Chapter 601: Dongting Lake

“I need to place an order.” Shen Yibin opened his WeChat chat and sent the message. The Future Pet Shop’s delivery was as fast as ever. In less than half an hour, a package was left at his villa’s entrance. Shen Yibin specifically went to check the security footage, but he still couldn’t see how it had been delivered.

He had no choice but to carry the package back inside. Upon opening it, he saw it contained the same type of pills as before. He carefully put them away, then opened the Pet Radar to search for the trail of the orange dot of light. He zoomed in on the map again and again and finally found the orange dot’s location. When he got a clear look, Shen Yibin was dumbfounded.

‘Why is it in Dongting Lake?’ He had been thinking about whether he should borrow Carmen from the search and rescue team for the trip, but now it seemed completely unnecessary. The orange dot was located right in the middle of Dongting Lake. Even if he brought Carmen along, she wouldn’t be of much use. Xiaoliu probably couldn’t go either. Although monkeys could swim, a lake this huge would likely be too much for him.

‘Should I bring Bald Qiang and his mate along?’ Shen Yibin guessed that this new pet was, nine times out of ten, an aquatic animal. He needed someone—or something—that could go in the water. Otherwise, even if he found the pet, he’d have no way to get it. ‘After all, I can’t dive.’

After some thought, he called Wen Yuan. He made up an excuse and stated his request. Wen Yuan readily agreed. “Sure. If it were anyone else, I’d definitely say no. But Bin, you take better care of those two than I do, so what’s there for me to worry about? I’ll have my wife bring them over to you in a bit!”

Before long, the doorbell rang. Wen Yuan’s wife, Meihong, arrived with Bald Qiang and his mate. She didn’t ask what Shen Yibin wanted with the two of them. She just gave a brief update on Wen Yuan’s recent work in Sokovia and then took her leave. All that remained were Bald Qiang and his mate, lying there and grinding their teeth as they stared at Shen Yibin’s mahogany table.

“Hah’Er, get ready! I’m taking you out to have some fun!” Shen Yibin called out. He first took Xiaoliu to the shop, entrusting him to Xia Shixuan and the others for temporary care. He didn’t have to worry about the plants or the cleanliness of the villa, as the property management staff came by every day to tidy up.

“Boss, you’re going out again? What kind of pet will you bring back this time? How about I make a reservation in advance?” Shen Yibin brought back a fantastic pet almost every time he went on a trip, so Xia Shixuan had grown accustomed to it and quickly spoke up.

“We’ll see if you two have a connection when I get back! But I have a feeling you might not like this one.” ‘It’s not like you can take an aquatic animal out for a walk, right?’

Shen Yibin figured this trip wouldn’t take too long, so without further ado, he left Xiaoliu and departed. Back at the villa, he packed his things and got into the car with Hah’Er, Bald Qiang, and his mate. As for Maphario, the little guy had been lounging in Hah’Er’s pocket the whole time, happily munching on sunflower seeds.

“Alright, let’s go! I’m taking you all to see Dongting Lake!” With a wave of his hand, Shen Yibin started the car. Since the target was an aquatic animal, flying was likely out of the question, so Shen Yibin chose to drive. ‘Worst case, I can just install a big water tank in the car,’ he thought. ‘There has to be a way to bring it back, right?’ Besides, this way he could also enjoy the scenery along the route.

‘But what kind of animals are even in Dongting Lake? Crocodiles? Baiji dolphins? Or maybe Guo Jing and Huang Rong?’ he mused. ‘Wait, I think I’ve heard rumors about a monster in Dongting Lake. Could this orange dot be the lake monster? Maybe a surviving dinosaur from the Jurassic period?’ Shen Yibin couldn’t help but let his imagination run wild as he drove. If he actually managed to pull a dinosaur out of the lake, the whole world would probably go crazy. But then, there’d be no way he could keep it. The government would definitely confiscate it for research.

The car followed the ring road onto the highway. The toll collector was visibly stunned for a moment upon seeing Hah’Er in the passenger seat but quickly recovered. He handed over a toll card and asked casually, “Mr. Shen, are you taking Hah’Er out for a trip?” By now, hardly anyone in Yunzhong City didn’t recognize Shen Yibin and Hah’Er.

“Yeah, taking him to check out Dongting Lake,” Shen Yibin replied with a smile. He took the toll card, tossed it into the center console, and drove onto the highway.

It was a 1,500-kilometer drive from Yunzhong City to Dongting Lake, so Shen Yibin planned to split the trip into two days. On the first day, he drove all the way to the border of Qianzhong and Xiangxi. Instead of getting a hotel in a city after exiting the highway, he turned onto a national road that wound into the nearby mountains, where he pitched a tent to camp for the night.

If he went into a city, people would undoubtedly be shocked to see Hah’Er, Bald Qiang, and his mate, which might attract unwanted attention from the police. This was Shen Yibin’s way of avoiding trouble. Besides, Hah’Er and the beavers loved the outdoors. To them, camping in the wild was far more comfortable than staying in a hotel.

There happened to be a small stream at their campsite. Hah’Er went down and caught some fish, and Shen Yibin used his portable outdoor cooking gear to whip up a delicious meal for everyone. They all ate heartily.

“We’ll have to make do for today, but Dongting Lake is famous for its seafood. We’ll feast for a few days when we get there!” The thought of the wide variety of delicacies in Dongting Lake made Shen Yibin’s mouth water.

After cleaning up from dinner, Shen Yibin played with Hah’Er, Bald Qiang, and his mate for a while before leading them into the tent. It wasn’t long before he drifted off to sleep.

Shen Yibin was up a little after six the next morning. He ate some dry rations, got back on the highway, and continued driving northeast. He had covered most of the distance the day before, so it only took half a day to reach the edge of Dongting Lake today.

‘Let’s see exactly where this creature is.’ Shen Yibin took out his phone and opened the Pet Radar to study it. Dongting Lake was enormous, with a total area of 2,579.2 square kilometers, and was roughly divided into three sections: East Dongting Lake, South Dongting Lake, and West Dongting Lake. He had only seen that the orange dot was somewhere within the lake before; he hadn’t had a chance to pinpoint its exact location.

Zooming in on the map repeatedly, Shen Yibin finally confirmed the orange dot’s position. It was currently sitting motionless, right in the middle of East Dongting Lake.

“Hm, looks like I’ll have to rent a boat,” Shen Yibin muttered. He found a hotel near East Dongting Lake, booked a suite, then turned on his navigation and started driving toward it.

Even though the hotel was also on the shore of Dongting Lake, the lake’s circumference was over 800 kilometers, so Shen Yibin had to drive until evening to reach it.

The hotel was part of the same five-star chain Shen Yibin had stayed at in the Northeast and Shanghai, which saved him a lot of trouble. He quickly checked in and brought Hah’Er, Bald Qiang, and his mate to the top-floor suite.