Finally, on the fourth day, Kong Xiangdong looked at this small packet of light gray powder on the table, his tired face filled with excitement.
"Has it succeeded?" he asked hoarsely.
"It should be considered a success. The recent experiment shows that the substance obtained this time is very stable in nature."
Zhao Ya, who was beside him, took out a small notebook, recording the recent experiment data while speaking.
Unlike the exhausted Kong Xiangdong, even though he had worked for three days and nights, Zhao Ya was still energetic. His eyes were full of excitement at exploring the unknown.
The packet of light gray powder on the table was something they painstakingly extracted from a tentacle sucker, using various methods.
"So, can we start the next phase of the experiment?" Kong Xiangdong asked.
"We can!"
"Good!"
Kong Xiangdong immediately instructed his subordinates to bring in the pre-prepared test subject.
It was a Snow Wolf caged in a cage.
As it was carried in by the subordinates, it was baring its teeth fiercely. But as soon as it saw Zhao Ya, its arrogance instantly vanished, and it cowered tremblingly into the corner of the cage, not daring even to lift its head.
"This Snow Wolf has repeatedly attacked solitary travelers in town and was finally captured by my men, just in time to be used as the test subject for this experiment," said Kong Xiangdong.
To avoid affecting the final assessment of effects, Zhao Ya poured a bowl of warm water, added a small spoonful of the powder, and let it dissolve completely before reaching into the cage to pull out the trembling Snow Wolf.
The entire process saw the Snow Wolf not daring to resist at all. Zhao Ya grabbed its neck, and it obediently opened its mouth, allowing the medicinal solution to be poured in.
Once Zhao Ya let go, the Snow Wolf collapsed at the bottom of the cage, trembling, eyes filled with despair.
The intelligence of these Snow Wolves was not low, so it understood that the solution just poured into it was not something good.
Indeed.
Just moments later, this Snow Wolf began to tremble violently and let out heart-wrenching howls.
The howling was filled with pain, with blood beginning to trickle from its mouth and nose.
Zhao Ya and Kong Xiangdong stood outside the cage, watching closely.
Zhao Ya also quickly recorded experiment data in the notebook while observing.
But soon, the Snow Wolf lay motionless at the bottom of the cage.
Zhao Ya and Kong Xiangdong exchanged glances of disappointment.
Indeed.
This powder exhibited strong toxicity, causing a not-so-weak Snow Wolf to instantly die.
But this was not what Zhao Ya and Kong Xiangdong wanted.
After all, they had seen many types of poisons that kill upon contact with blood, with varieties too numerous to count, making it unnecessary to go to such lengths in the Wuyang Sea to find them.
They were seeking a wonderful toxin similar to the one from the shell that could mimic the surrounding environment.
At this point, Kong Xiangdong sighed, turning to comfort Zhao Ya, "Actually, this isn’t surprising. You know that last time, in order to find a way to utilize that shell, I conducted repeated experiments no less than a hundred times, spending a whole month."
"It’s only been three days this time, so it’s not that quick!"
Saying this, he was just about to call the waiting subordinates outside to drag away the body of the Snow Wolf.
But right then, Zhao Ya suddenly stopped him.
"Wait a minute!"
"Huh?" Kong Xiangdong was a bit puzzled, "What’s wrong?"
"It just seemed to move!"
Zhao Ya quickly walked to the front of the cage to observe closely.
Hearing this, Kong Xiangdong hurried over as well.
Sure enough.
They saw that the Snow Wolf, which lay like a corpse, had its abdomen slightly rising and falling, claws twitching unconsciously.
"Is this...?" Kong Xiangdong’s eyes lit up, about to say something.
At that moment, the Snow Wolf suddenly opened its eyes, then flipped over, running to the side of the cage, wagging its tail furiously at Zhao Ya.
Now it was Zhao Ya’s turn to be surprised.
But just a moment later, he and Kong Xiangdong shared a look of delight on their faces.
Because this time... it seemed they had truly found a treasure.
Half an hour later, looking at a Snow Wolf that resembled a well-trained police dog, lying vigilantly at Zhao Ya’s feet, Kong Xiangdong was so excited that he was almost incoherent.
"So this time the powder we extracted from that tentacle suction cup can actually alter an Exotic Beast’s thinking and make it loyal to us?"
"From the current behavior of this Snow Wolf, it seems so!" Zhao Ya smiled.
Kong Xiangdong was even more excited now.
Because he knew well what this meant.
"Then what about against more powerful Exotic Beasts?"
The power of a Snow Wolf is considered very low on the Northern Realm Snowfield, something that even the Sea Gatherers could handle, so Kong Xiangdong asked worriedly.
"That would require experimentation to know," Zhao Ya laughed.
"But where to... ." Kong Xiangdong was about to ask where to find stronger Exotic Beasts but suddenly thought of something and fell silent.
Sure enough.
Zhao Ya got up and went outside, leaping onto the roof, and whistled around.
A moment later, a cry came from the distant sky, and then the Free-Loading Bird leader flew over.
Once it landed in the backyard, even the spacious yard seemed cramped under its massive size.
Zhao Ya patted its feathers with satisfaction, "Hmm, responded quite quickly, good job."
The Free-Loading Bird leader seemed tearful.
Because of Zhao Ya’s words, it didn’t dare return to its warm nest, spending these days in the icy cold outside the town.
The Northern night’s cold was unbearable even for it, a native inhabitant.
So it regretted it immensely, wishing desperately for winter to come quickly.
That way, this young master could leave.
As the Free-Loading Bird leader was lamenting, Zhao Ya was already carrying a jar out of the house.
To deal with a giant bird-like Exotic Beast, naturally, he couldn’t use just a small amount of powder like before.
Zhao Ya simply dissolved the remaining pile of powder, walked up to the Free-Loading Bird leader, and smiled brightly.
"Come on, open your mouth."
The Free-Loading Bird leader was no fool.
Besides being unable to speak, its intelligence was nearly equal to an adult human.
Seeing Zhao Ya carrying a jar to its side, it instinctively sensed danger.
And when he smiled so sweetly while asking it to open its mouth, the Free-Loading Bird was utterly terrified.
It flapped its wings, attempting to flee.
But just then, Zhao Ya grabbed its feathers at the neck, his tone turning cold.
"Don’t make me go through trouble, open your mouth quickly!"
The Free-Loading Bird leader seemed tearful because it knew if it dared resist, the next second would bring a punch.
Reluctantly, it had to open its mouth.
Zhao Ya poured the contents of the jar in.
Then he stepped back a few steps, watching with a grin.
Contrary to their expectations, despite the Free-Loading Bird leader’s much larger size than the Snow Wolf,
the duration before the effect kicked in was nearly identical.
Just moments later, the Free-Loading Bird leader suddenly collapsed, struggling painfully.
The difference was due to its size, the struggle was incredibly intense.
The flapping wings caused a gale that even reached the front yard.
But no one dared to come near.
Everyone knew that Leader Kong and that difficult young master had been researching poison in the backyard these past few days.
To accidentally get contaminated would mean a horrible death, wouldn’t it?
By now, the Free-Loading Bird leader stopped struggling, blood trickling from its mouth.
Kong Xiangdong was very nervous about this.
Zhao Ya, on the other hand, remained much more composed.
Because he could feel that the Free-Loading Bird leader was still alive.
Sure enough.
Just moments later, the giant bird suddenly opened its eyes, flapped its wings, and soared into the sky.
After circling a few times in the sky, the giant bird landed back on the ground, lowering its head in a gesture of submission towards Zhao Ya, as if waiting for his instructions.