Chapter 209: The Phone Reveals Secrets

"Why..." Cael whispered, his voice filled with awe and confusion. "Why do I sense some magnificent power from this?"

Neve tilted his head when he heard what Cael had said.

Magnificent power? From the ring that had somehow forced itself to remain around his finger?

"Do you know what it is?" Neve asked him, looking down at the ring on his pinky finger.

Cael rubbed his chin thoughtfully and folded his arms across his chest.

"I am not sure," he admitted. "If my father was alive, he would have known. He used to talk about ancient weapons and magical items from the old times. But he never mentioned anything like this. Maybe because it’s something that never existed when he was alive."

"I also feel the power from it," Ryker spoke from beside Neve, his eyes studying the ring carefully. "We can ask the elders from the tiger tribe if you want answers. They are older and might know more about ancient things."

Neve nodded slowly, still staring at the ring. Even Cael and the others could feel the power from this damn ring. A ring that he did not even know what it was supposed to do. Get rid of darkness? What darkness was he supposed to be cutting through?

He secretly rolled his eyes as he pulled his gaze away from the ring.

He wanted to ignore it. He did not want anything to do with it. But thinking back to what the host had said and the way he sounded so urgent, it felt like something was happening. Something dangerous.

Maybe he would be able to find out through his phone.

"Ugh! Just when I was enjoying life here," he muttered under his breath.

"Huh?" Cael and Ryker both asked, lifting their brows. "Is there a problem?"

"No," Neve shook his head quickly. "Nothing. I was just thinking about the cubs."

Neve lied smoothly as he rubbed his stomach with a smile spreading across his lips.

They finally made their way back to the cave. As they approached the entrance, Neve heard flapping sounds above him. He lifted his head to see who it was.

His eyes widened when he saw Sorin flying toward him from the sky. His feet touched the ground and his wings vanished as he handed something to Neve.

Neve saw the fruit in Sorin’s hand and his eyes widened even wider.

It was a red apple. Perfectly ripe and fresh looking.

"You flew all the way to get this for me?" Neve asked, taking the apple and examining it. It smelled amazing, sweet and fresh.

"Oh no," Sorin said and pointed to a tree close to the cave entrance. "I used my regeneration ability on that tree and somehow changed what it could produce."

"What?" Neve was shocked. He walked over to the tree Sorin had pointed at. The bark looked different, glowing slightly with a faint green light. "You mean you can also create fruit like this in seconds or minutes? Not just heal plants?"

Sorin nodded, his expression proud.

Neve’s jaw dropped as he trailed his hand along the bark of the tree. The texture was smooth and warm under his palm.

"You are going to be a lifesaver, Sorin," Neve said and stepped closer to him. "I do not want to use you as a slave or anything like that. But if we are able to get a lot of food, food that is enough for all the villagers, it would be so beneficial for everyone."

"I understand," Sorin said, spreading his wings wide. "You gave me this ability. Of course, I am going to do anything you want from me."

"Just be safe," Neve replied. "And do not push yourself too hard."

"I will keep working hard to provide for you," Sorin said and immediately shot out his wings. "If you will excuse me."

He said and flew up toward the tree, already moving branches and inspecting what else he could make grow.

Neve took a huge bite from the apple as he walked toward the cave entrance. He turned and saw Cael and Ryker still standing outside.

"You are not coming in?" Neve asked them.

"I need to practice my ability," Cael said, his expression determined. "I want to make sure I can control it properly as the new chief."

"Me too," Ryker said and like that, the two of them left toward the forest to train their powers.

Neve smirked and went into the cave. Popi and the kids were in their rooms. Kael and the others were also out, likely hunting or training somewhere, leaving only Roan alone in the main area of the cave.

Since Roan was new, the others were busy with their own tasks, leaving him all alone. As if he had been waiting for Neve, Roan saw him enter and stood up immediately, walking toward him with a soft smile.

"I have been waiting for you, my saviour," he said, his golden eyes watching Neve carefully.

"Woah! Hold on, just call me Neve," Neve waved his hand in front of Roan, feeling a little uncomfortable with the formal title.

Roan nodded obediently.

"Neve," he whispered Neve’s name like he was tasting something sweet. "Is there anything I can help you do? I am a hunter and I can hunt even in the snow."

"You were injured," Neve said gently. "You need to rest and recover properly."

Roan immediately grabbed Neve’s hand and pressed it against his own chest, right over his heart.

"See, I am fine," he said, his heartbeat steady and strong under Neve’s palm.

Neve’s cheeks flushed red. He remembered the time he had spent with Roan in that private room, moaning and breathing heavily after Roan had come in injured and almost dying, somehow bonding with him. The memories made his skin warm.

He quickly pulled his hand away, trying to compose himself.

"Sure, you can help around," Neve said, his voice a little shaky. "You can hunt, but make sure you return early even if you do not find anything. I do not want you getting lost in the snow."

"Understood, Neve," Roan said and stepped out of the cave with nothing. He did not even ask for a single weapon or tool.

Neve then realized, of course he was a lion. Lions were good hunters by nature. If there had been no dragons, maybe the lions would be the kings of the jungle or something.

Neve stretched his hand as he walked into his private room. He crawled into his bed, tucking himself under the warm duvet and covering his whole body as he pulled out the phone he had hidden in his pocket space.

"Time to find out what the host wants me to discover," Neve muttered to himself and he went straight to his school group chat first.

There were over twenty thousand unread messages. Just from scrolling, he could see conversations from three months ago to just days before he had arrived in this world.

He wanted to open the messages and read everything. He wanted to see if they had mentioned anything about him or his disappearance, but if he did, the message could be marked as read.

He hissed in frustration and went straight to the search box. He typed carefully.

"The boy who died in the zoo three months ago."

The search came up with pictures and even news reports about the incident.

"Woah, I really did get a cracked skull," he muttered to himself, reading the medical reports. "Those lions did not even touch my body after I fell. They just watched me bleed."

He kept scrolling through the reports as he read carefully. His eyes caught a paragraph that mentioned the cops had pronounced him dead at the spot where he fell.

But then the paragraph mentioned something interesting.

A new government hospital had claimed they could save him and they had taken his body immediately after.

Neve sat up, taking the duvet from his body and staring at the phone screen intensely.

The article was detailed. It explained how the government hospital had arrived at the zoo even before the ambulance, claiming they had a new experimental medical program. The hospital staff had taken his body without waiting for official procedures.

"A new government hospital took my body?" he muttered, scrolling down desperately looking for more information. But it was the end of the article. There was no follow-up question or article about his death or anyone asking anything about these government hospital people.

Since it was the government, everyone seemed to have just left it to them. Nobody questioned it. Nobody looked into it further.

Neve could not help but feel uncomfortable. His stomach twisted with an uneasy feeling.

He scrolled back up and read the hospital’s name carefully.

Nexus Medical Institute. A private government-backed facility that had just officially opened three months ago.

Three months ago. Right around the time he had arrived in this world.

"What if these government hospital people are responsible for...?" he muttered and paused, biting his lower lip nervously. "What if?"