Interstellar Zoo No. 1 - Chapter 27.2

Chapter 27.2

 

Blood steadily increased on the Black Fang Tiger’s body. Finally, Lightning pierced through the fur at the back of its neck, savagely tearing open the flesh beneath. As the tiger thrashed in agony, its strength gradually ebbed away.

 

Only after ensuring the black-fanged tiger was completely motionless did the three war beasts slowly release their grip.

 

Their mouths were coated with sticky blood. No matter how much they licked their lips, they couldn’t shake the uncomfortable sensation.

 

Qilin then started walking in a particular direction. After a few steps, it paused to look back at the Black Panther and Dark Snow Wolf.

 

Lightning jumped over the black-fanged tiger’s corpse, instinctively following. After a moment’s hesitation, Qingjiao slowly joined them.

 

Following the sound of flowing water, Qilin discovered a waterfall. The three beasts immediately lowered their heads and drank deeply.

 

After quenching their thirst, Qilin and Lightning, having run over twenty kilometers and fought for more than ten minutes, finally collapsed onto the cool rocks by the mountain stream, panting as they rested.

 

Qingjiao wasn’t as exhausted, having taken shortcuts.

 

After drinking, Qingjiao sat at a distance from the Golden Tiger and Black Panther, observing them.

 

Lightning suddenly moved closer to Qilin, sniffing the bandaged wound on its back before gently licking it through the bandage.

 

The long run had indeed caused Qilin’s wound to seep blood.

 

Feeling the pain in its back, Qilin lay motionless on the stone.

 

After tending to the wound, Lightning returned to lick Qilin’s forehead.

 

Animals love having their head fur licked because in the animal kingdom, larger beasts only groom smaller ones when showing care and affection.

 

Qilin enjoyed the attention, its beast eyes narrowing in pleasure. It turned to lick Lightning’s ears in return.

 

Perhaps it was the bond forged in battle that dissolved their mutual wariness, replacing it with a desire to help one another.

 

The Gray Wolf watched the interaction between the Golden Tiger and Black Panther from afar, not understanding but respectful.

 

After sufficient rest, Qilin and Lightning rose and began walking forward slowly.

 

After a few steps, they paused again, looking toward Qingjiao.

 

The Gray Wolf remained still, clearly having no intention of joining them.

 

“Roar,” Qilin growled softly.

 

The Gray Wolf stood, turned toward the forest, and disappeared into its depths.

 

Qilin and Lightning waited until Qingjiao’s figure had completely vanished before continuing outward. However, after walking a bit further, they heard human footsteps approaching.

 

“Found them!” In the car, Major Chang listened to the second team captain’s report over the radio and finally breathed a sigh of relief. He immediately turned to Mu Ling beside him.

 

Mu Ling was equally excited, quickly leaning forward to ask, “Are they alright? Are they injured?”

 

“Uh…” The second team captain’s voice turned sheepish. “Qilin’s bandage is soaked with blood.”

 

Mu Ling: …

 

Seeing Mu Ling’s face look like she might eat someone, Major Chang hurriedly asked, “It’s not serious, is it?”

 

“There’s… quite a bit of blood.”

 

Major Chang: …

 

Mu Ling: ….

 

Major Chang wiped his face and sent the coordinates to the driver, ordering, “Get us there now.”

 

Twenty minutes later, Mu Ling finally reached Qilin and Lightning.

 

The bandage on Qilin’s back was completely soaked with blood. The sight nearly shattered Mu Ling’s heart.

 

She quickly crouched down to remove the bandage and examine the wound.

 

While the scab had reopened, the wound itself wasn’t large. It only appeared severe because the bandage was wet from Lightning’s licking, making the blood stain seem worse than it was.

 

Mu Ling released a small sigh of relief. She tapped Qilin’s damp nose, scolding, “Do you know how terrified you made me? You knew you were injured! How could you be so reckless running out like this?”

 

Qilin sat obediently still, even leaning forward to sniff Mu Ling’s finger when she tapped its nose.

 

Helpless against its charm, Mu Ling cupped its nose in her palm, rubbing its large face while muttering, “You can’t do this again, understand?”

 

She then turned to Lightning, who lay nearby licking its paws. “And you – you can’t do this either.”

 

Thinking it was being called, Lightning stood up, wagged its tail, and leaned in to lick Mu Ling’s face.

 

Mu Ling maintained a stern expression. “Don’t think you can sweet-talk your way out of this. I’m really angry!”

 

Lightning pressed its forehead against her chin, nuzzling affectionately.

 

Mu Ling was at a loss for words.

 

Finally, she relented, though still serious, “I’ll let it go this time, but there absolutely cannot be a next time.”

 

Major Chang watched from behind, sweating profusely. Just hours ago, he had confidently promised to keep Qilin and Lightning from harm. Now, despite them having acted on their own, Qilin’s wound had reopened while working for the military.

 

The second team’s captain approached quietly, reporting in a low voice, “We found two mutant beast corpses – one with mild mid-level infection, the other severe. If we hadn’t found the severe case, it would likely have progressed to high-level infection within half a month.”

 

Major Chang’s expression shifted. “We conduct annual clearing operations. Last year, this Bi Ke Forest only had seven or eight low-level infected beasts. Now we’re finding not just mild mid-level cases, but severe ones?”

 

The second team captain whispered, “We need to report this.”

 

Major Chang grunted in agreement, then looked toward Mu Ling and the two S-class war beasts.

 

Seeing their continued affectionate interaction, he scratched his face, wanting to speak but feeling awkward.

 

Suddenly, a soldier exclaimed, “Ah!”

 

Everyone was startled and looked over.

 

The soldier’s face showed shock as he pointed toward the forest depths, asking in surprise, “Is that a wolf?”

 

Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing, but because the tree shadows were too dark, they couldn’t clearly see what animal was inside. However, they did indeed see a pair of red eyes.

 

The second team captain thought for a moment, then suddenly said, “Besides tiger and panther footprints, wolf prints were also found near the corpses of those two mutant beasts. I wonder if it’s this wolf.”

 

Major Chang frowned, about to ask if this wolf might also be a mutant beast, but remembering that none of the war beasts present had reacted, he knew it probably wasn’t. He said, “Maybe we’ve entered its territory and it doesn’t like it. There shouldn’t be any danger here now. Let’s pack up and go.”

 

The second team captain was about to give orders when they saw Mu Ling suddenly stand up, frowning as she stared intently at the wolf in the forest.

 

Major Chang looked at her. “Director Mu?”

 

But Mu Ling suddenly shouted towards the forest, “Qingjiao?”

 

Major Chang: …

 

Mu Ling took a couple steps forward, and after seeing clearly, she was dumbfounded. “What the— it really is you! What are you doing here?”

 

Those red wolf eyes, that ragged fur—everything exuded familiarity. Mu Ling had been in close contact with Qingjiao before, almost being ambushed by it. How could she not recognize Qingjiao?

 

Mu Ling was stunned. She pointed at the gray wolf hiding in the forest, unwilling to come out, and said to Major Chang, “This is an animal from our park, the Dark Snow Wolf Qingjiao. But I don’t know why it’s here.”

 

As Mu Ling said this, she suddenly thought of how Qilin had followed the python and Lightning had followed the hyena, as well as how Qilin and Lightning had just come to deal with the mid-level mutant beast on their own.

 

The S-class war beasts’ obsession with mutant beast seemed to be ingrained in their bones. So the reason for Qingjiao’s appearance here seemed to have only one explanation.

 

Mu Ling looked around at the surrounding environment and asked, “Major Chang, are we not far from the boundary of our zoo?”

 

Major Chang paused, checked the coordinates of this location, and said with pursed lips, “It’s less than twenty kilometers from your protective fence.”

 

Mu Ling understood. “Then Qingjiao probably smelled the mid-level infected mutant beast and crossed the protective fence to catch them. This silly girl.”

 

Major Chang thought of what the second team captain had said earlier about wolf prints being found near the corpses of the two mutant beast. He couldn’t help but look again at those red eyes in the forest.

 

Major Chang had seen the videos Mu Ling posted online and had watched her livestream recordings. Of course he knew who Qingjiao was. But, “What is it doing now?”

 

Mu Ling also didn’t know why Qingjiao was hiding in the forest watching them.

 

But Lightning stood up at this moment and slowly walked towards Qingjiao.

 

Qingjiao remained motionless until Lightning approached, then suddenly ran deeper into the forest.

 

“Hey, it’s leaving,” said Major Chang.

 

Mu Ling immediately followed.

 

Qilin hurriedly followed as well.

 

They continued forward, with Qingjiao leading the way ahead. However, the mountain path was difficult to traverse. By the time Qingjiao finally stopped, Mu Ling was already covered in sweat.

 

Mu Ling supported herself on her knees, panting heavily. Then she saw that Qingjiao had stopped in front of a section of protective fence.

 

This protective fence was naturally the one for their zoo. Mu Ling looked at Qingjiao again and saw it lowering its head, digging forcefully at a patch of muddy ground, but not digging anything up.

 

Mu Ling went over to look and discovered it was digging at the protective fence. The net looked very new, feeling warm to the touch, as if it had just been welded.

 

Thinking of the protective fence workers inside the inner enclosure…

 

Mu Ling: …

 

Major Chang walked over at this point and asked in confusion, “Director Mu, what’s wrong?”

 

Mu Ling scratched her face, feeling a bit dazed. “I guess Qingjiao must have squeezed out through here earlier. But as soon as it left, our dedicated protective fence workers patched up this hole, and now Qingjiao can’t get back in.”

 

Major Chang: …

 

Mu Ling was a bit confused. “But logically, the protective fence workers shouldn’t have been able to start work today. I don’t know why they did. Oh, I remember now—isn’t Colonel Song at our zoo? He kept saying he wanted to help us. Maybe he’s accompanying the protective fence workers, so they resumed work.”

 

Major Chang: …

 

Mu Ling turned back to look at Qingjiao, who was still digging at the protective net but unable to make a hole, feeling a bit helpless. “How can you be so unlucky?”

 

Qingjiao’s crimson eyes then looked at Mu Ling. It seemed to think for a moment, then suddenly walked towards her.

 

Mu Ling froze for a moment, remembering being ambushed by Qingjiao before. She didn’t dare move.

 

But Qingjiao walked up to Mu Ling, stretched out its head, and suddenly licked her forehead.

 

Mu Ling: …

 

Seeing Mu Ling not moving, Qingjiao tilted its head and licked her ear.

 

Mu Ling: …

 

Qingjiao saw Mu Ling still not moving and became somewhat confused.

 

It turned its head to look at the Golden Tiger and Black Panther nearby.

 

It had been like this before—the panther licked the tiger, the tiger licked the panther. Licking fur meant they were friends. Could friends help it get home? Its cub was still at home…