21: Chapter 21 One Person Suppresses One Generation

As Qin Ce walked closer, the students waiting, trading, and complaining at the base entrance gradually noticed this astonishing scene.

The noise quickly died down...

Everyone stared, dumbfounded, at the increasingly clear figure that looked like a moving "small mountain."

"W-what the hell? What is that?"

"It's Qin Ce! What is he dragging? Beast carcasses?"

"Are you kidding? That many? By himself?"

"Is this fake? Did he rob someone else's prey?"

Under the gaze of countless shocked, suspicious, and disbelieving eyes, Qin Ce finally dragged the heavy cart to the base entrance.

In the cart, the carcasses of Blood Wolves, Giant-Legged Rabbits, and even Shadow Bats were mixed together, the smell of blood assaulting the nose.

This visual impact was more persuasive than any words.

Qin Ce stopped, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and nodded at Instructor Lei and Sun Zhengping, who were also somewhat stunned: "Instructor, Teacher Sun, I'm back."

Instructor Lei, Teacher Sun, and several teaching assistants looked at each other, their faces full of astonishment.

Instructor Lei didn't even realize the grass stem in his mouth had fallen out as he said to Teacher Sun.

"This student of yours is something else!"

The entire exchange point instantly fell silent. Everyone widened their eyes and opened their mouths, as if they had seen something incredible.

"D-did he go out to stock up on goods?!" Someone muttered, voicing everyone's inner thoughts.

The crowd erupted with a "boom"!

"My god! Did he really hunt all of these by himself?"

"How is that possible?! Our whole team only managed... in an entire afternoon."

"Look! There seem to be Shadow Bats in there! Those things can fly; they're the hardest to catch!"

"Cheating! He must be cheating! Or he scavenged them from someone else!"

Voices of doubt rang out instantly, especially from those students who had meager or zero harvest; they simply refused to believe the facts before them.

Qin Ce ignored the chatter and dragged the cart directly toward the exchange point.

The crowd automatically parted to make a path, everyone's gaze tightly fixed on him.

Dragging the heavy cart, Qin Ce walked straight to the exchange point and set it down with a dull thud. He nodded to the supply officer: "Please, count these."

Even the supply officer's perpetual icy face developed a crack. He quickly walked down the steps, came to the cart, and began to inspect it. The more he looked, the wider his eyes grew.

"Black Iron Mid-grade Blood Wolf, fur intact, fatal wound in the throat... Value: 78 points."

"Black Iron Mid-grade Shadow Bat, intact, wings undamaged... Value: 95 points."

"Black Iron Mid-grade Bone-eating Rat, large size... Value: 20 points."

"Black Iron Mid-grade Giant-Legged Rabbit, fur intact... Value: 18 points."

He announced a dozen items in a row, and not a single one was below Black Iron Mid-grade! There were even two Black Iron High-grade Blood Wolf carcasses!

"T-this... how is this possible?!" Someone cried out, "He's just one person! He only contracted his Pet Beast a month ago!"

"Cheating! It must be cheating! How could he have killed so many? And Black Iron High-grade ones at that!"

"Exactly! He must have bought them somewhere, or stolen them from someone else!"

Voices of doubt erupted instantly. Even Wang Xuan's beautiful eyes widened, filled with disbelief.

Facing the accusations, Qin Ce's expression remained unchanged as he waited for Old Liu to finish counting the carcasses.

He unhurriedly took a small animal-skin pouch from his pocket and, with a rattle, poured out a small pile of colorful, unevenly sized crystals that glimmered in the sunset.

Beast crystal cores!

Over thirty of them! Ranging from Black Iron Low-Grade to Mid-grade, and even two High-grade ones!

The air solidified once again.

The crystal core is the core of a beast's power and cannot be faked; who would really give their crystal cores to someone else?

Moreover, so many crystal cores, still carrying fresh energy fluctuations, could only mean one thing... these beasts were indeed just hunted by him!

All the voices of doubt were forcefully silenced by this pile of crystal cores.

The only sounds left on the scene were heavy breathing and the gulping of saliva.

The supply officer took a deep breath, his voice trembling slightly: "Carcass materials, preliminary estimate... 1250 points. crystal cores... need separate testing for energy purity, but conservatively estimated, no less than 3800 points. Total... over 5000 points!"

Five thousand points!

The whole place was dead silent.

As all the students looked at the single-digit or barely double-digit point vouchers in their hands, then back at the "mountain of gold" in front of Qin Ce, a massive, surreal sense of absurdity and frustration welled up in their hearts.

Qin Ce's harvest alone was far more than everyone else's combined!

Qin Ce was quite satisfied with this number.

He looked at the exchange list and, under everyone's longing gaze, began to "splurge."

"An instructor-level single suite, book it for a month." — 1050 points deducted.

"A condiment set (salt, spices, etc.), I'll take one." — 30 points.

"Change of clothes (combat uniforms for training), two sets." — 100 points.

"High-quality medicine, two bottles." — 50 points.

"Also," he pointed to several types of portable jerky and fruit with higher energy on the list, "I'll take some of each of these."

The supply officer recorded them one by one, his attitude infinitely better than when dealing with other students; he even proactively asked: "Do you need help delivering these to your room? There is a simple kitchen in the suite."

"Thank you for the trouble." Qin Ce nodded.

"No trouble at all, it's my duty." The supply officer even squeezed out a smile.

Watching Qin Ce spend a large amount of points without batting an eye, exchanging for things they dreamed of but couldn't afford, especially that top-tier suite with a bathroom and kitchen.

All the students' eyes turned red, and they were so envious they were almost drooling.

Compared to their own predicament of barely being able to eat and having to squeeze into dorms with dozens of people, the difference was like heaven and earth!

The voices of doubt and mockery from before had now all turned into silent shock and sour jealousy.

How on earth did this guy do it?!

The supply officer was very efficient; he quickly organized the items Qin Ce had exchanged for and personally led the way, taking Qin Ce to the abandoned small town located within the base.

In the middle of the small town, there was an independent, quiet residential area that had been cleaned up. The instructor-level single suite was located inside.

The freshmen were left behind at the exchange point, watching their receding backs, their emotions extremely complicated.

"5000 points... let me calculate, with six people in our team, how long would it take to save up?"

"Forget it, he does in one day what our team does in three months."

"A suite with a bathroom and kitchen... I can't even take a hot shower!"

"He even bought condiments! Is he going to cook for himself? Cooking beast meat himself? That's much more nutritious than the synthetic food we exchange for!"

"It's over, I'm even more envious..."

Wang Xuan looked in the direction Qin Ce had left, then looked down at the mere ten rough metal plates representing points in her hand, and sighed softly.

Zhou Min leaned into her ear and whispered: "Xuan Xuan, did you notice? He bought condiments! Does that mean... he can cook? And using the beast meat he hunted?"

Wang Xuan was stunned for a moment, then realized. That's right, beast meat is rich in energy.

And the food they exchanged for only provided the most basic, barely filling, synthetic food.

If you want to eat beast meat, you either hunt it yourself or pay a high price to exchange for processed meat (the price is several times that of raw meat).

If you hunt the meat yourself and have condiments to cook it, it is undoubtedly the most cost-effective and nutritious choice.

But for them, these rich kids, although they might have seen the chefs at home process high-end ingredients, could they do it themselves? They probably couldn't even light the stove.

"He certainly knows how to plan." Wang Xuan whispered, her evaluation of Qin Ce rising another level in her heart. Not only did he have strength, but also a clear mind and the ability to survive independently.

Qin Ce followed the supply officer to his "new home." It was a small high-rise in the middle of the residential area, on the second floor—neither too tiring to reach nor too damp.

He used the key to open the door; the space inside was quite spacious, about 150 square meters. It was divided into a living room, bedroom, separate bathroom, and even had a marble kitchen counter and a small dining area!

Although the decor was old-fashioned, the bed was clean, and the tables and chairs were complete. With running water and gas, it was already the top-tier configuration in the base.

The supply officer put the things down, gave a few simple instructions, and left.

Qin Ce closed the door, looked around this temporary space that belonged to him, and a sense of satisfaction welled up in his heart.

This was the most direct reward brought by strength.

He walked to the window, looking at the darkening wilderness outside and the scattered lights in the base, but in his mind, the simple yet warm courtyard in Yuntai Town appeared—his mother busy at the stove, his younger sister Xiaoyu leaning on the table writing.

"If Mom and my sister could also live in a house like this, how good that would be." He whispered to himself, his gaze becoming even more determined.

This kind of house was the life Mom and his sister deserved.

He must become stronger faster, achieve the goal of becoming a Bronze Rank Beast Tamer as soon as possible, bring them into the city, and let them live a truly stable and comfortable life.

After a satisfying hot shower, Qin Ce washed away the blood and fatigue from his body, feeling refreshed.

He went to the small kitchen, lit the liquefied gas stove (electricity and water for the room were included in the rent), and began to process the best cuts of Blood Wolf meat he had brought back today.

With the memories of his past life and the experience of helping his mother in the kitchen in this life, plus the condiments he had exchanged for, the enticing aroma of meat soon began to permeate the suite.