Chapter 3.2

“Thud.”

Just as Mu Ling was staring at the screen, going through the footage frame by frame until her eyes were burning, a loud bang echoed. Something heavy had slammed onto the car hood.

Mu Ling looked up and was instantly stunned.

Through the windshield, she saw a brown long-tailed civet, its coat dotted with spots, glaring at her fiercely. Its sharp teeth were bared in a menacing snarl.

“Whoa!” Isn’t that the same civet from earlier?

Mu Ling was thrilled beyond belief. Who would’ve thought she’d get such perfect footage, as if the animal had descended from the sky just for her?

She quickly reactivated the camera, aiming it at the civet.

As soon as the camera started moving, the civet reacted violently. It lunged forward, pouncing onto the windshield, its claws swiping at the camera. Sharp nails left a long scratch on the reinforced glass!

“Damn, those claws are sharp! No, no, buddy, don’t scratch! Replacing the glass is expensive!” Mu Ling, poor as she was, almost got on her knees begging. Realizing the civet was afraid of the camera, she hastily turned it off!

With the perceived threat gone, the civet calmed slightly, but remained alert, pacing back and forth on the hood. Suddenly, it lunged again, leaving another deep scratch on the glass with a loud “smack”.

This time, its target wasn’t the camera, but Mu Ling herself. It clearly saw her as part of the problem!

Mu Ling’s heart bled with despair.

“Hey, buddy, let’s talk this out. I’ve already turned it off…”

Looking around frantically, she spotted a small cloth bag on the dashboard. She remembered Brother Wei stuffing meat strips into it before they left.

Mu Ling quickly pulled out a meat strip, cracked the window open just enough to toss it out, and hurriedly shut it again. “Here, cat brother, it’s a snack. It’s delicious, try it!” she said.

The civet stared at the meat strip that had fallen near the door, then slowly turned its cold, beast-like eyes back to Mu Ling.

It wasn’t eating? Not even a meat strip?

Mu Ling felt like crying. She never knew civets could hold such grudges…

Desperate, she tossed out a few more meat strips, her attitude extremely ingratiating: “Come on, cat brother, please eat some. I apologize, I won’t film you again!”

Of course, the civet couldn’t understand her words. Seeing that Mu Ling wouldn’t come out, it started scratching the hood with its claws, leaving mark after mark.

“Cat brother, cat uncle, cat master, don’t go too far! We humans aren’t pushovers either!” Mu Ling shouted, reaching her limits.

The civet ignored her completely. It even switched from scratching to digging at the hood, pawing away like an excavator, shredding the paint to pieces!

Mu Ling was furious. She yelled at the civet: “Don’t push your luck! Do you know who I am? I’m the zoo director!”

The civet continued digging at the hood as if it were a giant litter box!

Mu Ling suspected it might try to defecate right on the windshield to show its contempt for her authority.

She absolutely couldn’t tolerate this insubordination from an “employee”!

Driven by desperation, Mu Ling opened the window wider, stuck her arm out, and shook the entire cloth bag, dumping half a bag of meat strips onto the hood. The meat strips smacked the civet right in the face. She quickly pulled her arm back in and slammed the window shut!

The civet on the hood was stunned by the sudden food shower, forgetting to dig at the hood.

Mu Ling grinned wickedly: “Now you know to be afraid, huh?”

The civet came to its senses, twitched its nose, and sniffed at the edible meat strips. It moved closer to sniff again.

Mu Ling watched expectantly: “Why aren’t you eating yet? Are the meat strips expired?”

She took one out and tasted it herself… It was delicious! She ate another one!

At this moment, the civet shook its head. It suddenly leaped off the car, walked to the car door, then jumped onto the tire.

The off-road vehicle had very large, wide tires. Even people could step on the tires to get into the car. Now the civet was standing on the tire, raising its front paws and pressing its body against the window, looking at Mu Ling.

Mu Ling turned her head to look at it.

The civet was also looking at her.

Human and civet locked eyes. Mu Ling munched on her meat strip and asked warily: “What are you up to?”

The civet sniffed at the window and opened its mouth: “Meow…”

Huh?

Had its attitude softened? Were the meat strips working after all?

Mu Ling didn’t dare let her guard down. She opened the window just a tiny bit and pushed out a meat strip.

Sure enough, the civet immediately grabbed the meat strip with its mouth. But to Mu Ling’s surprise, instead of eating it, the civet just held it there, staring at her intently.

What was going on?

Mu Ling tried pushing out another strip.

The civet, its mouth already full, looked at the second meat strip with some difficulty.

Mu Ling was curious: “You won’t eat all those on the hood, but you want to be hand-fed? But you’re not even eating it, why are you just holding it in your mouth?”

The civet, unable to open its mouth with the meat strip inside, looked as if it had been frozen. Mu Ling’s courage grew. She decided to stick the tip of her index finger through the window gap.

Mu Ling was prepared to pull back immediately if the civet attacked, but it just tilted its head, looking confused at her finger.

Mu Ling wiggled her finger enticingly.

The civet was indeed intrigued. It moved a bit closer and sniffed Mu Ling’s finger.

Mu Ling’s fingertip touched the civet’s wet nose, which felt strange.

Then, in the next second, something unexpected happened. The civet suddenly turned its head slightly, and then, closing its eyes, it rubbed its furry forehead against Mu Ling’s finger.

Mu Ling: “!!! Damn!”

Cat brother, you’re acting strange!

Why are you suddenly like this?

Are you still the same civet from before?

Do you have a split personality?!