Chapter 1658: Western Pancake Tiger

"It's coming."

On the cliff of Mountain Zone Twenty-Two, Zhang Shi—the sole employee of the Evolution Forest General Clinic—lowered her voice and reported the situation to her boss.

Although Xia Qing did not possess a Class C magnetic-sense evolution ability capable of picking up animal magnetic fields, she had sharp hearing and could hear the sound of loose stones tumbling from below the cliff, along with the muffled "thud, thud" of footsteps.

Because she often moved with the wolf pack, Xia Qing could already judge accurately from the sounds below that three animals were climbing the cliff—two of them were Old Four and Scarface Junior Wolf, and the third was the former Western Tiger King that Old Four had brought along.

Judging by the sounds, this tiger weighed more than Blind Tiger.

So Xia Qing lowered her voice to warn, "Sister Shi, brace yourself. The tiger coming is no small one."

"Got it."

Half an hour earlier, Zhang Shi had received a notice from Xia Qing to pack supplies, move into the western tiger clan's territory, and treat an evolved tiger's teeth.

She stared at the message, read it over three times, and after confirming she hadn't misread it, immediately began packing and steeled herself.

So, hearing Xia Qing say this tiger was no small one, she could still stay calm. Relying on her magnetic sense, she coolly analyzed the condition of the evolved tiger that was about to become her patient and protector. "Its magnetic field is weaker than Fourth Brother's, and it doesn't have strong aggression."

"Mm, there's a problem with its teeth, so its physical condition must be poor." Xia Qing responded, gazing quietly at the moonlit platform outside the karst cave.

The first to leap onto the cliff was the former Southern Wolf King, Old Four. It landed steadily on the platform above the cliff, moonlight falling on its thick fur as if a glimmer of moonfire passed over it.

Right behind came Scarface Junior Wolf, with the same-colored fur and an even more obvious moonfire sheen, landing in a posture identical to Old Four's.

The shadows of the two wolves—one large, one small—were stretched by the moon into the cave mouth, and the shadow of Junior Wolf Brother's pointed ears happened to fall right on Xia Qing's protective boots.

Right after, a large figure leaping onto the cliff not only covered the shadows of Old Four and Scarface Junior Wolf, but also blocked the moonlight shining toward the cave entrance.

The instant she was swallowed by the black shadow, the blood in Zhang Shi's whole body froze, and her heart "crack—" shattered into bits. Her brain lost the ability to think, and her survival instinct drove her closer to Xia Qing, whose magnetic field remained steady, drawing a sense of safety from her.

"Clack."

The giant tiger's claw tip touched the rock, making a faint sound.

"Hiss—"

Two streams of white vapor shot from the giant tiger's nostrils. This faint sound entered the silent karst cave and struck the eardrums of Xia Qing and Zhang Shi.

Zhang Shi held her breath, and her admiration for her human boss—whose magnetic field beside her remained steady—climbed to an even higher peak.

Xia Qing's gaze moved from the giant tiger's thick limbs up to its head, meeting a pair of eyes like big lightbulbs.

Realizing the giant tiger was sizing her up, Xia Qing reached up and took off her night-vision goggles, looking at the yellow-green big eyes in the black shadow outside the cave.

Her excellent visual evolution ability let Xia Qing judge that this giant tiger had a shoulder height of 1.8 meters and a head height of 3.1 meters. Based on the sound of its landing just now, its weight should be around 900 jin.

Compared to Xiong Wang—with a shoulder height of 2.1 meters, a standing height of 4.2 meters, and a weight exceeding 3200 jin—this sick tiger, thinned down to a "pancake" after its illness, held no deterrent power in Xia Qing's eyes.

A weak tiger like this probably couldn't even beat Blind Tiger. Could it hold its territory and protect Zhang Shi and Ye Yiyi?

More than her own worries, Xia Qing trusted Old Four's judgment. She calmly opened her mouth to greet it. "Hello, Tiger King. I'm Old Four's companion, the human Xia Qing. This is my companion, the human Zhang Shi."

Zhang Shi hadn't adjusted her state yet and could only try to control her voice as she introduced herself to this super-heavyweight patient who far exceeded her understanding. "T-Tiger King, I'm the human... Z-Zhang... Shi."

The giant tiger ignored the weakling Zhang Shi and kept its eyes locked on the strong one, Xia Qing.

In the pitch-black cave, three pairs of green, gleaming beast eyes made Zhang Shi's tension spike to the max once more.

Xia Qing stopped locking eyes with this pancake tiger and turned to look at the old wolf. "Old Four, it's too dark in here. Sister Shi and I can't see clearly. Shall we go somewhere with lights to talk in detail?"

After the old wolf nodded, Xia Qing raised her arm, scooped up Zhang Shi—who was clearly in a state of physical rigidity—and led her back to the clinic cave entrance. "Sister Shi, take a break, then bring the notebook and materials over."

"... Okay." Zhang Shi replied shamefully, steadying herself against the stone wall as she walked inward.

Xia Qing turned and asked, "Old Four, how about we go to the study room?"

The study room was more spacious, and the scent of wolves inside outweighed that of medical equipment and humans, making it friendlier for the evolved giant tiger.

After Old Four nodded, Scarface Junior Wolf ran over, pulled open the door, and skillfully turned on the lights.

The moment the lights came on, Xia Qing heard the piercing sound of the giant tiger being startled, its claw tips digging hard into the rock.

She didn't look back. She walked into the room, stood beside Scarface Junior Wolf, and only then turned to look at the giant tiger standing outside the nearly two-meter-tall, one-and-a-half-meter-wide cave entrance.

In just one glance, Xia Qing confirmed from its pair of clouded golden eyes that this was a brain-domain evolved tiger.

Old Four nuzzled the giant tiger a few times with its head and body, then walked into the cave and looked back at it.

The giant tiger stared at Xia Qing in place for a full half minute before lowering its big head, walking into the cave, and crouching beside the old wolf.

Under the light, Xia Qing carefully examined the patient Old Four had brought.

Its fur was dry and fluffy. The once vivid, sharp orange-and-black stripes had faded to a dull yellowish-brown and grayish-black, looking like an old felt cloth draped over a frame, covered in crisscrossing scars. Its shoulders and elbow joints were severely worn, the fur already fallen away, exposing pale, flaking skin.

Xia Qing's calm gaze moved from the faint markings forming the character "king" on its forehead and settled once more on its eyes.

Those clouded, quiet tiger eyes reminded Xia Qing of Old Four when he had first entered Territory Three, and of Luo Pei lying on the lounge chair in Territory One.

Old Four said this giant tiger, thinned down to a pancake, had once been a tiger king. Xia Qing believed it now. She asked calmly, "Old Four, can your tiger friend here understand human language?"

The former wolf king crouching beside the giant tiger did not nod.

"Alright, it can't understand." Xia Qing went straight to talking with Old Four. "Its current condition is very poor. We have to condition its body first, then run a physical check, before we can know whether tooth-regeneration treatment is possible."

After laying out the situation, Xia Qing began quoting the price. "Conditioning its body will cost at least one million points. If the tooth treatment can be done, it'll be at least two million points on top of that. Because its teeth are big, it'll need more medicinal agents than you did. Does Old Four confirm you want it treated?"

Old Four, face solemn, nodded—hard.

"Alright. Old Four is willing to spend the points to treat it, so we'll treat it." After confirming she would treat this giant tiger, Xia Qing asked the most critical question. "Old Four, is your friend's territory safe?"