Chapter 24.2

Director Wang breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, as long as you’re willing to take it, I’ll notify them right away.”

After hanging up, Mu Ling noticed Brother Xiang and Brother Wei looking at her, so she explained the situation to them.

Once they finished listening, both fell silent.

“If self-harm has already occurred, then it’s likely severe depression,” Wei Li said, recalling an incident from two years ago. When Bi Ke Zoo had just opened, advertising itself as a pure wildlife park, they had received an S-class desert horse transferred from another zoo where it could barely survive due to severe depression. They had hoped for a miracle, but because the condition was too severe, the wild environment couldn’t alleviate such serious psychological trauma. In the end, the desert horse only lasted three days before passing away.

Wei Li sighed, “Director, let’s prepare for the worst.”

Mu Ling was taken aback. “But isn’t depression treatable through psychological counseling and behavioral guidance?”

That’s what she had read in her veterinary books.

Wei Li shook his head, wanting to say that war beasts were different, but Brother Xiang suddenly interrupted, “When it arrives, take it up the mountain.”

Mu Ling looked at Brother Xiang and shook her head. “They said it’s very weak and has just undergone emergency treatment. It might need to stay in the infirmary for a few days. I’ll go prepare a cage.”

As Mu Ling spoke, she walked outside.

After she left, Wei Li asked, “Brother Xiang, why didn’t you let me explain clearly to the director?”

Xiang Bie lowered his head, tidying up the things in his hands, and said calmly, “The common sense you speak of may not apply to the director.”

Wei Li was puzzled. “What do you mean?”

Xiang Bie was silent for a moment, then said, “Don’t Qilin and Lightning have psychological trauma?”

Wei Li wanted to argue that it was different, that Qilin and Lightning weren’t in such severe conditions. However, as the words reached his lips, he suddenly realized that the way Qilin and Lightning interacted with the Director was indeed quite unusual. After hesitating for a moment, Wei Li quietly closed his mouth.

Two hours later, a small starship with red lights hovered in the sky above the service area of Bi Ke Zoo.

Below, Xiang Bie and Wei Li walked out of the garage. Xiang Bie took off his gloves and walked to the open space below, waving his hand towards the sky.

Soon, the starship landed smoothly, and several people came out. Leading them was a middle-aged man in military uniform with a haggard face. He took the initiative to shake hands with Xiang Bie and said in a hoarse voice, “Hello, I’m Song Cheng.”

Xiang Bie glanced at the man’s epaulettes and said, “Lieutenant Colonel Song, hello.”

Colonel Song’s face was very gloomy. He looked back, where several staff members wearing Happy Valley Zoo uniforms were pushing out a huge iron cage containing an enormous black-maned lion.

As soon as Xiang Bie saw the lion’s condition, his brows furrowed.

Wei Li, who came a step later, blurted out, “Why is it so thin?”

Colonel Song pressed his lips tightly together, his expression grim, and said nothing.

A staff member from Happy Valley Zoo explained quietly, “Pimi lost fifty kilograms in a month. Its self-harm mainly involved starving itself.”

An adult black-maned lion typically weighs around 300 kilograms. Losing fifty kilograms in a month was a terrifying figure.

Wei Li noticed that as the Happy Valley Zoo staff member said this, Colonel Song’s eyes had already turned red.

Xiang Bie said to Wei Li, “Go call the Director.”

As Wei Li was about to turn and go to the veterinary station, he saw that the Director, having heard the commotion, had already come out wearing protective gear.

Mu Ling quickly walked over to the starship. She first shook hands with Colonel Song, then looked at the emaciated lion in the cage, which was drowsy and still on an IV drip.

The Happy Valley Zoo employee explained, “This is a nutrient solution to supplement Pimi’s energy.”

Mu Ling nodded, indicating she understood. After all, supplementing energy was necessary after just being resuscitated. She said, “Then let’s send it to our zoo’s veterinary station first. There’s a ward inside, all prepared.”

With the help of the Happy Valley Zoo staff, they quickly brought the lion to the entrance of the veterinary station. However, the door was too small and the cage too large to fit through. To get Pimi into the veterinary station, they would need to open the cage and carry it out, then carry it in.

However, Pimi was not in a comatose state. Although it was extremely weak, its guard was still strong and it was potentially aggressive. If they tried to carry it like this, it would definitely resist. They had put it in the cage when it was unconscious, but now to get it out, they had no idea how to proceed.

Colonel Song and the Happy Valley Zoo staff immediately looked uneasy. They didn’t want to give Pimi another anesthetic injection. In its current physical condition, there was a high chance it might never wake up if sedated again.

Seeing everyone else silent, Mu Ling didn’t understand what was wrong with them. She thought they were just too heartbroken by Pimi’s pitiful state to touch it again, so she said, “It’s okay, you all take a rest. Brother Xiang, Brother Wei, can you help carry it?”

Xiang Bie remained silent.

Wei Li felt embarrassed and quietly said, “Director, the lion is still awake.”

Implying that there was no way they could carry it.

Mu Ling was stunned for a moment. She looked at the lion in the cage, which had a world-weary, dazed expression, and nodded, “Oh, you mean it can walk out by itself, right? That’s fine then. Pimi, can you walk by yourself?”

As she spoke, Mu Ling crouched down and asked the lion through the cage.

Everyone else: “…”

Colonel Song, as Pimi’s former owner, had to explain, “Director Mu, Pimi can’t understand commands now. In the past, if you said ‘walk,’ it would listen. But now, it can’t do that anymore.”

Hearing this, Mu Ling frowned. She looked at the big lion in the cage and tentatively asked again, “Pimi, can you walk? Walk, walk.”

Seeing Director Mu so persistent, Colonel Song sighed again.

But just then, the lion in the cage suddenly turned its head to look at the woman crouching opposite it. After two seconds, the lion tiredly licked its mouth, then used its emaciated limbs to barely support its heavy body.

It stood up, albeit a bit unsteadily.

Its world-weary and lifeless eyes were looking at Mu Ling, as if it had heard and understood Mu Ling’s “walk” command.

Colonel Song: “…”

Colonel Song was stunned.

Mu Ling, however, was very distressed. She used the sleeve of her protective suit to wrap her fingers and reached into the cage to stroke the lion’s head.

The lion quietly allowed Mu Ling to pet it, its eyelids weakly half-closed. Suddenly, its knees gave way, and the entire lion collapsed back onto the ground with a thud.

Mu Ling was startled and frowned, “This won’t do. It doesn’t have enough strength. Just giving it nutrient solution isn’t enough. It needs to eat something, at least drink some water.”

Mu Ling quickly walked into the veterinary station, fetched a basin of water, and opened two cans of food, putting them into a feeding bowl.

Colonel Song called from outside, “Director Mu, don’t bother. It won’t eat.”

If it would eat, it would have eaten long ago. It wouldn’t even eat what he fed it, let alone from this Director Mu who was just a stranger.

But Mu Ling had already brought over the water and food bowl. She placed the two bowls slanted inside the cage, then continued to crouch by the cage, saying in a gentle voice, “Pimi, can you drink some water and eat something? Just one bite is fine, okay?”

The weary lion looked at the food bowl and water basin with cloudy eyes, not moving.

Colonel Song lowered his head, his eyes full of sadness.

But Mu Ling didn’t give up. She reached in again, stroking the lion’s head once more. Then she used her sleeve to dab a bit of meat sauce and brought it directly to the lion’s mouth.

The lion smelled the meat sauce and turned its head away.

Mu Ling moved closer again, “Just one bite, please? Just a tiny bite, okay?”

The lion dodged in several directions but couldn’t escape the meat sauce hovering right in front of its eyes. It seemed to have no choice left. Finally, it could only curl its tongue and dejectedly lick the meat sauce off Mu Ling’s sleeve.

Mu Ling quickly dabbed some more and brought it over, “One more bite.”

The lion stared at the meat sauce that appeared again. It seemed a bit confused, unable to remember if it had just eaten or not. In its muddled state, it stuck out its tongue again and took another lick.

Mu Ling dabbed some more.

Like an ant moving house, Mu Ling took advantage of the lion’s unclear mind and fuzzy consciousness, feeding it the two cans of food in tiny bites. Her sleeve was already very dirty, but she didn’t wipe it. She then brought over the water basin, bringing it to the lion’s mouth, “Drink this too, just one sip.”

Each time she said “just one,” it ended up being endless sips.

The lion seemed to have become numb. Just as it had licked the meat sauce, it absently licked some water, then licked some more…

After drinking nearly half the basin, the meat sauce and water under its eyelids finally disappeared. The lion sighed in relief, then seemed to remember something. It slowly stood up again, its limbs shaking, looking at the iron cage door.

Mu Ling smiled and praised, “Our Pimi is so great, you still remember to walk by yourself, don’t you? Pimi is so smart. Sister will open the door for you.”

Mu Ling helped open the iron door, then slowly led the way in front. The lion unsteadily walked out of the cage, swaying with each step as it followed Mu Ling.

After Mu Ling led the lion into the ward area.

Behind them, Colonel Song and the Happy Valley Zoo staff: “…”

“…”

What just happened?

Wait, why did they bring Pimi here again?

Because Pimi was self-harming, starving itself.

Mainly starving, which led to the self-harm.

Yes, they brought it here because Pimi refused to eat.

Refused to eat?

Refused?

The group silently lowered their heads, quietly looking at the now empty food bowl and half-drunk water basin in the cage before them.

Everyone: “…”

Ah?

Is this the correct way to feed lions?

Do they feed all animals like this at Bi Ke Zoo?

But when their keepers approach the lion, it tries to attack them.

The lion won’t let them pet it or feed it.

Colonel Song was bewildered.

The Happy Valley Zoo staff’s minds were blown.

It seemed the commercial secrets of their competitor were impossible to learn.