Chapter 321: My Cat Doesn’t Catch Birds

Chapter 321: Chapter 321: My Cat Doesn’t Catch Birds

"Brother San, Territory No. 5 needs one, thank you," Qi Fu immediately signed up.

"The Tenth Territory needs one too!" Shi Zhong was right behind him.

"No. 6 Territory needs one too," Kuang Qingwei registered. He was followed by Territory No. 4, the Second Territory, and even No. 9 Territory put in a request.

Only a fool wouldn’t sign up for a free corn guardian.

Xiaqing was the exception, because cats didn’t like her.

Zhang San responded lazily, "I only have two cats, so let’s go with Territory No. 5 and the Tenth Territory. I’ll have someone send them over to carry out the mission, and they’ll stay until your corn is dry."

Qi Fu and Shi Zhong quickly accepted. The others could only curse themselves for being too slow to claim the free, bird-hunting Evolution Cats.

Tang Huai called out to Hu Zifeng. "Hey, Zifeng! Don’t you have a cat too? Lend it to me, I promise I’ll feed it ’til it’s nice and fat."

’It doesn’t matter if it catches birds or not, I’m just dying to pet a cat.’

Hu Zifeng replied, "My cat doesn’t catch birds."

Tang Huai asked, "Then what does it like to catch? Fish? Mice? Bugs?"

"It likes to sunbathe."

Tang Huai flared up. "What the hell do you mean? Are you screwing with me?"

Hu Zifeng snorted. "I’m a cat owner. I don’t have time to mess with you."

Tang Huai got even angrier and started cussing him out.

Zhang San asked, "Hu Zifeng, what does Little Fifth usually eat?"

Hu Zifeng replied instantly, "Little Fifth likes to eat fish, small birds, and bird eggs—especially Green Light ones. But it doesn’t like to hunt. I’m the one who catches them, cleans them, and feeds them to it."

The others were speechless.

Zhang San’s tone was much warmer. "You’re raising that cat very well. Bring Little Fifth back to visit when you have time."

Hu Zifeng’s voice swelled with pride. "Will do, Brother San. Little Fifth is smart, beautiful, and adorable. It’s my honor that it enjoys the prey I catch for it."

The group was speechless again.

’It’s the tenth year of the Natural Disasters, and Hu Zifeng is still willing to keep a cat that doesn’t hunt. What’s the point? Does he have so much meat he can’t even finish it all?’

Only Xiaqing, who had seen how heart-stoppingly cute Little Fifth was, felt a pang of longing. She wanted to catch fish to feed a cat, too.

Everyone thought the discussion would end there, ready for it to devolve into a flame war between the Second Territory and No. 1 Territory. But to their surprise, Lord No.8, Xin Yu, suddenly came online.

"No. 8 Territory has an Evolved Sea Eagle. It can drive away or capture the birds gathering in your territories. The terms are the same as Lord No.7’s. Which territory needs its services?"

Lord No.8 was rarely online, so when she showed up, it was always with a bombshell. The other Lords were stunned.

While everyone knew No. 8 Territory had an Evolved Sea Eagle recovering from its injuries, they hadn’t expected it to be fully healed. Not only could it fly and hunt, but it could now go out and work for its keep.

’Does this mean the injured Evolutionary Eagle that Xin Yu traded to Xiaqing before the insect disaster will also be able to start working soon?’

Qi Fu asked, "Xin Yu, your Sea Eagle won’t attack people, will it?"

Xin Yu replied, "No. It’s a certified tamed beast that has passed its assessment. As long as you don’t attack it, it won’t retaliate. I’ll equip it with a locator to monitor its position in real-time and ensure it doesn’t go where it shouldn’t."

Tang Huai was puzzled. "Xin Yu, why are you sending your eagle out? It’s not like you’re short on the points to feed it."

"Tang Huai!" Tang Zhengpo sternly cut his son off, stopping him from continuing his foolishness.

’What was that supposed to mean? That Zhang San is short on points to feed his cats, so he’s sending them out on missions?’

’If Zhang San took offense and decided to be petty, maybe next time he’d draw a few extra vials of blood from his son, or make him eat something poisonous. The one who’d suffer would be this idiot who can’t keep his mouth shut.’

After rebuking his son, Tang Zhengpo tried to smooth things over. "Brother San and Xin Yu are letting their precious tamed beasts carry out missions to help everyone, and also to train them. I’m getting on in years and wasn’t fast enough to claim one of Brother San’s cats. This time, I’ll be the first to sign up. Territory No. 12 needs an Evolved Sea Eagle to drive away the birds. Xin Yu, we’ll be counting on you."

"The Second Territory needs one too," Tang Huai, who had just put his foot in his mouth, quickly added his name to the list.

After Zhao Ze and Kuang Qingwei also signed up, the group heard a voice that had been absent for a long time.

"No.1 Territory needs one as well. Thank you for your trouble."

A delighted grin spread across Xiaqing’s face. ’Brother Luo!!!’

’His voice still sounds weak, but he’s able to get online. The medicine Yang Jin brought back is working. Luo Pei can interact with people again.’

Zhao Ze immediately tried to cozy up to him. "Brother Luo, we haven’t heard from you in a long time! What have you been busy with?"

Xiaqing sighed. ’Zhao Ze, you should just log off and let your mom handle this.’

Luo Pei replied gently, "I haven’t been well for a while, so I’ve been resting up. I’m feeling better recently."

Hearing that Luo Pei hadn’t been well, everyone chimed in with well wishes and words of support.

Tang Huai suddenly asked, "Xiaqing, don’t you need Xin Yu’s Sea Eagle to scare off birds? Don’t tell me birds hate you too?"

"Tang Huai." Tang Zhengpo’s voice was still mild, but it held a clear warning. "Come home for dinner."

Tang Huai immediately backed down. "Dad, I’ve been busy the past couple of days. I’ll be back in a day or two."

’Looks like Tang Huai didn’t tell his dad he was injured,’ Xiaqing thought. She then answered Tang Huai’s stupid question, "I have chickens on my territory, and I’m worried it might scare them into not laying eggs. So I won’t compete with everyone for the eagle. Besides, my sheep can also chase away birds."

’You guys have your cats and eagles, but I have a sheep, a wolf, and squirrels. I can handle the birds just fine.’

Xiaqing turned to Sheep Leader and Sick Wolf, who were shucking corn. "Leader, Second, did you hear that? The cat from Territory Land No. 7 can chase birds, and the eagle from No. 8 Territory can too. We can’t let them show us up! I’m leaving the territory’s corn to you!"

"I’ll shuck the corn. You two go chase the birds. As long as you stop them from damaging the greenhouse and stealing corn, Leader gets a reward of compressed rations, and Second gets stewed bird!"

Sick Wolf immediately wagged its tail and dashed outside, leaping at the greenhouse to drive the birds away. While it couldn’t chase them all off completely, no bird dared to land and peck at the insect netting or the rainproof cloth on the structure anymore.

Sheep Leader wasn’t interested in chasing birds. It continued to wrestle with the corn under its hooves, looking as if it had sworn an oath not to stop until every last kernel was shucked clean.

The beast was incredibly strong, and Xiaqing worried it would trample the corn flat. After a good deal of gentle persuasion, Sheep Leader finally gave up on the corn and went out to chase birds.

A wolf and a sheep were both land animals, so they weren’t particularly effective at chasing birds. Sick Wolf’s mood remained relatively stable, but the ill-tempered Sheep Leader was already furious, resorting to ramming trees and rocks to drive the birds away.

Xiaqing drew her gun and shot down the few birds that were deliberately provoking Sheep Leader. Once she had intimidated the flock, she went back to shucking corn.

After shucking all the corn and packing it into bags, Xiaqing and Sheep Leader put their Strength Evolver advantages to use, hauling all the corn home in just two trips. They spread it out to dry on the roof of their stilt house, then covered it with the same netting they used for drying cotton.

Birds weren’t interested in cotton, but they were extremely interested in corn. Flocks of them, large and small, perched on the roofs of the sheep pen, the chicken coop, and the main house.

If there was a leader with brain domain evolution among these birds, they could easily organize a group attack, tear off the cover, and steal the corn. This meant she couldn’t just rely on Sheep Leader and the Evolutionary Wolf for passive defense. She had to take the offensive.

Xiaqing stood on the roof, her Visual and Auditory senses fully engaged, scanning the flock for any hidden Brain Domain Evolution Bird.