This opportunity was so rare.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for them!

Imagine showing off later: "See that? A tiger. My classmate can take on ten of these, no sweat, and pet them casually!"

Thinking this, everyone eagerly spoke up.

"Uh... Zhang, I'd like to pet it too, if that's okay?"

"Me too, bro! Let me have a pat, and I'll cover your meals for a month… er… a week when school starts!"

"Beixing..."

"..."

Hearing the pleading words of his classmates, a smile involuntarily began to creep across Zhang Beixing's mouth. But to avoid making it too obvious, he forcibly resisted his body's natural reaction. He put on an air of nonchalance, waved his hand, and said, "Go ahead, pet it. We're all classmates; there's no need to be so formal with me. But for those of you who offered to treat me to a meal, I'm holding you to it! Don't you dare regret it after just a couple of meals!"

With that, he grabbed the tiger by the scruff of its neck, allowing his classmates to pet and vigorously stroke it.

Seeing this, the classmates also stepped forward one after another, reaching out to touch the tiger's body.

Many realized this was a truly memorable opportunity. They jostled to get in front of the tiger, taking pictures of it, snapping selfies with it, and so on.

Meanwhile, the tiger, feeling countless hands scurrying over its body and seeing the glaring camera flashes, wore an incredibly human-like expression of utter resignation.

To be a tiger and end up like this... I'm probably the only one in history, huh? I've truly brought shame upon all tigers!

...

「A few minutes later.」

Including Zheng Jituo's trio and Lin Siqi, all of Zhang Beixing's classmates had taken their turn stroking the tiger, satisfying their urge to touch it and taking photos with it.

After learning about this, Zheng Jituo's uncle hurried over with a large cage and put the tiger inside.

Who knew if the cage could actually hold the tiger? But once Zhang Beixing tossed it in, the tiger just lay there quietly, motionless, exceptionally docile.

Evidently, the recent events had inflicted considerable trauma on its young psyche; it needed some time to recover.

Seeing this, the villagers who had rushed over after hearing about Zhang Beixing's earlier parade with the tiger were all shocked.

They murmured among themselves, "This young fellow is so strong!" "How did he manage to beat a tiger like that?" "No wonder he dared to carry the tiger around town!" "Great skill emboldens the brave," and other such comments.

From these snippets of conversation, the classmates finally understood why they hadn't heard from Zhang Beixing for over three hours after his call—it turned out he had been parading the tiger around town!

The classmates were speechless but also found it understandable. After all, if they could beat a tiger into such a state, they wouldn't just parade it around town; they'd feel they owed it to their luck of encountering the tiger to parade it all around Yiling City!

Zheng Jituo brought Zhang Beixing a chair, and Zhang Beixing sat down next to the cage.

Once he had settled, Zheng Jituo's uncle glanced at Zhang Beixing, who sat there bold and composed. Then he looked at the tiger in the cage, which cowered and scuttled to a corner merely because Zhang Beixing had sat nearby—utterly timid.

For a moment, the uncle didn't quite know what to say. This young man was just too formidable. In all his life, he had never seen anyone beat a tiger into such a state.

Suppressing the shock in his heart and choosing his words carefully, Zheng Jituo's uncle cautiously addressed Zhang Beixing, "So... Xiao Zhang, right? You've caused quite a stir today. Have you called the Forestry Bureau to report this?"

"The Forestry Bureau?" Zhang Beixing was momentarily stunned.

He actually hadn't reported it. But it wasn't really his fault. After all, his phone had been off ever since the battery died. Plus, he had been lost for over two hours earlier. He just hadn't had the chance.

Now reminded, Zhang Beixing finally remembered and was about to take out his phone to turn it on.

Seeing this, everyone realized: This guy was so busy showing off that he hadn't taken care of any actual business at all!

Zheng Jituo handed over his mobile phone. "Use mine. The number is 0717..." He then recited the full number for the Forestry Bureau.

Zhang Beixing keyed it in and made the call.

After some effort, he was finally transferred to a human operator. During this time, Zhang Beixing also learned from Zheng Jituo why everyone at the foot of the mountain knew about the tiger on West Yin Mountain: someone had informed them.

But... with this kind of sluggish response, if someone actually spotted a tiger, would they even be able to reach an operator? They'd probably be found by the tiger and be done for before the call even connected.

Looking at the phone, which still hadn't connected to an operator after more than a minute, Zhang Beixing wore an extremely odd expression.

Just as he was about to ask Zheng Jituo for more information, the call connected.

A sweet voice came from the other end, "Hello, this is the Yiling City Forestry Bureau. My ID is 9527. How may I assist you?"

"Ah, hi. I'm a concerned citizen from Xiyin Town. My surname is Zhang. It's like this: there's a tiger on West Yin Mountain, right? Well, today I was on the mountain and happened to run into it. And, well, I managed to capture it. What do you think should be done about this?"

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