Book 3: Chapter 106 - An Animal’s Instinct

Harry and I started scouting.

We held our guns carefully as we walked out of the protective shield.

Little Carl led the other birds and followed closely behind us. It was as though the birds’ instincts had kicked in, entering into the hunting mode.

The world outside was quiet. In fact, it was so quiet that it was tempting me to let my guard down, as everything seemed harmless. If it weren’t for Harry’s constant reminders, I wouldn’t have been vigilant for the possible threats around us. It was just like any other high radiation zones that I had visited, where we were the only living things there. There were no other living things, not even ants. 

As I realised this, my outdoor survival experiences were alerting me to be extra cautious in quiet places like this.

*Rustle.* The birds were following closely behind us. The withered grass was soft under their little claws, sounding like a breeze blowing against the grass as they stepped on it.

*Howl.* Another gust of wind blew the dust in our faces.

Harry and I pulled up our masks. Harry kept his guards up as he led me closer to the white buildings.

When we got closer to the buildings, I realized that they were far bigger than my estimation from the air. From up above, they had looked like white silkworms, but up close there were no silkworms to be found, just these huge white buildings .

Shh…” Harry raised his index finger and beckoned me to stay quiet. He leaned close against the wall and I followed his lead. Next to us, there was a big cave. We couldn’t see it’s interior, as it was very dark inside that cave. We could only hear wind howling, bringing a strong whiff of indescribable foul smell. 

Little Carl and the birds were next to us.

“Raffles, are you ready?” Harry asked as he raised his hand to press by his ear. He received Raffles’s reply and nodded.

Harry held his gun in one hand while he grabbed a ham sausage from his pocket with his other hand.

I looked at him seriously. At that moment, he was my teacher and I was his student. Our mission was to help Raffles with his study of Day Monster. To do that, we had brought the birds on their first hunting trip, and now we were going to stimulate the lucid birds’ hunting instincts, allowing Raffles to observe them during their hunt.

Based on this, I guessed that Harry’s ham sausage was the bait.

Harry glanced at the cave and threw the sausage inside its mouth.

“Baby… Hurry up and come out…” he said gently as he fixed his gaze upon the cave.

What the h*ll is in that building?!

Something came out of the cave. It was a quivering whisker!

Just as the whisker appeared, the birds spread their wings and stopped making noises. Little Har and Little Raf took a step backward and stood at Little Bing’s sides.

Little Bing lowered her body and spread her wings, looking ready to hunt!

Raffles had said that the female lucid bird was fiercer and in charge of the attack. On top of that, the female lucid bird was especially in charge of hunting during the hatching season. Yeah, it was because the male lucid bird was the one who was in charge of hatching, just like penguins.

Just then, a sharp nose could be seen at the mouth of the cave. The black nose quivered in the air, sniffing out the surroundings.

The location of the nose was closer to the ground, and it looked like it belonged to a mouse. However, this nose was bigger than a mouse’s, and more like the size of a dog’s.

The whiskers by the sides of the nose were long, about fifty centimeters. Soon, its sharp face became visible slowly. I was shocked when I saw its whole face. It was a mouse! A mouse as big as a bulldog!

It suddenly popped out and caught the ham sausage. At this moment, a shadow passed by me very swiftly. Little Bing charged at the mouse’s head in the blink of an eye, grabbing its eyes without hesitation and popping them out in an instant!

I was in shock at the sight.

It was really the lucid bird’s hunting instinct. The birds had never received any training, but she charged out, and instantly blinded the mouse instinctually!

Squeak!” The mouse squeaked in pain and shook its head. At this point, Little Har and Little Raf charged forward, following Little Bing’s lead. They stabbed their sharp claws into the mouse’s spine and stood on it firmly. No matter how the mouse swung, it was unable to throw them off of its body. The three birds hemmed into the huge mouse! 

Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!” The mouse’s painful groans were the only sounds that could be heard during the entire process.

I came back to reality and panicked, “Is that mouse clean?! Would they have diarrhea after eating it?!” As their mother, I was very worried about the aftermath of this hunt. 

Harry leaned against the wall calmly. “Don’t worry, Raffles can heal them if they get a stomachache.” He sounded just like all those heartless dads.

I looked at the fierce Little Bing. She was really impressive.

The scene in front of us looked just like a fight between a fierce bulldog and three little chicks. Their claws and teeth were extremely sharp and sword-like, stabbing deep into the mouse’s huge body. They tore off the skin from that huge mouse with every single stab and bite, despite the fact that this mouse’s skin was extraordinarily tough.

Whistle. Well done, children!” It seemed like Harry was watching his children fighting against the other children, and he was proud of them for having the upper hand.

I suddenly felt pity for that huge mouse, as it was covered in blood with its body torn into pieces. It was wailing in pain. It was an overall miserable sight and I couldn’t bear to take another look at it, even though I knew that it was the law of nature and the hunting birds couldn’t use their cutleries elegantly.

Little Bing bit into the huge mouse’s neck and pulled out its artery in an instant. The moment she bit it, blood splattered all over the ground; her bite was fast, accurate and brutal!

Little Har and Little Raf began to tear the flesh under the mouses’ skin. They got a piece and put it nicely on the ground. It is the lucid bird’s habit. They remove and store their food. Since they treated Harry and me like their parents, they brought the flesh and placed it in front of us.

I had goosebumps, but I thanked them for fulfilling their filial duties.

Little Bing continued to tear the huge mouse apart.

Little Har and Little Raf continued removing pieces of flesh and piling them one by one.

Squeak! Squeak!” The huge mouse fainted due to blood loss, as it was on its last legs. However, Little Bing didn’t let it off the hook just yet, and continued biting down on it. I witnessed the awakening of the lucid bird’s natural wild instincts. I couldn’t imagine that they were chased after by the children!

Little Har and Little Raf continued to tear at the huge dying mouse, and also enjoyed a satisfying meal while collecting the rest of it’s meat for storage. They were the wild beasts who had hunted for the first time, tasting the meat by pecking at the entrails inside their prey’s body. 

Little Bing stopped after a while, and stood straight on the huge mouse’s head. Like a Queen, she looked down at Little Har and Little Raf who were busy removing the flesh with pride. Her grey hair was already tainted red.

Gu~” She lifted her chin and howled; it was as though she was cheering for their victory.


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