Chapter 37.2

Mu Ling called out softly, drawing the attention of Qingjiao, who had been grooming the small wolf. Though Qingjiao’s crimson eyes gleamed with danger, its movements remained remarkably composed as it approached and stood before Mu Ling.

Taking the handcrafted plushie from Xiao Zhao, Mu Ling gently placed it atop Qingjiao’s head.

The sight of the fierce Qingjiao bearing a miniature plushie version of itself instantly captured everyone’s attention.

「Damn, they’re identical!」

「Ahhh, darling, your craftsmanship is amazing! I need that plushie in my life!」

「Can’t we just auction it? Money’s no object—name your price!」

「The resemblance is striking, isn’t it?” Mu Ling beamed. “I took dozens of reference photos while crafting it. Though it’s not a perfect match, I’d say it captures about 60-70% of Qingjiao’s essence.」

Satisfied with her handiwork, she removed the plushie and announced, «We’ll hold the drawing in five minutes. But first, some exciting news—our zoo’s ticket sales are now live! Let’s get those shopping carts ready!»

At her signal, Xiao Zhao, who had been standing by, immediately listed 1,000 tickets for sale.

Mu Ling turned to address her viewers: “We—”

She stopped mid-sentence, staring at her screen in disbelief as comments flooded in with just two words: “SOLD OUT.”

Mu Ling glanced over at Xiao Zhao, who seemed just as shocked. “The tickets… they’re gone?”

“Yep, sold out,” Xiao Zhao confirmed, perplexed.

The chat erupted in an outpouring of shock and frustration:

「Gone in 0.001 seconds?! Seriously?!」

「The tickets just went live! I blinked and they were all gone!」

「I didn’t even blink – I watched the count drop from 1,000 to 0 in an instant!」

「This is impossible! My finger almost broke trying to buy one, but there was no chance!」

「With only 1,000 tickets, how can anyone possibly get them? Why not offer a million instead?」

「Ugh, my whole dorm tried and not a single one of us got through! Who managed to snag them?!」

A smugly worded message appeared: 「Wasn’t that hard. Got one easily. 🤷‍♂️」

「Take off the sunglasses and say that again.」

「Haha, just kidding. I couldn’t get one either.」

Mu Ling knew the tickets would sell out fast, but this pace had caught her off guard. She hastily instructed Xiao Zhao to check for any unpaid orders, but he reported back, “They’re all paid for, Director.”

Feeling a bit flustered, Mu Ling tried to redirect the conversation. «Well then, let’s move on to the plushie drawing. Type ‘Bi Ke Zoo Grand Opening’ in the chat to enter – we’ll start now!»

Her words managed to calm the chat for the moment, though questions soon arose about when tickets for the 18th would be available.

«Tickets for the 18th will go on sale tomorrow at noon, through the same channel,» Mu Ling explained. «The regular price is 299 star coins, discounted to 239. If you have any coupons, you can use them to further reduce the cost. We’re releasing 1,000 tickets per day – 800 standard single-person tickets and 200 group tickets, with the group offer of 10 people for the price of 11.»

As she finished outlining the details, the chat began buzzing with reactions again. Mu Ling let out a weary sigh. «I wish we could accommodate more visitors, but we simply don’t have the staff capacity to handle large crowds right now. And the animals don’t do well in noisy, crowded environments. For the time being, we’ve capped attendance at 1,000 per day to ensure a quality experience for everyone.»

«Though it’s not an absolute limit, »she added. «If you can’t make it on your scheduled day, your ticket remains valid for a week. And if you need to request a refund, there’s a button for that in the ticket platform.»

Just then, the plushie drawing results were announced. Mu Ling seized the chance to shift the focus. «Congratulations to ‘This Believer Vows to Be Vegetarian for Three Years in Exchange for a Qingjiao Plushie’! You’ve won… but, um, your name…»

The chat erupted in laughter and comments:

「Haha, so you really committed to 3 years of vegetarianism for this? A deal’s a deal!」

「I was so jealous at first, but now I don’t feel so bad. Everything has its price.」

「’This Believer Vows to Be Vegetarian for Three Years in Exchange for a Qingjiao Plushie,’ are you selling that plushie? Name your price!」

After a brief pause, the winner responded angrily, 「Not selling! I traded meat for this!」

The chat dissolved into more laughter, the tension finally easing. Relieved, Mu Ling began wrapping up the stream. «Alright, that’s all for today. We’ll see you again on September 17th—»

Before she could finish saying “17th,” she was interrupted by another wave of comments.

Mu Ling paused and saw everyone asking about Pimi and Moonlight’s identities.

She sighed and turned the camera to Pimi. “Pimi is an S-Class black-maned Lion, a retired war beast. You can tell by its lustrous black mane. It recently arrived at our zoo due to health issues, which is why I haven’t filmed it much. But once it’s feeling better, I’ll share more videos.”

She then shifted the camera to Moonlight, who was quietly tucked into a corner, glancing at her before quickly turning away and resuming its dull poking at the sterile cloth.

“Moonlight is an S-Class Silver Snow Bear, also a retired war beast. It’s been with us for a while, but a few days ago, we discovered its severe skin condition had flared up again. We’ve brought it in for treatment, and while it’s still quite wary of the staff, at least it’s eating and taking its medication. Recovery is just a matter of time.”

「So that really is Pimi and Moonlight?」

「Pimi got transferred from Happy Valley Zoo to Bi ke? Why the sudden move, and why does it look so much thinner now?」

「Didn’t it stop eating before? Happy Valley must have been awful, no wonder it got depressed in captivity.」

「What nonsense! Pimi is still in a cage here – if it’s doing fine now, why couldn’t it at Happy Valley? Are they really caring for the retired war beasts properly?」

「I’m starting to suspect something. A lot of zoos don’t even want to take in retired war beasts – they think they’re too much trouble. I bet Happy Valley is one of those places. I’ll go check their social media.」

「Moonlight’s skin condition is acting up again? Last time, it ended up hurting staff and self-harming while in a treatment cage.」

「Can it really recover this time? Why isn’t it resisting the staff now?」

「You said it’s wary of the staff, but it hasn’t attacked anyone. Just sitting quietly in the corner.」

「I felt bad for it, but then I remembered how it put that staff member in the hospital for months. Now I can’t feel sorry for it.」

「I’m curious how you managed to calm it down, though.」

«Alright, that’s it for today’s livestream. See you all on September 17th, bye-bye!»

As the stream finally ended, Mu Ling’s shoulders slumped with relief. She turned to Xiao Zhao, “Keep a close eye on the ticket situation and let me know if anything comes up.”

Xiao Zhao nodded eagerly. “Will do, Director. But are we really limiting it to just 1,000 visitors per day? That’s only 239,000 star coins in sales, barely 200,000 after taxes. Sure, it sounds like a lot, but it won’t cover all our costs—staff, maintenance, animal food, medical expenses, not to mention acquiring new animals. We don’t have enough animals in the park as it is, so we’ll definitely need to add more.”

Mu Ling sighed. “I know it’s tough to manage, but we’re still new and need to prioritize building a good reputation. If we let too many people in at once and can’t handle it properly, it could damage our brand. Once we gain more experience and resources, we’ll consider increasing the capacity.”

Seeing Mu Ling had a plan, Xiao Zhao accepted her explanation.

After Xiao Zhao left, Mu Ling stood in the medical ward, glancing back at the caged animals, all silently watching her. Even Moonlight was sneaking furtive glances in her direction.

Looking at the war beasts, Mu Ling couldn’t help but think of Xiang Bie, who had gone missing the night before.

She wondered how he was faring – had he managed to capture Tayun yet?

Meanwhile, high atop a towering cliff in the northern mountain forest, a massive eagle with a white head, golden wings, and dark gray body glared down with its fierce golden eyes at the armed human below…

A silent bullet sliced through the air, streaking towards the eagle.

With a powerful flap of its wings, the giant eagle evaded the tranquilizer dart in a display of uncanny speed, disappearing from its perch on the cliff face.

Enraged, the golden-winged eagle suddenly dove straight down, its razor-sharp beak aimed directly at the human’s face.

Xiang Bie’s eyes narrowed as he peered through the scope, watching the eagle’s attack. Suddenly, a faint blue glow flickered in the depths of his black irises, and his pupils swiftly transformed to a piercing blue.

The eagle sensed the shift in danger and, acting with remarkable agility, abandoned its dive and swiftly ascended back into the open sky.

“Puff puff” – Xiang Bie fired two rapid shots. The first missed, but the second grazed the eagle’s golden feathers.

Xiang Bie frowned slightly, lowering his rifle. He watched as the soaring eagle vanished into the distant blue expanse within seconds, leaving no trace.

The blue of his eyes slowly receded, reverting to their usual dark black. Xiang Bie looked down at his palm, where the pulsing blue veins gradually subsided.

With a rough shake of his hand, he gripped the long rifle and turned, striding through the tangled undergrowth and hurrying towards the eagle’s next roosting spot.