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Instead of driving, Henry used his super speed and arrived near the South Lake of Central Park ahead of everyone else.
All the lakes in Central Park were artificial.
At the southernmost lake stood a small stone bridge spanning the water, surrounded by a patch of woodland.
Though winter had left the trees somewhat barren, the view remained beautiful from afar—the forest and bridge reflected perfectly upon the lake's surface.
Although his super vision had not yet returned, Henry quickly located the unfamiliar tiger by following its distinctive scent.
Rather than charging in and subduing it immediately, however, he approached slowly and remained at a distance to observe.
His super hearing had already picked up the sound of several police cars heading this way.
The nearby civilians had long since fled, so there was no immediate danger.
Generally speaking, people who spent time in Central Park weren't the sort of reckless geniuses eager to get close to an unprotected tiger.
Something about the tiger seemed wrong, however.
It appeared unusually nervous, and its movements were sluggish.
Katie, the pampered tiger who ate well and slept well, was a special case.
If she were placed among zoo tigers, her sheer size alone would be enough to establish dominance.
She was often left to roam the wilderness around Yangdong Valley or near the laboratory, and Henry frequently took her into the outdoors.
Her physical condition far exceeded that of any zoo tiger.
This unfamiliar tiger obviously couldn't compare.
In fact, it looked even less energetic than an ordinary zoo tiger.
Its sluggishness didn't resemble old age.
Instead, it looked more like...
Drug-induced sedation.
Before long, officers from the NYPD arrived.
Unlike in the movies, they hadn't waited until everything was over to show up.
Spotting Henry standing on a pedestrian path, one officer immediately approached.
"You can't stay here. We've received reports of a tiger in the area. For your safety, please leave immediately."
"Officer, I just came from over there."
Henry pointed toward the tiger's location.
"The last place I saw it was in that direction."
The tiger was currently drinking from the lake near the woods beside the stone bridge.
Of course, neither Henry nor the officer could actually see it from where they stood.
Henry merely wanted to save the police some search time and reduce the likelihood of an accident.
The officer didn't ignore his statement.
Instead, he immediately relayed the information through his radio so dispatch could inform all responding officers.
Naturally, Henry was still instructed to leave the area.
He had only walked a few steps before spotting a familiar face.
Police Captain George Stacy had once again come personally to the front lines.
He had brought additional officers and was preparing to seal off the entire area.
Henry's long hair and large beard made him difficult to forget.
George Stacy recognized him immediately.
"Mr. Brown."
"Captain Stacy."
As Henry greeted him, he noticed something.
Stacy hadn't asked whether the tiger belonged to him.
That suggested they already knew where it had come from.
Henry asked,
"Captain, do you know where the tiger came from?"
"Call me George."
Stacy corrected him first.
"You're not one of my officers, so you don't need to use our internal titles."
Then he pointed toward the distance.
"A transport vehicle crashed about a block away.
"It was moving a tiger from a holding facility to the New York Zoo.
"After the accident, the tiger escaped.
"It should be this one."
"Oh."
Henry nodded thoughtfully.
"That explains it."
George Stacy had originally intended to politely ask him to leave.
Instead, his instincts picked up on the implication behind Henry's words.
"'That explains it'?"
"What do you mean?"
Henry replied,
"You can call me Henry, George.
"What I mean is that the tiger appears sluggish.
"The zoo may have administered a tranquilizer to make transport and containment easier.
"The effects seem to be wearing off, though.
"At the very least, the tiger managed to travel from the accident site all the way here.
"So I suggest maintaining the perimeter and simply preventing people from entering the area.
"Let the zoo professionals handle it when they arrive."
After thinking for a moment, he added,
"You did notify the zoo, right?"
The moment he said it, Henry realized he might have overstepped.
An outsider standing around offering advice wasn't always appreciated.
Fortunately, George Stacy didn't seem offended.
"We've already contacted the zoo.
"They should be on their way."
At the same time, Stacy had someone bring over a visitor map of Central Park.
The map wasn't extremely detailed, but the major landmarks were clearly marked.
He spread it out and asked,
"Henry, you've seen the tiger.
"Where exactly is it?"
Stepping closer, Henry pointed to a location.
"Near the stone bridge.
"On the western bank.
"When I saw it, it looked like it was heading toward the water to drink."
Having received the information, George Stacy was about to begin assigning positions to his officers when a tiger's roar suddenly echoed through the park.
The deep, terrifying sound made even officers who hadn't seen the animal feel a chill in their chests.
Fear arose instinctively.
Then came several gunshots.
Even without witnessing the scene directly, everyone knew something had gone wrong.
George Stacy immediately made a decision.
"You two, switch to rifles.
"The rest of you, with me."
Although he drew his handgun first, the veteran officer understood perfectly well that a pistol wasn't sufficient against a tiger.
Because of the urgency, nobody noticed that the civilian who had been speaking with Stacy had followed the group.
To be honest, Henry wasn't entirely sure why he was running alongside them.
Probably simple herd mentality.
As they approached the stone bridge by the lake, they saw the situation immediately.
One officer was already down.
The tiger was preparing to pounce on another officer who had fallen to the ground.
Without hesitation, George Stacy fired two shots into the air.
He hoped to scare the tiger away.
He hadn't fired directly at the animal because the distance was too great.
He wasn't confident he could hit only the tiger without accidentally shooting the officer on the ground.
Besides, a handgun simply lacked the stopping power necessary for a large predator at that range.
Unfortunately, the tiger had already been startled by gunfire once before.
Rather than retreating, it became more aggressive.
It abandoned the fallen officer—
And charged directly toward George Stacy.
With terrifying momentum, the tiger opened its jaws wide and leapt.
The brave police captain was about to become another victim.
At the critical moment, Henry thrust an arm between the tiger's fangs and allowed himself to be "knocked" to the ground.
Using his remaining limbs, he wrapped himself around the tiger, flipped the beast over, and pinned it beneath him.
He even put on a convincing display of struggle as he fought to keep the animal restrained.
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