Chapter 44.1

Magic’s condition was far worse than Mu Ling had anticipated.

The massive elephant’s body bore countless scars, and its mental state appeared equally fragile. Mu Ling had never seen an elephant cry before, yet here one stood before her, tears streaming down its face.

Her expression tightened with concern as she examined the injuries, brows furrowed in concentration.

Commander Duan explained, “When it was first bitten by the mutant beast, it cooperated with treatment. But once its mental state began deteriorating, it started rejecting care. It would even attack people to avoid being treated. These wounds, which should have healed within three months, have persisted for half a year, alternating between better and worse. Once its mental damage index reached 50, the injuries stopped improving altogether and began deteriorating instead.”

As he spoke, Commander Duan reached into the cage to touch the elephant. The moment his hand made contact, the elephant began thrashing violently inside its confines. Its feet stomped heavily against the floor, its trunk rose menacingly, and its head swung from side to side as though trying to ward off an unseen enemy.

Commander Duan quickly withdrew his hand and turned to Mu Ling. “It’s unsettled in this new environment. Director Mu, perhaps we should let it rest here tonight and move it up the mountain early tomorrow morning.”

He gestured toward the twenty-plus workers behind him. “They’ll help with the move tomorrow, but they’ll need to stay here tonight.”

The lodging wasn’t an issue, but Mu Ling hesitated. “Commander Duan, are we really moving it to the mountain tomorrow? Magic’s wounds haven’t healed yet. Once it’s up there, treatment will become extremely difficult.”

Commander Duan sighed heavily, his expression somber. “That’s not the main concern. If it can live in a comfortable environment and we add some anti-inflammatory medicine to its drinking water, these wounds will heal gradually. The injuries themselves aren’t the biggest problem—given Magic’s size, wounds that don’t reach the bones or internal organs aren’t particularly painful. What’s truly troubling is its nervous system. Look at its tears—that’s where the real suffering lies. Our priority now is stabilizing its emotional state.”

Mu Ling frowned as she watched the elephant in its cage. As a newly practicing veterinarian, she knew her experience was limited. Commander Duan had raised Magic since it was young—clearly, he understood its condition better than anyone.

Seeing his insistence, Mu Ling finally nodded. “Alright then.”

Since Magic needed to be moved before the zoo opened tomorrow, Mu Ling sent everyone to bed early, including Commander Duan’s workers, whom brother Wei escorted to the dormitories.

Around ten o’clock that night, as Mu Ling left the veterinary station, she saw the massive iron cage still sitting in the clearing before the starship. Inside, the red-skinned elephant stood motionless, its head bowed in silence.

Everyone else had retired for the night, including Commander Duan. The elephant stood alone in the empty space.

Mu Ling had been heading toward the animal dormitory but halfway there, found herself turning back, drawn to the cage.

The starship’s emergency lights illuminated the service plaza, making it as bright as day.

Mu Ling studied the red-skinned elephant within.

“Why are you called Magic?” she asked softly, curiosity in her voice.

The elephant remained still, head lowered as if asleep, though Mu Ling could see its eyes were open, tear stains still visible at their corners.

She crouched down to meet its gaze. “Are you really not in pain? I think you must be—you’re crying, after all. So why won’t you let us help you?”

Perhaps annoyed by her persistent questions, the elephant suddenly thrust its trunk through the bars, reaching for her.

Mu Ling quickly stepped back, avoiding its grasp.

The long, fleshy red trunk withdrew, and the elephant resumed its previous stance, head lowered, refusing to look at her.

Mu Ling sighed softly before reluctantly leaving for the animal dormitory.

Silence fell once more. After some time, the elephant began flicking its ears.

Its left ear, missing a chunk from the bite, sent waves of pain through the wound with each movement. Yet it couldn’t stop moving its ears—if it did, the wound would both itch and ache unbearably.

It desperately wanted to scoop up sand and shower it over its body to ease the discomfort.

Growing increasingly agitated from the constant ear-flapping, the elephant suddenly began kicking at the cage.

The loud clanging brought Mu Ling running back.

“What’s wrong? What’s happening?”

She wasn’t alone—several animals who had been out for their evening walk came with her, including Lightning and Qilin.

The golden-striped Ripper tiger reached the cage first, while the Swift fire leopard leaped gracefully onto its top. The Dark Snow wolf accompanied its stumbling cub as they approached, and overhead, the Ferry eagle circled once before landing on Mu Ling’s shoulder, head tilted as it observed the red-skinned elephant.

“Ouch!” Mu Ling winced as Tayun’s talons dug into her shoulder. She quickly raised her arm, offering it as a perch before the bird could crush her bones.

Tayun shifted slowly to her arm, its keen eyes never leaving the caged elephant.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!” The elephant continued kicking the cage, but having been built to contain S-class war beasts, the cage remained intact despite the onslaught.

“Roar!” Qilin, seemingly displeased, raised its head and let out a fierce tiger’s roar at the elephant.

Mu Ling quickly wrapped her arms around Qilin’s neck. “Big sister, Magic didn’t mean it. Don’t be angry with her.” Then, lowering her voice to a whisper, she added, “Besides, she’s so tall that even if you jump, you’d barely reach her knee. What if she steps on you?”

Though restrained by Mu Ling, Qilin remained alert, its whiskers trembling and fangs itching behind its tiger mouth.

Just then, the short-legged wolf cub finally arrived, still awkwardly carrying its rubber duck. Upon seeing the enormous elephant, it froze in shock, its mouth falling open and dropping the toy.

The duck bounced once before rolling into the cage.

“Bang!” The elephant kicked again, and as it lowered its foot—

“Squish!” The rubber duck was flattened.

Little Wolf: “…”

Mu Ling: “…”

The little wolf, seeing its friend disappear, sniffed at the ground and was about to crawl into the cage.

Qingjiao quickly caught its offspring by the scruff, dragging it to safety.

The elephant, realizing what it had stepped on, lowered its trunk to investigate. It picked up the dirty, flattened duck and hurled it toward Qilin.

Mu Ling deftly caught the toy mid-flight, squeezed it back into shape, and tossed it to the waiting cub, who promptly snatched it up and fled.

She released Tayun to fly freely, then approached Magic, studying its constantly flapping ears with concern. “It’s still hurting you, isn’t it?”

The wound was bleeding profusely from the movement, staining the ear’s tip crimson.

“This won’t do—we need to treat these wounds properly.”

With determination, Mu Ling headed to the veterinary station, returning minutes later with a medical kit, folding ladder, and new broom she’d retrieved from storage.

After setting up the ladder, she climbed to the top of the cage.

Seeing her above, the elephant immediately raised its trunk to strike.

Mu Ling quickly circled to its rear, staying out of reach.

The elephant turned to face her.

As it turned, Mu Ling moved again, maintaining her position behind it.

This time, the elephant’s frustration turned to anger.

“Clang!” It renewed its assault on the cage.

While it raged, Mu Ling quickly opened her medical kit and wrapped the broom’s head entirely in bandages. She applied hemostatic ointment to the wrapped surface and carefully extended it through the bars to treat the elephant’s wounds.

The elephant flinched at the touch, ready to struggle, but Mu Ling called out soothingly, “Magic, Magic!”

The elephant recognized its name. Though it continued pacing anxiously within the cage, trying to avoid the makeshift broom applicator, it didn’t lash out.

Using the broom, Mu Ling managed to cover the wounds on the elephant’s ears and back with a thick layer of ointment. Though her application was somewhat uneven due to the awkward angle, she ensured every injury was treated.

Descending the ladder, she proceeded to treat the elephant’s sides and thighs.

When finished, she surveyed her supplies—two packages of bandages and two boxes of ointment completely used up.

“Two whole boxes in one go—well, that’s what it takes for a nine-ton big sister!” she mused. “This is special medicine with pain-relieving properties. You’ll feel better soon.”

Seeing the elephant still pacing, she settled onto the ladder to keep watch.

Tayun soared overhead while Lightning sat beside the ladder. Qilin maintained its vigil, and the little wolf huddled far from the cage with its restored toy, pressed close to its mother.

After nearly ten minutes, the medicine began to take effect. The elephant’s movements grew calmer as the pain subsided.

Mu Ling smiled at the change. “Feeling better? I didn’t lie to you, did I?”

The elephant didn’t respond directly, but it stepped forward and pressed its forehead against the bars, remaining still.

“Oh?” Mu Ling approached cautiously, reaching out to touch its forehead with one finger.

When it didn’t resist, she grew bolder, gently stroking its skin. “You see? You were hurting, weren’t you? Why wouldn’t you let us help before? After treatment, it doesn’t hurt anymore, right?”

The elephant raised its weathered eyes, its dark pupils regarding her wearily.

Meeting that exhausted gaze, Mu Ling’s heart ached. “Is it because you can’t control yourself? When the nerve damage acts up and people get close, you can’t help but try to drive them away? But then without treatment, everything hurts more, which makes the nerve problems worse, and your damage value keeps rising—it’s a vicious cycle, right?”

She continued stroking its forehead compassionately. “It’s okay, I understand. You don’t mean to react this way—you only fight because you’re suffering. How about this: we won’t go up the mountain tomorrow. We’ll stay here and treat you properly first, and only move you once you’re better.”

Looking at the cage thoughtfully, she added, “You can stay in the animal dormitory. It’s plenty big enough—as wide as a basketball court. Your cage will fit easily.”

She turned to leave, intending to discuss this with Commander Duan in the dormitory building, when she heard the familiar “bang bang” of kicking behind her.

Rushing back, she asked, “What’s wrong now?”

The elephant calmed as she returned. Then, slowly, it extended its trunk through the bars, reaching toward her.

At first, Mu Ling hesitated, afraid to approach. But after a moment’s consideration, she carefully extended one finger, curious to see what the elephant wanted to do.