The alpha wolf died with a smile.
Zhang Yang let out a悲伤 low cry.
For a moment, wolf howls echoed throughout the entire wolf den.
This was the pack declaring their victory, and also releasing the sorrow in their hearts.
Wolf Blue, outside the den, heard the sounds coming from inside. He was somewhat unwilling to believe his ears, but he could understand the meaning behind those howls.
When Wolf Blue rushed into the wolf den and saw the father he had always been so proud of, he cried.
Zhang Yang turned his head.
Using his three remaining intact legs, he propped up his body.
"From this day forward, I am the Wolf King."
An indescribable aura emanated from Zhang Yang.
All the jungle wolves half-knelt on their forelegs.
Low, submissive calls came from their throats — this was their way of showing submission.
"Ding, mission completed: Wolf King. Mission reward: Lifespan +30 days."
"Ding, mission triggered: Develop and Strengthen. Mission requirement: Expand and strengthen the size of the wolf pack. Mission reward: Unknown. Friendly reminder: Annexing other wolf packs is the fastest way to grow stronger."
An extra thirty days of life in one go?
This reward was quite generous. Zhang Yang was very satisfied.
"Go. Take care of your father's body properly," Zhang Yang said.
Wolf Blue raised his head slightly, then nodded at Zhang Yang.
Wolf Blue was still small, only about one meter in body length. Although he had also gained the "immense strength" talent, dragging the alpha wolf's corpse by himself was still quite difficult.
But no jungle wolf stepped in to help him.
This was something Wolf Blue had to do himself — it was his own responsibility, his father's pride, and it was up to him to inherit it.
"Clean up the den," Zhang Yang instructed again.
Then he bit down on the tiger cub's corpse. He planned to drag it back to his own den.
Though a sorrowful atmosphere still hung over the pack, life had to go on. They quickly began tending to their wounds and handling the bodies inside the den.
Fallen comrades needed to be buried.
Zhang Yang wasn't dragging the tiger's body back to his den to eat it. This tiger had been truly powerful. Without the help of the pack, Zhang Yang, in his current state, might not have been able to kill it.
So the tiger's corpse could not be wasted.
Back in his own den, Zhang Yang chose to fuse.
"Ding, this fusion requires 5000 evolution points. Fusion success rate: 79%. Proceed with fusion?"
"So much? 5000?"
Zhang Yang was quite surprised. 5000 was already a significant amount for him.
Even after hunting for so many days, the evolution points he had accumulated hadn't reached 10,000 yet. Only after killing the tiger and completing the mission did he finally exceed that number.
"Fuse."
No matter the cost, fusion was definitely necessary. Simply eating it would be too much of a waste.
"Ding, fusion commencing."
The tiger's body suddenly turned into countless green light particles, which then flowed into Zhang Yang's body.
"Ding, fusion successful. Please select fusion direction."
A panel appeared with two different silhouettes: one was still the form of a jungle wolf, while the other was a wolf body with a tiger's head.
"What does the second option enhance?"
Zhang Yang wasn't stupid. He could tell the first choice would give him a tiger head — that looked too mismatched and ugly. He didn't like it.
If he really wanted a tiger head, why not just evolve into a tiger outright? That would be much better.
"Ding, the second choice will enhance the host's bone strength."
"Select the second one."
No need for further discussion — definitely the second.
The next moment, a sensation of his entire body being torn apart arrived.
Zhang Yang felt like he was dying — like every bone in his body had been shattered?
Fortunately, the system's "surgery" was always lightning-fast. Whether pleasure or pain, it only lasted a short while.
"Ding, host has completed tiger bone fusion. Strength +1, Constitution +1, Agility +1, Body Potential +10, Evolution Point Cap +10,000."
Body Potential?
What's that?
"Ding, after fusion, all of the host's attributes can be increased by an additional 10 points above their original maximum limit."
Ohhh, why didn't you just say so earlier? Now I get it.
If his current body's attribute cap was 20 before, now it became 30.
Fusion had this kind of benefit too. Looks like he should make good use of it.
Zhang Yang already had a plan in mind.
In the short term, if he evolved into a tiger, his attribute caps would surely be much higher — but that wasn't worth it.
First, he still had missions to complete. Whether for the missions or for emotional reasons, Zhang Yang would not abandon the wolf pack.
Second, starting as a tiger would mean a high baseline — hunting ordinary creatures would no longer yield evolution points.
By staying in wolf form, Zhang Yang could continue rapidly accumulating evolution points. Besides, remaining a wolf didn't prevent him from growing stronger. Look — after fusing tiger bones, both his body potential and evolution point cap had increased.
So for the time being, Zhang Yang had absolutely no intention of changing to another body.
With that thought, Zhang Yang lay down inside his den. His injuries were still serious and he needed to recover.
...
That night.
A mournful atmosphere continued to permeate the wolf den.
Some jungle wolves were licking their wounds, others were quietly crying.
Wolf Blue was one of those crying — his father had died.
But by the next day, vitality had returned to the pack.
The dead were gone; the living still had to go on.
They had seen parting by death many times before.
In his heart, Wolf Blue told himself: last night was the last time he would shed tears. From now on, he would be strong. He would take up the glory that belonged to his father.
"Big brother, they're all waiting for your instructions."
Overnight, the childishness in Wolf Blue's voice had faded, replaced by a much more mature tone.
Zhang Yang groggily woke up. The wounds on his body had already scabbed over and looked terrifying — there was hardly any spot on him that was intact.
"Rest for today."
Zhang Yang didn't want to move. His body hadn't fully recovered yet.
If even he felt this way, surely the other jungle wolves weren't doing much better.
Although Zhang Yang had been the most seriously injured, every wolf in the pack had come away with wounds.
"Yes!"
Wolf Blue had no objections. After hearing Zhang Yang's order, he immediately ran off to inform the pack.
After delivering the message, he returned and stood guard outside Zhang Yang's den.
No extra words. The former innocence was gone.
Zhang Yang sensed the change in Wolf Blue. He offered no words of comfort.
Because Wolf Blue had matured — and that was the mark of growing up.
"System, strengthen."
"Please select reinforcement direction."
"Strengthen Constitution. Use all available evolution points."
Zhang Yang felt his wounds were recovering far too slowly. Only by raising his Constitution attribute could he speed up recovery.
As for keeping evolution points in reserve? Forget it.
With 40 days of lifespan now in hand, Zhang Yang was feeling rather inflated.