Super Zoo

Having passed the two tests smoothly, Suming had gone from a reserve to an official, titled, and established Apostle of the Fire God. Alayi trembled as he lay at Suming's feet, along with several other elders reciting something loudly. According to Ludmila's translation, they were blessing verses praising the Fire God and His envoy from the holy scriptures.

Amir hurried out of the cave to report this great news to the tribespeople waiting outside.

If a ten-minute underwater test seemed a bit short and did not entirely convince everyone, Suming spent an entire thirty minutes beneath the water, half an hour, enough to awe all onlookers.

"Oh, I see, if this were in the East, it would be like they're chanting Amitabha Buddha at me, in the West, it'd be 'God bless.'" Suming wiped his mouth, which had a strong taste of a woman's scent.

Ludmila said with a smile, "That's roughly the idea. How on earth did you manage to hold your breath for nearly half an hour underwater? Without diving equipment, it's simply impossible for a human!"

Suming whispered into her ear very quietly, grinning, "I'll tell you, there's a patch of rocks at the bottom, about thirty centimeters from the surface, I stuck my head out there to catch my breath."

"How convenient?" Ludmila said, puzzled.

"Perhaps it's the arrangement of the Fire God." Suming was now learning the ways of a charlatan and said something enigmatic, then he grabbed a water bottle filled with royal jelly that was left on the shore and took a big gulp.

Earlier underwater, his spiritual power had finally been completely exhausted; it was essential to replenish it. After putting on a robe, a group of tardigrades—nearly invisible to the naked eye—now obediently lay by the water's edge. Suming carefully scooped up the water, sneakily hiding the tardigrades within the fibers of his garments.

Outside the cave, a roar like a tsunami suddenly erupted as thousands of Lure People shouted simultaneously. A beaming Alayi, bending halfway, was almost addressing Suming with the back of his head, saying, "Great Divine Envoy, please come outside and accept the worship of the most devout Lure People!"

"Alayi, could you please straighten your back?!" Suming wasn't used to being spoken to like this, not just Alayi; all the elders in the cave had the same posture, which seemed even more uncomfortable than kneeling.

"Oh no, mortals must not look directly at a god and His envoy!" Alayi said.

"If you keep this up, don't call me Divine Envoy any longer!" After undergoing two life-and-death tests, Suming had completely settled into his identity as the Divine Envoy. At least in the eyes of the Lure People, his status was firmly established and would not change.

Since that was the case, he could use a commanding tone with Alayi, which served as a little payback for the disrespect he had suffered earlier.

"Divine Envoy, Sir..." In the end, Alayi reluctantly stood upright and half-bowed as he followed behind Suming.

Escorted by two gun-wielding warriors, Suming was the first to walk out of the cave, and Alayi, along with six elders, filed out behind him.

At the base of the cliff, hundreds and thousands of torches vigorously shook. As Suming passed by, the Lure People on both sides prostrated themselves, loudly singing praises of the divine glory... and now all that splendor belonged to Suming.

Passing through the crowd and returning to the high ground at the cave entrance, all the Lure People let out a thunderous cheer, welcoming the envoy of the gods.

"Divine Envoy, Sir, from now on, all Lure People are your most devoted servants, following in your footsteps. Please guide us to our future path!"

"Alayi, first, since you acknowledge me as Divine Envoy, from now on when there are outsiders present, call me Mr. Su, or Boss, that's fine, don't call me Divine Envoy anymore. You have to understand there are many religious beliefs in the world, and this manner of address could bring me a lot of trouble," Suming said.

"As you wish... Great... Divine Envoy... Of course, there are no outsiders here; I will change how I address you in the presence of others," Alayi said, now acting like an obedient little cat, going along with whatever Suming said, without a hint of backtalk.

"Second, as for the future direction of the Lure People..." Suming stroked his chin, looking up at the sky around him as if stargazing, then pointed eastward, "Climb over this mountain and head toward its opposite side!"

"Yes, Divine Envoy. But... may I ask why? While you were undergoing the test, I heard intense cannon and gunfire from the other side of the mountain, as if a fierce battle was taking place," Alayi said, puzzled.

"Yes, just as I emerged from ice and fire, the rebirth of the Lure People must also pass through the trial of iron and fire!" Suming was more and more like a soothsayer.

Thousands of Lure People, armed with weapons, followed Suming's footsteps and began to bypass the cliff, heading to the other side of the mountain.

Suming's guidance was not arbitrary, nor was he sending the Lure People to their deaths. On the other side of the mountain, something else was happening.

The time shifted back to thirty minutes earlier.

Suming, in the water, felt the earth's vibrations and decisively swam towards the source of the disturbance.

Along the way, vibrations continuously emanated from the bottom, as if something enormous on the surface was exploding.

After swimming for over five minutes, Suming felt a tightness in his chest, and the protective sphere of spiritual power around his body rapidly dissipated.

He knew the energy storage sphere of his pet fish's underwater survival abilities was nearing its end.

Without hesitation, he broke the Water Bear's energy storage sphere.

"Indeed freaking awesome!"

In an instant, the effects of the Water Bear's energy storage sphere encompassed his entire body.

The Elephant's energy storage sphere made one feel a surge of strength; the energy storage sphere of the Race Horse gave one a boundless rush of vigor; in water, the Fish's energy storage sphere allowed one to move as if on dry land;

But the Water Bear's energy storage sphere gave an indescribable feeling. Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

In an instant, it was as though he became completely disconnected from this world, not constrained by the laws of nature.

Underwater, he could breathe, in a blaze he wasn't afraid of getting scorched, and even if he ate arsenic for a meal, he wouldn't be poisoned to death!

If one really had to describe it, this feeling was similar to the emptiness one feels after becoming invincible…

Luckily, Suming was well aware that much of this was an illusion; like other energy storage spheres, the Water Bear's energy storage sphere merely emulated the Water Bear's abilities — there was no way it could turn him into an absurd creature like the Water Bear itself.

If he truly were boiled in hot water for ten minutes or roasted in fire for half an hour, he would be done for just the same.

However, for the moment, there was no need to worry about oxygen, and he knew it was either because his body required less oxygen, or his skin could actually breathe faintly underwater; regardless, there was no fear of suffocating.

Continuing along the waterway, a point of light appeared in the dark water ahead rather quickly.

An exit!

Suming swam towards it using his limbs and discovered an opening about twenty centimeters in diameter overhead—just large enough for his head to fit through.

He carefully laid his face on the surface of the water and looked around, finding that there was also a cave above.

Slowly raising half of his head, he saw that about ten meters away from the cave, two armed militants in long robes were patrolling back and forth without noticing anything unusual about the cave.

In another direction, a Black person and a Caucasian person, bound tightly like dumplings, were curled up in the corner of the cave, staring at him with a look of astonishment.