Future Pet Shop

Chapter 113: Looks Like We’ll Have to Spend the Night on the Mountain

"We’re going into the mountains, and it might be dangerous along the way. You should probably stay here," Shen Yibin said. He had just seen on the map that this new pet was in the mountainous suburbs. He’d been there for fun before—it was a sparsely populated forest with rugged, difficult paths. He couldn’t let Sylvie risk it.

"The mountains! I’ll be fine. I served in the Sokovian mountain infantry. I think I’m probably more of an expert in this area than you are," Princess Sylvie immediately pulled up a photo on her phone from her time in the service.

In the photo, she was dressed in snow camouflage with a rifle slung over her back, climbing a snow-capped mountain. That place looked far more dangerous than the hills on the outskirts of the city.

’You’re a princess! You have to serve in the military?’ Just as Shen Yibin was about to ask, he remembered that Britain’s Prince William had also served. ’It must be a European royal custom, I guess?’ And so, he didn’t press the issue.

But he couldn’t just agree like that. Shen Yibin still felt it was a bad idea, so he tried another excuse. "Hey, you’re an employee of the shop, you know. It’s working hours. How can you just take off? Besides, the shop is so busy. Don’t you think it’ll be too hard on Sun Qian by herself?"

"I’ve looked over the work schedule. I get two days off a week, which I’m free to take anytime between Monday and Friday. Today happens to be Wednesday, so I’m officially requesting a day off now." Sylvie was clearly adept at using the rules to her advantage.

"But... but I don’t know when I’ll be back. I might even have to stay the night on the mountain. I only have one tent, and it’s a small one." Shen Yibin played his trump card. ’Now she’ll be too embarrassed to come with me, right?’

"What’s the big deal? I’ve squeezed into tents with other people plenty of times when I’ve gone camping, and nothing ever happened." Sylvie shot Shen Yibin a look, raising an eyebrow as if to say, ’With that scrawny build of yours, I could easily take you down if you tried anything.’

"Fine, you can come with me. But let’s get this straight first: no matter what you see, you can’t tell a soul—not even your parents. Can you promise me that?" ’If it’s a rare animal, it would be bad if word got out. As for Sun Qian, she’ll see it eventually when I bring the pet home anyway.’

"You’re not planning on doing anything illegal, are you?" Sylvie’s expression grew serious.

"Yeah, I am. Scared now? If you’re scared, just stay here and watch the shop with Sun Qian!" Shen Yibin said, jumping at the chance to get her to stay.

However, Sylvie didn’t fall for it. "Hah. Knowing you, you don’t have the guts for that. I’m just going upstairs to change. I’ll be right down." With that, Sylvie bounded up to the second floor. A moment later, she came back down wearing camouflage and combat boots. Combined with the fit physique she’d honed from regular training, she looked impressively gallant.

"Alright then, we’re off. Sun Qian’s going to have a tough day, so I’ll give her tomorrow off when we get back." By this time, Shen Yibin had also finished packing the tent and other outdoor gear.

The four of them piled into the trusty van, and Shen Yibin stepped on the gas, heading toward the blue dot on the map. In the back seat, Sylvie and Hah’Er resumed their game of patting each other on the head, while Cheeky lounged leisurely on the armrest, cracking open sunflower seeds.

The trusty van was amazing, getting them to the outskirts in no time. But just two or three kilometers from the blue dot, Shen Yibin hit a snag. According to the map, the dot was on the mountain up ahead, but the road was built to go *around* it. It looked like they had no choice but to get out and hike.

"Everybody out. Looks like we’re climbing from here." Shen Yibin sighed, found a place to park, and then pulled out the outdoor gear. He slung his pack over his shoulder, ready to enter the mountains.

"Excuse me, the *three* of you have to climb. Yours truly can fly," Cheeky chirped, emerging cockily from the car window. He glanced at the large pack on Shen Yibin’s shoulders, then leisurely flew ahead up the mountain path.

’Dammit, he’s eaten himself into a ball and his wings can still carry him?’ Shen Yibin was filled with envy. He sighed and patted Hah’Er’s head. "Come on, let’s take this trail up."

"Want me to help you with that pack?" Sylvie asked, seeing Shen Yibin nearly bent in half by the weight.

"It’s fine. You go on ahead." Shen Yibin meant well. ’As a princess, Sylvie’s military service was probably just for show,’ he thought. ’I should be the one doing this kind of manual labor. Besides, if she’s in front, I can catch her if she falls.’

"Don’t be so polite. At the pace you’re setting, who knows when we’ll ever get there." As she spoke, Sylvie took Shen Yibin’s pack with one hand and effortlessly hoisted it onto her own shoulder.

’Holy crap, this princess is a total badass!’ Shen Yibin was practically on his knees in admiration. Watching Sylvie ascend with ease, it was obvious this was much easier for her than it was for him.

"Wait. Take the tent bag out, and I’ll carry it. You can carry the rest." He couldn’t bear to let her carry everything, and he felt too embarrassed. ’We should at least split the load.’

The two martial brothers... oh, right, Shen Yibin and Sylvie, divvied up the luggage and continued their climb. The map had shown a distance of only two or three kilometers, but that was as the crow flies. In the mountains, they had to twist and turn, covering over ten kilometers before they even got close to their destination. By then, the sun had already crossed its peak and was sinking toward the western mountains.

’We need to hurry.’ Luckily, they were only about a hundred meters from their destination. Shen Yibin took a moment to check his phone. The pet seemed to be resting; it looked like it hadn’t moved for a long time. He couldn’t help but feel a wave of relief. Otherwise, who knew how much more they’d have to walk?

However, as it turns out, the young can be too young and naive, often oversimplifying problems. After rounding a bend in the path and weaving past a few large trees, they arrived within ten meters of the blue dot, only to be stunned by the scene before them.

They were standing at the top of a cliff dozens of meters high, and the blue dot was located directly below. Although it was only about ten meters away in a straight line, to get to the bottom, they would have to continue much farther along the path, descend through a dense patch of woods, wade across the creek ahead, and scramble over two giant boulders, only to finally circle back to this very spot from below.

That detour was long and treacherous; there was no way they could manage it with what little daylight was left. Shen Yibin pulled a few bottles of mineral water from his pack, handed them to Sylvie and Hah’Er, and sighed. "Well, it looks like we’re resting here for the night."