5: Chapter 5 Water Source

The Black Bear, which had been digging at the tree roots, was so terrified by the sound that it trembled all over and fled in the opposite direction in a panic.

Su Mo didn't pay any attention to the escaping Black Bear; instead, he looked toward the direction of the sound with a grave expression.

"The power of a single tiger's roar is already this strong! Just how powerful must the owner of that voice be?!"

After the tiger's roar echoed away, the forest became extremely quiet, but Su Mo's heart grew increasingly fervent.

"Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west—I too will grow to such a level!"

He immediately decided not to go out at all this winter, choosing to stay hidden and develop first... Three months passed in a flash.

Winter left and spring arrived; it was once again the season when all things awaken.

A plump Field Mouse cautiously poked its head out of its burrow, its nose twitching rapidly as it alertly sniffed the surrounding air.

Suddenly, its bright black eyes flashed, and it scurried quickly in one direction.

In a matter of moments, a small puddle appeared before it, but it wasn't filled with water. Instead, it was an unknown white liquid that was currently emitting a charming fragrance, luring it in.

However, it didn't rush over to drink its fill immediately. Instead, it stood up first to observe its surroundings. Only after confirming there was nothing unusual did it carefully approach that pool of white porridge.

Just as it lowered its head, ready to enjoy the delicacy—

"Swoosh!"

A crimson figure flashed by like red lightning, and before the Field Mouse could react, it was pinned under a paw.

Su Mo lowered his head, bit the head of the still-struggling Field Mouse, and gave it a slight, forceful twist.

Crack!

The Field Mouse's struggling strength dissipated along with the crisp sound of breaking bone.

Su Mo leapt lightly onto a tree branch with his prey in his mouth, his vibrant deep-red fur shimmering with a metallic luster under the sunlight.

After three months of development, his body size was already that of an adult Red Fox, but he was sturdier. The blocky muscles on his limbs were clearly visible; a single strike could snap a branch as thick as a thigh.

Su Mo continuously used the tree branches for leverage to jump, returning to the original location of the ice house in a few leaps.

As the temperature rose, the ice house had long since melted and disappeared, so he had snapped off some branches to build a spherical nest.

Su Mo leaped inside. Just as he placed the Field Mouse on the ground, a white figure carrying a faint fragrance pounced on him.

It was Su Su!

She had already passed her awkward phase, and the white fur on her body had grown longer and denser.

Unlike Su Mo, however, Su Mo was crimson all over with only the tip of his tail being white.

Su Su, on the other hand, was snowy white all over, with the tip of her tail having a gradient of red.

Not only were their colors different, but their body sizes also differed greatly.

Standing together, they looked like a thirty-year-old muscular father with a seven-year-old loli daughter.

Su Mo tore a leg off the Field Mouse—which was as large as a house cat—and placed it in front of Su Su.

"Eat up!"

"Ying ying ying~"

Su Su saw it but made no move to eat, instead continuously wagging her tail and sweeping it back and forth across Su Mo's face.

"Fine, fine!"

Helplessly, he took a bowl from the corner, filled it to the brim with white porridge, and pushed it in front of her.

Only when Su Su saw the bowl full of white porridge did she go over contentedly to drink greedily.

Seeing this, Su Mo really couldn't figure it out. This little thing had already grown teeth; she could clearly eat meat directly.

He didn't know when she had developed this habit, but she had to have a bowl of white porridge before eating meat.

Su Mo rubbed his chin, wondering if he should wean her off the porridge, just like weaning a child off milk.

"Forget it, if she wants porridge, let her have porridge. Just consider it ensuring a balanced nutrition."

He shook his head, tossed aside the stray thoughts in his mind, and began to bury his head in his meal.

The fresh and tender mouse meat still felt warm. When chewed, it was like jelly, bouncing around in his mouth. After swallowing, a sweet flavor surged up.

It wasn't that he wanted to live like a primitive person eating raw meat and drinking blood, but he currently lacked the conditions to cook it, so he could only eat it raw.

Besides, fresh ingredients only require the simplest cooking methods. Don't some people eat bloody steaks?

But none of them ate as fresh as Su Mo, who consumed it directly from the source.

After a few bites, a Field Mouse had entered his stomach. Taking advantage of the digestion time, he opened his personal panel to take a look.

[Host: Su Mo]

[Race: Red Fox]

[Rank: Tier 1 (253/1000)]

[Skill: Infinite White Porridge (Never Expires)]

[Talent: Savage Growth]

After upgrading to Tier 1, drinking porridge no longer had much of an effect.

Even if he drank it non-stop, drinking more as soon as he finished digesting, the progress only increased by thirty points after a month. Meanwhile, a single Field Mouse could provide him with ten points of progress.

Su Mo guessed it might be because the Field Mouse possessed richer nutrients, so it added more progress.

He didn't know if other animals only ate meat or if there were just more Field Mice nearby, but all the prey he had lured and trapped these past few days were Field Mice; he hadn't seen a single one of anything else.

He planned to expand his range of activity a bit more; perhaps he could find other surprises... The early bird gets the worm, or in this case, the early worm gets eaten by the bird.

The next morning at dawn, he got up.

After preparing a day's worth of white porridge for the little one, he chose a direction and dashed off.

He didn't dare head toward the direction of the tiger's roar—not because he was afraid, but because his strength wasn't quite enough. He chose another direction, which was the direction the Black Bear had fled in.

He planned to see if that Black Bear was still around. If he had the chance, he also wanted to taste what bear paw was like.

"I wonder how much progress I can gain by eating that bear?"

Fantasizing about the taste of bear paw, he couldn't help but smack his lips, his mouth almost watering.

Before long, he had run out of his original range of activity.

Su Mo slowed his pace and began to grow alert, his ears pricked straight up and his eyes scanning the surroundings.

His claws stepped on the soft earth, making almost no sound.

The trees ahead gradually became sparse, and low shrubs became more numerous.

This also suited his intentions. His vibrant red color was very eye-catching in the lush green forest, and the shrubs could just help him hide a bit.

Su Mo lowered his body, his crimson fur flickering in and out of sight within the shrubs.

Suddenly, his moist black nose twitched slightly. Thanks to a fox's keen sense of smell, he caught a faint fishy scent coming from ahead.

"There's water?!"

His heart stirred slightly, and he slowly quickened his pace.

A fishy scent meant there was water, and water meant animals would gather nearby. Wasn't this just a fixed farming spot?

Su Mo followed the direction of the fishy scent and moved forward cautiously, soon hearing the sound of gurgling water.

Pushing aside the last patch of shrubs, his vision suddenly opened up as a massive lake appeared before him.

The lake's surface shimmered, reflecting the blue sky and white clouds. From time to time, large fish tails broke the surface, causing ripples to spread.

Although this lake was very large, there were almost no animal footprints on the moist soil around it.

This was very abnormal. Logically, there should be many animals near such a large water source, unless there was some great danger within this lake that caused most animals to not dare approach.

Su Mo immediately lay low in the shrubs, his eyes narrowing slightly as he quietly observed the movements on the lake's surface.

His ears pricked up slightly, catching every suspicious sound in the vicinity.

Suddenly, an unnatural ripple appeared in the center of the lake.