Animal Whisperer: Take Back My Life and Love Chapter 86: The Hunger Games

Jonas glanced around warily, and only after confirming the crocodile was nowhere to be seen did he finally scramble onto the pool deck.

As he got up, he realized his coach and teammates were all staring at him with expressions of pure terror.

Jonas felt a wave of anxiety. "What happened? Was I too slow? Was I slower than my usual pace?"

He wasn't trying to be humble; those sixty seconds had felt longer than his entire life. Everything had felt sluggish and agonizingly slow, especially the moment he thought the crocodile was about to nip at his heels.

Ryan showed him the numbers on the stopwatch, his face numbed by shock. "Just now... you broke the record."

Jonas’s eyes widened. "Are you serious?"

"Why would I lie to you?" Ryan replied. "And you didn't just break it. You shattered the world record..."

The current world record for the men's 100-meter butterfly was 49.45 seconds.

"You just clocked in at 45.79 seconds."

It took Ryan a long time to find his voice again. "In the last World Championships, the gold medalist beat the silver by 0.04 seconds—the length of a fingernail! And you just blasted out a 45.79!"

"That's 3.66 seconds faster than the world record. Other swimmers would still be doing four or five strokes while you're already touching the wall."

The team looked at Jonas with feverish excitement, as if they were witnessing a miracle. This was the hope of the entire nation; his country had never won a gold medal in the men's butterfly before.

Jonas looked down at his dripping arms, feeling like he was caught in a dream. "Is this... is this really my true level?"

His teammates slapped him on the back. "It’s as real as it gets!"

When reality finally sank in, Jonas’s eyes brimmed with tears. He turned to Nancy and bowed deeply. "Ms. Nancy, thank you for your hard work!"

Nancy puffed out her cheeks playfully. "Weren't you just scared to death of me a second ago?"

Jonas gave an embarrassed laugh. "I hadn't recovered my senses yet. Please, be the bigger person and don't hold it against me."

Nancy crossed her arms. "When you win your medals, you’d better treat our Glutton to some high-quality meat!"

Jonas agreed without hesitation. "You have my word!"

Ryan shook his head with a sigh. "It’s a pity that records broken outside of official competition aren't recognized by FINA as new world records."

But Jonas’s eyes were burning with a new, confident flame. "Maybe not, but at least now I know exactly where my ceiling is." He tightened his fist, water droplets tracing the lines of his muscles. "This feeling... it gives me total confidence in myself."

Competitive sports are fueled by that specific "spark"—the unshakeable belief in one’s own potential.

The keeper who had come with Nancy was now carrying two buckets of large fish toward the lounge. Nancy winked at the team and invited them to come meet the "Head Coach" of the animal training squad. The swimmers were internally screaming "no," but since Ryan and the assistant coach were practically dragging them along, they had to go and watch the crocodile eat.

"Let me introduce you. This is Loren Zoo’s 'God of Hunger.'"

Nancy spoke through the glass of the tank. "His name is Glutton. He gets hungry very quickly, and he loves to have something to chew on."

The swimmers swallowed hard. Standing at over six feet tall, they felt like they’d be nothing more than a popsicle in that mouth.

The keeper used a pair of iron tongs to lift a sea bass nearly a meter and a half long. The fish’s head alone was twenty centimeters wide—monstrous by any standard—but in front of the four-meter saltwater crocodile, it looked like a tiny appetizer.

With a massive heave, the keeper tossed the fish into the tank.

As the bass fell, Glutton’s lower jaw snapped open at a speed no human could track, revealing rows of dagger-like teeth.

The sound of the bite echoed through the room. The fish was instantly snapped in two, a mist of blood and scales erupting in the water.

One of the swimmers instinctively clutched his own arm. Everyone broke out in goosebumps as Glutton let out a guttural roar after swallowing. Pale-faced, the athletes began to scramble out of the lounge.

Only Nancy understood the meaning behind that roar. Glutton was being a food critic, nitpicking his meal.

"The texture of this one is barely a passing grade. Subtract 0.5 points compared to last week’s catch. This fish clearly spent too much time at the gym; the meat is too tough. It's still relatively fresh, but its such a shame that I need to get my claws dirty. No points for plating! How dare you just toss it like that? Come on, at least serve it with some form of sides! The portion is unacceptable, and its borderline insulting to me! It's better to just feed me a dozen!"

Nancy was speechless. Well, he is quite the glutton alright.

She returned to the pool.

Nancy said, "So, who's next? Which coach would you choose to challenge?"

Everyone remained silent and only stared at each other. So, the decision could only be made by drawing lots. Soon, one by one they dragged their feet toward the pool. The entire day was filled by all kinds of screams and groans.

After Ryan looked at the progress of the training regime set by the animal coaches, he was extremely pleased by the results. He cleared his throat and said, "Anyone who doesn't give their best in the upcoming competition will be rewarded by a relaxing soak with the crocodiles. They will be offering an exclusive one on one training!"

Everyone was startled by the comment. "Are you serious?"

Meanwhile, Nancy arrived after feeding Glutton two barrels of fish and said, "I asked Glutton about and it didn't mind at all."

The other swimmers protested. "But we mind!"

After watching how the crocodile was fed, everyone was terrfied of that hideous looking monstrosity.

After the training was over, the staff members escorted the animals back to the transport trucks.

Ryan totalled up Nancy's pay for the day. "So, 22 snakes in total, and a crocodile. The snake coaches totals to about 11000 bucks, the crocodile's base pay and the bonus for getting Jonas to break his record. Yep, its 9000 bucks."

Ryan immediately Venmoed Nancy 20000 dollars. When Nancy saw the digits, she returned to the zoo in a very happy mood. After dinner, she returned to the dorms for a hot shower, so she could unwind.

Master Crow landed by her window when Nancy was writing her report of the day in the middle of the night. It puffed up its chest and seemed quite impatient. Nancy greeted with a huge smile and said, "You did great today, Master Crow!"

She gave the crow her homemade cookies. "How were things at Cuties today?"

The crow had an indifferent look as it ate. However it had to admit that Nancy's cookies were amazing. It even made a lot of friends with Nancy's homemade cookies. The cookies even became the official currency in the Avian world.

After it was done snaking, it tossed the device on Nancy's desk. "This is the results you wanted. I don't know how to read, so you can have a look."

Nancy checked her data. It was confirmed—the formaldehyde levels at the Cuties Petting Zoo were dangerously over the limit.

"So, did you manage to infiltrate them?" she asked eagerly, resting her chin in her hands.

Master Crow shook his feathers proudly, striking the pose of a master negotiator. "Obviously."

Nancy leaned in closer. "What did you tell them?"

"I told that parched parrot that Loren Zoo has professional vets to check its vocal cords regularly and a daily fruit platter for throat health. But most importantly—"