Beast Tamer's Rebirth National Treasure Edition novel Chapter 265

Chapter 265

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This trip was dangerous, and Sierra had no idea what might happen. So, even though she’d acknowledged the cub as her own, she didn’t plan to take it with her,

Nymeria’s economy might not be great, but at least the capital had decent facilities for treating and caring for cubs, way better than what Sierra could offer herself.

So when Sierra handed the cub back to its mother, the lioness’s eyes practically screamed its disdain for the little one.

But there was nothing the lioness could do about it.

In the end, it could only sigh, “Sierra, why don’t you just give the little guy a real name? If we keep calling it ‘kid’ every day, it’ll still be stuck as ‘kid’ even when it’s all grown up. I might not even be able to call it that by then.”

“I might not even be able to call it that by then.”

Sierra didn’t argue this time. She stared at the cub who was giving her the kind of stone-cold look that was way too mature for its age, and couldn’t help but say, “Let’s name it Joy.”

The cub was speechless.

Just as the cub was about to complain, its mom lit up and jumped in, “Joy! Oh, I love it. That’s such a wonderful name! It’s settled. Joy it is.”

Joy didn’t exactly get a vote, so with zero joy in its heart, it accepted its new name without

any

choice.

That night, everyone camped out in the desert.

The temperature dropped sharply, and since Sierra had to feed Joy milk at night and was worried the little cold, she just let Joy crash in her tent for the night.

Joy, who’d been sulking about its name, suddenly perked up and was full of energy.

guy might get

It strutted around Sierra’s tent like it owned the place, and then flopped down right next to her sleeping bag. Its odd-colored eyes looked up at Sierra, all sweet and obedient.

Joy’s eyes shone brightly in the darkness, and it could sense Sierra’s scent lingering everywhere inside the tent.

Sierra was resting in her sleeping bag, eyes closed.

After a long while, Joy got up and, wobbling on its tiny legs, made its way over to Sierra. Then it gently rested its fluffy head on Sierra’s neck.

Joy might’ve only been a month old, but in a world packed with billions of creatures, there were always a few that just didn’t make sense, even to scientists.

And Joy was pretty sure it was one of those rare oddballs.

Sure, it was just a month old, but its mind felt like it was on a whole different level compared to the other desert lions.

It totally got how dangerous things were for the desert lions, and ever since it started thinking for itself, it just couldn’t get behind Weston dragging the pride off to some place so barren that even birds wouldn’t bother pooping.

If it were the leader, it wouldn’t just hide from humans. It’d lead the pride to somewhere way richer, where finding food wasn’t a daily struggle.

It was in every animal’s nature to avoid danger.

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Chapter 265

But hunting and eating were their nature as well.

If there was no food, forget about running from humans-they just starve on their own.

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Weston just got lucky today, running into Sierra. If it hadn’t been for her, the desert lion pride would’ve faced extinction.

That was why Joy had to grow up fast. It was up to it to lead the desert lions to a better, stronger future.

It all depended on Sierra.

With that thought, Joy curled up even tighter, pressing itself closer to Sierra.

Sierra seemed to sense it. Half-asleep, she pulled Joy into her arms and drifted back into a deep sleep.

After everyone h

had gotten some rest, it was three in the morning and the sky was just starting to turn pale, that soft pre- dawn glow creeping in.

Sierra heard her phone alarm go off and instantly sat up in her sleeping bag.

Spotting Joy snuggled in her arms, Sierra blinked in surprise. Then, realizing how soft its fur was, and that it didn’t have that usual desert lion funk, she couldn’t resist giving it a couple playful rubs.

Joy sprawled out on its back, totally relaxed, letting Sierra have her way with all the petting.

Once Sierra was satisfied, she finally headed out of the tent with Joy in tow.

The mercs and cops were already packing up their tents.

After Sierra washed up, she got everything ready to roll.

She put Joy in the police car, giving the cops a bunch of reminders before heading out.

Once the police cars left, the desert instantly thinned out. Most of the vehicles were gone.

But eight local cops stuck around, not leaving with the rest.

Sierra had been relying on the desert’s small animals to scout out any news about Bessa. She actually managed to dig up some useful leads, but every single time she showed up, Bessa had already slipped away.

Three days went by, and their supplies were running on fumes.

Sierra couldn’t help but furrow her brow even more.

Ethan could see that Sierra really didn’t want to head back. As the team leader, he had to step in and say, “Sierra, the desert can really mess with your sense of direction. I checked the supply truck.

“We’ve got enough food for three days, but honestly, food’s not the real issue. The gas truck’s almost bone dry. If we don’t find any sign of Bessa today, we’ll have to pull out first thing tomorrow morning.”

Sierra was clearly not happy about it, but she didn’t protest. “I get it.”

Ethan knew Sierra wasn’t reckless, so her answer didn’t surprise Him at all.

Ethan tried to comfort her, “If we really can’t find her, we’ll just head out for a day, rest up, and then dive back into the desert.

“We’ve still got plenty of time before our visas run out, so we’ll definitely track down Bessa eventually.”

Ethan thought Sierra was just upset about not finding Bessa.

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Chapter 265

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But Sierra sighed, sounding helpless. “Ethan, I’m worried about Cary and Holden going after Bessa. That’s why I’m so desperate to find her.”

Sierra said, “I’ve been replaying everything these past few days, and with what Weston told me, I’m convinced that Gary and Holden, the ones the cops have been investigating, are most likely connected to this base.

“Even if they’re not running the place, they’ve got to be part of the top brass.”

She continued, “And honestly, I keep feeling like everything’s linked to that Darknet Animal Hub.

“If that’s really the case, with all those messed-up demands on there, Bessa’s in real trouble. Gary and Holden could find her any time.”

They couldn’t let the desert lions keep dying because of what people were doing.

Ethan and the wildlife rescue team didn’t say a word.

These past few days, everyone had been working their tails off trying to track down Bessa, but it was clear she’d lost all trust in humans. Even with all their fancy tech, they couldn’t even spo her shadow.

“Let’s just do our best to track down Bessa for now,” Sierra said.

**平

The group pressed on under the scorching sun, and along the way, they ran into a patch of quicksand.

No one got hurt, but half the truck ended up stuck in the quicksand.

After that scare, everyone started watching their step a lot more closely.

While everyone else was busy eating, Sierra and the wildlife rescue team suggested they go scout around the area for a bit.

The mercs and local cops were so used to Sierra and her team chatting up the local animals, so they didn’t even blink.

Sierra had already noticed a tiny gecko in the desert.

As she walked over, the gecko wasted no time climbing right up onto Sierra’s shoulder, its skinny little legs moving fast.

“Um, human, you’re really pretty… Can we be friends?” the gecko chirped, a little shy.

By now, Sierra had lost track of how many geckos and lizards had crawled onto her shoulder during this trip.

This little gecko was only about palm-sized, with vertical pupils and a clear layer of scales over them. Out here in the desert, Sierra could actually see some of its insides and veins.

It had skinny arms and legs, but its toes were huge and webbed, kind of like a frog’s. Honestly, it was weirdly ugly and adorable at the same time.

Sierra let the gecko crawl onto her hand, offered it a little snack, and said, “Of course I’d love to be friends with you. But I do have a question I’d like to ask you first.”

The piece of food looked enormous to the little gecko. Its eyes practically popped out of its head as it stared.

Especially since Sierra actually wanted to be its friend, the little guy munched away and nodded enthusiastically. “Absolutely! Ask away! I’ll tell you whatever I know!”

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