Mujin shot straight up inside her little nest in fright, sending birdseed, turf, and feathers flying everywhere.

Outside the artificial nest, a middle-aged man peered in from his ladder. He pulled back with a smile and reached a large hand through the entrance, aiming straight for the sparrow inside.

Mujin dodged sideways, scrambling up to the second floor to escape through the window. But the moment she landed, another hand thrust through the second-floor window.

Trapped between the two hands, Mujin pressed herself tightly against the nest wall, her tiny body trembling uncontrollably. She didn’t know why he wanted to catch her—only that being taken meant no good juice to drink! She needed a plan.

*System! Points Shop!*

Mujin opened the Points Shop, scanning items while keeping an eye on the hunter’s moving hands to dodge in time. If she remembered right, she’d seen *that thing* in the shop before. Her eyes suddenly lit up. *Found it!*

The man fumbled impatiently inside the nest. Catching sparrows was illegal—if anyone saw him, he’d be fined. He just wanted this over fast. His fingers finally closed around something fluffy, accompanied by a soft *peep*.

*Gotcha!*

Excited, he clutched the sparrow tight and pulled his hand out. But when he looked down, he froze.

In his palm wasn’t a sparrow—but a tiny sparrow plushie.

*What is this?*

While he stared dumbfounded, a small shadow darted out the second-floor window and soared into the sky. Mujin had just redeemed the plushie from the Points Shop, tossing it down to create a trace of escape opportunity while he examined it. And it worked.

The man snapped out of his daze seconds later, watching the fleeing sparrow. *No! It escaped!*

Mujin poured every ounce of strength into her flight. One mistake meant death. In seconds, she’d climbed over twenty meters. Glancing down, she spotted a familiar figure in the park—Zhou Ruiyang climbing the fence into the woods near her nest.

*Xiao Yang!*

She flapped desperately toward him. If she reached Zhou Ruiyang, she’d be safe. After this, she’d never live in the park again—she’d find a home closer to him.

She burst through the treetops. Zhou Ruiyang was less than twenty meters away.

"*Xiao—*"

A gust of wind slammed into her from behind. Her body went limp. Just meters from Zhou Ruiyang, she lost balance and crashed to the ground. She tried to cry for help, but the world dimmed.

In her last conscious moment, she saw the man’s face looming over her, twisted into a grin.

"Got you."

He scooped Mujin up and tossed her into his backpack. As he stowed his gear, Zhou Ruiyang approached.

"Uncle, what’s that thing you’re holding?" Zhou Ruiyang hadn’t seen him catch Mujin, but the device in his hand looked odd—a gun-shaped tool with a sharp tip. A man with a gun-like object in this deserted grove was suspicious.

The man blinked, then rubbed his head with a sheepish grin. "This? A nail gun."

"A nail gun? For what?"

"For fixing wood! Some artificial nests here are loose—I’m reinforcing them."

"You’re a worker?"

"Yep, haha." He gave a bashful chuckle. His rough, sun-darkened skin and bulging backpack made him look the part.

"Thanks for your hard work, Uncle," Zhou Ruiyang said sincerely. Since Mujin lived here, he figured he’d thank the man on her behalf.

"No trouble at all!"

They parted ways. Zhou Ruiyang climbed to Mujin’s nest with a chair, calling out, "Come out, Mujin! Look what I brought you today!"

Silence.

That was strange. Usually, she’d pop out instantly, laughing, "*Such a good boy, Xiao Yang!*"

He peered inside. Empty.

*Did she fly to the park square?* But he’d just come from there—he hadn’t seen her.

As he prepared to climb down and wait, the nest’s state caught his eye. Mujin’s tidy home—cleaner than his dorm room—was now chaos: scattered seeds, feathers everywhere, even her precious turf torn up.

Zhou Ruiyang frowned. Leaning in, he spotted something new.

*What’s this?*

He tugged at the entrance and ripped off a strip of fine netting and tape. His eyes widened in shock.

*A bird-catching net?!*

A large hole gaped in its center. Had Mujin crashed through it and been captured?

Then he recalled the "worker." No one ever wandered this grove—and the man appeared just as Mujin vanished. Too coincidental.

But one detail nagged him: the net had no feathers stuck to it. And Mujin wasn’t dumb enough to fly straight into a trap.

*Unless...*

Zhou Ruiyang’s eyes sharpened. *That’s why he had the gun!* It wasn’t for repairs—it was for shooting birds!

He leaped off the ladder and sprinted out. People stared at his frantic run, but he didn’t notice. At the park gate, he spotted the man sliding into a taxi down the street.

"*Hey!*" Zhou Ruiyang yelled, but his voice didn’t carry. He could only watch the taxi fade into the distance.