Chapter 1242: Operation Catch The Fox
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
There’s a reason why it exists.
If fennec foxes were able to survive in the desert for so long, they must have their own tricks up their sleeves.
For a person that is used to a comfortable, safe life, when danger suddenly dawns upon them, they would usually first pause, hesitate, their brain would short circuit, or would try to see what exactly is the danger first before deciding whether to fight or flight. But, by then, it’s often too late.
The fennec fox had skipped through the whole hesitation period, and at the moment that Fina and Famous and jumped out, or when Zhang Zian had lit up the torchlight, they had shot out reflexively, running first before anything else.
They’re light and agile, and have great explosive power. They’re as quiet as a frozen lake, but can also be as explosive as a rabid dog, moving along the desert as though it barely touched the sand, jumping tens of meters away in the blink of an eye, it’s speed jaw dropping. If they didn’t know that they were foxes before hand, they might even think these were rabbits running amok on a field.
As elfins, Fina and Famous have exceptional athletic abilities. But, even with their head start, they couldn’t even narrow the gap between them and the foxes.
If they were racing on a straight line, the foxes’ speed were definitely not as great as Fina and Famous, but they’re not idiots. When they realised that their enemy’s speed were extremely quick, they started zig-zagging their running pattern.
This trick is a fail-safe against predators. They have a huge, fluffy tail that can help them maintain their balance and speed even when changing directions at high speeds, and a light body meant their inertia isn’t as great, so they can dart around sharper corners. Even if their enemies got close to them, they have their last line of defence – their a.n.a.l glands.
Fina and Famous aren’t as good at changing directions as they are, and if they really wanted to catch them, it’s still a huge challenge, they could at most catch one fox each. Thank goodness they’re only in charge of chasing them, and if anyone of them ran out of line, they would rush up to scare them back into the predetermined route. They made sure to stay a good distance away so they don’t get sprayed by their a.n.a.l glands.
Most foxes are solitary animals, but fennec foxes are one of the rare animals that live in a group. This pack is about ten members strong, of different sizes. It doesn’t matter whether they’re in a pack because they’re biologically related, since they run in a group anyway in order to confuse their chaser.
Zhang Zian could see everything clearly from where he’s lying on the top of the sand dune, and he’s secretly happy about it. If the group ran in seperate ways, they might not be able to save the situation even if they brought out Old Time Tea and Vladimir.
Just like that, under Fina and Famous’ purposeful guidance, they ran towards Zhang Zian’s sand dunes like rats scuttling down a drain.
Zhang Zian had already activated the “Pet Hunter” game, preparing to catch the foxes.
He’s not too sure whether fennec foxes fall under the game’s definition of pets. If it doesn’t work, then the catch would be invalid, so he had a back up plan — he took off his warm jacket, getting reading to cover it over the foxes’ head when the get close and count his blessings.
Even the extremely adept fennec foxes had to slow their speed climbing up the sand dune, but they’re still light and agile, far more responsive than humans could ever be.
He might not even be able to capture a clear, un-blurry photo of them with how fast they are going and how agile they are. If the game can’t capture them, he certainly can’t with his jacket either.
Zhang Zian had considered that before hand already, so he was not just blindly optimistic, he has another trick up his sleeve — his simple flashlight.
The leading male fennec fox is sporty and strong, and it might be the leader of this group. It rushed all the way in front, rus.h.i.+ng up the sand dune with the other foxes following behind him, spread out into a fan shape.
Zhang Zian was holding his breath, not daring to let out a single bit of sound to prevent them from getting a shock and turning directions. When the leading fennec fox rushed up the sand dune spine, he suddenly stood up from his hiding spot behind the sand dune spine.
The leading fennec fox wasn’t fl.u.s.tered by the sudden road block, and it’s body reacted before it’s brain could. Its tail turned, and it’s body was about to follow.
Right that, Zhang Zian turned on his flashlight, and a powerful cone of light shone at the leading fennec fox and the foxes behind it, bathing them in strong luminance.
If fennec foxes could speak, they would definitely cover their eyes, screaming, “Eyes! My eyes!”
As nocturnal animals, the fennec foxes don’t only have extraordinary hearing, it’s eyes are also very similar to a cat’s, able to converge all of the light it received and s.h.i.+ne it onto it’s retina, so the fennec foxes’ eyes will s.h.i.+ne like a cat’s does in the night, and are able to see in the night like night-vision googles.
So, what does it feel like to watch a flash bomb go off before you while wearing night vision goggles?
These fennec foxes have their pupils dilated, trying to gather as much light as they can in order to adapt to the low light situations of the night. They would never expect such bright and densely packed light to show up in the night.
Split second later, their eyes went momentarily blind.
The leading fennec fox isn’t afraid of the suddenly appearing enemy, but the sudden blindness is something that it had never experienced before. It’s body had already turned, but it hadn’t completed it’s action yet. The animal that relies on its sight suddenly lost its sense of direction and balance, and lost its control over it’s body. It’s four limbs lost control, causing it to trip on itself, landing right below Zhang Zian’s feet.
Zhang Zian raised his phone, pointing it right at the fennec fox, clicking on the “Capture” b.u.t.ton.
[Game Notice]: Successful capture! Fennec Fox!
Even though the other fennec foxes were further away from the flashlight, but their eyes were also focused on Zhang Zian, and were similarly blinded by the flashlight. There’s a black area in the middle of their vision, only able to see slightly on the edges of their vision, and could no longer differentiate left from right. Some of them tripped over themselves like their leader, while some of them rushed forwards blindly and ended up head first in the sand. Some of them skidded to a stop, standing there, not knowing what to do, widening their blinded eyes.
Zhang Zian’s more than pleased with this result. It isn’t even as easy to pick up drunk people at the door of the club. This is just like plucking carrots in the field.
He shook his flashlight in his left hand, trying to capture and dizzy evne more foxes, while his right hand held onto his phone, constantly clicking onto “Capture”, keeping all the fennec foxes into his inventory. When his usual pet’s section is full, he activated plan B, using his jacket to grab onto the stunned fennec foxes.
Other than a few foxes that have managed to get away because they were standing at the corners, most of them were captured by him. Professor Weikang doesn’t need these many fennec foxes anyway.
He was still proud of himself, when he suddenly heard a sharp rip, followed by a chill along his thigh. When he lowered his head, there was yet a few more holes in his tortured jeans.
Fina rubbed at its eyes, glaring at him, “What are you shaking it so much for! You’ve made me dizzy!”