Chapter 51.1

The morning sun rose slowly in the eastern sky.

Wei Li got up early, finished his morning routine, changed into his work uniform, and headed down from the dormitory building.

The cafeteria was already bustling with activity. When the server, Ailin, saw him enter, she smiled warmly and called out, “Morning, Brother Wei!”

Wei Li walked up to the counter and peered inside. “What’s for breakfast today?”

Before Ailin could respond, Chef Danton emerged carrying two enormous trays loaded with steaming meat buns. Their aroma was mouthwatering. “Didn’t the Director say she liked my buns? I made them again today—this time with soy-marinated meat filling. For those who don’t like buns, we’ll have noodles and rice noodles later.”

Wei Li grinned wide. “These are perfect. I love buns.”

He packed six buns into a small bag, holding one in his hand as he bit into it. “I’ll drop some off for Brother Xiang on the way.”

Chef Danton had been hired specifically for the zoo’s cafeteria. However, to avoid complications, he also handled the staff’s meals. Given his expertise across various cuisines, the Director paid him generously.

Chewing on a bun, Wei Li left the cafeteria and headed to the veterinary station.

As he pushed open the door, just as “Brother Xiang” was about to leave his tongue, a sharp puppy-like bark interrupted him.

Wei Li froze in place, bewildered. Looking toward the sound, he walked in cautiously.

Since when did Brother Xiang keep dogs at the vet station?

Wei Li’s face was full of doubt, but what he saw inside left him speechless.

In the ward area, the Director was sitting inside cage B2, watching the white fox in cage B1. The fox was pressing down on a plush puppy toy, clinging to it nervously while its violet beast eyes watched the Director warily.

And the Director was barking at the white fox.

“Woof woof” – a slightly whiny bark.

“Woof woof woof” – an angry bark.

“Arf arf awooo” – a puppy-like yelp.

“Whimper whimper” – a coquettish tone.

Wei Li: “…”

He turned around and stepped outside. Standing in front of the large operating table in the vet station, he raised his hand and slapped himself hard across the face.

When Xiang Bie finished his morning routine and entered, he caught Wei Li mid-slap and frowned. “What are you doing?”

“Shh!” Wei Li immediately made a hushing gesture, his expression mysterious as he pointed inside. “Listen.”

Xiang Bie glanced toward the ward area, paused for a moment, then heard the sounds from inside.

Xiang Bie raised an eyebrow.

Wei Li’s expression turned dazed. “I knew it. I saw the signs when the Director was practicing wolf howls last time. She was bound to go crazy eventually.”

Xiang Bie: “…”

Placing his toiletries into the sterilization cabinet, Xiang Bie replied calmly, “She’s trying to soothe Lingren.”

“Who tries to soothe a fox by barking like a dog?” Wei Li didn’t buy it. “Listen, listen—she’s even changing tones. How is she getting better and better at this?”

Ignoring Wei Li, Xiang Bie went to prepare Moonlight’s breakfast.

Five minutes later, Xiang Bie carried Moonlight’s food bowl inside, with Wei Li quietly following behind.

As soon as they entered, they were met with an intense glare from the director.

Mu Ling had been practicing her barking for quite some time. Seeing them enter, she quickly gestured for them to leave, not wanting to disturb Lingren.

Xiang Bie halted his steps, but Wei Li, caught off guard, stepped on the back of his shoe.

Just as Wei Li was about to ask what was wrong, Xiang Bie had already pushed him back outside.

Once outside, Wei Li was still confused. “Brother Xiang?”

Xiang Bie put down Moonlight’s food bowl and said simply, “Wait.”

Not knowing what they were waiting for, Wei Li handed him the buns to eat first.

As the two ate breakfast outside, various dog barks continued to echo from the ward area. Wei Li had grown numb to it when suddenly, he barked, “Woof.”

Xiang Bie: “…”

Xiang Bie gave him a long look.

Wei Li rubbed his nose sheepishly. “No, I was just curious how the Director makes it sound so realistic. Brother Xiang, did mine sound good?”

“No,” Xiang Bie replied coolly, then added after thinking, “She learned from videos.”

Wei Li was stunned. “Ah?”

Xiang Bie explained, “She asked for my headphones last night, must have listened for hours.”

When he’d brought her blankets the previous night, Mu Ling had asked for headphones. He’d seen her searching for “mastiff” related videos on her light-brain. Later that night, when he checked on her again, he found her asleep with the headphones still on and the terminal still running. She must have spent the entire night listening to different age groups of mastiff barks.

Since Lingren could mistake a plush toy for a real puppy, it might also be fooled by dog barks. With no other options, this was the only way to lower its defenses.

Xiang Bie finished his buns quickly, checked the time, and said, “The zoo’s about to open.”

Wei Li hurriedly got up, wiped his mouth, and headed out.

After a while, Xiang Bie cleaned up, returned to the cafeteria for a few more buns and a box of hot milk, and left them on the veterinary station’s office desk. He glanced once more at the ward area before putting on his work clothes and leaving.

“Woof woof”

In the ward, Mu Ling’s mouth had gone dry from barking, but she didn’t dare move. Only by maintaining the same position would Lingren not become startled. The slightest movement could shatter the fragile communication environment they’d worked so hard to establish.

In ward B1, the white fox had been watching Mu Ling for a long time. It remained crouched in a ball, extremely cautious.

Under its chin was the head of the dog plushie, which it held firmly between its front paws. Its violet beast eyes observed Mu Ling intently.

“Woof woof,” Mu Ling barked again.

The white fox didn’t quite understand this sound. It licked its mouth, then lowered its head to nibble on the plushie’s ear.

“Woof woof woof woof!” Mu Ling suddenly barked fiercely to stop the fox from getting too intimate with the plushie.

The white fox jumped, its eyes widening in terror as it stared at Mu Ling.

“Woo woo woo woo,” Mu Ling’s voice immediately softened when the fox looked at her.

The white fox was clearly confused.

Not understanding Mu Ling’s intent, it lowered its head again, attempting to continue licking the plushie’s fur.

“Woof woof woof woof!” Mu Ling barked sharply once more.

The white fox grew frightened, retreating to one side while watching Mu Ling warily.

Sensing the moment was right, Mu Ling suddenly made a soft, gentle cry: “Ying ying.”

This was a perfect imitation of an adult mastiff’s affectionate whimper.

Mu Ling had been using other sounds to build Lingren’s tolerance, and now she was finally deploying her trump card.

Sure enough, hearing that sound, the white fox’s pupils dilated in shock.

The fox looked at the dog plushie, then at Mu Ling, then back at the plushie…

It suddenly stretched its neck and sniffed forcefully in Mu Ling’s direction.

“Ying ying,” Mu Ling called again.

The white fox grew anxious. It made a hesitant half-circle, moving from one end to the other, observing Mu Ling from different angles. Its head tilted back and forth before finally making a tentative sound: “Ga!”

In cage A4, the white bear was suddenly awakened by the harsh duck-like voice. It slowly opened its eyes, its disheveled fur making it look rather grumpy as it raised its head to look diagonally across the room.

The bear spotted Mu Ling and appeared confused. It looked at the cage beside itself, then at its own paws, seeming to remember that Mu Ling had been next to it when it fell asleep the night before.

The white bear clumsily rolled over, got up, and sat by its cage door.

“Ga!” the white fox called again, taking another step closer to Mu Ling, its large eyes full of hesitation and uncertainty.

“Ying ying,” Mu Ling cooed again.

Moonlight looked from Mu Ling to the white fox, and after a moment, called out to Mu Ling: “Roar!”

The sound was too soft; Mu Ling didn’t hear it.

The white fox heard but ignored it, continuing to approach Mu Ling while sniffing her.

“Ying ying,” Mu Ling felt hope blooming in her chest as she made her mastiff sounds even more convincing.

Finally, the white fox seemed to reach a decision. Its voice suddenly became shrill, its ears laying back against its head, its thick tail wagging forcefully as it made sharp sounds: “Ga ga!”

It called out excitedly but didn’t rush forward. Instead, it lay on the ground, rolled over to expose its belly, and rubbed its back vigorously against the floor.

This was typical dog behavior when excited.

As expected of a fox raised with mastiffs!

Mu Ling was elated—Lingren had exposed its belly to her! Her deception had actually worked!

Using her protective-cloth-wrapped hand, Mu Ling reached into the cage, waved her sleeve, and continued calling, “Ying ying!”

The white fox responded, “Ying ying!”

Moonlight interjected with another “Roar!”

The bear’s roar was suddenly much louder this time, startling Mu Ling. She turned to see that Moonlight was fully awake.

Seeing Mu Ling’s attention, Moonlight picked up its empty food bowl and looked at her expectantly.

“Just a little longer,” Mu Ling said softly. “We’ll eat a bit later today, only half an hour more. Be good, Moonlight.”

The white bear didn’t understand. It walked a few steps in its cage with the bowl, set it down, and licked the empty bottom.

Seeing how hungry it was, Mu Ling grew anxious. She thought that since she’d made progress with Lingren, she could quickly feed Moonlight first. She started to rise to get the food from outside.

But as soon as she moved, her arm was suddenly caught!

Looking down, Mu Ling saw the white fox had grabbed her sleeve in its teeth and was trying to pull her toward its cage.

Because of the bars between them, Mu Ling couldn’t get through, and the fox couldn’t pull any further. Finally, the fox sat down, pressed its body against Mu Ling’s arm, held her tightly, then bared its teeth at the white bear across the room as if defending its territory.

The white bear was provoked and bared its teeth back at the fox.

One second later…

“Ga ga ga!”

“Roar roar roar!”

The sudden dual outburst startled Mu Ling.

What’s happening? Why are they fighting?

Mu Ling tried to mediate, “Lingren, Lingren, no barking, Lingren!”

“Moonlight, Moonlight be good, don’t bang the cage, okay, okay, we’ll eat right away, I promise!”

She wanted to get the food from outside but couldn’t move. Growing flustered, she activated her light-brain to call Brother Xiang.

Finding his light brain powered off, she had to call Brother Wei instead.

The call connected quickly, and Mu Ling said frantically, “Brother Wei, come to the veterinary station quickly, it’s an emergency!”

Wei Li had been cleaning his shuttle car but immediately dropped everything and ran toward the veterinary station.

Xiang Bie, who had just finished feeding the animals in their dormitory, saw Wei Li running and frowned. “What’s wrong?”

Wei Li’s face was pale. “The Director called for help!”

Xiang Bie’s expression darkened as he headed straight for the veterinary station.

When the two men arrived, they drew their tranquilizer guns and entered the ward area with grave expressions, one in front and one behind.

As soon as they entered, they heard the mixed roars from inside.

“Roar!” Moonlight’s voice.

“Ga!” Lingren’s voice.