Tropical Rainforest

On the morning of August 21, Lan Mu had already changed back into a human.

Just as he had expected, he changed back at around three in the morning, exactly seven days later.

Moreover, once he had changed back, a thought was all it took for him to switch between his elf and human bodies.

What was more, the White-haired Lion had not been overwritten either.

This discovery left Lan Mu ecstatic, because it meant that as time passed, the number of forms he could transform into would only increase.

A transformation ability with limitless growth potential—that was his true superpower.

"I just don't know exactly how long it takes before a new transformation appears. Last time, it was only a little over seven days. If I transform a few more times, I should be able to figure out the interval."

Lan Mu tested his ability, then quickly put it out of his mind and happily went to wash up in front of the mirror.

He had not properly washed up for seven days. Elves were practically spotless, and bodies enveloped in Natural Power were difficult to dirty.

"Being human again feels so nostalgic!"

Lan Mu wolfed down the porridge Su Yue had cooked, along with the simple pancakes she had made, his face glowing with satisfaction.

"Races without delicious food are so pitiful! Su Yue, I want more."

After seven days of living off wind and dew, Lan Mu's first reaction upon returning to human form was hunger. For some reason, his appetite had become astonishing. He devoured three large bowls of porridge and ten pancakes, while Su Yue spent an hour bustling around and only managed to drink a little porridge herself.

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

They were due to gather that afternoon. Lan Mu silently searched for information online, watched several wilderness survival videos, and crammed at the last minute.

Du Yu soon came to pick him up. As expected, he had changed cars again. This time, it was a fiery red Porsche.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Lan Mu finally could not help asking, "Are you really that rich? Every time I see you, you're driving a different car."

Du Yu laughed heartily. "I didn't buy them all. I only buy the ones I really like. Today's car, I just borrowed it from the dealership for a test drive! If I don't like it, I'll return it and get another one! Hahaha."

Lan Mu understood. Du Yu's family must have been extremely wealthy. With that kind of influence, what car could he not borrow? The dealership owner had probably deliberately given it to him to test drive. If Du Yu liked it and bought it on a whim, the dealership would make a fortune instead.

"Huh? You took off your makeup? I finally get to see your true face, Brother Mu!" Du Yu noticed the difference in Lan Mu's human form. He could still recognize him, but his image and temperament were completely different. It was such a strange feeling, hard to describe.

Lan Mu naturally knew what was going on and merely brushed it off. "Just think of it as taking off makeup."

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

Lan Mu looked at the bank card in Du Yu's hand. The words "four million" left him slightly dazed, but he quickly calmed down and pushed it back.

"You promised it. I didn't."

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

Du Yu casually tossed the card in front of the steering wheel and smiled 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, "Enough, don't say any more. If you give me four million, I'm afraid I'll get carried away."

Lan Mu truly meant it. With his transformation ability, making money would be easy. If he committed crimes without restraint, he could even amass enormous wealth in a short time.

But he did not want to do that. On the contrary, it was more interesting to make modest use of his ability, combined with his own hard work, and build wealth through his career.

"If you really have so much money that it's burning a hole in your pocket, support my business more in the future. Also, my studio is about to launch on H Station. I'll record this wilderness survival experience live and upload it there. It'll be enough if you support me."

Du Yu drove as he said, "No problem, I know what to do. Brother Mu, you have to make me look good on camera!"

"Heh..."

They gathered at the Forest Club. People arrived one after another, and it was not until five in the evening that all twelve of them were present.

Wang Ling did not return until six o'clock. He told everyone that the visas were settled. After arriving in Malaya, they would rest properly for half a day before entering the Dahan Mountain Nature Reserve that afternoon.

At nine o'clock, everyone boarded a flight from Magic City. More than five hours later, they arrived in southeastern Malaya.

After resting at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, they set off again at ten in the morning, took a boat to Kuala Besut Jetty, and soon arrived at Dahan Mountain National Park.

Although everyone from the club was a practical shooter, most of them had come with the mindset of having fun. As a result, they lingered in the national park's tourist area until four in the afternoon before formally entering the depths of the tropical rainforest.

While passing through the outer tourist area, Fang Moqi and Zheng Hui showed the local authorities the club's and Hunter Association's credentials, then signed an agreement to protect the ecology.

The local authorities even assigned a local guide to accompany them deep into the tropical rainforest.

He was there both to supervise them and to serve as a guide. However, the person truly leading the way soon became Fang Moqi himself.

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

After leaving the tourist area and trekking deep into the jungle for more than an hour, Fang Moqi led everyone to a primitive tribe.

The indigenous Senuai people lived here. Even now, hunting remained their primary way of life, though they frequently communicated with the outside world. The Malayan government protected the people's culture and customs.

They had spent an entire day traveling from Magic City to here, yet they had only just entered the tropical rainforest. The real wilderness training had not even begun.

Lan Mu noticed Fang Moqi communicating with the tribe in the Senuai people's native language, and it was obvious that he knew the tribal chief well.

Just how many times has this guy been here? He even speaks a dialect like this?

Lan Mu had little interest in Fang Moqi's past. He held his camera and diligently filmed everything he saw.

No one knew what Fang Moqi and the chief were discussing. Afterward, Fang Moqi told everyone to leave all their luggage behind and replace it with traditional Senuai tools.

Of course, everyone kept their bows and arrows.

After they finished fussing around in the tribal village and enjoyed the local traditional food, Fang Moqi told them that they would enter the most remote, least-traveled, most primitive part of the tropical rainforest that very night. It was a paradise for wild animals!

Lan Mu noticed that no one objected to Fang Moqi's decision. It seemed they had long been mentally prepared for this sort of behavior from him.

"Brother Fang! We'll listen to you! I refuse to believe this place is more dangerous than Africa!"

"Yeah! With bows in hand, what are we afraid of?"

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

Fang Moqi smiled faintly upon hearing this and pulled the Malayan guide aside.

Lan Mu hurriedly followed with his camera. He then saw Fang Moqi hand the guide a stack of money—more than ten thousand dollars, all in U.S. currency.

"I know the way. Stay here and wait for us to come back. When the time comes, just say you accompanied us the whole way. Thanks."

The guide had initially looked troubled, but the moment he saw so many U.S. dollars, his face immediately lit up. In clumsy Chinese language, he said, "No problem! No problem! I wait here!"

Fang Moqi settled the guide, then came back and gave Lan Mu a smile.

Lan Mu smiled back. Once everyone had finished preparing, they truly entered the most primitive part of the tropical rainforest.

Without the outsider guide around, everyone could finally be hunters without restraint.

Fang Moqi held up a torch and cleared the way at the front. About half an hour later, they had moved far away from the village. Total darkness surrounded them, with not a shred of light besides the fire in Fang Moqi's hand.

The climate here was warm, with extremely high humidity and oxygen levels. As one of the oldest primeval tropical rainforests, all kinds of plants covered the entire land. Beneath their feet were slick tree roots and vines, or moss and yarrow, with a layer of humus beneath them. In short, it was hard to feel like they had solid ground under their feet.

The trees averaged sixty meters in height, and bamboo as tall as ten meters could often be seen. Insects everywhere swarmed around Fang Moqi's torch.

"We'll use this place as our camp for the first night. You all know how to make bamboo beds, right? Hurry up. I'm about to put out the torch."

Hearing Fang Moqi say this, everyone hurriedly began cutting bamboo. They used Senuai tools and had to exert considerable effort before cutting enough bamboo.

Lan Mu filmed attentively. Whenever he did not recognize a plant or was unclear about some wilderness camping knowledge, he directly asked Fang Moqi to explain it to the camera.

Fang Moqi showed Lan Mu considerable courtesy, answering virtually every question in detail. He even personally demonstrated how to make a bamboo bed in front of the camera.

They watched as a bamboo stalk was split open and spread into the shape of a hammock. Using only vines found everywhere and the bamboo's own properties, Fang Moqi made a simple suspended hammock between two trees.

"This area is completely untouched wilderness. Venomous insects and fierce ants are everywhere. Keeping yourself off the ground while sleeping is the safest option."

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

"OK."

Once Fang Moqi saw that everyone was done, he clapped his hands. "Quite a few wild animals in this rainforest come out in the middle of the night, and most of them are carnivores."

"Although they may not necessarily attack humans, I'm going to put out the torch in a moment. You still need to stay alert while sleeping."

"I won't set traps nearby, nor will I give you advance warnings. I'll only act after you are attacked. So you must rely on yourselves and stay vigilant. Don't sleep like dead pigs."

After saying that, he ignored whatever everyone might think and directly wiped and twisted the torch with his hand. The crude homemade torch went out.

The surroundings instantly plunged into darkness. Everyone had relied on the firelight moments ago, and without a light source now, their night vision was even worse than usual. They were practically blind with their eyes open.

Lan Mu resisted transforming. Instead, he worked hard to let his eyes adjust to the darkness, activated the camera's night mode, placed it on the hammock, and lay down while holding it. He appeared to rest, but he did not actually sleep, constantly observing his surroundings.

In the most primitive tropical rainforest, everyone was restless. Yet no one dared speak loudly. They could only lie silently on their self-made bamboo beds and rest.

Soon, several hours passed. It was already after two in the morning, and Lan Mu's eyelids were drooping. He was unbearably sleepy.

He made one final sweep of the surroundings with the camera, then suddenly shuddered. In the camera's night mode, he seemed to see something flash past in the distance.

"..."

Lan Mu did not make a sound. He silently put on his hat, transformed into an elf, and carefully observed his surroundings.

An elf's night vision far surpassed a human's, especially in the jungle. He only needed to cleanse the large tree beside him with Natural Power, and he could obtain information through communication.

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

It moved soundlessly, with a graceful form and a petite body.

It looked both like a leopard and like a cat!