Infinite Hunter

His presence was almost immediately captured by an infrared camera. The massive leopard leaped past, and Cheng Yijiu found the wild boar. His hunting methods were more cunning than those of a simple leopard, using trees as a jumping platform to approach. Then, with a single, impulsive leap, he snatched his chosen prey—a young wild boar—with a deft, throat-locking grip, suffocating the animal.

Chapter 6 Internet Celebrities

After consuming a wild boar and chewing off a third of it, Cheng Yijiu instinctively dragged it up a tree and stuck it between the branches. This is also a leopard's instinct. Afterward, Cheng Yijiu was unlikely to return for another bite, leaving it vulnerable to predatory birds and insects. It was unknown how long this would last, and Cheng Yijiu also smelled the scent of other leopards as he moved.

That was the scent of a female leopard. There should be at least two female leopards here. Cheng Yijiu also smelled the scent of a male leopard, and judging by the scent, the other one should be obviously inferior to him. Who said that the punishment mission always gave a very perfect body? Almost as big as the South China tiger, this is undoubtedly a giant among leopards.

If the territory was occupied, the male leopard would probably not dare to show up to drive Cheng Yijiu away. Cheng Yijiu had no intention of staying here, and he kept running towards the mountains.

University professors and doctoral students regularly enter the mountains to inspect and download data from infrared cameras. Reforestation and economic development over the years have significantly improved the ecology—especially as large cities have rapidly drained the labor force from smaller towns and villages. Many mountain villages are now reduced to a small number of elderly residents, who, after their passing, have essentially become deserted.

In a sense, this has accelerated the process of mountainous areas becoming uninhabited areas, and once villages are uninhabited, nature will devour them at an astonishingly fast speed.

At the county hotel, the expedition team—primarily hardworking doctoral students—began to categorize and analyze the photos and videos captured by the infrared cameras. "We're sure to find something! These are captured when infrared light detects approaching organisms," a senior student said to a newer junior. "We're conducting a statistical study of biostatistics."

The photos and videos mostly feature animals like wild boars, muntjacs, and badgers. There are also plenty of birds—brown pheasants, golden pheasants, and even safari macaques. A few photos even include black bears and wolves. The most precious of all are the photos of big cats—these magnificent cats are at the top of the food chain, and their survival is only possible if the ecosystem is well-restored.

The fact that we had previously photographed a golden leopard and could distinguish it as two North China leopards delighted everyone, as it demonstrated the ecological recovery of Hebei Province, with leopards even appearing near Beijing. This time, the students watching the photos and videos on their computers cheered, "New leopards!"

The two previous leopard sightings were identified as a male and a female. The male was a subadult, approximately 1.6 meters long, while the female was an adult, slightly larger than the male, approximately 1.8 meters tall, but of similar weight. Although the newly spotted leopard remained in the frame for less than five seconds, the high-definition camera still quickly focused and captured dozens of photos.

"What a large, beautiful leopard!" exclaimed those who saw it. The leopard's markings were clear and gorgeous, and its shiny fur proved it was a well-nourished, adult male—the testicles proved it. Computer analysis of the infrared photos and videos, along with gait analysis, also gave a rough estimate of the leopard's length. "About 2.5 meters! This is a very large individual, on par with a South China tiger."

So in a sense, Cheng Yijiu is a good breed of beast...

Unfortunately, we didn't photograph this leopard again. The first time we identified it from its distinctive markings was in a camera image taken in the Yanshan Mountains. The ecological survey of Hebei and the surrounding area of ​​Beijing is a long-term project, integrated with the ecological corridor restoration project. Cheng Yijiu, who had traveled from the Taihang Mountains to the Yanshan Mountains, became a minor celebrity when he was discovered a second time.

Because this was undoubtedly the second adult male leopard photographed in Yanshan, and a particularly large one at that, it made a brief appearance in the local Beijing news. Cheng Yijiu was currently observing a farmer's sheep pen. He didn't want to work hard anymore. Instead of laboring so hard in the mountains to ambush deer, muntjac, and other prey, it would be better to just go to the farmer's house and haul the sheep.

Even with his low IQ, he still remembers the state compensation. If the farmers dare to hit him, they should be prepared to go to jail.

The leopard swaggered into the sheep pen, picked out the fattest-looking sheep, grabbed its throat, and dragged it out to find a good place to eat. The farmer's dog said nothing, and the farmer seemed to just glance out the window a few times before not coming out. Regardless of whether he saw the leopard or not, his ability to protect himself was first-rate.

If a sheep went missing, you could report it to the police. If it got away and got stabbed by a criminal, that would be a shame. So, Cheng Yi, undisturbed for a long time, enjoyed a delicious meal—a good meal, otherwise, with his human palate, he'd have trouble swallowing goat organs and meat straight from the inside, especially without the blood drained out. He devoured nearly half the sheep in one sitting. For a wild leopard, that's about five or six days without food.

Cheng Yijiu left the remains behind and went straight into the ravine - he remembered the location of the cafeteria and would come to it next time if he had nothing to eat.

Then Cheng Yijiu became famous again. These days, anyone who can raise a flock of sheep and own a sheep shed can afford to install computers and surveillance cameras. Even if they can't afford it, the government will pay for one to be installed outside. At most, the village committee will put a computer in. Anyway, I saw the mess in the sheep shed and was afraid it had been robbed. When I went in, I saw that a sheep was missing.

Go out and look for it. After searching for a long time, we found the mutilated dead sheep, nearly eaten to pieces. Next to it were palm-sized paw prints. Don't even think about being bitten by a leopard! Report it immediately and you might even get state compensation. The police, reporters, and forestry bureau personnel came together, even including university experts. They examined the body, the footprints, and visited the village to check the surveillance footage.

Hey, I actually saw a leopard dragging sheep. A huge leopard! Cheng Yijiu was back on the TV news, and then all sorts of influencers and gossipers flocked to check in. Taking a photo of the leopard with your phone would earn you traffic, and at worst, you could just drive around. Cheng Yijiu didn't know, and even if he did, he wouldn't care. He had more pressing things to attend to.

That's the poacher.

Even in this era, there are still poachers, illegally armed and hunting in the mountains. There's even an underground network of dealers selling the stolen goods—an industry chain driven by wealthy individuals with genuine brains who desire to consume or collect products made from rare and protected animals, believing they can enhance health and longevity. Consequently, there are those who serve these individuals, providing a complete service from poaching to transportation.

Unfortunately, tigers and leopards are one of them. Even though there are tiger and leopard farms that can obtain tigers and leopards that died "naturally" through relatively minor illegal means, some people still believe in the efficacy of "wild" ones...

Chapter 7 Preparing for the Hunt

There are poachers, professional poaching gangs—they don't care about protected species. Of course, some well-known species are subject to scrutiny, like pandas and Siberian tigers, which are less likely to be poached due to the high profile. But there's still a lot of courage in poaching leopards, and leopards are more valuable than tigers. Leopards are more numerous than wild Siberian tigers, so naturally, sales along the supply chain are higher.

Poachers don't specifically hunt leopards, but if they spot one, they'll definitely hunt. Their main targets are black bears, deer, and some birds. In the Yanshan Mountains outside Beijing, there's a group of poachers active—they're not poor, they just enjoy hunting and making a little money. Any weapon they have is enough to land them in jail if they're caught. Cheng Yijiu is very familiar with long guns; they're all bolt-action rifles, the kind popular in the United States.

Some of these people were holding pistols, such as Glocks. It is obvious what the person holding this kind of gun is like; he must have been involved in a murder.

Cheng Yijiu wandered the mountains, unaware of his fame, but he knew staying in one place like any other wild animal would lead to disaster. So he was constantly on the move, and when he did rest, he sought out secluded, hard-to-reach spots—like branches amidst dense treetops or deep caves. Cheng Yijiu couldn't always go to farmers' houses for buffets; that would put him in danger. If he were caught, setting off a radio beacon wouldn't be a good idea.

He moved westward along the Yanshan Mountains, where there were almost no people. He didn't know how much time had passed, and Cheng Yijiu didn't know which mountain range he was in. There were streams and plenty of wildlife, and he smelled what might be a bear. His last meal was a deer, of which he ate a third and left the rest. As he moved along the mountainside, Cheng Yijiu noticed something unusual.

In a ravine on the side, about three meters deep and five or six meters long, a skull was exposed, the rest of the body covered by loose soil and fallen leaves. Cheng Yijiu could clearly make out that it was half a human skeleton. Although the leopard's IQ was not above 80, Cheng Yijiu's curiosity was still piqued. He jumped into the ravine to take a closer look, digging through the soil and fallen leaves with his claws. "It's basically complete."

Seeing the clothes that hadn't been ripped clean, Cheng Yijiu knew that either a hiker had fallen and died, unable to get out and call for help, or someone had dumped the body. Even as a human, he'd known of the many sinister rumors circulating in the mountains around Beijing, with more than one person missing. They could have fallen, gotten lost, or starved to death while hiking, or perhaps someone had murdered and robbed them and dumped the body. The leopard leaped up, out of the ravine, and left the body behind.

This matter had nothing to do with him. If it were a cop, it would be a big deal, but he was just a leopard right now—if he was truly curious, he might as well look for other similar carcasses nearby after he had eaten his fill. Just as Cheng Yijiu had found the tracks of a herd of deer and was about to follow them, he caught a whiff of a human scent on the wind. The only people who could come here were either herbalists or researchers. Otherwise, it was probably just seasoned or reckless hikers, and the poachers Cheng Yijiu had imagined...

Cheng Yijiu moved silently, moving to the edge of a bush, using fallen leaves to shield his body. He crouched low and peered through the gaps in the bushes, waiting for the arrival of these people—at least five people, and he smelled five different scents. Cheng Yijiu chose a relatively easy path, and the scents also drifted from this direction and height. Of course, if there was a strange creature among them who suddenly climbed up and took a detour, Cheng Yijiu would have to pray that they would not see him at all.

The leopard lay motionless. If you look closely, you'll find a wealth of bones in the forest. Not far in front of the leopard's head, a tiny skull, perhaps a squirrel's, is embedded in the fallen leaves and dirt. Before the humans arrived, Cheng Yijiu had actually been observing the surroundings. The smell was getting closer, and Cheng Yijiu could already hear the sounds of people whispering and trampling on fallen leaves and dirt.

"It's getting closer and closer. I can even hear the heartbeat." Cheng Yijiu's leopard is also one of the best leopards. When the distance is close enough, its senses are exaggerated. He saw these people. They were formed into two teams, a total of five people, all wearing camouflage hunting clothes. Cheng Yijiu was quite familiar with the weapons in his hands. "Rich people, only rich people can have the channels to obtain such illegal items."

A typical leopard wouldn't have the intelligence to discern this, and only the human-leopard Cheng Yijiu could still use his struggling mind to discern it. "And there's a pistol..." The leopard noticed someone carrying a pistol. "Poachers or murderers?" Cheng Yijiu could sense the aura of these five people; they must have killed someone—perhaps they'd run into some fellow hiker, and then, for whatever reason, shot them and left them in the ravine.

As expected, these people did not notice Cheng Yijiu, who was very close to them just a few meters away. A motionless and camouflaged leopard was indeed difficult to spot. These people were not dogs and did not have such a sensitive sense of smell. It was rare for these people to hunt without dogs. Even if there were dogs, Cheng Yijiu would not be too afraid, because there was a height difference in this place. Even if these people wanted to raise their guns to shoot, most of their vision would be blocked.

After the five men walked away, Cheng Yijiu waited an extra half hour. His sense of smell and hearing told him that no one was trailing behind, and only then did the leopard quietly follow them. He had no reason to do so, but simply because he felt safe, he had to kill the poachers in front of him. He had chosen the right time for the attack at night. It was unlikely that these five men would just come in and leave immediately. They would have to stay overnight at least—this was deep in the mountains.

Cheng Yijiu watched the moving figures from a distance. They had a secluded wooden house in this area, which seemed to be their base. The night was dark, and Cheng Yijiu was already preparing to start making trouble. He had previously observed that the doors and windows of the wooden house all opened outwards. This was also for safety reasons. Wild animals push instead of pull, so their doors and windows were stuck inwards and could only be opened outwards.

There must be a latch inside, but the problem is that unless you have a bent wire, it is impossible to reach in and hook the latch. Now it is time to test Cheng Yijiu's intelligence - he must find a way to either let the person inside escape or sneak in silently...

Chapter 8 Hunting

The leopard circled the house silently, stretching out against the windowless wall and testing the wooden siding with his claws. Then he looked up at the roof, assessing whether it could bear his weight—something he could do, others couldn't. "If he really fell in, these guys would be so flustered, not to mention whether they'd rest or not, and even if they did, they'd probably end up hitting more of their own people."

Having made up his mind, Cheng Yijiu didn't leap onto the roof. Instead, he picked up a stone and placed it in front of the door. With a slap, the stone smashed against the door, while Leopard lurked in the dark shadows. "There are several stones. Let's take our time..." He waited in the darkness—mostly by closing his eyes and listening. There was no need to risk being exposed by the refracted light and the reflection in his eyes.

The door opened, and someone emerged, mumbling something. Cheng Yijiu relied entirely on the sounds he'd heard to reconstruct a three-dimensional image in his mind. Someone inside, gun drawn, was standing guard behind the man who'd come out to observe. He was moving very slowly, having only stepped out a few steps to observe. Then he retreated. Cheng Yijiu didn't hear any other sounds, but he could definitely tell he was backing away, step by step, back into the house, with his back to the door.

The door closed again, and Cheng Yijiu opened his eyes. He looked at the light coming from the room and once again threw a stone, which flew and hit the door. This time, the leopard moved quickly, moving directly from the shadows to the side of the house. There was no reflected light here, and no pair of reflective eyes would appear in the darkness. This time, the door did not open. After a long while, someone pushed it open, took a look, and then closed it.

Cheng Yijiu had no fire, and the gang hadn't lit a fire outside the house. The light must have come from the lithium batteries they brought with them. So a fire attack was out of the question. This time, Cheng Yijiu jumped from the back of the house to the roof, using the wall for leverage, so his landing on the roof was completely silent. He lowered his tail and lashed it against the door, then lay on the roof and waited. A very angry voice came from the house, and the door was pushed open with a bang, and a man with a gun ran out angrily.

This time, regardless of whether the man inside was on guard or not, Cheng Yijiu wouldn't give the poacher a chance. He pounced from the rooftop like lightning, twisting 180 degrees in mid-air. Cats are just that agile. He hooked his claws around the unfortunate man's neck and shoulders, biting his neck. The momentum of the attack swung his body around, lashing out at the man's front like a whip.

As a large Chinese leopard, Cheng Yijiu weighed over 80 kilograms, perhaps even over 100 kilograms. He himself didn't know the exact amount, but he bit down hard, kicked with his hind legs, and released his front paws. Just as the man was kicked back and fell, he dove into the shadows. The second man on guard at the door was still completely blocked by the first man. He only had time to see something flash before his companion flew back and fell to the ground.

Even Cheng Yijiu, who had run deep into the woods, could hear the screams. Those should be the screams made by the second guy at the door after he saw it clearly - the first one must have died if nothing unexpected happened. His throat was completely pulled out, and his arteries must have been bitten through and torn. If such a thing happened in the hospital, he might be able to be rescued, but in this mountain he could only wait to die, and he would die in a few minutes.

Cheng Yijiu circled around and returned to the hut. This time, he saw a body dumped outside the house, with the doors and windows open. It was obvious someone was waiting inside—perhaps they wanted to take advantage of the leopard's habit of returning to its prey and shoot the killer leopard. Yes, they had confirmed it was a leopard. After all, they were experienced poachers. A beast capable of such a lightning-fast attack and inflicting such a wound couldn't be a North China lynx.

A South China tiger was completely out of the question, so the only possibility was the Far Eastern leopard, which roamed here. Furthermore, the attack was launched from the rooftop, confirming their suspicions. Cheng Yijiu stared at the body at the door from the shadows, his tail lashing out. He was nearly fifty meters away. He doubted the remaining four people would stay in the house, at least not all of them. Perhaps one or two of them were lying in wait from another angle.

The leopard lurked cautiously in the woods, motionless. Cheng Yijiu wasn't prepared to search for the potential ambush, as that might be dangerous. After all, he had more patience and could wait for them to appear. He had eaten his fill before, so he could easily stall for time with these people. He wanted to see if they were prepared to starve to death or be discovered and captured. These poachers were definitely responsible for human lives and wouldn't stand up to scrutiny.

Sure enough, when Cheng Yijiu waited until the sun came out—he had chosen his spot from the beginning, using the mountain, bushes, and fallen leaves to conceal himself—he saw a man wearing a homemade ghillie suit approaching from not too far away. From this angle, could he launch an attack? Cheng Yijiu cautiously remained motionless. When this man reached the house, another man emerged from the opposite direction, roughly 180 degrees away.

"How treacherous!" Cheng Yijiu cursed inwardly. Two more people came out of the house, bringing the total to four people. After a discussion, they looted the corpse. Two people dragged the corpse by its feet to a ravine far away from the cabin and pushed it back in. "It feels familiar." Cheng Yijiu, a leopard with a low IQ, was not thinking fast at the moment. He almost felt that the corpse in the mountain was very likely related to this group of people.

With such indifference towards their own people, these guys probably can't return to normal life. Later, Cheng Yijiu watched them come out. This time, it was obvious that they were preparing to leave the mountains. However, a dispute broke out within the group. Cheng Yijiu had seen the fanaticism on one of the men's face before, which was the extreme passion for something. This man didn't say much, but he said he would go into the mountains to chase the murderous leopard.

He wanted to hunt the leopard, which was the ultimate pleasure... Of course, Cheng Yijiu also wanted to hunt him, which was also a pleasure.

Chapter 9 Part Two

Cheng Yijiu silently lurked on the sidelines, watching the poachers quarrel. He waited patiently. If they really did fight among themselves, the leopard would be happy to see it, and he would be very willing to finish off the injured and drag the victor into the abyss of death in the forest. But unfortunately, they only separated without fighting.

One of the four continued heading into the mountains, while the other three packed up their belongings and headed back the way they'd come, apparently preparing to leave. Cheng Yijiu was faced with a dilemma: "Which group should I kill first?" If he went after the three leaving the mountains, would the obviously more experienced and enthusiastic hunters actually use their teammates as bait, quietly following them and waiting to fire when Cheng Yijiu attacked?

If he killed the troublesome guy first, would the other three also flank him and use the lone one as bait? These were all questions. In the end, Cheng Yijiu chose to kill the lone guy first, because those three didn't seem like the kind of people who would be so fanatical as to risk their lives hunting man-eating beasts. And rationally speaking, killing the most dangerous one first was also the right thing to do.

Tracking alone, Cheng Yijiu didn't think he could protect himself at night. The huge leopard followed this person from a distance. For Cheng Yijiu, the leopard, if he really wanted to follow someone seriously, the other person would not be able to escape and would not know that there was a big cat lurking from a distance.

Cheng Yijiu was about fifty meters away from the man. He could locate his opponent by smell and sound, keeping him in the distance. Cheng Yijiu's movements were slow because the man wasn't very fast either. It seemed the man was walking in a circle rather than simply going deeper.

Cheng Yijiu walked and stopped, and at his closest point, he was only about ten meters away from the man. The big cat crawled very slowly, with very small movements, and his protective color made him almost invisible. Cheng Yijiu watched the man moving through the mountains and forests. This guy was like a mountain dweller who was used to walking on mountain roads. He had no difficulty moving in these primitive forests.

As the sky darkened, Cheng Yijiu was intrigued by how this person would choose to camp. Would he climb a tree, pitch a tent on the ground, or even find a cave? Cheng Yijiu noticed that the person's direction of movement had changed. It was clear that he was heading for the cabin in the woods. Indeed, there was no safer place than there.

Whether it was a tree or a cave, it would be extremely dangerous for ordinary people, because a leopard could climb up a tree or get into a cave and kill people silently, but leopards generally wouldn't do that—they were just wild beasts. Cheng Yijiu tried to recall the route the man would take, and there should be a place where he could ambush.

Indeed, there was one. Cheng Yijiu had made his way around to a spot obscured by dense bushes. He wouldn't have seen the leopard's ambush if he'd walked over. If he'd spotted it after he'd passed through the bushes, it would have been very close. Cheng Yijiu also took a risk, pressing his body against the bushes, covering his head and body with fallen leaves, and remained motionless, waiting for his target to approach.

Because of the leopard's low perspective, Cheng Yijiu could observe a little of the road from the slightly larger gap at the base. This was on the mountainside, and the slope was steep, so if Cheng Yijiu could see a small part of the target, it was only five or six meters away. Cheng Yijiu waited very patiently. The only risk he had to take was that the man suddenly changed his route - if he suddenly took the trouble to climb over from a higher point, he might not be able to spot Cheng Yijiu without carefully observing from a high vantage point.

But now it seems that the other party did not ask for trouble in this way. Cheng Yijiu heard the sound of the man's footsteps and the smell of the wind, getting closer and closer. At this time, Cheng Yijiu did not know what time it was, but it was definitely in the afternoon - the sunset in the mountains was very fast, and it could be said that in the blink of an eye, you could go from being able to see anything to being pitch dark.

The man didn't seem to want to use a flashlight to travel at night, as it was too dangerous. So he could be heard quickening his pace. Cheng Yijiu's ambush wasn't far from the cabin. Once he passed that spot, it would only take him twenty minutes at most to reach the cabin. He would never be able to complete this distance...

Shi Feiyu was a psychopath. Everyone who knew him thought so, but few knew this eccentric man who disliked socializing. He was aloof and devoted to his hobby—hunting. He was wealthy—his parents had left him a substantial inheritance. He didn't smoke, drink, gamble, or women, and many of his hunts fetched high prices...

Like his hunting companions, he had killed several poor fellow hikers and mountain people while poaching in the mountains. They were unlucky enough to encounter these people and were brutally murdered. Shi Feiyu didn't think about anything now. He just wanted to get back to the cabin as soon as possible, but of course he was still watching his surroundings vigilantly.

This attack was a complete surprise. The leopard's sudden leap was less than two meters away, and Cheng Yijiu, standing taller than a man, sprang up like a spring, attacking from the side and rear—yes, even then, Cheng Yijiu attacked from the side and rear. His forelimbs clamped down on the opponent's upper arm, while his jaws opened wide and bit down from the side, catching the poacher's deltoid muscle.

The teeth severed the flesh, then opened again to bite from the other side, Cheng Yijiu intending to cripple the man's arm. The claws darted out, digging deep into the man's upper arm muscles, the force sending him sprawling to the ground. The gun had already been flung out, and Cheng Yijiu deftly used his hind legs to kick the pistol, which had been tucked into his waist holster, away.

If someone is knocked down like this, their arms are useless, and they can't launch a counterattack. Shi Feiyu smelled the fishy smell of earth and the stench of a carnivore's breath coming from behind. He knew full well that he had been attacked by a leopard and might very well say goodbye to this world, but he still struggled hard, especially turning his head to see what kind of leopard it was.

All he could see was a pair of cold, yellow eyes. Fangs had already pierced his throat. Shi Feiyu was gasping for breath and his eyes were almost blind. Cheng Yijiu didn't cut his arteries, but instead used the throat-biting suffocation method commonly used by cats to kill the poacher, which would be more painful.

After this person died, Cheng Yijiu's thoughts were pulled away again. Before he was pulled away, he only knew that the leopard began to tear the clothes of the corpse...

Chapter 10 The Third

When his consciousness returned, it was no surprise that Cheng Yijiu found that the poacher had been bitten by him - his abdominal cavity was torn open, and the soft internal organs, mainly the heart and liver, were eaten, and then some of the muscle fat, especially in the abdomen and legs, were bitten off, and the body was still lying there quite intact.

When the leopard regained consciousness, it was washing its face, licking its paws and wiping them with its tongue. The part of the man that had been eaten must have weighed at least 10 to 20 kilograms - the liver weighed at least 1.5 kilograms, plus the heart, part of the lungs, and spleen, and finally the fat and muscle, which was enough for the leopard to survive a week without hunting.

But he couldn't stay there, as there were three more people waiting for him to hunt. So not long after Cheng Yijiu regained consciousness, the leopard quickly returned to where the four people had separated. The scent of three people was easier to track than that of one person, so Cheng Yijiu quickly followed them - generally speaking, by this time, the three people would most likely have already left the mountain.

The key point is that Cheng Yijiu didn't know how deep the mountains were. Maybe the other party had a cabin for each day's journey? This is very likely. These guys seem to be experienced poachers. It is normal for them to build a few resting places for themselves to poach in the mountains over time.

Leopards move very quickly and are much better at climbing mountains and crossing ridges than humans, so they caught up with the three people. Looking down from above, the three people looked a little dejected, walking in the valley with their heads hunched. The area below must have been washed by floods, and it was easier to walk when the water was not high.

Cheng Yijiu was already in sync with the three guys on the mountainside. Even so, the leopard was still very careful to use the terrain and vegetation to hide its body. However, the three guys were already discouraged enough and didn't even look up to his height. They just looked left and right, front and back horizontally.

Cheng Yijiu was well aware that he had a chance, a very big one. Sure enough, by then, it was already dark. The men, who had previously used flashlights to illuminate their path, had quickly set up camp high up in the spillway—a pre-prepared shack. Pulling aside the dead branches that covered the area, Cheng Yijiu, who lay sprawled on top, saw a crude shed.

The back of the shed was built on the mountain, with a sloping roof supported by wooden rafts. The two sides were also made of wooden rafts to form two walls. Although Cheng Yijiu couldn't see the inside, he saw the wooden piles supporting the bottom. This thing actually had a hollow floor. There was also a waterproof cloth on the front, which formed a small dry space.

The three of them lit a fire at the doorway and pulled a camouflaged plastic steel plate from under the open floorboards. Although it was rusted and a bit tattered, it was still a good heat reflector. Camping is like that; you have to put up a reflector behind the fire to reflect the heat and make the night much more comfortable.

The bright light of the flames gave Cheng Yijiu more confidence. This way, the three men would not be able to see the leopard approaching in the darkness. All Cheng Yijiu had to do was drag one of the three men away. He had to choose his target carefully - the power difference between a leopard and a tiger was huge. A tiger could pick up a person and leap at high speed, while a leopard could only drag them.

So the most important thing was the direction of escape; after all, these were three poachers with guns. Cheng Yijiu silently surveyed the surrounding terrain and finally chose a route that would allow him to drag the target directly behind a large rock. If his skills were good enough and the two men were timid enough, he could kill the target within five meters of the fire.

Then it was just a matter of waiting, waiting for an opportunity... The three of them initially warmed themselves by the fire outside—the temperature difference between day and night in the mountains was enormous, and at night, when a cold front descended over the ridge into the valley, the temperature could drop by ten degrees. They grilled something to eat, then one person went back inside, leaving the other two to warm themselves by the fire.

Cheng Yijiu raised his head, ready. The opportunity would come at any moment. He would strike at the last person to enter. Just a few seconds of someone being alone outside would be enough. The leopard, ready to strike, silently moved to within three meters of the fire. At a certain moment, he began to move.

One of the two men stood up and turned around to walk back to the shack that was only two meters away and was taller than half a person. Cheng Yijiu did not rush out, but trotted closer in the flashing firelight. The shadow of the leopard was cast by the firelight on the pulled-open waterproof cloth, moving, and the walking poacher disappeared in the next second.

Cheng Yijiu's attack was swift and effective. He bit the man's throat, silencing him completely, and then dragged him into the shadows, out of the firelight. By then, the poacher was beyond saving. His throat had been completely bitten open, and Cheng Yijiu himself nearly choked on the blood. He could feel the life force of the poacher in his mouth gradually fading...

The man tried to struggle, but the massive loss of blood quickly incapacitated him, and he soon fell into darkness. Cheng Yijiu abandoned the warm body and quickly disappeared into the night. The two men had already realized they were being attacked and were shouting and firing to boost their courage, their flashlights shining everywhere. However, in the darkness, Cheng Yijiu didn't see them leave the shack...

What would they think? There was no doubt that the terrifying man-eating monster had set its sights on them. After confirming that the two men absolutely didn't have the guts to escape overnight, Cheng Yijiu climbed up a tree and had a good night's sleep. Cats naturally rest for long periods of time, and Cheng Yijiu's exercise today had already violated a little bit of their nature.

The next day, he was awakened by the noise. The two bastards had fled the shack in a panic, their guns slung over their shoulders. They hadn't even bothered to search for their accomplices' bodies, simply preparing to leave. Such was the arrogance of the criminal gang... Cheng Yijiu remained unhurried, hanging them on the mountainside.

Running away in such a hurry was bound to cause problems, and sure enough, someone sprained their ankle. It seemed serious, as the man tumbled headfirst onto the rocky beach. If it weren't for his tactical gloves, his palms would have been peeling. He couldn't walk, and Cheng Yijiu cooperated, hiding behind a rock and yelling a few times. Of course, this resulted in a few random shots, but the two men became even more panicked.

The one with the sprained ankle insisted that he must be taken with him, but the unharmed poacher was obviously not happy about it - he just wanted to escape as soon as possible. Cheng Yijiu watched the guy with the sprained ankle raise his gun, and the unharmed poacher also raised his gun. However, the two of them cursed and thought for a long time, but in the end they did not die together. The unharmed poacher cut a branch, cut it with a knife, and gave it to the guy with the sprained ankle to use as a crutch.

As for carrying it? Forget it.

Chapter 11 Happy Hunting

The two fleeing poachers were gradually gaining distance. The unharmed one instinctively quickened his pace, completely oblivious to the cries of the man behind him. He was clutching his crutch with one hand, so it was difficult to raise his gun and shoot him. He was even wary of being shot. These people weren't good people. They had lives on their shoulders and were indifferent to killing. Being chased by a leopard, he was in a state of mind where he would go, "If you don't save me, I'll shoot you, and we'll all die together."

The stronger man didn't dare to distance himself too much from the two men—not until he found an opportunity, fearing the one behind him, with his legs crossed, would shoot him and kill them both. Even with Cheng Yijiu's limited intelligence, he could see that the relationship between the two men was extremely tense. The leopard moved along the mountainside, its chosen target being the intact poacher.

The one with the sprained ankle couldn't escape, so it was best to take out the unharmed one first. Cheng Yijiu moved much faster than them, and soon found a relatively suitable spot—if the two men kept moving in the same direction, there was a sharp turn in the valley, and during this time, they couldn't see each other. Given the distance between the two men and their speed, Cheng Yijiu had at least ten seconds to attack the one in front.

This time difference was more than enough for Cheng Yijiu, the leopard, to kill at least two people. Now the leopard advanced rapidly along the mountainside and lay down on the side of the mountain where the sharp angle was formed. About four meters below him was the valley passage. The valley narrowed at this point, with a width of about ten meters. Originally, the two people could have looked after each other, but now this was no longer possible.

Cheng Yijiu waited patiently. One poacher had sprained his ankle, and the other wasn't very energetic, so they weren't walking very fast. The sound of boots on gravel was getting closer, while the tapping of the wooden stick was clearly delayed by more than ten meters, with a deviation of about thirty degrees. The footsteps were getting closer, and suddenly a figure appeared from around the corner. Cheng Yijiu could see the top of his head.

In just two steps, the man had already passed Cheng Yijiu's ambush position, exposing his entire back to the giant cat. Cheng Yijiu didn't need to react; his body's instincts had already kicked in. The leopard leaped from a height of four meters, directly impacting the man's back. With a weight of nearly a hundred kilograms, the man was knocked down the moment the impact struck.

His bones were probably broken, and he must have been choking from the fall. He couldn't even scream, his head was groggy, and his face was covered in blood. He was pinned down, unable to get up. Then, a hot breath hit the back of his neck, and the next moment, he felt an intense pain—powerful front paws forcibly pried his cheek apart, sharp claws piercing his face, even scratching through his mouth, and probably picking out a few of his teeth.

He couldn't care less about the pain. His cervical vertebrae were already snapping from the forced twisting, and the leopard bit his throat, causing the pain to intensify before quickly dissipating—he was dead. This time, Cheng Yijiu didn't pull away. Instead, he quickly leaped up the mountain and disappeared into the woods in the blink of an eye. Even if he was the last one, he would patiently observe and look for an opportunity.

This was how he survived his first punishment mission as an inexperienced tiger. "Caution..." Cheng Yijiu saw the frenzy of the last poacher who had come around. He saw his companion lying on the ground with his neck twisted 180 degrees, blood all over the floor and his face stained with blood. He immediately let out a scream like a chicken, raised his gun, aimed around, and even fired a few shots at random.

Cheng Yijiu, with a sudden thought, slowly descended and began to approach. His camouflage was still sharp, so the other party probably hadn't noticed him. After firing a few shots, the poacher, who had cocked the bolt again, pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. He was out of bullets. Flustered, he pulled the bolt again and began to fish in his waist pouch for bullets, but his shaking hands caused the bullets to clatter to the ground. Cheng Yijiu was about to lose his temper, so he decided to teach the poacher a lesson: to teach him what it meant to be calm.

The leopard ran incredibly fast, and as it charged down from above, the last poacher spotted it. He let out another distorted scream, and his hands shook even more violently, unable to even pick up his bullet. As the leopard leaped forward, all the man could do was raise his rifle horizontally in front of him to block it. This was actually a solution: after humans acquired spears, hunting wild animals became relatively safer and easier.

Because wild beasts instinctively perceive spears as part of a human and attack them, a well-placed feint can fool a beast and deliver a fatal blow. Cheng Yijiu simply lowered his weapon and bit the poacher's neck... before unexpectedly losing consciousness.

"I knew it..." After regaining consciousness, the leopard carefully selected both carcasses, devouring the best parts—the internal organs, of course, but also some fat and muscle. Having cleaned himself up, Cheng Yijiu quickly left. This place might become his hunting ground—for five poachers to consistently use it as a hunting spot, prey must be plentiful.