If you were made a mascot, you would become a legend in the police force.

Chenjia Village is only a dozen kilometers away from Taiping Town, and it usually takes about twenty minutes to drive there.

But today, this short journey felt exceptionally long.

The fields on both sides of the road were overgrown with weeds, and corn stalks lay scattered on the ground, as if they had been crushed by something. On the stone archway at the entrance of the village, the large red lantern that used to burn all night was now just a dilapidated skeleton, creaking in the wind.

The entire village was eerily quiet. There was no crowing of roosters, barking of dogs, or even the chirping of insects.

Occasionally, a few houses had their doors tightly shut and their curtains drawn, as if the people inside were all dead, or holding their breath in extreme fear.

"This is it." Lin Wan parked the car in front of a farmhouse at the west end of the village.

This is the home of Old Li, the first person to file a police report.

The gate to the courtyard was wide open, and the courtyard was a mess.

Li Tuantuan jumped out of the car and immediately activated [Holographic Perception].

The cowshed in the corner of the yard is a key area.

He walked over and carefully observed the fence.

The fence was made of thick wooden stakes, very sturdy. But at this moment, the row of stakes closest to the outer wall had all snapped in half.

Li Tuantuan reached out her paw and touched the broken end.

Smooth as a mirror.

There were no splinters, no signs of tearing. It was as if it had been instantly severed by an extremely sharp, high-temperature laser blade.

"This cut..." Lin Wan leaned closer, her expression grave. "It doesn't look like it was bitten off by a wild animal, nor does it look like it was broken by a collision. It looks more like... a sharp blade?"

Li Tuantuan shook her head.

He smelled a burnt odor at the break. It was the mark left by the extremely high temperature generated by friction with the air at extremely high speed.

If it's a sharp blade, how fast must this knife be?

If it's a claw...

Li Tuantuan imagined a monster's claw swinging so fast it could create a sonic boom, instantly severing the wooden stake.

Is this even a living organism?

He stepped over the fence and went into the cowshed.

On the muddy ground, the messy hoofprints of cattle showed the chaos of the time. But among these hoofprints, a huge footprint, half a foot deep, stood out conspicuously.

It was a footprint shaped like a plum blossom.

But this plum blossom is quite large, with a diameter of forty centimeters.

Moreover, only three toes touch the ground.

Normal felines have four toes. Is this monster missing one? Or is its paw mutated?

Li Tuantuan squatted down and carefully examined the footprint.

At the tip of the toes, there are three deep holes. Those are left by the claws digging into the ground.

Behind the footprints, there was a long drag mark, like a barb.

"Hey! Boss! Look at the roof!"

The coal ball, which had been circling and scouting in the sky, suddenly swooped down and landed on the asbestos roof of the cowshed, making a loud noise.

Li Tuantuan looked up.

On the asbestos tiles, there were several identical plum blossom footprints!

The footprints were very light, barely breaking any tiles.

"This monster...can fly?" Lin Wan gasped.

Li Tuantuan squinted, staring at the distance between the roof and the ground.

It's not flying.

It's a jump.

The monster leaped from a tall tree dozens of meters away onto the roof, then silently landed in the cowshed, instantly cutting through the fence, grabbing a water buffalo weighing several hundred kilograms, and then…

Li Tuantuan looked outside the wall.

There were no drag marks on the muddy ground outside.

In other words, the monster, carrying its prey weighing several hundred pounds, jumped over the wall and disappeared into the dense forest.

Such explosive power and such load-bearing capacity are simply unbelievable.

"Squeak!"

Jin Dou found something in the grass in the corner of the wall.

Was that a black scale? No, it was a hardened fragment of skin.

Li Tuantuan took it and compared it with the gray hair she had found at the police station earlier.

Their breathing was perfectly synchronized.

"It's the same thing," Li Tuantuan concluded in her mind.

He stood up and looked around at the dense woods.

The monster is nearby.

It treats this place as its private dining hall.

It might even be in a tree right now, staring at these two reckless intruders with its greedy eyes.

Li Tuantuan suddenly felt a chill down her back.

He turned around abruptly and looked at a large locust tree behind him.

The leaves rustled slightly; only the sound of the wind could be heard.

But he knew that there must have been something there just now.

"Lin Wan, get back in the car," Li Tuantuan hissed, pushing Lin Wan out of the car.

"What's wrong?"

"It's watching us."

A fierce glint appeared in Li Tuantuan's eyes.

See it.

Tonight, I'll let you see enough.

Back in the bulletproof van, Lin Wan immediately locked the doors.

Although this sheet metal might be as flimsy as paper in the face of claws capable of cutting through wooden stakes, it at least provides some psychological comfort.

Li Tuantuan sat in the passenger seat and placed the gray hair and the piece of hard leather on the center console.

"System, get to work."

[Ding! Biological sample detected. DNA tracing and holographic simulation analysis in progress...]

[Merit points consumed: 500. (Current balance: -3250 points)]

Li Tuantuan's lips twitched. The debt was snowballing, and if she couldn't catch that monster this time, she really would have to sell herself to pay it off.

Analysis complete.

[Target creature: Mutant Qinling Lynx (lynx subspecies)]

Mutation Level: A+ (Quasi-Lord Level).

[Characteristics Description: Induced by high concentrations of spiritual energy and some unknown chemical agent, bone density increased by 300%, and muscle fibers showed a tendency to become metallic. Awakened wind-based superpowers, possessing extremely high agility and stealth abilities.]

[Special Mutation: To maintain balance during high-speed movement, this creature evolved a second tail. The tail bones are hardened and can be used as a whip blade or for throwing bone spikes.]

As the system explained, a 3D model of a monster gradually appeared on the virtual screen in front of Li Tuantuan.

It was a huge lynx, comparable in size to an adult Siberian tiger.

Its fur has a metallic, iron-gray sheen, and two tufts of hair on the tips of its ears stand up like antennas. Most striking are its two long tails trailing behind it, the tips of which gleam coldly like two sharp daggers.

Its limbs are long and powerful, and its claws are even more exaggerated. This is why it can leave such "three-toed barbs" footprints - one of its other toes has degenerated and become a barb on its heel, used for climbing and securing prey.

"A two-tailed lynx..." Li Tuantuan looked at the model and had a better understanding of its potential.

No wonder Lao Wang and his group failed.

This monster is an invincible assassin in the jungle. It doesn't need to fight you head-on; its speed and stealth alone are enough to wipe out a fully armed squad.

Li Tuantuan reached out her hand and opened the drawing software on the iPad.

Relying on the model in his mind, he managed to draw a rough outline, albeit with poor drawing skills.

"Lin Wan, look at this."

Lin Wan leaned closer to take a look, and her brows furrowed even more.

"A cat with two tails? That big?" Lin Wan pointed to the reference object (a cow) drawn by Li Tuantuan, "It's bigger than a tiger, isn't it?"

Li Tuantuan nodded.

"Moreover, it's extremely fast and can use wind blades to cut objects," Li Tuantuan typed, adding, "Old Wang and the others might not even have a chance to fire."

Lin Wan's face turned pale.

"So what do we do? Are guns even effective against this monster?"

Li Tuantuan glanced at the Type 92 pistol at Lin Wan's waist and shook her head.

Ordinary bullets hitting its metallic muscles would probably just be a tickle. Unless you use a heavy machine gun or a rocket launcher.

But they don't have heavy weapons right now.

"Mmm!" (Don't be afraid, I'm here.)

Li Tuantuan patted her chest.

In terms of speed, I probably can't outrun it.

But when it comes to defense and strength, I'm practically invincible, with "copper skin and iron bones."

As long as you can seize one opportunity, even if it's just once.

Li Tuantuan clenched her fist, her knuckles cracking.

I could beat the shit out of it!

"Hey! Boss, how are we going to catch it? It runs so fast, we can't catch it." Coal Ball chimed in from the side.

Li Tuantuan grinned, revealing an extremely sinister smile.

Can't catch up?

Then let it come to us on its own.

Since this monster likes to "hoard goods," it must be an insatiable creature.

In Chenjia Village today, all the cattle and sheep have been eaten up by it.

It must still be hungry and looking for new prey.

And here, right now, is a perfect bait.

Li Tuantuan pointed to her round, plump, and tempting belly.

Three hundred pounds of pork belly.

I don't believe you're not tempted?