Tropical Rainforest

On August 21st, when Lan Mu woke up, he had already transformed back into a human.

Just as he expected, he had transformed back right on time a little past 3 AM, exactly seven days later.

Furthermore, after transforming back, with a single thought, he could switch between his elf and human forms.

Not only that, but the White-haired Lion form was not overwritten either.

This discovery sent Lan Mu into a frenzy of joy, as it meant that as time went on, he would be able to transform into more and more beings.

An infinitely growing transformation ability, this was his true superpower.

"I just don't know how long the interval is between new transformations. The last time was just over seven days. If I transform a few more times, I should be able to roughly calculate the cycle."

Lan Mu experimented with his ability for a bit, then quickly put it out of his mind, happily looking in the mirror to wash up.

He hadn't properly washed up in seven days. Elves were basically spotless, and a body wrapped in Natural Power rarely got dirty.

"It feels so nostalgic to be human again!"

Lan Mu ate heartily of the porridge Su Yue had made, along with her simple pancakes, his face glowing with satisfaction.

"Races without good food are truly pitiful! Su Yue, I want more."

After seven days of living on air and dew, Lan Mu's first reaction upon returning to human form was hunger. For some reason, his appetite was astonishingly large. He devoured three large bowls of thin porridge and ten pancakes. Su Yue, who had been busy for an hour, only managed to drink a little thin porridge.

Afterward, Lan Mu packed some clean clothes and his bow and arrows, then waited for Du Yu to pick him up.

The group was scheduled to gather in the afternoon, so Lan Mu quietly went online to research, watching a few wilderness survival videos to cram at the last minute.

Soon, Du Yu arrived to pick him up. As expected, he had a different car this time, a fiery red Porsche.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Lan Mu finally couldn't help but ask, "Are you that rich? Every time I see you, you have a different car."

Du Yu laughed heartily, "I don't buy them all. I only buy cars I really like. This one today, I just borrowed it from the dealership to test drive. If I don't like it, I'll return it and try another one! Hahaha."

Lan Mu understood. Du Yu's family must be extremely wealthy. With that kind of influence, what car couldn't he borrow? The dealership owner probably lent it to him specifically for a test drive. If he liked it and bought it on impulse, the dealership would make a huge profit.

"Huh? Did you take off your makeup? I finally get to see Brother Mu's true face!" Du Yu noticed the difference in Lan Mu's human form. Although he could still recognize him, his appearance and demeanor were completely different. It was a strange, indescribable feeling.

Lan Mu knew exactly what was going on and simply replied, "Just pretend I took off my makeup!"

"Oh... right! Brother Mu, this card has four million on it. I promised to give it to you."

Lan Mu looked at the bank card in Du Yu's hand. The mention of four million made him a little dazed, but he quickly regained his composure and pushed it back.

"You promised, but I didn't."

Lan Mu added, "Xiao Yu, if you think you're hiring me, then I'm getting out of the car right now."

Du Yu casually tossed the card onto the dashboard and chuckled awkwardly, "Don't be like that, Brother Mu. You even beat Fang Moqi, your appearance fee can't be lower than his, right?"

Lan Mu said, "Alright, stop talking. If you give me four million, I'm afraid I'll get arrogant."

This was Lan Mu's honest opinion. With his transformation ability, making money would be quite simple. If he committed crimes wantonly, he could even amass a large fortune in a short period.

However, he didn't want to do that. Instead, he found it more interesting to use his abilities subtly, combined with his own efforts, to gain wealth through his career.

"If you really have too much money to burn, just take care of my business in the future. Also, my studio is about to launch on H Station. I'll be releasing a live recording of this wilderness survival experience. It would be great if you could support me."

Du Yu said while driving, "No problem, I know what to do. Brother Mu, you have to film me well!"

"Heh..."

Upon arriving at the Forest Club for the gathering, people trickled in until 5 PM when all twelve members were present.

Wang Ling didn't arrive until 6 PM, informing everyone that their visas were fine. They would rest for half a day upon arriving in Malai before entering the Dahan Mountain Nature Reserve in the afternoon.

At 9 PM, everyone boarded their flight from Modu. After more than five hours, they arrived in southeastern Malai.

They rested at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur and didn't depart again until 10 AM the next morning. They took a boat to Kuala Besut Jetty and soon arrived at Dahan Mountain National Park.

Although everyone from the club who came this time were all combat-oriented shooters, most of them were here for leisure. As a result, they lingered in the scenic areas of the national park until 4 PM before finally entering the depths of the tropical rainforest.

While traversing the outer scenic areas, Fang Moqi and Zheng Hui presented the club's and the Hunter Association's credentials to the local management authorities and signed an agreement to protect the ecosystem.

The local management authority also specifically assigned a local guide to accompany the group into the tropical rainforest.

He was both a supervisor and a guide. However, the actual leading soon fell to Fang Moqi himself.

This was because Fang Moqi was more familiar with this jungle than the local guide.

Leaving the scenic area and venturing about an hour into the jungle, Fang Moqi led everyone to a primitive village.

This was where the indigenous Senuai people lived. To this day, they still primarily relied on hunting and gathering for their livelihood, but they also communicated with the outside world regularly. The Malai government protected the culture and customs of this ethnic group.

From their departure from Modu until now, a full day had passed, and they had only just managed to penetrate the tropical rainforest. The real wilderness training had not yet begun.

Lan Mu noticed Fang Moqi conversing with the locals in the Senuai dialect, and it was clear that he was acquainted with the village chief.

"This guy, how many times has he been here? He even knows this dialect?"

Lan Mu had no interest in Fang Moqi's past. He held up his camera and diligently filmed everything he saw.

No one knew what Fang Moqi was discussing with them. Afterward, Fang Moqi had everyone leave all their luggage behind and switch to traditional Senuai tools.

Of course, everyone kept their bows and arrows.

After they finished their commotion in the tribal village and enjoyed the local traditional food, Fang Moqi told everyone that they would enter the most remote, untouched, and primitive ecological area of the tropical rainforest overnight. It was a paradise for wild animals!

Lan Mu noticed that everyone had no objections to Fang Moqi's decision, as if they were mentally prepared for his behavior.

"Brother Fang! We'll follow your lead! I don't believe it's more dangerous than Africa!"

"Yeah! With a bow and arrow in hand, what's there to fear?"

"But what about the guide? He definitely won't let us hunt wild animals."

Fang Moqi listened, smiled slightly, and pulled the Malay guide aside.

Lan Mu quickly followed with his camera and saw Fang Moqi handing the guide a stack of money, over ten thousand, in US dollars.

"I know the way. You can wait here for us to return. Just say you followed us the whole time. Thanks."

The guide was initially hesitant, but upon seeing so much US currency, his face lit up. He said in broken Chinese, "No problem! No problem! I'll wait for you here!"

After Fang Moqi dealt with the guide, he returned and gave Lan Mu a smile.

Lan Mu smiled back. Everyone finished their preparations and began their true entry into the primitive tropical rainforest.

With the guide, an outsider, gone, they could finally act like true hunters with peace of mind and boldness.

Fang Moqi held a torch, leading the way. About half an hour later, they were far from the village. Complete darkness surrounded them, with no light other than the flame from Fang Moqi's torch.

The climate here was warm, with extremely high humidity and oxygen levels. As one of the oldest primitive tropical rainforests, various plants covered the entire ground. Their feet trod on slippery tree roots and vines, or moss and herbs, with humus soil beneath. In short, it was difficult to feel stable footing.

The trees averaged sixty meters in height, and bamboo stalks ten meters tall were also common. Insects swarmed around Fang Moqi's torch everywhere.

"We'll set up camp here for the first night. Everyone should know how to make a bamboo bed, right? Hurry up and make them. I'm going to extinguish the torch."

Hearing Fang Moqi's words, everyone busied themselves chopping bamboo with the Senuai people's knives. It took considerable effort to cut enough bamboo.

Lan Mu diligently filmed, asking Fang Moqi directly about any unfamiliar plants or common knowledge of wilderness camping, requesting him to explain to the camera.

Fang Moqi was very accommodating to Lan Mu, answering almost all questions in detail. He even personally demonstrated the process of making a bamboo bed in front of the camera.

They watched as a bamboo stalk was split open and fanned out into a hammock-like shape. In Fang Moqi's hands, using only the readily available vines and the natural properties of the bamboo, a simple suspended hammock was created between two trees.

"This area is absolutely pristine. Poisonous insects and aggressive ants are everywhere. It's safest to stay off the ground when you sleep."

Lan Mu handed the camera to Fang Moqi and tried making one himself. The method was quite simple, and Lan Mu easily succeeded.

"OK."

Seeing that everyone had finished, Fang Moqi clapped his hands and said, "There are many wild animals in this rainforest that come out at night, most of them carnivores."

"While they may not necessarily attack humans, I will extinguish the torch soon, so you still need to remain vigilant while sleeping."

"I won't set any traps nearby, nor will I give you advance warnings. I will only intervene after you've been attacked. So you need to rely on yourselves and stay alert. Don't sleep like logs."

After speaking, he didn't care about their reactions and simply rubbed his hand over the torch, extinguishing the simple, handmade fire.

Darkness instantly enveloped them. They had relied on the torchlight all along, and without a light source, their night vision was even worse than usual, almost like being blind.

Lan Mu resisted the urge to transform and instead tried to let his eyes adjust to the darkness. He turned on the camera's night vision function, placed it on his hammock, and lay down himself, holding the camera to rest, but not truly resting. He continuously observed his surroundings.

Being in the most primitive tropical rainforest, everyone was restless, but no one dared to speak loudly. They could only lie on their self-made bamboo beds in silence.

Soon, several hours passed. It was already past two in the morning. Lan Mu's eyelids were heavy with fatigue.

He swept the camera around the surroundings one last time and was suddenly startled. He thought he saw something flash in the distance on the camera's night vision.

"..."

Lan Mu made no sound. He silently put on his hat and transformed into an Elf, observing carefully.

An Elf's night vision far surpassed that of a human, especially in the jungle. He only needed to cleanse a nearby large tree with Natural Power to gain information through communication.

The forest told him that near where they were sleeping, about six meters away, a leopard-like creature was climbing and leaping in the trees.

It moved silently, its form graceful, and its body petite.

It looked like both a leopard and a cat!