Chapter 141: When a tiger has three cubs, one is bound to be a Biao

Li Tianque slumped one shoulder, trudging along with a limp as he tried his best to keep up with Achu's pace.

"What on earth are those two tigers? Do you know them?"

"When a tigress gives birth to three cubs, one is bound to be a biao. That's what those things are," Achu said coldly.

A biao? They weren't tigers?

Li Tianque was slightly startled, suddenly recalling similar videos he had browsed on short-video platforms before.

Those videos specifically introduced the creature known as a biao. Legend had it that a biao shared the same womb as tigers, yet its appearance differed markedly from them. A biao was born congenitally lean and frail, its skin covered only in downy fur rather than stripes.

The mother tiger that gave birth to a biao would assume this little monster was not her own offspring; not only would she withhold milk, but she would also bite, drive it away, and sometimes even devour it outright.

Consequently, most biao perished during the nursing stage, leaving a very slim chance of survival.

Yet once a biao driven away by its birth mother managed to survive, its temperament became even more ferocious and violent.

Having grown up in extremely harsh environments, a biao gnawed by hunger had to subsist on rotting flora and fauna and drink filthy, stagnant water.

Although constantly battered with old scars and fresh wounds, in order to stay alive, it had to master various survival skills such as leaping over mountains, scaling ravines, climbing trees, and grasping vines, even managing to battle beasts much larger and more ferocious than itself.

When the biao finally endured its way into adulthood, it would acquire the most ruthless and venomous ferocity found among all beasts of prey.

Born of hatred and living by hatred, a biao dedicated its entire life's effort to vengeance, striving to slaughter its mother, its siblings, and every single creature in the mountains and forests that had bullied it during its youth.

Legend had it that this terrifying beast of prey was belligerent and pugnacious, frequently injured, rarely possessing an intact coat of fur, and its skeleton might not yield a single unbroken bone.

Yet its lifespan was extraordinarily long, accompanied by peerless and formidable vitality, allowing it to outlive even an ancient turtle.

Regrettably, the creature known as the biao only existed—this truly came as quite a surprise.

"I can move now. That's wonderful, thank you," Li Tianque said.

"Keep walking."

Achu flicked her hand, tucked it back into her pocket, and assumed the posture of one whose great achievements remained hidden and unsung.

Li Tianque cautiously followed behind Achu. She said nothing more, simply picking up the flashlight from the ground, sweeping the beam across the surroundings, and then heading toward the western corridor.

Li Tianque walked rather slowly, but still struggled to keep up with her pace.

Achu was hunched over slightly, as if the recent struggle had injured her lower back.

When Achu had just set his shoulder back into place, it was the first time Li Tianque had seen her facial features clearly at such close range.

Previously, Achu's hazy, cloud-like mass of long hair had always prevented Li Tianque from seeing her true appearance, allowing him at most a view of her profile.

Just now, aided by the flashlight's beam, Li Tianque discovered that Achu was actually quite beautiful. Her eyes were not large, yet they radiated a clear blue light—ethereal and indifferent—and her nose was high-bridged, somewhat resembling that of an ethnic minority girl from the northwest.

The only flaw was the lack of any healthy flush to her skin, which was as pale as paper.

This was clearly an unhealthy state. The bright flashlight beam cast upon her face still revealed not a shred of color, giving her somewhat the air of an iceberg beauty.

Her hands were also a shock to Li Tianque; those slender, ghostly-white fingers were covered in thick calluses. No wonder those metallic wires wrapping around them caused her no pain.

The two walked forward continuously, finally stopping before a room resembling an archive on the eastern side of the central staircase.

Achu handed the flashlight to Li Tianque and said:

"Hold this! Aim it at the door."

"Got it."

Li Tianque took the flashlight and aimed it at the door.

In the dim, yellowish light, Li Tianque discovered that the door before him was vastly different from the one on the first floor.

There certainly could not be a wall directly behind this door, because slung horizontally across the exterior were five or six wooden planks, and these planks... were firmly nailed to the door frame with large spikes, as though sealing away something of great importance.

The lock was an old-fashioned security door type, with a small flap guarding the keyhole, from which a tiny padlock hung.

This padlock was severely corroded and had completely lost its function.

Achu directly pried off the wooden boards. The planks had been nailed down tightly, with three steel spikes driven into each end.

Li Tianque felt that even prying those wooden strips off with a crowbar would require considerable effort; yet Achu had simply pried them away directly. Such strength was truly beyond the reach of an ordinary person.

It seemed that the biao meeting its end beneath those metallic wires could be considered fortunate; had it truly engaged in hand-to-hand combat with this fierce woman, it probably would have met a grim fate.

At this thought, Li Tianque felt a lingering sense of dread, secretly glad that he had only attempted a sneak attack once before pulling back in time.

Li Tianque swallowed hard and continued watching Achu force the door.

Achu used her pale fingers to slowly pinch the shackle of the small padlock on the flap. With a crisp snap, the corroded shackle broke instantly.

She opened the small flap and froze abruptly. The scene inside caught even Li Tianque completely off guard:

Beyond the small door at the keyhole, the interior had actually been poured full and sealed solid with molten iron.

It appeared that whoever locked this door had never intended to open this room again after leaving.

Li Tianque stared blankly at the door, then looked at Achu. She, too, seemed entirely at a loss.

"The videotape you want to see... is kept inside here?"

Achu let out something resembling a hum, yet seemed to say nothing at all.

"Uh, although I don't know what kind of crucial significance that videotape holds for you, I feel obliged to remind you that there is likely still a nuclear bug around here. Shouldn't we first—"

"I will handle that nuclear bug," Achu interrupted Li Tianque, continuing to stare blankly at the door.

"Oh, oh, alright then." Li Tianque did not argue. Since Achu was also aware of nuclear bugs, she presumably had some connection to the Exterminator Company...

Perhaps she was even a company member.

At this thought, Li Tianque felt slightly more at ease.

Yet at this moment, he could never have imagined what terrifying deed this woman, staring blankly at the door, was about to commit shortly!