Chapter 66

In the monitoring room of Hengsha Ecological Park, the night shift guard Wang Ganju looked up at the time; it was just 4 AM, and there were still 4 hours before he could change shifts and go home.

It was his turn for the night shift this week, and next month would be the day shift, so he would have to adjust his jet lag again.

Being a security guard at the ecological park is a tough job. Not only is the area to manage large, but there are also many things to do. Although the park authorities have repeatedly emphasized it, there are always visitors who get stung by poisonous plants in the botanical garden or feed the animals in the park regardless of the regulations. These all require them to maintain order.

They get a guard's salary but do the work of a beast of burden. Sometimes they even have to help the keepers move feed and fertilizer.

Fortunately, there are very few break-ins in the ecological park. The main dangers come from the animals in the park. Wang Wang Ganju still remembers that in 2008, a super rainstorm caused the Tao River to flood over the bridge deck, and the ecological park built by the river was also flooded. The park was a mess, and several crocodiles and water anacondas were washed out, causing panic in the residential areas by the river.

"Fortunately, after all these years, the water conservancy on the upper reaches of the Tao River has been built, and the security level in the park has also been improved. The entire park is covered by a glass dome, so things like animals escaping have rarely happened..."

Wang Wang Ganju was rejoicing in his heart when suddenly, a nimble black shadow flew past on the monitoring screen.

"What the hell?" Wang Wang Ganju's slight sleepiness instantly dissipated, and he hurriedly sat up straight to look at the screen where the black shadow had just flashed: "Bird area?"

The entire Hengsha Ecological Park is covered in a huge steel dome, and it is almost impossible for birds from the outside to get in, so the shadow of the flying bird that just flashed past the monitoring probe could only have come from inside the park.

"Fuck, did the idiot keeper forget to lock the door again after getting off work? How could it run out?" Wang Wang Ganju cursed, pressed the alarm, sent a notification to other colleagues on duty via the intercom, and hurriedly put on his coat and went out.

The situation was urgent. The area was filled with birds of prey like owls, peregrine falcons, and golden eagles. Not only is it difficult to catch these things if they run out, but they are also highly lethal.

An adult golden eagle is fully capable of lifting a human child into the high sky and throwing them to their death.

The alarm sound soon resounded throughout the entire park. The guards on duty were dispatched one after another, and the keepers responsible for the area were also urgently called over. They immediately began to count and verify the number and identity of individuals in the bird area. They had to find out as soon as possible which bird had run out.

But strangely, the keepers and the guards wearing protective gear checked one exhibition area after another. Owls, peregrine falcons, golden eagles, hummingbirds, swifts... The door locks of all exhibition areas were intact, and there were no signs of damage to the isolation equipment. Not a single bird in the park was missing.

"Could it really be a false alarm? Did a bird from outside happen to fly into the park through some gap?" Wang Wang Ganju felt a lingering fear for a moment. Fortunately, the surveillance footage could be replayed; otherwise, he would have caused everyone to mobilize and work in the middle of the night for no reason, and he would definitely be criticized afterwards.

To be on the safe side, everyone carefully checked and counted all areas of the bird exhibition area again, and indeed, no animals were found to have escaped.

While complaining about Wang Wang Ganju making a fuss, everyone began to check other exhibition areas—this is the park's regulation. Once an animal is suspected of escaping in one area, all exhibition areas in the entire park must undergo an overall inspection.

A very inhumane regulation, but it has its reasons.

Wang Wang Ganju, the culprit, was unsurprisingly drafted and responsible for the inspection of a feline exhibition area.

The exhibition area Wang Wang Ganju was responsible for checking housed 'Siberian Forest Cats', an ancient working cat breed domesticated by locals long ago to protect crops. They have a long history of domestication and stable genetic traits, dense fur that can adapt to cold environments, and a relatively stable and friendly personality.

That's why he dared to come and check alone while wearing protective gear. "004, 026, 015... Okay, okay, everyone is here." As he slowly moved forward in the exhibition area, matching the numbers on the collar tags of each Siberian Forest Cat with the registration form, he soon completed the inspection of the area without any errors.

It is relatively simple to check animals with gentle personalities. Colleagues responsible for checking the lion and tiger exhibition area didn't even dare to go in and could only observe from the outside with binoculars. Wang Wang Ganju expressed his apologies to them in his heart.

Just as he finished the inspection and wanted to leave the exhibition area, suddenly, a splash of water came from the direction of the artificial pond, as if something had jumped into the water.

"Huh?" Wang Wang Ganju looked puzzled and cautiously walked towards the pond.

He had already checked just now, and all the forest cats were gathered by the tree climbing frame. The area near the pond should have been empty. Where did this splashing sound come from? He cautiously came to the edge of the pond and shone his flashlight down. It was indeed empty, with nothing inside, only a round bouncy ball floating on the water. It seemed that this was the sound made when this thing fell into the water just now.

"I'm really obsessed. At the slightest sign of trouble, I'm like a frightened bird." Wang Wang Ganju sighed helplessly, turned off the flashlight, and the calm pond water reflected the figure of a haggard man.

"You should go get some sleep." Wang Wang Ganju pointed at his own reflection, shook his head, locked the door, and left to check the next exhibition area.

A few minutes after Wang Wang Ganju left, the calm little pond finally had movement again. A water anaconda quietly poked its head out of the icy pond water, winding its long body, and crawled onto the soft grass on the shore.

Several cats on the climbing frame noticed the movement here and curiously gathered around.

But before they could get close, this giant water anaconda nearly 3 meters long turned into a wisp of hazy mist and disappeared. In its place was a Siberian Forest Cat with fluffy fur and bright eyes, quietly squatting in place.

This cat ignored the curious gazes of other cats, but nimbly ran to the corner of the wall. Its shiny fur disappeared again, turning into a beautiful birdwing butterfly, and it flew directly out of the ventilation duct.

Leaving only a few Siberian Forest Cats who couldn't understand what had just happened lying on the grass, staring at each other.

The butterfly stumbled through the ventilation duct, the frequency of its wing flapping fast and slow, as if it were drunk, bumping into the wall frequently in the duct like a headless fly.

But Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe's luck today was good enough. He stumbled and flew for a long time, and finally left Hengsha Ecological Park safely.

The dizzy butterfly turned into a disheveled young man the moment it flew out of the wall. With a thud, he fell to the ground, holding his head with both hands, curling up in pain.

Bai Zhi, who was sitting in the car waiting for him, saw Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe's strange appearance from afar. She put down the shotgun in her hand, walked closer cautiously, squatted down, and gently patted Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe's trembling shoulder: "Are you okay? What happened?"

"It's okay... I'm okay." Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe gasped for air, dark green snake scales and hazy clouds looming on his collarbone: "Let's go, to the hospital... I've already gotten a chance to make a mistake, it's time... it's time to face the coward hiding behind the scenes."

Although the price of getting this chance to make a mistake might very well be 'himself'.

(End of chapter)