Starting from Robinson Crusoe-Chapter 120 - 45: The Second Mouser Tizi

To achieve noodle freedom, it will take at least a year from now.

After confirming that his farmland hadn't been destroyed by rats, rabbits, and birds, Chen Zhou walked into the woods to check if any of the rabbit snares had caught something.

Because there were so many snares and they were set in such tricky and hidden places, over time, he forgot where some of them were.

While wandering through the woods, Chen Zhou primarily checked the new snares or those that had previously caught a rabbit.

Walking through the low grass, his leather boots rustled against the broken branches.

Lai Fu excitedly ran ahead of his owner, his nose low as he caught the scent of small animals.

Due to the dry season and no forced holidays, Chen Zhou was incredibly busy, with no time to play with him. Every day, he was exhausted from digging and moving stones, so much so that after dinner, he'd collapse into bed and fall asleep.

Thus, the evening snare-checking activity became the most interactive time between Lai Fu and Chen Zhou.

During this time, Lai Fu could accompany his owner on a walk, "hunt" together, and occasionally receive rewards like rabbit innards or meat, which explained his joyful steps.

Checking around a dozen snares without any luck, just when Chen Zhou thought today would be another unsuccessful day, Lai Fu, running ahead, suddenly barked.

Dogs rely more on their sense of smell and hearing to perceive the world, and their ability to locate prey is much stronger than humans.

Hearing Lai Fu bark, Chen Zhou hurriedly quickened his pace and walked over to the bushes.

Lai Fu never barked without reason; when he did, there was always something to find.

Sure enough, upon approaching, he saw a snare tied to a tree root and had caught something.

However, the prey wasn't a rabbit but a wildcat instead.

The wildcat's lower back was caught in the rope snare. Its upper body was clinging onto a small rabbit's body, with rabbit fur all over its mouth, looking ferocious and nearly lifeless.

The rope snare had successfully slipped over its head and front shoulders, getting stuck on its lower back. Due to excessive struggling, the hemp rope had cut into its skin and embedded into the flesh.

The surface of the rope was stained with blood and had marks of grappling and biting from the wildcat.

It was evident that the wildcat had fiercely resisted after being trapped, attempting to bite or scratch through the rope, but in vain, only causing the slipknot to tighten further, bringing it to its current state.

The small rabbit was probably its hunted prey.

Judging from the scene, the rabbit was running ahead with the wildcat chasing behind.

The rabbit was too small to trigger the snare, but the unfortunate wildcat accidentally ran into it, successfully capturing the rabbit.

After immediately killing the rabbit, the wildcat was completely bound by the snare and could no longer escape, creating this scenario where both parties were injured.

"Was it worth it?

You fought so hard, but in the end, isn't it all to my advantage?"

Acting like a villain who profits from others' misfortune, Chen Zhou grabbed the rabbit's ears and snatched it from the wildcat's claws.

Meow!

The wildcat struggled to lift its head, squeezing out a threatening cry, glaring at Chen Zhou with those pale green eyes.

If it weren't heavily injured and exhausted, it would surely fight this massive, hairless monkey to the death.

Woof!

Lai Fu had tasted minor defeat at the hands of a wildcat before, so seeing this cat still acting arrogantly on death's door, he immediately barked loudly and rushed forward, ready to bite it to death.

"No!"

Chen Zhou quickly grabbed hold of the fur on Lai Fu's back, stopping him.

Recently, the camp's sheds downhill had frequent rodent infestations; most of the corners of the wooden boxes containing supplies showed signs of mouse teeth marks.

There were also traces of rodent activity around the caves on the hill, suggesting that they might eventually move their families into the caves, which offered shelter from the wind and rain, seemed well-supplied with food.

The situation was dire, and relying on the lazy, chubby Xiao Huihui to catch mice was out of the question.

Xiao Huihui had completely become a pet cat, having lost basic hunting skills, but he did enjoy munching on fish snacks, nearly reaching a weight of 10 pounds, according to Chen Zhou's estimate.

Though he had a small frame and stature, his belly was growing bigger and bigger. He spent his days either eating or sleeping, going outdoors primarily to poop and pee, and usually just lay on the ground or on the bed, daydreaming.

Since the first mouse-catching expert was utterly useless, nurturing a second one was imperative.

On his routes between the mountain and the valley, Chen Zhou often saw wildcats roaming around the forest.

But they were extremely vigilant, running up trees or quickly escaping if anyone approached within fifty meters, leaving no chance for him to try baiting them with fish snacks.

Finally catching one this time, he couldn't let Lai Fu ruin it.

He pushed aside Lai Fu's big dog head, ignoring the puzzled look in his eyes.

Gently stepping on the wildcat's head to prevent it from suddenly launching an attack.

Chen Zhou turned over the wildcat's lower body, slightly loosening the rope, to prevent aggravating the injury and strangling the cat to death.

While loosening the knot, he noticed that the cat was a female, increasing his desire to rescue and tame it.

Female wildcats were generally easier to tame than males.

Their temperament was more stable than males, and they didn't run around crazy during mating season as much.

Plus, Xiao Huihui was a male cat, and if he and this female cat hit it off, the future mouse-catching team wouldn't lack hands.

"Hold it."

Stuffing the small rabbit into Lai Fu's mouth, Chen Zhou took out a rope to tie the wildcat's four legs together, then untied the snare.

After who knows how many struggles and attempts to escape, this cat was already too exhausted to run, and even when free of binds, couldn't stand up, just letting its head droop as Chen Zhou carried it back to the cave.

Lai Fu, always obedient and sensible, wasn't upset even if his attack was stopped, bit softly onto the rabbit without applying force, following its owner back to the cave.

Chen Zhou found a piece of canvas to cover the wildcat's head and then poured half a glass of Arak over its wounds for disinfection—

In his experience, Arak seemed stronger than rum and more suitable for disinfection.

Though Arak tasted mild, with a unique sweet and aromatic flavor that lingered, much like an alcoholic beverage.

But that didn't mean Arak's alcohol content was low; instead, it demonstrated a sophisticated brewing process, long reaction time, high quality, and superior class.

The rum on the ship tasted extremely spicy, slightly bitter afterward, initially feeling like high-proof liquor, yet even after two or three glasses, you wouldn't get drunk, suggesting its alcohol content was lower than Arak's.

Moreover, it's possible this rum was supplied to regular sailors, poor in quality, perhaps even watered down.

While Arak was the private stash of the Captain and First Mate, pricey, better than rum in drinking experience, which was reasonable.

Woo~

The wildcat kept letting out threatening sounds from its throat.

The strong sting from alcohol on its wound made it instinctively want to attack.

But with its head covered by a canvas, and its legs tied, despite any reaction, it posed no threat to Chen Zhou, having to endure the pain obediently.

The rough surface of the hemp rope had damaged the wildcat's skin and flesh around its lower back.

The earth mixed with fallen fur and congealed blood made cleaning very tricky.

Half a glass of Arak was insufficient, so Chen Zhou poured two more glasses, barely managing to get the wound thoroughly cleaned.

Since most of the floors in the cave hadn't been laid with boards, to prevent the wildcat from escaping and infecting its wound with dirt, Chen Zhou found a large wooden box for it.

Worried that the wildcat might lick its wound if its head cover was removed before the alcohol dried, Chen Zhou waited until the liquid dried before placing the wildcat into the box.

Removing the head cover and untying its legs, the wildcat's first reaction upon seeing light was trying to escape.

But with its severely injured lower back, it couldn't even stand.

Strenuously propping itself up with its forelegs, it lifted its head to look at the box's opening, crawled forward a bit, then collapsed weakly inside.

Meow~

It called softly, unclear whether it was expressing pain, protesting its captivity, or feeling relieved from escaping death.

Crying out twice, getting no response.

The wildcat closed its pale green eyes, resting its head on its forelegs, slipping into a tired sleep inside the wooden box, like resigning to fate and preparing for a good rest.

"The temperament seems quite gentle; there's a high hope of successful taming.

Though the injury is a bit troublesome...

If you get through it, you'll replace Xiao Huihui as our Chen family's new mouse-catching expert." He said, holding onto the box's edge, watching the lightly sleeping wildcat, Chen Zhou talked to himself.

"Since you're moving into the cave, let me give you a name; hope you absorb some of my good luck and survive.

Hmm... Your green eyes are quite distinctive, so I'll call you Tizi (Raisin)!"