Chapter 45.1

When Mu Ling and Xiang Bie returned with the cart, they found the door to the capsule house unexpectedly open.

Mu Ling, startled, hurried over to check, only to see the giant red-skinned elephant inside, gently wrapping its agile trunk around the little wolf.

Mu Ling initially thought Magic was attacking the wolf and was about to intervene, but then noticed that neither Qingjiao, nearby, nor Lightning, who was right beside the wolf, seemed alarmed.

After cocooning the little wolf in its trunk, the elephant lifted it onto its trunk, allowing the wolf to balance on it.

The little wolf, perched high, tucked its tail in tight, frozen in place. The elephant then playfully tilted its trunk up and down, turning it into a slide for the little wolf.

As the elephant moved gently, the little wolf gradually adapted. It started trying to walk along the trunk, and then, with a sudden leap, sprang onto the elephant’s head.

From the top, where it felt secure, the wolf observed the elephant’s trunk. After a moment, it tentatively stretched out a paw, testing whether it could walk down the trunk again.

Curiosity and a sense of adventure are natural for young creatures.

Sensing this, the elephant kindly straightened its trunk, creating a smooth path for the wolf. Finally, the little wolf began to walk down. When it reached the middle, the elephant once again curled its trunk and bounced it up and down. Though the wolf seemed frozen in place, its tail wagged wildly, showing how much it was enjoying itself.

At the door, Mu Ling watched, mouth agape, unable to close it for a long while.

Xiang Bie glanced at her and said, “Looks like we won’t need to house them in the vet station anymore.”

Mu Ling nodded, still in shock, then questioned, “But didn’t I close the door earlier? How did they get in?”

Just then, the zoo director’s sharp gaze fell on the black panther circling the elephant’s legs.

If there was anyone in the house skilled at opening locks, it would be this sister.

Mu Ling: “…”

Still, she hadn’t expected the animals to accept the elephant so quickly after just meeting it. Was this an unspoken bond between S-class war beasts?

Pushing the cart of hay inside, Mu Ling found Lightning trotting over to her, rubbing its head against her leg.

Mu Ling rubbed its ears, chiding softly, “Did you unlock it?”

The panther, oblivious to her words, continued nuzzling her leg.

Sighing, Mu Ling resigned herself and pushed the cart of hay in front of the elephant.

As expected, upon seeing food, the elephant gently released the little wolf and began to eat.

The little wolf, now more comfortable around the elephant, playfully dashed over to sit atop the hay pile as the elephant coiled hay in its trunk.

Mu Ling helplessly scooped up the little wolf, tapping its head lightly. “Let Auntie Magic eat first; you can play afterward.”

The little wolf also enjoyed playing with Mu Ling, hugging her finger and giving it gentle nibbles.

She carried it over to sit with Qingjiao, who rose to lick the pup’s head fur when it arrived. Lightning followed too, and they all sat together, watching the elephant eat from a distance.

The second cart of hay was quickly finished. The elephant, now seemingly satisfied, wandered to the pool to drink some bathwater. Mu Ling considered setting up a smaller pool tomorrow specifically for Magic to drink from – drinking bathwater wasn’t ideal.

After quenching its thirst, the elephant began pacing around the glass enclosure, eventually making its way to Qilin. While Qingjiao, Lightning, and the pup had accepted the elephant, and Tayun was out of reach, only Qilin remained aloof, sitting alone with an icy demeanor.

Perhaps sensing the tiger’s distance, the social butterfly Magic approached cautiously, lowering its head and extending its trunk slightly.

“Roar!” Qilin suddenly roared at the elephant.

The elephant sheepishly withdrew its trunk a bit but didn’t fully retract it. Instead, it kept its trunk on the ground, occasionally picking up scattered toys, lifting them up and putting them down, then moving to another toy.

This tentative behavior, trying so hard to look busy, made Mu Ling’s heart ache. She immediately rushed over to mediate.

“Alright, alright, Qilin. Magic didn’t mean to throw the rubber duck at you before – it didn’t even hit you, did it?”

Rubbing Qilin’s head, she soothed it, and Qilin, finding the strokes comforting, relaxed its head onto her lap, purring softly.

Mu Ling scratched its chin. “Don’t be mad at Magic, okay? She wasn’t feeling well before, so she couldn’t control herself. She hasn’t even started her medication yet.”

Qilin enjoyed chin rubs, eventually closing its eyes and settling in for a nap on Mu Ling.

The elephant’s trunk stretched toward them but quickly withdrew. It then left the cushion area and headed toward the pool.

Assuming it was thirsty, Mu Ling didn’t think much of it until it returned, trunk raised.

Suddenly, like a floodgate opening, a jet of water erupted from the elephant’s trunk, drenching both Mu Ling and Qilin.

Qilin: “…”

Mu Ling: “…”

Xiang Bie: “…”

Dripping wet, Mu Ling slowly raised her hand, wiping her face as she looked dazedly at the elephant.

She hadn’t provoked any animal…

Qilin jumped up immediately, shaking off the water and moving away from the elephant with bristling fur. The elephant followed, trying to nuzzle it with its trunk as if drying it off.

Though irritated, Qilin tolerated the attention while licking water from its paws and shoulders.

The elephant seemed delighted, its massive legs bouncing slightly, its triangular mouth opening in a smile. It turned back to wrap its trunk around Mu Ling’s arm, apparently trying to dry her as well.

Mu Ling: “…”

Thanks a lot…

Exasperated, Mu Ling glanced at her soaked clothes and the drenched cushion, her head throbbing.

Xiang Bie walked over and handed her a tissue box.

Taking the box, Mu Ling wiped her face, asking, “What just happened?”

Xiang Bie replied, “Play. Elephants love playing with water. Inviting friends to water fights is one way they build friendships.”

Mu Ling was devastated. “Does it have to be a water fight at eleven at night? Everything’s soaked now – there’s nowhere to sleep!”

Seeing the drenched cushions, Xiang Bie told her, “Go wash up; I’ll handle this.”

Since war beasts were intelligent, they wouldn’t attack people they saw regularly like Xiang Bie and Wei Li, even if they weren’t close to them. So it was safe for him to stay and clean while Mu Ling was gone.

Mu Ling, thoroughly uncomfortable, removed her protective suit for Xiang Bie to wear, then returned to the dormitory.

When she came back after showering, she found the glass enclosure spotless; even the ladder, cages, and cart had been put away.

The animals, exhausted from playing, had started to doze off. Lightning lay on the fresh cushion, the little wolf curled up in the toy pile with Qingjiao nearby. Tayun nestled in the treetop, while Magic leaned against the trunk, sleeping standing up.

Only Qilin was still grooming its fur.

Xiang Bie had left, likely to put things away, so Mu Ling entered, petted Qilin’s head, and led it out to the vet station to dry its fur before returning it.

When she returned, she found Xiang Bie sweeping hay from the doorway.

Seeing her, Xiang Bie said, “Go get some sleep.”

Mu Ling sighed, “I’ll just sleep here. I’m worried Magic might not feel well again during the night and attack Qilin and others. If I’m here, at least I can open the door so they can escape.”

Xiang Bie frowned and remained silent for a moment, but ultimately said nothing.

So that night, Xiang Bie kept watch at the veterinary station while Mu Ling stayed at the animal dormitory, neither getting much rest.

But Mu Ling had plenty of experience sleeping with war beasts. She made herself comfortable on the cushions, and soon Qilin was sleeping on her left side and Lightning on her right.

After a while, Mu Ling heard a noise and opened her eyes to see Tayun had somehow reached her head. It was using its sharp talons to arrange her hair into a nest shape, then settled in against her scalp.

Mu Ling: “…”

Whatever, she was too tired to care.

The next morning at five, Commander Duan stood expressionless and dazed in front of the massive empty iron cage.

The thirty-plus staff members behind Commander Duan were equally bewildered.

Wei Li and several other Bi Ke Zoo employees, who had planned to send the elephant to the mountains before opening hours, wore equally puzzled expressions.

Commander Duan stared at the empty cage in silence for a long while. Finally, pointing at it, his lips moved several times before he found his voice: “Where’s my elephant?”

“Where’s my very, very big elephant?”

One of the thirty-plus staff members hesitantly spoke up, “I think I heard something like cage rattling last night…”

Commander Duan immediately turned to him, “And then?”

The person awkwardly replied, “Well, it stopped after a while, so I didn’t think much of it, hehe…”

He had looked out his window, but his room faced the forest, not the square, so he hadn’t seen anything.

Commander Duan’s expression was extremely unpleasant. He looked at Wei Li – as zoo staff, they would certainly be responsible for losing an animal placed in their care…

Wei Li was getting nervous and quickly said, “Let me call Brother Xiang first.”

The call connected quickly, and before Wei Li could say much, Xiang Bie’s lazy voice came through: “At the animal dormitory.”

Wei Li paused, then quickly headed toward the animal dormitory.

As he walked, the others hurriedly followed.

Five minutes later, over forty people stood silently at the dormitory door, watching the sleeping scene inside.

The petite human lay on her side on the cushions, face buried in the white chest fur of the golden tiger, with a jet-black panther pressed against her back. A massive eagle perched crookedly on her head, while at her feet sprawled a wolf pup on its back, with a fierce mother wolf lying nearby.

The five animals surrounded the human, while near another wall, the three-and-a-half-meter tall, nine-ton elephant leaned its weight against a large tree, eyes tightly closed, trunk in its mouth, also sleeping.

Author’s Note: [Elephants sleep with their trunks in their mouths or curled inward to prevent insects from crawling in.]