Early the next morning, Renee Jennings finished her breakfast and went out with Coco the Sparrow.

She drove, following Coco the Sparrow’s directions to the base of a mountain.

This mountain was twenty kilometers from her home and was called Eldridge Peak.

There weren’t many cars in the parking lot, but every so often, she could see hikers and cyclists.

Renee Jennings followed Coco the Sparrow through the woods to a stream, where a few long-legged birds she couldn’t name were standing in the rushing water.

"This is where Sue was caught," Coco the Sparrow said, then flapped its wings and flew toward the sandpipers drinking from the stream. "Friends, it’s too dangerous here! You can’t play here."

Hearing this, the sandpipers all turned to look at Coco the Sparrow.

It hurriedly explained, "Here’s what happened. Last night, my friend Sue was captured here by a bad human!"

"What?" one of the sandpipers cried out, distraught. "Sue was captured by a bad person? No wonder I haven’t seen her at all today!"

Another sandpiper said in a somber tone, "This isn’t the first time those humans have come around. I’ve seen storks get captured a few times, too."

"These humans are despicable!" a slightly smaller sandpiper chirped angrily. "Why would they do this? We birds haven’t done anything to them!"

The sandpiper that spoke first said sorrowfully, "Does this mean we birds have to find a new place to live?"

"That might be the only way to prevent this from happening again."

"SOB... I really don’t want to leave this place..."

Coco was affected by their sorrow and felt dejected too. "Sigh!"

Renee Jennings carefully climbed down the slope and walked toward the stream.

Noticing her approach, the largest sandpiper immediately cried out in alarm, "A human is approaching!"

Coco the Sparrow was startled too, but quickly realized the human they were talking about was Renee.

It breathed a sigh of relief and quickly explained, "Don’t be afraid, everyone. This is my human friend. Her name is Renee, and I asked her to help find Sue."

Hearing this, the sandpipers, who were about to take flight, froze. They all turned their red eyes to stare at Renee Jennings.

"Little Sparrow, you have a human friend?" the largest sandpiper asked, utterly astonished. "Aren’t you afraid of humans?"

"Of course I am," Coco the Sparrow explained. "But I’m not afraid of Renee. She’s a very good human. She loves little animals and won’t hurt any of you."

"Are there really humans that good?" The sandpipers were unconvinced.

Renee Jennings used her phone’s image recognition and learned that this group of long-legged birds were black-winged stilts. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"Hello," she said in a gentle voice. "I’m Renee Jennings. You can call me Renee, just like Coco does."

The stilts found this incredible.

’A human was actually introducing herself to them so formally.’

The largest stilt thought for a moment, then also spoke politely, "Hello. I’m Locke."

Seeing this, the other stilts also introduced themselves to Renee Jennings one by one.

"Hello, I’m Bessie."

"I’m Nika."

Renee Jennings committed each of their names to memory and said with a serious expression, "I’m here because Coco’s friend, Sue, was captured by humans. It asked me to help find her."

"Then can you help find Pippin, too?" the smallest stilt, Nika, asked, looking at Renee Jennings with her red eyes full of hope.

"Was Pippin also captured by humans?" Renee Jennings looked at Nika. "When was he taken?"

"Several days ago," Nika recalled. "Pippin and I had planned to play together that day, but when I arrived, I saw a human stuffing him into a burlap sack."

Nika had panicked and even gave chase for a short distance.

Renee Jennings’s eyes lit up. "Do you know where they went?"

Nika shook her head. "I chased them for a bit, but I got scared and came back."

Hearing this, Renee Jennings’s slender brows slowly furrowed. "Do you often encounter humans trying to catch birds here?"

"Yes, the humans seem to prefer catching bigger birds," Locke answered. "Now, many of the large birds don’t dare come here anymore."

"Sometimes, if there are no big birds, they’ll catch smaller ones too," Bessie added, a trace of lingering fear in her voice. "I was almost caught once."

"I understand," Renee Jennings nodded. "I’ll report this to the police. They’ll do their best to catch the people who are stealing birds."

"Really?" Bessie chirped, pleasantly surprised.

Renee Jennings smiled faintly. "I promise to make your home safe and happy again."

Nika said happily, "That would be wonderful!"

Renee Jennings took a few pictures of the surroundings, then put down her phone and asked Coco the Sparrow, "Sweetie, I’m heading back. Do you want to come with me or stay here?"

Coco the Sparrow replied sweetly, "I’m not going back yet, Renee. Be careful on your way back!"

"Okay." Renee Jennings’s eyes curved into a smile. "You all be careful, too. I’m leaving now."

She waved to the birds and climbed back up the slope to the road.

Bessie watched Renee Jennings’s retreating back, then lowered her head to ask the little sparrow, "Coco, does Renee like you a lot? I heard her call you ’sweetie’."

"Heh heh," Coco the Sparrow chirped, extremely proud. "Of course she does!"

"That’s so nice!" Bessie said with a hint of envy. "She’s the most beautiful human I’ve ever seen."

"Of course she is!" Coco the Sparrow agreed, nodding its little head. "Renee is gorgeous!"

Nika grumbled, "I wish she’d call me ’sweetie’ too."

Renee Jennings had no idea that she was being showered with compliments after she left.

She drove to the police station and told Henry Stark what she had learned.

"Do you think this group could be connected to the people who captured the baby macaque, Yumi?"

"It’s very likely," Henry Stark said, his expression pensive. "By the way, we need to take a trip to Wylern Peak."

Hearing this, Renee Jennings’s dark eyes suddenly lit up. "Did you find a clue?"

"Yes." Henry Stark handed her a file. "The Forestry Bureau found that there’s no record of Yumi in the macaque data submitted by Wylern Peak."

Renee Jennings’s brow slowly furrowed. "So, Yumi’s abduction is likely related to the staff at Wylern Peak."

"Correct," Henry Stark nodded.

He sent people to observe Eldridge Peak, while he himself took Renee Jennings to Wylern Peak Forest Park.

The police car sped down the highway.

The scenery outside flew by. Renee Jennings thought of something and turned her head to look at the man in the driver’s seat. "I want to see Annie first."

Henry Stark turned his head to meet her gaze for a moment. "Okay."

Lucas Callahan, the director of the Wylern Peak Forest Park conservation center, personally received the two of them.

Henry Stark said coolly, "Director Callahan, we need to see Annie."

Lucas Callahan immediately made a call to arrange it, but he heard from the Monkey Manager that Annie wasn’t feeling well and it wasn’t a good time for a visit.

"Annie’s not feeling well?" Renee Jennings frowned. "Then I need to see her even more."

Lucas Callahan looked troubled. "Miss Jennings, please understand. Animals aren’t like people."

Henry Stark said unhurriedly, "Director Callahan, please also understand our work. We must see Annie today."