Chapter 38.1

After a busy morning, the team was preparing to head into the mountains in the afternoon to administer vaccines to the animals.

Brother Xiang wasn’t around today, and Wei Li was down in the valley training new recruits, leaving only Mu Ling, Lin Xuan, and Li Yan available for the mountain ascent.

Mu Ling led Team Lightning, while Lin Xuan and Li Yan formed their own unit.

Since they had vaccinated most of the herbivores in the outer area the day before, today’s mission focused on the inner area. However, Lin Xuan and Li Yan lacked significant experience in this region, so Mu Ling repeatedly warned them before setting out. She insisted they wear their protective gear and helmets at all times, emphasizing they should retreat to their vehicle at the first sign of danger.

Lin Xuan and Li Yan couldn’t help but laugh at how Mu Ling was fussing over them like children. Li Yan chuckled, “Director, we’re former soldiers.”

Mu Ling was taken aback.

Lin Xuan smiled as well. “We’ve been in deep mountains more times than we can count. We’re quite experienced at keeping ourselves safe.”

Mu Ling was speechless.

Fine, fine, they were the experts; she was the rookie.

Around one in the afternoon, Mu Ling and Team Lightning began their ascent. The route was now familiar, and within two hours, they reached the inner area.

The eastern inner area transitioned from mountainous terrain into a river region.

The Bi Ke Forest wasn’t entirely woodland; roughly a quarter consisted of intricate river systems and streams, all feeding into the largest waterway—the Bi Ke River. This mighty river nourished the entire forest’s ecosystem.

Upon reaching the eastern river region, Mu Ling first deployed surveillance cameras to scan the surroundings. Once she confirmed no animals were nearby, she exited the vehicle and attached four distribution pipes to the front, rear, and sides of the vehicle, connecting their other ends to a large tank in the back seat.

She closed the windows and switched from land mode to hover mode.

The zoo’s vehicles were amphibious, engineered to drive on land, hover in the air, and navigate underwater. This versatility was essential for the staff’s daily feeding and patrol duties.

As hover mode activated, the vehicle gradually rose. At about a meter above ground, the four mud-caked tires smoothly folded into the undercarriage.

The vehicle had transformed into what resembled a small airship.

Mu Ling gripped the steering wheel and pressed the accelerator, guiding the craft toward the river region.

Hover mode proved inefficient in the dense forest, where abundant trees posed constant collision risks and hindered progress. However, over the river, it was ideal—the open sky allowed for unobstructed flight.

Mu Ling wasn’t planning to cross the river, though. Her mission was to distribute vaccines across the water. The Bi Ke Zoo housed not only terrestrial and aerial creatures but also aquatic life, and even fish could potentially mutate into mutant species.

While vaccinating land and flying animals, they couldn’t neglect mixing oral vaccines into fish feed for distribution in the rivers.

With the vehicle positioned above the water, Mu Ling needed only to press a button for the four pipes to spray the vaccine-infused feed into the river. Her task was to cover all six waterways in the eastern area.

As Mu Ling piloted the vessel, Lightning, the black panther in the passenger seat, pressed its face anxiously against the window, nervously curling its paws while staring outside.

Mu Ling found this amusing and reached over to stroke Lightning’s sleek fur.

The panther turned to look at her.

“Scared?” she asked gently. Lightning was a land-based war beast; though it could climb trees, flying was entirely different. She could easily imagine its unease.

The panther licked its lips and stretched its neck, affectionately nudging its forehead against Mu Ling’s arm.

Mu Ling embraced it with one arm. “Stay close to your sister if you’re frightened. I’ll protect you.”

The panther indeed snuggled closer, pressing its forehead against her thigh.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the jungle, Xiang Bie had reached the next resting place of the Ferry Eagle.

Towering trees with dense foliage reached up into the sky. Xiang Bie stood at the base, gazing up through the thick canopy, where he could vaguely make out a nest constructed of branches high in the branches.

After scanning his surroundings, Xiang Bie spotted some vines. Grabbing one, he placed a foot on the tree trunk and swiftly climbed up to the lower branches.

Using the vines, he continued his ascent, eventually reaching a height of around thirty meters, where he could clearly see the eagle’s nest.

The nest held only a few scattered feathers and fallen leaves. After observing for a moment, Xiang Bie concluded that this resting place had been abandoned for quite some time.

It seemed the Ferry Eagle had given up on this site.

Frowning slightly, Xiang Bie grabbed the vine and quickly descended back to the ground.

Once his feet touched the ground, he dusted off his hands, retrieved his long rifle, and headed back towards his vehicle.

From 4:30 to 5:30, Mu Ling had successfully distributed the vaccine-infused fish feed across the main river channel and four of the smaller tributaries in the eastern region.

By now, the feed tank was nearly empty.

“Just a little more to go,” Mu Ling said, glancing over at the dozing Lightning in the passenger seat.

Hearing her voice, the panther opened its eyes and looked at her curiously.

Mu Ling smiled and gave its ear a gentle tug. “Let’s finish up the last tributary, then we’ll go search for those war beasts.”

According to Brother Xiang, two Class B war beasts favored the moist inner area of the eastern region. With their presence, regular animals would avoid the area. If they could vaccinate those two beasts today, the work in the eastern area would be completed, and Mu Ling could move on to other areas tomorrow.

“I feel like we’ve been making great progress,” Mu Ling mused aloud, looking at Lightning. “It’s probably thanks to your good luck. Thank you for bringing me such fortune, Lightning.”

Hearing its name, the panther perked up and gazed at Mu Ling in confusion.

“Silly thing,” Mu Ling said affectionately, tapping its nose before steering the vehicle toward the final tributary.

Suddenly, something flew overhead.

At first, Mu Ling paid it little mind. But a moment later, she realized something was off and quickly looked up. To her surprise, she spotted a large bird flying unsteadily, its path erratic as it dipped and weaved through the sky.

“What in the world?” Mu Ling murmured, squinting to get a better look. Unable to make out its features from a distance, she grabbed a pair of binoculars from the vehicle’s toolkit and focused on the bird.

It had a white head, a dark gray body, wings with a mix of gray and gold, and black talons.

Mu Ling instantly recognized the species from the zoo’s records.

“A Ferry Eagle… Tayun?”

“It’s actually flying?” Mu Ling uttered in disbelief, her thoughts immediately turning to Brother Xiang.

She frantically scanned the forest on either side of the river, hoping to spot Brother Xiang nearby, but the thick canopy and her elevated position made it impossible to see beyond the expansive greenery.

Grabbing her radio, Mu Ling called out, “Brother Xiang, can you hear me? I’ve spotted Tayun! It’s in the eastern inner region, near Tributary 081 of the Bi Ke River. But something’s wrong – its flight is unstable, and—”

Before Mu Ling could finish, the majestic eagle suddenly plummeted toward the river. Its golden wings seemed to falter, and it began plunging straight down.

“Crap!” Mu Ling exclaimed in shock.

Just as the eagle was about to crash into the water, it managed to beat its wings furiously and catch itself, barely skimming the surface as it rose again.

Mu Ling let out a heavy sigh of relief, patting her chest. “Thank goodness.”

However, her relief was short-lived, as the eagle faltered once more, this time splashing directly into the water and sinking beneath the surface.

Mu Ling was speechless.

The Ferry Eagle typically weighed 150 to 200 pounds and measured 1.3 to 1.6 meters in length. With a body of that size, it would undoubtedly sink in the water.

Seeing the struggling bird thrashing in the water, Mu Ling quickly floored the gas pedal and raced toward the river.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the jungle, Xiang Bie had returned to his vehicle. His radio lay in pieces on the passenger seat, the casing shattered.

Xiang Bie quickly steered the vehicle toward the nearest waterway.

Out of the eagle’s six resting points, he had already visited several, and the bird, having sensed human presence, would not return to those locations. Now, only one resting place remained, far off in the eastern region. To reach it quickly, Xiang Bie needed to travel by water.

Efficiently, he switched the vehicle to hover mode and sped along the river, heading east.

“Damn, it’s already gone under,” Mu Ling muttered as she approached the river where the eagle had fallen.

As Mu Ling reached the river’s edge, she could no longer see any sign of the Ferry Eagle on the water’s surface. Quickly, she switched the vehicle from hover mode to submersible mode.

Once the car had stabilized on the water, Mu Ling double-checked that all the windows were sealed tight before submerging the vehicle beneath the murky, sandy river bottom.

Turning on the searchlight, Mu Ling scanned the area, and after a few moments, she spotted the massive form of the Ferry Eagle sinking towards the riverbed.

Without any specialized salvage equipment on board, Mu Ling had no choice but to try and catch the eagle with the car itself. Carefully, she maneuvered the vehicle beneath the descending bird and managed to get the vehicle’s frame positioned underneath it.

Once she had the eagle secured, Mu Ling gently guided the submersible vehicle back up to the surface. As the vehicle breached the water, Mu Ling parked it along the steep, rocky shoreline. As soon as she stepped out, the black panther Lightning quickly followed.

Mu Ling stood on the uneven river bank, stretching up to reach the massive eagle that had been placed atop the car. After some struggle, she was finally able to grasp the bird’s wing and pull it over the side onto dry land.

Just as Mu Ling had the eagle settled on the ground, the giant bird suddenly stirred, flapping its wings weakly twice. Startled, Mu Ling had to decide whether to let go and back away or to hold on tightly. Choosing the latter, she firmly gripped the eagle and yanked it fully onto the shore.

Once the large predator was securely on land, Mu Ling hurried back to the vehicle, quickly retrieving a helmet and protective suit. Only after donning the full protective gear did she turn her attention back to the eagle.

To her surprise, the Ferry Eagle had fallen unconscious again after its brief burst of movement. Examining the bird closely, Mu Ling recognized the signs of near-drowning – eyes tightly shut, body rigid, and wings limp.

Without hesitation, Mu Ling flipped the eagle over, cradling its torso so the head pointed downward. She then gently pressed on the bird’s crop area, attempting to expel any water it may have ingested.