Chapter 24.1

After leaving Bi Ke Zoo, a group of military officers sat in their truck, still shaken by the experience.

Suddenly, one officer opened his light brain and searched the star network. He slapped his thigh, exclaiming, “I knew the name Bi Ke Zoo sounded familiar—it’s this one!”

The others, confused, asked, “What are you talking about?”

The officer projected a video for all to see, featuring Mu Ling trimming Qilin’s claws. “This video! You guys were in closed training last week and missed it. I’ve seen it a few times but didn’t realize this zoo was on our Shenwang Star. It’s impressive—they can peacefully coexist with retired war beasts!”

In the military, their schedules were packed with daily duties and training. Personal devices were often confiscated or shut down, so they frequently missed trending news entirely.

Everyone stared at the video, eyes wide. Someone exclaimed, “Isn’t that the tiger we just saw? That’s a Ripper Tiger!”

Not everyone could recognize tiger breeds. Beast Tamers were familiar with war beast types, but ordinary soldiers couldn’t tell them apart as easily.

After the video ended, the officer scrolled through more footage. “Let’s see what breed that panther was. Hmm, they haven’t posted a video of the panther. I’ll search for it.”

The officer searched “Bi Ke Zoo” and “panther” across the network. To his surprise, he found something. “Got it! The post went up just minutes ago, but it wasn’t from Bick Zoo.”

The other officers crowded around. As they watched, they saw that “Bick Zoo Panther” had already reached the top fifty trending topics.

Looking closer, the panther-related posts were mostly travel blogs from ordinary users.

「Visited Bi Ke Zoo today. Saw Qilin and Lightning, and it was amazing. Before we left, Director Mu even prepared small gifts for each of us—such a thoughtful gesture. (Attached: photos of gift packaging, gifts unboxed.) Attached video: Director Mu sitting by the pond, interacting closely with a tiger and a panther.」

「Excited scream! Meeting my wife in real life feels surreal! I saw her at Bi Ke Zoo today—she’s even more beautiful and kind in person, smiling the whole time and arranging plenty of activities for us. Unfortunately, an accident cut the events short, but I’ll definitely return with my family after the grand opening. (Attached: Bi Ke Zoo entrance photo, video of the director leading the panther down from the mountain.)」

「Ding ding, checked off Bi Ke Zoo! Went there for a company outing, and I got to see Qilin and Lightning. Lightning is so handsome. (Attached: high-definition photos of Lightning and Qilin.)」

「Sharing the souvenirs I got from Bi Ke Zoo today. First picture is the little gift from Director Mu. She’s so thoughtful! Every postcard had a unique handwritten blessing, and each photo was different. She took a hundred different pictures for these postcards! I cried when I saw my photo was of a mane monkey, my zodiac animal. The attention to detail was amazing. Conclusion: Bi Ke Zoo is the most genuine zoo I’ve ever visited. Highly recommend.」

「Guys, who else saw Lightning charging in from a distance?! The way it faced off with Qilin gave me chills. (Attached: video of Lightning running toward the director but being stopped by Qilin. Also, a clip of us trying to mix medicinal herbs for Qilin’s bath—hilarious moment when my coworker tried to calculate the herb ratios despite the director’s instructions.)」

More similar posts kept appearing. The six officers finally understood—Bi Ke Zoo had started receiving visitors, and the public had caught on. They were stunned.

「What? What are you talking about? Bi Ke Zoo opened without me knowing?AND No one told me?!」

「I’m getting so jealous! They’ve got Lightning the Swift Fire panther? Since when?!」

The zoo’s official account, tagged in numerous posts, was bombarded with questions, asking the director for an explanation.

Bi Ke Zoo’s popularity on social media continued to rise, leaving the six officers speechless.

Upon returning to their base, they immediately reported everything to their superior, including the matter of bonuses and banners. After all, although they had boasted about it, they still needed their superiors to communicate with the audit group to ensure the rewards were in line with regulations.

Their superior, Major Chang, listened intently, frowning as he opened his light brain to watch the videos.

After viewing several clips, Major Chang pondered, then said, “I understand. You don’t need to worry about the rest. Dismissed.”

The officers thought the matter was settled, unaware that Major Chang immediately took the videos to a conference room where combat teams were discussing strategy. He called them over, “Everyone, watch these videos.”

The team members were puzzled. After watching the videos, several beast tamer team leaders were stunned. Pointing to the tiger and panther in the footage, they asked, “Why are the retired Ripper Tiger and Swift Fire panther still obeying commands? Why do they follow that female zookeeper’s instructions to stand and sit?”

Major Chang nodded. “Yes, they both suffer from brain nerve damage, which led to their retirement.”

The team leaders stared at the screen, their eyes widening further.

Major Chang continued, “Our Shenwang Planet isn’t classified as a high-risk mutant beast planet. We only have three beast tamer teams, which usually suffice, but any larger operation requires outside reinforcements. You’re all aware of our current shortage.”

The three beast tamer captains lowered their heads.

Of course they knew. Their planet’s beast tamer teams were severely understaffed. Whenever manpower was insufficient, they had to call for reinforcements. But reinforcements weren’t always readily available. Just like now—Major Chang had ordered them to lead a patrol in the mountains tomorrow due to reports of a mutant beast incursion. However, with only three teams available and such a vast mountain to cover, they had requested reinforcements. Unfortunately, the response was that the reinforcements wouldn’t arrive for another three days, and in the meantime, they were on their own.

Three days was plenty of time for more animals to become infected, and if the situation worsened, a mutant beast outbreak could devastate the Shenwang Planet. The consequences would be unimaginable.

That was why they had been in the meeting room for hours, unable to come up with a safe and efficient solution for the patrol

Major Chang looked at their worried faces and said, “So, for tomorrow’s patrol, I want to contact Bi Ke Zoo and see if they can assist us. They have two S-class war beasts—you understand the value of that.”

S-class battle beasts had five times the sensory abilities of A-class beasts and ten times that of B-class beasts. An S-class beast could detect the scent of a mutant beast from over a hundred kilometers away, while an A-class beast’s range was thirty kilometers, and a B-class beast’s was only ten kilometers. The difference was staggering. An S-class beast was essentially the ultimate navigation system for hunting mutant beasts. With two of them, the patrol’s efficiency would skyrocket.

However, one officer hesitated. “Major, these two S-class beasts are retired…”

Major Chang frowned. “So what? Look how energetic they are in the video. That Swift Fire panther just took down a mutated hyena today. They’re still capable.”

The subordinates exchanged uneasy glances. “Major, you’re not from the Beast Tamer Army, so you might not know. war beasts that retire due to mental instability have irreversible neural damage. They can no longer work with humans like normal war beasts. They might suddenly become violent, extremely resistant to human contact, and harbor great hostility towards humans…”

The officer’s voice trailed off, and he glanced back at the video.

Violence, resistance, hostility—none of that was visible. All they saw was a tiger and a panther constantly circling the female caretaker, affectionately rubbing their heads against her palms. Even when sitting, they pressed close to her, resting their heads on her lap.

The officers were speechless.

Seeing their silence, Major Chang shrugged. “I’ll ask first. We have to try.”

With that, Major Chang began searching for the current Bi Ke Zoo director’s contact information.

After several attempts, he finally got the number and immediately called. However, the line was busy.

Indeed, Mu Ling was currently on a call with someone else—her direct superior, Director Wang of the Forestry Bureau.

“Animal rescue?” Mu Ling was confused. “You want our zoo to take in animals abandoned by other zoos?”

On the other end, Director Wang’s voice was heavy. “Not exactly abandoned. They really have no choice.”

Director Wang sighed. “It’s actually a zoo on Kuimu Star called Happy Valley. A month ago, they took in a retired S-class Black-maned Lion. The lion’s mental state wasn’t good when it arrived, and within two weeks, it started showing severe self-harming behavior. The diagnosis is depression, likely caused by mental trauma. Happy Valley has given it their largest enclosure, but nothing’s worked. The lion nearly died today—they had to resuscitate it at noon. Its former handler and the Happy Valley staff saw your videos online. They think only a pure wild environment might help the lion let its guard down. So they’re asking if Bi Ke Zoo would take it in. If you’re willing, they’ll send the lion immediately by military spaceship. It could arrive within two hours.”

Hearing this, Mu Ling frowned. Honestly, given their zoo’s current financial situation, they weren’t really equipped to take in new animals. She had just incurred a significant loss today.

But a lion needing resuscitation and self-harming… if a pure wild environment could truly help it recover, Mu Ling didn’t want such a heroic beast to end its life so tragically.

After a moment’s hesitation, Mu Ling finally nodded. “Alright, send it over. But we can’t guarantee anything. We’ll just have to see if the lion can adapt to our environment here.”