Future Pet Shop

Chapter 332: Chapter 332: Come on, Spin Around

"Ngh! Ngh!" Hah’Er had spotted the Clouded Leopard and was stomping his feet anxiously. Although he had never seen a Clouded Leopard before, the fear of predators hidden deep within his genes was impossible to suppress. Hah’Er instinctively sensed the danger. Seeing Shen Yibin about to put himself at risk, he refused to allow it. He tossed Maphario up into the tree, then crouched on the ground, ready to fight to the death.

’I didn’t dote on you for nothing,’ Shen Yibin thought, so moved he was on the verge of tears. ’But if you stay, you’ll just be another dish for the Clouded Leopard. You won’t be much help.’

"Hah’Er, be good. Get up in the tree, quick," Shen Yibin began to coax him. "I have a way to deal with it. You being down here will only distract me." In truth, he had no good plan at all. All his hopes were pinned on the cat teaser wand.

Although Shen Yibin had trained with Shi Gaofei for a long time, and his physical condition and reflexes were far beyond those of an average person, he was still no match for a jungle assassin like the Clouded Leopard.

After much persuasion, he finally managed to coax Hah’Er into the tree. He climbed to the first fork, set Maphario down safely, but then refused to go any higher. He adopted a posture that clearly said he would jump down to help the second things went south, which left Shen Yibin feeling both moved and worried.

Just then, the Clouded Leopard approached unhurriedly. It leaped nimbly through the brush, and in no time, it was in the tree opposite them. With a single bound, it could reach the branch where Hah’Er was perched. The predator crouched there, curiously sizing Hah’Er up. This Clouded Leopard had never seen a creature like Hah’Er before and, unable to gauge its capabilities, it hesitated to attack.

This allowed Shen Yibin to breathe a small sigh of relief. He prayed silently, ’Just let this standoff continue. Hopefully, it’ll get bored and leave. There are plenty of monkeys over there for you to eat, so why don’t you just move along? Hah’Er is super strong, you know. Watch out, or he’ll sit on you and crush you flat!’

Any animal will first observe a strange creature with caution. Even the tigers of Qian Province were said to have been scared off once or twice upon first seeing a donkey. It was no surprise that the Clouded Leopard was treating Hah’Er so cautiously. However, the moment it decided to test the waters, Hah’Er’s true nature would likely be exposed. After all, didn’t the tiger end up eating that donkey from Qian in the end?

So, Shen Yibin’s prayers didn’t have much effect. Just as Hah’Er and the Clouded Leopard were locked in a staring contest, the monkeys on a higher branch began to shriek in terror. This immediately drew the Clouded Leopard’s attention. With a meal right in front of it, it forgot its caution. It began to lower its body and arch its back, its entire form like a fully drawn bow. A single light leap was all it would take to land on Hah’Er’s branch. The situation had become extremely dangerous.

’Damn it, I can’t let you get over there!’ Shen Yibin quickly picked up a rock from the ground and hurled it at the Clouded Leopard. He could no longer afford to think about his own safety; his only thought was to protect Hah’Er and Maphario. After all, rodents were also on the Clouded Leopard’s menu. If Hah’Er fell, Maphario would be next.

"ROAR~" The Clouded Leopard was an animal at the top of this mountain forest’s food chain. When had it ever faced such a provocation? Although the rock didn’t hit it, it realized Shen Yibin was attacking it. It immediately shifted its gaze and looked coldly at Shen Yibin.

"Come on! Come on down! If you’ve got the guts, I’ll beat you to a pulp!" Shen Yibin boldly pointed at the Clouded Leopard and cursed. But his trembling legs betrayed him; in reality, he was scared to death.

The Clouded Leopard instinctively sensed that Shen Yibin was all bark and no bite. It licked its lips, about to descend, when a sudden burst of song made it freeze. "Morning dewdrops on bamboo leaves, awaken the panda from its dreams. It peeks from its den, at the mountain over there, what wonders lie beyond that mountain peak..."

"Your delivery is here. It’s on the rock twenty meters behind you. Go get it yourself!" The person on the other end hung up immediately after speaking. This express delivery was indeed a bit faster than usual.

"Hey! Hey! You’re not even going to bring it to me?!" How could he dare turn his back with a predator in front of him? He was afraid that in the time it took to turn his head, the Clouded Leopard would lunge and snap his spine. Shen Yibin wanted to cry but had no tears. Hope was right there in front of him, yet all he could do was stand rooted to the spot, not daring to move.

’Huh? Why did it stop?’ Shen Yibin wondered. Just a moment ago, the Clouded Leopard had been coiled to strike, ready to attack at any second. But now, it had settled back down and was looking around, bewildered, seemingly searching for the source of the voice.

’Was it scared by my ringtone?’ Shen Yibin seemed to have found the reason. An idea struck him. He quickly opened his phone, searched for the sound of a tiger’s roar, and hit play.

"ROAR~ ROAR~" Unfortunately, Shen Yibin’s phone wasn’t one of those knockoff models with a bunch of speakers. Even a tiger’s roar coming from his phone sounded more like a pug’s yapping. The Clouded Leopard only flinched instinctively; it wasn’t scared away.

But that brief respite was enough. Shen Yibin slowly backed away while facing the Clouded Leopard. The leopard also jumped down from the tree and began to slowly close in.

Seeing he was only two meters away from the cat teaser wand, and the Clouded Leopard had already entered his attack range, Shen Yibin gritted his teeth and threw his phone at it. Accompanied by another burst of a tiger’s roar, the phone landed in front of the Clouded Leopard. The predator was startled and took a few steps back. Seizing the opportunity, Shen Yibin grabbed the cat teaser wand.

’Please be as useful as the instructions say you are!’ Shen Yibin tightly gripped the cat teaser wand, which was about a meter long with a fuzzy ball at the tip. The instruction manual said it was effective on all felines. ’A Clouded Leopard is a feline, so it has to like this thing, right?’

’This wand seems a bit short, though,’ Shen Yibin thought. ’A meter doesn’t seem long enough to keep me safe.’ He subconsciously muttered, "Can it get any longer?" The words had barely left his lips when the cat teaser wand automatically shot forward, extending by more than a meter.

"Ha, is this a cat teaser or some kind of magic staff?" Shen Yibin couldn’t help but get excited. "Alright, get longer! Get thicker!" At his command, the cat teaser wand continued to change its form. ’Cat ladies would go crazy for a high-tech gadget like this, wouldn’t they?’

Meanwhile, the Clouded Leopard seemed extremely interested in the object. Its head followed the fuzzy ball at the tip of the wand, constantly turning, as if it wanted to pounce and tear it to shreds.

Seeing that the cat teaser wand was working, Shen Yibin finally relaxed. He moved the wand to the left, and the Clouded Leopard followed, running to the left. He shifted it to the right, and the Clouded Leopard immediately dashed over.

’Once it’s exhausted, we should be able to get away, right? Let’s up the difficulty then,’ he thought. Shen Yibin brandished the cat teaser wand with a flourish. "Alright, follow me and do a spin!"