Chapter 5.1

The fallen tiger was massive and heavy. When Mu Ling tried to move it, it remained completely still.

She first pried open its eyes, examining the shape of its pupils to assess its condition.

The pupils hadn’t dilated yet—there was still hope!

Mu Ling quickly opened the tiger’s thigh and felt for the pulse inside its hind leg, silently counting the beats.

As its heartbeat grew weaker, she positioned the tiger on its side and began pressing just behind its front paw’s elbow.

This spot was the highest point of the tiger’s chest cavity. By compressing here, she could perform cardiac resuscitation on the tiger.

The tiger’s skin and fat were so thick that Mu Ling had to apply considerable pressure for the compressions to have any effect.

While she struggled with the CPR, a long-tailed civet in the distance trembled, licking the blood off its fur.

Its nape had been punctured by the tiger’s bite. Although not fatal, blood was still trickling from the wound.

The civet was terrified and wanted to flee, but seeing the human with the tiger, it didn’t dare move. Agitated, it let out hoarse, aggressive meows, as if trying to stop Mu Ling, believing she was hurting the tiger.

To this, Mu Ling had only one response: “Shut up!”

The heat, combined with the exertion, had Mu Ling sweating profusely. The CPR was draining her energy, and the civet’s incessant yowling made it hard for her to keep track of the tiger’s heartbeat!

Animals judge danger through tone, scent, and movement.

At Mu Ling’s shout, the civet was startled into silence.

Humans are much larger than civets—many times over. The civet had initially thought Mu Ling was easy to bully and had been rude to her, but now that this two-legged beast had become angry, it no longer dared to provoke her. It understood all too well the danger of enraging a fierce predator—it could die, just as it had nearly been killed moments ago…

It began to fear this human…

Finding a tree branch to perch on, the civet dejectedly continued licking its paws, which were covered in blood that seemed impossible to clean off.

…

The tiger showed no signs of improvement. Mu Ling gritted her teeth—there was no other choice but to perform artificial respiration!

She tucked the tiger’s tongue back into its mouth, closed its jaws, and began blowing air into its nostrils.

Mouth-to-nose resuscitation was another emergency method. The tiger’s mouth was too large for Mu Ling to cover completely with her hands, so she opted to keep its jaws shut and blow into its nose instead.

As she blew, Mu Ling carefully checked its chest for any signs of movement.

The tiger’s body was so large that Mu Ling felt her lung capacity wasn’t enough. After four or five breaths, she was drenched in twice as much sweat.

“Ha!” Suddenly, the civet began to roar again.

Mu Ling had no energy to deal with it. She continued the CPR and artificial respiration.

“Crack.” Black mountain boots crushed a few dry twigs.

When Xiang Bie arrived, he saw a slender young woman in a zoo staff vest, lying on the ground with puffed cheeks, blowing air into the tiger’s nose.

Surprised, the man paused for a moment.

After the brief hesitation, he quickly approached.

Hearing rapid footsteps, Mu Ling looked up and saw an unfamiliar man.

His features were sharp and cold, his figure tall and imposing. Mu Ling was stunned at first, but then noticed the Bi Ke Zoo logo on his brown patrol uniform and realized this must be the “Brother Xiang” that Wei Li often mentioned.

He was the zoo’s other employee, Xiang Bie.

Xiang Bie didn’t speak to Mu Ling. He crouched down and quickly examined the tiger’s condition.

Mu Ling wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. While continuing to compress the tiger’s chest, she said to the man, “It’s fading fast. I’m giving it emergency treatment. Can you quickly get some medicine? ‘Benzylaminomethanol’ or ‘Daimeson’ would work, but it needs to be injectable.”

The man glanced at her, his dark eyes filled with deep emotion. He didn’t ask about the girl’s identity—the answer was obvious. In the entire park, besides him and Wei Li, there was only one person who would appear here: the new zoo director.

Xiang Bie said, “‘Benzylaminomethanol’ and ‘Daimeson’ are only available in the service area. There’s a first aid kit in the car. Do you need it?”

Mu Ling thought the first aid kit probably only contained some external wound medications, but it might also have antidotes. After all, in the forest, venomous creatures were common, and animal poisoning was frequent. She said, “Yes!”

Xiang Bie stood up and quickly ran to the nearby off-road vehicle.

He returned in less than half a minute, placing the first aid kit beside Mu Ling.

“Can it be saved?” the man suddenly asked.

Mu Ling’s face was flushed red from giving artificial respiration. She caught her breath before replying, “I don’t know.”

She truly didn’t know, but she was doing her best.

Xiang Bie silently looked at her, then stood up and left, driving away in the off-road vehicle.

Mu Ling performed CPR and artificial respiration for over seven minutes before finally feeling the tiger breathe on its own.

The tiger’s hind leg twitched. Although it was just a mechanical muscle spasm, at least there was a response, and its overall breathing was becoming more stable.

Mu Ling sat down heavily, her heart finally settling back into her stomach from where it had been suspended in anxiety.

It was saved at last!

Her clothes were soaked through, but Mu Ling didn’t care. She opened the first aid kit to check the medicines inside.

Given her background in pharmaceutical research, even if she wasn’t familiar with animal medications, she could deduce the general formulas from the indications. There were indeed antidotes inside. Mu Ling knew the tiger had been poisoned by snake venom—after all, there were still fang marks on the wound. She found the most suitable medication and administered a very large dose, using three full vials on the tiger.

After giving the injections, Mu Ling observed the tiger’s other symptoms. It was covered in injuries. Besides the new wounds on its back and thigh, it had many old injuries as well.

The left hind leg had healed improperly, not to mention the numerous scars, large and small, all over its body. Due to the many scars, hair follicles were damaged in many places, leaving large patches of baldness. From afar, it might still look imposing, but up close, it resembled a stray tiger.

“How did you end up like this?” Mu Ling was shocked. Wasn’t this supposed to be a zoo tiger? How could it be in worse condition than a wild tiger?

After wiping away the blood from the most severe areas with a disinfectant wipe, Mu Ling finally got a clear look at the shape of the worst external wound on the tiger’s back.

It appeared to be an impact injury, with a large bruise nearby. The tiger might have been thrown during a fight with another animal, its back hitting a rock. The sharp edge of the rock had torn through a large patch of skin and flesh, resulting in such a wide wound.

…

T/N: python with venom?? Idk…