The End

The Old Hunter knew he had hit his target. The air was thick with the smell of blood, but he couldn't pinpoint Lan Mu's location from it.

"I have to escape this villa!"

He said it aloud, but the Old Hunter didn't dare make a move.

He knew that prey being stalked by a beast would be instantly killed if it tried to run.

The Old Hunter pondered. His only hope was for Lan Mu to jump out and deal with the others first.

He had already guessed that the White-haired Lion would reveal itself once it attacked while invisible. The fleeting white shadow that killed a poacher just now was proof.

As long as Lan Mu attacked someone else, the Old Hunter was confident he could quickly draw his gun and hit him.

The Old Hunter adjusted his stance slightly, bringing most of the people into his line of sight, his focus sharper than ever.

However, after waiting for a full five minutes, there was not a single sound in the villa's main hall.

"Did he leave?"

"Let's run too! We shouldn't stay here!"

In the oppressive silence, someone finally couldn't take it anymore. The intense pressure was about to shatter their minds.

The five minutes of anxious waiting felt like an eternity. Fear continued to swell, quickly crushing the poachers with weaker mental fortitude.

Two poachers finally couldn't hold back and charged towards the main door.

"What the hell are you doing?! Don't leave with your guns..." One of Boss Zhao's subordinates hadn't finished speaking when he witnessed a horrifying scene.

As soon as the two poachers stepped out the door, they were attacked by a white shadow. It was as if they were cut by sharp blades, blood spraying from their necks as they fell to the ground.

"He's outside the door!" the Old Hunter shouted, his bullet firing simultaneously, but it missed.

He never expected Lan Mu to be hiding outside the villa, attacking from a blind spot. The fleeting white shadow was just an arm.

Seeing their two companions die, the poachers' composure finally broke. Following the Old Hunter's gunshot, they too began firing wildly.

Under their barrage of shots, the villa's main door was shattered, offering a clear view into the courtyard, yet not a single shadow could be seen.

"Stop firing randomly!" the Old Hunter yelled to stop them, but it was too late.

Their crude hunting rifles couldn't fire continuously. During the brief moment without gunfire, the Old Hunter felt an unprecedented terror, his hair standing on end.

"Clang!"

The Old Hunter quickly drew a short knife. He knew the enemy was close. His eyes darted around. Firing would be too late; he could only fight with the knife!

However, he couldn't find any trace of Lan Mu.

"Pfft!"

The attack came from above. The Old Hunter was impaled from the top of his head by a blade-like claw, piercing straight into his brain.

A powerful force yanked him backward, his head falling back. The last thing he saw before dying.

Was a white beastman with imposing fangs and a lion's mane descending from the sky, the swaying chandelier behind him.

"The boss is dead!"

"Run! The boss is dead!"

The poachers finally broke down completely. Disregarding everything, they scattered and fled.

Having lost their leader, they were even more uncontrollable, rushing chaotically into the courtyard.

Boss Zhao's four remaining sturdy men now had a rough understanding of their situation. Although they couldn't comprehend it and suspected they were dreaming, their composure was far better than the poachers'. The four men relied on each other, backs against the wall, eyes scanning their surroundings and the sky above, inching their way towards the courtyard.

Lan Mu watched everything unfold, not rushing to attack.

With the Old Hunter, a significant threat, eliminated, the rest were no longer a concern.

Lan Mu concealed his form, now crouched on the villa's wall, indifferently watching the group escape the villa.

Under Lan Mu's Hunting Rhythm, as long as they didn't flee beyond a one-kilometer radius, he could track them precisely!

Most of the poachers escaped, leaving only the four men guarding each other back-to-back. Lan Mu narrowed his lion eyes, his muscles tensing.

He held a short knife in his hand, one he had casually taken after killing the Old Hunter.

His Catwalk moved silently along the wall. From his vantage point, as soon as the four men passed through the iron gate, he lunged.

Everything happened too fast. A white shadow flashed, and a short knife that appeared out of nowhere pierced a head, killing instantly.

By the time others reacted and opened fire, Lan Mu had already turned invisible again. His footsteps were silent on the ground. With a light leap, he landed behind them.

The three men were still shooting at empty air, unaware that a short knife had reappeared behind them, instantly killing one.

The remaining two turned back again, only to see their companion bleeding out on the ground, the killer nowhere in sight.

"Gurgle... uh..."

Another short knife, thrust from an odd angle, lodged into one man's left rib, piercing directly through his heart.

In a short time, three men were instantly killed by an invisible enemy. The last man's body was drenched in cold sweat, trembling all over.

They lacked the Old Hunter's sharp intuition and were completely unaware of Lan Mu's assassinations. Dealing with them was too easy.

Lan Mu silently walked behind the last man and casually stabbed him with his knife, ending his ordeal. He no longer had to live in fear.

Only three poachers remained, having fled in different directions. They hadn't gotten far, less than a hundred meters, due to Lan Mu's swift kills.

Since the hunt had begun, there was no reason to stop halfway.

Lan Mu shook his head slightly, having already sentenced them to death in his mind.

He knew each of these men had blood on their hands. It was better to end them by his hand than to let them harm others after decades in prison.

His pursuit was fast, accurate, and ruthless – a clean and efficient job.

With his speed, a single burst of acceleration and a pounce would be enough to kill each fleeing poacher.

It took less than a minute to catch and finish off the three poachers fleeing in different directions.

The furthest one had only managed to run three hundred meters from the villa.

After dealing with everyone, Lan Mu concealed himself and soon saw passersby approaching. Upon seeing the corpses on the road, they fled in terror to call the police.

Seeing someone call the police, Lan Mu leaped several times, landing on the roofs of houses. He bounded across the rooftops and soon arrived back at the villa.

The villa was now empty. Lan Mu didn't bother with the bodies. He simply collected his belongings, along with the rope he had broken and the torture implements used by the poachers, and took them with him.

He then left quickly, sprinting out of the villa complex. Finding an deserted spot, he tossed the short knife, rope, and torture tools into a sewer.

Lan Mu thought about transforming back into a human, and his body instantly shrank, returning to his human form in half a second.

"Continuously using invisibility and clairvoyance is taxing, even for a monster."

"Fortunately... I can still change back..."

Seeing that he had successfully returned to his human body as he wished, Lan Mu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He had a rough understanding of the abilities he had suddenly acquired. He could likely transform between human and White-haired Lion.

With a thought, he transformed back into the White Lion, but a wave of weakness washed over him, his internal energy depleted. He quickly changed back.

"Forget it, I'll examine my abilities more later. First, I need to make a call."

Lan Mu walked out of the alley, looked back at the villa complex, calmed his mind, and dialed Officer Xiong's number.

The call was answered quickly. Officer Xiong's voice came through, "Mr. Lan, where did you go? The person I sent said you weren't at the hospital."

Lan Mu frowned upon hearing this, then let out a cold laugh. "Is that what he said? Was the person you sent named Wang Jinghu?"

Officer Xiong replied, "Yes! Mr. Lan, please don't run off. You need to cooperate with our police investigation!"

Lan Mu said, "I've been cooperating too much... Officer Xiong... that Wang Jinghu is a mole!"

Next, Lan Mu recounted how Wang Jinghu had tricked him into going to Boss Zhao's villa. However, he altered the subsequent events, claiming he had escaped by climbing over the wall while they were careless.

He revealed everything about Boss Zhao without holding anything back, stating, "Officer Xiong, I have a recording here. You'll understand once you listen to it."

Officer Xiong was utterly shocked. He didn't know Boss Zhao, as there were many people with that surname. However, someone with such influence, who could even bribe his own subordinates, could only be one person.

It had to be Zhao Mingcheng, a prominent local businessman involved in numerous ventures. His main company, Mingchang Investment Holding Company, spanned everything from retail supermarkets and department stores to freight logistics, luxury brands, and real estate. He was even attempting to enter the pharmaceutical industry recently, making him a major taxpayer in Fuzhou.

Officer Xiong quickly realized the gravity of the situation and knew Lan Mu was in extreme danger.

He immediately said, "Mr. Lan, where are you? I'll come pick you up right away."

"It's Qingshu Villa in Zaolin District..."

"Huh? We just received a report of a homicide there. Mr. Lan, are you at the scene?"

Lan Mu said urgently, "No, there's a homicide? I escaped long ago and didn't dare go back. To be honest, I hesitated for a long time before making this call. I don't really trust the Fuzhou police."

"Ahem..." Officer Xiong coughed awkwardly upon hearing Lan Mu's words. He quickly said, "Please don't say that. It's just one or two rotten apples. Don't worry, we will guarantee your safety!"

"Okay, I believe you, Officer Xiong. I'm two blocks away from Qingshu Villa, across from a place called Mingxiang Tea House."

"I'll be there immediately. I'm coming personally! Please don't leave."

After hanging up, Lan Mu let out a heavy sigh, trying his best to calm his emotions.

He had killed twelve people using the White-haired Lion's body. While he hadn't felt anything physically at the time, now that he was calm, all he could recall were the horrific scenes of those people dying in terror. Even in his human form, just thinking about it made him feel unwell.

Fortunately, Lan Mu had strong psychological resilience. He killed them, and he didn't need to concoct a pile of excuses to deceive himself. Even if these people were merely suspects awaiting trial, and even if they had been sentenced to death, killing them would still be murder. Under the law, no individual had the right to end another person's life.

However, Lan Mu wasn't that pedantic. Using crime to end crime – as long as he wasn't caught, what did it matter?

He felt his life had changed from the moment he first transformed. Back then, he had suppressed himself with all his might, willing to starve and suffer just to restrain himself.

He had initially thought his willpower was strong, but he never expected that when pushed to the brink of death today, all notions of law and morality would be instantly discarded.

When people possess great power, it's hard for them to view those weak and deserving of death as equals.

"They deserved to die anyway. Since the police couldn't handle it, and they involved me, I had no choice but to take it upon myself to end them..."