Chapter 67: Here Come the Poachers

Small Transport Technique?

’Not only is this Magic practical, but its killing potential is a little terrifying!’

As Yang Qi understood the new information that appeared in his mind, he rejoiced inwardly.

Entanglement Technique binds limbs and restrains a target.

Small Transport Technique moves objects—or Spirit Beasts—from a distance.

When moving something, it can be the whole thing, or it can be... component parts!

It all depends on *how* you "move" it!

...

A slight smile touched his lips. Yang Qi stroked Great King’s furry head, feeling its thick, warm fur, and chuckled.

"You’re welcome."

"Next time you eat prey with small bones, like chickens or ducks, be more careful. Don’t eat so fast."

Under normal circumstances, tigers don’t chew bones when they eat; they swallow them whole.

Getting a bone fragment stuck like this was just a freak accident.

"ROWR~"

Great King let out a low growl, as if he understood.

He shook his head, his mouth feeling wonderfully clear, and his eyes regained their sharp, alert focus.

His tongue licked his lips as his gaze locked onto the corner of the enclosure, where a chicken was still obliviously scratching at the dirt, looking for bugs to eat.

The next moment, his massive body shot forward, kicking up a foul-smelling wind. He pounced, pinning the chicken before it could even react.

With a CRACK, he bit through the chicken’s neck. Great King then began to leisurely enjoy his belated "snack."

Yang Qi watched the entire process and let out a soft chuckle.

Then, without lingering, he strode toward the cage door.

"Amazing!"

"So intense!"

"Brother, you’re this!"

...

Outside the enclosure, the crowd of tourists applauded, cheered, and gave Yang Qi a thumbs-up.

Yang Qi met the crowd’s varied gazes of worship and admiration with a smile and a nod.

His eyes swept over the onlookers, seemingly at random, searching for who might be the "Outer Sect Elder" from the system’s warning.

Most of the tourists were chattering excitedly, filming with their phones, their expressions thrilled.

"I told you Brother Qi could do it!"

Chen Ze was beaming, basking in the reflected glory as he clapped Wei Dayuan hard on the shoulder.

Wei Dayuan let out a long breath and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. His gaze toward Yang Qi was filled with amazement and admiration as he said sincerely, "You truly live up to the name Yang Druid Qi!"

It was rare for him to joke, which showed what a huge weight had been lifted from his mind.

Zhao Dalong put away his tranquilizer gun, walked over, and patted Yang Qi’s shoulder. His tone was solemn. "Xiao Yang, well done. But next time, try not to take such risks."

"Understood."

Yang Qi acknowledged, then explained, "I noticed that Great King’s state was more one of frustrated discomfort, not violent aggression. There was no attack in his eyes, so I judged it was worth a try. If he had been angry or on high alert, I wouldn’t have gone in either."

As he spoke, he showed them the bloody bone fragment held in the tweezers.

"It was this thing, stuck in Great King’s gum. Before I pulled it out, I could see the gum was a bit red and swollen."

The Veterinarian waiting nearby immediately opened a transparent sample bag he was carrying and carefully received the bone fragment. He nodded and said, "Understood. We’ll handle the follow-up. After we observe Great King’s mouth again, we’ll prescribe medication as needed."

Wei Dayuan nodded along, indicating he would also keep a close watch.

"Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll get back to work."

Yang Qi sent Jiang Kai a brief message saying, "Problem solved," then put his phone away and said goodbye to Zhao Dalong, Chen Ze, and Wei Dayuan.

Before leaving, his gaze once again swept over the crowd, as if at random.

Most of the tourists’ attention had shifted back to the now-revitalized Great King, who was devouring his meal, or they were beginning to disperse in small groups.

In the crowd, a half-gray-haired, refined-looking old man was watching him with a smile. His eyes were calm, holding a trace of appreciation. He was dressed in simple but tasteful casual wear and wasn’t holding a camera or phone, just standing quietly near the edge of the crowd.

His appearance and demeanor really did have the air of an "Elder."

’Could it be him?’

Yang Qi guessed inwardly, his face betraying nothing.

He didn’t point him out or go over to greet him. He simply let his gaze pass over the man as he would any other tourist, then looked away and strode toward his work area.

...

"Auntie, he’s really amazing!"

On the other side of the crowd, Zhou Jing tugged on Tong Xiaoyue’s arm, watching Yang Qi’s retreating back. "Wang Gu was right, he really is very ’Druid-like’!" she said excitedly. "Auntie, he’s exactly the kind of special talent our Zoo needs most."

Before Tong Xiaoyue could speak, she lowered her voice and leaned close to her aunt’s ear, urging, "This Yang Qi is just a contract worker here. If we could offer him a permanent position, you think we couldn’t poach him?"

"You..."

Tong Xiaoyue gave a helpless smile and patted her niece’s hand. "Don’t be so hasty. First, we need to see if he’s even interested. Second, even if he is, we have to speak with Director Huang first. We can’t be rude. Talent is rare, but we still have to follow procedure."

"We’re the Provincial Capital Zoo! And we can offer a permanent position! Only a fool would say no!" Zhou Jing said, pumping a small fist, full of confidence.

"Alright, alright, let’s go."

Tong Xiaoyue smiled helplessly once more. She retracted her gaze from the direction where Yang Qi had disappeared, a thoughtful look deep in her eyes.

"First, let’s go talk to Director Huang, hear his thoughts, and learn a little more about this ’Druid.’"

...

For Yang Qi, helping the tiger "pull a tooth" was mainly about relieving Great King’s distress and reaping the reward.

He didn’t pay much attention to the aftermath.

He had no idea that a tourist had been holding up their phone the entire time, clearly recording the whole process: from him entering the enclosure and communicating with Great King eye-to-eye, to squatting down to inspect him, and finally, pulling the shard from the tiger’s mouth.

After returning to a rest area, this tourist used their phone’s simple editing software to quickly cut the ten-plus-minute video down to a highlight clip of less than two minutes. They then posted it to their social media account, which had nearly ten thousand followers.

The title—

[Bare-handedly Pulling a "Tooth" for a Wild Northeast Tiger! This is a F*cking Real-Life Druid!]

When the video was published, it initially only spread within the creator’s small circle of followers.

But anyone who clicked on the video was invariably stunned by the opening scene.

A young man, with no protective gear whatsoever, walked alone into an enclosure that was clearly for dangerous predators, facing an adult Northeast Tiger that was lying on the ground—massive, and panting heavily!

"Is this guy nuts? Does he have a death wish?"

"Holy crap, he actually went in?"

"A tiger! That’s a tiger! Not a cat!"

Next, they saw that not only was the man not attacked, but he actually squatted down, putting his face right in front of the tiger’s gaping, bloody jaws, and then...

He actually took out a pair of tweezers and reached in!

"666666!"

"WTF WTF WTF! He’s really putting his hand in!"

"What’s he doing? What is he DOING?? He’s not pulling a tooth, is he?"

"The tiger isn’t even moving? This is fake, right? Is it trained?"

"Wait, I recognize that tiger. That’s Great King from Donghua Wildlife Park! He used to be semi-wild; his temper is not good!"

"It IS Great King! I’ve been there and seen him. Who’s this guy? A new keeper?"

"..."

When they saw the tweezers actually pull out a bloody bone fragment, and the tiger—instead of getting angry—nuzzled the man’s leg affectionately before pouncing, full of life, on the chicken in the corner, the comment section absolutely exploded!