The Hunter

Lan Mu finally understood. Wang Jinghu was indeed a police officer, and his identity wasn't fake.

However, Wang Jinghu was also someone named Boss Zhao, and he had used Lan Mu's trust in the police to trick him into their stronghold.

This Boss Zhao was very likely the owner of the villa, and possibly one of the masterminds behind the poaching ring.

At the very least, Boss Zhao was definitely connected to the poachers' supposed connections in Fuzhou.

"It's over... I've really messed up this time."

Lan Mu subtly slipped his hand into his pocket and turned on his phone's voice recorder. He had done this countless times before; he could do it with his eyes closed.

He was then led into the villa, where he immediately recognized several people – the poachers who had threatened his life before.

Huang Sheng and the Old Hunter were among them, conversing with a middle-aged man seated at the head of the table.

When they saw Lan Mu being brought in, they all fell silent. Huang Sheng stared at Lan Mu with a sinister gaze, even reaching up to touch his neck and ear.

Huang Sheng's ear had been badly torn when Lan Mu and Leopard Cat Cat attacked him. It was now bandaged, making him look like a crazed mummy, further enhancing his wild and ferocious appearance.

"Hoo..."

Lan Mu knew he wouldn't fare well in their hands. They would never let him go.

Despite his fear, Lan Mu remained calm, constantly thinking of a way out.

"Boss Zhao, this is the reporter!" the Old Hunter pointed him out, confirming they had the right person.

Boss Zhao chuckled, "I've heard of your group's reputation. You were actually defeated by him? I heard he's just a small-time reporter from out of town."

"He's no simple person. He survived alone in Fanli Mountain for seven days with nothing. They threw him down the mountainside back then, and it seems he wasn't seriously injured," the Old Hunter said.

Huang Sheng chimed in, "That's right. Even stranger, that wild leopard didn't harm him; it even helped him attack me!"

Boss Zhao said, "This reporter can't go anywhere. You can take your time questioning him!"

"That leopard will be released in a few days. Fanli Mountain will be heavily monitored during this period. What a shame, I quite wanted that leopard."

"But if it's released, so be it! It's not that important. The most important thing is that White-haired Lion!"

Boss Zhao leaned forward, speaking without regard for Lan Mu's presence. "I've checked. There's no one in the country who keeps this kind of white lion. You don't need to worry about anything; that lion probably doesn't even have an owner."

The Old Hunter said worriedly, "It can't be wild. There can't be a wild white lion in Fanli Mountain."

"I don't care! I'm determined to have that white lion! Whether it has an owner or not is none of your concern!"

Hearing them speak so openly in front of him, Lan Mu's heart sank further. He knew that no matter what happened, he couldn't expect them to have a change of heart and let him go.

"Keep an eye on this reporter. Without him as a witness, the people you arrested will be released soon. Two trucks and a few empty cages are not enough evidence. I'll find a lawyer to handle it."

"Take him to the basement. Regarding the white lion, I just want results," Boss Zhao said, then left the villa with his men.

Lan Mu was taken aback. He realized Boss Zhao was very cautious. Even if this villa belonged to him, he probably didn't come here often. It was likely a place specifically for conducting illicit activities.

Boss Zhao took half of his men with him. Besides the eight poachers, only four burly men who were his subordinates remained.

As soon as they left, Huang Sheng lunged at Lan Mu, kicking him to the ground.

Lan Mu grimaced in pain but didn't resist. Instead, he reached into his pocket and turned off his phone.

As expected, the poachers dragged him towards the garage, where a door led to the basement.

Huang Sheng roughly searched him, taking everything he had. Seeing that his phone was turned off, he didn't pay it any mind and tossed it into a metal barrel in the garage along with other miscellaneous items.

Entering the basement, Lan Mu saw several homemade hunting rifles and poaching equipment. It was clear they had hidden the evidence here.

"If this place is exposed, not one of them will escape! And with solid evidence, I won't have to worry about them causing trouble for me later."

"But... I can't even save myself right now!"

As he was thinking, he suddenly felt a slap across his face. Huang Sheng tied him up with a rope. Lan Mu's arm, still injured from a gunshot, throbbed with excruciating pain as the rope tightened.

Lan Mu glared at Huang Sheng hatefully and couldn't help but roar, "Bastard, I shouldn't have let you go back then!"

After beating him again, Huang Sheng spat, "Not let me go? Damn it, if I hadn't been careless, would you have escaped?"

Lan Mu remained silent. He was referring to the time he was the White-haired Lion and dealt with the six poachers. He shouldn't have let them leave; he should have at least crippled them. That way, after transforming back into a human, none of this would have happened.

It was too late for regrets. Nothing he said now mattered. Lan Mu was despairingly interrogated, especially by Huang Sheng, who was particularly vicious, devising all sorts of ways to torture him as if to vent his hatred.

The poachers' questions were mainly about the whereabouts of the White-haired Lion and why the wild leopard helped him.

Lan Mu couldn't answer any of these questions. The White-haired Lion was him; how could he answer?

His silence was interpreted as defiance, and he was soon tortured to the brink of death.

These people showed no mercy, each blow more brutal than the last. After all, in their eyes, Lan Mu was a dead man walking!

As Lan Mu's body went numb and his consciousness blurred, the incessant questions echoed in his ears.

"Where is the White-haired Lion? Where is the White-haired Lion? Where is the White-haired Lion?"

Lan Mu's spirit was pushed to its limit, and he finally roared, "I AM THE WHITE-HAIRED LION!"

A flash of blood streaked through his hazy consciousness. Lan Mu's eyes snapped open, and every cell in his body began to boil. Then, like a row of dominoes falling, they renewed themselves. A gene transformation from the inside out began, ending in the blink of an eye.

He felt an exhilarating sense of well-being. The pain from his continuous torture vanished, and strength surged through him like waves.

His senses sharpened dramatically, and even his sixth sense activated, allowing him to perceive all living beings within the entire villa complex.

Those creatures, viewed through his gaze that pierced the walls, appeared as figures of blood, like prey...

The poachers who had been interrogating him were now stunned, as if they had witnessed something incredible.

Lan Mu couldn't help but take a step forward, instantly snapping the ropes binding him. Familiar power surged through his body.

"This is the feeling! I... I've changed again?" Lan Mu looked at himself. Sure enough, he had transformed back into the White-haired Lion.

He was a bit weak, though, and there was a small hole in his abdomen, the gunshot wound from when the Old Hunter had shot him.

"When I transform, injuries to my human body are repaired, but the White Lion's wounds remain as they were before I turned back into a human?"

Lan Mu was lost in thought when a loud commotion snapped him back to attention.

The poachers had started scrambling to escape, rushing towards the basement door.

Huang Sheng ran faster than anyone, his face filled with terror.

Lan Mu gritted his teeth, charging forward and shoving everyone aside, blocking the exit.

He didn't hold back with this charge. They were all thrown to the ground, injured and wailing.

Lan Mu unleashed his terrifying beast form, standing on his hind legs like a beastman, his blood-red eyes fixed on them as he spoke human words.

"Weren't you looking for the White-haired Lion?"

"I'm right before your eyes!"

Lan Mu held nothing back, fully unleashing the innate killer instinct of a hunter towards its prey.

The group of poachers, who had been so eager to hunt, were now completely terrified, like the legendary man who claimed to love dragons but fled when one appeared.

One moment he was a tortured human, the next, as if in a dream, they watched him transform into a White-haired Lion.

He could even stand upright, possessed immense strength, and spoke human language.

What in the world was this? A monster?

Lan Mu looked at the poachers, now at his mercy, and finally felt an unprecedented sense of security. Compared to the past, he was better off transformed.

With strength far exceeding that of a human, he at least had the ability to protect himself.

Thinking about it, he had crawled back from the brink of death twice now, thanks to his two transformations into a White-haired Lionman.

"So I've always had the ability to transform, but I foolishly thought it was all over..."

"But this is good! This feeling is good!"

Lan Mu first grabbed Huang Sheng, lifting him up like a small chicken.

Huang Sheng's legs trembled uncontrollably, and he even... shouting, "Monster! You're a monster!"

"Monster? Perhaps... perhaps I really am a monster..."

Seeing Huang Sheng still struggling wildly, Lan Mu directly severed his arms with his claws. Blood splattered down, and the others went mad, crowding into the corners of the basement.

Huang Sheng wailed loudly. It seemed the intense pain ignited his ferocity, and instead of fear, he roared, "You're looking for death! I'll kill you! I'll definitely kill you! You're not a monster! You're Lan Mu, aren't you! It's you, right?"

"You, like a dead dog, were by my..."

"Pfft!" Lan Mu extended just one finger, and the claw pierced straight into Huang Sheng's heart with no resistance.

"Huang Sheng, you hunted so many wild animals, did you ever think a monster would hunt you? You took pride in killing, did you ever think you'd be killed one day?"

Lan Mu withdrew his finger and casually dropped Huang Sheng's corpse. His expression in death was still ferocious, filled with malice.

The other poachers looked at him in terror. The Old Hunter, however, seemed to calm down, suppressing his fear, and shouted, "Don't be afraid! He's not a monster! Guns will hurt him too!"

With that, the Old Hunter picked up a hunting rifle from the basement and fired a shot at him!

Lan Mu, caught off guard just as he dropped Huang Sheng's body, grunted as the shot hit him squarely in the chest.

Seeing that the bullet was effective, the poachers grabbed their hunting rifles and started shooting.

After a barrage of shots, bullets shattered the basement door, but Lan Mu was nowhere to be seen, as if he had vanished into thin air.

"Where did he go?"

"He just disappeared!"

"He really is a monster! Let's run!"

Just then, the iron door was kicked open, and Boss Zhao's men, who had been guarding the villa, rushed in, roaring, "What are you doing? Firing randomly!"

But then he too was stunned, seeing Huang Sheng lying in a pool of blood on the ground!

"What! What happened?"

The poachers ignored him, all of them terrified by Lan Mu's sudden disappearance. They bolted out of the basement with all their might, as if staying a second longer would be dangerous.

Lan Mu watched them escape but didn't reveal himself immediately.

The gunshot wound had angered him, but he had maintained enough composure.

He had immediately turned invisible to dodge, thus avoiding the barrage of bullets.

None of these people would escape. The White-haired Lion was a natural hunter, most adept not at frontal assaults but at stalking prey from the shadows, striking with fatal precision, like a hunt!

The poachers ran out of the basement one by one. As the last one was about to cross the threshold, a claw suddenly pierced through his jaw, shattering his spine and killing him instantly.

Lan Mu's first target was the poacher who was the last to escape the basement. With a single strike, he attacked instantly from stealth, piercing the back of the opponent's neck.

After dealing with him, Lan Mu's form was revealed due to the combat, but he immediately went invisible again. The fleeting white beastly silhouette terrified the other poachers even more.

The poachers, holding their guns, fled the basement and immediately bolted through the villa, rushing straight towards the courtyard.

The four men left behind by Boss Zhao were bewildered. They had never seen a White-haired Lionman before and thought this group had gone mad!

"What are you doing? Stop right there! You can't just rush out like this!"

"Get lost! Don't block the way!" The Old Hunter was truly frantic, pointing his gun directly at the four men.

"Are you crazy! Boss Zhao will make sure you regret this if he finds out!" The four men actually drew their guns as well.

"Hmph! It's useless even if Boss Zhao himself is here! Move aside, quickly!"

The Old Hunter roared. Every second, he felt the threat to his life.

When he realized the opponent could turn invisible, his instincts, honed by years of hunting, immediately warned him.

He understood what such a monster meant. The opponent was a natural hunter. You never knew where they would pounce from to instantly kill you. This unseen threat of death was the most terrifying aspect!

The Old Hunter, with his vast experience, knew more, and the more he knew, the more he feared! The more he felt his chances of survival were slim!

He looked around, but couldn't see any sign of the White Lion. Not only that, he couldn't even hear footsteps.

Yet, his intuition told him the opponent was nearby! And even slowly approaching!

The grim reaper-like hunter was getting closer, but there were no footsteps. The powerful White Lion's body moved as silently as a night owl.

An invisible killer, truly a grim reaper.