"Huh? What is that?" Du Famen blinked in surprise. A flash of light caught his eye, and in the blink of an eye, a gray shadow darted by before disappearing into the distance. This caused him to stop in his tracks, looking at Jiang Hai with a confused expression.
"Oh, it's nothing. Just a rabbit. We have a lot of wild rabbits here, and they taste pretty good. But I wasn't sure if you could eat it, so I didn't prepare any for you," Jiang Hai explained casually, having just finished a quick conversation with Moses Adams. He hung up the phone and turned back to Du Famen.
"A rabbit? A wild one?" Du Famen was hesitant. Westerners, including those from the Middle East, often have reservations about wild animals. The uncertainty about parasites and bacteria made them wary of eating such creatures. What if they ate the wrong one...?
"It's better to raise them domestically," Jiang Hai added, shrugging. He understood their concerns, which is why he hadn't prepared the rabbit.
Just as the conversation seemed to be winding down, another figure suddenly flashed by.
This time, the figure was far larger than a rabbit. It was roughly 1.5 meters tall, with a tail longer than 3 meters. It was a massive cat, and the sight of it left both Du Famen and his bodyguards stunned. Even Jiang Hai couldn't help but freeze in surprise.
As everyone stood in confusion, the giant creature that had been chasing the rabbit came to a halt.
When it stopped moving, Jiang Hai got a clearer look. It was a lion, larger than any African lion he had seen in a zoo. The creature resembled an African lioness, with no mane, but its size was astounding. Its shoulder height was about 1.2 meters, and when it stood tall, its head reached about 1.5 meters—almost to Jiang Hai's chest. The lion's body stretched an impressive 3 meters in length. Jiang Hai found himself momentarily speechless.
Du Famen slowly moved closer to his bodyguards, who had already begun reaching for their weapons, prepared to draw their guns at any moment. If they were anywhere other than Jiang Hai's manor, such as in Africa, they likely would have shot by now.
Jiang Hai, on the other hand, felt an odd sense of familiarity.
"Familiar?" Jiang Hai stared at the lion, a sudden realization hitting him. There were indeed some lions in his manor, but they were all smaller mountain lions. The largest lioness wasn't even two-thirds the size of this one. Had he seen this creature before? He thought about his other animals—Dasha, Xiao Huang, Xiao Bai, and the rest.
After absorbing his spiritual energy, those animals had grown significantly, breaking through their natural limitations. Could this massive lion be one of the mountain lions? Jiang Hai scrutinized its face. Sure enough, despite its grown fur, there was a familiar scar on its face.
Relieved, Jiang Hai recognized the lion. "It's okay, don't worry," he said, reassuring Du Famen and the others. Since it was one of his own, Jiang Hai stepped forward, extended his hand, and gently patted the lion's head.
As his hand touched its fur, the lion's eyes narrowed, almost as if it were smiling. It then nudged Jiang Hai's hand with its head, like a playful kitten.
"Uh..." Du Famen and his bodyguards stared in disbelief. Was this giant beast really a pet of Jiang Hai's?
After a few moments of interaction, Jiang Hai patted the lion's head one last time. "Alright, you've scared my friend. Go play in the forest now."
The mountain lion, hearing Jiang Hai's words, rubbed his hand affectionately before bounding off into the forest nearby.
"My God, you actually raise such a beast?" Du Famen stared at Jiang Hai, his disbelief evident. His tone was full of astonishment.
Jiang Hai, unamused, shot him a look. "You sure know how to talk nonsense. Compared to you Middle Eastern tycoons, I'm nothing. I know what I see online. You raise leopards, lions, and tigers. What's so special about my mountain lion?" He rolled his eyes. After all, he had seen plenty of Middle Eastern billionaires flaunting their exotic pets. A mountain lion wasn't anything remarkable, especially when compared to leopards and tigers.
"A mountain lion? You're telling me that was a mountain lion?" Du Famen burst into laughter, his disbelief growing. "Are you kidding? Mountain lions can't grow that big! You've got to be joking."
Jiang Hai furrowed his brow, slightly confused. "If it's not a mountain lion, then what is it?" He wondered. While the creature had indeed grown unusually large, it was still a mountain lion. He wasn't about to tell Du Famen the real reason for its size—his spiritual energy.
Du Famen grinned. "If I'm not mistaken, that's a cruel lion, a species thought to be extinct for over 10,000 years. I never expected to see one alive here."
"Cruel lion?" Jiang Hai frowned, confused. "What on earth is that?"
Du Famen's expression turned serious. "You must not let anyone else see that creature. If the U.S. government catches wind of it, your manor will be designated a cruel lion protection area." He paused. "Trust me, you don't want that to happen."
Jiang Hai's brow furrowed. He had no interest in his manor becoming a protected area. But Du Famen wasn't finished.
"You know," Du Famen continued, "If you ever decided to sell that lion on the black market, it could be worth over $10 million. Regular lions fetch around $20,000 on the black market, but that beast of yours? It would go for a fortune."
Jiang Hai let out a long sigh. He hadn't expected such a twist. A brutal lion, an ancient species that had once dominated the American continent 10,000 years ago... It was certainly a rare and powerful creature.
Du Famen, sensing the weight of the situation, paused before speaking again. "You're lucky to have such a rare creature. But you should be cautious. There's no telling what kind of attention this could attract."
Jiang Hai chuckled softly. "Well, it's certainly interesting."
Looking out toward the forest, Jiang Hai smiled to himself. Once Du Famen and the others left, it would be time to explore his own forest. There was much he hadn't seen in a while, and he was eager to see what had changed.
After a long walk to the beach to admire the view of Jianghai Coast, Du Famen finally took his leave.
He wasn't reluctant to leave Jiang Hai or the scenery. For someone like him, the view didn't quite match the grandeur of famous coastal spots. What he truly regretted was leaving behind Jiang Hai's food. But with his mission in mind, he had to return to China to pursue his next steps—researching ways to replicate Jiang Hai's beef or, failing that, his pastures. If that didn't work, they'd have to focus on building domestic cattle farms and get Jiang Hai to provide the pasture.
Jiang Hai, however, didn't concern himself with this. Some problems on Earth just couldn't be easily solved.
For example, Jiang Hai's manor—the biggest unsolved mystery in the world.