Chapter 53.2

The white fox watched the cartoon with a tilted head, clearly fascinated by the vibrant colors dancing across the screen.

Mu Ling explained the story to it, asking if it liked the character of the young vixen sister.

Of course, Lingren offered no response. It merely sniffed at the screen and, finding no interesting scent, lazily collapsed against Mu Ling’s chest, eyes drifting shut.

While this peaceful scene played out above, chaos reigned in the starship’s lower deck cargo hold, where the crew was in complete disarray.

The head attendant rushed in, demanding, “Still haven’t found it?”

One crew member responded with a grimace, “No. We’ve searched the entire lower deck, but there’s no trace of it anywhere.”

The head attendant turned sharply to another attendant, brows furrowed. “And you—couldn’t you have checked more thoroughly while securing the animals? We only had six animals in cargo today: two lions, a pet dog, two cats, and that hamster box. How could you let it escape? This starship is enormous—if it gets upstairs, how do you expect to find it?”

That attendant protested defensively, “But I did check thoroughly!”

“You’re still making excuses—”

Before she could finish, their intercom crackled with the surveillance operator’s voice: “Chief, we’ve reviewed the footage. The hamster escaped from the cargo hold five minutes ago when the door wasn’t properly sealed. It lingered in the corridor briefly before running into the restroom. It hasn’t emerged since.”

The head attendant immediately rushed to the bathroom, but found it empty.

Looking up, her eyes fixed on the ventilation duct—the only possible escape route.

“This is bad,” she muttered, face draining of color. “We’ve completely lost the passenger’s pet.”

The surrounding crew looked stricken, especially the attendant responsible for the cargo hold, who had turned ghostly pale.

While a hamster might not be expensive, the elaborate cage it arrived in made it clear this was a cherished pet. Losing it wasn’t just about monetary compensation—they could face serious legal consequences.

As the crew wallowed in their predicament, back upstairs, the white fox had dozed off watching cartoons.

Seeing this, Mu Ling lowered the volume, thinking she should try nature documentaries next time since Lingren seemed uninterested in animation.

However, just as this thought crossed her mind, the supposedly sleeping fox suddenly jerked awake.

Its purple eyes, usually so gentle, blazed with sudden intensity as it frantically sniffed the air.

Though Lingren’s awareness was typically dulled by its fractured memories and missing knowledge, this scent was too close to ignore—as if it were right beside them.

Mu Ling tensed, stroking its head gently. “What’s wrong? Had a nightmare?”

But the fox stood up, pressing its front paws against her shoulders as it stretched upward, nose working hard to catch a scent in the air.

Feeling Lingren nearly climbing onto her head, Mu Ling pulled it down firmly. “What’s wrong, Lingren? Don’t frighten me like this.”

The fox’s sharp gaze tracked something unseen, and it suddenly attempted to leap away, only to be yanked back by the chain around its neck barely a meter from the chair.

Frustrated, it turned to bite at its restraint.

“No!” Mu Ling scooped it up and, after a moment’s consideration, stuffed the entire fox into her backpack before rushing out.

The sight of someone running through the starship with a fox startled many passengers, but Mu Ling had no time for explanations. After passing through two cabin sections, she finally spotted a flight attendant and grabbed her arm. “I need to tell you something urgent.”

She pulled the bewildered attendant to the connection area between cabins where they could speak privately.

Mu Ling’s expression was grave as she spoke. “This is a war beast in my arms. Its current behavior is highly unusual. The last time I saw a war beast act like this, it was because a mutant beast was nearby. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

The attendant stood frozen, clearly stunned. Terms like “war beast” and “mutant beast” weren’t part of normal vocabulary—like knowing criminals exist but never expecting to encounter one personally.

Fortunately, the attendant’s professional training kicked in, and she quickly recovered. “Are you certain?”

The fox in Mu Ling’s arms grew increasingly agitated, struggling to break free, but she couldn’t risk releasing it in public. Holding it firmly, she continued forward while explaining, “I’m not completely certain, but with matters like this, we must assume the worst. Mutant beasts can kill humans, and any unvaccinated animals they encounter risk infection and mutation. I’ll continue tracking with my war beast—you need to report this immediately.”

Without waiting for a response, Mu Ling hurried away.

The attendant immediately radioed the head attendant, who was still agonizing over the lost hamster.

“War beast? Mutant beast?” the head attendant repeated incredulously. “You’re saying we have a mutant beast aboard, and a female passenger is tracking it with a war beast?”

“War beast?” Another attendant who had photographed Mu Ling earlier perked up. “Is it Wifey and Lingren?”

After learning it was the director of Bi Ke Zoo, the head attendant’s face darkened. She immediately reported to the captain, explaining, “We have seven animals aboard in total. Apart from the fox war beast, which was specially accommodated, five are secured in cargo. Only the hamster escaped due to our error. If Director Mu’s war beast is tracking a mutant beast, that hamster is our only candidate.”

The captain’s face turned ashen. “Have your people calm the passengers. I’ll handle the zoo director personally.”

Meanwhile, Mu Ling had stopped abruptly in one of the cabin sections when her white fox made a sharp “ga” sound.

Manager Chen, who had been sleeping with an eye mask, was nudged awake by his subordinate. “Manager, look!”

Manager Chen removed his mask to see Director Mu standing in the corridor ahead.

Behind him, Manager Harry was also roused by his subordinate. “What’s Director Mu doing?”

Manager Chen frowned deeply. “Running around with a war beast at 83% damage value—she’s either brave or reckless.”

“Security’s approaching,” Manager Harry noted.

The captain and four security officers had barely reached Mu Ling when she suddenly moved to a bathroom door, trying the handle.

“Occupied!” came an irritated male voice from inside.

The fox in Mu Ling’s arms grew even more frantic.

“Ga ga!” it called repeatedly.

The captain took charge, knocking firmly. “This is the starship captain. We have an urgent maintenance issue. Please exit immediately.”

“Don’t try to trick me!” the voice snapped back. “I’m not finished—AHHH! Something fell! A rat! There’s a rat!”

Mu Ling’s face drained of color as the white fox thrashed in her arms. The captain kept pounding on the door. “Sir, please open up! Open the door!”

“It’s biting me! Where did this thing come from? It’s biting me! AHHH!”

A crowd had gathered, including Manager Chen and Harry’s groups, all straining to see.

Mu Ling’s suspicions were confirmed. She shouted to the gathering crowd, “Mutant beast! Everyone back! Get up on your chairs, now!”

Then to the security team: “Break down the door!”

The officers looked to their captain, who was sweating profusely. “Do it! Now!”

After several strong hits, the door cracked open. A white blur shot through the gap.

The white fox bared its fangs, snarling fierce “ga ga” calls.

Mu Ling glanced inside to see the male passenger on the floor, pants down, face and hands covered in blood.

She turned to the captain. “I need to release my war beast to catch the mutant. Do I have your authorization?”

The captain, having never faced such a situation, looked at the chaos erupting in his cabin—passengers screaming at the sight of the creature, the injured man in the bathroom—and made his decision. “Do it. I’ll take full responsibility.”

Mu Ling immediately unfastened the iron chain from the white fox’s neck. She placed the now fierce, imposing creature on the ground, pressed a firm kiss to its forehead, and commanded sharply: “It’s your turn, Lingren. Go!”

With those words, she released her grip. The snow-white figure transformed into a bolt of lightning, launching forward with explosive speed, ready to hunt its prey.