Beast Tamer's Rebirth National Treasure Edition novel Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Sierra suddenly smiled. It left both the other guests and the live stream viewers totally confused. Nobody had a clue what she was smiling about.

But Sierra knew exactly why. This zoo, WonderWild Zoo, was the one the System had given her.

Ever since she got the System, she’d been wanting to turn it over to the proper authorities. As for the zoo itself, she’d only ever seen it in her dreams. She never even bothered to find out where it really was.

But now, here she was and the Sterling siblings were on her turf

Just then, the director, Frank Turner, waddled into view, his round frame impossible to miss. “Welcome, everyone, to WonderWild Zoo!” he announced.

“Over the next two weeks, our five guests will need to complete tasks assigned by our zookeepers if they want to graduate from the program.” He then asked everyone to introduce themselves.

The oldest guest was Vivian Shea, a three-time Best Actress winner. She’d been huge back in the day, and even after stepping back from the spotlight to raise a family, she was still crazy popular.

Next up was Andy Shaw, a singer who seemed pretty awkward around people. When his turn came, he barely said a word.

When it was Shawn and Natalie’s turn, Shawn handed the spotlight right over to Natalie. He introduced, “Hey everyone, I’m Shawn, and this is my sister Natalie.”

Natalie spoke up in this soft, timid voice, “Hi, I’m Natalie. This is my first time on a variety show, so please go easy on me.”

Having a famous sibling duo on the show was a major draw and with Shawn being an A-lister, plus the Sterling family’s army of fans, Natalie’s live stream quickly became the most watched of the five guests.

When it was Sierra’s turn, she kept her introduction short and simple.

Soon, the zookeeper led the group inside. The zoo was huge, tucked right into the mountains, so everyone hopped on a shuttle to get around.

The zookeeper explained, “WonderWild Zoo is brand new and not open to the public yet. Once we arrive, each of you will randomly select five animals to care for over the next two weeks. Those are the show’s rules.”

Natalie, sitting near the zookeeper, piped up, “This place is so beautiful. If you opened it to tourists, it’d make a fortune. I bet after our show airs, tons of people will want to visit.”

The zookeeper shot Natalie a quick look before turning away. He explained, “Not every zoo is meant for the public.

“Most of the animals here were rescued from hunting or trafficking. A lot of them haven’t gone through desensitization training yet. Whether we open later, that’s up to our director.”

Sierra could tell he wasn’t sugarcoating it. She made a habit of checking on the animals during her free time every day. Most animals were probably the ones the System had rescued, each with their own quirks and issues.

She’d been trying to help them get used to people over the past two weeks, but with so many animals and so little time, progress was slow.

Just then, the shuttle pulled to a stop on a wide grassy field. Frank stood holding a stack of animal photos. “Alright, it’s time for each of you to pick the animals you’ll be caring for these two weeks.”

Natalie quickly spoke up, “Why don’t we let our seniors choose first?” The moment she said it, Vivian and Andy’s fans online ate it up, praising her manners left and right.

1/3

Then Natalie turned to Sierra, who’d been quiet the whole ride, most like she wasn’t even there. In a soft and timid tone, Natalie asked, “Sierra, you don’t mind, right?”

Sierra glanced over, a faint smile playing on her lips. “You’ve already said it. What’s left for me to say?”

Natalie’s eyes instantly welled up. “I’m sorry,” she said quickly. “I spoke without thinking. I should’ve asked you first, Sierra. I shouldn’t have decided on my own.”

Sierra had seen this act before. Natalie was good at playing the victim, twisting the story just enough to turn fans against Sierra. In Sierra’s previous life, Natalie used those little passive-aggressive remarks-sometimes on purpose, sometimes not -to sic her followers on Sierra.

Back then, Sierra stayed quiet for the Sterlings’ sake, never fighting back on camera. And that just made Natalie push even

harder.

At that thought, Sierra’s gaze turned cold. She never really knew what family warmth felt like, so in her previous life, she clung to whatever scraps of love she could get and only to end up miserable and alone.

It wasn’t until she died by herself that she finally understood that some people just weren’t meant to have family. She didn’t crave it anymore. And she definitely wasn’t going to let Natalie walk all over her again.

Sierra looked up, putting on a concerned face.

Natalie’s tears hung there, refusing to fall as she stared back, totally thrown by Sierra’s reaction.

“Sorry, did I say something that came off wrong?” Sierra sighed, laying it on thick. “They’re both our seniors. Of course, they should pick first.

“Besides, it’s all luck anyway. Who goes when doesn’t really matter.” She paused, and then added gently, “If I confused you, how about you go first next time? Think of it as my apology.”

Natalie’s face froze. She kept staring at Sierra, completely thrown off. But Sierra looked calm, even understanding. It was totally not the reaction Natalie was banking on.

Over in the livestream chat, discussions exploded.

[Ugh, Sierra is so fake. Isn’t she just flipping this around and blaming everything on Nat?]

[Sierra’s always coming for Nat. At this point, I’m not even surprised.]

[Poor Nat, she looks crushed.]

Natalie’s paid fans were working overtime, but despite all the hate Sierra had been getting lately, her own fans weren’t staying quiet.

[LOL Natalie started it though? Sierra said she was fine with it and Natalie’s already tearing up. Is she the reincarnation of crybaby or what?]

[Who even is Natalie? Has she actually done anything?]

[Natalie’s biggest hits: ‘I’m From a Rich Family,’ ‘My Brother’s a Top Star, and ‘Future Drama Queen.]

[Main works: zero.]

[That’s savage. How does Natalie even have the nerve to pull this]

Besides Natalie’s fan army, there were plenty of casual viewers and animal lovers tuning in. She could spin the narrative all she wanted, but in a live stream, every little moment got picked apart in real time.

a

2/3

Natalie was still fresh in the entertainment world; no way she say that coming.

Soon, the five guests picked photos of the animals they’d be looking after. Vivian got Quickie, the talking parrot. Andy ended up with Slowy, the golden python. Shawn drew Biggie, the black bear, while Natalie landed Angel, the raccoon.

When Natalie realized she got a raccoon, her mood shot straight up. Raccoons were national treasures; everyone them. She was sure she’d be the star of the show from now on.

adored

Natalie peeked over at Sierra, who seemed totally spaced out and stared at her photo. She guessed that Sierra must’ve drawn some weird or ugly animal, and she couldn’t help smirking. Shedged closer, cager for the reveal. “Sierra, what’d you get? Mind showing us?”

Sierra’s mouth twitched. She held up the photo. It was a manul, s fur all messy gray and white, with big glassy amber eyes staring straight into the camera.

She let out a long sigh. The showrunners were totally messing with them. Out of all the animals, these five were definitely WonderWild Zoo’s problem children.

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