Chapter 204: Those Despicable Traitors

Chapter 204: Chapter 204: Those Despicable Traitors

When the black plastic bag was removed, Renee Jennings and Sawyer peeked inside. What else could be lying there but a Chinese alligator?

Renee Jennings looked up, catching the fleeting look of guilt on the janitor’s face. "This is the zoo’s alligator," she said calmly.

"Ah? This is an alligator?" The janitor feigned surprise, his expression over-the-top as he tried to argue his way out of it. "My apologies, ma’am. I’ve never been to a zoo, so I don’t know what an alligator looks like. I didn’t recognize it."

He had originally planned to sneak it out for a bit of cash!

Renee Jennings and Sawyer knew exactly what he was up to, but neither of them called him on it.

Renee Jennings said calmly, "Since the alligator is here, please help us carry it to the lobby entrance."

"Sure, sure, no problem." The janitor readily agreed.

The zoo’s small animal transport vehicle was parked at the lobby entrance.

The driver and staff weren’t around, so Renee Jennings took out her phone to contact Faye Wyatt.

"Consultant Jennings!"

Not long after Renee Jennings hung up, a zoo employee came running out of the hotel lobby, panting.

"Consultant Jennings, you’re amazing!" the employee said, gasping for breath, his eyes filled with admiration.

Renee Jennings smiled. "Sir, I don’t know this Chinese alligator’s name, but it’s passed out."

The employee smiled back. "Alright, Consultant Jennings. We’ll have a Breeder take a look at it when we get back."

Renee Jennings watched the zoo vehicle drive away, listening to Sawyer counting the recovered Chinese alligators beside her.

"Patty, Teddy, Fiona, Tutu, Connie, and this unconscious one... that leaves five more to go!"

Renee Jennings sighed. "Five more! I’m so hungry!"

Hearing this, Sawyer rubbed her stomach. "Me too."

"Thanks for putting up with this, Sawyer. Coming all the way out here just to starve with me," Renee Jennings said, looking at her apologetically.

Sawyer shot her a pretend-angry glare. "Hey, don’t say that. It makes us sound like strangers. Aren’t we buddies?"

"Alright, my bad," Renee Jennings said with a grin. "It won’t happen again."

"Ms. Wyatt and the others are coming out," Sawyer noted.

Assistant Lowe was walking behind Faye Wyatt and Director Quincy, carrying two bags printed with "Lion Mountain Hot Spring Hotel."

"Consultant Jennings, Miss Sawyer, thank you for your hard work!" Director Quincy walked up to them and gave a deep bow.

"You’re too kind, Director Quincy," Renee Jennings said softly. "Finding the alligators is what’s important. Let’s get going."

This time, Director Quincy and Assistant Lowe sat together in the back row, letting Renee Jennings and Sawyer eat in the two executive seats in the middle.

The vehicle slowly pulled away from the hot spring hotel.

Director Quincy said in a low voice, "Consultant Jennings, I just got a call. A Chinese alligator got into a hardware store. It’s hiding under some shelving and refuses to come out."

Renee Jennings held her takeout container, eating while listening intently.

Director Quincy continued, "That shelving unit is bolted to the wall, and it’s holding a lot of heavy equipment... The police and fire department are worried that using brute force might accidentally injure the alligator."

"Are we heading to that hardware store now?" Renee Jennings asked.

"Yes."

"How far is it?"

"Thirteen kilometers."

"Got it."

Renee Jennings and Sawyer quickly finished their dinner.

Night had fallen completely. Occasionally, they could see a few shops still lit up on either side of the road.

The van pulled to a slow stop in front of a large hardware store. A police car and a fire truck were already parked to the side.

Renee Jennings and her group got out and walked into the hardware store. They saw the backs of seven or eight uniformed personnel standing before a giant shelving unit.

"Everyone, Consultant Jennings is here!" Assistant Lowe called out.

The group turned around, their gazes shifting back and forth between Faye Wyatt and Director Quincy.

An officer who recognized Director Quincy walked up to Faye Wyatt and said excitedly, "You must be the legendary animal expert! This is great! Please, could you figure out a way to get that alligator out?"

Faye Wyatt raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, you’ve got the wrong person."

"The wrong person?" The officer looked astonished. "Then who is it...?"

Assistant Lowe adjusted his glasses and gestured toward Renee. "Everyone, this is Consultant Renee Jennings. She’s the animal consultant Lynfell Zoo invited from Zenvia to help with the search."

Looks of disbelief appeared on everyone’s faces, and they began whispering to each other in astonishment.

"She’s so young?"

"You’ve got to be kidding. She looks like a college student."

"She’s about the same age as my daughter..."

"Consultant Jennings is indeed young and promising," Director Quincy said, then asked anxiously, "Where is the Chinese alligator hiding?"

A firefighter shone a flashlight over, revealing the Chinese alligator huddled on the bottom shelf, tucked away among various aluminum products.

As soon as the light hit it, it shrank back, wishing it could burrow right into the wall.

’Good heavens,’ the Chinese alligator, Lucy, muttered fearfully to himself. ’Didn’t Fiona say the outside world was supposed to be amazing? How come all I see is danger?’

Renee Jennings heard its faint muttering and took a few steps forward, trying to hear more clearly.

Lucy continued to grumble, ’Why are so many of these two-leggers trying to catch me? They’re even poking at me with weapons... There’s no justice! I didn’t do anything wrong! The two-leggers at the zoo were always so polite to me!’

’AAAHHH! I thought escaping meant I could get away from Phoenix pestering me, but this place is just full of danger! I’m so hopeless!’

’Life is tough, an alligator’s gotta sigh...’

But the next second, Lucy’s train of thought derailed.

’Speaking of which, I wonder where I can find a Chinese alligator more graceful and beautiful than Phoenix...’

’I wonder if the other guys have found the most beautiful female alligator yet...’

Renee Jennings raised an eyebrow, unable to stop herself from speaking up. "You really have the energy to worry about where the most beautiful female alligator is right now?"

"Of course I do!" Lucy shot back, perfectly self-assured. "That’s the whole reason we escaped!"

After saying that, it immediately realized something was wrong. "Huh? A two-legger? You can understand me?"

Renee Jennings said with a gentle smile, "I have some good news for you. Patty, Teddy, Tutu, Fiona, and Connie are all back at the zoo."

"What!" Lucy cried out in alarm, making a RUSTLING sound. "How is that good news? That’s terrible news! Those dirty traitors! They betrayed me and went back!"

Lucy was furious. It started frantically scratching at the items on the shelf.

Renee Jennings softened her tone and said gently, "Calm down. They didn’t betray you."

"They all crawled back to the zoo, and you say they didn’t betray me!" Lucy seethed, its teeth grinding. "Damn it! I’m cutting them off! Our friendship is over!"

"Let me explain." Renee Jennings pressed her lips together, holding back a smile. "They didn’t go back voluntarily. Like you, they ran into danger in an unfamiliar place, and we found them just in time to take them back to the zoo."

Hearing this, Lucy’s frantic mood calmed down a bit. "Oh, so that’s how it is. Why didn’t you just say so in the first place, you two-legger?"

Renee replied, "And I have more good news for you."

"Wait a minute!" Lucy cut in frantically. "You have to spit it all out at once this time. No more dramatic pauses!"