Chapter 47.2

Qilin was the first to stir. Stretching lazily, it licked its lips and ambled toward the entrance.

At the doorway, the golden tiger craned its neck to sniff at the lion standing guard.

The lion remained still, allowing the tiger to inspect it. However, as a precautionary instinct, it assumed a defensive stance with bared fangs, ensuring it could counterattack if the tiger turned hostile.

After sniffing for a while, Qilin circled around and nuzzled Mu Ling’s fingers with its forehead before retreating back inside.

Seeing this, Mu Ling hurriedly said, “Quick, Pimi! Follow Qilin—it has accepted you into the group!”

The tiger sauntered back to its cushion, lying down once more, lazily propping its head on one paw as it watched the scene unfold.

Finally, Pimi gathered its courage and stepped into the space filled with the scents of various animals.

The other animals in the dormitory showed little reaction to the lion’s intrusion. The black panther, having claimed the Ferry Eagle’s nest, was curled up, yawning lazily. The displaced Ferry Eagle had found a new perch atop the giant elephant’s head, barely opening its golden eyes.

The wolf pup remained blissfully unaware, sleeping belly-up, while Qingjiao glanced briefly at Pimi before lowering her head to groom her offspring.

The only one showing real interest was the giant elephant. Having never seen Pimi before, Magic curled its long trunk and began walking toward the entrance.

Magic’s enormous size intimidated the malnourished lion. Pimi hurriedly skirted around the massive creature, but in its haste, its legs gave out and it stumbled.

Scrambling to its feet, Pimi retreated to a corner.

The elephant continued advancing, and Pimi kept circling away until finally, exhausted, the lion roared angrily at the elephant—a clear sign of frustration.

Finally realizing it wasn’t welcome, the elephant stopped in its tracks. Its trunk curled awkwardly before it wandered over to the small swimming pool, pretending it had come to drink water all along.

After drinking, the elephant ambled back to the big tree and resumed sleeping against it.

Once the elephant left, Pimi’s bristled fur settled. It licked its lips and sat in the corner, maintaining a cautious distance from the other animals.

As a newcomer, if one didn’t want to immediately start a war for leadership, the wisest choice was to first marginalize oneself and wait for opportunities. Lions were naturally pack animals skilled at claiming territory, but as war beasts, war lions were also adept at integrating into groups.

Although it might take a few days to adjust, Mu Ling felt reassured seeing that no fights had broken out. The rest would depend on how they got along with each other.

After instructing Xiao Zhao to monitor the animal dormitory cameras from the ticket booth, Mu Ling returned to the infirmary area.

The brown deer’s wounds had healed and it had returned to the mountains, leaving only Moonlight the bear in the infirmary. Mu Ling worried it might feel uncomfortable, since Pimi had become sensitive after the other animals left.

However, when she reached the infirmary, she found the white bear already sweetly sleeping in cage A4.

For the socially anxious bear, the current infirmary was paradise.

Mu Ling smiled. “How fascinating. One becomes lonely without neighbors, while another finds fulfillment in solitude. You both truly have bright futures ahead.”

Not wanting to disturb the white bear, she quietly walked to her desk, opened her browser, and began browsing job boards.

She had previously decided to hire more staff if visitor numbers remained stable within ten days. Today was the fourth day since opening, and visitor enthusiasm hadn’t decreased. Xiao Zhao checked the starNet daily and reported visitor feedback to Mu Ling, who had heard many calls to increase visitor capacity.

If that was the case, then they would expand.

Mu Ling was excitedly preparing to post a new recruitment notice for animal keepers when she noticed a resume as soon as she opened the platform.

All of Bi Ke Zoo’s other recruitment notices had been taken down, leaving only the veterinarian position still posted. Initially, seven or eight people would submit resumes daily for the veterinarian position, but as Mu Ling rejected them one by one, no one had applied in recent days.

Unexpectedly, there was a new one today.

Casually opening the resume, Mu Ling wasn’t particularly interested at first, but as she read on, her eyes grew wider and wider. Finally, she eagerly dialed the applicant’s contact number.

The call rang several times before someone answered—a young male voice said, “Hello?”

Mu Ling asked cheerfully, “Hello, is this Mr. Allen Burey? This is Bi Ke Zoo on Planet Shenwang. We’ve received your resume.”

*

8:00 PM, Federal Capital’s National War Beast Hospital, Director’s Office

Director Wu checked the time, filed the last document in his drawer, and removed his glasses, ready to head home. Just then, his office communicator buzzed.

“Who is this?” he answered casually.

The voice on the other end spoke rapidly, causing Director Wu to frown. “Director Chen, please speak slowly. Are you saying Dr. Allen Burey has resigned? You want our Veterinary Association to quickly arrange another senior veterinarian for the North Red Star War Zone?”

After listening further, Director Wu massaged his temples in discomfort. “Alright, alright, Director Chen, don’t worry. I remember Dr. Burey as an excellent doctor who wasn’t afraid of hardship. Why did he suddenly resign? Is there something going on with his family?”

“Zoo… zoo?” Director Wu was suddenly bewildered. The white-haired elder had to put his glasses back on, as if clearer vision would help clear his mind. “You’re saying Dr. Burey went to work at a zoo as a veterinarian? Director Chen, did he tell you this himself?”

The explanation continued, leaving Director Wu resigned. “Let me contact him first. Director Chen, rest assured. If Dr. Burey insists on resigning, the Veterinary Association will arrange a replacement doctor for the war zone as soon as possible. We won’t leave your hospital’s position vacant.”

After hanging up, Director Wu abandoned thoughts of leaving and immediately dialed Dr. Burey.

The other party answered quickly.

Before Director Wu could inquire, Dr. Burey volunteered, “I’m at Bi Ke Zoo. I’ve already submitted my resume and discussed salary with Director Mu via video call. She hopes I can start within a week. Director Wu, please send a new doctor soon. I’ll complete the handover before I leave.”

The North Red Star War Zone Hospital was built with government funding, and its veterinarians were assigned by the Veterinary Association. As both director of the Capital’s National War Beast Hospital and president of the Federal Veterinary Association, this matter fell under Director Wu’s responsibility.

Hearing Dr. Burey’s resolute tone, Director Wu fell silent.

Dr. Burey could guess what Director Wu was thinking and continued directly, “I know you don’t understand. You probably share my former arrogance in not knowing what Bi Ke Zoo is, but I can tell you that the answer to treating H9TY virus sequelae might very well lie within Bi Ke Zoo. War beasts, due to their extraordinarily high talents, don’t mutate when bitten by mutant beasts, but the H9TY virus they carry still causes irreversible nerve damage. Although the Federation has developed many medicines to repair war beast nerves, treatment remains consistently difficult due to the war beasts’ non-cooperation. But now, I believe I’ve seen new hope, and this hope is—”

“Good,” Director Wu suddenly interrupted Dr. Burey’s passionate speech.

Dr. Burey’s words caught in his throat. “Ah?”

“I said good,” Director Wu’s tone was heavy. “Earlier, Director Chen only mentioned you were going to work at a zoo, not that it was Bi Ke Zoo. If it’s Bi Ke Zoo, then good. I approve. Send over your resignation letter, and I’ll stamp it.”

Dr. Burey paused, then asked incredulously, “Weren’t you going to try to talk me out of it?”

“Not anymore.”

“Why?”

“Because we just had a meeting yesterday about how to gain access to Bi Ke Zoo for close observation of their war beasts. Our original plan was to enter as tourists, but it failed because we couldn’t secure a single ticket for days straight.”

Dr. Burey fell silent.

Director Wu continued, “Now it’s perfect. My friend Dr. Allen Burey, if you become an employee of Bi Ke Zoo, surely you’ll invite us to visit your workplace?”

Dr. Burey sighed. “If you also want to study Bi Ke Zoo’s war beasts, you could use your official position to contact the local forestry bureau. With their introduction—”

Director Wu cut him off. “You think we haven’t tried submitting reports to higher-ups? But Colonel Val, owner of Qilin; Lieutenant Herman, owner of Lightning; Colonel Yun Li, owner of Qingjiao; and Colonel Song Cheng, owner of Pimi somehow caught wind of it and reported us by name. They explicitly stated they wouldn’t allow their war beasts to become test subjects for the Veterinary Association. We explained that we wouldn’t harm any war beast, but they still refused. Because of Lucky 039’s death, they still harbor deep mistrust toward the Veterinary Association.”

At the mention of “Lucky,” Dr. Burey understood. There had once been an S-class war bird, a gray-feathered crane called Lucky, whose nerve damage treatment was progressing well until it suddenly deteriorated and died within days. This incident had branded the Veterinary Association with the stigma of using war beasts for experiments.

The controversy had caused massive repercussions and led to continuing misconceptions about the Veterinary Association.

Dr. Burey fell silent once more.

Director Wu spoke again, “Send over the resignation letter, I’ll sign it.” Then he added pointedly, “But why would Bi Ke Zoo suddenly hire you, Dr. Burey? Forgive my directness, but you’re just an ordinary senior veterinarian. Our Veterinary Association has many more experienced, more authoritative professor-level veterinarians. Could you help ask if Bi Ke Zoo needs more veterinarians?”

Dr. Burey thought to himself: Just for that comment, they definitely won’t hire you.