Transmigrated to the Great Qing: It All Starts with Taming a Gray Wolf

[Qing-era lands beyond the Pass + wolf taming + survival + tactical strategy + hard-edged progression + characters who don’t get stupid]

Gu Ye, a PhD in animal behavior, opens his eyes to find himself a convict exiled to Ningguta.

It is thirty degrees below zero. The guards have fled, most of his fellow prisoners have frozen to death, and he can’t even get a sip of hot water.

In a half-collapsed hut, an outcast wolf lies at the door, so thin its ribs stick out, its right ear half missing, and fresh wounds from being attacked by its own kind still on its body.

Others run at the sight of a wolf. Gu Ye crouches down and observes it for five minutes.

Turned sideways, tail tucked, ears flattened: it isn’t here to bite anyone. It’s looking for a pack.

Seven days, from feeding it to making physical contact, and the textbook-perfect taming of a lone wolf is complete.

A flash of white lights up his mind: [Beast-Speech Stele: Activated. Binding successful: Unit 01, Scout Wolf. Current pack size: 1/5.]

One wolf isn’t enough to hunt by encirclement. Five can surround prey, ten unlock a hunting formation, and thirty can face cavalry head-on

But keeping all these wolves fed takes hundreds of pounds of meat a day.

Horse thieves want to seize his hunting grounds, imperial soldiers want to wipe out his camp, and deep in the mountains, a wild pack of over a hundred wolves is waiting for him.

After three days without food, loyalty drops. After five, they may turn on him.

Gu Ye glances at the pack of green-eyed beasts behind him and sighs.

First, let’s hunt. Then we’ll figure out how to feed you.