you forgotten that I’ve always worked here?"

Li Ye looked understanding; he had indeed forgotten. But encountering this hypocritical beast now was a stroke of bad luck.

The middle-aged man before him was the biological father of Xue Ning, the man Li Ye had sued three years ago for domestic violence against Aunt Lu, which ultimately led to a forced divorce. Back then, he played the role of a devoted husband and father in public, but at home, he was a tyrant. If Aunt Lu or Xue Ning did anything that displeased him, he would slap them across the face. Of course, he was highly skilled at his abuse, usually using subtle force to avoid leaving deep bruises. If Li Ye hadn't used a scheme to provoke him after his rebirth, this pervert in human skin might still be seen as a good family man by the neighbors.

"Little Ye, you are now..."

"Do you even deserve to call me Little Ye?"

Li Ye casually interrupted him, walking over to Wang Gang. He glanced at the corpse in the corner and the crowd huddled in the factory, afraid to come out.

*It seems just anyone can awaken these days...*

Li Ye thought to himself, shaking his head helplessly.

"Big guy, tell me, who killed that person?"

Wang Gang froze. He glanced hesitantly at the trembling Lu Kailin and gritted his teeth, saying, "It was that beast, Lu Kailin."

Li Ye nodded, as expected. His bright eyes locked onto Lu Kailin, and he grinned, revealing his white teeth.

Seeing this, Lu Kailin stopped backing away. Instead, he approached Li Ye and knelt straight down before him, his words earnest. "Li Ye, Brother Ye... I was wrong. I was in the wrong before; I was blinded by greed back then."

Wang Gang quietly walked into the factory and called out the people who had just been terrified by Lu Kailin. Everyone gradually gathered around Li Ye and Lu Kailin. The whispering voices caused Lu Kailin’s expression to shift repeatedly.

"That’s Little Ye, right? It seems he was the one who exposed Lu Kailin as a beast back then."

"Right, if he hadn't revealed his true nature today, I would have almost forgotten he was a complete lunatic and violent maniac..."

"Thank goodness Aunt Lu and Xue Ning got away early."

"Sigh, Ding Shun'an is a poor soul, having had a brother like that."

...

Li Ye watched the kneeling Lu Kailin with amusement, as if a guest watching a clown in a circus.

Lu Kailin’s expression turned sinister, and he growled in a low voice, "I am Xue Ning’s father, after all!"

Li Ye paused, then shook his head and said softly, "You don't deserve to be. Xue Ning has me as her brother now, and that is enough."

Lu Kailin, kneeling a meter away from his feet, shook violently. He suddenly looked up, and a crimson whip appeared in his hand.

"You little brat, die!"

"If it weren't for you, those two bitches would still be my playthings, and I wouldn't be stuck here in this damn zoo as a zookeeper!"

"It’s all your fault!"

The whip let out a sharp, piercing whistle through the air. The chimpanzee huddled in the corner seemed to be summoned by something; it swung its massive fists and lunged at Li Ye.

Rather than sitting and waiting to be killed by this kid, it was better to strike first!

Being at this distance while kneeling was the perfect position to maximize the power of his [Beast-Taming Whip]!