Chapter 121.2

The Iron Bear, Nini, remained unconscious, its body alarmingly emaciated—far thinner than Mu Ling had ever imagined a giant panda could be. It seemed to have no flesh at all, just bones wrapped in a layer of decaying skin.

That skin was mottled, disheveled, filthy, as if it might rot away at any moment.

The black-and-white bear was wheeled into a large hospital ward.

Staff members bustled in and out, organizing the various tubes and equipment.

The doctors who had operated on Nini now noticed Director Tang and Mu Ling. While Director Tang’s presence was expected, the appearance of Mu Ling—the renowned war beast expert from Bi Ke Zoo on Shenwang Star—was astonishing. In less than an hour since the surgery began, someone had managed to bring this expert all the way to their Ancient Blue Star?

Mu Ling, now inside the ward with Director Tang, gently touched the still-unconscious bear. She lifted its eyelids and examined its features, then whispered something to Director Tang.

Upon hearing this, Director Tang turned to the still-stunned doctors and asked, “When will Nini wake up?”

A young doctor quickly responded, “P-probably within half an hour.”

Mu Ling then inquired, “When it was previously resuscitated, did it experience stress reactions upon waking?”

The young veterinarian blushed slightly and replied, “Y-yes, it did.”

“How did you handle that?”

“Uh, we would leave before it woke up, try our best not to let the room have human scents, and also spray some deodorizer.”

Mu Ling pondered this for a moment.

Deodorizers couldn’t completely eliminate human scent. For war beasts with keen senses of smell, such attempts might only heighten their anxiety and fear, making them suspect a deliberate trap.

After some thought, Mu Ling asked, “Do you have any gentle-tempered red pandas here? Or perhaps quiet, well-behaved golden monkeys? Even antelopes with strong scents are also okay.”

Everyone exchanged puzzled glances, unsure of her intent.

Mu Ling explained, “As you may know, wild giant pandas often coexist with companion animals like red pandas and golden monkeys. While Nini isn’t exactly a giant panda, and captive pandas don’t entirely rely on such coexistence, wild pandas do prefer environments shared with other herbivores…”

She added, “The main thing is, rather than having Nini face this unfamiliar and potentially threatening environment alone, it’s better to provide some companions. Introducing another giant panda might be too risky due to territorial instincts and its large size making Nini feel threatened. However, smaller companion animals would pose less of a threat. Moreover, during its time at the war beast Academy, Nini cohabited with other animals, which likely provided comfort.”

Deputy Director Liu considered this and found Mu Ling’s reasoning sound. He looked to Director Tang.

Director Tang, known for trusting others readily, nodded and said, “Go prepare it.”

Mu Ling quickly added, “They must be gentle-tempered, absolutely not stubborn ones. Nini currently lacks the strength to defend herself.”

About ten minutes later, the red panda, golden monkey, and antelope enclosures each sent over their most docile animals.

The red panda clung timidly to its Keeper, the golden monkey appeared curious but held tightly to its owner, and the young antelope calmly munched on berries as it walked.

Once they were placed in the ward, everyone else exited to an adjacent room to monitor the situation via surveillance.

As the room quieted, the three animals became visibly anxious. Though gentle, they were unfamiliar with each other. The golden monkey, missing its Keeper, whimpered and scratched at the door. The red panda climbed onto the curtains, clutching the rod in terror. The antelope continued eating berries, then defecated on the spot.

After a while, the golden monkey, in its fear, approached Nini’s medical tubes, causing concern among the monitoring staff.

Mu Ling winced, realizing she had overlooked the unpredictability of these young animals.

In her own facility, she would have assigned trained war beasts to this task—obedient, well-behaved, and not easily frightened.

Feeling slightly embarrassed, Mu Ling suggested, “Perhaps someone else should go in?”

The staff exchanged glances, and all eyes eventually turned to Mu Ling.

Mu Ling hesitated, pointing to herself, “Me?”

But she was an outsider!

Director Tang said, “We’ve troubled Director Mu.”

Deputy Director Liu added, “We’ve imposed on Director Mu.”

Director He chimed in, “Please, Director Mu.”

Mu Ling felt she might be overstepping, as this was Maple Leaf Zoo, not her own Bi Ke Zoo. The war beast was their responsibility.

However, to the Maple Leaf Zoo staff, she was the esteemed expert they had managed to bring in. Naturally, they hoped she would take a hands-on approach, as other experts from the Veterinary Association and war beast Center typically did.

Ultimately, Mu Ling donned protective gear, sprayed herself with the ineffective deodorizer, and entered the ward.

The young animals, upon seeing a stranger, retreated to the corners, wary.

An attendant quickly cleaned up the antelope’s feces and hurriedly left.

Once the door closed again, Mu Ling awkwardly faced the three animals, raising her hand in greeting, “Hi.”

The animals became even more hesitant to approach her!

Five minutes later.

“Alright, alright, there’s really no more,” Mu Ling said.

She gently removed the golden monkey from her shoulder, placing it on her lap beside the red panda, and reluctantly pulled two small fruits from her pocket, giving one to each.

The red panda and golden monkey happily accepted the treats. The young antelope approached, nudging Mu Ling’s arm with its budding horns.

Mu Ling turned and fed it a leaf, which it quickly ate before seeking more.

Surrounded by the three animals, Mu Ling remained composed. After all, in her own zoo, she often cared for more than just three at once.

In the monitoring room, the staff watched in awe. Someone murmured, “It’s like watching one of those videos…”

Indeed, in videos from Bi Ke Zoo, Director Mu was often seen immersed amidst groups of animals.

They hadn’t expected her to adapt so seamlessly in a different zoo.

With the three animals now calm, some time passed before the giant panda, Nini, slowly opened its eyes.

The air was filled with complex scents, but one particularly stood out.

The weakened black-and-white bear looked ahead, attempting to move but lacking strength. It tried to rise but collapsed back down.

Nini felt discomfort and fatigue.

Suddenly, it felt a gentle touch on its head.

Startled, Nini tried to pull away.

A soft human voice spoke near its ear, “Nini, you’re awake?”

“Wow, our Nini is already reaching out upon waking up—simply too amazing.”

“Nini, want to drink some water? Let’s have a drink, okay?”

The rapid, complex language was incomprehensible to the bear. Frustrated, it bared its teeth and let out sharp cries: “Gaa gaa… gaa gaa…”

When threatened or frightened, Nini emitted these high-pitched, goose-like sounds to scare away potential threats!

“Gaa gaa… gaa ooh…”

Suddenly, a bottle was placed into its mouth.

A mixture of milk and medicine poured in. Nini tried to push it away with its tongue but accidentally tasted the sweet liquid. Unable to resist, it swallowed, then took another sip.

After consuming almost half the bottle, Nini remembered it wasn’t supposed to drink this.

It pushed the bottle away, only for a slice of bamboo shoot to be placed into its mouth.

The fresh shoot, cut from the most tender tip and heart of the bamboo shoot, melted instantly, releasing a fragrant aroma.

With its large, dark eyes, Nini stared in shock at the human before it.

It hadn’t expected them to be so cunning!

Just then, a small antelope head appeared over the human’s shoulder.

Nini was puzzled.

Wait, not a human?

Then, a golden monkey climbed onto the person’s back.

A monkey?

Finally, a brown red panda head peeked out from the human’s arms, tongue out as if smiling.

A red panda?

Muddleheaded, Nini couldn’t discern what creature this was.

Before it could process further, more bamboo slices were fed into its mouth.

Then, the bottle returned.

The comforting scents and the presence of harmless young animals in its view seemed to relax Nini. It smacked its lips, allowing the milk to flow down its throat once more.

After finishing the bottle and the last bamboo slice, Nini felt exhausted and closed its eyes again.

Mu Ling, seeing Nini drift back to sleep, gently removed the golden monkey from her head, patted the panda’s dry fur, and turned to the corner camera, giving an “OK” gesture.

Indicating that both medicine and food had been administered.

In the monitoring room:

“……”

“????”

The room fell silent.

Xiang Bie watched calmly, unfazed.

But the others were bewildered.

Their minds raced, unable to comprehend how Nini had so readily accepted the food.

Why did Nini just obediently eat it?

Why didn’t Nini resist this time?

Was Nini showing favoritism? How could it be so obedient to a stranger?

Such an unreasonable Nini!