Chapter 128

The zoo director was shocked and dismayed: 'Depression?'

He seemed not to have expected it at all, looking at Ling Yue in a flustered, helpless way: 'What should we do? Dolphin Smile, can it still be cured?'

Ling Yue didn't answer, but stared at him, making his scalp tingle, as if she could see through all his schemes.

He had originally planned to test Ling Yue's ability using Dolphin Smile's depression; even if she really had the ability, as long as she dared to guarantee it, he would immediately provoke Dolphin Smile and blame its death on her.

But now he suddenly felt a little uncertain.

At that moment, Dolphin Smile glared at him angrily: 'So those people in white clothes are the doctors he summoned!'

'They've used every means to keep me from dying.'

Hearing this, Ling Yue felt waves of nausea; she thought she had seen enough disgusting things, but she hadn't expected such a person—truly deserving of death.

Ling Yue's icy gaze fell on the zoo director; he involuntarily shivered, having a vague premonition, and opened his mouth: 'Ling Yue, you—'

Ling Yue could counter moves or simply overturn the whole board; no more pretense—once she learned the zoo director's secret, the initiative remained firmly in her hands.

Her sharp gaze pierced the zoo director; in an instant it seemed to see straight through all his calculations.

Ling Yue: 'Dolphin Smile has depression; you should have called a doctor instead of pinning your hopes on me. Oh, I forgot—you've already called many times, yet there's been no relief.'

When Ling Yue said these words, the zoo director's pupils shrank in fear, as if stared down by a beast, unable to move.

How could she know?!

Ling Yue continued to smile: 'So you intend to abandon Dolphin Smile and blame its death on me?'

That is the simplest and most vicious method.

After all, by then Dolphin Smile would truly be dead, and blaming it on Ling Yue would be impossible to explain even if she had a thousand mouths.

The zoo director's face turned extremely ugly: 'What nonsense are you spouting?'

'Dolphin Smile is the star animal of our swimming hall; why would I kill it—am I stupid?'

He wanted to cut the knot quickly, but Ling Yue was even harsher, dialing the police: 'Hello, officer, I report that the director of New West Mountain Zoo is involved in animal smuggling and embezzling public funds.'

After saying that, the zoo director who had just been shouting sucked in a cold breath; looking at Ling Yue, he was not fish on a sticky board but clearly a devil from hell.

He was almost going crazy—how could she know?!

Ling Yue glanced at him, unable to help feeling pity: 'At the time, the animals told me, you idiot.'

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned: smuggling animals, embezzling public funds—is this their zoo director?

Usually the zoo director is very kind and approachable, so most people didn't believe Ling Yue's words.

Ling Yue also knew, but…

She has evidence.

Ling Yue laughed, making his scalp tingle; at this point he was almost regretting it to death!

Ling Yue's gaze returned to Dolphin Smile in the swimming pool; she hadn't forgotten its depression, and with her charm aura at maximum, Dolphin Smile's violent emotions finally eased.

Now Dolphin Smile's emotions are very stable—stable in despair and a death wish.

Ling Yue reached out and scattered the prepared pet food into the pool; the fragrant scent was hard for even the disheartened Dolphin Smile to resist, and it swam over cautiously.

Dolphin Smile stared unblinkingly at Ling Yue, hearing the voice: 'You eat it first.'

Dolphin Smile didn't answer, merely nodded slightly; ripples spread across the clear water, and for some reason it instinctively trusted the other, taking a tiny bite before suddenly stopping.

Ling Yue frowned: 'What's wrong?'

Dolphin Smile: '…It's delicious.'

Before the police arrived, Dolphin Smile had almost finished a can of pet food, its stomach full; compared to before, it had indeed become much more stable.

Dolphin Smile's gray-blue body floated in the water, revealing a round head; its big eyes looked at Ling Yue on the shore. It wasn't a senseless stone carving—it naturally knew the girl treated it well, almost meeting all its needs.

But long-term training and torment had made it no longer trust humans as naively as before.

It warned itself: never get close to humans again!

As for the police and such, Dolphin Smile, which had always lived in the ocean hall, didn't know what they were, but it could see the zoo director's guilt and panic after hearing about them.

Those must be very powerful humans, right?

They were summoned by her.

Dolphin Smile suddenly pushed the colored ball on the water surface, striking it neatly and beautifully into Ling Yue's arms; her breath caught, and she suddenly squatted down.

This time it wasn't her asking proactively; Dolphin Smile spontaneously moved closer, leaning against the blue-painted pool edge, making a 'heng heng heng' sound: 'What's wrong? Did I hurt you?'

It had completely forgotten the vow it just made; Ling Yue looked up and could see Dolphin Smile's big, bright smile, as if it had fully accepted all those injuries.

Ling Yue reached out, hesitantly looking at it.

Instead, Dolphin Smile actively stepped forward, leaning toward her, its cool, slick skin brushing her palm: 'I allow you, touch me.'

Ling Yue clearly saw light sparkling in its eyes.

Today West Mountain Zoo was especially lively; the police arrival surprised visitors, who, not yet understanding what had happened, had already snapped photos.

As for Ling Yue, she took a deep look at Dolphin Smile in the ocean hall; after a brief treatment, its condition had stabilized.

Of course, it was also because of Ling Yue's promise.

Amid the recent chaos, she leaned over and told Dolphin Smile: 'I have a way.'

In its clear, round eyes, Ling Yue saw her own reflection, and she reiterated: 'I can help you go home.'

'Why should I trust you?'

'You humans are all big liars!' Dolphin Smile abruptly changed its previous gentleness, letting out an angry high-pitched sound that startled the surrounding people, who all stepped back again; no one forgot its earlier fury—such a massive creature, if hit, would not die but be left half‑crippled.

It could see the fearful expressions on those people's faces, their retreating movements—this is how humans made it this way.

Yet these anxious crowds only made Ling Yue appear even calmer; only the Dolphin Smile that had close contact with her knew she was truly unafraid.

So, could it trust her?

Ling Yue explained: 'I am also a zoo director; after this is settled, you can come to our ocean hall.' She said this and then paused: 'We might have to wait a while.'

'Our ocean hall isn't cleaned up yet.'

This sentence left the smiling dolphin feeling dazed; the zoo director — was she also here to deceive herself?

Immediately, the smiling dolphin heard her explanation: "After I took over the zoo, the marine animals there have already returned to the sea."

Ling Yue stared at it steadily: "Are you willing to take a gamble?"

"The worst plan is nothing more than continuing to stay in the oceanarium."

Ling Yue's words struck like a morning and evening bell, hammering hard against Smile's heart; it rebutted inwardly, "No, this isn't the worst plan — I cannot choose freedom, but I can choose death."

It looked at the girl before it, her big bright eyes blinking; after a while Ling Yue thought it wouldn't answer, but the dolphin suddenly lifted its head: "I promise you."

Ling Yue half-knelt on the ground, her warm forehead pressing against its brow; in an instant, both felt an indescribable current.

Ling Yue rose to her feet, deliberately emphasizing the words, and said to it: "Wait for me, Smile. Remember to wait for me — this is our promise."

Ling Yue gazed at it gently, like a ray of warm sunshine, softly melting the ice in its heart.

The smiling dolphin made a pleased, high-pitched sound; it even sprayed a small ring of water in the water.

It swayed its tail in the water, playing, then nudged up and broke the surface, revealing its round, cute head: "I remember! I will definitely remember!"

Ling Yue smiled slightly; she said this because of the smiling dolphin's depression, fearing it wouldn't hold up before she arrived.

This was also the fundamental reason Ling Yue decided to settle things quickly.

Every extra minute, every extra second, is torment and and torture for the smiling dolphin.

Before Ling Yue left the zoo, the smiling dolphin swam in the pool, half its body resting on the edge, its big round eyes looking at her; beside it was the small colored ball she had brought, gently turning with the water.

Who could resist such a cute, pure spirit? Ling Yue certainly could not.

She exhaled a foul breath and saw the zoo director, pale-faced and flustered in dealing with the police; the moment he caught sight of her, his gaze was like a poisoned dagger — scum!

Ling Yue thought, "We've only just begun."

As the informant, she even proactively reminded the police: "We can start by investigating the smiling dolphin, plus the embezzlement of public funds — the state's annual allocation is already huge, and Xishan Zoo's income is not small either, but the zoo's animals…"

Ling Yue sighed and said: "Widespread malnutrition — the money meant to buy their feed has vanished into someone's pockets, leaving who knows who grown fat‑headed and paunchy."

The pot‑bellied, big‑headed zoo director unconsciously drew a deep breath, but his pregnancy‑sized belly gave no movement; his angry beard‑blowing, eye‑glowering look was so ridiculous it made people laugh to tears.

Ling Yue even wanted to give him a hard punch, sizing him up from head to toe like evaluating a fat pig on a chopping block; seeing this made him shudder instantly, cold sweat breaking out.

He truly regretted it — why had he provoked this calamitous demon star!

His mouth felt bitter, and he still had to keep answering the police's questions; in a blink he saw Ling Yue still in the zoo, lingering outside every enclosure, holding something unknown in her hand — she was talking to the animals!

In that instant his heart gave a jump; he finally realized what he had done wrong: he had brought Ling Yue here! No staff noticed, but the animals knew — they would tell Ling Yue!

The zoo director wanted to scream, his blood pressure spiking, yet he literally frightened himself into fainting.

The ground gave a boom; Ling Yue startled, and the large lion before her, still widening its mouth, cried: "Ah——"

Feed me quickly — I'll say anything!

Too bad, Ling Yue had already turned her head; someone shouted, and the zoo visitors instantly screamed: "Holy shit, an earthquake! Everyone run!"

"An earthquake? An earthquake!"

Ling Yue: "……"

Never mind that Jing Shi isn't on an earthquake belt — even if it were, could there be such an earthquake?

Her gaze fell on the fat zoo director — don't think you can escape this, not even in your dreams!

Inside the villa.

"How terrible… waa waa waa~"

Big Black couldn't help but cry, tears pattering down; beside him, the treasure‑finding mouse handed him a tissue, and the dog's paws pressed the tissue to wipe its eyes.

The dolphin is truly too pitiful.

In a flash it reminded it of its former self — just like that, it had almost been smothered to death in a trash bin.

Xunbao Shu Duo Duo exclaimed indignantly: "There are still people like this — truly hateful!"

As for Crow, it cleverly and proactively opened Ling Yue's notebook, glanced at a few pages — it's no longer illiterate; it recognizes many words there, like lion and tiger!

Crow tilted its head: "Are these all Yueyue's notes for today?"

Ling Yue nodded; the affairs of Xishan Zoo could have persisted for years, certainly not as simple as she thought, so she chose to strike first and catch them off guard!

At that moment, Crow suddenly cried out, its paws pressing the page: "There's a big tiger!"

It looked at the record and, according to its understanding, read aloud: "The big tiger is a Northeastern tiger; injured, it was caught and sent to Xishan Zoo, but after its wound healed, the zoo never released it back!"

"Oh, this isn't imprisonment, is it!"

"How can this be so bad — it's a wild animal!" Xunbao Shu Duo Duo put its hands on its hips, knowing the animal regulations by heart: "Our country has clear rules: after rescuing protected wildlife, unless disabled, it must be returned to nature."

"The poor tiger — hearing Yueyue say, the animals in there don't even get enough to eat." Speaking, Big Black lay on the ground, patting its belly; it eats its fill every day!

The silent Black Cat Queen looked at Ling Yue: "What should we do?"

Ling Yue: "Of course we hand over all this evidence — after all, we are law‑abiding good citizens; how could we let such scum continue to thrive?"

She organized the materials overnight.

Early the next morning, using the errand of delivering Big Black as a pretext, she handed the evidence to Cheng Ziming; this wasn't animal testimony, but information Ling Yue found after searching through various documents.

He was taken aback; hearing Ling Yue say she had reported yesterday, he burst out laughing: "I know, I know — I was wondering if it was you, and indeed it was you; after all, you go wherever you go — "

Ling Yue narrowed her eyes, still silent, when a pair of hands from behind pulled him away: "What what?"

Meeting the boss's gaze, Cheng Ziming instantly tensed: "No, nothing!"

He silently clutched the file bag: "I still have things to do — I'll go ahead first!"

The atmosphere fell into silence.

Ling Yue gave a light cough, breaking the silence first: "Thank you."

Lin Shaoze clenched his jaw, his eyes darkening: "If anything comes up, you can call me… and Cheng Ziming's number."

Xunbao Shu Duo Duo sat in the car, beside a bag full of jade stones, part gifted by a friend named Wu Pei, and another part being test samples from colleagues of the Special Safety Bureau.

It asked Ling Yue: "Where are we going?"

Ling Yue pointed south: 'Set off, we're going to River View Mouth!'

Ling Yue glanced at her wristwatch: 'There's still the Time Gate; the Feng Shui Turtle Master and Jinjin are waiting for us.'

Upon hearing that, Xunbao Shu Duo Duo instantly perked up; almost none of the little animals at home had come, except it and the crow, because today's mission needs them, and Ling Yue said, their mission is especially especially important! ：，,.