Chapter 25: Rendering Great Service

"Little mice, can you help me place these nails under the tires of their jeep?"

Xu Ying pulled some steel caltrops from her tool kit. "Or even better, if you can drive them into the sidewalls."

She just wasn't sure if the mice were strong enough. Off-road tires were quite thick, especially the treads, while the sidewalls were relatively thinner.

[Oh, popping tires! We’re experts at mischief like this!]

The leader of the gerbils waved a paw. [Brothers, follow me!]

The little gerbils grabbed the steel nails and scurried in a pack toward where the spies were. Xu Ying watched the three spies through her binoculars. They were busy packing up their equipment and didn't notice any movement near their jeep.

Once they finished, they shoved their gear into the vehicle and started the engine. Eager to escape, the driver slammed on the gas, but after moving forward a short distance, the vehicle came to a dead halt.

"Damn it, a blowout! Change the tires, fast!"

The three men climbed out, cursing.

"What do we do? All four tires are blown!"

"We don't have enough spares!"

"These are steel caltrops; someone must have put them there!"

Upon discovering the caltrops, the three men’s expressions tightened instantly. The leader analyzed the situation, "Their numbers and firepower can't be greater than ours, otherwise they wouldn't have snuck around to pop our tires—they would have jumped out and engaged us head-on!"

"Maybe there's only one of them!"

With the tires blown, they couldn't make a quick getaway, and the satellite phone meant the other party had certainly already called for backup. A ruthless look flashed across the leader's face. "Launch the drone! Find them! Take them hostage!"

As soon as he finished speaking, one of the men went to retrieve the drone. The drone flew to a low altitude, and Xu Ying's position was instantly locked.

"Boss, we found her! It's a woman!"

"Let's go! She’s got some nerve, daring to sabotage our car!"

The three men grabbed their weapons and marched toward Xu Ying's position. Xu Ying, clearly noticing the drone in the sky and hearing the approaching footsteps, closed her eyes and could only pray that the king cobra would bring its allies quickly.

"Come out. We know you're hiding behind the slope."

"If you don't want to get hurt, come out quietly."

The cold, vicious voice rang out ahead of Xu Ying. Since she knew she would be saved once the snakes surrounded them, she decided to feign surrender for the time being. She was just about to raise her hands and stand up when the Gobi bear, which had been hiding the whole time, finally moved.

It charged from behind the rocks and sand, lunging at the three men and pinning them to the ground with its massive, crushing weight.

"Damn, I think I heard my bones shift!"

"Get this bear off! Who has a knife?"

Just as the villains were struggling to crawl out from under the Gobi bear, a chilling, hissing sound echoed in their ears. The three men looked up to see over a hundred snakes of various species slithering toward them like a tide from all directions. Leading them was a king cobra, flicking its tongue.

[Get lost! Don't you dare touch my best matchmaker!]

[Whoever touches her gets castrated!]

The scene was enough to trigger a breakdown in anyone with trypophobia.

"My god, who poked a snake nest!"

"What is going on!"

Caught in the encirclement, the three men didn't dare move a muscle. This was a real-life "poison circle"! They couldn't have imagined in their wildest dreams that they were being outsmarted by a single person leading a group of animals.

The three men held their breath, not even daring to speak. It wasn't until three police cars and an armored vehicle arrived from the distance that they felt a sense of salvation. With tears of excitement in their eyes, they cried, "Thank goodness, it's the police! Save us!"

After the police cars pulled up, Xu Ying called out to the king cobra, "That's enough, brother! My backup is here! Thank you!"

The king cobra signaled its snake companions to retreat, but it didn't leave itself, instead hiding nearby. It still needed Xu Ying to help it find a mate.

Police officers and heavily armed special forces stepped out of the vehicles and were stunned to see a two-meter-tall bear pinning three spies to the ground. They kept their weapons lowered, trying not to startle the bear.

Xu Ying hurried out and said to them, "It's fine, just cuff these three. The bear won't do anything else!"

The officers looked at Xu Ying, their expressions hesitant.

"Trust her!"

"The Gobi bear is very obedient to this rescue worker!"

Chen Su jumped out of a police car. Hearing Xu Ying's words, he took out his handcuffs and cuffed the three men one by one. Once the villains were restrained, the Gobi bear finally stepped off them. Seeing the crowd of people, it shyly and fearfully hid behind Xu Ying.

The soldiers had initially thought the bear was about to attack Xu Ying and had nearly reached for their sidearms. Seeing the two-meter-tall giant covering its face and acting coy behind her, their jaws nearly hit the ground.

The soldiers abandoned their earlier stern composure and looked at Xu Ying.

"Is this bear really that intelligent?"

"It’s genuinely so obedient to this rescue worker!"

"I never knew animal rescue workers were so impressive!"

A man in a mask stepped out from the armored vehicle. Judging by his voice and authoritative tone, he was clearly a person of high standing. "Little comrade, what is your name? Which rescue station are you from?"

It was Xu Ying’s first time meeting such mysterious big shots, and she felt a bit flattered. She stood at attention and said, "My name is Xu Ying, from the 032 Rescue Station! I am a senior animal linguist; I can understand the languages of many animals. I caught these three spies with the help of the small animals."

A look of surprise flashed in the man's eyes. He had seen many geniuses at the base—physics geniuses, computer geniuses, combat geniuses—but this was the first time in his life he had encountered a genius of animal communication.

"I’ve heard of animal linguists, but this is the first time I've seen anyone reach your level!"

Xu Ying rubbed her nose, embarrassed. "You can come to me if you need any help in the future."

She pointed to the jeep parked nearby. "That car contains the equipment those three spies were carrying. It looks very high-end; I wonder if they managed to steal any of our classified information."

The man nodded. "Don't worry, those two are our technical experts; they are just about to go inspect the vehicle."

Then, two other soldiers brought over the short man whom Xu Ying had taken down earlier. The man looked at Xu Ying’s slight frame and couldn't help but exclaim, "Young lady, you are truly incredible, handling four spies all by yourself."

Xu Ying quickly shook her head. "That’s all thanks to the help of my animal friends!"

Wait!

Four spies.

Xu Ying’s smile froze on her face.

When the little gerbils reported the intel, they said there were five people in the camp. Where did the fifth one go?!