(25) The Tigers Launch Their Assault

Meanwhile, Di Hui gathered a thousand elite mercenaries and arrived at the summit of the Nine Mountains, armed with the most advanced weapons from the shelter.

What greeted them was a landscape of rolling mountains, towering ancient trees, lush greenery, melodious birdsong, and fragrant blooms—a world that seemed to have preserved the vitality of life before the apocalypse.

There was none of the endless yellow sands of the desolate northwest, no fields strewn with irradiated bones, nor the shattered ruins left by great earthquakes. Instead, this was fertile land, perfect for cultivation; even the mutated plants here would not attack humans without reason.

Most notably, the water resources were exceptionally pure—sweet to the taste, with not a hint of contamination.

Di Hui did not concern himself with why this place could maintain such ecological balance; his only thought was to seize it, make it his own, and develop it into a private base for the upper echelons of the Di family.

Peering through a high-powered telescope, he pointed toward the manor.

"Within three days, I want the Di family’s banner planted there!"

The more he looked at this paradise isolated from the world, the more he liked it. Gesturing toward the bountiful forests, he said, "Clear out all the woods in that valley, dig up the wild grassland, lay down asphalt roads. I want the Di family’s office tower right there. And that red pine forest—cut it all down. Build villas in the front, apartments behind.

I want to sell the most expensive real estate in the world!"

"Yes, sir!"

The mercenaries, however, had their eyes on something else entirely. They gazed greedily at the mutated animals.

Since the apocalypse, when people evolved new abilities and discovered that eating mutated beasts could enhance those powers, the price of such creatures near the shelter had skyrocketed.

Where there is a market, there is slaughter. Mutated beasts closely related to humans, such as cats and dogs, had nearly been wiped out. The remaining mutated beasts hated humans bitterly, making them ever harder to capture.

So when the mercenaries saw the flocks of mutated birds in the woods, the silly squirrels gathering nuts, the wild pheasants and rabbits unafraid of humans, and the herds of sheep drinking by the brook, they could hardly contain their drooling anticipation.

"Whoever catches one, it’s theirs—go have some fun!" Di Hui, noticing his men’s eagerness, decided not to keep them on strict orders and simply let them loose to enjoy themselves.

After all, there were no people in the woods and the fewer mutated beasts there were, the safer it would be.

Dressed in dark camouflage, armed with heavy guns, grinning wildly, they rampaged through the mountains, hunting animals with abandon—mutated or not.

The entire forest reverberated with sudden, shocking noise.

The small animals, faced with armed humans, fled in terror. But how could their speed ever match that of bullets?

In a moment of panic, a young squirrel slipped and fell from a tree, immediately catching the mercenaries’ attention.

One of them quickly raised his gun and pulled the trigger.

Bang! The gunshot rang out.

The little squirrel was pushed aside just in time by a larger one, but the latter could not avoid the fatal shot.

Terrified, the young squirrel awakened a speed ability and darted away, a deep sorrow flashing in its small eyes.

Its parents and siblings had never provoked these humans, yet all had died at their hands.

The Di family’s mercenaries, however, felt not a shred of remorse; instead, they seemed to compete with one another.

Dull gunfire filled the woods, animals fleeing in panic.

They darted between trees, hid behind rocks, moving their tiny bodies ceaselessly to avoid the mercenaries’ bullets.

Still, some unlucky creatures were spotted.

Without hesitation, the mercenaries raised their guns and shot them down.

The air was thick with the stench of blood and the pitiful cries of the dying.

In these woods, it seemed people had forgotten the meaning of morality and life itself. For the sake of their own base desires and gain, they violated the very sanctity of animal life.

The summit of the Nine Mountains was vast, but when Liu Yi arrived with her tiger pack, all she saw were the blood-soaked corpses of small creatures—the devastation was everywhere.

Predators hunted only to fill their bellies, to survive.

But human slaughter was for nothing more than desire.

They called themselves human, yet acted like beasts, consumed by their own depravity.

"Big game ahead! Tigers!"

"Tiger skins, tiger bones—good for a man’s vigor!"

Outnumbered, they grew bolder, their eyes fixed greedily on the tigers.

The tiger pack surged down the mountainside, swift as lightning.

The forest echoed with the roars of these ferocious beasts and all animals could sense the chilling presence of their might.

"Roar! Roar!" Those who trespass upon my home shall be slain!

When Bing Tuo saw its friends lying dead, ice crystals formed on its fur, frost swirling beneath its paws, and its claws, empowered by its icy abilities, became fearsome weapons. It charged into the mercenaries, shattering several weapons.

Beside it, its tiger brothers and sisters—massive and powerful—tore through the mercenaries’ flesh with razor-sharp fangs.

"Help!" The mercenary leader was struck down by the tiger king before he could even mount a defense.

His face turned crimson, eyes glazed, and even his dying scream was cut short by the tiger king’s jaws.

"A six-meter beast—that must be the tiger king. Fourth-tier metal ability. The little ice tiger cub is late second-tier. The five behind are mid-second-tier..."

Li, Di Hui’s assistant, scanned the tiger pack with the most advanced equipment, analyzing their abilities.

A deafening roar split the air.

A great white tiger, as large as the tiger king, leapt from the forest, bearing a young maiden upon its back. She had delicate features, skin fair as snow, graceful and slender, her soft hair fluttering in the breeze—she seemed to glow with her own light.

On her shoulder perched a four-tailed white bird the size of a basketball, its form reminiscent of a phoenix, its white feathers shimmering with a green luster.

The tiger, one of the most fearsome carnivores in the world, submitted willingly to her command.

"Quick, scan her for abilities!"

"Zero-tier... first-tier... no, wait..." Li swept the device over Liu Yi again and again, but the readings jumped wildly, like an erratic heartbeat.

"Useless! Let me do it!" Di Hui snatched the scanner and tried himself.

His improper handling made the readings even more unstable, and in a flash, the device crashed.

Frustrated, Di Hui forced a restart, pressing the buttons repeatedly.

Suddenly, with a loud bang, the scanner exploded as it swept over the white bird on Liu Yi’s shoulder.

Shrapnel sprayed across Di Hui and his closest aides.

Their bodies were armored, but their faces had no protection, and the result was disastrous.

As the highest-ranking leader of the operation, Di Hui was disfigured instantly, blood gushing from his left eye.

The thousand-strong Di family mercenary corps fell into immediate chaos.

With their leader gravely wounded under their very noses, this was a blunder they could not afford.

"Protect the young master—retreat! Quickly! Retreat... retreat!"