Chapter 32.1

Remembering exactly where they’d encountered Moonlight yesterday, they headed straight to their destination without any detours. Two hours later, Xiang Bie parked beside the fallen tree from the previous day.

As soon as the car stopped, Mu Ling leaped out, with Lightning and Qingjiao following her lead. Crouching by the fallen tree, Mu Ling examined it carefully. Sure enough, she quickly discovered several tufts of white fur caught in the bark. It seemed Xiang Bie’s theory about Moonlight using the tree to scratch was correct—there were even skin flakes left behind.

Upon closer inspection of the fur, Mu Ling was startled to find traces of blood near the roots. The dark brown bark made bloodstains difficult to spot, but after switching on her light brain’s flashlight for a thorough scan, she found clear evidence of red staining.

Xiang Bie approached and crouched beside her, examining the white fur. When Mu Ling pointed out the bloodstains, he frowned slightly. “It’s wounded.”

“I just hope it’s not too serious,” Mu Ling said, returning to the shuttle. She retrieved a specimen bag from the medical kit and carefully preserved the white fur. If they couldn’t catch Moonlight today, she could at least analyze the blood once they returned to base to assess how far the skin condition had progressed. Of course, capturing the bear today would be ideal—skin diseases in animals were serious matters.

After storing the sample, Mu Ling pointed toward the forest. “It ran that way yesterday. Let’s investigate.”

The terrain ahead was too rough for cars, and engine noise would certainly spook Moonlight. Though the bear’s sense of smell posed another challenge—bears were renowned across the galaxy for having the keenest sense of smell, 68 times stronger than wolves—Mu Ling hoped Lightning and Qingjiao’s scents might mask their human presence enough to prevent Moonlight from fleeing too quickly.

Navigating the forest proved exhausting. Mu Ling had expected Moonlight to stay relatively close after just one day, but after nearly two hours of searching, they hadn’t found a single trace. The oppressive heat forced her to loosen her protective suit, and Xiang Bie had taken over carrying her equipment—the medical kit, tranquilizer gun, and helmet.

Even unburdened, Mu Ling struggled. The uneven ground, littered with rocks and tree roots, caused her to stumble constantly. During a brief rest, Xiang Bie suggested, “Why don’t you stay here while I scout ahead?”

Mu Ling shook her head. “Without Lightning and Qingjiao covering you, Moonlight will bolt.”

Watching the panther and the wolf effortlessly bound through the forest as if they were going for a casual stroll, while she stumbled like a toddler, gave Mu Ling an idea. She turned to Xiang Bie thoughtfully. “Do you think S-class war beasts can track normal animals, not just mutated ones?”

Xiang Bie raised an eyebrow. “What are you planning?”

Mu Ling suddenly grinned and opened the medical kit, pulling out Moonlight’s white fur. She held it out to the panther and wolf, and to Xiang Bie’s surprise, Qingjiao immediately turned and headed off to the right, with Lightning close behind.

“Unbelievable! It worked, Brother Xiang!” Mu Ling exclaimed. “I was just trying it out, but they actually responded! Is this the kind of capability an S-class war beast has?”

Xiang Bie remained silent, recalling how Qilin and Lightning had competed for attention before—one acting rebellious, the other pretending to be injured. These were skills not taught in military school, yet they had learned them quickly.

With Qingjiao and Lightning leading the way, at least Mu Ling and Xiang Bie weren’t searching blindly anymore. Unfortunately, even with a clear direction, they still couldn’t locate Moonlight.

Seeing that it was almost one o’clock in the afternoon, Xiang Bie frowned and suggested, “Let’s go back first and eat something.”

There was food in the shuttle, and they’d need the energy to continue the search in the afternoon.

“No need,” Mu Ling replied, retrieving water and biscuits from the medical kit to share with Xiang Bie and the two beasts.

After a quick lunch, they pressed on, but by 4 p.m they still hadn’t found Moonlight. Xiang Bie glanced at the sky. “We should head back.”

It would take at least two to three hours to walk back to the shuttle, and then another five hours to drive down the mountain. By the time they returned, it would be dark.

Mu Ling knew they had to leave, but she looked anxiously at the forest. “Brother Xiang, do you think we won’t find it tomorrow either?”

Xiang Bie paused for a moment before answering honestly, “It’s possible.”

Mu Ling groaned in frustration. Looking up at the sky, she sighed heavily. “If only we had surveillance in the park.”

There were three main types of surveillance systems available: holographic, satellite, and standard monitoring. Holographic provided wide coverage and clear imagery but came at an astronomical cost. Satellite surveillance was cheaper, but it couldn’t penetrate the thick forest canopy. Standard monitoring disrupted the natural environment with signal towers.

None of these options were viable for the Bi Ke Zoo, which is why Mu Ling’s aunt had opted for human monitoring instead. But now, without that manpower, Mu Ling desperately wished they had some form of surveillance.

Xiang Bie tried to offer a glimmer of hope. “If business improves, maybe we can install holographic surveillance someday.”

Mu Ling: “…”

Mu Ling gazed at Xiang Bie. “Brother Xiang, did you get drunk on mineral water? How can you start talking nonsense?”

Xiang Bie: “…”

The starting price is a 100 million!

Even if she ran the zoo until she was 80 years old, she couldn’t earn 100 million. What a joke!

Mu Ling shook her head and cast one last reluctant glance into the depths of the forest before calling out, “Lightning, Qingjiao,” and turning to walk back.

Mu Ling and Xiang Bie walked together, with Lightning and Qingjiao walking in front of them.

Mu Ling looked enviously at the Panther and wolf, muttering, “They run so fast. If only I could turn into Lightning or Qingjiao, I’d definitely be able to find Moonlight.”

As Mu Ling said this, she suddenly stopped in her tracks and widened her eyes.

Xiang Bie paused, seeing her stop. He turned back to look at her. “What, planning to transform?”

“Brother Xiang!” Mu Ling exclaimed. “I think I’ve found a way!”

Xiang Bie raised an eyebrow, but Mu Ling quickly crouched down and called out, “Lightning, Qingjiao, come here!”

The black panther & gray wolf dashed back immediately upon hearing their names called loudly running towards them eagerly!

Lightning raced too fast almost tripping over itself landing directly into Mu Ling’s embrace nuzzling affectionately against her chin as if greeting warmly!

Mu Ling lowered her head and kissed it hard, then hugged and rubbed its warm body, negotiating, “Lightning, will you help sister with something? Sister really, really needs you right now.”

The black panther was still immersed in cuddling with Mu Ling. It closed its eyes, making purring sounds, and continued to nuzzle Mu Ling’s chin.

Mu Ling let it nuzzle as she took off her light brain wristband and put it on the black panther’s left front leg.

Feeling something strange, Lightning lowered its head and sniffed the foreign object on its front paw. Smelling a familiar scent, it licked it once.

Mu Ling wasn’t afraid of it licking; the light brain was waterproof and shockproof.

Mu Ling activated the camera function in the light brain, then set the camera to external and selected “follow.” This way, the camera would always follow Lightning.

After adjusting the angle, Mu Ling cupped Lightning’s head and once again kissed its forehead forcefully. Then she took out the white hair of the silver snow bear and let Lightning smell it.

“Lightning, go find Moonlight. When you find it, come back, understand?”

As Mu Ling spoke, she looked at Xiang Bie. “Is it okay for me to give orders like this, Xiang? Quick, use the walkie-talkie to ask Colonel Song if it’s alright.”

Because Pimi wasn’t completely out of danger yet, Colonel Song hadn’t left. He was still accompanying the protective fence technicians to work every day.