Chapter 2: A Desperate Emergency
Chapter 2: A Desperate Emergency
Lan Mu immediately took action. He cast aside his doubts about human society and scrambled up the mountain, using all four limbs. The steep slope felt flat under his feet; he forcefully pulled his body upward by digging his limbs into the rocks. The movements were clumsy, but extremely effective.
Before long, he reached the area near the viewing platform on the mountainside – the very place he had fallen from.
Along the way, he could still see the bloodstains he had left when he tumbled down the slope!
“Bastard, if I find out who ambushed me, I’ll definitely kill them!”
He was furious. The whole mess started with that ambush the other day. Thinking about it now, it was rather suspicious.
It was his first time in Fuzhou City. He didn’t know anyone here, let alone have any enemies. So why would he be ambushed out of the blue?
And the attacker clearly wasn’t after money. They knocked him out and threw him off the mountain. Even robbers weren’t that crazy!
After thinking it over, Lan Mu vaguely suspected it might be related to the poaching case. His only connection to this area was reporting it.
He also blamed himself for being careless during his inquiries. Had he revealed his identity while talking to the staff on duty? Could it be that the scenic area staff themselves were involved with the poaching gang?
“Tsk, should I even be worrying about this now? I’m not even human anymore… Sigh, I should fill my stomach first!”
Arriving at the scenic area railing, a large white-maned lion nimbly flipped over it. Bowed and hunched, it began stealthily moving along the mountain path.
There were quite a few tourists nearby, but they were all busy taking photos, as if no one noticed a monster had appeared.
Lan Mu had already activated his innate ability, entering an invisible state. As long as he didn’t actively attack or touch anyone, he wouldn’t be discovered.
Therefore, he boldly dashed to the cable car exit, right outside the duty room window.
Getting here was easy, but getting a source of fire was the hard part.
There was a steady flow of people at the cable car exit. Though not huge crowds, his appearance absolutely could not be seen, or it would cause a major commotion.
Almost everyone here had a camera or was using their phone to take pictures. If anyone saw him, images would inevitably be recorded. If those got spread…
Working at a newspaper, he knew very well how powerful modern information dissemination was. If he were discovered, this place would definitely blow up – a massive sensation!
Who had ever seen an upright-walking white-maned lion? A three-legged dog could make the news. If he got exposed, wouldn’t people go crazy?
The problem was that this duty room wasn’t hidden at all. It was built right where people got off the cable car; staff had to ensure every passenger disembarked safely, so it was close by.
And as soon as he took action and touched someone, his invisibility would immediately cancel.
“What should I do? This viewing platform is a no-smoking area. No one would leave a lighter out in the open. To get fire, I’d have to get physical.”
Lan Mu’s hesitation and indecision wasted several minutes. He soon felt his body weakening.
He understood his body couldn’t hold on much longer. Invisibility consumed a lot. If he didn’t leave soon, he feared he would automatically become visible.
Just as he was scratching his head in frustration, his nose twitched, catching a scent of something delicious.
Looking closely, he saw many tourists sitting on prepared stone benches, taking food from their bags and eating heartily.
“Seems like it’s mealtime now… Oh heavens! Don’t eat right in front of me! Do you have no humanity?”
Seeing this, Lan Mu’s stomach cramped with hunger, letting out a loud gurgling sound.
His body was huge, and his stomach was even bigger than a cow’s. The gurgle was especially loud, like the sound of a flushing toilet, instantly drawing the attention of nearby tourists who all looked in his direction.
Lan Mu was frantic. His body’s instinct told him the invisibility could only last a few more seconds.
“I’m done for, I must leave immediately!”
Just as Lan Mu was about to flee, he saw a young man walking towards him while eating a sausage, blocking his path.
“Oh no…”
Blocked by the young man, he noticed several other people nearby approaching, seemingly curious about what had made such a big noise.
“Do you all have to be so curious?”
Lan Mu knew he couldn’t escape within three seconds now. His lion head quickly turned, and he immediately leapt into a small building nearby. Only after entering did he realize it was a restroom!
At the same moment, his form flickered. He was at his absolute weakest, forced to exit his invisible state.
“Crap.” Without time to think, Lan Mu yanked open a stall door and hid inside.
How clean could a scenic area restroom be? His sense of smell was extremely sharp, and he immediately regretted hiding in such a dreadful place.
The stall space was tiny. He was taller than the door and didn’t dare raise his head. He could only hunch down, trying to squeeze himself into this cramped space.
People came and went in the restroom frequently, but his stall door was shut tight, so naturally no one bothered him.
Hiding here was temporarily safe, but it was pure torture.
Having used his ability for too long, his body felt weak and his spirit was drained. A fierce, predatory instinct kept assaulting his mind.
A king of the jungle, a born Predator, actually hiding in a tiny restroom starving… It was torment for this body.
“I want meat!”
Lan Mu was so unbearably hungry that he actually roared out loud.
Roaring felt great for him, but it scared the person in the next stall half to death. It took them a moment to recover before cursing.
“Shut the hell up! Can’t even take a dump in peace? And wanting meat? Idiot!”
Being cursed at like that, Lan Mu was stunned, but then felt joy instead of anger. He realized he could speak human language!
After six days without human interaction, he had almost forgotten he could talk.
Thinking this, he was overjoyed and hurriedly tried to appease: “Bro! Bro! My bad, don’t be mad!”
The person was squatting right next door. Hearing Lan Mu’s apology, their tone softened a bit. “That’s more like it. Why all the roaring? Such a loud voice, I thought you’d turned into a zombie!”
Lan Mu felt like crying but had no tears. He lamented inwardly that he wasn’t a zombie – he was way more dangerous than a zombie.
He quickly said, “Bro, can we negotiate? Could you help me out?”
The person wasn’t suspicious and acted familiar. “What? Didn’t bring toilet paper?”
“Ahem…” Lan Mu chuckled bitterly. “No…”
“Then with what?” the person asked, curious.
“I… uh… I want some meat…” Lan Mu said awkwardly.
“……” There was silence next door for a while before the person spoke. “Squatting so long you worked up an appetite?”
“Sigh, bro, I’m begging you, please help me with this!” Lan Mu couldn’t explain, so he could only plead.
The person was actually amused. “In all my life, this is the first time I’ve heard such a thing!”
“People borrow toilet paper, people borrow cigarettes, even borrowing a phone makes sense!”
“But I say, big bro, what do you mean? Messing with me? You get hungry going to the bathroom? And you gotta have meat?”
“Let me tell you, I, Yang Qi, am a helpful person. Little things, I won’t stand by and do nothing. But what is this? Can’t poop without eating meat? Does that make sense?”
Lan Mu stayed silent, thinking to himself that he knew his request was outrageous, but this guy really liked to talk. Fine, he’d endure it.
Seeing Lan Mu quiet, Yang Qi didn’t press further. Not long after, sounds of pants being pulled up came from next door, followed by a flush.
Yang Qi walked out and knocked on Lan Mu’s stall door, laughing. “You still there? Passed out from hunger and fell in the hole?”
“Damn…” Lan Mu was taken aback; this guy’s words were too harsh.
“Oh, still alive then. Really don’t need help? Want a cigarette?” Yang Qi seemed bored, his tone playful.
Lan Mu paused, then said, “Bro, if you could give me a lighter, that’d work too. I’d really appreciate it.”
Yang Qi became interested. “Changed your mind to a lighter now? Not wanting meat anymore?”
Lan Mu’s stomach genuinely ached with hunger. Hearing the word “meat,” he couldn’t help but let out another loud gurgle.
“Whoa! You really can make noise. So the earlier noise was you too? How long have you been squatting? Whatever, here’s a lighter. I’ve got a sausage too, take it!” Yang Qi actually had a good heart. He passed the lighter and sausage through the gap under the door.
Lan Mu moved his paw. “Thank you, bro. Just put it on the floor.”
Yang Qi was puzzled but placed them on the floor. He blinked, and the items he’d just set down disappeared.
As he wondered, he heard the sound of a wrapper being torn inside. Clearly, Lan Mu had already eaten the sausage.
“Bro, any more?” Lan Mu shamelessly asked. Eating one sausage just made him hungrier.
Yang Qi stared blankly at the stall. “Seriously? You treating the toilet like a restaurant?”
“Ah… I… sorry, I’m really about to starve to death. I’m Lan Mu, from Metropolis. A desperate emergency. I’ll definitely repay you later.” Lan Mu had no choice. He didn’t dare show himself, so he could only offer empty promises.
Yang Qi didn’t care about repayment or not. He chuckled and walked out of the restroom.
Hearing him leave, Lan Mu sighed, thinking he’d probably have to hold out until dark to have a chance of escaping back to the mountains.
But not long after, he heard footsteps again, followed by that familiar playful laugh.
“Bro, ten sausages enough?”
Lan Mu was stunned, then overjoyed. Excitedly, he said, “Bro! You’re truly my brother! Thank you so much!”
Instantly retrieving the ten sausages from under the door, he used his sharp claws to tear open the packaging. Opening his bloody maw, he ate them all in one bite.
Smacking his lips, he remembered he had money in his pocket. The people who ambushed him hadn’t taken it. Now it might come in handy.
“Bro, here, two hundred bucks.”
Yang Qi was about to leave when he heard this and saw two red bills lying under the door.
“Heh, I don’t want money. Just a desperate emergency, no big deal.” Yang Qi refused the money and turned to leave.
Lan Mu panicked, shouting, “Bro! I’m asking you for…”
“Huh? What?”
“That… could you buy a hundred more sausages?”
“……” Yang Qi stared blankly at the closed stall door, speechless for a long moment.