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Chapter 2: The Domineering Veteran
This private zoo either had inexperienced keepers or they just didn’t know enough about honey badgers. The iron gate holding Wang Ping and another honey badger wasn’t even secured with a decent lock; it was merely fastened with a bolt. Such flimsy protection wouldn’t even hold a cat.
Even with his limited knowledge of wild animals, Wang Ping knew that honey badgers are among the few wild animals that can make tools for themselves.
To think a creature like a honey badger could make tools—it had truly amazed Wang Ping when he first learned of it.
The other honey badger in the cage didn’t seem to be planning an escape anytime soon. It was eating voraciously, showing no fear.
Well, why would it? There were no lions to hunt it, no natural enemies, and plenty of food and care. It was a mystery how it ended up here and how long it had been confined. Normally, with a wild honey badger’s abilities, an unlocked iron gate wouldn’t keep it in for long.
Carefully, Wang Ping inched towards the gate, making sure to keep his distance from the other honey badger to avoid any misunderstandings. He knew that when a honey badger was eating, it wouldn’t care who approached—even its own offspring could get attacked if they got too close.
The iron gate was fastened on the outside with a bolt. Both sides of the gate frame were embedded into the concrete walls.
Standing upright inside the cage, Wang Ping reached out through the gaps in the bars, carefully attempting to use one paw to slide the bolt back.
And then... that was as far as he got.
It turned out the keeper hadn’t left at all; he was napping right outside in the shade. Hearing the sound of the gate, he turned and locked eyes with Wang Ping.
The keeper, a black man with large, strikingly bright eyes, looked as stunned as Wang Ping. Though his expression was hard to read, it was clear he was momentarily frozen.
The atmosphere grew tense.
Wang Ping was deliberating: should he yank the bolt off and make a run for it, or should he play it safe and retreat? Now that he’d been caught, escaping would be challenging. Yet, if he gave up now, the keeper might lock the gate, making escape nearly impossible later.
When he was with his team, Wang Ping wasn’t one to hesitate. But now, he found himself in a dilemma.
Most importantly, Wang Ping didn’t want to hurt anyone.
While he hesitated, the keeper made up his mind. Only a few seconds passed before the keeper grabbed a nearby animal-catching pole and jabbed it towards Wang Ping.
The pole struck the gate with a loud clang, jolting Wang Ping from his thoughts. He hadn’t even reacted before the keeper jabbed again, this time hitting his outstretched paw.
“Ow!” Wang Ping yelped reflexively. His yelp startled not only the keeper and the honey badger still gnawing on snake meat but also Wang Ping himself.
Was that the sound of a honey badger?
Wang Ping had his doubts.
A honey badger’s typical sounds are more like a snake’s hissing, with occasional sharp screeches—nothing like the strange howl he’d just made.
The sound he made was more like a husky yelping after getting its tail stepped on.
Great. Not only was he stuck in a badger’s body, but even his calls were embarrassingly un-badger-like! If he could, he would have covered his face with his paws.
So humiliating. No, worse—so humiliating as a honey badger!
The black keeper muttered something Wang Ping didn’t understand again.
However, the language sounded familiar, similar to the dialect spoken in Mto Wa Mbu, the small town where he and his team had stopped before heading into the savanna. It seemed to be an East African dialect of some sort.
This realization reassured Wang Ping. At least he was still in Africa; maybe he could eventually find his teammates.
For now, though, his “escape” plan had to change.
After the keeper shooed Wang Ping away from the gate, a lock was added to the iron bars. What's even worse was that he began glancing at the cage from time to time.
Wang Ping slumped in the corner like a bullied child. Meanwhile, the other honey badger had finished its viper meal, leaving not even a bone behind. Ignoring Wang Ping, it slowly found a shady spot and started to nap.
The sun gradually sank in the northwest, and dusk began to settle. Wang Ping’s ears perked up as he heard footsteps approaching.
Despite his smooth head that showed no visible ears, Wang Ping could feel them instinctively. This strange sensation felt natural, even though his soul was still human.
“#%￥#...” came the low voice of the black keeper, who was now signaling to Wang Ping with a hand gesture.
What? Was he letting him out?
Wang Ping found it hard to believe the keeper would be so kind. As it turned out, he wasn’t. Seeing Wang Ping’s lack of response, the keeper pushed something through the bars before quickly walking away.
The sweet fragrance wafted to Wang Ping’s nose, making him sniff twice out of curiosity.
Upon closer inspection, it was a small piece of honeycomb.
Food!
Wang Ping eagerly scooped it up with his paw. After a whole day without food, he finally had something he was willing to eat. He decided to fill his stomach first before making any further plans.
Just then, he heard a sound behind him.
A dark shadow suddenly lashed across Wang Ping’s face.
“!”
The force of the blow sent Wang Ping rolling twice across the ground, his honeycomb flying out of his paw. His head was buzzing, leaving his whole body—no, his whole badger self—utterly bewildered.
What just happened?
Shaking his head to clear it, Wang Ping looked up to see the other honey badger standing guard over his honeycomb, glaring at him.
Wang Ping: “...”
No matter how he planned, he hadn’t expected this—honey is practically a sacred treasure to honey badgers. When one of them encounters a honeycomb in the wild, it is like a person finding a chest full of cash—impossible to ignore. No wonder honey badgers are named after honey.
Wang Ping didn’t want to fight.
But if he didn’t, there was no way he’d get his honey back.
“You’re looking for trouble, aren’t you? Don’t you know I’m a black-belt in taekwondo and trained in hand-to-hand combat?”
With a defiant snarl, Wang Ping lunged forward, swiping at the honeycomb in his opponent’s paw.
And… he ended up getting thoroughly beaten.
For the next hour, Wang Ping sat in the corner, contemplating why he’d lost. Eventually, he figured it out: he’d fought for food, while his opponent fought for a sacred cause.
Yes, to honey badgers, honey is their very faith.
When the other honey badger bit Wang Ping on the neck, he froze. Despite having numerous chances to bite back during their tussle, Wang Ping couldn’t bring himself to do it. He resorted to pawing at the other badger’s body instead.
After all, he was still human; biting his way through a fight felt... crude.
As a result, Wang Ping lost.
At least he lost to another honey badger and not some other animal. No shame in that! He comforted himself.
Later that night, as the moon climbed higher, hunger kept Wang Ping wide awake on the concrete floor.
From across the enclosure came a rustling sound, followed by the noise of stones being rolled.
Tilting his head, Wang Ping noticed that the other honey badger was pushing a stone toward the corner of the wall under the moonlight.
“What’s it doing?” Wang Ping wondered.
As a human, he couldn’t quite follow his “cellmate’s” animal logic most of the time.
The stone reached the corner, and the other badger climbed on top, stretching its front paws toward the wall. It was still a few dozen centimeters too short. The badger climbed down and began gathering other stones scattered around.
“Is it trying to escape?” Wang Ping finally understood. His cage-mate was quite the genius!
The badger stopped halfway and, as if recalling something, came trotting over to Wang Ping.
Smack!
It hit Wang Ping with a swift slap.
“Hiss…”
Dazed, Wang Ping looked at the other badger, who pointed at the stones with a hissing sound. Finally, Wang Ping understood—it wanted him to help move the stones.
“When in Rome…” Wang Ping sighed, reluctantly lifting a stone.
He had a strange feeling. His “cellmate” had been unfazed all day, eating and sleeping as it pleased, and now preparing a clever escape plan. This was no innocent, captured creature—this was a seasoned pro!
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