Mountain Looting: Targeted by a Leopard at the Start
Chapter 187 - 186: Mysterious Eyes, Rare Beasts!

Chapter 187: Chapter 186: Mysterious Eyes, Rare Beasts!

He had completed a task on the mountain and collected ten deer antler slices.

Going back, he could use them to brew tea or soak in liquor.

The mountain was rich in wild products, many people loved to soak them in alcohol, and the liquor jars contained all sorts of things.

Some even soaked snakes and centipedes.

Even some supermarkets sold this kind of liquor, and the sales were pretty good.

Seeing that there were still four uses left on the Treasure Compass, Xu Yang thought about it and decided to try treasure hunting.

Perhaps there were treasures to be found in winter too.

He took out his cell phone and checked his exact coordinates.

The weather was too cold now, and the phone was somewhat unresponsive.

"I haven’t been to this area before; it’s worth a try."

"Let’s see if there’s anything good here."

Thinking this, Xu Yang chose to use the Treasure Compass.

An invisible cursor scanned the surroundings.

The exploration range of the Treasure Compass hadn’t changed; it was still 3 kilometers.

However, it probed deeper than before.

Soon, the compass pinpointed a treasure location.

The treasure location would be displayed on the mobile map, and Xu Yang followed the direction of the treasure, walking deeper into it.

He was curious, wondering what kind of treasures could be hidden under the snow-covered mountain.

He walked in silence.

The entire mountain was covered in white.

The ground was a vast expanse of white.

The trees were dressed in frosty white.

This place felt as if it had been frozen by an ice spell.

Seeing such a scene, viewers often stayed a while in the live stream.

Seeing Xu Yang moving through the heavy snow sparked admiration in them.

Man, you are tough!

To come into the mountains in this weather.

Xu Yang continued forward, and soon, he arrived at the location identified by the Treasure Compass.

He hadn’t hunted for treasures in a long time and felt somewhat expectant.

But he also knew, it was unlikely to find anything good in winter.

He only saw two playful purple minks, identified by the Treasure Compass, frolicking in the snow.

Their innocent appearance was exceptionally cute.

"Look there, two purple minks."

"In this weather, only minks would be active."

"These guys have thick fur; they aren’t afraid of the cold."

"They are also bolder this time of year."

Xu Yang watched the playing minks as he narrated.

The forest scene was always intriguing.

Is there a different kind of vitality in it?

When the viewers saw the cute purple minks, they too smiled knowingly.

They continued watching, charmed by the two playful little creatures.

The two minks were completely oblivious to being watched as they played and climbed the branches, filled with a sense of freedom and joy.

Some animals prefer tranquility, others freedom.

Seeing their happiness, people with empathy could also feel joyful.

Xu Yang’s lips slightly curved upward, watching the two adorable creatures, his mood relaxed.

"This purple mink is really nice, truly a treasure of Changbai Mountain."

Xu Yang whispered in praise.

Realizing time was limited, Xu Yang continued walking in the forest.

After a while, some large pugmarks appeared on the ground.

"Look here, they appeared."

"These paw prints, they’re definitely from a Big Cat."

Xu Yang became excited, walked over, squatted down, and mimicked the size with his hands.

A drone captured the snowy mountain paw prints.

The prints, larger than a human palm and very well preserved, spread out towards the distance.

[Seeing these paw prints, why do I suddenly feel tense?]

[I do too, who wouldn’t be scared encountering tiger paw prints in this ice and snow!]

Everyone commented via bullet chats.

Xu Yang’s expression was somewhat excited as he judged:

"These aren’t paw prints from a Northeast Tiger; theirs are a bit bigger."

"It must be a Leopard."

"So, it’s not that dangerous."

"Besides, everyone look closely at the outlines of these prints; they have started to ice over, turning hard, suggesting these prints are quite old."

"We won’t encounter it so easily."

After speaking, he got up and looked around.

The prints continued outwards and then disappeared.

Confronted frequently with forest scenes, Xu Yang didn’t feel anything unusual.

He continued forward, and then opted to use the Treasure Compass again.

The Treasure Compass identified only animals active in the forest, no valuable mountain products.

Just as he expected, winter yielded very few valuable mountain products; he found almost nothing valuable.

However, watching the animals in the ice and snow was also fairly good.

Until the last usage of the Treasure Compass, suddenly the system voiced:

[Treasure Hunting Task Triggered: Find the Eyes Behind.]

[Task requirement: A wild beast has set its sights on the host, please track it down.]

[Task Reward: Ultralight Running Shoes, a pair of ultra-comfortable and lightweight shoes suitable for running.]

This announcement left Xu Yang somewhat bewildered.

He hadn’t expected using the Treasure Compass would trigger a task.

But the task was a bit vague.

The Eyes Behind?

Xu Yang instinctively turned and looked behind him.

Behind was a forest covered in ice and snow.

The trees were blanketed in snow, everything was white.

White trees, white snowfields, apart from the sky, it seemed everything was white.

Where were the eyes?

"What’s happening?"

"Why am I feeling a bit creeped out?"

"What’s staring at me?"

"I don’t sense any danger either."

Xu Yang frowned, thinking.

Deep in the forest, in the middle of winter, what could possibly happen?

Just then, Xu Yang suddenly felt uneasy, his body functions were triggered, sending out a signal of danger from within.

Danger Perception had been activated!

This meant that something truly was watching him.

"Bears hibernate, it shouldn’t be a bear," he said.

"Then it must be a tiger or a leopard," he added.

"I hope it’s not a tiger."

"But where is this creature?"

Xu Yang’s gaze was fixed intently on the jungle behind him. He tried to locate those eyes, but the forest environment was very complex. The harder he tried, the less he was able to find.

The viewers noticed the change in Xu Yang’s expression.

Everyone was a bit puzzled.

What’s going on?

Why has the atmosphere suddenly become so serious?

[Old Xu, what’s wrong? Did you find something?]

[Suddenly turning his head gave me a big scare!]

[What is he doing?]

The questions came one after another.

Xu Yang responded openly:

"It’s nothing big, just feeling like something behind me is staring at me, and it’s quite uncomfortable," he said.

"So I’m checking out what it is."

Upon hearing Xu Yang’s words, everyone became even more frightened.

Something is watching you?

The drone was capturing the forest behind Xu Yang.

It only showed a cold and silent expanse of trees, lifeless and somewhat sinister in appearance.

[It couldn’t be... Ghost, right?]

[Deep in the forest, where would a ghost come from?]

[The deeper the forest, the more spirits there are, while populated places tend not to have any!]

[Phooey! I am a steadfast materialist warrior, such talk can’t scare me! The great martyrs will protect me!]

[Don’t scare me, you’re making me scared too!]

The chat in the live stream was rolling fast.

Some people were joking, some were intrigued, while others looked slightly panicked, as if they could also sense the danger in the forest.

Xu Yang continued searching for the so-called eyes.

He was courageous, not showing any fear under such circumstances, but directly moved forward towards the forest ahead.

Getting closer made it easier to find the other party.

He wanted to know... what animal was watching him in this deep, old forest.

"Initially it meant no harm to me, so Danger Perception wasn’t triggered; then when I turned around to look, Danger Perception was triggered," he explained.

"That means it realized I noticed it, got nervous, and thus inspired thoughts of attack."

"Cautious, good at observing prey, but considering its size, it didn’t launch a direct attack."

"It must be a lynx or a leopard," he concluded.

Xu Yang had already made a rough judgment.

If it were a tiger, it certainly wouldn’t indulge him.

Tigers take their territory very seriously and would drive out and attack intruders.

Only other felines are so cautious, not striking rashly.

But the other party hid itself very well. Xu Yang walked forward another twenty to thirty meters, and still could not see where it was hiding.

"Hidden quite well."

"Where are you hiding?"

Xu Yang looked towards the mountain forest, continuing his search through the jungle.

[Old Xu, stop messing around with ghosts!]

[There’s nothing in this patch of woods!]

[Stop scaring us!]

[If he’s not scared, why should we be?]

Xu Yang searched a bit longer.

Once you know the answer, going back to the question feels much simpler.

It was similar when searching for animals.

If the system hadn’t told him an animal was watching him from behind, Xu Yang most certainly wouldn’t have noticed.

But now that he knew, a careful search should always turn up something.

Soon, Xu Yang finally spotted the target.

"So it was hiding here, quite secluded."

"I wondered what was staring at me, so it was this," he said while looking at the forest, smiling.

Then, he spoke to the viewers in the live stream:

"I found it, quite a hider, no wonder I felt something was off," he declared.

"There definitely is an animal in these woods, and it’s a rare one at that, you guys should try and see if you can spot it."

Upon hearing Xu Yang’s words, the viewers again focused their attention on the forest.

With over forty thousand people watching the live stream, they stared at the icy forest for a long time and couldn’t notice any sign of an animal.

[Where is the animal?]

[Old Xu, stop holding out on us!]

[There’s no damn animal here!]

[Come on, point out one for me to see!]

The comments flooded the chat.

Seeing this, Xu Yang decided not to keep them in suspense any longer. He raised his hand high, pointing towards a tree with many branches.

"Look at that tree, behind a few branches, there’s a black panther lying down."

"A black panther is just a genetically mutated leopard, same species as Xiao Hua, but a different color."

"There are quite a few black panthers domestically, they’ve been here since ancient times when the ancients called them Black Leopards, referring to black panthers," he explained.

"This is probably the first black panther I’ve seen in Changbai Mountain."

Following the direction of Xu Yang’s pointing, the viewers then noticed a sleek black panther, lying on a tree branch, cautiously watching Xu Yang.

This black panther was exceptionally handsome.

Though it was also a leopard, its gaze appeared sharper, and its physique seemed more agile.

The chat in the live stream exploded in excitement.

[Holy shit! It’s really there!]

[Ah! I see it! It’s a black panther! Oh my gosh!]

[Old Xu is simply amazing! He managed to find it!]

[So well hidden, how did he spot it!]

[A hunter’s instinct, quite impressive!]

The sudden appearance of the black panther ignited everyone’s enthusiasm.

At that moment, Xu Yang calmly spoke again:

"Not sure if it’s male or female, if it’s a female, could be a wife for Xiao Hua."

"Ah, but this panther is both beautiful and agile, and its gaze seems so intelligent."

"I wonder if my silly eldest could keep up."