However, when it came to eating, the tiger prioritized the spiritual spring water.
"It seems this tiger also knows the benefits of the spiritual spring water," Su Mu thought to himself as he observed the tiger's actions.
The tiger extended its barbed tongue, licking the spiritual spring water inside the bottle. After it licked it clean, it then began to devour the beef with great enthusiasm.
Watching it eat the beef in large mouthfuls, Su Mu smiled slightly. However, he soon noticed something unusual.
The tiger's belly... was noticeably rounder than usual.
Hmm? Could it be pregnant?
In the past, Su Mu's family had raised cats. When cats were pregnant, their bellies were also unusually round. After the cats gave birth to three kittens, their bellies returned to their original shape.
So, Su Mu thought, either this tiger was pregnant, or it had some kind of illness. However, Su Mu leaned towards the former idea. After all, seeing the tiger eating so happily, it was clear that it needed to replenish a large amount of nutrients for the cubs in its belly.
At that moment, without knowing why, Su Mu suddenly took a slow step forward. Then, he tentatively reached out his hand and gently placed it on the tiger's head.
The tiger's head was large, and its fur was a bit rough, so it didn't feel very pleasant to touch. But!!
The tiger showed no resistance to Su Mu's actions. This made Su Mu very happy. After all, this was a tiger! And a wild tiger at that. What ordinary person could, like him, touch a wild adult tiger in the wilderness? And this tiger was pregnant!
It's well known that animals are extremely vigilant during pregnancy. If they sense danger, they either choose to flee or actively launch an attack to prevent the danger from harming themselves or their cubs.
While eating the beef, the tiger felt the touch on its forehead and couldn't help but glance at Su Mu. Gradually, under Su Mu's stroking, it began to squint its eyes, showing a very satisfied expression.
Su Mu's stroking reminded the tiger of its mother. The fierce competition in the jungle had made it almost forget how long it had been since it last experienced such gentleness.
Finally, the tiger finished devouring all the beef that Su Mu had prepared for it. However, after eating the beef, it did not leave immediately. Instead, it continued to enjoy Su Mu's stroking, even occasionally nudging Su Mu's hand with its head.
Feeling the change in the tiger, Su Mu was very pleased. It seemed that this tiger wasn't going to harm him. Otherwise, when he first tried to touch it, it should have resisted.
If someone else were here, seeing how bold Su Mu was, they would definitely be shocked. But right now, there was only Su Mu and a little black dog.
Suddenly!! A sharp pain shot through the tiger's belly. The intense pain made it shiver uncontrollably, and its whole body began to curl up.
"Hmm?? What's happening?"
Noticing the tiger's body trembling slightly, Su Mu's gaze tightened. First of all, Su Mu was certain of one thing: there was absolutely nothing wrong with the spiritual spring water or the beef. After all, both the spring water and the beef were obtained from the system's reward chests. He had also fed them to Shoushan (the dog) regularly. Even the mother wolf and the wolf cub had eaten and drunk them without any issues. So, the fact that the tiger's body was trembling now definitely wasn't caused by these two things.
Then... there was only one possible outcome.
Could it be that the tiger... was about to give birth??
Su Mu looked around. If the tiger gave birth here, it could be dangerous. After all, there were many wild animals in the jungle. And although the wild boar it had attacked earlier had left, what if the boar came back with its companions to take revenge on the tiger? What then?
It's well known that when animals give birth, they find a relatively safe place before starting the process. But now, not only was the tiger injured, but it was also lying on the ground, trembling. Expecting it to leave on its own to find a safe place was asking too much.
At this point, the only option was for Su Mu to stay here and watch over the tiger as it gave birth. Just as Su Mu was thinking this, the next second, he felt a weight on his hand.
Looking down, he saw that the tiger's head was pressing down on his hand, and its eyes were already closed.
Hmm?? Did it pass out??
Su Mu's heart sank. The tiger was about to give birth, but at this critical moment, it had fallen unconscious. This made the situation much more difficult.
And this was the jungle, where Su Mu had no experience delivering animals. If he hadn't encountered this situation, he naturally wouldn't know what to do. But now that he had discovered the tiger, he felt obligated to intervene in some way.
After all, it wasn't just the tiger's life at stake; there were several lives inside its belly. If this birth went wrong and the tiger died, it would mean multiple lives lost at once!
Thinking this, Su Mu quickly took out his phone, found Guo Jiarui's number, and immediately called. When Guo Jiarui answered, Su Mu quickly explained the situation.
After hearing Su Mu's explanation, Guo Jiarui responded immediately, saying they would arrive in about ten minutes. During this time, Su Mu was advised not to do anything else, but to focus on keeping the tiger warm.
After hanging up, Su Mu sighed and looked at the unconscious tiger, saying, "It's a good thing you met me. If you hadn't, you would have been in real danger today."
"Shoushan, come here," Su Mu called out to Shoushan, who was not far away.
"Woof, woof," Shoushan barked and wagged its tail as it ran over.
"Shoushan, lie down next to its belly," Su Mu instructed.
Although Shoushan was a bit confused, it obeyed Su Mu's command and quickly lay down beside the tiger's belly. Although Shoushan was still small, it had a lot of fur that could provide some warmth for the tiger.
At the same time, Su Mu adjusted the tiger's body to minimize heat loss before the forestry bureau's people arrived. Although they had said they would be there in about ten minutes, these ten minutes felt like an eternity to Su Mu.
He couldn't help but worry, thinking, what if the forestry bureau's people were delayed by something on the way? Or if the car broke down halfway, affecting the tiger's rescue, that would be a disaster.
Fortunately, ten minutes later, Su Mu heard Guo Jiarui's voice from not far away.
"Mr. Su, where are you??"