Chapter 11.1

Just as she had been feeling incredibly frustrated earlier, now Mu Ling was equally excited.

Dazzled by the prospects of money and popularity, Mu Ling finally realized that “negative publicity” could indeed be monetized.

As her mind raced, a somewhat immature idea began to take shape.

Unfortunately, just as this idea was blossoming, Director Wang’s horrified voice abruptly stopped her. “Director Mu, reputation is the foundation of our business. Are you planning to switch careers to become an internet celebrity and never run the zoo again?”

Mu Ling was left speechless.

Well, that was like a cold splash of water poured on her enthusiasm. Coming back to reality, she replied dejectedly, “I’ll clarify things when I get back.”

Director Wang sighed in relief. “Then think about how to clarify it. I’ll have someone make a copy of Qilin’s documents for our records, and you can take the original with you.”

Mu Ling nodded and left with the staff member who was going to make the copies.

After Mu Ling left, Director Wang got busy with other matters. Since it was the weekend, they only worked until two in the afternoon and needed to finish everything before clocking out.

While Director Wang was caught up in his work, he suddenly heard laughter and chatter coming from outside. Curiously, he went to the door to look. He was surprised to see that Director Mu hadn’t left yet; instead, she was entertaining the staff, inviting them to visit her zoo on September 17th. She even created a group chat on the spot, adding everyone, saying they needed to stay in touch.

Director Wang was left dumbfounded.

He suddenly felt as if, while he wasn’t paying attention, she had kidnapped everyone in the office.

Was she some kind of bandit?

Mu Ling didn’t return to the zoo until around four o’clock; she had stopped by the supermarket to buy a few things.

When she came back, she saw Wei Li had already come out of the forest. Mu Ling cheerfully asked, “Brother Wei, was everything smooth inside?”

Wei Li felt relieved seeing the director back safely. Earlier, Brother Xiang had mentioned hearing police sirens near her, which had startled him. “Everything went smoothly. The protective fence installers have already started working. Brother Xiang is monitoring things inside. Director, are you alright?”

“What could happen to me?” Mu Ling set the items she was carrying on the table and then, after a moment’s thought, clapped her hands. “Actually, I do have something to do. I need to shoot a clarification video.”

Wei Li asked, “What video?”

Mu Ling opened her light brain and showed it to him.

As Wei Li watched the video and scrolled through the comments, he was momentarily stunned. “Director, you filmed Qilin?”

“Of course! Didn’t I say yesterday that I was going to make videos?”

Mu Ling had entered the forest specifically to film the animals.

Wei Li was at a loss for words.

But he had thought the director merely wanted to film some small animals. Qilin, being a retired war beast, had a sensitive identity. In the past, when official caretakers posted about retired war beasts’ lives online, it always sparked large-scale arguments. Many of these retired beasts were reclusive, aggressive, or even self-harming, which made netizens think it was due to poor care by the caretakers. They would demand changes in caretakers or relocation, and the Federal Government was often criticized for it. Basically, if a war beast wasn’t doing well, people would blame the government for inaction, making it a constant scapegoat.

Wei Li scratched his face and cautiously suggested, “I think it might be better to film other animals instead.”

Mu Ling waved her hand dismissively. “Qilin has gained attention now; of course we’re filming it! Not only can we promote the zoo, but we can also earn views. I just checked, and I can already cash out 1,000 star coins. This is all thanks to our Qilin! On my way back, I bought a ton of canned food for it, look!”

Mu Ling opened her eco-friendly bag, revealing it was stuffed with twenty large cans of treats.

Wei Li was speechless.

Alright, you’re the director. If you’re not afraid of getting criticized, then go ahead and post it. Worst case, if it blows up too much later, we can always stop.

Wei Li realized he could never stop their director from making money when she had the chance. Although their director was very wealthy, she always acted as if she were desperately poor every day, without any of the grace expected from a rich lady.

That morning, Zhou Qin had shared the video of Bi Ke Zoo in their class group chat, and it had gone viral.

Afterwards, Zhou Qin lost all motivation to study, spending the entire afternoon scrolling through group chats and hot topics. By the time he snapped back to reality, it was already eight in the evening, and his roommates who had gone out on dates were returning.

After a hasty dinner, Zhou Qin, filled with regret, resolved not to use his light brain anymore. With the re-exams approaching, he vowed to memorize all of modern history tonight, or else he wouldn’t sleep at all.

Just as he made this vow, his roommate on the opposite bed suddenly exclaimed, “Crap, someone posted a video of the Ripper Tiger!”

Zhou Qin was stunned. “Where? Where? Let me see!”

Zhou Qin immediately rushed over to look at his roommate’s light brain.

But as soon as he saw it, Zhou Qin froze. The familiar tiger thumbnail, the familiar blogger name—it was that Bi Ke Zoo again. But this was a new video, posted fifteen minutes ago, with the title «Click to See the Pure Ripper Tiger Getting Its Wounds Dressed.»

Zhou Qin was taken aback.

The title didn’t seem very appropriate, but this time they directly used the name “Ripper Tiger.” Were they not even pretending anymore? Did this zoo have a death wish?

Seeing that Zhou Qin wanted to watch too, the roommate full-screened the video and pressed play.

The image showed a white medical box, then a slender woman’s hand picked up the box.

«Good evening, friends,» a gentle female voice—the same one Zhou Qin had heard in the previous video—spoke.

«I’ve read all the comments you left on the previous video. Thank you for your concern about our zoo’s little tiger, ‘Qilin.’ However, it seems there are two misunderstandings about that video. First, Qilin’s name, and second, Qilin’s injuries.»

«Let’s address the first point. Many of you think we deliberately named our little tiger ‘Qilin’ to piggyback on the popularity of the S-class retired war beast, the Ripper Tiger Qilin. This is incorrect. Our Qilin doesn’t need to ride anyone’s coattails. It is, in fact, a Ripper Tiger, and its name has always been Qilin. This name was given by its previous owner, Colonel James Val. Yes, the retired war beast Qilin you’ve been talking about and our zoo’s little tiger Qilin are one and the same. So there’s no question of riding on anyone’s popularity.»

«If you don’t believe me, I will pin a screenshot of Qilin’s adoption documents in the comments section, which includes Colonel James Val’s personal signature. You can verify it yourselves.»

«Now, regarding the injuries. First, let me state that as the largest wildlife zoo in the entire galaxy, our Bi Ke Zoo employees are all dedicated professionals who work tirelessly. We would never abuse or harm any animal. But I know words alone aren’t enough, so I’m about to change Qilin’s dressings. This video will record the entire process, so you can see for yourselves exactly how Qilin’s wounds were caused.»