Chapter 557: Chapter 253: Walking the Tiger

"Director Yang, make sure everyone is safe over there. Don’t provoke the tiger. Wait for us to arrive."

"Understood."

After speaking, Yang Qi hung up the phone and sent several photos of Lian Po to Vice Director Wang’s WeChat.

Once that was done, he slowly walked back to where Feng Jianye and the others were.

Just as he rejoined the group, he heard the wail of police sirens approaching from the distance.

Everyone turned to look. Two police cars, painted blue and white, and a pickup truck with the word "Forestry" on its side, came speeding in from the direction of the Zoo entrance. Kicking up a trail of dust, they screeched to a halt several dozen meters from the caution line.

The car doors flew open with a BANG. Song Dacheng, the director of the Datang Town police station—a short, stout man who moved with surprising speed—practically launched himself out of the driver’s seat. His face was haggard from lack of sleep, etched with the tension of a looming crisis.

Followed by several equally tense police officers and the head of the town’s forestry station, who had emerged from the pickup, he jogged over to Yang Qi’s group.

"Director... Director Yang, what’s the situation? Where’s the tiger? Has anyone been hurt?"

Song Dacheng was panting, too breathless for pleasantries. He fired off the questions, his eyes darting toward the depths of the wetland as beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

He’d never dealt with a public security incident this big in his entire life—

A tiger breaking into a Zoo?

It was utterly absurd.

"Director Song, the tiger is over there," Yang Qi replied, pointing toward the shallows of the wetland where Lian Po was lying. "No one’s been hurt, and for now, it shows no sign of leaving."

"As long as no one’s hurt, that’s good. As long as no one’s hurt... This... what a mess..."

Hearing this, Song Dacheng let out a slight sigh of relief and patted his chest, but his expression remained grim.

He, the head of the forestry station, and the police officers all stood on their tiptoes, craning their necks to peer in the direction Yang Qi had indicated.

Despite the distance and the obstruction of reeds and mist, Lian Po’s massive, black-and-orange form was still clearly visible in the morning light.

The unique presence of an apex predator sent a chill down their spines, even from such a distance.

"...It... it really is a tiger..." the head of the forestry station gasped, his voice trembling.

The police officers’ eyes went wide, and they swallowed nervously.

"This is too big. I have to report to the county bureau immediately!"

Having confirmed the situation, Song Dacheng’s expression grew even more serious as he turned to make a phone call.

"Good. I’ve already contacted the municipal and provincial forestry bureaus as well. They’re on their way," Yang Qi said with a nod.

Song Dacheng shot Yang Qi a complicated look, one that held both a newfound respect for the young director’s connections and a deep-seated frustration with the thorny situation at hand.

He stepped a few paces away and began making the call, his tone urgent as he reported to his superiors.

The head of the forestry station moved to the other side and did the same, calling in his own report.

With the arrival of the police and the forestry department, the atmosphere at the scene grew even more tense and somber.

The security guards tightened their grip on their gear, hardly daring to breathe.

Feng Jianye, An Yumin, and the others also looked on with taut expressions.

Suddenly...

"CHEE CHEE~!"

A series of panicked monkey screeches suddenly erupted from the woods beside the wetland.

A golden figure could be seen frantically climbing and leaping between several large trees.

"It’s Great Sage!" a security guard cried out.

This was the macaque king, the one Yang Qi had enlightened, making him intelligent and attuned to human nature. On Yang Qi’s orders, Great Sage was allowed to roam the park freely outside of sleeping and eating at Monkey Mountain. He had long since become one of Xianlai’s signature attractions, and everyone was used to seeing him around.

But no one had expected him to wander over here this morning. And, as luck would have it, he had spotted Lian Po lying in the grass!

They were barely twenty-odd meters apart. For a tiger, that was just a single leap.

"Great Sage, come back!"

"Great Sage, run! Run!"

"..."

Seeing this, everyone turned pale with fright and began to shout.

The sudden cacophony of human shouts and the monkey’s sharp screeches startled Lian Po from his feigned slumber.

He jerked his head up, just in time to see a golden monkey in a tree, baring its teeth and screeching at him incessantly.

Lian Po had little patience for this kind of prey. He rose to his feet and let out a low, menacing roar at Great Sage in the tree.

"ROAR~!"

*Get out!*

The roar wasn’t deafening, but the majesty and killing intent of the King of Beasts washed over Great Sage like a douse of ice-cold water.

The intelligent monkey instantly understood the absolute gap in power between them. Daring not to linger a moment longer, it let out a piercing shriek. Scrambling and tumbling, using both hands and feet, it fled in a pathetic display. Moving several times faster than when it arrived, it vanished back into the depths of the woods in the blink of an eye.

Over by the crowd, Song Dacheng, who had just finished his call, was so startled by the sudden roar that his heart began to pound. He shouted incoherently into his phone, which he hadn’t yet hung up.

"Did you hear that? That sound just now, that was the tiger’s roar! ... Yes, yes! I understand! I understand!"

He hurriedly hung up and rushed back, waving his hands at the crowd.

"Everyone back up. All personnel must evacuate."

The crowd, whose hearts were already pounding from Great Sage’s close call, immediately complied. They pulled at one another as they fell back another ten-odd meters.

Song Dacheng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and looked at Yang Qi. His tone was urgent. "Director Yang, you see the situation. It’s too dangerous. The county bureau has ordered a full evacuation of the Zoo. We’re to leave this to the professional teams."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.