Chapter 49.1

Traveling along the waterways meant one could switch to hover mode, making the journey faster above the water’s surface.

Thus, after driving for over twenty minutes, Mu Ling reached a downstream tributary on the outskirts and immediately engaged her vehicle’s hover mode. Although airborne, the hovercar could only reach thirty meters in height, leaving her field of vision limited. She had to rely on Tayun, her giant eagle, to scout ahead.

An hour passed as they made their way to Tributary 091.

“Tayun, check over there,” Mu Ling called, leaning out the window to point below. The eagle immediately dove into the forest, disappearing swiftly among the trees.

According to Brother Zhao, the white fox had headed upstream along Tributary 091. Mu Ling had Tayun survey a ten-kilometer radius, but they found nothing.

By 12:30 p.m., parked within the forest, Mu Ling reviewed Tayun’s footage at eight times speed while the eagle perched on the passenger seat, eating and drinking. After a long while, she sighed and massaged her temples.

The eagle, now satisfied, flew into her lap, nuzzling its small head against her cheek. Mu Ling cradled it gently, stroking its feathers. “Lingren must have fled,” she murmured. “It’s definitely not around Tributary 091 anymore.”

After nuzzling her briefly, the eagle settled down to meticulously groom its feathers, while Mu Ling stared thoughtfully at the surrounding woods, analyzing the situation.

“First, why would Lingren come to the outskirts? Records show it typically inhabits the western marshlands in the inner zone. Now it’s near the main river in the outer zone—such migrations usually indicate something unusual. What could have triggered this?”

“Could it be related to its injuries? Brother Zhao mentioned the wounds looked old, meaning it’s been hurt for some time. Perhaps it fought with another animal and was driven from the marshlands? But Lingren is an S-class war beast—who could overpower it? Only another S-class beast, but the park’s few S-class creatures keep to their territories, never interfering with each other.”

“What else forces animals to change habitats? There are only three main reasons: encountering predators, water scarcity, or food shortage. A fox’s predator is a wolf, and for an S-class fox, only an S-class wolf would pose a threat. But the wolves have been stationed near the mountain base for half a month—this can’t be their doing.”

“Water and food shortages are even less likely. The mountains are riddled with streams, and food stations are positioned every few kilometers. Resources are abundant.”

“Could it, like Qilin, have discovered a mutant beast and tracked it to the outskirts? Impossible—if there were intruders, Tayun would have reacted earlier instead of calmly preening now.”

“With all possibilities ruled out, what remains?”

Unable to solve the puzzle, Mu Ling decided to inspect the nearby food stations for signs of activity. As she started the car, Tayun prepared to take flight again. She reattached the camera to its neck for continued surveillance.

Twenty minutes brought her to the first station. The food showed signs of disturbance, but no white fox fur—only marten tracks. The park housed seven or eight martens in this area, explaining the activity. Perhaps Lingren avoided this spot due to it being marten territory.

The second station’s food remained untouched, with no animal tracks nearby. After three days without activity, tomorrow’s replacement would be necessary to prevent spoilage. The third station showed evidence of large animals, with most food consumed, but again, no fox traces.

Four hours of searching along Tributary 091 yielded no leads. As 5:00 p.m. approached, Mu Ling sighed and decided to check the black forest one final time before calling for backup after the park’s 6:30 closing.

Parking at the steep entrance to the black forest, she donned her protective suit and proceeded on foot. Just steps in, movement caught her attention—two sleek black martens darting through the branches above.

“Papa, Juanjuan,” she called with a smile, recognizing her old friends.

The martens paused their retreat, sniffing the air before scampering back, chattering excitedly as they hopped around on a nearby tree. Mu Ling approached, gently petting them as they lowered their heads trustingly.

Retrieving chicken jerky from her jacket, she offered pieces as a bribe. “Have you seen a white fox? Limping, with an injured front leg?”

The bolder marten climbed her arm, searching for more treats in her pocket. Laughing, Mu Ling returned it to the tree, sharing more jerky. “Here, take these—share them with Jiji and Xiangxiang. You’ve all had your vaccines, right?”

After confirming their vaccine marks, she bid them farewell, though they followed as she ventured deeper into the forest, one still carrying jerky presumably for its young.

Suddenly, sharp warning hisses from the martens broke the calm.

Mu Ling stopped and looked at them.

When martens make hissing sounds, it usually means something scary or unfamiliar is nearby.

Mu Ling immediately looked skyward.

Tayun was still soaring above – since Mu Ling entered the forest, the eagle had been following overhead. If the martens were going to react to it, they would have done so earlier, not just now.

So if it wasn’t Tayun frightening them, something else scary must be nearby…

Mu Ling carefully observed the direction the martens were calling toward, noticing they were facing the rocky wall to the right.

What was wrong with that rocky wall?

Mu Ling secured her protective suit, pulled up her hood, and carefully gripped her tranquilizer gun while slowly approaching the wall.

“Hiss, hiss!” The martens’ calls grew louder, as if trying to stop Mu Ling from going forward.

Without warning, a white blur exploded from the rocks, heading straight for her face. Like a hunter who had been lurking in darkness waiting for the perfect moment to bare its sharp fangs and fierce claws, ready to kill its prey in one strike…

And Mu Ling was that prey.

The white fox’s attack was completely unexpected. Mu Ling’s first instinct was to protect her face, turning her back.

She felt something heavy land on her back – the white fox had jumped on her and was biting fiercely at her neck.

The protective suit kept Mu Ling safe from injury, but the terror of being attacked by a fierce beast at such close range made her break out in cold sweat, her scalp tingling.

Just then…

A fierce eagle cry came from above, and Mu Ling felt Tayun land on her head. Something happened behind her, the weight on her back disappeared, and she heard retreating footsteps.

Mu Ling carefully turned to look, first seeing blood scattered on the ground.

Looking further ahead, she saw a hunched figure limping away, its tail and front paws covered in blood.

Mu Ling’s expression grew serious as she immediately drew her tranquilizer gun and aimed forward.

At that moment, perhaps through an animal’s instinctive sense of danger, the keen white fox suddenly turned its head.

Mu Ling froze…

The danger had come too fast earlier that she hadn’t gotten a good look at the white fox. Now seeing it, it matched the photos in the files perfectly—its fur was snow-white and pristine, except for a red mark like a flower on its forehead. Below that mark, its slanted, enchanting violet beast eyes held a noble, mysterious air full of bewitching charm.

It was so beautiful that Mu Ling became mesmerized. They said its owner named it Lingren because from the first sight, it reminded them of the ancient Blue Star civilization’s stage performers who once danced gracefully and sang melodiously.

Mu Ling now completely agreed with the owner’s thinking – Lingren was truly like a performer. Even just standing there, whether battle-worn, disheveled, or surrounded by mud and swamp, it still radiated light.

It wasn’t like a warrior; it was more like an artist.

Her finger trembled on the trigger—such beauty made the task of shooting harder. But seeing the blood loss, she knew intervention was necessary to save its life.

Her gaze grew determined, and just as she was about to shoot, the white fox had fully turned around. It seemed to recognize the gun, its ethereal face instantly turning fierce as it bared its teeth – its pure face now showing cold, sharp fangs.

It let out a strange cry: “Gah!”

Mu Ling: “…”

“Gah!”

Mu Ling stared in disbelief as it repeated the sound, its voice broken and hoarse like a dying duck. Don’t try to fool me, she thought, foxes don’t make that sound!

As it turned to flee, she steadied her resolve and fired.

Bang!

The tranquilizer found its mark, and the fox gradually succumbed to the sedative, finally lying still.

Mu Ling sighed and moved to approach, when suddenly something felt wrong…