Chapter 10.2

Director Wang retracted his hand and walked further inside. “Did you bring Qilin’s files?”

Mu Ling hurriedly opened her document bag and pulled out a file, with a promotional flyer on top.

Because of the misunderstanding in the car earlier, Mu Ling didn’t dare give the envelope to her superior anymore.

Director Wang looked at the flyer and raised an eyebrow. “The opening date is set for September 17th?”

Mu Ling smiled brightly. “Yes, it’s confirmed. You must come to check it out then.”

Director Wang didn’t respond.

He returned to his office and sat down before seriously examining Qilin’s file. He frowned as he read, until he reached the signature of the foster caretaker at the end. Director Wang looked up in shock, “Your zoo’s Qilin is actually Colonel Val’s Ripper Tiger Qilin?”

Mu Ling nodded vigorously. “Yes, that’s right! Qilin was previously a war beast. It’s been retired now and has been at our zoo for eight months. However, it has a rather introverted personality and isn’t very close with our caretakers. As you saw in the video earlier, it’s actually not in great condition – quite emaciated. We’re working hard to nurse it back to health.”

Director Wang seemed lost in thought. He knew well that if that tiger was truly Colonel Val’s Ripper Tiger Qilin, it was completely normal for it to have deteriorated so drastically over eight months. After all, cases of retired war beasts self-destructing after retirement were all too common.

The problem of high-level war beasts struggling to adjust after retirement had long been a major issue for the Federation government. When Qilin retired last year, there was a commotion online, with many netizens speculating how long it would survive. Some said it might not live past six months, while others guessed it wouldn’t make it past three.

War beasts that retire due to mental injuries all share a common trait: their neural pathways suffer irreversible damage, which in turn affects their cognitive functions. Simply put, they forget who they are, who their masters are, and attack everyone indiscriminately. Their personalities become irritable, prone to anger, manic, and twisted.

They gradually descend into self-destruction, approaching death step by step. Even if you can’t bear to let them go and try various medical interventions to keep them alive, their lack of cooperation often makes the situation worse. Cases of war beasts starving themselves, ramming into walls, or committing suicide in medical facilities are not uncommon.

But that wasn’t the main point now. The key issue was that the tiger was actually Colonel Val’s Qilin.

Director Wang stared at the file in his hands, still feeling bewildered. He had asked Mu Ling to bring the file because he could tell from the communication that the tiger hadn’t been abused by the zoo. Although it was covered in injuries, its body language and eye contact when playing with Mu Ling couldn’t lie – it trusted her.

But it wasn’t enough for him to believe it alone. Since someone had filed a complaint with the Forestry Bureau, they had to go through the proper procedures. That’s why he had asked Mu Ling to come.

After rubbing his face vigorously and confirming that the documents hadn’t been forged and the seal of the Capital Star Forestry Bureau was intact, Director Wang forced himself to accept reality. He said somewhat weakly:

“Well then, since your zoo’s tiger is indeed a retired war beast, the online accusations that your zoo is maliciously marketing under the guise of retired war beasts are unfounded. I’ll fill in the paperwork on my end. You should go back and make a video to clarify things for the netizens, especially regarding Qilin’s injuries. It’s common for retired war beasts to harm themselves, but the public needs to know this; otherwise they’ll speculate wildly. Look at our office – we’ve been busy all day just answering complaint calls.”

Mu Ling was stunned. “Malicious marketing by netizens?”

Director Wang frowned. “What? Don’t you know about the mass reporting triggered by that tiger video on your official account? Haven’t you seen the comments yet?”

Mu Ling hurriedly opened her light brain and accessed the account backend.

999+ private messages, 999+ comments. Mu Ling was dumbfounded. What on earth?

Mu Ling truly didn’t know the incident was caused by her video. After posting it, she went to sleep, then woke up to change Qilin’s bandages and feed it. Then she received the call from the Forestry Bureau. She had printed flyers and rushed over without stopping. She hadn’t thought to check on the video, which she assumed wouldn’t generate much interest, nor had she connected the reporting incident to the video.

After quickly scanning through the comments and messages, Mu Ling was nearly in tears. “How can they say such things?”

Director Wang took a sip of water from his cup. “Netizens’ perceptions are often fragmented. Since it’s a misunderstanding, just clear it up quickly.”

Mu Ling’s face fell. “I’ll post another video to clarify as soon as I get back. These people are really too much… Wait, I already have 489 followers?”

“Wow, the video has over 500,000 views. I can already withdraw 688 Star coins from my backend.”

“Ahh! I’m even trending – #98 on the hot search, ‘Bi Ke Zoo’.”

“Director, can I not clarify? I want to climb a few more ranks. I must seize this windfall of fortune!”

Director Wang looked at her, speechless. “Don’t go too far.”