Under the cover of night, as the chilling caw of crows sounded once more, the trio on the ground felt as if they were being urged towards the afterlife by the King of Hell himself.
"It's over, it's over, we're really going to die this time."
"I never thought I'd die at the hands of my own kind one day."
"I should have turned myself in earlier."
...
For a time, regret filled the hearts of all three.
But just then, the sky was suddenly filled with roars and bright lights.
Following the sound, both the trio on the ground and the three holding their hunting rifles simultaneously widened their mouths in astonishment.
They saw three helicopters, their red and blue lights flashing, slowly approaching them less than a hundred meters above their heads.
Before they could react, three beams of white light shone down from the helicopters onto their location.
The intense light instantly illuminated the forest as if it were daytime, blinding all six people present.
"Listen up, criminals below. We are the Ningnan Armed Police. You are now surrounded. Do not resist futilely."
"I repeat, do not resist futilely!"
Hearing the voices from the helicopters, all six were instantly so terrified they couldn't move.
Cold sweat streamed down their faces like a waterfall.
It was no joke; in their current situation, let alone resist, they didn't even dare to scratch an itch.
They had no doubt that if they moved now, they would be turned into a sieve by the machine guns on the armed helicopters in the next second.
There might even be portable rocket launchers on board; one shot and their families would need a vacuum cleaner to collect their ashes.
They couldn't understand why armed helicopters were deployed just because they were trying to catch a small white tiger that had escaped from the zoo.
Anyone who didn't know better would think they were terrorists.
Of course, more perplexing than that was how the Ningnan police managed to respond so quickly.
The armed police offered no explanation.
In less than ten minutes, including Song Yuan, who had been half-killed by the wild boar, all the criminals who had intended to harm the small white tiger were apprehended.
Even those who had been lurking in the shadows and secretly filming were rounded up.
As the helicopters departed, the forest gradually returned to its quiet state.
After an unknown period, a white shadow hidden in the bushes emerged.
Watching the helicopters recede into the distance, the small white tiger muttered to itself:
"As the zoo director said, humans are indeed the most dangerous creatures in this world."
As soon as the words fell, the small white tiger, which had planned to rest for the night, once again embarked on its journey home.
Unbeknownst to it, a massive black shadow flapped its wings a hundred meters above its head.
Occasionally, red indicator lights blinked beneath it.
...
In the Xihong Live Broadcast: Little Tiger's Journey Home, as the small white tiger reappeared, millions of netizens exploded with excitement.
Everything that had happened in the forest from beginning to end had been recorded by the camera mounted on the golden eagle and uploaded to the live broadcast room.
Although some details were not clearly visible due to the angle and distance, they had understood the general course of events.
When those criminals holding tranquilizer guns appeared, their hearts pounded with anxiety.
When the criminals were struck by righteous vengeance from the wild boar, they were more excited than anyone.
By the time all the criminals who intended to harm the small white tiger were arrested by the Ningnan police, the viewers in the live broadcast room were as ecstatic as if it were New Year's.
Seeing the small white tiger embark on its journey again, they could no longer suppress their emotions.
"Too exciting, it was incredibly exciting! Watching a live broadcast late at night felt like watching a suspenseful blockbuster."
"When I saw those people coming out with guns, I was so worried for the little tiger."
"I suspected it would attract some bad guys, but I didn't expect them to show up so quickly."
"It's normal. White tigers are already rare, and this one escaped from Xihong Zoo. Many people would have wicked intentions."
"The first group of petty thieves was too stupid. Two of them were already incapacitated before they even made a move. Their bad luck is unbelievable."
"The ones who came later weren't much better. They didn't even get to see the small white tiger before taking down three of their own kind, incurring an extra charge for nothing."
"They probably never imagined that we were watching their every move."
"I really didn't expect the little tiger's combat power. It's so small, yet it almost single-handedly took down those three guys. No wonder Director Yang dared to let it travel alone."
"So much has already happened at the very beginning. There's much more to come, and it will likely be even more thrilling."
"Let me take this opportunity to give a thumbs up to the Ningnan police. Their response speed is top-notch."
"Is it possible that they were also watching the live broadcast?"
...
As the viewers were discussing animatedly, Yang Lin, who was at Xihong Zoo, let out a long sigh of relief.
Like everyone else in the live broadcast room, he had also been worried for the little guy when he saw that the criminals were armed with guns.
He was afraid that Ni Ge's influence wouldn't be enough.
But the final outcome proved that he had overthought it. Ni Ge not only had an impact but the intensity of its negative influence was incredibly high.
It had almost killed those few people.
"It seems I can't let it return to Xihong Zoo in the future. Who can handle such terrifying talent?"
As he spoke, Yang Lin sent a command to Ni Ge through his consciousness.
After issuing the command, Yang Lin glanced at the time on his phone.
He realized that without him noticing, it was already ten o'clock at night.
"It's so late, I guess it's time to get to work."
"Xiao Long, Xiao Long, come out and water the fields!"
Just ten minutes later, a dark cloud flew to the outskirts of Xihong Zoo.
With the arrival of the dark cloud, a spring rain first piloted its test at Xihong Zoo.
Under the spring rain, the newly planted saplings were instantly infused with new vitality.
By the time the first batch of tourists arrived the next morning at dawn, they were amazed by the sight outside the zoo.
Looking around, the trees and flowers that had been planted not long ago had all sprouted new leaves overnight.
Compared to other areas, Xihong Zoo seemed to have entered spring prematurely.
While marveling, the tourists also actively took photos with the trees they had planted themselves.
The news of Xihong Zoo entering spring overnight spread rapidly online.
And just as the tourists were taking photos and checking in, a black shadow suddenly appeared in the distant sky.