Super Zoo

"This guy is a fox, seems like it's called the long-eared fox, right? But originally, it's from the Americas, how did it end up here?"

Suming spoke while holding and shaking its long ears. The long-eared fox seemed to have given up resisting, helplessly drooping its head and limbs, disheartenly shaking a few times with Suming's movements, its long tail dragging below it like a pendulum, swinging back and forth.

The long-eared fox, also known as the fennec fox, is the smallest canid in the world – in other words, the smallest fox – with particularly long ears as its characteristic feature. It's not an extremely rare species but, due to its cute appearance, it can be kept as a pet, mainly inhabiting Africa and the Americas. That's why Suming found it odd why so many long-eared foxes would pop up in this underground complex.

"Hard to say; in the middle to late Ming Dynasty, there was already trade with the West – it might have spread from there," Zhao Yun couldn't provide an exact explanation and could only speculate roughly.

Because one of their companions had been captured, the long-eared foxes that had already been scared off gradually began to gather around again, their cries becoming even more piercing, heart-wrenchingly plaintive. There must have been hundreds of them – no wonder the Yangtze alligator could survive in the pool ahead, the long-eared fox population in the nearby ancient town was probably its food source.

Huiya and the three dogs barked back defiantly into the darkness, but their number was simply too small. Up against hundreds, their voices were completely drowned out by the others.

"Mr. Zhao, don't be scared," Suming suddenly said something inexplicable, then took a deep breath. Zhao Yun was taken aback, "What am I afraid of?"

Immediately after, Suming's mouth opened wide, his eyes round with shock as he roared deeply into the darkness, the sound so similar to a tiger's roar.

The tiger, the king of beasts, commands respect, not through mere proclamation – the tiger's roar in the forest submits all animals to its will. The foxes around were startled into silence by this roar, and the surroundings suddenly became quiet.

"Good job, kid; you've got it down pat!" Zhao Yun gave a thumbs up.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

If the Bengal tiger from the zoo were here, it would tearfully rejoice – it had coached Suming to roar like a tiger until its voice went hoarse, and now Suming had finally grasped two or three points of truth. Although far from a real tiger's roar, it was enough to frighten the little foxes.

Huiya and the three dogs weren't scared by this copycat tiger's roar; they tensed, ready to charge into the dark again when Suming quickly stopped them. Don't be ridiculous, there were so many foxes, they couldn't possibly catch them one by one until New Year's Eve.

"I'm going to put you down, don't run off, okay?"

Suming shook the long-eared fox a little before setting it down on the ground. The fox didn't dare to walk away, lifting its head and gazing at Suming with round, puzzled eyes. Suming took a piece of beef jerky out of his pocket and offered it. The fox's eyes whirled, cautiously moving closer to sniff it before grabbing the jerky in its mouth, pressing it to the ground with its small paws, and munching with relish.

The two Huskies, completely devoid of a hunter's dominance, sat on either side of the long-eared fox, tongues out in a flattering manner – they were almost licking boots, staring eagerly at the fox, as if they wished they could say, "Give me some, give me some."

"Have some dignity, will you!" Suming flat out took out several larger pieces of beef jerky and distributed them to the Huskies and the Labrador. Huiya seemed less interested in the beef jerky – after a sniff it turned away and lay down to the side, eyeing the long-eared fox's long ears with an unfriendly gaze.

Those ears looked very appetizing, probably quite chewy.

The long-eared fox seemed to sense the danger too, its ears swooshing flat against its back as it raised its head, two small eyes warily watching Huiya. Unintimidated, it bared its teeth at Huiya, revealing two rows of sharp little teeth.

Even so, the long-eared fox didn't forget to protect the half-eaten piece of beef jerky with its paws, holding onto it tightly.

"You better not bite it, we're all on the same side now!" Suming silently sent a telepathic message to Huiya, because without a warning, there was a chance Huiya might make a meal out of the long-eared fox someday. After all, their relationship was quite straightforward—prey and predator. Of course, the one with the long ears was the prey.

Once the long-eared fox had almost finished eating, Suming sent it a telepathic message. The fox was incredibly clever, or rather, incredibly cunning, and didn't need much guidance from Suming to get the message.

It began by digging a small hole in the ground, burying the last bit of beef jerky before covering it up thoroughly with dirt. Only then did it turn and scamper off into the darkness to find its companions.

In this day and age, the biggest fear was 'traitors.' With a guide amongst them, no fortress was impregnable.

It wasn't long before the surrounding cries gradually died down. A few minutes later, in the dark street ahead, a huge swath of lights suddenly twinkled. Led by the same long-eared fox from before, a large group of long-eared foxes came rushing over like a flood.

The two Huskies that were gnawing on the beef jerky were startled, jumping a good half meter high on the spot with a whoop. Huiya and the Labrador swiftly got up and stood in front of Suming, eyes fiercely fixed on the large group of long-eared foxes that had reached them.

Despite their small size, these long-eared foxes were still wild animals and now held an absolute advantage in numbers. They were not to be trifled with, baring their sharp teeth at Huiya and the Labrador in a show of aggression.

"Don't shoot! We're all friends here!" Suming quickly swept a broad wave of spiritual power across the area, like an invisible net, enveloping a large group, slightly brainwashing all the long-eared foxes to let them know he meant no harm.

Now Suming's spiritual power was formidable, especially against weak but clever creatures like the long-eared foxes, making it an effortless endeavor. Affected by the spiritual power, the expressions of the long-eared foxes instantly changed, their wariness fading away gradually, as they started to squint happily, looking endearingly naive. The bolder ones even wagged their tails and inched closer to Suming's feet.

Zhao Yun stared in disbelief, as if having seen a ghost, fixing his gaze on Suming: "How... how did you do that?"

"The key is love! You need to let go of your racial prejudices, embrace them, and let them feel that you love them. Then, they will love you too!" Suming said, his face looking like that of a charlatan.

"Forget it..." Zhao Yun knew this was Suming's 'family' method of taming beasts and did not probe further. Shrugging his shoulders somewhat jokingly, he said, "I love them, but if I tried that, Mrs. Zhao would have my life."

*****

PS: Give me strength!