Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Extreme Heat, White Tiger

Despite its massive size, the White Tiger was as fast as a bolt of lightning. Jiang Si rushed out of the attic and came face-to-face with it.

Up close, the White Tiger’s enormous size was even more striking. It was twice as large as a normal adult white tiger, with a coat as white as snow, long whiskers and tail, round eyes, and round ears. Its entire body was fluffy, but its paws were massive—a single swipe looked powerful enough to kill two of her.

Jiang Si pulled the trigger without hesitation. "BANG—"

The White Tiger launched itself into the air, nimbly dodging the bullet, and then lunged viciously at her with its maw wide open.

Jiang Si tried to fire a second shot, but she didn’t have time to pull the trigger.

The White Tiger closed in on her, its speed like Instant Teleportation.

Jiang Si wanted to escape into her space, but just then, Jiang Linhai and the others, having heard the gunshot, grabbed their guns and started rushing toward the roof.

And the door downstairs wasn’t locked.

’If I hide, Jiang Linhai and the others will be in danger!’

’It’s my fault for being overconfident, for thinking I could kill this White Tiger so easily.’

Gritting her teeth, Jiang Si pulled out a dagger, preparing for a fight to the death with the White Tiger.

"Sisi—"

The moment Jiang Linhai pushed open the attic door, the White Tiger pinned Jiang Si to the ground. It clamped its jaws around the dagger in her hand and disdainfully spat it into a corner, where it landed with a CLANG.

Jiang Si materialized a second dagger from her space to launch another attack, but she was already crushed beneath the White Tiger’s immense body, unable to move a muscle.

’My chest feels like it’s being crushed by a mountain.’

’Where did this fat tiger come from? If the biting doesn’t kill me, the weight will!’

When Shen Baoying saw this, her heart rate skyrocketed. Her eyes rolled back into her head, and she fainted dead away.

Jiang Linhai caught her just as Jiang Chengwu fired his gun with a BANG, hitting the White Tiger in the neck.

They thought it would be a fatal shot, but the White Tiger merely turned to look at them. It opened its massive jaws and let out an enraged roar, a startling blast of sound like a hurricane.

With another BANG and a spray of blood, the bullet shot out of the tiger’s neck. It grazed past Jiang Chengwu and slammed into the wall. Instantly, with a loud CRACK, a gash over a meter long split across the wall’s surface.

’This isn’t just a big white tiger!’

’This is clearly a Demon Tiger!’

The White Tiger lowered its head toward Jiang Si.

Jiang Chengwu, wishing he were holding a machine gun, frantically went to pull the trigger again. But just then, Jiang Si, still pinned beneath the White Tiger, managed to choke out a shout: "Stop! Don’t provoke it."

Jiang Chengwu froze. He saw that the White Tiger wasn’t biting Jiang Si. Instead, it was licking her furiously, as if she were a giant lollipop.

Jiang Si’s face was quickly covered in slobber. She angrily gave the tiger a push, but it only licked her more enthusiastically.

The barbs on its tongue felt like sandpaper scraping against her face, and it hurt like hell.

Jiang Si struggled weakly. Using her feet, which she could still barely move, she kicked at its solid, soft belly. Eyes wide with frustration, she gasped, "Get off! You’re crushing me to death!"

It wouldn’t budge, and Jiang Si couldn’t push it off. A feeling of suffocation began to creep in, and her face turned bright red.

Sensing her life force fading, the White Tiger quietly rose, repositioned her so she was curled against its stomach, and continued to lick her.

Like a fish saved from suffocating, Jiang Si leaned against it, taking huge gulps of air.

Shen Baoying, who had just been revived, witnessed this new scene, and her eyes promptly rolled back as she fainted again.

Jiang Linhai called out to Shen Baoying while asking fearfully, "Sisi, what do we do?"

Jiang Si wiped her face and struggled to open her eyes. Pushing against its head with all her might, she said, "Stop licking me, man! I’m not a side of pork belly!"

"SCHLUUURP~"

The big White Tiger paid her no mind, slathering her face with another layer of sticky saliva. Her skin stung; it had probably licked it raw.

’It’s not being aggressive... it just sees me as a human-shaped lollipop. Could it be because of the energy stone in my body?’

’If it decides chewing would be tastier than licking, will it go for the kill?’

An idea formed in Jiang Si’s mind. She stealthily materialized a tranquilizer, but just as she raised her hand, the big White Tiger—as if it had anticipated her move—instantly pressed a thick paw down on her arm.

It pinned her completely without using much force.

’This Demon Tiger is surprisingly smart!’

Jiang Linhai and the others were worried sick.

Jiang Si felt like the barbs on its tongue were scraping her face until it bled.

Unable to take it anymore, she decided to throw caution to the wind and spat right into its mouth. "Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey—"

The big White Tiger froze. Its red eyes slowly faded to a deep black, and its brow furrowed intensely, just like a human’s. It gave her a look of subtle disgust! The movement to lick her face stopped mid-air.

The effect was a little too good, and Jiang Si felt exasperated. ’I haven’t even gotten a chance to be disgusted by *it*, and it’s already disgusted with *me*!’

Jiang Si struggled to get up, but the big White Tiger flicked its fluffy tail, refusing to let her go. It hooked a large paw around her and pressed her against its soft, white neck.

The soft, fluffy fur was incredibly warm, like having the highest-quality towel pressed against her skin. The stinging pain on her cheeks surprisingly began to feel... comfortable.

The energy stone inside her grew slightly warm, and her body felt an unprecedented surge of energy.

’Cuddling feels so good!’

The big White Tiger also seemed to realize that cuddling with Jiang Si felt better than licking her, and its sharp expression softened slightly.

Jiang Si lifted her head for a breath of fresh air and met its gleaming, gem-like black eyes. She tentatively reached out a hand.

The big White Tiger snorted, its expression proud and cold, like a god descended to the mortal world who couldn’t be bothered with an ant.

’I don’t care what kind of god it thinks it is. Licking me and then looking down on me? It needs a lesson on how the world works.’

Steeling herself, Jiang Si grabbed its big, fluffy face with both hands and started rubbing it vigorously.

It was so soft and springy, incredibly satisfying to squish. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The tiger showed a flicker of disgust and shook its head, trying to throw her hands off.

Its listless, non-aggressive reaction emboldened Jiang Si to push her luck. She stood on her tiptoes and grabbed both of its round ears.

A warm, tingling sensation shot through the tiger. Its round ears immediately reacted, twisting and flattening as it tried to dodge her touch.

Jiang Si exclaimed in amazement, "So tigers get airplane ears, too!"

The big White Tiger huffed, but its ears refused to obey.

Everyone else watched, their hearts in their throats with her every move.

Only when Jiang Si was completely certain that the tiger posed no threat—that it just wanted to cuddle and was, in fact, more disgusted by her spit than she was by its slobber—did she work up the courage to reach for the bullet wound on its neck. In a placating tone, she asked, "Let me treat that for you, okay?"

It gave her a cool glance, which Jiang Si understood as tacit approval.

Jiang Si casually materialized a first-aid kit. The big White Tiger’s eyes flickered for an instant before returning to normal.

The fur on its neck was incredibly thick; the bullet had only penetrated the top layer of flesh. Jiang Si patiently applied medicine and wrapped the wound with gauze. Then, she tentatively brought out some dog food and placed it in front of the tiger. "Are you hungry? Want something to eat?"

’This creature is so intelligent. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep it around as a guard...’

But when her eyes met its cool, indifferent, and slightly disdainful gaze, Jiang Si felt as if her thoughts had been completely exposed.

She sheepishly rubbed her nose. "You don’t want this? Then what do you want to eat?"