Not all "hardening" is shaless.
Suming discovered that his elbow, no, it should be said that the skin all over his body, seed to have an extra hard "mbrane" on the surface. It was invisible to the naked eye, and indeed, completely intangible. If one were to consider it from a scientific perspective, one might even regard it as nonexistent.
It was precisely because of this "hard mbrane"—transmuted from the spiritual power within the Spirit Power Orb—that his sense of pain was greatly reduced. On the surface, it seed as if his skin and bones had beco much harder.
Suming's gaze fell upon the alligator snapping turtle lying absent-mindedly at the gate, or more specifically, on the enormous, solid shell on its back!
Could it be... that this was the true face of the second evolution of Animal Friendship?
If that were the case, then this ability could only be described as "terrifying."
No, I must figure it out!
...
In the zoo's large office, a clerk responsible for tallying was reporting recent work to Mrs. Tong.
"Since the start of the martial arts tournant until now, the overall visitor count for the zoo has increased by 43%. On days when the tournant is held, visitor numbers peak, almost tripling the usual count; additionally, the Taoyuan thed toy series designed as per Mr. Su's arrangents are sold out as soon as they hit the shelves. Following the director's previous instructions, we placed a large order with the toy manufacturer. Mrs. Tong, here's the paynt from the other party, including the final installnt for the previous batch of toys and the deposit for this order. Please take a look, and if there are no issues, I will hand it over to Mr. Su for his signature before we can transfer the paynt to them..."
Mrs. Tong took the paperwork and scrutinized it carefully, then pulled out a small seal from her desk drawer, dabbed it in ink, and firmly pressed it onto the paynt approval docunt.
Stamped on the seal were the characters "Su Ming of Taoyuan." Imdiately after, Mrs. Tong signed her na underneath the seal and added the character for "on behalf of."
"Alright, take this to the finance departnt. Mr. Su has so important matters to attend to these days, so he entrusted with the seal to handle the signings for the zoo in his stead," Mrs. Tong said as she returned the docunt.
"Oh, alright..." The clerk took the docunt but didn't leave imdiately. Instead, she spoke with concern, "Mrs. Tong, what has the director been doing these past couple of days? I've seen him entering the wild animal enclosures several tis. It's too dangerous! As a long-ti employee, you should advise him. Those animals are wild by nature, and no matter how close he is with them, he shouldn't be in such close contact..."
"Yes, that's right!" Another clerk in the office put down her work and said as she lifted her head, "Yesterday after work, when I was passing by Tiger Hill, I saw the director actually go in there and get to within less than a ter of that tiger! I nearly died of fright..."
Mrs. Tong was also very worried.
Suming had co to her the night before last, temporarily handing over the seal and asking her to act as the interim manager of the zoo. Over the following days, Suming's behavior had been extrely odd... In the past, although he often interacted closely with animals, they were mostly the relatively gentle kind, but these last two days, he had been in contact with those fierce and dangerous animals.
However, these worries were sothing Mrs. Tong could only ponder in her heart but not voice out loud. Since Suming entrusted the work to her, it was her responsibility to maintain the zoo's stable daily operation instead of causing more trouble. If she were to tell everyone that even she had no idea what the director was up to, the staff would certainly start speculating, leading to unrest.
"Cough cough... You young people really haven't seen much of the world!" Mrs. Tong put on an 'it's no big deal' relaxed expression. "Of course, I can't bla you. The director's thoughts aren't easily guessed by just anyone; otherwise, he would be the leader and you all would still be working under him."
"Then, Mrs. Tong, what do you think the director is up to?"
A quick-witted clerk chid in, "Could it be that they're launching a new project, like a wild animal reality show?!"
"Don't try to guess what the leaders are thinking," Mrs. Tong waved her hand, "Let big sister give you an eight-word mantra."
The young folks perked up their ears and listened to Mrs. Tong, who spoke unhurriedly, "Work hard, trust in leadership!"
...
It wasn't just the zoo that couldn't find Suming, he also neglected matters regarding the entertainnt company, distillery, Huating Reservoir, and the construction on Tiger Hill.
In the past, Suming seed like the type of boss who delegated and was fond of having fun and being lazy. That was because he had organized the work very clearly; as a top leader, he only focused on the strategic direction and never ddled in trivial matters. However, during this period, Suming had turned into a genuine hands-off boss, completely neglecting his duties and spending all his ti with the animals, especially the fierce ones.
This caused employees from several departnts to harbor doubts, and even figures like Mrs. Tong, Wang Hao, and Liang Shi, who were just below Suming in rank and managed affairs on his behalf, couldn't figure out what he was up to.
If a unit or a company is a large ship, then the head of the unit or company is the helmsman. It might not seem like they're rowing as hard as the sailors, but with the helmsman present, people on board feel at ease. Now, with Suming suddenly neglecting his responsibilities, the ship might still be sailing smoothly for the mont, but the people on board felt as though they had lost their sense of direction.
A week went by, and Suming was still behaving the sa way.
The higher-ups grew restless, and even Wang Jian She heard about the situation and asked about it specifically. Wang Hao, who was closest to Suming, even made a special call from the capital to probe into Suming's intentions.
The ssage that ca back was that Suming said he was a bit tired and wanted to rest for a few days.
This answer shocked everyone!
Could it be that a young man like Suming was considering retirent, had attained enlightennt, and was preparing to live an idyllic life described by the phrase "Leisurely beneath the eastern hedge, picking chrysanthemums and seeing South Mountain"?
It's quite funny when you think about it. People like Mrs. Tong, who were seasoned society veterans with ample experience, or a top student like Liang Shi, when all their wisdom was pooled together, still could not match the sharp insight of a young fellow like Nangong Huang.
"My brother-in-law retiring? Cut the nonsense. My brother-in-law loves wine, won, wealth, and the delight of the world the most. Just ntion making money and having fun, and he gets as excited as if he'd been injected with chicken blood. He retire?"
Nangong Huang didn't take it seriously at all, he looked up, his face beaming with a layer of pilgrim-like reverence, saying, "A man destined to conquer the world, how could his steps forward possibly stop so casually! You commoners, you just don't understand him!"
And Nangong Huang got it right, as after half a month, Suming finally returned.
Not only did he re-enter work mode, but those close to him noticed that there seed to be so subtle changes in Mr. Su!
Before, Suming gave people the impression that he was a young man with the courage to face any difficulty!
But now, Suming beca even more composed and restrained, yet every mont, he exuded a strong and unwavering confidence.
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