Tiger, I rejected the iron rice bowl.

He hurried out of his office, rushed to the monitoring room, stared at the red dot representing Wang Yuyu on the big screen, and anxiously asked, "Where is that secure job now?"

"Director, the 'iron rice bowl' (guaranteed job) has crossed the highway and is currently traveling through the mountains on the outskirts of Linan City!"

The researcher in charge of monitoring immediately stood up and reported, "Once we cross this forest, he can see the edge of Linan City!"

Ji Yongjun's expression grew even more serious. "Where's Xiao Tang? When will she arrive in Linnan City?"

"Miss Tang is already on her way by car. She just got on the highway and is expected to arrive in Linnan City in about half a day!"

"Half a day? That's too long!" Ji Yongjun suddenly raised his voice, his tone full of anxiety. "Tell her to speed things up as much as possible! Once that secure job gets into the city, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

"yes!"

On the other side, Wang Yuyu, who successfully crossed the boundary, was completely unaware that his reckless act had already caused a huge uproar in the human world.

He glanced up at the drone that was still following him overhead, feeling incredibly annoyed. A low growl escaped his throat, as if warning, "Damn it! Why does this piece of junk keep following me?"

"I didn't go to any crowded places, can't I even take a walk in the forest?"

"A bunch of good-for-nothings! Have nothing better to do than this!"

Wang Yu cursed a few times, but seeing that the drone still wouldn't leave, he simply ignored it, lowered his head, and cautiously moved forward in the unfamiliar mountain forest, constantly sniffing the surrounding scents.

After walking for several kilometers, Wang Yuyu gradually stopped, a sense of unease creeping into her mind: "Something's not right... How come I haven't smelled a single trace of a large predator along the way?"

"Is this place a barren wasteland, devoid even of prey?"

He frowned, mentally weighing the pros and cons of each direction: "Did I choose the wrong direction? Should I not have gone this way?"

"We can't go this way. To the north are deep forests, the territory of other tigers and bears, which are hard to take."

"The west side is close to the area of ​​human activity, and the zoo is still there. If we go there, Tang Li will definitely catch us and bring us back. It would be so embarrassing."

"The east is even worse. The wild boar herds there have been wiped out, and there isn't enough food to support my expansion. If I fail, I might really starve to death."

"Now we have no choice but to bite the bullet and head this way!"

Wang Yu gritted her teeth and encouraged herself, "There's not a single large predator in sight here. Maybe it's an untouched 'virgin territory'!"

"If I walk a little further, I might still be in the edge area, not yet in the core area."

With that thought in mind, Wang Yuyu no longer hesitated, lowered her head, and continued to walk deeper into this unknown area.

Meanwhile, on the highway leading to Linnan City, an SUV was speeding along at full speed.

Tang Li, sitting restlessly in the back seat, kept staring at the road ahead and urging Wang Jianjun, who was driving, "Uncle Wang, faster! Can you go faster?"

Wang Jianjun, with a pained expression, turned his head and advised, "Xiao Tang, you really can't go any faster! We're already at the speed limit; any faster and we'll be fined for speeding. If something goes wrong, it'll only cause more trouble!"

Seeing this, Wang Weiguo, who was sitting next to Tang Li, quickly reached out and pulled Tang Li back to her seat, gently patted her shoulder, and reassured her in a calm tone: "Alright, alright, don't rush, sit down and rest for a while."

"If you keep staring at Jianjun while he drives, you'll only distract him."

"Don't worry, we'll definitely be able to stop him before he gets into the city."

Tang Li was pressed back into her seat, but she still couldn't sit still. She leaned forward slightly, her brows furrowed, and her voice was full of worry: "Director, how can I not be anxious! The 'iron rice bowl' is getting closer and closer to the city center. If he really barges in and causes panic among the citizens, those law enforcement officers might just open fire in a moment of panic!"

"Nothing will happen." Wang Weiguo held Tang Li's slightly cool hand tightly, his tone firm. "The research base has already communicated with the relevant departments in Linnan City and made it clear that their jobs must not be compromised."

"Even if we can't stop him, at most we can subdue him with a tranquilizer gun and then send him back to the reserve. He won't die."

Seeing Tang Li's still anxious expression, Wang Weiguo deliberately changed the subject, softening his tone as he asked, "You know iron rice bowl best. Why isn't he staying in his own territory? Why is he suddenly thinking about expanding outwards?"

Tang Li took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, and slowly explained, "It must be because of the electric fence trap from last time."

"That trap was deadly; it wiped out an entire stable herd of wild boars in his territory, which was one of his main food sources!"

Her voice was full of heartache: "Now that the wild boar herd is gone, he must be worried about not having enough food in winter, which is why he had to risk expanding outwards."

"Our zoo is on the west side of his territory. He knows that area is close to human activity, so he would never go that way."

"He has already surveyed the deep mountains to the north, which are all the territory of other tigers and bears, and he will not go back to confront them head-on."

"The wild boar herd to the east is gone, and there isn't enough food to sustain us, so we had no choice but to go in this direction."

"He has a herd of deer in this area, so even if this expansion fails, he can retreat and won't go hungry."

"Those damned poachers!" Wang Weiguo slammed his fist on the back of his seat in anger after hearing this, his face ashen, and he cursed through gritted teeth, "Winter is already a time when food is scarce for wild animals, and yet they set these deadly traps in the reserve! It's utterly inhumane!"

Tang Li sighed softly, her eyes dimming: "There's nothing I can do, it's just a matter of fortune and misfortune being intertwined."

"That herd of wild boars saved the job from disaster. If the job had stepped into the trap first, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

"But it was precisely because the wild boar herd was gone that he faced a survival crisis and had no choice but to risk expanding."

"We can't interfere too much, so we can only watch him make his own way."

She looked out the window at the trees rushing past, her voice filled with helplessness, "I hope he can get through this winter."

Wang Weiguo nodded, his tone heavy: "We should be able to get through this."

"With such a strong physique, when it was fighting the tigress before, it was able to defeat three adult male tigers around it. It shouldn't be difficult for it to take over another territory and solve the food problem."

"When two tigers fight, one is bound to be injured!"

Tang Li turned her head, her eyes full of worry, "There are quite a few powerful predators around his territory. If he gets injured in a fight, it will be a big problem."

These words made Wang Weiguo's brows furrow instantly.

He spent his entire life in zoos and reserves and witnessed too much of the cruelty of survival for wild animals: once a top predator is injured or weakened, it immediately becomes the target of other predators, even those who were weaker than it before, who will attack it en masse.

In the animal kingdom, defeat often means death, with no way out.

The car fell silent instantly, with only the roar of the SUV engine and the sound of wheels rolling over the road.

The car continued to speed along the highway, getting closer and closer to Linnan City, and everyone's hearts were on Wang Yuyu's shoulders.