"Boss, don’t we normally restock during the day? Why are we going so late at night?" Li Shiqing asked curiously. It struck her as a bit odd because Shen Yibin had mentioned during their training that it was better to observe pets in the daytime.
"That’s usually the case, but today’s circumstances are special." ’I’m afraid someone else will buy that mutant animal before I can,’ he thought. Of course, he couldn’t use that as an excuse, so Shen Yibin had to continue spinning his tale. "I just heard that Bao got a new batch of pets, so I want to go take a look and reserve any good ones. There are only so many of the prettiest, liveliest, and smartest pets in each batch. If we’re late, someone else will snap them up."
"Besides, once you have as much experience as I do, there’s not much difference between observing them during the day or at night." Shen Yibin shamelessly boasted to dispel their doubts.
Of course, he did have some real skill in this area. So, on the way there, Shen Yibin explained the differences between selecting pets at night versus during the day as he drove.
There wasn’t much traffic at night, so it only took half an hour for Shen Yibin to arrive at the entrance of Bao’s breeding center. He didn’t rush inside. Instead, he stopped the car, took out his phone, and checked the map again. Only after confirming that the unknown mutant animal was indeed inside did he dial Bao’s number.
After a brief exchange, the gate at the entrance slowly rose. Bao hurried over to the entrance, waving to welcome them. "Whoa, Hah’Er looks a bit thinner than before, huh? You haven’t been mistreating him, have you?" Bao knew Shen Yibin doted on Hah’Er, so he brought the panda up right away.
"I’d starve myself before I’d ever mistreat him! He’s been exercising every day, so he’s burned off all the extra fat. It’s much healthier this way." Shen Yibin laughed as he entered the facility with Bao.
"These all just arrived today. Take your time looking around." Bao knew Shen Yibin was training his employees, so he left them to it and went back to work with his own staff.
"Time for a little test. Each of you, go pick out one pet. I want to see how well you choose." Shen Yibin was in a hurry to find that mutant animal; how could he possibly have time to train them right now? He quickly made up an excuse to send them on their way, then pulled out his phone to check the Pet Radar again.
One look and Shen Yibin was dumbfounded all over again. It hadn’t seemed so bad from a distance, but now that he was up close, he saw the problem. The pets here were crammed cage-to-cage, stacked one on top of the other. Even if he zoomed the map all the way in, it was nearly impossible to pinpoint which one was the mutant animal he was looking for. All he could tell for sure was that it was in this room. Actually finding it was going to be tough.
’Do I have to buy all of them and sort through them back at the shop?’ Shen Yibin felt a headache coming on. He scratched his head a few times, then started to move slowly around the room, trying to pinpoint the mutant animal’s exact location by observing the minute changes in distance between himself and the orange dot on the screen.
It was a clumsy method, and while it worked to an extent, it was incredibly time-consuming. Shen Yibin had to circle the room nearly three times before he deduced that the mutant animal was probably located somewhere in the southeast corner.
But there were quite a few animals in the southeast corner, too. To make matters worse, they were all small pets: Longmao, hamsters, squirrels, guinea pigs, Holland Lops... The cages were stacked densely together. A space that could fit only a few Golden Retrievers was instead packed with dozens of these small animals, making Shen Yibin want to weep.
’Guess I’ll just keep circling,’ he thought. So, clutching his phone, Shen Yibin started shifting his position and triangulating again. This time, he practically shuffled forward one tiny step at a time, afraid that any large movement would make him miss the subtle changes on the map.
After more than ten minutes of this strange routine, under the bewildered gazes of the others, Shen Yibin managed to narrow down the target’s area again. The mutant animal had to be in the stack of small pets toward the left. Even so, the Longmao, hamsters, squirrels, and others in that pile still numbered more than a dozen. It was going to take some time to sort through them.
’Well, it’s better than nothing,’ Shen Yibin consoled himself. ’Worst-case scenario, I’ll just buy all dozen of them. They all look healthy, so I’m not worried about them not selling.’ He then shouted to Bao, "Bao, can I move these cages aside to get a better look? The lighting isn’t great over here!" ’Moving the cages should cause the dot on the map to shift, and then I’ll be able to find the animal.’
"Don’t go to all that trouble! I’ll have someone bring a light over for you!" Bao said, about to call for help.
"No, no, don’t worry about it! You all keep busy! I can manage by myself!" Shen Yibin quickly refused. ’If they bring a light over, how am I supposed to watch for the location change?’
"Alright then, just be careful." Bao shook his head, not insisting further. ’Sigh, what’s gotten into Bin today? He’s acting a little strange.’
Shen Yibin did a quick count. There were fifteen cages in this section. He called Gao Shu and Li Shiqing over to help. First, they moved five cages to the center of the room where the lighting was best. Then, under the pretext of testing their judgment, he had them stay put and observe the pets while he pulled out his phone again and casually resumed his observation.
’Sigh, all that effort for nothing. It’s not in this batch of five,’ Shen Yibin felt a bit dejected. Not that he expected his luck to be *that* good. He walked over, gave them a few pointers, and then they moved another five cages. Yet again, the orange dot on the screen remained motionless.
’So that means the animal must be in the remaining five,’ Shen Yibin thought, glancing at them. There was one of each: a squirrel, a hamster, a Longmao, a guinea pig, and a Holland Lop. He had no idea which one it could be.
Now that the target was narrowed down to just five, things were much simpler. Shen Yibin had Gao Shu and Li Shiqing return the ten pets they had already moved. Then, he sent them off to the side and began to unhurriedly move the last five cages one by one.
The first one: the orange dot on the map didn’t move. Undeterred, Shen Yibin started moving the second one. ’Even with the worst luck, I should get a result by the fifth one, right? Of course, if it turns out the mutant animal is a cockroach hiding under the cage, well, there’s not much I can do about that, is there?’
Shen Yibin’s luck hadn’t completely run out, after all. As he placed the third cage in the middle of the room, the position of the orange dot on the Pet Radar finally shifted.
’I finally found it!’ Shen Yibin rejoiced.