I Received Messages From Future Self!
Chapter 571 - 567: Danger in the Woods

Chapter 571: Chapter 567: Danger in the Woods

Afternoon!

Amidst much grandeur, the convoy set out from the Honghu Headquarters Building, the Mountain Foot Villa, Villa No. 5, and the Phoenix Nest deep in the mountains.

Fang Xiaocao and Tom’s team of five watched as the convoy mobilized in full force before Fang Xiaocao turned to Thousand Faces.

"The task of remote-commanding these individuals will be yours. As you eliminate the Pawnshop’s branch, try to minimize casualties. Our foundation is shallow, and we can’t afford excessive losses."

Fang Xiaocao ordered Thousand Faces in a low voice.

Thousand Faces nodded and said, "Princess Your Highness, don’t worry, leave it to me."

Fang Xiaocao trusted Thousand Faces’ efficiency. She turned to Tom and said, "Go start the car."

"Let’s make haste and head out."

"The Pawnshop’s headquarters isn’t exactly nearby."

Upon hearing Fang Xiaocao’s instructions, Tom immediately ran towards the seven-seater business vehicle.

The group got into the car, and with a single press of the accelerator, Tom sped toward their destination.

The Pawnshop’s headquarters was located in the vast mountains of a neighboring city.

Driving there would take half a day.

According to Fang Xiaocao’s plan, entering the mountains at night would be ideal to stealthily approach the Pawnshop headquarters.

Night attacks are always more convenient.

During broad daylight, you constantly feel like you’re about to be exposed.

If all goes well, judging by Fang Xiaocao and her team’s pace, they could arrive at the Pawnshop headquarters by the latter half of the night.

A few hours later!

At dusk, Tom drove the seven-seater into a dense forest.

"Princess Your Highness, there’s no road ahead."

Tom stopped and switched off the engine, addressing Fang Xiaocao.

Fang Xiaocao nodded. "Get out!"

The mountain in which the Pawnshop was concealed had been designated as a nature reserve.

Trees grew densely in the mountain, forming an ocean-like expanse of forestry.

The forest stretched into the area where Tom had parked, part of the mountain’s verdant sprawl.

The mountain was home to all kinds of wildlife, ranging from predators to herbivores—everything imaginable could be found here.

The diversity of animals was so vast that they outnumbered the zoos from several nearby cities combined.

Yet none of these wild animals, even the fiercest predators, posed a real concern to Fang Xiaocao and her team.

What’s there to fear about wild beasts?

No matter how ferocious they are, can they surpass top-level masters?

If they could, then what about Super Masters?

Taotie, the man who defeated a Super Master, surely puts those beasts to shame, doesn’t he?

Among Fang Xiaocao’s team of five, everyone except Tom was traveling light, carrying only water and weapons.

As for food...

In a nature reserve like this, food would never be in short supply—be it meat or vegetation, you can always find something.

Whenever hunger strikes, you just gather materials on the spot. It’ll be absolutely fresh.

Purely natural and free from any harm.

Tom, on the other hand, carried a massive double-shoulder backpack.

Inside the backpack was nothing else but...

A variety of explosives!

The entire backpack was packed full of bombs!

If one of them accidentally went off...

The destructive force would rival that of artillery shells.

If there was a blast, none of Fang Xiaocao’s team would make it out alive.

So Fang Xiaocao deliberately kept a safe distance from Tom.

Fang Xiaocao swore she kept her distance purely out of safety concerns, and not because Tom had refused to kiss her that day despite her many attempts.

"Hmph!"

"Absolutely not!"

"I always separate gratitude from grudges."

"How could I ever repay goodwill with enmity?"

Fang Xiaocao consoled herself.

She found a perfectly reasonable pretext to isolate Tom, crafting a flawless excuse for her intentional retaliation.

Tom, carrying a half-person-high backpack weighing over a hundred pounds, walked alone at the back of the team.

He gazed at Fang Xiaocao’s back with an aggrieved expression.

That mournful little look had a distinctively pitiful air, as if saying, "Baby feels wronged, but baby won’t complain."

Ever since they entered the forest, Unhappy acted like he had returned home. He darted back and forth between the trees like a big ape, impossibly fast.

It saved Fang Xiaocao the trouble of assigning someone to scout ahead.

Originally, Fang Xiaocao planned to let the Mantis take on the role of forward scout to clear the path ahead.

However, Unhappy stole the role of forward scout right out from under Mantis’s nose.

Walking through the forest for more than two hours, Fang Xiaocao’s team had ventured deep into the woods.

Signs of wildlife activity were becoming increasingly abundant, and after Taotie’s observation, it was clear that those traces belonged to herbivores and small predators—no signs of large, dangerous beasts.

Let alone anything that could pose a threat to Fang Xiaocao’s team. If one dared to leap out, it might not even be clear who’s in danger—chances are, it’d end up as dinner.

Another hour of trekking later.

Unhappy, perched on a tree ahead, suddenly froze.

He made a warning gesture.

Taotie seemed to sense something too.

He raised his hand, signaling Fang Xiaocao’s team to stop.

Taotie crouched down and examined the ground closely.

Then, he looked up at Fang Xiaocao. "It’s a tiger!"

Taotie’s expression was resolute.

Fang Xiaocao furrowed her brow slightly—she hadn’t expected a tiger in the area.

"Can you confirm what kind of tiger it is?"

"What’s its strength?"

Fang Xiaocao asked in a low voice.

Among the beasts that could pose a threat to Fang Xiaocao and her team, only a few large predators fit the criteria—tigers were unfortunately one of them.

Alongside tigers, there were elephants, bears, rhinos, hippos, lions, and giant pythons.

Not to mention aquatic dangers like massive crocodiles or Great White Sharks in the ocean.

Generally, top-level masters hardly fear most wild beasts.

For Super Masters, these predators are almost entirely dismissible.

But!

There are exceptions!

For instance, intelligent animals!

If some predators exhibit intelligence and extraordinary talents—like the giant python from Phoenix Nest—then even Super Masters, without hot weaponry, would struggle to outmatch them in raw combat power.

Among intelligent predators, the weakest was Steal Kasaya. Its poor pedigree and domestication had dulled its wild nature, but it could still crush First-Class Experts and arm-wrestle ordinary top-tier ones.

It was precisely for this reason that Fang Xiaocao felt a twinge of concern. She needed to determine the type of tiger residing in these woods.

If it was an ordinary tiger, there’d be no need to worry.

But if it was a Northeast Tiger...

Especially an intelligent Northeast Tiger...

Then caution was paramount.

Except for Taotie, the Super Master, the others could be gravely injured or even killed by an ambush.

Taotie’s expression grew serious. "From the tracks, this tiger is quite large, most likely a Northeast Tiger—an adult male Northeast Tiger, among the largest of their kind."

Hearing Taotie’s words, Fang Xiaocao’s heart tightened. Forgetting about isolating and retaliating against Tom, she immediately shouted, "Come quickly, Tom! There’s a massive Northeast Tiger nearby—don’t get snatched!"

Roar—

The next instant!

Fang Xiaocao’s words weren’t even finished when a thunderous tiger roar echoed through the forest.

The deafening sound left Fang Xiaocao’s ears ringing.

At the same moment!

Unhappy, perched in the treetops, leapt towards the shrubbery beside Fang Xiaocao’s team. The bushes shook. A huge black-and-yellow-striped silhouette momentarily flickered through the foliage...