Beast Tamer's Rebirth National Treasure Edition novel Chapter 206

Chapter 206 The Little Squirrel Becomes A Cop

The six injured people were no longer in immediate danger.

The pit was probably meant for big game. It wasn’t very deep, but it was packed with steel animal traps. Fortunately, everyone was light and bundled up in thick down jackets, so there were no puncture wounds or critical injuries.

Still, they needed to get out of there fast.

There was no way they could go down the mountain to call for help. The Forestry Bureau was probably used to situations like this and could handle it easily.

They came prepared with plenty of bandages and meds. First, they patched up the wounds and stopped the bleeding, keeping an eye out for any signs of infection or fever.

Then, without wasting a second, they hurried to get the injured down the mountain for proper treatment.

The crowd scattered in all directions, and before they knew it, nearly two-thirds of the search party had bailed on looking for the white tiger.

Emery and Felix were off to the side, both puffing on cigarettes, faces clouded with worry.

With so few people left, hunting for the white tiger was just too risky. Sure, they could push on, but no way were they letting the Amberty experts get dragged into danger.

Emery shot a disappointed look at Rusty, who was panting and staring at Sierra. He snapped, “Rusty, you eat all those jerky treats, but when it comes to training, you just can’t step up.”

Rusty got a light kick from Lance and instantly gritted his teeth in frustration.

It said, “It’s not my fault! They didn’t listen to me at all! I was standing right on the trap, trying to warn them, but they thought I’d found the white tiger and just rushed in.

“I didn’t even blame them for getting me stuck in that pit, and now you’re blaming me? Emery, I’m never going up the mountain with you again.”

Rusty let out a barrage of barks at Emery, clearly ticked off by his words.

Emery rolled up his sleeves, looking ready to teach Rusty a lesson. He said, “Oh, so you’ve got the guts to sass me now? Rusty, you’re toast! No jerky for you tonight!”

“Whatever, I don’t need your jerky! I’m not sticking around to be treated like this,” Rusty huffed, tail flicking in annoyance. Rusty trotted over to Sierra, turning his nose up at Emery. It said, “Emery, I was the one who called the little squirrel to come save them. I’m their savior.

“And instead of showing me some appreciation or giving me a little love, you blame me? Well, guess what? I’m not just done with mountain trips, I’m done with you as my human, too!

“From now on, this gorgeous human, Sierra, is my new owner!”

With that, Rusty looked up at Sierra with a goofy, lovestruck expression, his tail spinning like a propeller. It said, “Sierra, my name’s Rusty, but if you don’t like it, I can totally change it. I’m taking your last name from now on.

“From now on, I’m Rusty Sterling!”

Sierra just stared, totally thrown off.

She thought, ‘Thanks, but you really don’t have to go that far.’

Rusty was so mad that it looked almost comical, so Sierra had to step in and explain things to Emery.

Emery stared in disbelief. He asked, “Rusty was the one who called the little squirrel to come find us?”

Rusty retorted, “Who else would it be? You think I’ve got another dog around here?”

Emery fell silent..

Then he walked over, scooped Rusty up, and planted a big smooch on him, grinning from ear to ear. He said, “Oh my goodness! My little Rusty is such a superstar!

“How about I buy you all your favorite dog food and canned treats when we get back?”

Rusty rolled his eyes and gave a dramatic head turn, refusing to let Emery kiss him.

Emery had been living with Rusty for ages, so

Successfully unlocked! drama queen.

So he leaned in close to Rusty’s ear and whispereu, uw about hook you up with all the premium dog food and canned goodies you want from now on? Sound good?”

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Chapter 206 The Little Squirrel Becomes A Cop

Rusty dropped the act and caved instantly, shooting Sierra a sheepish look. It said, “Sierra, that offer’s just too good to pass up. I can’t be Rusty Sterling right now. Maybe next time Emery and I butt heads, I’ll switch teams and take your last name.” Rusty thought, ‘I mean, come on, there isn’t a pup alive who could say no to premium chow and gourmet cans.” Sierra just stood there, at a loss for words.

But then Sierra remembered the little squirrel, so she reached into her backpack and grabbed a handful of nutty treats. They were perfectly roasted snacks, totally safe for the little guy to munch on.

The squirrel couldn’t carry all that at once, so it excitedly rubbed its tiny paws together and led Sierra over to a withered tree less than thirty feet away.

“Sierra, this is my home! Could you leave the treats here for me?” the squirrel chirped.

Sierra checked it out.

The tree was so massive that it would take two people, linked arm in arm, to hug it, and the trunk was completely hollow.

Right at Sierra’s chest level, there was a dark hole in the tree.

Sierra used her phone to peek inside, and when she saw the inside crammed with pine nuts, she couldn’t help but laugh.

She thought, ‘This little guy really knows how to hoard his stash.’

There had to be over a hundred pounds of pine nuts stashed inside that tree.

Sierra grabbed three handfuls of pine nuts from her pocket and added them to the squirrel’s stash, then gently patted the little guy on the head.

?

She said, “Thanks for helping out today. Oh, and I wanted to ask: did you happen to see a tiger with a hurt leg pass by here?” The squirrel thought for a moment, then said, “Yeah, I heard a tiger roaring earlier this morning. I peeked out from my den and saw a white tiger carrying its cub in its mouth, passing right by here.

“That poor thing was in really bad shape. Its paw was mangled, bone sticking out and everything.

“The white tiger definitely got hurt by humans, so I gave it a heads-up about the traps up ahead. If I hadn’t warned it, you guys would’ve just found its corpse here today!”

The little squirrel was chattering nonstop.

It has always lived here and had seen humans set traps around to catch animals.

But it had also seen lots of humans risking their lives to save those animals.

“You humans are really strange,” the squirrel remarked.

Having a squirrel say that about her made Sierra blush.

Suddenly, Sierra’s eyes lit up. She asked, “Hey, little dude, wanna strike a deal?

The squirrel blinked, confused.

Sierra said, “From now on, you’re the local animal cop. If you spot any critters hurt or in trouble, just scurry down and give us humans a heads-up. We’ll come help, and you’ll get all the nuts you can eat. Sound good?”

The squirrel’s eyes sparkled. It asked, “Really?”

The squirrel had no idea where the Forestry Bureau was, but this sounded like a win-win gig, no way it could lose!

It took humans hours to trek up and down the mountain, but for a squirrel, that was just a hop and a skip!

“C-can I really be a cop?” the squirrel stammered, barely able to contain its excitement.

Sierra nodded and said, “Absolutely! From now on, the safety of this whole forest is all up to you. Protecting the animals is your job now!”

The squirrel instantly felt a surge of purpose welling up inside,

It stood proudly at the entrance of its tree hole, thumping its chest. It said, “Don’t worry, Sierra! I won’t let any animal get hurt on my watch!”

The squirrel thought, ‘Wow, being a cop is actually super cool.

‘Sierra trusts me with such an important job because I’m awesome. No matter what, I won’t let her down.’

This was something Sierra came up with on the spot. Sure, the plan had its fair share of holes, but honestly? It was pretty

clever.

Sierra added two more handfuls of nuts to the squirrel’s stash inside the tree, then waved goodbye to her little friend. Sierra made it clear she wasn’t giving up on the search for the white tiger and filled Emery and Felix in on her new idea.

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Chapter 206 The Little Squirrel Becomes A Cop

Emery frowned and said, “We’ve got all sorts of animals hanging around the Forestry Bureau, but how the heck are we supposed to know which one’s actually coming to alert us if something’s wrong?

“And come on, a squirrel showing up at our station? No way that’s happening!”

Wild animals were jumpy as hell, especially squirrels. The moment they spot a human, they were outta there.

Sierra said, “So basically, if a squirrel shows up and doesn’t run off, it’s probably trying to get your attention for help. If you run into any trouble, just try talking or acting things out.

“They’re clever, and even if they don’t catch every word, they’ll figure out what you mean.

“Don’t let the squirrel fool you, just because it doesn’t know where the Forestry Bureau is yet. When food’s on the line, animals can outsmart people any day.

“Anyway, if a squirrel ever comes looking for help, just hook it up with a pound of nuts as payment.”

Emery thought, ‘Why does this whole conversation feel so weird?’

He mulled it over for ages, then suddenly clapped his hands as the lightbulb finally went off.

He blurted out, “Hold up, Ms. Sterling. How on earth did you talk a squirrel into being the local cop?”

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