Preparation

In the bathroom, water rushed from the showerhead. Bai Yang stood beneath it with his head tilted back, cold water washing over his entire body, yet he still felt feverishly hot all over.

Streams of nosebleed ran out, diluted by the water as they flowed down his body, into the floor drain, and away through the sewer. The blood simply would not stop. Bai Yang felt that if this kept up, he might actually bleed to death from a nosebleed.

And that was not even the worst of it. Oh my god, how was he supposed to live like this...

Only then did Bai Yang remember that every part of a tiger was a treasure. Some people used tiger bones to make soup or decoct medicine, measuring them by the gram. Good heavens—he had just devoured a huge bowl of Tiger Meat Soup and tiger meat. As a healthy young man overflowing with Blood Qi, he had overdone the nourishment.

"Tiger meat, tiger meat... am I really not blessed enough to enjoy you? Just eating Tiger Meat Soup has turned me into this. If I drank Tiger Penis Wine, wouldn't I explode on the spot...?"

Outside, the living room door opened from the hall, and a middle-aged woman in a gray business suit walked in. Though crow's feet marked the corners of her eyes with the traces of passing years, one could still vaguely tell that she had been a great beauty in her youth.

Her short hair, parted three-seven, made her look capable without being stiff. After changing into a pair of house slippers at the door, she called toward the rooms, "Is that brat home?"

No one answered. Zhen Guoping did not think much of it. When she reached the living room and saw the bowl on the coffee table, she gave a soft sound of surprise. The brat had actually not lived off instant noodles today. That seemed rather unscientific.

She knew exactly what her son was like. If he could save himself even the slightest trouble, he absolutely would not make things difficult for himself. Yet he had actually cooked something? She nearly wanted to check the window to see whether the sun had risen in the west.

The door opened again, and a handsome middle-aged man entered. As he changed shoes by the door, he said, "Why are you back so late today? Usually, you'd have dinner ready by now."

"Two boys at school fought over a girl today, so I gave them a good dressing-down. What do you want to eat, Old Bai? I'll make it now."

"Just throw something together. You've had a tiring day too."

The couple had supported each other through thick and thin for decades. Their everyday life together had seeped into their bones; there was no need for deliberate displays of affection. Every word and gesture came naturally.

Zhen Guoping nodded, then leaned close to Bai Jianjun and whispered mysteriously, "Hey, Old Bai, don't you think our son's acting strange today? He actually went into the kitchen and made himself something to eat."

"That happened?" Bai Jianjun asked in surprise.

"You old fool, can't you smell the scent coming from the room?"

So the two elders glanced toward the bathroom, then sneakily made their way into the kitchen to inspect the scene. Anything bearing a tiger's distinctive features had already been tossed by Bai Yang "next door," so naturally they could not make heads or tails of it. Hardly anyone had ever eaten tiger meat—someone would have to be a ghost to recognize it.

"What kind of meat is this?" Old Bai asked, looking at the milky-white tiger meat in the pot.

"It's not pork, not beef, and definitely not mutton. I don't know either," Zhen Guoping said with a helpless spread of her hands after examining it.

"Let's try our son's cooking."

Old Bai did not care what kind of meat it was. It was rare for his son to show filial devotion by cooking them something, so no matter what, he had to taste it. As long as it was not too terrible, he would praise his son to the skies afterward.

He picked up a spoon and took a sip of the soup. This foodie's eyes immediately lit up. "I don't know what meat this is, but it's definitely good stuff. The only problem is that our son's cooking is so bad, he ruined it."

"Let me taste it..."

The two elders muttered among themselves in the kitchen as they passed judgment on Bai Yang's Tiger Meat Soup. Mainly, they were trying to guess what kind of meat it was. One sip from you, one sip from me—before long, they had finished half the pot without reaching any conclusion.

Having finally stopped his nosebleed, Bai Yang emerged from the bathroom and saw this scene from the kitchen doorway. He stood there dumbstruck. With a sigh in his heart, he thought, It's absolutely necessary for me to find somewhere else to spend the night tonight.

His dad and mom were at an age like wolves and tigers, and they had eaten a whole pot of nourishing Tiger Meat Soup. Who knew what would happen...

"By the way, brat, what kind of meat was that?" Zhen Guoping asked, pointing at the pot that had been scraped spotless.

"Well, one of my classmates had some fresh wild boar meat express-delivered to me from the countryside. There's still some in the fridge," Bai Yang lied through his teeth without so much as a tremble.

"No wonder. I was wondering why I couldn't figure out what kind of meat it was. Real wild boar from the countryside tastes exactly like this," Old Bai said with an understanding nod.

That night, Bai Yang wore headphones, listened to music, and looked up wilderness survival information until midnight before finally going to sleep...

As he researched, Bai Yang truly broke out in cold sweat from head to toe, terrified in retrospect. The way he had acted "over there" during the day had been practically asking for death. He had not possessed the slightest awareness of wilderness safety, especially when it came to being pricked by thorns and bitten by mosquitoes. He was lucky he had not been poisoned. Otherwise, he would not even have known how he died.

That was also why he had not rashly gone over that night. He decided to prepare the necessary equipment first, then continue exploring the next day.

Perhaps because an entire world awaited his exploration, Bai Yang got up early the next morning. Full of energy, he stepped out of his bedroom and saw his rosy-cheeked mom bringing breakfast to the table, while his dad rubbed his lower back as he drank tea...

"Morning, Dad, Mom..."

After greeting them, Bai Yang went to the bathroom.

Zhen Guoping and Bai Jianjun exchanged a glance, somewhat embarrassed. They felt that their son's poor sleep had been caused by them...

During breakfast, Bai Yang wolfed down his food in a few bites. Looking at Bai Jianjun with an ingratiating grin, he said, "Dad, can I discuss something with you?"

"Out of money again?" Bai Jianjun asked with an expression that said he understood. Perhaps because he had regained his youth last night, he was especially easygoing.

Bai Yang was speechless. So whenever he opened his mouth, it meant he was asking for money? He said, "How much can you give me...?"

Giving Bai Yang a disdainful look that said, I know what kind of shit you're about to take the moment you stick your ass out, Bai Jianjun picked up his phone and tapped it several times.

With a ding, Bai Yang picked up his own phone. Ten thousand yuan had been deposited into his account.

"Dad, you're the best. Could you lend me your car for a day too?"

"Brat, don't push your luck."

"Just one day. I need it for something."

Zhen Guoping put down her chopsticks and asked Bai Yang in a mysterious tone, "Are you going to chase a girl? Then you'd better wash Old Bai's beat-up car until it's nice and clean. I was thinking you're not young anymore, and I ought to find you a suitable girl—maybe one of the female teachers at school, or one of those so-called campus belles. Turns out you already have someone in mind, huh, son?"

Bai Yang truly had no answer for parents like these. They were not like this outside the house, so why did they become so unreliable at home?

In the end, Bai Yang still got the car. As Old Bai headed out, he leaned close and whispered mysteriously to Bai Yang, "Find a way to get me more of that kind of meat. There'll be benefits in it for you, brat."

All right, Bai Yang now understood why his dad had been so agreeable today.

No wonder. After drinking Tiger Meat Soup yesterday, Bai Yang had only slept two or three hours all night and still felt brimming with energy. At his dad and mom's age, wouldn't it be like receiving a buff...

After getting dressed, he took the keys and headed out. Driving Old Bai's little Mercedes, he turned on the navigation and headed straight for a Military Supply Store he had found online the night before. Though he knew full well that the place was almost certainly full of knockoffs and unlikely to have genuine goods, Bai Yang had no other choice. If he just bought two machetes from a supermarket and ran over there, he would be courting death for sure.

The owner of the military surplus store was unexpectedly a young man, with a neat crew cut, dark skin, and bulging muscles. Bai Yang would never believe he wasn't a retired soldier, not even if beaten to death.

"What do you need, brother?"

The owner glanced up at Bai Yang as he entered, then lowered his head again and continued fiddling with who knew what.

Going by what he had in mind, Bai Yang listed what he wanted. "Puncture-resistant boots, puncture-resistant clothing, wear-resistant gloves, a helmet. Oh, do you have an electric baton? Let me think... right, and a machete. Got one?"

Hearing Bai Yang's request, the young owner sized him up and asked, "Brother, pardon me for asking, but what exactly are you planning to do?"

"Wilderness exploration," Bai Yang answered as if it were only natural.

"Amateur. One look and I can tell you're an amateur."

"How so?" Bai Yang raised an eyebrow.

The owner set down what he was working on, took down a box about a meter long from the shelf, and tossed it to Bai Yang. "Everything you want is in there, including things you haven't thought of."

Bai Yang said nothing, simply looked at him. What did he mean?

Looking utterly defeated, the owner pointed at the box and explained, "It contains a set of professional wilderness survival gear. Besides the boots, clothes, gloves, and helmet you asked for, there's also a multifunction flashlight that can double as an electric baton, a multifunction entrenching shovel, and a satellite GPS navigator—enough to meet all your needs. None of it is top-of-the-line, but one look tells me you're an amateur. At most, you'll take a stroll through some little woods. This is more than enough."

"Boss, you really are a professional. How much?" Though he had been looked down on and doubted, Bai Yang didn't care. Would he really tell the man he was going to explore a whole new world?

"Eight thousand five for the whole set. No bargaining. Thank you for your patronage."

"Can I transfer it through WeChat?" Bai Yang took out his phone.

Watching Bai Yang leave carrying the box, the owner shook his head and muttered, "You can tell he's a country bumpkin at a glance. Who buys something without even looking at it? Didn't even know to haggle. If I don't fleece you, who will I fleece?"

Yet after leaving with the gear, Bai Yang sat in his car and muttered to himself, "Heh heh, the first time is strange, the second time familiar. After going back and forth a few times, won't that bastard end up selling me the real good stuff?"

Did he really think Bai Yang was a ****? With how dangerous it was over there, surviving on this stuff alone was a joke. If he didn't get himself a couple of guns, Bai Yang absolutely wouldn't dare swagger into those woods to explore. People online had already said that the owner of that store could get his hands on good stuff...

Of course, the money hadn't been wasted. Those things were still useful, after all. No matter how much that bastard ripped people off, he wouldn't fake the goods. At most, his price was a little high.

Bai Yang's next stop was the supermarket, where he bought several bottles of mosquito repellent. He had experienced the mosquitoes over there firsthand.

Finally, he drove toward Dad's furniture factory—not to ask for money, but to swipe something. When it came to cutting a path through the jungle, what could beat the kind of saw Logger Vick used? Bai Yang vaguely remembered that Dad's furniture factory specialized in mid- to high-end solid wood furniture...