"The invasion of the rats is no different from bringing organisms from outside into the room . These foreign and undomesticated organisms are a threat to the condition within . The absence of predators allows for breeding, which produced some bacteria . These unbridled germs are a danger to the local species . When a certain species thin out, it will be listed as endangered, which in turn destabilizes our king's position," 63 explained .

"I see . So how do we solve this?" Chalk blurted out without thinking .

63 gave Chalk a strange look . "You know, you're really weird . You're here to solve it, aren't you? Why do you seem to be at such a loss? I'm so worried . Do you know why you've been conferred the t.i.tle of Horseman?"

"Aye, why's that so?" Chalk asked curiously .

"Because the king's youngest son is in your country . He wants to treat you well so that your messenger will let your crew know to do the same for his son," 63 answered .

"Our messenger?"

"Why are you so out of it? Look there!"

A bird was perched outside the window .

"Apodidae . That's your messenger . I heard it could even bring a tree branch back to your country . When they get tired, they would place the branch on the sea and rest on it . When they get hungry, they would hunt for fishes . It can make two return trips in a year to convey messages . It's seen how our king treated you so it will go back and relay that . Understand?"

"Yeah . Then that platypus professor . . . is he very smart?"

"You'll find out tomorrow night . I should go back now . I'll come over every six hours . Tell me where you want to go and who you want to talk to . Goodnight, my giant panda," 63 finished before leaping away .

63 squeezed through the gap under the door and disappeared before Chalk's eyes .

After some thought, Chalk removed the s.h.i.+eld badge from his chest and buried it somewhere around his enclosure .

He lied down on the bamboo stack and mumbled, "How do we prevent the rats?"

Before he knew it, however, he had already fallen into a deep sleep .

Some time later, knocks sounded again, startling Chalk .

The door opened slowly and two monkeys came in, one standing on top of the other .

The monkey on top had just pulled a human hairclip from the keyhole .

"Sorry to keep you waiting . I'm Jinjin and he's Sisi . We're the golden snub-nosed monkeys and we're here to help you," one greeted .

"Help me?" Chalk asked, puzzled .

"Less talking . Follow us . "

At a loss, Chalk had no choice but to obey .

Before they exited the exhibition hall, one monkey grabbed a bamboo and stuck it under the door to prevent it from moving .

"Where are we going?" Chalk questioned .

"To give your family a call . But don't tell anyone here, okay? Making calls is our secret method of communication . No spreading," Jinjin explained .

Sisi raised a finger up to his mouth . "Security, hide . "

Jinjin pushed Chalk, with much effort, to a wall corner before shrinking into another . He whispered, "Hide all your white fur!"

Chalk looked down at his black paws . He used one to cover his stomach and the other to hide his head .

Sisi chose to climb up the lamp post .

The security made his round and walked past Chalk, flas.h.i.+ng his torchlight around . The light almost, just almost, exposed Chalk's location .

The security walked further away and

and Chalk heaved a sigh of relief .

Sisi came down and patted Chalk on the shoulder . "Alright, let's go . We'll have to be quick since it's already past 3 am and we've got to get you back before dawn . It should be about 1 am over there so that's perfect timing . "

They reached the outside of a small room and Sisi leaped onto the windowsill while Jinjin pushed Chalk close along the wall corners .

Sisi noted urgently, "Oh no, it's locked today! That's strange . What's going on? What do we do?"

"Smash it, smash it," Jinjin suggested .

Sisi jumped down in frustration and picked a large stone from nearby, handing it to Chalk . "You're stronger . Smash it . Jinjin, go to the roof and inform us if you see anybody . "

With one hand, Chalk threw the stone at the window .

Thud! Cracks appeared on the gla.s.s .

Sisi leaped up again and tried forcing the gla.s.s open .  

Understanding his intention, Chalk stood up and threw an effortless punch at the cracked window .

Sisi smiled and reached his hand in for the lock .

After opening the window and entering, he threw a mobile microphone out . "Take it . "

Shortly after, Sisi shouted nervously, "Is it coming yet?

"Let's switch places," Jinjin said before jumping off the roof .

Just then, rings sounded through the microphone .

"Is that you guys?"

"Who are you?" Chalk asked .

"Chalk, it's me . "

Chalk recognized his teacher's voice . That middle-aged panda .

"Teacher!"

"Are you okay . Are they good to you?"

"Yes, I'm doing well, but how do we solve the rat problem?"

Laughter erupted from the other side . "Don't worry about it, Chalk . Just act like a panda and return home after a few years . "

"But the rats?"

"Listen to me, it's nothing . Such rodent invasions will be settled by humans . We're only using that as an excuse . "

"But why?"

"We read it in the humans' newspapers, that's all . It's nothing . "

"But why start this in the first place?" Chalk was confused .

"In the beginning, our animals had no position when being sent over to different parts of the world . They would always tell us that they are getting bullied . As a result, we started bullying their animals when they came over as well . This whole bullying affair became a vicious cycle . We then read about the invasion and used it to dissolve the hostility . "

"I don't understand, Teacher," Chalk replied .

"Basically, we made the invasion a known issue and had the animals from our side pretend to be respectable experts in this field . There won't be any real discussions, of course, but identifying our animals as experts will prevent them from getting mistreated . "

"Wait, I get it . The rat invasion is a fake out for them to treat me well . To make me an important figure . . . like now . " 

"Similarly, they're bringing a koala over and we will take good care of it . As for the plan, just keep up the show . Your only job is to act like a panda and return safely after some time . This should've been Fatty's job, but the humans got it wrong . Sorry, Chalk . "

"It's that simple?" Chalk asked .

"Yeah, it's that simple . Ask Jinjin and Sisi if you're not sure about anything . Alright, I'm out of time, security will come soon . Goodbye . "

The line disconnected and Chalk stood rooted to the ground .

"Are you done? We have to leave soon," Sisi informed him .

Chalk nodded and put the mobile back into its original position .

The monkeys then brought Chalk back to his room .

"We're 42 . Look for us if you need anything," Jinjin offered kindly before closing the door . A crisp sound followed after, indicating that the gate was locked .

Chalk grabbed a bamboo and took a bite .  

I'll have to behave more like a panda .

A week later .

Chalk sprawled lazily on the bamboo stack .

63 entered and asked, "Professor Platypus asked if you have any strategies to discuss . The king's also waiting for your good news . It's been a week after all . "

Chalk waved the frog away dismissively . "Soon, soon . I'm still organizing my thoughts . "

"I thought that you were intelligent, but alas, you're no different from the previous one!" 63 exclaimed impatiently .