I Was Scammed By A Snow Leopard cub - Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – Rescuing A Leopard Cub

On a summer afternoon, the sunlight outside is bright and dazzling, shining into the room through the window.

By the window, a young man wearing a brown apron rolled up a piece of half-cut cloth, stood up, and lowered the curtains to block out the overly strong light.

Luo Yu glanced at the time. It was not yet five o’clock.

He rubbed his wrists, took off his apron, and hung it on the tool rack beside him. When he looked away, he inadvertently glanced at the photo frame on the wooden rack, his gaze softened.

Luo Yu picked up the velvet cloth used as auxiliary material and carefully wiped the non-existent dust on the photo frame.

The scene that was once so familiar that it couldn’t be more familiar was frozen in a photograph. The old man’s smile was still so familiar and hearty, as if he was still sitting at the long table behind him, smiling and carefully polishing the rough edges of the leather with a filer.

Luo Yu smiled, but the fatigue from working at the desk all day began to emerge little by little. He had been working for too long and even the corners of his eyes began to feel a little sore.

He stretched his sore arms and paced around the studio. The room was neither too big nor too small, filled with all kinds of fabrics, metals and wood. Altogether, it looked a bit messy. But Luo Yu did not tidy it up, rather he let the debris pile up layer by layer, as if by keeping everything as it was, he could keep the figure of the old man tucked in the mezzanine.

Recently, he often felt that his studio, where he was alone, was too quiet and lonely.

It was not his character to indulge in old things, but years of habit still prevailed. The things of the past constrained him and made him unable to make up his mind to change the status quo.

Luo Yu sighed, collected the tools scattered on the table one by one, and put them back to their original positions. He went around the table to wash his hands, picked up the woven bag in the entrance, turned off the lights in the studio, and marked today’s work as “finished”.

A depressed mood would affect his work status, so he decided to give himself a temporary vacation.

When his mentor was alive, he would always urge him to rest, but he refused to do so, being very stubborn. After the mentor passed away, no one urged him anymore, and he slowed down his pace on his own initiative.

Luo Yu believes that the old man would feel relieved knowing it.

As Luo Yu thought about this, he felt a sense of helpless relief in his heart.

The blazing heat of the afternoon dissipated, and the sunlight became soft and warm. Luo Yu originally planned to go home directly, but when he exposed himself to the sun, he suddenly changed his mind.

Such good weather cannot be wasted, so he decided to take a walk in the town and then go home slowly.

The town was not big, and he would not get lost no matter which direction he walked, so he just picked a direction different from the usual one, not rushing at all.

The backward family workshops were still preserved on the remote planet, and it was not yet time to rest. The residents were busy in their houses, and there were few people on the road.

As Luo Yu walked, he planned to go to the supermarket before going back. There were not many groceries left at home, and he needed to replenish some fruits.

Just as he was planning his shopping list, a strange figure suddenly passed by him.

Luo Yu paused.

It was a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties, with an untidy beard and ragged clothes. He seemed to be unfamiliar with the route nearby, with his back hunched and looking around.

He seemed to be looking for something, with an impatient look, and his eyes kept roaming around the alley.

Having lived in the town for more than twenty years, Luo Yu knew almost everyone in the town, but the person in front of him was a complete stranger.

‘Is he a lost stranger? He doesn’t look like one.’

Luo Yu hesitated whether to go forward and ask, but the middle-aged man suddenly straightened his back.

He stared to the left with an ecstatic expression, then he couldn’t wait to quicken his pace, turned sideways, and happened to meet Luo Yu’s sight.

After seeing Luo Yu, the man’s eyes showed panic for a moment. But he immediately looked away. Then he pretended as if nothing had happened and walked away quickly.

Luo Yu stared at his back and frowned.

‘This person is sneaky and doesn’t look right.’

Especially when locked eyes, the man had the eyes of a guilty thief.

Luo Yu pondered for a moment, took out his personal terminal from his pocket and held it in his hand. He waited there for a while, patiently waiting until the middle-aged man walked around the corner before he followed him.

•=|=•

In the shady alley, a ragged middle-aged man was impatiently looking for something everywhere with a fierce look in his eyes.

The man had been following the kitten for most of the day and was about to catch it, but unexpectedly the wild kitten avoided him and ran into the alley.

But it didn’t matter, it was just a wild cat with an injured leg. It couldn’t walk far and must be nearby. He followed it all the way but didn’t see anyone coming to pick it up. It was probably a kitten that got separated from its family.

Thinking of the gem as big as half a fist in the cat’s mouth, the man licked the corner of his mouth, his eyes full of greed.

The man didn’t know whether the gem was stolen from home or picked up from somewhere.

However, no matter where it came from, it would soon fall into his pocket.

Thinking of this, the man laughed and began to imagine his carefree days after selling the gems. His heart was filled with happiness and he couldn’t wait any longer.

He softened his tone, pretended to be kind, and coaxed him.

“Little boy, are you lost? Uncle will take you home, okay?”

The man’s voice echoed in the empty alley. In the corner, the young cub, hiding behind an abandoned wooden box, huddled in the corner, his body trembling constantly.

Xie Anxing tried hard to tuck his tail behind him, he was so anxious that tears were about to fall from the corner of his eyes, but he dared not make a sound.

He didn’t expect that he would be targeted, and his heart was filled with fear and despair.

And this emotion has accompanied him for several days.

Four days ago, Xie Anxing followed his father on the road back to the main planet. On the way, they ran into interstellar pirates who seemed to have learned the news about their return in advance. They brought a whole fleet of starships to block them.

When the two sides were in a tense confrontation, Xie Anxing accidentally touched the emergency escape button on the spacecraft.

Under the stunned eyes of his father, the silver life-saving capsule was ejected and flew directly to the face of the leader of the star pirates. It was immediately fired upon by more than a dozen star pirate warships. Xie Anxing’s father tried his best to block most of the firepower, but he still couldn’t prevent the capsule from being hit by the energy aftermath of the exchange of fire between the two sides.

All electronic equipment failed, and they were completely pulled out of the planned escape route. The capsule carrying Xie Anxing crashed into a wormhole, and he was transported to this completely unfamiliar planet by the jump point.

Today is the second day since he landed on this strange planet, but it is already the fourth day since he lost contact with his father.

The cub terminal specially prepared for him by his father was gone, and the communication equipment was broken into pieces along with the capsule. Xie Anxing was tired and hungry, and after guarding the temporary landing site for two days, he had to go alone to find rescue.

He walked all the way with the gemstone given by his father in his mouth, and finally walked from the wilderness to this town. But before he could find someone to help, he was targeted by the bad guys.

The bad guys took a fancy to his gemstone and scratched him. Fortunately, Xie Anxing was small and agile, so he took the opportunity to escape into the alley.

Xie Anxing’s heart was about to jump out of his chest as he hid in the corner. He prayed in his heart that the other party would not find him, but the middle-aged man seemed to have sensed something and slowly moved towards the corner.

“Are you there, little cub?”

The sinister tone echoed in the empty alley, and the fear in Xie Anxing’s heart was magnified again.

The four short limbs crawling on the ground began to tremble uncontrollably.

He tried hard to control himself, telling himself to be like his father— calm and composed— and not panic in the face of danger.

But now Xie Anxing was just a snow leopard cub less than five years old who couldn’t even transform to his human form. The fear surged from the darkness and turned into a monster with bared fangs and claws. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t defeat it.

The bad guy’s dark shadow grew bigger and bigger, gradually spreading under Xie Anxing’s claws.

The injured left forelimb and tail trembled more and more violently under the dual pressure of pain and fear. When the man was less than one meter away from his hiding place, he accidentally kicked over a wine bottle.

The green glass bottle rolled down and hit the wall with a dull sound.

Xie Anxing’s body trembled violently.

In panic, the uncontrollable tail accidentally knocked off the paper box that was originally covering its head, and the small figure hiding in the darkness was instantly exposed in the shadows.

The man’s eyes lit up and his tone became more flattering and creepy.

“So you are here, what are you hiding for? Come, come to your uncle.”

The middle-aged man was no longer in a hurry. He bent down and slowly approached the cub curled up on the ground. This time he was more alert, paying attention to the surroundings, blocking all routes and not giving the cub any chance to escape.

Xie Anxing wanted to hide backwards, but his back hit the cold stone wall.

He was in a dead end with no way to retreat.

Despair and powerlessness enveloped him. The tears that he had been holding back through the entire journey finally burst out, wetting his blue animal eyes.

The injured tail drooped limply, no longer able to hide the gem behind it. Despite the darkness around it, the perfectly cut diamond still shone brightly.

The man’s eyes were full of greed, and he stretched out his hand to grab it. At this moment, another voice suddenly sounded.

“Baby! I finally found you!”

A figure came running from the alley, pushed the middle-aged man aside, and hugged Xie Anxing into his arms.

While the middle-aged man was still not able to react, Luo Yu held the cub in one hand and quickly dialed the police number with the other hand€€€€

“Hello? Officer Lin? I found my kid! He’s in the alley behind the police station! Come over here with his father!”

A few words were spoken like pouring beans in just two or three seconds. Before the middle-aged man could react, Luo Yu had already changed his position with the cub in his arms, quietly taking a defensive posture.

He spoke very quickly, but he pronounced the words “police officer” and “police station” particularly clearly and forcefully.

The middle-aged man’s expression suddenly turned ugly.

‘Police station? Is the police station right in front of the alley? Damn! Why didn’t I notice it when I came in just now?’

‘No, I can’t stay here any longer. I have been on the blacklist of several towns. Who knows if there is a wanted warrant for me in this town!’

He just got out of prison not long ago and doesn’t want to go back in and be tortured again!

The man struggled for a few seconds, but the duck in his mouth flew away. However, no matter how painful it was, he had to give up. He quickly left the alley, feeling unwilling to give up, and angrily cursed: “How can you be a parent?! You didn’t even know that your child was lost?”

Luo Yu ignored him and hugged the little body in his arms tightly.

The little ball of fur kept trembling in his arms, its body twitching again and again, as if it was extremely scared.

Luo Yu felt extremely distressed, and he gently stroked the little guy’s back, comforting him softly.

“Be good, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid anymore.”