Beast Tamer's Rebirth National Treasure Edition novel Chapter 166

Chapter 166

Chapter 166

Sophie was stunned as she watched the red panda strut into the room.

She closed the door and couldn’t help but ask, “How did the red panda just wander in here?”

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Sierra pulled out her phone and explained, “I looked it up before we came. It’s one of the zoo’s special features. This hotel is actually set right in the red panda zone, and the staff arrange for the red pandas to interact with guests.”

Of course, not every guest could afford this service.

She was floored when she was searching for rooms earlier. Real estate in Harborty was crazy expensive, but she never expected a zoo hotel room to go for $3,000 a night.

Sierra couldn’t help but marvel.

As she spoke, the red panda scampered over and hopped right onto Sierra’s bed.

It tilted its head, gazing up at Sierra with pleading eyes, clearly hoping for some attention.

Then, it slowly stood up and held out its little paws. “Human, I permit you to hug me.”

The little guy lifted its head with a proud, haughty air, already picturing tourists squealing, falling in love, and showering it with kisses, just like always.

This pretty human was on a whole different level compared to the usual tourists.

She was the most gorgeous human it had ever laid eyes on. Normally, it couldn’t tell humans apart at all, but it could actually remember Sierra’s face.

The little guy mused, its big, round eyes half-closed in bliss.

But after waiting and waiting, not a single hug or kiss came its way.

The red panda opened its eyes and saw Sierra turning away, rummaging through her backpack for something.

‘Wait, what?’ the red panda blinked, totally confused.

It just gawked at Sierra’s back as she dug through her suitcase.

It thought, ‘Aren’t I the most pampered red panda in all of WonderWild Zoo?

‘Why is this gorgeous human totally ignoring me?

‘Seriously? I can’t accept this! No way!’

The red panda hopped off the bed, trotted over to Sierra, stood up again, and demanded in a bossy voice, “Human, hug me!” Sierra kept digging through her bag, totally ignoring it.

The red panda looked so pitiful, clutching Sierra’s leg with its fluffy little paws and whining, “Human, come on, show me some love!”

Sierra was speechless.

She was just looking for some treats the animals could eat.

Luckily, she managed to fish out a bag from the very bottom of her suitcase, with seven or eight packs of cookies she’d baked

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Chapter 166

herself.

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All the animals at the zoo had their own nutrition plans, but there was no harm in spoiling them with a snack once in a while.

Sierra had made these cookies herself, and every animal in WonderWild Zoo could eat them. Back when she was training them, the animals would practically wrestle each other for a taste.

Sure enough, as soon as Sierra opened the cookie bag, the red panda’s wet black nose twitched in the air, and it rested its paw on her arm.

“Human, it smells so good! I really want to eat some,” the red panda whined.

As it spoke, a glistening string of drool dripped from its chin.

Wow, that smells incredible!’ the red panda thought, its mouth watering uncontrollably.

Sierra was crouched down on the floor, so she was about eye-level with the red panda.

The red panda’s big eyes were locked onto the cookies, but even then, it just stared obediently, not making a move to snatch

one.

Sierra fished a cookie out and said, “Here you go. Eat up, and when you’re done, I’ll walk you back.”

The red panda’s eyes went huge. “Wait, you can really understand what I’m saying? And I get snacks even if I don’t have to work? How much can I have? Can I eat till I’m full?”

After all those questions, Sierra just gave a helpless sigh and didn’t overthink it. “You’re a red panda. As long as you’re good in the zoo, eat well, and stay healthy, that’s already perfect.

“But you can’t have too many cookies. Later, I’ll grab you an apple, too. Sounds good?”

Sierra’s voice was so soft that it was practically dripping with sweetness.

The red panda was just too cute, so Sierra couldn’t help but reach out and give its fuzzy head a gentle pat.

Once Sierra finally gave its fuzzy head a gentle pat, the red panda felt at ease and dove right into the cookie, munching away with pure delight.

As it left, the red panda made sure to take a shiny red apple with it.

Sophie walked the red panda to the door, but the moment she opened it, she spotted a zookeeper stomping over, her face dark as a thundercloud.

Seeing the zookeeper making a beeline for the red panda, Sophie instinctively stepped in front of it, like a human shield.

Sierra had mentioned earlier that the red panda was only supposed to visit guests with a zookeeper escort, but this little guy had totally snuck in on its own.

It probably slipped away when the zookeeper wasn’t paying attention, just to come see Sierra.

Now the zookeeper was here, and she did not look happy. Sophie started to worry that the red panda was about to get chewed out, so she hurried to try to explain.

But before she could get a word out, the zookeeper shouted from way down the hall, “Mocha! Who told you to run off like that? Was it-”

She was about to yank Mocha by the ear and drag it away.

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But just as she reached out, a slender, delicate hand clamped down on her wrist, holding her in place.

The zookeeper frowned and looked up at Sierra, who had just walked over. She said, “Let go!”

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Sierra lowered her gaze, looking at Mocha, who was clinging to her leg in fear, and frowned. “Is it in your zoo’s employee handbook that you can just yank an animal by the ear whenever you feel like it?”

After a pause, Sierra glanced at the zookeeper’s long, manicured nails. “Are you even allowed to have nails like that on the job?”

Sierra kept pressing her, and the zookeeper started to get nervous.

She dropped her tough act and stammered, “I just started, so I haven’t had time to deal with all this yet. Mocha snuck out on its own, and I was really worried. That’s why I got so worked up. Please don’t be mad.”

“You’re Mocha’s keeper. If it runs off, that’s your responsibility. You can’t expect an animal to reason with you or understand what you’re saying,” Sierra said.

After a pause, Sierra lifted her gaze, her dark eyes locked onto the zookeeper, and spoke each word clearly and deliberately, “Take Mocha back now. I’ll come check on it tonight.

“If I find out you hurt it after you get back, I’ll report you to your director.”

Sierra was all over the internet, so the zookeeper recognized her right away.

She was trembling, and she replied nervously, “No, of course not! We’d never mistreat the animals.”

“I hope so,” Sierra said.

Sierra paused, then gently rubbed Mocha’s head and gave its warm belly a gentle squeeze. She whispered something to it, and Mocha instantly broke out into a huge grin.

On its way out, Mocha even acted like a little human, grabbing the zookeeper’s hand and waving at Sierra like a kid saying goodbye to their mom.

The zookeeper watched all this happen and just thought the whole thing was bizarre.

But since she was worried Sierra might report her, she just had to play it cool and act like nothing weird was happening.

Once Mocha was gone, Sierra and Sophie grabbed a quick bite to eat, and before long, Richard showed up.

Harborty Zoo was the biggest in the country. There was no way anyone could see everything in a single day.

By the time the afternoon was over, Sierra had only managed to check out two sections before the zoo closed.

As they walked back, the place was practically deserted, and the staff were already getting ready to clock out.

Richard had no choice but to say, “Ms. Sterling, the animals need their rest, too. How about we continue our tour and chat

tomorrow?”

As Sierra watched Richard flash that warm, friendly smile, she couldn’t help but frown. Something about it just felt a little

off.

12:31 Sat, Jan 10 JRG