Beastmaster: I'm really just a forest ranger

Chapter 365 "The Cola Theft Story"

October 1th, Thursday.

In Xuanhe Town, the first light of dawn was just beginning to break.

Soft sunlight filtered through the thin mist and fell on the bedroom windowsill.

Inside the room, Chen Yuan was still fast asleep, his breathing steady and deep.

Cola woke up early on the soft carpet beside the bed. Instead of getting up immediately, it stretched out a long, incredibly relaxed yawn, its four paws stretched straight, and its fluffy tail gently swept across the carpet like a feather duster.

After a while, it sat up, tilted its big head, and stared at its sleeping owner with its clear, ocean-like eyes, which shone with barely suppressed excitement and a hint of childlike boastfulness.

It cautiously approached and gently rubbed its cool, wet nose against Chen Yuan's hand, which was sticking out from under the covers. Seeing that its master didn't react, it proudly flicked its tail, tiptoed, and quietly slipped out of the bedroom.

Downstairs kitchen,

Runrun Duck was clumsily trying to lift a basin of water bigger than its face with its wings, but accidentally splashed water everywhere.

Electric Flying Cat rarely gets up early. It curls itself into a ball of fur and leisurely curls up on the soft sofa, with tiny electric arcs occasionally crackling from the tip of its tail.

Since the farmer returned home last night, the TV is working again, and the impatient Electric Flying Cat rushed over early this morning to watch the TV series he hadn't seen for many days.

"Ow~"

Cola raised his head high, his eyes shining brightly, trying to make himself look more imposing. He even deliberately stirred up dust with the breeze around him to create a powerful aura.

Duck, Electric Flying Cat, look at me!

"Quack quack." Runrun the duck didn't even lift its head, continuing to struggle with its water basin.

I know, I know, I knew you made a breakthrough last night.

"Electric electricity".

Electric Flying Cat was so engrossed in the TV series that it didn't notice Cola's every move, not even lifting its head.

Cola:"."

Its ears drooped instantly, and even its bushy tail drooped to the ground, its azure eyes filled with loneliness.

Suddenly, Cola's eyes lit up, and he turned to look in the direction of the town.

Oh, right! Paw Patrol!

Cola immediately turned around and decided to take a stroll around town so that everyone in town and the Paw Patrol could see its current splendor.

It is undoubtedly the number one dog of the Eastern Empire!
Before leaving, Dian Dian Fei Mao suddenly remembered his business. His gaze was still fixed on the TV screen, but he called out, "Dian Dian!"

Since Cola has broken through, it means that the adventure team's strength has further increased!
It's time to head into the mountains and let the entire Qinling Mountains resound with the name of our adventure team!

We're going into the mountains this afternoon!

"Ow!"

Cola's eyes lit up. It immediately sensed a great opportunity to show off, so it responded energetically and then its figure transformed into a happy light brown lightning bolt, quickly rushing out of the farm.

A cool morning breeze blew against its face, making the fur on its face fly backward.

A Coke bottle floats in the gentle breeze, bringing me an unprecedentedly pleasant mood.

Xuanhe Town was beginning to awaken in the early morning, with the aroma of breakfast filling the air.

Along the way, they constantly encountered townspeople exercising or setting up stalls early in the morning, as well as out-of-towners heading into the mountains. When they saw the radiant Coke, whose hair seemed to glow, they all smiled warmly at him.
"Good morning, Cola! The sun must have risen in the west today, you're up early too?"

"Isn't this Consultant Chen's Wind-Riding Dog? It's indeed majestic."

"I encountered the Wind-Riding Dog before entering the mountains, which means my luck is definitely good today. I need to go and meet those two Earth Bears again."

Enjoying the attention, Cola deliberately slowed down, held his head high, and walked with even more swagger. An invisible aura of wind around him stirred up a flurry of snowflakes that swirled and danced, but did not disturb the vegetable stall that the auntie on the roadside had just set up.

It even wagged its tail in a friendly manner at a little tinderbox hiding behind its owner and staring at it timidly, which startled the tinderbox so much that it immediately pulled its head back.

Cola knew the way well and ran to the village entrance, where the Paw Patrol met.

Sure enough, several canine pets of various shapes and sizes were lying there, lazily basking in the warm winter sun, grooming each other while licking their fur. A few children were gathered around, chattering away.

Cola recognized two of the children: one was Little Peach with two braids and bright, darting eyes, and the other was Little Zhao, who had seen a lot in the world. They were complaining to the Paw Patrol with serious expressions.

"My grandma's freshly baked bear cookies smelled so good! I put them on the windowsill to cool before eating them, but when I turned around to get a milk, several of them were gone, and there wasn't even a crumb left on the ground!" Little Peach stomped her feet angrily, her cheeks puffed up like little buns.

“The cured meat hanging under the eaves in my house also had this happen to it. My mom said it must have been carried away by crows, but the town is guarded by the Paw Patrol, how could those crows dare to fly in!” another child added.

Upon hearing this, the Paw Patrol members present immediately stood tall and barked incessantly.

"I'm the worst off!"

Little Zhao sighed deeply, spreading his hands like a little adult: "The sweetest fruits at my dad's fruit stand have been mysteriously disappearing one or two a day for the past few days. He thought I was stealing them, and he beat me up yesterday."

He rubbed his still slightly sore buttocks, looking aggrieved.

The children chattered amongst themselves, all pointing to one conclusion—a thief had appeared in town, a mysterious figure who stole food!
"Paw Patrol, you have to help us catch that awful thief!" Peach clenched her little fists at the Paw Patrol, her face full of anticipation.

Just then, Cola strode over majestically, the sunlight gilding its light brown fur with a golden edge.

"Ow?"

Upon seeing their leader's sudden arrival, the Paw Patrol members immediately stood up, wagged their tails, and barked respectfully with a hint of excitement. The children's eyes lit up, and they all gathered around.

"Cola! You've come at the perfect time!"

Little Peach, who was closest to Cola, immediately acted as if she had seen a savior. She quickly and urgently recounted the strange things that had happened in the past few days, and even gestured to show the size of the lost cookie.

Upon hearing this, Cola's azure eyes immediately shone like jewels.

Catching a thief?
Maintaining order in the town?

Isn't this the perfect opportunity for it to shine?

"Ow!"

Cola walked confidently into the middle of the children, its fluffy tail brushing against their legs, making them giggle.

Leave this to me!
I will never drink Coke again until the thief is caught!
So, led by Cola, the entire Paw Patrol, consisting of canine companions such as the Windhound and the Firefly, set off in a grand procession to follow the children to the "crime scene."

This special group attracted the attention of passersby, who gave them kind smiles. One aunt even took out some dried meat to feed them, but Cola, who was secretly swallowing her saliva, seriously refused—no bribes during working hours! First, they arrived at Xiao Zhao's fruit stall.

When Xiao Zhao saw that it was Consultant Chen's Wind-Riding Dog leading the group, followed by a group of eager children and a Paw Patrol, he immediately smiled: "Oh, it's Cola and the kids! Come on, come on, try some of the newly arrived fruit, it's so sweet it'll make your teeth ache!"

He picked up a big, bright red apple and tried to hand it to Cola. The latter looked at the tempting apple, its throat involuntarily moved, but it tried its best to keep a straight face and maintain its dignified image.

Then, Cola shook his head seriously, his bright blue eyes scanning the area around the fruit stand. He then lowered his head, sniffed the air intently, and carefully smelled every lingering scent.

The aroma is a mix of human scents, scents from various pets, sweet fruit scents, and fresh earthy smells.

However, its keen sense of smell did not detect any obvious unusual scent belonging to a thief.

Soon, Cola shook his head in confusion: "Huh?"

No, there are too few clues; we can't conduct a targeted search for the thief's trail.

Just as Cola was inspecting the fruit stand, frowning in thought, a commotion and argument suddenly broke out from the other end of the street.

Why do you keep touching me? I told you not to touch me!

"Who touched you? I'm just walking my own way! Don't make false accusations!"

"Who else could it be but you? You were the one walking behind me just now!"

Two beast tamers were arguing heatedly, their faces flushed red, seemingly about to escalate from words to fists. The beasts accompanying them were also tense and confronting each other, and pedestrians on the side of the road immediately stepped back.

As the leader of the Paw Patrol, responsible for maintaining order in the town, Cola immediately rushed over.

"Ow!!!"

Accompanied by a deep and majestic roar, an extremely strong mental shock mixed with a reassuring wind pressure spread out gently yet firmly. This mental fluctuation did not harm anyone, but only calmed everyone down.

The two beast tamers and their pets seemed to be put on pause instantly, and their arguing stopped abruptly.

Their respective pets breathed a long sigh of relief, instinctively moving closer to their owners, looking at the majestic Cola with a mix of grievance and fear, yet knowing it wouldn't actually harm them. The surrounding crowd of onlookers instantly quieted down.

A riot vanished without a trace.

Soon, with the help of Cola and passersby, everyone understood what had happened.

It turned out that the two were walking one after the other. The beast tamer in front felt someone lightly touching his arm. He turned around and questioned him, but the beast tamer behind him firmly denied it, and the two started arguing.

"Strange, lately these kinds of inexplicable little conflicts seem to keep happening," a middle-aged man muttered, stroking his chin.

"Yes, I also felt someone gently tap my shoulder yesterday, but when I turned around, there was no one there. I thought I was just being paranoid."

"I thought I was the only one who encountered this!"

Just then, the elderly town mayor rushed over, wiping his sweat:
"Oh dear, what's with the arguing again? I'm so sorry, but some strange things have been happening in town lately, like people losing things or feeling like they've been lightly touched. I was just about to go to the farm to ask Consultant Chen to take a look."

Upon hearing this, Cola immediately barked twice, ran up to the mayor, raised its head high, and looked at the mayor with a firm and confident gaze.

give it to me!

I can handle it!

Upon seeing that it was Coca-Cola from Consultant Chen's family, the mayor was immediately amused: "Good, good, good, our Coca-Cola is the most capable!"

Cola immediately got to work, its sharp eyes carefully scrutinizing the two beast tamers who were arguing. It pricked up its ears, frowned, and sniffed the various scents in the air while using its [Mind Domain Wind Net] to silently probe its surroundings with its surging mental power.

Suddenly, its powerful senses keenly detected an extremely faint yet exceptionally clear emotional fluctuation—a mixture of smug satisfaction after a successful prank, a touch of triumph, and a hint of nervousness at being discovered.

The source of the fluctuation was the pointed roof of a bakery next door.

Cola suddenly turned her head and saw that under the eaves where the soft sunlight was shining, the air seemed to have a very subtle distortion and faint ripples. Then, the complicated emotion she had just felt quickly disappeared.

There is something!
There was definitely something there just now!

"Ow!"

Cola's eyes widened, and she instantly realized what was happening.

No one can escape from me, Coke!

It took a deep sniff of the extremely faint scent lingering in the air. This scent was unlike anything else; even the well-informed Cola had never encountered it before.

It barked twice, a slight breeze suddenly arose around it, and it darted forward, chasing after the direction where the scent disappeared. The Paw Patrol immediately followed, causing passersby to make way.

This peculiar scent led them away from the bustling streets, across the snow-covered fields, straight into the outskirts of the town, and soon to the foot of the mountains, which looked somewhat desolate in winter.

However, once they entered the dimly lit, bare forest, that cool, ethereal scent seemed to completely blend into the mountain air, leaving no trace.

"Ouch!"

Dejected, Cola ran back and forth in the area, sniffing carefully at the ground, tree trunks, and rocks, while his ears were perked up, trying to catch any subtle sound, but to no avail.

In the end, Cola had no choice but to stop. Dejected, it plopped down on a fallen leaf, exhaling a puff of breath with a faint white mist. Its ears and tail drooped down, like a deflated balloon.

The other party clearly possesses extremely strong stealth abilities and is very familiar with the mountains and forests; he is a cunning fellow.

After resting for a while and failing to find anything again, Cola had no choice but to return to town dejectedly, along with the equally dejected Paw Patrol.

After a long time,

In this bare forest, dappled with sunlight.

The air behind the big tree rippled like the surface of a calm lake after a stone has been thrown in, creating circles of almost invisible tiny ripples.

A petite figure slowly appeared.

"Coo-choo?"

It made a barely audible sound, its large, amethyst-like eyes reflecting the light and shadow of the trees, and stared intently in the direction the Paw Patrol had gone.

Then, it lowered its head, and the pair of purple, devilish tentacles on its head drooped down as it carefully and earnestly sniffed its own scent.

"Coo-choo?"

It tilted its head and let out another confused cry, its long, thin tail swaying back and forth with the movements of its small body.

After a while, its form slowly faded again, like a shadow melting into the sunlight, until it disappeared completely, leaving only a faint, cool and sweet fragrance in the air.

(End of this chapter)