Future Pet Shop

Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw a woodpecker on a large, nearly leafless tree not far ahead. It had a completely scarlet crown, a white forehead, a body covered in black-and-white patterns, a pale scarlet rump, and its wings and outer tail feathers were speckled with white. It was pecking relentlessly at the trunk—PECK-PECK-PECK-PECK-PECK—and would occasionally pull a bug from under the bark to eat.

’Could this be the woodpecker I’m looking for?’ Shen Yibin quickly had Hah’Er and Xiaoliu crouch down. He pulled out his phone, zoomed the pet radar’s map all the way in, and panned around to get a fix on the location. He realized that if there were no other animals in the tree, then this woodpecker had to be his target.

He quickly took the binoculars from around his neck and began scanning the tree inch by inch. After five or six minutes of careful observation, Shen Yibin didn’t spot any other animals—not counting the bugs under the bark, of course. This woodpecker was the Mutant Animal!

’Hmm, it does look a bit bigger than a normal woodpecker, and its feathers are much glossier. Its chisel-shaped beak looks especially hard and sharp.’ With just a slight tilt of its head, its beak effortlessly pierced the wood, revealing a bug tunnel. A long, flexible tongue shot out of its beak like lightning, dove into the tunnel, and with a gentle flick, hooked a fat bug. The bird then slurped it up like a noodle.

It looked so skilled at its task, all that was missing was a voiceover saying, "Here we have a bug in its natural habitat. We can try to catch it. A single bug can provide a good deal of energy. It’s rich in protein—six times that of beef. Mmm, it’s crunchy and tastes a bit like chicken."

"Huh?" Hah’Er seemed to have spotted the woodpecker too. It tugged on the corner of Shen Yibin’s shirt and pointed at the bird, as if asking if that was the one.

"Yeah, but we need to figure out how to get it to take the medicine." Shen Yibin hesitated. ’Woodpeckers can fly. This won’t be as easy as catching Bald Qiang.’ He wasn’t confident about luring it with the pill’s scent, either. Aside from vultures that rely on scent to find carrion and kiwis that use it to find earthworms, most birds have a very weak sense of smell. ’Even if I tossed the pill right in front of it, it probably wouldn’t even notice, would it?’

’Should I dissolve the pill in water and roll it into a worm-like shape to trick it? But would the medicine still be effective?’ Shen Yibin had no way of knowing.

’So, if that’s the case, the only option left is to catch it first and then give it the medicine?’ But catching a full-grown bird in the middle of a forest was easier said than done. It wasn’t like Shen Yibin could fly.

’Sigh, if only this was a sparrow instead of a woodpecker. I could just prop up a small pot with a stick tied to a string, scatter some breadcrumbs underneath to lure it in, and then trap it with a quick pull. I used to do that all the time as a kid, but it’s not going to work now. Should I dig up some earthworms to use as bait instead? A woodpecker probably wouldn’t even give them a second glance.’

"Xiaoliu, do you think you can catch that bird for us?" Shen Yibin had no choice but to pin his hopes on Xiaoliu. ’You’re a much better tree-climber than I am, so it should be easier for you, right?’

"SQUEAK! SQUEAK!" Xiaoliu grinned, scratching its head in embarrassment. Asking it to brew wine or brandish its Light Saber would have been no problem at all. It could even catch small animals like squirrels with a high chance of success. But catching a bird was truly a bit beyond its abilities.

Monkeys could climb trees to raid nests for eggs, but once the birds grew up and learned to fly, the monkeys were helpless. In fact, the tables were often turned; a large bird of prey called the Philippine eagle, which specializes in hunting monkeys, was a far greater threat.

"You guys stay here and keep low. Don’t scare the bird off. I’m going to go back and see if I brought anything useful." Shen Yibin quietly backed away. He had anticipated that he might run into an animal that was difficult to catch, so he’d prepared a few gadgets and stuffed them into the backpack he’d left a little ways behind them.

Back where he’d left his pack, Shen Yibin quickly began to rummage through it. ’A rope snare? That might work for a rabbit, but it’s a joke for catching a bird. A slingshot? My aim is nowhere near as good as Noby’s, and it would be a disaster if I accidentally hurt the bird...’ He tossed the gadgets aside one by one until he finally found something useful. At the very bottom of the pack lay a small net. He had originally brought it for fishing, but now it seemed it might work for catching the bird.

Without bothering to put everything else back in his pack, Shen Yibin grabbed the net and tiptoed back to Hah’Er’s side. The woodpecker was still busy feasting on bugs and hadn’t flown off.

"Xiaoliu, I’ll teach you how to use this." Shen Yibin spread the net open, gave it a toss to the side, and neatly trapped Maphario underneath. Maphario scrambled about frantically but couldn’t escape. In the end, Shen Yibin had to lift the net to let it out.

"SQUEAK!" Xiaoliu seemed to find the new tool fascinating. It mimicked Shen Yibin, throwing the net over Maphario and trapping it again. Poor Maphario had become their practice target. This time, Maphario didn’t even bother to move, simply sitting under the net and waiting for Shen Yibin to rescue it.

After several more practice throws, just as Maphario was about to lose its temper, Xiaoliu finally got the hang of it. It happily tossed its Light Saber aside and clutched the net in its paws.

"See that? In a minute, you’re going to sneak over there," Shen Yibin said, pointing at the woodpecker. "When it’s not looking, throw the net over it and bring it back to me. Oh, and be extremely careful! Don’t let it fall and get hurt. You have to protect it."

"SQUEAK! SQUEAK!" Xiaoliu nodded, seemingly understanding. It swaggered over and climbed a large tree near the woodpecker, letting out a few squeaks. The woodpecker glanced over but didn’t seem to pay it much mind, immediately returning to its work on the tree trunk. PECK-PECK-PECK-PECK-PECK.

’Oh, so the plan is to let the target get used to its presence, lower the bird’s guard, and then spring the trap? Heh, Xiaoliu is full of crafty ideas!’

Shen Yibin couldn’t help but nod in approval. ’You can do it, Xiaoliu! Everything depends on this one chance. If you miss and put the bird on alert, it’ll be much harder to catch it next time!’