The college entrance exams had finally finished.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Titan felt he had scored exceptionally well in his past life, though that hardly mattered now that he was covered in scales.
“Hey!
Hey!
I was wrong!
Stop it!
Stop it!”
Even though Old Larry was pushing sixty, the man was incredibly agile when his life depended on it.
He was currently sprinting frantically around the interior of Cat Number Two’s enclosure, desperately trying to outrun a furious baby crocodile.
He finally managed to scramble up the trunk of a decorative, thick-branched artificial tree.
Hiss!
Snap!
Titan threw his jaws wide open at the base of the tree.
He let out a terrifying, aggressive hiss, showcasing his bright white oral cavity, before violently snapping his jaws shut mere inches from Old Larry’s dangling boots.
“Is this really necessary?!
Doesn’t the baby formula taste good?!”
Old Larry had practically thrown himself onto the lowest branch.
He sat there panting heavily, clutching Cat Number Two in one arm and the plastic bottle of baby formula in the other.
Climbing a tree with one arm?
The old man had some serious skills.
Titan tilted his head back and glared up at Old Larry for a long, menacing moment.
Finally, he magnanimously chose to let go of his burning hatred.
He turned around, waddled away, and aggressively clamped his jaws down on the blind tiger cub’s stainless steel water bowl.
Crunch!
“Holy crap!
Don’t eat that!”
Old Larry scrambled down from the tree, fully intending to chase Titan away.
However, the second he hit the ground, he froze.
A massive, jagged quarter of the thick steel basin had already been bitten completely off.
Cat Number Two was cowering in Old Larry’s arms, trembling in absolute terror from the deafening metallic crunch.
“I…
I understand now,” Old Larry stammered.
“When you get incredibly angry, you just eat solid steel.”
Grind, scrape.
Titan turned around slowly.
He stared blankly at Old Larry with an expression of pure, innocent ignorance, completely ignoring the terrifying sound of thick metal scraping against his teeth as he chewed.
To be perfectly honest, Titan had absolutely no idea what was wrong with him.
Ever since he had accidentally digested that steel crowbar a few days ago, he had developed a strange, lingering addiction.
Whenever he felt slightly bored or annoyed, his brain immediately craved the texture of cold, hard steel.
It actually made biological sense.
In this environment, thick metal was the only material his terrifying crocodilian jaws actually considered durable enough to be a satisfying chew toy.
“Squeak.”
After tentatively tapping Titan’s scaly back with its paws a few times, Cat Number Two grew incredibly bold.
The blind tiger cub clumsily climbed right onto the crocodile’s broad back and began playfully nibbling on Titan’s thick dorsal armor with its baby fangs.
Tigers are felines.
Crocodiles are essentially just giant, armored fish.
It made perfect sense for a cat to want to chew on him.
Titan only felt a faint, pleasant itch on his thick scales.
The tiger cub’s body temperature was incredibly warm and comforting against his cold-blooded skin.
Babysitting a tiny, blind tiger cub was an absolute breeze.
However, Old Larry’s confidence was bordering on sheer lunacy.
The old man had literally just dumped Titan inside the tiger enclosure and walked off to unpack his luggage, completely unconcerned that the crocodile might accidentally crush or suffocate the incredibly expensive mutation.
So, I guess you really were serious about making me the Assistant Zoo Director, huh?
Tap, tap, tap.
Titan slowly stood up on all four legs.
He took a few cautious steps forward, carrying Cat Number Two on his back.
The sudden elevation change startled the blind cub.
It immediately deployed its tiny, needle-like claws, digging them firmly into Titan’s sides to prevent itself from falling.
It really was true.
Cat Number Two was completely blind.
Titan shifted his golden eyes, looking up at the fuzzy creature perched on his back.
The tiger cub’s head darted nervously left and right, but its milky eyes clearly couldn’t focus on anything.
Titan had no idea what kind of world the little cub actually experienced.
In his opinion, a feline’s sense of smell, while sharp, wasn’t nearly sensitive enough to paint a comprehensive, three-dimensional picture of its surroundings.
“Squeak?”
Cat Number Two clearly sensed Titan’s sudden shift in posture.
Tap, tap, tap!
Titan firmly planted his feet and suddenly accelerated.
He broke into a surprisingly fast sprint, carrying his blind passenger directly into the warm summer breeze.
Cat Number Two panicked for a brief second, hissing in alarm.
However, after adjusting to the smooth, undulating rhythm of the crocodile’s gait, the cub gradually relaxed.
It widened its stance for better balance, stood tall on Titan’s back, and lifted its head proudly into the wind.
Was a tiger’s most defining characteristic its brutal ferocity?
Absolutely not.
It was its elegant, imposing, majestic presence.
The cub’s golden and white fur fluttered wildly in the wind, radiating a soft, divine glow under the fading sunlight.
It was a true Golden Tiger.
“Meow?!”
Cat Number Two let out a sudden, terrified gasp.
Titan had taken a corner way too fast.
He nearly threw the blind cub directly into a glass wall.
Well, there wasn’t much he could do about it.
The enclosure wasn’t exactly massive, and with all the artificial trees and rocks in the way, he was constantly forced to make sharp, erratic turns.
Titan hopped around the enclosure like an oversized, hyperactive gecko.
The chaotic ride tormented Cat Number Two endlessly, until the dizzy cub finally lost its grip and tumbled off Titan’s back, rolling softly onto the grass.
Titan immediately noticed the fall.
He spun around and let out a soft, playful chirp at the dizzy cub, giving off a strangely cheeky vibe.
Did you have fun?!
Cat Number Two didn’t make a single sound.
It shakily reached out a tiny paw, gently touching Titan’s scaly forehead.
The cub probed the spot for a second, as if confirming the crocodile’s exact location, before suddenly winding up and slapping him directly across the snout!
Huh?
Titan was stunned for a moment.
He seriously doubted his own senses before finally confirming that, yes, the tiny, blind tiger had actually just slapped him.
The proud tiger demands respect!
Titan decided to playfully retaliate with a slap of his own.
Instead of using his massive jaws, he gently reached out his stubby right arm, trying to tap the cub on the head.
However, Cat Number Two was completely blind, meaning it naturally couldn’t match Titan’s speed.
Therefore, by transitive property, Titan’s reaction time was now officially seven times faster than a cat’s.
At least, that was his logic.
“Meow!
Meow!
Meow!”
Cat Number Two’s voice was still incredibly high-pitched and immature.
The cub unleashed a furious flurry of blind, rapid-fire feline slaps, but Titan effortlessly dodged the combo and gently pinned the cub to the grass.
Taking full advantage of his size and working eyesight, Titan proudly placed his scaly paw directly on top of the tiger’s head, declaring absolute victory.
Thud!
The thick glass wall of the enclosure vibrated violently, as if something incredibly heavy had just slammed into it from the outside.
Titan and Cat Number Two froze instantly.
The crocodile and the blind tiger both snapped their heads toward the source of the noise.
Aside from the fading sunlight, the fiery red clouds, and a few loose brown feathers drifting through the air, there was absolutely nothing there.
Wait.
Feathers?
“Hoot.”
The eagle-owl casually hopped up onto the edge of a nearby stone flowerbed, acting as if absolutely nothing had happened.
However, her slightly ruffled, disheveled feathers completely gave away her failed dive-bomb attempt.
Her massive pupils emitted an eerie, terrifying green glow in the twilight.
She glared intensely at Titan through the thick glass, her expression practically screaming:
What exactly do you think you are doing?
Titan was completely confused.
Why was his owl partner acting so strangely?
Did she misinterpret his playful wrestling match with Cat Number Two?
Did she think the tiger cub was an enemy he needed help killing?
That wasn’t going to work.
As the officially appointed Assistant Zoo Director of Larry’s Zoo, Titan felt it was his solemn duty to maintain friendly, diplomatic relations among all the animal residents, even if his owl sister was technically an undocumented squatter.
“Rumble.”
Titan rolled off the tiger cub and stood up straight.
Cat Number Two was still a little dizzy from being pinned and swayed back and forth for a moment before regaining its balance.
Pat.
Titan affectionately placed his left paw back onto Cat Number Two’s fuzzy head, instantly snapping the cub to attention.
Look, see?
We are best friends.
Titan proudly, and completely openly, introduced his new feline friend to his avian partner.
However, for some inexplicable reason, the eagle-owl seemed to grow even more furiously agitated by the display.
That was weird.
The owl had clearly already eaten earlier.
Could it be that she was still hungry?
“Holy crap!
What a massive bird!”
Old Larry happened to be walking past the enclosure carrying a heavy cardboard box.
He immediately spotted the eagle-owl perched on the stone planter, though he clearly didn’t recognize the specific species.
“Hoot?!”
The eagle-owl was still deeply afraid of humans.
She snapped her head 180 degrees, realized Old Larry had spotted her, and immediately launched herself into the air, vanishing into the darkening sky.
“Hiss…
Well, thank goodness I didn’t skimp on the roof netting for Number Two’s enclosure back in the day,” Old Larry sighed in relief.