Chapter 2635: Fantastic Beasts in the Zoo 42

"Long time no see, Rendong."

In the reception room, Bai Rendong pushed the door open and saw the man in an assault jacket stand up, greeting him heartily.

He was his former colleague from when they worked at the research institute, Liu Renming.

Bai Rendong gave a slight nod and replied politely, "Long time no see."

This former colleague used to be in the same research field as him, so interaction was inevitable, but Bai Rendong remembered that Liu Renming had said he chose that job just to follow orders and didn't like animals.

Perhaps due to lack of enthusiasm for work, he always appeared listless and gloomy; compared to the spirited, vigorous man before him, they were worlds apart.

"My staff told me you came by before and wanted to see me?"

Bai Rendong sat opposite him, composed yet keeping distance, and asked, "Is there something?"

Liu Renming didn't mind his aloof attitude, sat down again, stared at Bai Rendong, and got straight to the point: "Rendong, I've seen lots of online reports and videos about your zoo; public opinion says the animals here are unbelievably smart, highly interactive, almost no negative reviews."

He paused, shifted tone to probing, "But as the zoo director, don't you think this intelligence is a bit too much?"

Bai Rendong's heart stirred; he had a premonition that this was indeed the case.

His expression unchanged, he said, "Animals have different natures; showing greater spirituality and interaction is good for a zoo—it shows they live here comfortably and are willing to get close to humans."

Bai Rendong lifted his eyes, clear and open, meeting Liu Renming's gaze.

Liu Renming's tone grew somewhat meaningful: "During these two days you haven't been back, I walked around the zoo."

"'That tiger, and that red fox, are clever to the point of being uncanny. Rendong,' he lifted his eyes again, sharp gaze, 'I don't believe you were unaware; back at the research institute, you were the best in our team.'"

Bai Rendong set down his tea cup, leaned slightly back against the sofa, and placed his hands together on his knees.

He countered, "Then, Mr. Liu, what exactly do you want to hear from my mouth?"

Liu Renming sighed, showing a rather sincere expression, looking at Bai Rendong: "Whether you believe it or not, Rendong, I came this time truly wanting to help you."

"Your zoo has many monsters."

At the same time, Xiao Bai Lion searched the zoo grounds for the tracks of three white rabbits.

He headed toward the reception room, releasing his aura, but with his restored monster power, even ordinary animals' hiding spots were detectable—how could those three rabbits have vanished as if out of thin air, just how strange had it become?

Passing the snake garden again, Xiao Bai Lion's strong monster power woke the golden python coiled asleep on a tree branch, almost causing it to fall.

It hurriedly wrapped its tail around the branch, its huge head dangling, the python's terrified eyes fixed on Xiao Bai Lion racing past below.

"Hiss... little boss?"

The golden python blinked its cold vertical pupils, suddenly feeling as if it had forgotten something.

Before sleeping... hadn't it had something important to tell the little boss?

Seeing Xiao Bai Lion about to run off, the golden python, not bothering with much, slid down from the tree, lay across the path, and blocked Jin Chen's way.

Its huge head swayed, its forked tongue hissing, wanting to speak but not knowing where to start.

Jin Chen, rushing to the reception room to back up his wife, was stopped by this stupid snake; he impatiently tapped his paws and lifted his furry head.

"Got something or not? If not, move aside—I need to go find those three dead rabbits."

"'Rabbits!' the golden python shouted, its eyes lighting up as it finally remembered."

"'Hiss! Little boss, Gold Grandpa, I've remembered—I have a secret to tell you!'"

It writhed excitedly.

"'Speak quickly.' Jin Chen urged."

"'That night you went to Zhenyang Mountain to find the source, hiss... I saw a rabbit hop onto the windowsill, and not long after, the director woke up.'"

Jin Chen started—indeed, it was the rabbits' doing.

Everything clicked, it all made sense.

No wonder his wife woke up so early that night. Now the rabbit issue is solid proof… wait a moment.

Xiao Bai Lion growled, "Why tell me only today?"

The golden python embarrassedly flicked its crimson tongue, its huge head drooping slightly: "I accidentally fell asleep again…"

Jin Chen: "……"

【Really a heavy sleeper.】 Ling Gun Gun sat on the lion's head, sighing.

At that moment, Xiao Bai Lion's lion ears twitched.

His eyes sharpened, a white light flashed, and he transformed into human form.

The silver‑haired, golden‑eyed youth quietly approached the bushes and parted the leaves.

Deep in the bush thicket, three red‑eyed rabbits huddled together; seeing Jin Chen suddenly appear, panic flashed simultaneously in all three pairs of eyes.

Jin Chen bluntly reached out with a big hand and scooped up all three rabbits that were still trying to flee.

——

Elsewhere, Qiao Mai thought the new arrivals' three panda cubs' enclosure might be a bit cramped, and planned to ask the director whether to consider expanding the panda area.

She had just walked to the corridor leading to the reception room when she ran into Xiao Li from logistics, who was carrying a gift bag prepared for visitors.

The two girls greeted each other, exchanged a few pleasantries, and were about to head to the reception room together when……

"You don't believe me? You don't believe I can prove it to you! I said there are lots of monsters in your zoo—that lion by your side is one!"

A voice strained with anger came from inside the reception room door—it was the visitor's voice.

Qiao Mai and Xiao Li froze in place, staring at each other, seeing shock in the other's eyes.

Immediately after, more explosive words came from inside.

"'That lion is too smart—many of its actions are things no normal animal could do!'"

"'And that tiger, that fox—they're all off!'"

The more Qiao Mai and Xiao Li listened, the more their hearts churned with turmoil.

Xiao Li was so frightened her gift bag almost slipped from her hand, but she caught it in time, grabbed Qiao Mai, and ran outside.

She couldn't listen any longer, thinking, "If those inside discover we unintentionally overheard this secret, who knows what would happen—personal safety is more important."

Qiao Mai also came to his senses, letting Xiao Li pull him as the two fled the corridor with their hearts pounding like drums.

"That person…… what he said……" Qiao Mai, however, did not continue speaking.

Actually, the staff all knew deep down that the animals were too smart, but since the animals here were safe and happy, none of them ever thought further about it.

Qiao Mai frowned, he was certain that just as he had run out, he heard the director's warm voice say he didn't believe it, "Why would the director say he didn't believe it?"

Xiao Li: "That person came twice, so he knows this well; surely someone investigated behind the scenes. If the director had admitted it on the spot, those animals…… might actually come to harm."

Thinking that those cute animals might suffer harm, Xiao Li's heart also clenched.

Qiao Mai's heart jumped: "Then what should we do?"

Xiao Li thought for a moment, then pulled Qiao Mai and walked off in another direction.

"Protect the animals."