Chapter 103: Wipeout
“We’re not the only ones,” the poacher said. “There’s another group on the other side of the reserve. I don’t know their exact location, but their gear is better than ours, because their target is the snow leopard.”
Snow leopards are a Class I nationally protected species. People adore them for their looks—especially those thick, powerful tails—and for certain people, their fur is “beautiful” in a far more sinister way.
Lin Jiangye tightened his grip slightly. The poacher’s neck was forced upward. Having his vital spot exposed like this made him unbearably anxious—terrified that Lin Jiangye would pull out a knife and slit his throat the next second.
This was deep in the wilds. If Lin Jiangye killed him and buried him on the spot, who would ever know? Wuwuwu…
The poacher had tried to hold back some information, but the person he was facing was Lin Jiangye. The slightest abnormality would be noticed immediately.
And the price of trying to hide anything was having each finger snapped—one by one.
What was most horrifying was that Lin Jiangye didn’t show a trace of emotion while doing it. His eyes gleamed with an icy light, like he was actually looking forward to figuring out how to torment him next.
The poacher had seen that kind of gaze before—on big predators. Sometimes, when their attacks failed, the beast wouldn’t run. It would turn around and retaliate.
And if you were unlucky enough to fall into its claws, those beasts didn’t necessarily let you die quickly.
The more he looked at Lin Jiangye, the more frightened the poacher became. Only now did he truly understand why his “colleagues” were so terrified of Lin Jiangye.
They’d fought him before. They knew how terrifyingly strong he was—stronger than any normal person. Forget restraining an adult man; the poacher even suspected Lin Jiangye could pin down something like a snow leopard with his bare hands!
Not to mention those eyes. When they locked on you, a chill really did crawl up from the soles of your feet.
You can’t win. You can’t run. If you resist, you get tortured.
That helplessness was absolute despair.
After being “worked over” once, the man finally obediently vomited up everything he knew.
When Lin Jiangye learned there were more than just one team of poachers in the reserve—and that there really were insiders in the forestry bureau and the reserve helping them—his expression turned even more terrifying.
He gripped the poacher’s collar with one hand and dragged him back. The poacher didn’t dare struggle at all, only clutching his broken fingers and crying silently.
When Lin Jiangye returned to the original cave with him, the director and his group also managed to feel their way over.
They’d just learned from Bai Zhengwen why the gunshots happened. They knew Lin Jiangye had chased the poachers, and their faces had gone pale as they frantically debated how to bring him back.
They hadn’t even finished thinking—and Lin Jiangye had already come back first.
“Keep an eye on this poacher. I’m going to help Tiger Mom… help Tianheng and the others.” Lin Jiangye had barely opened his mouth when he saw Tiger Mom come in, dragging another poacher by the collar in her jaws.
The poacher Lin Jiangye had caught saw his companion—half-dead after being “handled” by a Northeast tiger—and quietly stopped crying. He raised his hands and waited to be arrested like a good boy.
The presence of a full-grown Northeast tiger was enough to scare the poachers—and even the director’s people—half to death.
A Northeast tiger. The largest wild cat on earth.
At the same time, Chang Geng and Qiming returned with Tianheng and the others. It wasn’t that they couldn’t find Lin Jiangye; it was just that Lin Jiangye didn’t need help here, so one went to find Tiger Mom and the other went to find Tianheng.
When the director and the staff saw Tianheng and Kaiyang, they couldn’t help their mouths twitch.
They could tell those two were wolves—foreign wolves, at that—and they knew these were among the largest canids in the world.
So: the largest wild cat on one side, the largest canid on the other, plus Lin Jiangye whose strength was beyond human norms…
No wonder they weren’t afraid at all, even facing poachers with guns.
Lin Jiangye hugged Tiger Mom and rubbed against her, then hugged Tianheng, Kaiyang, and Bixi and checked them over. After confirming none of them were hurt, he pointed at the poacher he’d dragged back and repeated what the man had said.
“He said there’s another group of poachers in the reserve.”
Director and staff: !!!
“He also said there are insiders in the forestry bureau and the reserve working with them.”
Director and staff: !!!
“And finally—this group of poachers shares the same mastermind as the poachers I caught before in Taibai Mountain and in Xiqiang’s Black Moon County. It might even involve overseas forces.”
The director was basically numb. Three pieces of news, and each one was worse than the last. (:??)_
Especially the last one. He didn’t know much about Taibai Mountain, but he did know about the foreign poachers caught in Xiqiang.
Back then, he’d even cursed the poachers alongside the local forestry bureau—and he’d heard they’d gotten two wild Bengal tiger cubs “for free” from Consultant Lin.
Two. Wild. Bengal tiger cubs.
He wasn’t going to lie—he’d fantasized about Lin Jiangye coming here and bringing back one… or a few… rare wild animals.
But Lin Jiangye did come.
And brought him three pieces of terrible news instead.
The director took a sharp breath, forcing himself to snap back into action. His voice shook. “Where are they?! I’ll take people and go kill them! And who are the moles?!”
He wanted to slaughter someone.
Lin Jiangye looked at him. He already knew the names of the moles, but facing the director’s roar, he didn’t answer. Instead, he handed the poacher to the director.
“Take him down first. Brother Bai—go with the director, and report it. I’ll go with Tiger Mom and the others and catch the second group first.”
Bai Zhengwen had wanted to go too, but when he looked at Lin Jiangye, he saw the young man subtly shake his head.
Thinking of the “moles,” Bai Zhengwen’s heart jolted. He immediately understood Lin Jiangye’s meaning.
So everyone split into two groups.
One group went downhill to signal range to call the police, and also captured the people stationed at the foot of the mountain to relay information.
The other group headed toward the far side of the reserve, planning to wipe out the remaining poachers in one net.
Bai Zhengwen handed all his weapons over to Lin Jiangye, telling him to shoot immediately if anything felt off.
“Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”
This time, Lin Jiangye didn’t plan to bring Cangao or Bixi.
The little tabby cat widened its eyes and put on an aggrieved look. [Does human not want Mimi anymore?]
“I’m not abandoning you.” Lin Jiangye picked up Cangao and kissed the fluffy little head, explaining softly, “This could get very dangerous. I can’t protect you every second. Stay with Uncle Bai. Help me protect him, and…”
He leaned close to the cat’s ear and whispered something.
No one else knew what he told a cat, but they all saw it clearly—the tabby’s eyes lit up instantly.
[Okay! Mimi will do it!]
Cangao could tell Lin Jiangye wasn’t brushing it off—he was giving it a real mission.
And Bixi had a mission too. Once the two little ones received important assignments, they perked right up and followed Bai Zhengwen down the mountain, looking proud and energetic.
After they left, Lin Jiangye led Tiger Mom and the others toward the other location.
According to the poacher, the second group was in a valley more than ten kilometers away. The cameras there had also been swapped.
Their method was even sneakier: only when they were about to start hunting would they tamper with the feed. The rest of the time, the footage looked completely normal.
And unlike the drone hunters, the valley group worked in daylight—specifically timing their moves for when patrols had just passed.
They had tranquilizer darts and suppressors. Unless you were very close, you basically wouldn’t detect them.
In their eyes, it was safer—and it made it easier to get their catch out of the mountains.
Ten-plus kilometers of rough mountain paths wasn’t hard for Lin Jiangye—let alone for Tiger Mom or Tianheng and the rest.
The only reason they weren’t sprinting like beasts for dozens of kilometers was because Lin Jiangye was still human. No matter how fast he was, he couldn’t run like Tiger Mom over long distances.
An hour later, they arrived.
Before they came, Chang Geng and Qiming had already scouted the area. With the tawny owl helping and vouching for them, the local animals quickly learned there were poachers nearby.
They had sensed the atmosphere turning tense, but since they hadn’t run into the poachers yet, they hadn’t understood why.
Now they did.
When life is in danger, a wild animal’s instincts ignite.
Even if these poachers weren’t targeting this particular group of small herbivores or mid-sized predators right now, who could guarantee humans wouldn’t come for them next?
Animals are smart—especially when it comes to survival.
So when Lin Jiangye arrived, Chang Geng and Qiming brought him a group of volunteers to guide them.
Truly small animals.
A whole bunch of youngsters—the biggest one wasn’t even as long as Lin Jiangye’s forearm. Their small size made them less likely to draw the poachers’ attention.
Still, Lin Jiangye excluded protected species from participating.
“You’re too valuable. If you get too close, I’m afraid they’ll kill you on the side.”
This crew were repeat offenders—experienced, with channels to sell protected animals.
Hunting other protected animals didn’t conflict with their buyer’s demands. If it could be sold, they wouldn’t let it go.
The selected youngsters stared up at the human with wide eyes, not really understanding what “valuable” meant.
Seeing this, Qiming leaned over and chattered with them, explaining the human rules about protected animals.
Once the plan and locations were set, Lin Jiangye waved a hand, and the youngsters—already fed—scurried away in a rustling blur.
“That man said there are six poachers here. Their target is the snow leopard, and…” Lin Jiangye paused, shut his eyes, and took a deep breath.
“And they’ve already got one. Now they’ve set their sights on a pregnant female.”
If they’d targeted a pregnant female, then they definitely wanted to take her alive. A grown one could be forced to breed again. The babies could be sold as pets to the rich.
Just like the Zhang family case in the capital.
Because they needed the mother alive—and couldn’t injure the belly—they moved with extreme caution, willing to stake out for days rather than rush.
And that was exactly why Lin Jiangye had caught up in time.
Soon, the small guides returned with new intel: they’d found the poachers. And—bad timing—the poachers were about to make their move.
Lin Jiangye’s heart jolted, followed by a surge of relief. If he hadn’t come today, that pregnant snow leopard would have been doomed. And once they got her, they might never come back.
Which meant today might be the only chance to catch them.
Lin Jiangye drew a deep breath, his eyes sharpening into a cold blade. He looked back at Tiger Mom and Tianheng. They met his gaze—they also understood how critical this moment was.
“In a minute, you all protect yourselves first. Especially you, Tiger Mom—Northeast tigers are worth a fortune to poachers too.” Especially a wild one.
Tiger Mom nodded silently. Of course she would protect herself. If anything happened to her, her human cub would go insane.
Then, according to plan, they split into three routes to strike the poachers from different angles, while Chang Geng and Qiming watched their movements from above.
The six men weren’t clustered together. If one of them startled the snow leopard, the others wouldn’t even have a chance to salvage it.
Lin Jiangye’s targets were the two with live-ammo rifles.
Tiger Mom and Tianheng’s targets were the ones with tranquilizer guns.
Slipping into a stalking state, Lin Jiangye moved like a black panther—silent and unseen—as he advanced on his targets.
Around him, the youngsters kept calling softly, guiding him with their own methods.
Soon, he caught the metallic tang of blood.
He raised his head—and saw the two men not far away.
Lin Jiangye’s eyes flicked—and immediately locked onto the figure behind them:
a wolf, collapsed on the ground, drenched in blood.
He froze.
His gaze stayed on the body for a long time, unmoving.
After who knew how long, he lowered himself again, nose filled with the stench of wolf blood.
And besides the wolf… he also caught a faint, thin whimper in the air—so slight that if he hadn’t been downwind, he might not have heard it at all.
He could already guess what had happened. Just like he’d told the protected animals earlier—these people would casually kill other animals too, then haul the bodies back to sell for money.
Lin Jiangye’s gaze turned even colder. If anyone had been standing in front of him, they would’ve noticed his eyes seemed to lose focus—dark and hollow, eerie enough to look like some vengeful ghost.
When he was about five meters away from the two men, the timing was perfect: they raised their guns, clearly about to take a shot at the pregnant snow leopard.
Two seconds before they fired, Lin Jiangye coiled his body low, both hands digging into the muddy ground.
The next second, he launched himself forward—shooting behind them in a blur.
At the same time, a piercing bird cry split the air. The snow leopard that had been lying on the rocks seemed to sense danger and sprang away, instantly abandoning its spot.
Before the two men could even register what was happening, the one about to pull the trigger suddenly felt his neck tighten—and then a sharp, violent pain exploded through his arm.
He twisted his head—and a strange, handsome face had appeared beside him without a sound. With just one hand, the newcomer wrenched his arm clean out of joint.
“Hiss—!”
The other man snapped back to his senses and tried to turn and run—only to yelp as pain stabbed through his foot. He crashed hard to the ground.
He didn’t waste words. He spun and opened fire wildly at the figure in front of him.
But the instant he started to turn, Lin Jiangye had already read his intent. He dropped flat to the ground, and every bullet the man fired slammed into his own companion instead.
Watching the man get riddled with shots and slowly collapse, Lin Jiangye’s eyebrow jumped.
“Whoa.”
The tone was pure, unfiltered delight.
The surviving poacher was completely stunned. He hadn’t expected the one who died to be his teammate—and more importantly, that suddenly appearing young man hadn’t taken a single hit.
Before the poacher’s brain could catch up, Lin Jiangye whipped a knife from his waist and drove it into the man’s thigh.
Then—twist. Rise. Roll.
He flipped to the man’s head-side position in one smooth motion, neatly dodging the frantic spray of bullets the poacher fired in agony.
With a knife buried in his thigh, the man couldn’t get up and flee. When Lin Jiangye closed in again, he ended it with a single punch—sending the poacher flying, rolling across the ground several times before going completely limp.
Gunshots had been fired. The sound would definitely alert the other four.
But with Tiger Mom and the others there… it should be fine, right?
Of course it was fine.
Lin Jiangye struck first to draw attention from both sides. The moment the other groups got distracted, Chang Geng and Qiming led the smaller birds in a sudden burst of noise. When the poachers’ focus snapped upward, Tiger Mom surged out from behind them—one slap per person—effortlessly sending them flying. They hit the ground and went out cold.
As for Tianheng’s side: Tianheng and Kaiyang didn’t have Tiger Mom’s sheer brute force, but they had something else—there were two of them. One wolf per man was more than enough.
In just five minutes, all six poachers were down.
Then Chang Geng and Qiming took the owl and headed downhill to notify the director and the others.
And what was Lin Jiangye doing during all that?
He was digging a hole—burying the wolf’s body.
He didn’t care about the poacher who died. He didn’t want to. As for the one still alive, he shoved him into the dirt too, leaving only half his body sticking out above ground.
Lin Jiangye buried the wolf under a tree. When he turned around, he found a snow leopard standing silently behind him.
It was the very pregnant snow leopard the poachers had been targeting.
The birds’ warning had saved her. Hearing that this strange human was digging a hole to bury a wolf, she couldn’t resist her curiosity and came to take a look.
Lin Jiangye stared at the chubby, round-bellied snow leopard, then at her dazed, innocent eyes, and suddenly laughed.
Still alive. Thank goodness.
Then he went to rummage through the poachers’ packs—but when his hand brushed something soft and furry, the smile on his face froze.
“No way…”
When Chang Geng and Qiming brought the police and the director up, the first thing they saw wasn’t the poachers Lin Jiangye had “planted” into the ground like crops.
It was Lin Jiangye lying in a pile of snow leopards—left arm hugging a Northeast tiger, right arm hugging a clouded leopard, with two cubs sprawled on his chest.
Good lord. This guy could really be “left hug, right cuddle,” no matter where he went.
Lin Jiangye cracked one eye open, pointed at the gagged poachers beside him, and said, “They’ve met the mastermind face-to-face.”
Then he rolled up and sat, kicked someone hard in the side, and stared down at him expressionlessly.
“His hands are stained with the lives of two snow leopards, three clouded leopards—and one giant panda.”
“What? A giant panda?”
That last word hit like a bomb. Everyone there went rigid.
But the most shocking thing was the two cubs in Lin Jiangye’s arms: one was a clouded leopard cub… and the other—
a giant panda cub.
“Where did that panda cub come from?!” the director let out a shrill, panicked scream.
Yeah. Where?
Every panda in the reserve was supposed to have a tracker. Pregnant mothers, newborn cubs—each had a unique tracking ID.
But this one clearly didn’t.
“A wild panda. The one they killed was a truly wild panda. They skinned it—and stole its baby.”
That came from the two poachers Tiger Mom had dragged back. The moment they said it, Lin Jiangye “planted” them too.
The director’s heart shattered completely.
Not just his—every staff member in the reserve felt like something inside them broke, too.
They’d never imagined a truly wild panda would appear here. If they’d discovered and protected it in time, it would’ve shaken the entire forestry system nationwide.
But now…
Gone.
“Take this cub… and treat it well. I’ll come by from time to time.” It was the first time Lin Jiangye had ever said something like that.
But if he couldn’t trust the staff here—if there were six or seven insiders—then how could he hand things over with peace of mind? Without those moles, the poachers never would’ve operated so smoothly.
The director’s face burned, but he had no excuse.
This was a catastrophic failure on his watch. Once this was over, he probably wouldn’t keep his position as director.
He looked at the cub sleeping soundly in Lin Jiangye’s arms, then at the ferocious beasts clustered around Lin Jiangye—so obedient they seemed almost like house cats.
He’d never seen a scene like this.
Maybe it was because his own heart wasn’t pure enough—wasn’t the kind animals were willing to trust.
Lin Jiangye patted each of their heads, then shooed them back to their own territories.
Aside from the panda cub, he wouldn’t bring a single animal down the mountain.
But when he reached mid-slope, a rustling sound came from the grass nearby.
The police instinctively reached for their sidearms—then froze when the thing in the grass stepped out.
It was a golden snub-nosed monkey.
And it was a baby.
