Chapter 37: Extreme Heat, White Tiger

The white tiger extended its paw, and before Jiang Si could react, it shoved her into its fluffy chest. With this direct action, it clearly responded to her earlier offer—it didn’t want to eat anything. It just wanted to cuddle.

Jiang Si was helpless and called out to the others:

“I’m fine, don’t worry. It won’t hurt me. Go check those two corpses—you might be able to salvage two guns and some grenades.”

Then she glanced at Qin Shen’s house and added:

“Also, go check on Qin Shen. The tiger came from his place. If he’s still alive, save him.”

Jiang Si was too busy signaling everyone to notice the tiger’s gaze on her—lowered eyes filled with an emotion that looked… almost human.

Jiang Chengwu headed downstairs with his gun and soon returned.

His face was grim as he let out a deep sigh:

“Didn’t see him.”

Given the white tiger’s ferocity, Qin Shen’s chances looked slim.

Yet for some reason, Jiang Si had a strong feeling—he wasn’t dead. Not so easily.

It was nighttime now, but the outside temperature had already hit 60°C (140°F).

Jiang Si was roasting—especially with a giant fuzzy furnace stuck to her side.

Carefully, she pinched the tiger’s soft, mangosteen-like paw and said gently:

“Big guy, how about we go inside? It’s too hot. You might be fine, but I’m just a fragile human!”

The tiger must’ve been hot too, judging by the way its tail kept swishing irritably.

As soon as she suggested it, it stood up, bit her collar, and in a dizzying spin, Jiang Si suddenly found herself sitting on its broad, steady back.

In her last life, she had envied people who bonded with exotic beasts—riding them into battle, fighting side-by-side. Not like her, always alone.

But this life, she had been chosen by the white tiger.

Unable to resist, Jiang Si rubbed its soft neck with both hands, then guided it toward one of the attic rooms.

Its steady pace and commanding presence made her feel unexpectedly joyful to ride on its back.

Once inside, Jiang Si pulled ice blocks from her space to cool the room and set out water for the tiger.

While it drank, she stroked its fluffy head and said softly:

“Do you want to stay? As long as you don’t pee or poop everywhere and behave yourself, I’ll let you stay.”

The white tiger lifted its eyes and gave her a flat, indifferent stare—almost as if to say,

“You think you can stop me if I want to stay?”
It was not a tiger to be reasoned with.

Jiang Si paused. She felt… judged.

But clearly it was intelligent. Surely it could handle its own bathroom business.

After all, big cats are still cats—and cats like cleanliness.

She glanced around, then decided to check the adjacent room to see if it could be converted into a toilet.

As soon as she stood, the white tiger stood too—insisting on following her.

It was clearly a high-and-mighty majestic beast… yet its clinginess outmatched even Dahei and Xiaohei (the family dogs).

Seeing this, the rest of the family finally let out a sigh of relief.

They concluded the white tiger had accepted Jiang Si as its master.

Jiang Linhai even chuckled:

“Sisi, do you want to give it a name?”

Jiang Si looked over at it and asked tentatively:

“How about… Dabai? (Big White)”

The tiger gave her a frosty glare, eyes full of disdain.

Jiang Si grinned:

“Well, Dabai it is!”
She affectionately rubbed its fluffy cheeks.
“The whole attic is yours now. This room is for sleeping, that room can be your bathroom. If you can hold it, you can go outside at night. But during the day, just use the room. Do you like cat litter or dirt better?”

“Oh, right, you can’t talk. But cat litter would be too much—I’ll just get you some dirt later. You probably prefer that anyway. Just remember to bury your poop, okay?”

Jiang Si talked to the tiger like it was a new housecat.

Dabai listened silently, its tail thumping irritably—its expression clearly annoyed, like it understood every word.

Jiang Linhai was amazed:

“This tiger really is something else…”

Even Shen Baoying, who had once been terrified, had calmed down and asked:

“If it won’t eat dog food, what will it eat? With that size… can we even afford to feed it?”

Tigers are carnivores. Even with all the canned meat in Jiang Si’s storage, it might only last a few days.

She pulled out some meat cans and set them before it.

Dabai gave them a disdainful glance.

Jiang Si looked toward the forest. It probably preferred to hunt for itself.

Still, she was puzzled. The tiger was calm and gentle now, so why had it attacked those two men?

Her best guess:

They’d probably attacked it in the forest, and it was getting revenge.
Then it stumbled upon her and sensed the energy stone in her body.

For now, she didn’t let her family get close to it. Dabai had its own meals in the attic.

At one point, it stared intently at a bowl of steaming instant noodles—like it actually wanted some.

Jiang Si noticed and raised the cup:

“You want some?”

With its massive size, it could probably swallow her head whole. One cup of noodles wouldn’t even make a dent.

Still, Jiang Si cheerfully pulled out a few more instant noodle cups from her space and offered them up.

Though she wondered:

Would instant noodles give a tiger diarrhea?

Dabai gave her a glance, then extended a paw to gently tap the plastic fork, as if trying to imitate her.

But its paw was too big. It tried to grasp the fork, and caught… nothing.

Jiang Si couldn’t help but laugh.

Dabai gave her a sideways glare, its expression eerily human.

She barely held in her laughter, rolled some noodles onto the fork, and held it near its mouth:

“I’ll feed you.”

Dabai turned away proudly, showing her a fluffy, offended back. A little unwilling, a little stubborn.

Jiang Si chuckled, leaned against its solid back, and slurped her noodles in peace.

Honestly, having this big guy around made even eating feel less stressful.

After her meal, worried it might still be hungry, Jiang Si pulled out the wild boar meat Qin Shen had given her.

Dabai glanced at it—completely uninterested. Not as appealing as instant noodles, apparently.

Jiang Si was stumped. What did it want to eat?

She laid out a random assortment of food in front of it:

“Eat if you’re hungry. If you want to go out, make sure you close the door.”

Then she walked to the attic’s edge and demonstrated how to open and close the door.

Dabai watched her silently. Jiang Si felt certain—it understood.

“Well, I’m going to sleep now, okay?”

Surely it wouldn’t follow her to bed, right?

Not that she minded—just that it was way too hot. Even with ice blocks, the room was still over 30°C (86°F).

She tried taking a step away, but Dabai extended a paw and hooked her by the clothes, refusing to let her go.

Jiang Si sighed, summoned a mattress from her space, and spread it on the floor:

“Fine, I’ll sleep here. You can sleep next to me, alright?”

As soon as she lay down, Dabai pretended not to understand human speech anymore, climbed right onto the mattress, and curled her into its fluffy belly again.

Jiang Si was suffocating. She couldn’t break free. Fuming, she poked its big round face and threatened:

“If you follow me into the bathroom, I swear—I’ll neuter you!”