Super Zoo-Chapter 364 - 360: Saving the Turtle at Gunpoint

Ding underwent another 360-degree transformation in attitude; just a moment ago, she was so concerned that she risked her life to save Hong Feifei. But in the blink of an eye, seeing Hong Feifei was not in mortal danger, she put on an icy face, as if her life or death was none of her business.

Hong Feifei was in so much pain she couldn’t even cry, and she didn’t notice the change in Ding Jing not far away.

"There’s definitely something fishy about these two chicks!" Even Nangong Huang noticed something was off and nudged Suming with his shoulder, winking mischievously as he spoke.

Just like in all the movies, after the crisis, the police finally arrived on scene. A large group of officers burst into the banquet hall, the leader waving a handgun, with several younger officers behind him carrying large iron cages used for detaining fierce dogs, as well as batons and electric prods to control the situation.

This time, it was really not the police’s fault for arriving late. They set out the moment they received the alarm call. The county police station was only three minutes away from the hotel by car, and it had been less than ten minutes since the incident occurred.

Upon seeing the mountainous Three-footed Divine Turtle, the leading officer tensed up, abruptly stopping in his tracks—he raised the gun, aiming at the blood-covered Overlord Turtle, and yelled at Suming and the others, "Folks, quick, quick, move to the side..."

"Oh mother, don’t shoot, officer, I’m one of you!" Suming shouted at the top of his lungs, raising his hands high like a captured puppet soldier.

The officer’s face turned green with frustration. Did this guy have a fever? Who was going to shoot at him? If he didn’t get out of the way, was he waiting to get bitten?

The Overlord Turtle was right next to the youngster’s legs; one snap of its jaws could bite a person. At such a close distance, the police dared not shoot—today’s event was full of prominent figures, and any misfire resulting in injury to a person would be a major incident.

"What are you doing? Move aside!"

"Officer..." A feeble voice suddenly came through the banquet hall’s loudspeaker.

The event host was indeed dedicated to his job, having climbed onto a cabinet over a meter tall next to the banquet hall, crouched on the top like a big wildcat who had not forgotten to grab the microphone while fleeing for his life.

The voice transmitted through the public address system: "Officer, this comrade has subdued the Overlord Turtle..."

"What?" The officer was taken aback.

...

After a period of turmoil, the situation finally settled down. Paramedics rushed into the venue and carried Hong Feifei away on a stretcher. She had lost quite a lot of blood and fell into a deep sleep on the stretcher, but fortunately, her life was not in danger.

The crowd that had run out of the banquet hall was, under the hotel’s assurance, either giving statements or resting in their own rooms.

Suming, with the Overlord Turtle by his side, came to the edge of the banquet hall for questioning under the ’escort’ of two officers.

The Overlord Turtle was still relatively obedient; its shiny black eyes were alert, constantly scanning the people around, but fortunately, it did not become ferocious again.

Once Suming revealed his identity and the other party realized he was an ’animal expert’ from the city, they were suddenly enlightened. No wonder the ferocious old turtle was obedient; dealing with animals was a job meant for professionals after all.

Although it had been restructured, to outsiders, the zoo still appeared to be a government entity. Suming’s deputy director position was several ranks above the deputy captain of the county public security bureau present at the scene. Being an expert too, the deputy captain was very polite in thanking him and then seemed somewhat uncertain, consulting Suming for his opinion on how to handle the turtle.

According to the police, the perpetrator should be severely punished, with the Overlord Turtle being put down.

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This was the police’s usual practice when dealing with animals that had injured people; if the animal wasn’t protected and had hurt or even killed someone, it was usually put down immediately. It was a way to give an account to both the victims and society.

The Overlord Turtle had probably been alive for nearly a hundred years. Even if it hadn’t come into contact with spiritual power, it had developed a kind of intelligence. Seemingly sensing the murderous intent of the police, the Overlord Turtle, dragging its injured body and leaving a trail of blood from the severed edge of its shell, struggled to move behind Suming. With its small eyes flashing aggressively, it glared fiercely at Mr. Ge, who had suggested putting it down, while extending a robust front leg to scratch at Suming’s trouser leg.

Suming communicated with the Overlord Turtle using his spiritual power and immediately felt a strong desire to live. The naturally ferocious creature even displayed a profound sense of begging.

Having narrowly escaped the chopping block, and now facing the powerful forces of the people’s police, the Overlord Turtle truly had nowhere to turn.

"Mr. Ge, I have a suggestion for you to consider," Suming said with a chuckle.

"Go on, say it."

"I was thinking, our country’s laws don’t really apply to animals. They can’t be sentenced for intentional assault, can they? And even if we do go by the law, it was us who wanted to eat it first, so it was just defending itself. At most, it’s a case of excessive self-defense, which surely isn’t grounds for execution by shooting. You get what I’m saying, right?"

Mr. Ge laughed at Suming’s words and said, "So what do you suggest we do? This is a big mess, and the old turtle did bite someone. We need to come to some kind of conclusion. What’s more, I heard that animals that have bitten people are likely to do it again."

"How about this: excessive defense still calls for punishment. I’ll take it back to the zoo and enforce strict control. Let it make amends for its crime and serve the leisure life of the public. Besides, although the Overlord Turtle isn’t a protected species, it has grown so large, it’s practically supernatural. Killing it would be an ill omen."

Suming chuckled and nudged the Overlord Turtle with the tip of his foot.

The Overlord Turtle quickly nodded vigorously.

"Wow, it really does seem quite spiritual." Mr. Ge, no spring chicken and someone who grew up by the river, held a natural reverence for such old aquatic creatures that were close to becoming supernatural. Seeing the Overlord Turtle nod so earnestly, Mr. Ge hesitated for a moment before agreeing, "Alright then, take it with you, but make sure it doesn’t hurt anyone again. And for the victim, please go and have a talk with them."

"Understood, you can count on me," Suming nodded. Since Hong Feifei was both the victim and the owner of the Overlord Turtle, Suming naturally needed her consent to save the turtle’s life.

The matter with Hong Feifei clearly wouldn’t be difficult. Even Mr. Ge could see that if it weren’t for Suming, Hong Feifei’s life might have been in jeopardy.

Moreover, after today’s incident, Suming’s thoughts were even more active. Even if not for the sake of the Overlord Turtle, he was also interested in having a chat with Hong Feifei.

Hong Feifei was still receiving treatment in the hospital, so Suming wouldn’t be able to see her today. First, he went to check in at the hotel, opened a room, and then had Su Meng carry the Overlord Turtle to Gu’s house.

In the county town, which was no bigger than a sesame seed, to speak bluntly, if someone farted in the east, you could hear it in the west. Everything that had happened in the hotel’s banquet hall had already been spread through various channels, causing an uproar throughout the town.

As a ’local celebrity’, Gu had naturally received the news early on. Seeing the Overlord Turtle that Su Meng was carrying, Gu was shocked, "Oh, Mr. Su, this big guy must be the Three-footed Divine Turtle!"

"Divine Turtle?" Suming pursed his lips. Where was it divine; the message had been distorted in transmission. He nudged his chin towards the large tank inside the house, "Gu, I need to borrow a big tank. Fill it with some water because this turtle’s injuries are serious. I need to treat it."

The Overlord Turtle had escaped the chopping board and dodged the socialist bullet. For the moment, its life was saved, but that didn’t mean it was safe. Hong Feifei had cut off all its frills, and the frills are not mere dead skin on the sole of the foot—those were flesh that had grown on the turtle’s body!

This was equivalent to stripping a large patch of flesh and skin from a living person.

For the old turtle, this was a very serious injury. Even though it wasn’t going to die immediately, without careful attention, a slight infection could send it to its grave. Since having its frills cut off, the creature had shown signs of excessive blood loss and was lethargic on the way here.

Gu hurriedly chose the largest tank available, filled it with river water, and lamented, "Kids these days truly don’t understand. A turtle of such size, they are certainly spiritual. The old fishermen wouldn’t dare eat them if they caught one. Not only would they release it, but they would also burn incense to ask for forgiveness from the River Goddess. Now look what happened. The River Goddess is angry, isn’t she? If it weren’t for you, it nearly cost a human life."

Su Meng placed the giant turtle into the tank, and Gu even took the matter seriously by lighting three sticks of incense and pouring half a bowl of liquor, bowing towards the painting of the River Goddess in the room, muttering blessings from the River Goddess.

Nangong Huang, with his arms crossed and a cigarette in his mouth, chuckled, "Gu, you sure are superstitious. No matter how powerful the River Goddess is, she was still subdued by my brother-in-law. According to you, doesn’t that make my brother-in-law the River Goddess’s hubby?"

"Mr. Su certainly has his capabilities," Gu smiled sheepishly, not arguing with Nangong Huang. However, Suming gave him a disapproving glance, "Stop talking nonsense; you are chefs, and Gu here lives off the river—are those the same thing!? Chefs take lives for cooking, but they don’t worship the same deities as fishermen. A large aquatic creature, even if it’s the River Goddess Herself, is just another dish to a chef, while fishermen are different. Being out in the wind and rain on the vast river, catching fish is secondary to them; a single wave can threaten their lives, so they naturally hold reverence for the unusual creatures in the water and the deities of the river system."

Although Suming was now Gu’s boss, he still needed to respect his beliefs. Even if he didn’t agree, he couldn’t make a joke out of someone else’s faith. This was the riverside, and since Gu was still doing business with Suming, he refrained from lashing out. However, if this had been a seaside town and Nangong Huang had dared to make fun of sea deities like Mazu, the local fishermen might have fought him. Read the latest on novelbuddy

After being reprimanded by Suming, Nangong Huang just shrugged, "Oh, I’ll be mindful next time." He then stamped out his cigarette, took an incense stick, and bowed to the River Goddess following Gu’s lead, thinking that the River Goddess looked a lot like the Yangtze alligators in his brother-in-law’s zoo. He almost spoke his mind but swallowed the words, fearing Suming’s scolding.

When the Three-footed Overlord Turtle arrived, it was barely alive, and it seemed unlikely to survive. Gu, fearful that the creature might die in his house and bring the wrath of the River Goddess upon him, wasted no time in offering prayers. After the worship, with nothing else to do and feeling somewhat anxious, he watched Suming ’save’ the Divine Turtle.

Suming discreetly infused the giant turtle with spiritual power, pretending to be all mysterious. He had Nangong Huang buy a bunch of ’miracle drugs’ from the town, and they dumped them all into the aquarium.

Gu’s eyes nearly popped out of his head, seeing the faintly fragrant, dark brown ’miracle drugs’ sprinkled into the water. Wasn’t that just the commonly seen Isatis root?!