Super Zoo-Chapter 678 - 668: Advanced Creatures Without Birds

Though the Three-legged Crested Ibis was somewhat odd, Suming never actually expected that Xiaohong would grow into a big monster from the bottom of his heart.

What era were they in, after all? Even if Xiaohong, by feasting on the flesh of the eternal beings, could transform into the legendary Vermilion Bird or Golden Crow, soaring with a flap of its wings and spewing intense flames... so what? Under modern technology, a fierce beast with special abilities, even if divine, couldn't stir up much trouble. Were they supposed to rely on its fire-breathing for barbecues?

And yet, the eternal beings could indeed bring about various benefits. Most directly, without them, the fishing companies and distilleries would immediately plunge into crisis. Coupled together, that was an income of tens of millions a year, not as much as making movies, but it was stable with almost no risk.

Moreover, the water of the eternal beings indeed had a real effect on strengthening the body, and Suming himself had been drinking it regularly.

Toward Xiaohong's aberrant growth, Suming was more curious than anything. If they could ensure the safety of the eternal beings and periodically give Xiaohong a bit of their flesh to eat, that could be acceptable. On the other hand, if the evolution of Xiaohong required the complete destruction of the eternal beings, that was unnecessary.

As for how much it needed to eat, only Xiaohong knew. Xiaohong murmured and 'discussed' with Suming for quite a while.

"Huh? One pound a day?" Suming was shocked, that was just ridiculous. One pound a day, how long could the eternal beings last for it?

It truly was 'eating a big pound'.

The little Crested Ibis nodded vigorously, salivating.

"Speak the truth!" Suming sensed something off from its attitude, and since he communicated with the Crested Ibis using spiritual power, he could tell that Xiaohong's attitude was a bit strange.

The little Crested Ibis hesitated for a moment, shook its head in dissatisfaction, and gave Suming a different answer.

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"One pound a month... I guess that's barely acceptable," Suming frowned.

It was still a bit much. The eternal beings had lived for who knows how many thousands of years and didn't even weigh a few thousand pounds. They couldn't gain a pound a year in weight, and even now, with the mutual promotion with spiritual power, they might gain only a few pounds a year.

This little guy wanted to eat a pound a month; the growth wouldn't keep up with the eating speed. The plump eternal being would soon be eaten into a skinny one, which seemed quite pitiful just to think about.

The little Crested Ibis gazed at Suming with hopeful eyes.

"No way!" Suming suddenly realized, smacked it hard on the forehead, and glared, "Lie to me again, and you'll get not even an ounce in the future."

Alright, so it turned out that the little Crested Ibis had been exaggerating all along, trying to scam more flesh of the eternal being to feast on. For the Three-legged Crested Ibis, the flesh of the eternal being might be the most attractive food in the world, bar none.

Suming called its bluff, and Xiaohong's head sagged, dragging its long beak on the ground, adopting a languid and loafer-like demeanor, dispiritedly revealing the truth to Suming.

"Damn it!" Suming nearly died from anger.

All that nonsense about one pound a day, one pound a month, it was all baloney!

Though the flesh of the eternal beings was delicious, for the Three-legged Crested Ibis, it was a necessity for growth, not the main diet.

Just as humans take rice and steamed bread as their staples, they need to supplement with trace elements like calcium, iron, zinc, and selenium to grow healthily.

The flesh of the eternal beings was like the 'trace elements' for the healthy development of the Three-legged Crested Ibis, acting as a catalyst or a primer.

Without a regular 'intake' of the flesh of the eternal beings, a Crested Ibis, even a Three-legged one, would likely remain just an ordinary bird with bone spurs its entire life. But if it could eat the flesh regularly, the Three-legged Crested Ibis might possibly grow into the 'Firebird' as described by Park Jeong-ui.

What are trace elements? By definition, they are measured in very small quantities, in milligrams or micrograms.

Being all 'big fatty meat', the eternal beings were already plump; one pound of their flesh was quite a large chunk. If it was only according to the Crested Ibis's necessities for growth, a pound a year would be too much.

"You little trickster!" Suming was a bit displeased and knocked on the crested ibis's head again.

Xiao Hong quite cooperated; when Suming knocked, its head heavily touched the ground, and it made a dull thud as it hit the marble floor.

Suming laughed, "Alright, alright, stop pretending with me. With such a hard head, don't break my floor tiles. This year I'll give you two pounds, and from now on, one pound per year. I'll go and discuss this with Taishui, but you mustn't sneak any on your own!"

"Goo goo goo!" The little crested ibis flapped its wings vigorously.

Suming looked at this unique little guy, feeling a surge of unusual emotions.

Xiao Hong was indeed different.

Not because it was a rare crested ibis, nor because it had hard bones and beak, or even because it had grown a third leg.

What made it different was its reaction to spiritual power.

All the animals Suming had encountered before, whether it was the smart pandas, parrots, fierce crocodiles, the harsh garpike, including monkeys, mountain elves, and other primates close to humans, had no resistance to spiritual power. When communicating with spiritual power, they could not consciously hide anything.

Only Crested Ibis Xiaohong was different. In the communication just now, this greedy little guy, in order to deceive me out of more Taishui meat, actually 'lied' repeatedly. Although the fluctuations in spiritual power could sense that its answers were off, it was Suming who noticed it, not Xiaohong 'confessing' on its own.

Although Xiaohong had no ill will, and after being exposed by Suming, it honestly revealed the truth, it still actively hid the truth.

An animal that can consciously hide information in front of spiritual power?

Interesting.

This indicates that if there were a so-called 'biological hierarchy', with higher and lower organisms, then among all the animals encountered so far, Xiaohong's biological level is definitely the highest.

Of course, excluding humans, since Suming has so far been unable to use spiritual power on humans.

"There's another thing I'm curious about." Suming stretched out a finger and felt under Xiaohong's belly.

Xiao Hong looked at Suming blankly, What are you curious about?

"Are you a male or a female?" Suming asked seriously, It's a very serious question.

There were no reproductive organs under its belly, just like cartoons for children, smooth and blank between the two legs, nothing at all.

You don't have a wee..wee!

And no little sis!

You're a hermaphroditic bird! No, no, no, a bird that's neither here nor there!

Xiao Hong still looked bewildered. What's wee..wee, and what's little sis, can you eat them?

"Poor kid, you're still too young to understand anything." Suming stroked Xiao Hong's head compassionately, When you grow up and need it but don't have it, you'll know what frustration is.

As the saying goes, 'A bird in need finds its wings too short'... and you don't even have... sigh!