The three words "Was it fun?" appeared in Zhang Yang's mind.
Damn it, it really was quite fun—fun to the point he almost lost his life.
"Little brother, your big brother is very weak right now. Can you get me some water?"
Zhang Yang indirectly reminded the little brother: your dad already told you to get me something to eat, you can't just disobey him, right?
"Ah, I'll go right now!"
The little wolf pup turned and ran off energetically.
Zhang Yang once again surveyed the cave. He didn't see any other jungle wolves. Was this that wolf's home? Or maybe some kind of guest room?
Either way, it was fine with him. Zhang Yang really didn't want to come into contact with other jungle wolves—it would be too easy to get exposed.
Ding, task triggered: Join the Pack. Task requirement: Join this branch of the jungle wolf pack. Task reward: Unknown.
Huh?
Another task triggered?
This actually surprised Zhang Yang. He had thought that he wouldn't get new tasks until he completed the previous one.
It seemed that wasn't the case.
The little wolf came back very quickly. This guy was surprisingly clever—he even knew to carry some water in a stone container.
"Big brother, drink first. I'll go get you something to eat. You must be hungry, right?"
If he were following some cool, pretentious script, he would definitely say something like "I'm not hungry" in a lofty tone.
But Zhang Yang's stomach was brutally honest.
Before he could even reply, his stomach started growling in protest.
The atmosphere became a little awkward.
Fortunately, the little wolf didn't overthink things. Without waiting for Zhang Yang's answer, he ran off again, looking extremely cheerful.
Zhang Yang ignored the little wolf and buried his head in the water, drinking freely.
You know what? Maybe because he hadn't drunk water in so long, this water actually tasted pretty sweet.
By the time the little wolf came back with food, Zhang Yang was still drinking—he had basically treated the water like a beverage.
When Zhang Yang saw what the little wolf was carrying in his mouth, his eyes practically glowed green.
Hunger is a primal instinct in living creatures; it wasn't something Zhang Yang could control. His gastric acid surged, and drool dripped uncontrollably.
Luckily, he had drunk enough water that it all mixed together when it dripped. The little wolf couldn't tell which part was saliva.
At least it saved him some face.
"Big brother, this is a bear paw. It's for you."
The little wolf placed a bear paw about forty centimeters in diameter in front of Zhang Yang.
Originally, Zhang Yang had wanted to maintain a bit of "big brother" dignity.
Unfortunately, the food was just too tempting.
Dignity could go to hell.
This was a bear paw he had never eaten in his previous life!
Zhang Yang attacked.
Very ferociously. Very violently.
One bite and he tore into the bear paw.
The little wolf's eyes sparkled as he watched.
Big brother's teeth were seriously impressive. For an ordinary jungle wolf to tear apart a bear paw usually took a lot more effort than one bite.
But Zhang Yang could do it.
He ripped it open with just his jaws—no need to pin it down with his paws.
Sharpness could amplify the cutting power of teeth, and that wasn't just talk.
As the flesh entered his stomach, a deep sense of satisfaction rose from within. It felt so damn good.
Ding, consumed flesh and blood. Evolution points +5.
His stomach was satisfied, and the system had to jump in and join the party.
"Eating food can increase evolution points too? Pretty user-friendly, huh."
Any increase was better than none. Zhang Yang didn't overthink it—nothing was more important than continuing to eat.
He was seriously starving to death.
The little wolf watched Zhang Yang eat what was originally his own food, but he didn't seem bothered at all.
That's right—this bear paw had actually been meant for the little wolf. Otherwise, how could something so good end up on the plate of an outsider like Zhang Yang?
The food the alpha wolf had prepared for Zhang Yang had already been hidden away by the little wolf.
Of course the little wolf had his own selfish motives. He longed for the life outside the cave and wanted to hear everything Zhang Yang knew about the outside world.
He had also heard that lone wolves were ones who had experienced many things—their knowledge and stories were incredibly rich.
"Huh? Big brother, your wound…"
The little wolf had been staring at Zhang Yang the whole time. When he noticed the wound on Zhang Yang's belly healing rapidly, he was shocked.
"No need to be surprised. I was just too hungry earlier and didn't have enough blood energy to recover. Now that I've eaten, it's getting better."
Zhang Yang roughly understood why the wound was healing so quickly. It definitely had a lot to do with eating the bear paw.
But even more credit went to his "limb regeneration" ability.
The light shining in the little wolf's eyes was pure admiration.
In a wolf pack, who hasn't gotten injured before?
But recovering from injuries this fast? This was the first time the little wolf had ever seen it.
Even his father—the alpha of the pack—didn't have such an outstanding recovery ability.
"Big brother is so awesome! I'm going to tell Dad!"
Without even asking Zhang Yang, the little wolf excitedly dashed off, like a child who had discovered something amazing and couldn't wait to show his father.
"Hey, you…"
Zhang Yang felt a little bitter.
Little brother, isn't this a bit off-script?
I didn't want your dad to know so soon that I've already woken up.
Wasn't this basically turning myself in?
He had just been pretending to be unconscious in front of them earlier. Now, in such a short time, not only had he woken up, he had already finished eating the food.
Would they suspect he had bad intentions?
Well, worrying was useless now. The alpha wolf was coming.
"Dad, come quick! Look—big brother's physique is amazing. His wounds have already healed!"
Even from far away, Zhang Yang could hear the little wolf's excited voice. Honestly, he was actually a little nervous.
This was inside a wolf den. If they harbored any ill will toward him, he was really done for.
Soon, the alpha wolf arrived in front of Zhang Yang.
"It really has healed? Little guy, where are you from?"
The alpha wolf was huge—three meters long, about one meter sixty-seven at the shoulder. His wolf eyes carried strong intimidation.
"I… forgot where I came from."
Zhang Yang didn't dare act arrogant in front of the alpha.
"Forgot, huh? Well then, would you be willing to join our family?"
The alpha didn't dwell on it. In fact, forgetting was better.
In his eyes, Zhang Yang was clearly a very young jungle wolf. No matter why he had been driven out by his previous pack, as long as Zhang Yang was willing to sincerely join this one, he was welcome.
In jungle wolf packs, there were no "traitors"—only "losers."
"I'm willing!"
Zhang Yang raised his head and looked straight into the alpha's eyes, his gaze very sincere. He had intended to join anyway.
He just hadn't expected joining a wolf pack would be this easy.
"Good. Welcome. This place will be your home from now on. You may look like an adult, but you're too skinny. Once you've fattened up a bit, you can join us on hunts. Until then, if there's anything you don't understand, just ask my eldest pup."
The alpha spoke happily.
His pack had lost one adult wolf today, but Zhang Yang had filled the gap. The loss wasn't too bad.
Although they'd have to feed Zhang Yang for a while without him contributing, it wasn't a problem. Waiting for a young pup to grow up took too long, but fattening up a skinny adult wolf was much easier.
In the jungle where they lived, food was not scarce. What the wolf pack truly faced were challenges from other predators.
…So he was being looked down on again?
Fine, you're the alpha. You're right. I really am too skinny.
But honestly… being raised like this didn't sound half bad.
Zhang Yang felt a little smug inside.
The bear paw he had just eaten didn't only heal his wounds—his evolution points had increased by 100.
If he could eat four or five meals like this every day, that would be pretty great.
Ding, task completed: Join the Pack. Task reward: Lifespan +5 days.
Ding, task triggered: Wolf King. Task requirement: Become the king of the pack. Task reward: Unknown.