“Bang!”
The mutated tiger also crashed down from midair, and the mutated pine tree beneath it finally stopped trembling and twisting.
Could it be… they all died?
The tiger’s action had clearly been a move of mutual destruction, but the look it gave him at the very end stirred something in his heart.
What did that look mean?
After thinking it over, he patted the pine tree, signaling it to lower him down.
The pine tree obeyed, but made no other movement. Cheng Feng found it strange—was it not tempted by those mutated beasts?
When he got closer, he understood why the mutated pine tree hadn’t acted.
Because the mutated tiger wasn’t completely dead!
The four mutated wolves were all dead, pierced through by ice spikes, their bodies full of holes. The mutated tiger lay not far away, bleeding from its seven orifices, but its chest was still rising and falling.
When it saw him come down, it kept staring at him with its blood-stained lake-blue eyes. There was none of the wildness and bloodlust from their first glance—only gentleness.
Gentleness? Wasn’t he lured down by that same gentle look before it chose mutual destruction?
He gripped his gun tightly, gaining some confidence, and slowly approached the tiger step by step.
The tiger showed no vigilance or aggression despite him holding a weapon. Instead, it let out a soft growl toward the four wolves, signaling Cheng Feng to go over.
Cheng Feng: …Was it telling him to dig out the crystal cores?
Mutated beasts develop crystal cores at level two. Like level-one zombie cores, they have limited effect in enhancing abilities, while level-three and level-four cores are much more valuable.
He wasn’t entirely sure what the tiger meant, but he still stepped forward and dug out one level-four core and three level-three cores. Then he walked to about one meter away from the tiger and placed them in front of it.
Maybe it wanted to use the cores to recover, but couldn’t move anymore, so it asked for his help.
However, the mutated tiger shook its head. Struggling to move, it pushed the cores toward him. Cheng Feng’s body tensed instantly at the movement.
“For… for me?” Cheng Feng couldn’t believe it.
These cores were obtained through its life-and-death battle with the wolf pack—yet it was just giving them to a complete stranger?
When did he become this charming?
But only a fool would refuse such a gain. He immediately stored the four cores in his space. Behind him, the level-three mutated pine tree seemed to shed tears of envy.
Feeling that the tiger bore no ill intent, Cheng Feng moved closer, intending to check its injuries. If they could be treated, he wanted to try—perhaps he could gain a powerful mutated beast companion in the future.
As if understanding his thoughts, the tiger shook its head again. It pushed away his outstretched hand.
Then, before Cheng Feng’s widened eyes, it used its sharp claws to tear open the wound on its abdomen even further.
“What are you doing?” Cheng Feng reached out, unsure whether to stop it or not.
“Roar!” The tiger cried out in pain, but didn’t stop. It thrust its paw into its abdomen and pulled something out.
Looking at the small white creature with black stripes pushed toward him, Cheng Feng’s eyes reddened.
Now he understood the meaning of that final look.
It knew it couldn’t survive. The moment it saw him, it had already decided to leave a path of survival for its child.
Such deep maternal love always moved him. He suddenly remembered his grandfather once telling him that he too had been found on a snowy day.
“Don’t worry. Since you gave me something as precious as those cores, I’ll take good care of your child,” Cheng Feng said.
He took out a thick blanket from his space and wrapped the shivering, softly whining little white tiger. Just as he was about to hold it in his arms, he noticed the tiger’s reluctant gaze and immediately held the cub out in front of it again.
“Take another look at your child. When it grows up, I’ll tell it that it had a great, brave mother who loved it deeply.”
Tears slid from the tiger’s bloodied eyes. It stretched out its tongue to lick the cub’s head, then gently pushed it away.
Then it did something that left Cheng Feng completely stunned.
It raised its claw and split open its own forehead, forcibly digging out its crystal core.
This time, it didn’t even have the strength to roar in pain—or perhaps its life had already reached its end.
Cheng Feng’s eyes turned red as tears finally fell. He took the core and tucked it into the blanket with the cub, speaking rapidly, “This core belongs to your child. No one will take it.”
With that, the mutated tiger closed its eyes.
Cheng Feng also closed his eyes, his heart heavy.
He wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes, already freezing, and stored both the tiger’s core and its body in his space.
He would give the core to the cub when it grew older. Carrying a level-four mutated beast core on the road was like flaunting a piece of irresistible treasure among monsters. As for the tiger’s body, he wanted to give it a proper burial.
Though he still had mutated vegetables in his space, he no longer had the mood to trade. Holding the cub, he hurried back home.
After he left, the mutated pine tree revealed its form. The corpses of the wolves were dragged away by its branches and quickly disappeared. Soon, heavy snow covered the area, as if nothing had ever happened.
The little white tiger in Cheng Feng’s arms naturally attracted the attention of the mutated plants along the way. Flesh and blood were essential for their growth, which was why Cheng Feng had not encountered any mutated beasts before.
Fortunately, he had built a good relationship with them during this time. He gave each plant a mutated vegetable and made it clear they must not harm the cub. The plants all agreed.
To them, this tiny mutated beast was nothing compared to a mutated vegetable. Besides, they considered themselves good neighbors of this two-legged human—they certainly wouldn’t harm his pet.
After returning home, Cheng Feng didn’t even look at the crystal cores. He immediately became a temporary caretaker and began taking care of the cub.
[Level 1 Mutated Tiger (Abnormal Mutation): Solitary mutated beast. Innate skills: Flight (none), Ice Spike Attack (none), Unknown Skill (none).]
A level-one mutated tiger made sense—after all, level one is the minimum level, even for newborn cubs. But what did “abnormal mutation” mean?
A mutation on top of a mutation?
It was understandable that all innate skills were listed as none—the cub had just been born. It would likely develop basic skills at level two or three. But what was this “unknown skill”?
Did it mean the cub might awaken an extra ability beyond its mother, one whose nature was still undetermined?
This unknown skill was probably related to the abnormal mutation. Cheng Feng was curious, but there was no way to know the details yet.
However, he was certain of one thing: in his previous life, he had never seen such a mutated beast. It didn’t appear in the original novel either. Even the male and female leads only had a mutated snake and a mutated cat by their side—both powerful, but not as extraordinary as this cub.
At that moment, Cheng Feng suddenly felt that this world was more real—not just a world from a book, but an independent, complete apocalyptic world with its own rules.
He suddenly felt full of anticipation for the cub.
Hehe, he now had a mutated beast companion too!