Future Pet Shop

Chapter 331: Chapter 331: Quick, Give Me a Cat Teaser

’What in the world is going on?’ Shen Yibin quickly stood on his tiptoes and looked around, but he couldn’t spot anything out of the ordinary. He glanced back at Hah’Er and Maphario, who both looked just as confused as he was. ’Could it be there’s no danger, and the monkeys just left because they found something delicious?’ Shen Yibin started to ponder another possibility.

"Should we go take a look?" Shen Yibin said after a moment’s hesitation. ’Who cares if it’s dangerous? I need to take this chance while the monkey’s asleep to give it the medicine. It’ll be a lot harder once it wakes up.’

"Mhm!" Hah’Er nodded and slowly lumbered toward the big tree. Shen Yibin hurried after him, constantly scanning his surroundings as he walked, afraid a wild beast might leap out at any moment.

"CHEE! CHEE!" As they neared the big tree, they heard a whoosh of air. The monkey that had traded him a peach for an energy bar swung over from a nearby cliff face, landing right on the branch where the skinny monkey was sleeping. It grabbed the monkey’s arm and shook it violently, repeatedly glancing into the distance with a terrified expression.

But the sleeping monkey was still snoring up a storm, showing no signs of waking up. The monkey who had made the trade grew more and more anxious. It pulled the sleeping monkey’s arm, trying to hoist it onto its back and carry it away. But it was hardly any bigger than the sleeping monkey itself; there was no way it could manage the weight.

Just then, Shen Yibin and his companions arrived. He saw less than half an energy bar lying on the ground under the tree, and he seemed to understand. The other monkey had traded the peach for the energy bar to give to this sleeping one. ’Could this one be the troop’s Monkey King? But it doesn’t look the part. Aren’t Monkey Kings usually the strongest fighters? This monkey is so small and skinny, how could it possibly beat the others?’

’Huh? Why do I smell alcohol?’ Shen Yibin sniffed the air and caught a faint scent of it. He looked up at the sleeping monkey again and saw a reddish flush on its face, just like Hah’Er when he was drunk! ’Holy crap, this little guy is drunk! No wonder it wouldn’t wake up.’

"CHEE! CHEE!" The monkey that had made the trade noticed Shen Yibin. It jumped back at first, startled, but upon recognizing him, it seemed to have found a savior. It started jumping up and down, chittering away, pointing first at the drunk monkey, then up and to the left. It clearly wanted Shen Yibin’s help to get the drunk monkey away from there.

"Why are you in such a hurry? I just looked over there and didn’t see anything," Shen Yibin asked, confused. He followed the direction the monkey was pointing, and the casual glance nearly made him piss his pants.

Partially hidden among the trees and bushes was an animal about a meter long. It looked like a big cat, with a golden-yellow coat covered in large, black markings, and it was staring hungrily in their direction!

’Holy crap, don’t tell me that’s Mr. Tattoo!’ Shen Yibin couldn’t help but shiver. He may have raised Pingtou, the "African brawler," before, but Pingtou was merely reckless in a fight. Its actual combat prowess was nothing compared to the "Asian brawler," Mr. Tattoo!

’Huh? Wait. Logically, a Northeast Tiger couldn’t possibly be on Emei Mountain. And the South China Tiger is thought to be extinct in the wild. There are only 140 captive-bred South China Tigers left in the entire world, spread across a dozen or so zoos in the country. In terms of population, they’re even rarer than giant pandas. How could one possibly show up here?!’

Thinking of this, Shen Yibin calmed down a bit. As his composure returned, he noticed a few more details. This feline appeared to be fully grown, but a mature South China Tiger or Northeast Tiger would never be this small. Furthermore, its markings were cloud-shaped, completely different from a tiger’s stripes.

’Hm? Cloud-shaped markings... a feline? Oh, it’s a Clouded Leopard!’ Shen Yibin already knew a bit about animal taxonomy, and he had specifically researched the wild animals of Sichuan before his trip. Having seen pictures of Clouded Leopards, he quickly made the connection and identified the species.

Shen Yibin couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. ’So it’s a Clouded Leopard, not a tiger.’ Holy shit! A Clouded Leopard! Before he could even finish his sigh, another fact about them surfaced in his mind: Clouded Leopards are excellent climbers and often leap down from trees to prey on small mammals like monkeys, birds, rats, wild rabbits, and small deer. This thing was here for the monkeys!

’No wonder the monkeys scattered in terror; they’d run into their natural predator.’ He watched as the creature sauntered over, unhurried, its target clearly the drunk monkey. ’If I just let it eat this monkey, I’m screwed, aren’t I?’

’If it were a tiger, I wouldn’t be as scared. We could just climb the tree to hide. After all, the monkey’s already up there, and both Hah’Er and I can climb. But a Clouded Leopard is a different story. That thing has maxed-out climbing skills. This big tree would be no challenge for it at all.’

"I’ll help you!" Shen Yibin shouted. He dropped his hiking bag, ready to climb the tree and help the other monkey carry the drunk one away. But it seemed like there wasn’t enough time.

The monkey weighed dozens of pounds, at least. If Shen Yibin carried it, how could he possibly outrun a Clouded Leopard? Besides, Hah’Er wasn’t fast either. If he saved the monkey only to leave Hah’Er to the leopard, Shen Yibin would be heartbroken. ’Hah’Er probably can’t beat a Clouded Leopard, can he?’

’What do I do? I have to think of something, fast!’ Shen Yibin reached into his hiking bag. He had brought some self-defense weapons for the trip, but whether they’d be effective against a Clouded Leopard was another matter entirely. Besides, the Clouded Leopard was a Class I Protected Species. Killing or injuring it would mean huge trouble.

’Wait, a Clouded Leopard is a feline, right? I wonder if that cat teaser wand from the pet shop would work on it. And can the Future Pet Shop deliver it before the leopard gets here?’

"I want to buy that cat teaser wand. Can you rush the delivery?" Shen Yibin quickly opened WeChat. Luckily, he still had a signal here.

"Normal delivery is within half an hour. For rush delivery, there’s a three-thousand-yuan express fee, and it will arrive in ten minutes. Do you wish to purchase?" the Future Pet Shop replied quickly.

"Yes, yes, buy it!" Shen Yibin wasted no more words. He immediately paid the 23,333.33 yuan for the cat teaser wand, plus the 3,000-yuan delivery fee.

"Please wait. It will be delivered immediately!" After that message, the Future Pet Shop went offline. Shen Yibin pulled a stun gun from his backpack. "Hah’Er, take Maphario up the tree." If the delivery didn’t arrive before the Clouded Leopard did, he would have to face it himself.