"If you don't eat it soon, the meat will go bad."
Lu Heng found a branch and used it to pick up a piece of meat, tossing it towards the eagle. The eagle flapped its wings and, before the meat could hit the ground, precisely snatched it and ate it.
Seeing the eagle eat the meat, Lu Heng tossed another piece.
After finishing the second piece of meat, the eagle waited for Lu Heng to feed it again.
"Heh, it seems you've been domesticated."
He picked up another piece of meat with the branch, but this time Lu Heng didn't throw it. Instead, he dangled the meat and said to the eagle, "If you want to eat, come and get it yourself."
The eagle didn't move, flapping its wings restlessly.
Lu Heng flicked the piece of meat off the branch towards the birdcage. Just as the meat was about to fall into the cage, a strong gust of wind blew, carrying the meat off course and dropping it onto the stone path not far from the cage.
Lu Heng... That wind was caused by the eagle, wasn't it?
Watching the eagle fly up again and quickly gobble down the piece of meat blown by the wind, Lu Heng took out several more diced pieces of meat from his space and placed them with the previous ones.
"Eat up quickly, or I'll take them away."
Lu Heng poked the diced meat with the branch a couple of times, then glanced at the eagle standing by the cage.
After another ten minutes, Lu Heng's legs were numb from squatting. He took out a stool to sit on, trying to straighten his legs to get his blood circulating.
This eagle was a wind-element ability animal. Wind abilities had area-of-effect skills, and as the ability level increased, its destructive power in the later stages was quite impressive.
Therefore, he urgently needed to contract this eagle, as collecting crystal cores by killing them alone was too slow.
The man and the eagle continued this stalemate, with Lu Heng occasionally tossing a small piece of diced meat to the eagle. He was afraid the eagle would attack him if it didn't get to eat.
The sky gradually brightened.
The roars of surrounding zombie animals had almost disappeared. It was likely they also sensed the dawn, their energy far less than at night.
Lu Heng glanced at the eagle, which was staring at the diced meat. As the sun gradually rose, he could also see the eagle clearly.
The eagle's head and neck were yellowish-brown, its wing flight feathers were adorned with white, and the rest of its body was dark brown. Its size was also much larger than that of a normal eagle.
With a wave of his hand, Lu Heng put all the diced meat back into his space. He watched the eagle start to flap its wings restlessly again, a gust of wind blowing that made Lu Heng feel a stinging sensation on his face even from a distance.
Heh, was it angry?
"I'll give you one more chance. You'd better come and eat."
Lu Heng took out some more meat from his space. This time, the meat pieces were much larger than before, and Lu Heng had also soaked them in the ancient well water.
This time, the eagle didn't hesitate. It flapped its wings and hopped over.
Lu Heng picked up a piece of meat and offered it to the eagle's beak. Perhaps the eagle was annoyed by Lu Heng's delay, as it pecked at Lu Heng's hand, instantly injuring it with its sharp beak.
The eagle also ate the bloody meat.
Lu Heng took a cup of well water to rinse his bitten finger. The pain in his hand instantly disappeared. Lu Heng looked at his finger, which had stopped bleeding, and then put on a band-aid.
It seemed he would need to get a tetanus shot when he returned to his space later.
The eagle tried to move closer to eat another piece of meat. As soon as it spread its wings, it vanished from its spot.
Had the contract been successful?
Lu Heng sensed the crystal in his mind. Indeed, a flash of gray-white light passed through it.
Putting away the meat in front of him, Lu Heng circulated his abilities and condensed a wind blade, slashing it towards a distant large tree.
The wind blade silently struck the tree. Only when it touched the wood did the sound of the tree breaking transmit.
Lu Heng looked at the severed tree. He walked over and examined the cross-section. The wind blade was indeed effective; the cut surface was very smooth, as if it had been cleaved by a sharp knife.
Returning to his space, Lu Heng went directly to the plaza. The eagle, which had been contracted, was now circling in the sky above the plaza.
Upon seeing Lu Heng appear, the eagle quickly swooped down and landed gently on Lu Heng's outstretched arm.
"Looks like you're still not full?"
"Yes, Master. You were so stingy just now, only giving me small pieces."
The eagle rubbed its beak on Lu Heng's arm and spread its wings, looking at Lu Heng.
"You can't eat too much meat at once. If you get fat, you won't be able to fly."
"I won't. Look at my physique; I've maintained it well."
"Were you trained by someone else before?"
"Yes, I lived in the mountains with my previous trainer. But my master hadn't come to feed me for several days, so I broke free and ran away myself."
"In the mountains? When did you run away?"
"Just as dawn broke today."
Could it be the one he encountered when he left the villa early this morning?
"Never mind, I'll give you a name too, so it's easier to call you from now on."
"Okay, but I had a name before."
"Oh? What was your name before?"
"They all called me Golden Eagle."
Lu Heng...
He flipped out his phone and checked the information. It turned out to be a Golden Eagle, but...
"Let's change to a new name. Also, you can get to know some new friends; they are also pets I've contracted."
Lu Heng then summoned the orange cat and the white tiger.
The large and small creatures were summoned and squatted together, looking at Lu Heng and the eagle on his arm.
"Director, you can handle the naming from now on. This is a Golden Eagle, which I just contracted."
"Meow, understood, Master. Do I need to teach this one too?"
"This one probably doesn't need it. It has had contact with humans before, but teaching it incidentally is also fine."
"Meow, okay."
"Meow, Master, I'm hungry again." The white tiger beside them imitated the Director's tone and acted spoiled towards Lu Heng.
No way! He only asked the white tiger and the cat to learn how to communicate with people, but why did they both say "meow" before speaking?
However, hearing a "meow" from its rather clumsy voice sounded incongruous.
He took out two more pieces of meat and placed them in front of the white tiger and the Golden Eagle, respectively. Lu Heng pointed at the bowls and said, "Eat up quickly, but from now on, your meals will be portioned, two meals a day, morning and evening."
He would be busy killing zombies during the day and likely wouldn't have time to feed them midway.
"Alright, you don't need to rush about naming the Golden Eagle. Let me know when you've thought of something," Lu Heng said, gesturing to the Golden Eagle and the Director. He now wanted to contract more ability animals as quickly as possible, as places like zoos might be hard to find living animals in a few days.