The Meat of the Ripper Wolf

At the long table, Ryan recognized five of the eight members. Carlos, the head of the base's security team and a near G-level combatant, sat at the head of the table. Beside Ryan was Kazemi, who looked quite aged but was actually under forty. Kazemi had lost a kidney in an attack by the zergsoids, which had prematurely aged him and significantly reduced his strength. Among H3-level warriors, he was considered the weakest. Despite this, Kazemi's love for alcohol remained undiminished, though his capacity was modest, often taking an hour to savor a single glass of wine. He never wasted a drop, always cherishing every sip.

Ryan's willingness to challenge Kazemi stemmed from his knowledge of these details. He was aware that Kazemi could hardly finish a glass of wine quickly, let alone a bottle.

At that moment, a keen-eyed young man brought a box of spirits to the table. He was Maughan, the youngest member of the security team, who had joined the group earlier in the year and quickly became one of Carlos's confidants. Maughan was not only an exceptional drinker but also had considerable talent and strength, making him a rapidly rising star.

After setting down the spirits, Maughan said to Ryan, "Kazemi's not in the best of health and his drinking capacity is average. Let me join you for a round. Let's chug a bottle. After that, if you have any issues on the base, I've got your back!" With a slight flick of his thumb, the bottle cap popped off. He then began to drink standing, his movements bold and unrestrained.

Maughan's exceptional drinking capacity, his generous spirit when drinking, and his deep sense of brotherhood were the qualities that made Carlos willing to cultivate him wholeheartedly.

"Good!" Ryan shouted, standing up and grabbing a third bottle of spirits. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he fearlessly drank with Maughan, gulping down the spirits as if the heat was almost igniting his throat. Surprisingly, in less than twenty seconds, both had drained a 500ml bottle of spirits.

"Good!" Carlos finally couldn't help but applaud, showing his appreciation for Ryan's performance.

Maughan put down the empty bottle, slapped Ryan on the shoulder, and said, "I keep my word. From now on, we're brothers. If you want to drink, just come to me... If mentioning my name doesn't work on the base, then mention Carlos."

"My name is Ryan, and I am deeply grateful for the care and support from Carlos and Maughan in the future." Ryan responded without modesty. He was clear that he had passed the test. Gaining Carlos's approval meant he also had Maughan's, and the attitudes of others were less important. Although he currently only had an H2 chip and had not yet met the standard for combat personnel, he had already established himself in this security team.

However, if someone like Kazemi, who had one kidney removed, could stay in the security team, adding one more person was obviously not a problem.

"You're sweating profusely," Maughan noticed the beads of sweat on Ryan's forehead, showing concern. "Are you alright? Do you need to rest somewhere?" Others also expressed their concern.

Drinking three bottles of spirits in one go was not easy for Ryan. If his constitution was slightly weaker, he might even need to go to the hospital for stomach pumping. Ryan waved his hand, indicating he could still bear it.

"No big deal," Ryan said, "I just drank too quickly and need something to soak it up. Maughan, do you have any food? Preferably meat."

Maughan chuckled softly, looking at Carlos. Carlos nodded with a smile, indicating agreement: "Prepare some hearty dishes for our young brother to welcome him."

Maughan immediately understood Carlos's intention and turned to go into the back room. Half a minute later, he came out carrying a two-meter-long beast, its flesh frozen, and threw it heavily on the ground. Others somehow found two flamethrowers and a barbecue grill, eagerly starting to get busy.

Kazemi proudly came over, pointing at the beast and said, "This is an H4-level Ripper Wolf. Have you seen one before? The gunshot wound on its left buttock is my mark."

Ryan looked in the direction Kazemi pointed and indeed saw several gunshot wounds on the wolf's backside. "Impressive!" he exclaimed. An H4-level beast could easily withstand cold and hot firepower below H4 strength. Kazemi's ability to break through the Ripper Wolf's defense showed that his strength had not declined too much, at least not as weak as it would be half a year later.

Maughan brought out the entire Ripper Wolf, not only to showcase the strength of the security team but also to emphasize how much they valued and welcomed the new member. Ryan naturally could not sit idly by while the seniors roasted the meat and handed it to him; he knew he needed to participate to show his team spirit.

Without hesitation, Ryan stepped forward, his voice revealing the vitality of youth: "Let me help."

An "elder" glanced at him, seemingly satisfied with the newcomer's proactive attitude. He handed the flamethrower to Ryan, a silent trust and recognition.

Ryan had fought side by side with Carlos for a whole year in his previous life. In those days, they drank and roasted meat together, enjoying the peaceful moments after the battle. Therefore, Ryan was already proficient in the art of barbecuing. His movements were skilled and confident, even more so in some details than Maughan.

While turning the meat, he pulled out a small knife from his waist. Ryan carefully selected the most tender parts of the Ripper Wolf, cut them off gently, and then roasted them on the charcoal until they were slightly charred on the outside and tender on the inside. After sprinkling some spices, he presented the delicious dish to Carlos.

"Carlos, would you like to taste my grilling skills?" Ryan smiled as he handed over a freshly grilled skewer.

Carlos did not hesitate, grabbing a thick piece of meat. Ignoring the hot grease on the meat, he directly stuffed it into his mouth and chewed carefully.

"Mmm!" Carlos's eyes widened slightly, looking refreshed, and then he gave a thumbs up, exclaiming loudly, "Amazing!"

"I really didn't expect you to have such skills at such a young age! The taste is fantastic!" Carlos's praise surprised the surrounding team members.

Maughan and the other team members were well aware that Carlos, besides his love for drinking and hunting, also had a hobby for grilling meat. Ordinary grilled meat was hard to win his approval. However, Ryan's skills won Carlos's nod of praise.

The taste of the grilled meat was undoubtedly exceptional. The team members eagerly grabbed skewers and stuffed them into their mouths, all wanting to taste the delicacy as soon as possible.

"The taste is good!" one of them said loudly.

"Delicious!" another person immediately praised.

"Damn it, Kazemi, you should stop grilling in the future. Compared to Ryan's, what you used to grill was garbage, a complete waste of ingredients!" someone joked.

"Damn it! You're ungrateful..." Kazemi complained half-jokingly, but then immediately turned to praise Ryan's grilling skills, "But Ryan, your grilling skills are really impressive. Where did you learn it?"

A group of people quickly devoured the tender meat that Ryan had just grilled. They watched Ryan skillfully carve the meat with a single hand, all feeling very curious.

Ryan smiled and replied, "Grilling is mainly about freshness and tenderness. The pieces I just grilled for you are the best parts of the meat. The taste of what comes next will be average, please forgive me." He jokingly handed out another plate of grilled meat.

After tasting it, Maughan quickly commented, "It's good too. This taste is much better than what Kazemi grilled."

Everyone echoed:

"Good!"

"The taste is also very good."

"Ryan, you're being modest."

Kazemi suggested, "Boss, recruit this kid as soon as possible. I feel that this kid is naturally the material to join our security team!"

Others followed and nodded: "Ryan, this kid, has a character, his drinking manners reflect his character, he is generous and straightforward, I think he won't go wrong, he can be recruited."

Carlos was actually quite tempted. Watching Ryan skillfully turn the grilled meat, he inwardly praised. However, he knew that recruiting someone without a citizen chip would bring some trouble. This would not only require the use of personal connections but might also involve some complex procedures.

Carlos chewed the grilled meat while staring at Ryan, slowly saying, "Your physical fitness and skills are good, but there is still a certain gap compared to the team members with a citizen chip. My suggestion is that you work at the base first, accumulate experience. By the way, also save some money. When you have saved 200,000 dollars, I will make up the rest of the money to help you buy a citizen chip."

Carlos was not short of money; he was short of talent. Ryan's exquisite knife skill and his calm demeanor in the face of the fierce Ripper Wolf were the main reasons that prompted Carlos to make this decision.