"Not good!"
Bao Shun's expression changed. Forgetting the cart, he broke into a run and sprinted toward the Leopard House.
Yang Qi's heart skipped a beat. He parked the cart on the side of the path and hurried after him.
When they arrived at the Leopard House, the bloody scene they'd imagined was nowhere to be found. The piercing screams had stopped.
One of the leopards, its golden coat covered in magnificent black, ring-like spots, was curled up in a corner of the enclosure. With its head lowered, it was carefully licking a hind leg, its eyes filled with a look of hurt and fear as it periodically stole glances at the other leopard.
The other leopard, more powerfully built and with a piercing gaze, was pacing back and forth in agitation. Its thick, long tail lashed forcefully, and a low, dissatisfied growl rumbled in its throat, its anger clearly not yet spent.
Yang Qi looked at the two leopards and asked in confusion, "Master Bao, what's going on? Why were two leopards put in together? Were they just fighting?"
Bao Shun caught his breath and explained, "Big Flower recently went into heat, so the zoo arranged to put them together temporarily to see if we could encourage them to breed."
"By the way, Big Flower is the female, and Er Hua is the male leopard."
"Oh, I see."
It dawned on Yang Qi. He looked at the leopard that seemed to be in a sorry state. "So Big Flower was the one who got bit?"
"No."
Bao Shun shook his head, a hint of resignation in his voice. "The one that got bit was Er Hua."
"Huh?"
Yang Qi's eyes shot wide open, thinking he'd misheard. "The male was bitten by the female? But... how..."
Just then, a system prompt appeared.
[Quest Triggered: A distressed "Gale Spirit Leopard" has been discovered. The host is requested to resolve its troubles.]
Uh...
Yang Qi stared at the female leopard, Big Flower, pacing back and forth, and froze.
'Is the "Gale Spirit Leopard" supposed to be Er Hua?'
'Big Flower is clearly the one who's agitated.'
'Er Hua is the one who's feeling hurt!'
'Its troubles...'
'Could it be that it doesn't want to... you know?'
Bao Shun didn't notice Yang Qi's odd reaction and continued explaining with a wry smile, "Big Flower came to the Zoo first. She's been here for over two years and has a more dominant personality. Er Hua just arrived this year as part of an exchange, and he's only recently reached adulthood."
"Ever since we put them together, that fellow Er Hua has been completely indifferent. He ignores all of Big Flower's advances and doesn't seem to want to breed at all."
"So Big Flower got annoyed. In the past, the most she'd do was threaten him with a low growl or bat him with her paw. This is the first time she's actually bitten Er Hua."
"..." Yang Qi was left speechless.
'Just as they say, you can't afford to provoke a tigress, and it seems you can't afford to provoke a female leopard either!'
'Especially a spurned female leopard in heat!'
After a moment's thought, Yang Qi asked tentatively, "Master Bao, since Er Hua isn't interested right now, can we separate them for the time being? If we force them to stay together like this, what if the conflict escalates..."
"That's not my call." Bao Shun shook his head. "That has to come from management."
Hearing this, Yang Qi pressed on, pointing to the enclosure. "But Master Bao, look, Big Flower already bit Er Hua today. That means the conflict has escalated. If Er Hua is pushed too far, he might fight back. If they both get injured, treating them will be a hassle, and it'll affect their viewing by the public."
"Well..."
Bao Shun hesitated. He looked at the dejected Er Hua, then at the agitated Big Flower, and had to admit Yang Qi had a point.
"All right, I'll report the situation."
With that, he took out his phone and began texting his supervisor in the animal management department to explain the situation.
Seeing this, Yang Qi breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at the dejected "Gale Spirit Leopard" in the enclosure and thought,
'Brother Leopard, my abilities are limited right now. This is all I can do for you—get you a trial separation so you can both cool down!'
...
After sending the message, the two of them returned to the path to retrieve the cart.
Bao Shun instructed Yang Qi on how to distribute food to the two leopards, explaining in detail the portion sizes, where to place the food, and the necessary safety precautions.
After finishing their work at the Leopard House, the two pushed the cart onward to the next station.
The dhole enclosure.
After feeding a pack of wary dholes, they moved on to the lynx enclosure to deliver breakfast to the solitary big cat.
Next was the distinctive-looking caracal.
Finally, the two arrived at the slightly larger wolf enclosure area.
Ma Jun, the keeper involved in yesterday's incident, was no longer at his post. He had clearly been transferred.
Bao Shun told Yang Qi in a low voice that Ma Jun was a permanent employee and had some background in the Zoo's parent department—he was someone who'd gotten the job through connections.
For an incident as serious as Happy's escape yesterday, any temporary or contract worker would have been fired on the spot.
His transfer was the result of extensive negotiations.
Yang Qi didn't care what post he'd been transferred to.
As they approached the wolf enclosure, the most excited one was none other than Happy.
It recognized Yang Qi at a glance and immediately started jumping around the enclosure like a hyperactive child, shoving the other wolves aside. It howled nonstop in Yang Qi's direction, "AWOO~ AWOO~" its tail wagging like a propeller as it constantly transmitted messages.
[Out]
[Tasty food]
Yang Qi found its goofy antics amusing, but on the surface, he pretended not to understand. Strictly following Bao Shun's instructions, he precisely tossed in its share of meat.
Happy whined for a while longer. Seeing that Yang Qi was just performing the routine feeding and had no intention of taking it out, it deflated like a popped balloon. Its ears drooped, and it flopped listlessly onto the ground, letting out a hurt whimper. Even the chunks of meat in front of it seemed to have lost their appeal.
Yang Qi couldn't help but smile, but his attention was soon drawn to another Gray Wolf deeper inside the enclosure.
This wolf was slightly larger than Happy, with a darker coat and a calm, steady posture.
It calmly ate the chunks of meat Yang Qi tossed in. But the entire time, its cold, lupine eyes were scrutinizing. It first cast a cold glance at Happy, who was sulking on the ground, before turning back to Yang Qi. Even as it accepted the food, its gaze remained filled with a lofty arrogance and cold indifference.
"Tch, what an ungrateful wolf," Yang Qi couldn't help but mutter.
"Haha."
Beside him, Bao Shun heard this and laughed. "That one's the alpha of the pack, the Wolf King. His name is Ao Tian. He's extremely arrogant. Outside of feeding time, he won't even deign to look at people."
'Ao Tian?'
Yang Qi looked at the cold, stern Wolf King. 'The name certainly fits,' he thought.
Just then—
[Quest Complete]
[Reward: Hundred Pouches Belt]
'Quest complete?'
'Big Flower and Er Hua were separated that quickly? Pretty efficient.'
'Looks like Jiang Kai and his people were a little scared, too.'
'With Big Flower in heat, at worst, you have one agitated leopard.'
'But if Er Hua was pushed too far and they started tearing into each other, having two injured leopards would be a real headache.'
'As for the reward...'
Yang Qi's eyes suddenly lit up, his heart rate quickening slightly.
'The Hundred Pouches Belt... a Storage Treasure!'