Tiger, I rejected the iron rice bowl.

The next morning, around seven o'clock, as the sun rose, golden rays pierced through the thin mist and shone on the mountains and forests, giving the snow a warm glow.

Wang Yu first poked half his head out of the snowdrift, his amber eyes narrowing as he adjusted to the morning light. Then, his entire body slowly emerged, the snow covering his fluffy tiger fur sliding down his body and piling up into small snowdrifts on the ground.

The moment he stood up, he shook his body violently, and with a "whoosh," the remaining snowflakes on his body were flung everywhere.

He then stopped moving, his ears perked up, his tail slightly taut, and he warily scanned his surroundings.

The forest was quiet, with only the soft rustling of the wind through the treetops. After confirming there was no danger, he lowered his head and buried his face in the cold snow, washing away the weariness and instantly clearing his mind.

After completing this "morning ritual," Wang Yu slowly moved her body, stretching her limbs alternately and digging her claws into the snow to relax her muscles that had been frozen all night.

After warming up, he walked steadily toward the place where he had buried the roe deer the night before, keeping an eye on the ground along the way to see if any other animals would come to steal food by following the smell of blood.

Walking to the snowdrift, he gently used his front paws to remove the snow covering it, revealing the intact roe deer carcass underneath.

Once he was sure no one was after him, he nodded in satisfaction, letting out a low whimper, as if he were relieved that his "food rations were safe."

He then turned around and ran back to the bushes where he had rested the night before, picked up the positioning ball, placed it next to the animal trap, and then left it there.

Wang Yu lay down in front of the roe deer carcass, stretched out his paw and gently touched the flesh that had been frozen overnight, leaving only a few shallow marks on the hard surface.

"Damn it, it's frozen solid again!" he cursed inwardly, his tone full of helplessness but not too surprised.

In the deep mountains and forests, where temperatures drop to tens of degrees below zero, prey left overnight almost always turns into "rock-hard frozen meat," a situation he had experienced countless times before.

He lowered his head, turned the roe deer carcass over, and then used his claws and teeth to tear it apart. With great difficulty, he managed to rip open the frozen and brittle outer layer and peered inside. The flesh inside was already frozen solid.

"Well, all that effort for nothing." Wang Yuyu shook his head and had no choice but to use his claws to drag the corpse to the bushes on the side, letting it hang in the air to reduce its contact with the ground, and slowly wait for the sun to melt the surface a little.

Meanwhile, the positioning ball he had thrown next to the animal trap quietly extended its camera and slowly rotated to film the surrounding situation.

On the monitoring screen of the research base, Wang Yuyu, lying next to his prey, and the bloodstained animal trap beside him quickly appeared.

The researcher immediately understood the situation, his expression changed drastically, and without delay, he picked up the phone and dialed Tang Li's number.

Tang Li had already gotten up and was starting another day of trap detection work with her team.

After receiving the call from the research base, her face darkened, and she quickly walked to Niu Zhihua's side after hanging up the phone.

"Uncle Niu, something's happened."

Tang Li's tone was somewhat serious, "Another animal trap has been found at the Iron Rice Bowl place! The roe deer he caught last night was caught in this trap, so he basically got a free lunch."

"Where is it located?" Niu Zhihua frowned instantly, put down his tools, and asked seriously.

The emergence of new traps means that their previous investigation scope may not have been sufficient, and there may even be undiscovered groups of traps.

Tang Li pointed eastward and accurately reported the location: "It's to the east, a little over a kilometer away from our camp as the crow flies."

Niu Zhihua lowered his head and pondered for a few seconds before analyzing in a deep voice, "At this distance, it's highly likely to be a trap connected to the power grid."

"But we can't rule out the possibility that it's a new trap group; we'll have to go and check it out to find out."

He immediately made the decision, "Let's take our tools and go check it out! Maybe we can find more traces of poachers at the scene."

"Okay!" Tang Li nodded immediately and turned to get her equipment.

Niu Zhihua turned to the other team members and loudly ordered, "Continue to expand the search area around the camp. Be thorough and don't overlook any suspicious traces!"

"Yes, Master Niu!" everyone responded in unison, picking up their metal detectors and continuing to carefully search through the snow.

Here, Niu Zhihua and Tang Li, carrying metal detectors, walked briskly one after the other towards Wang Yuyu's location. Along the way, they carefully checked the snow under their feet and around them with the detectors, afraid of missing any hidden traps.

Two hours later, Tang Li and Niu Zhihua finally found Wang Yuyu.

He was lying beside the roe deer carcass, his tongue lolling out as he licked the slightly thawed surface of the flesh, which was warmed by the sun. The tiger's fur was gilded with a pale gold by the morning light, and he looked impatient.

"A secure job!" Seeing that Wang Yuyu was safe and sound, Tang Li was completely relieved and immediately waved and called out to him.

Wang Yu turned his head at the sound, and when he saw that it was Tang Li, his amber eyes lit up instantly. His previously tense body relaxed, and he grinned, revealing his sharp canines, and let out a joyful growl:

"Haha, Tang Li! You've come at the perfect time! Come quickly and help me start a fire to defrost the meat. This lousy meat is frozen solid, I'm practically drooling over it!"

With that, he took long strides and ran quickly toward Tang Li.

Tang Li's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly reached out her hand, her voice rising several decibels: "Stop! Stop! Stop! You're a safe bet! Don't come any closer! Stay where you are!"

Wang Yuyu's mind was filled with "making a fire and eating meat," and he didn't understand what she meant at all. However, he still obeyed her reflexively. He slammed his four tiger paws on the snow and brought the vehicle to a sudden stop, kicking up snow in front of him.

Seeing him stop, Tang Li breathed a long sigh of relief, quickly took two steps forward, and explained, "It's a secure job, so you'd better stay where you are!"

"There might be traps hidden around here. On our way here, we already found an animal trap and a wire snare, both very well hidden!"

Her tone was stern: "Don't move! Let me and Uncle Niu check your surroundings first, and we'll only go over when we're sure it's safe!"

"What? There's a trap?"

Wang Yuyu froze for a moment, then stood there, her fur standing on end, whipping her tail wildly to sweep away the snow, muttering curses under her breath.

"Those damned poachers! Those two bastards, Zhang Baotian and Zhang Baohai, how many traps have they planted in my territory?"

"Luckily, I didn't wander off aimlessly last night, otherwise... otherwise..."

He suddenly stopped mid-complaint, realizing that he really didn't know how to deal with the two brothers. He became even angrier, letting out a muffled growl and rubbing his head against the tree trunk beside him as if venting his anger.