Chapter 21: The Walking Half-Million

The Black-footed Cat spoke in an icy tone: "Whoever dares to run, I will snap their neck."

"You all know how fast I am."

The pressure brought on by their natural predator caused the gerbils to freeze instantly, the expressions on their rodent faces locking in place. Gerbils are timid creatures, prone to panic, convulsions, or sudden heart failure; when faced with a biological superior, their legs turn to jelly very quickly. They are the type of creatures that are cowardly yet love to sneak around and cause trouble.

As the Black-footed Cat sheriff swept a gaze over them, the little gerbils began to tremble uncontrollably.

The Black-footed Cat picked up the gerbil leader by its tail: "You gerbil families are repeat offenders. If I leave, you'll just do it again next time. It just so happens I haven't had dinner yet..."

The gerbil leader dangled in mid-air, its two short legs kicking wildly. It pressed its paws together in front of its chest, bowing timidly: "Spare us, Great King! We were only playing a joke on our little fennec fox friend; we meant no harm."

The other gerbils were so terrified their legs gave out, making it impossible for them to flee.

"Please spare us, we know we were wrong!"

"Life is hard! We just moved into a new home, and our pantry is still empty. We were just hoping to ask the little fox to help us find some food and maybe visit our home as a guest."

"How could such little mice have any bad intentions?"

Hearing the excuses from this group of gerbils, Xu Ying could not help but chuckle. Gerbils were truly highly intelligent creatures; they had a set of excuses for everything and even knew how to play the victim.

Hearing these gerbils mention they had just moved into a new home, Xu Ying’s eyes darted around. Unlike city rats, gerbils are very clean and often spend half an hour washing their faces with their paws. Their homes are also quite sophisticated, consisting of tunnel systems with entrances (front doors), corridors, pantries, toilets, blind tunnels (emergency exits), and nesting chambers (bedrooms)... Each system generally has five to six entrances, with some having over thirty, forming a colony—they were essentially living in underground villas.

Xu Ying took half a compressed biscuit from her pocket, crushed it, and sprinkled a small portion in front of the gerbils: "Little mice, I have something I'd like to ask you."

The compressed biscuit was sesame-flavored and incredibly fragrant. Living in the desert, the gerbils had never smelled such a delicacy, and they began to swallow their saliva frantically.

Xu Ying coaxed them: "If you can help me, I can help you fill the pantry of your new home."

Gerbils love to hoard; a single tunnel system can store about 30 kilograms of food—enough for an adult human to eat for about a month, and enough to sustain the gerbils for two or three months. While two or three months might not sound like much, a gerbil’s lifespan is only two to three years. Thus, hoarding food is a major project for them. Hearing that Xu Ying would help was like a pie falling from the sky!

The gerbil leader’s bean-sized eyes widened: "Really?"

Xu Ying patted her chest: "Really. As the station chief of the rescue center, why would I lie to you? If you need anything, just come find me at the 032 Rescue Center."

Xu Ying told the gerbils the route to 032. "But the condition is that you must help us find clues."

A gerbil near the biscuit crumbs reached out a small paw, wanting to touch a piece. The Black-footed Cat extended its tail and tapped the gerbil's back, causing it to freeze like a statue, not daring to move a muscle.

"Station Chief Xu hasn't finished speaking yet." The Black-footed Cat signaled for the gerbils to listen.

"Sorry, sorry, we were just too greedy." The little gerbil immediately stood at attention.

The gerbil leader, having been set down by the Black-footed Cat, became quite sycophantic toward Xu Ying: "Leader, what are your instructions?"

"Mobilize your family members, distant relatives, and neighbors to help us find the suspicious individuals and the sand cat."

"These two suspicious people—one is tall, one is short. The short one walks with his toes pointed inward."

As Xu Ying conveyed the information, Little Fox Five acted out the description on the side, even demonstrating the pigeon-toed walk to help the gerbils understand—it was both funny and cute.

"This is the pattern of their shoe prints. Look at it carefully." Xu Ying showed them the photo on her phone. Since the rescue center had no printer, she hand-drew the pattern of the sole and gave it to the gerbil leader.

"Also, the mother of the little fennec foxes by my side has gone missing. If you can help find clues for that as well, I’ll cover your pantry's next quarter of supplies!"

Upon hearing this, the gerbil leader's eyes shone with greed. Dragging a piece of paper larger than its own body, it waved a tiny fist: "Brothers and sisters! For our rations, let's move out!"

"Charge!"

"Call a family meeting immediately! Use all the strength we can muster!"

Listening to the gerbil leader shouting slogans, Xu Ying found the scene quite inspiring.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak—"

The six gerbils all chimed in, then moved the biscuit crumbs and returned to their nest to prepare for the meeting. Fearing the cunning little mice might renege on the deal, Xu Ying and her group followed them to identify the location of the gerbil den and its various exits.

Gerbil tunnels are divided into temporary emergency tunnels and residential tunnels. The complex structure they found was a residential one; the site selection and excavation were major projects that would not be easily abandoned.

After spending most of the day posting "lost cat notices," the night had deepened, and the temperature in the desert had dropped. Confirming the cooperation was foolproof, Xu Ying called back the other four fennec fox cubs and returned to the rescue station with the Black-footed Cat.

Before leaving, Xu Ying had messaged Ning Zexi to tell him she had returned to the 032 Rescue Center. She only just received his reply; upon learning that the fox cubs had been fed shortly after he left, he was less anxious about returning, choosing to stay in town to stock up on more supplies. He even asked if Xu Ying needed anything brought back, as entering the city wasn't easy.

Xu Ying listed a long shopping list and sent a large red envelope to Ning Zexi containing most of yesterday's live-streaming earnings. Ning Zexi deserved much of the credit for her and the fox cubs' popularity.

After finishing this, Xu Ying heated some water with an electric rod, washed up, and climbed into her sleeping bag. It must be said that tonight's accommodations were far worse than the luxurious "bear bed" she had slept on the night before. The remaining metal cot was hard, and while the sleeping bag was warm, her exposed face and neck felt chilly.

Xu Ying curled up, trying to shrink into a ball: "Wow, the desert night is truly cold!"

"Sister! Are you cold?"

Hearing Xu Ying’s sigh, the little foxes wiped their paws on a damp towel on the table, then jumped onto the sleeping bag one by one. They nestled against her cheeks and neck, covering the parts of her body exposed outside the sleeping bag with their fluffy tails.

This was genuine fox fur! It was toasty warm!

Xu Ying was no longer cold. Breathing in the milky scent of the fox cubs, she fell into a peaceful sleep with a happy smile on her face.

A good night's sleep.

The next morning, before dawn, Xu Ying was awakened by the persistent squeaking in the room.

She opened her eyes groggily, and the room was filled with "mountains and plains" of little gerbils saying good morning. Xu Ying nearly fainted on the spot!

The gerbil leader hopped onto her headboard, shouting like an alarm clock: "Little Station Chief, wake up!"

"We found the sand cat! It was captured by a group of spies."

What? Spies? And a group of them?

Xu Ying’s sleepy eyes widened like copper bells. This wasn't just a cat; this was a walking bounty!

***

A small tip: Foxes do not have a natural body odor or "fox stench." The smell is only released from their anal glands when they are nervous or overly frightened—it is a defense mechanism.