Chapter 2

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The voice completely sank into silence.

At the same time, the unwilling tiger closed its eyes and was carried away along with the other two. They were separated and locked inside the holding rooms.

Ling Yue was stunned for a moment. An unbelievable thought rose in her mind — could the owner of that voice be… that big tiger?

“Ling Yue, you…” The director’s flattering voice sounded again. With so many people watching and many holding up their phones to record videos, the title of “hero who snatched a person from the tiger’s jaws” carried immense weight!

Countless marketing ideas flashed through the director’s mind. There were so many internet celebrities these days — why couldn’t their zoo seize this opportunity?

Of course, the key was still Ling Yue herself.

He rubbed his fingers together, about to say something, when Ling Yue slightly curled her lips, a cold glint in her eyes, and interrupted him directly: “I’m not feeling well. Can I leave work early?”

She lowered her eyes slightly, her palms trembling faintly.

Her words immediately drew support from many people. Everyone had witnessed how dangerous the situation had been earlier. Even if Ling Yue looked fine now, who knew if she had suffered internal injuries? After all, those weren’t toy tigers in a mall — even grown men found them terrifying, let alone a girl who had faced them head-on.

The little girl’s mother spoke up proactively: “Benefactor, I’ll drive you to the hospital! You saved Niuniu — you saved my life!”

The child’s father was more perceptive. Hearing the implication, he frowned and asked, “Resign? What happened? Why do you want to resign?”

His words were like a stone thrown into a calm lake, creating huge waves. The heroic girl who had bravely saved someone actually wanted to resign? Many people subconsciously looked toward Director Zhao Fang, hoping he would explain.

Pressured by gazes from all directions, Zhao Fang broke out in a cold sweat. “W-we didn’t mistreat her!” He quickly changed his tone and said earnestly, “Resigning might actually be a good thing. She’s a top student from Capital University. Working at our zoo would only be wasting her talent.”

Zhao Fang’s eyes darted around. The more he spoke, the more confident he sounded. His righteous appearance made many tourists start to doubt themselves. Maybe they were overthinking it?

At this moment, a regular zoo visitor in the crowd suddenly shouted, “Hey, I remember now! Isn’t this the mermaid from the aquarium?”

“Why is she in the tiger enclosure? Where’s the original tiger keeper? I remember it was a young man. How come at the critical moment, a young girl had to step up and save the child?”

“He’s right here!”

With that shout, everyone turned their angry gazes in one direction.

The keeper, who had been trying to sneak away while everyone’s attention was on Ling Yue, was caught off guard. His heart jumped, and his guilty expression made him too ashamed to face anyone.

“So you’re the keeper?” Someone in the crowd realized. “Weren’t you here the whole time? You just stood there and watched while she risked her life to save the child?”

“Oh my God, don’t you feel ashamed? You’re the tiger keeper!”

“Why were you running? Where did you go earlier? Forcing a young girl to step forward! You’ve completely embarrassed all men! Everyone, take pictures! Look at this coward!”

The keeper panicked. He had never experienced such a big scene. Hearing that this would go viral and ruin his reputation, he blurted out, “It wasn’t me! I’m not the tiger keeper — she is!”

He pointed at Ling Yue. “She’s the one in charge of the tiger enclosure. If anything happens here, it’s her responsibility! This has nothing to do with me!”

“You’re lying!” The tourists were furious. “I saw her yesterday at the aquarium next door dancing with Jingjing, the little dolphin. How is she suddenly in the tiger enclosure today?”

“She started the job in less than a day? Without any training? And assigned to the most dangerous tiger mountain? Whose brain is malfunctioning? This is clearly intentional harassment!”

Director Zhao Fang’s face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot. He was the one who had given the order. Before he could panic, the low-level employee had already sold him out, repeatedly saying, “How would I know? The director told me to… It was all him…”

As he spoke, he covered his face and held up the WeChat chat records high for everyone to see.

Even the tourists knew this was wrong. The police officer recording the incident calmly said to Zhao Fang, “Please come with us to the station. We need to understand the full truth.”

Zhao Fang froze and wiped his sweat. “No, officer, our zoo is so big — we can’t do without me. I still have business to handle…”

His protests grew weaker under the police officer’s steady gaze.

As for business, with such a major accident at the zoo — one that nearly cost a child’s life — it was naturally impossible to continue operations.

The tourists had already formed a dense crowd. Upon hearing there was more to the story, many were hooked on the drama and filled with righteous anger!

The angriest were the parents of the endangered little girl.

Fang Qinghui kept stroking her daughter’s back, comforting her. When she looked up and met her husband’s eyes, her gaze was burning with fury!

They had been married for many years and had only this one precious daughter, whom they cherished more than their own lives. Today’s incident had already chilled her heart. If not for Ling Yue risking her life to save their daughter, their family would have been destroyed!

Now that she learned there was more behind it, she looked at her husband. “Dear.”

No more words were needed. Her husband understood perfectly.

He wasn’t extremely powerful, but he had some connections in the capital and could speak up when necessary.

Watching the villains being taken away by the police with their heads down, the tourists clapped and cheered. Only then did they realize that the hero who had saved the child from the tigers, Ling Yue, had already disappeared.

Fang Qinghui looked around anxiously. “Where’s our benefactor?”

Her husband: “…”

Everyone’s attention had been on the corrupt boss earlier. No one had noticed her leave. This matter…

On the side of the asphalt road, under the cool shade of green trees, Ling Yue walked briskly toward home. Her eyes fell to the side in astonishment.

Just ten minutes ago, she had been bound by the system.

The system, speaking in a mechanical voice, told her that the voice she had suddenly heard in her head was the tiger’s inner thoughts. Not only that, she could now hear the voices of other animals too. For example—

The chubby French Bulldog napping beside the big tree in front of her. Its round body was as fat as a washing machine drum. Its short chin rested on its little paws. When it saw her stop, it didn’t move, only turning its round, glassy eyes toward her: “It’s a human. What? Never seen such a handsome dog like me before? Too bad I already have an owner. I’m the dog you can never have!”

Ling Yue: “……You don’t have to be that confident. I can barely afford to feed myself.”

The French Bulldog’s ears suddenly perked up. “You’re talking to me?”

Ling Yue nodded.

The air fell silent for three seconds. Then the French Bulldog snorted, leaped up, and ran away on its sturdy legs in a zigzag pattern, shouting as it fled, “Help! I met a crazy person!”

Ling Yue watched it run away. According to her will, the system automatically displayed the French Bulldog’s attribute panel:

[Name: French Bulldog]

[Gender: …Male]

[Age: Five and a half years]

[Personality: Gentle]

[Skills: Watchdog]

[Wish: None]

Ling Yue was covered in black lines. She finally understood the system’s function. Aside from the initial self-introduction, it could pull up attribute panels at any time to help her better understand animals.

There was also one skill: If she fulfilled an animal’s wish, she could obtain one of its skills. Of course, few small animals had wishes. The French Bulldog earlier was not one of them.

“Hahahahaha, the stupid dog finally ran away!”

Ling Yue looked up. On a branch of the big tree was a bird’s nest. A black crow stood by the nest, laughing loudly: “I don’t know why that smelly dog suddenly ran off today, but it saved me some effort!”

“That smelly dog is so annoying, snoring under the tree every day and disturbing us birds!”

“Big Sis is the best! That dog must have been scared off by Big Sis’s aura!”

Several younger crows behind her flattered her, cawing nonstop and giving Ling Yue a headache.

Hot gusts of wind blew by. The weather grew even hotter.

Ling Yue shook her head and dismissed the crows’ attribute screen. She was just about to check her balance to see if she could unlock a shared bike when the big crow sister’s voice sounded above her head: “Sisters, follow me!”

The sound of flapping wings mixed with excited cries: “Caw caw caw! That guy is a thief! I saw him rob a jewelry store! There’s a fifty万 human reward! He buried a sack of shiny stuff by the big willow tree at East Lake. Sisters, charge!”

Ling Yue: “Fifty万 reward?”

She subconsciously looked across the street. A scavenger uncle wearing ragged clothes and carrying a trash bag was walking toward her. When he saw her looking, his wrinkled face squeezed out an awkward smile.

He looked very uneasy and shy.

Dressed like a typical scavenger. If not for the crows, Ling Yue probably wouldn’t have noticed him.

She finally remembered the sensational jewelry robbery case in the east of the city half a month ago. It had made the news in the capital, and the internet was flooded with reports. The thief had stolen jewelry worth over ten million. The whole city was on high alert, and the police had issued notices saying the suspect had not left the capital yet.

He was walking straight toward her!

Ling Yue’s heart skipped a beat. She took out her phone and started scrolling through Douyin. *You stay in your shell, I’ll stay in mine — let’s not talk to each other.*

As for what she was thinking inside: What a talent!

If she remembered correctly, this place was only one street away from the jewelry store. He actually dared to walk around openly disguised as a scavenger. Not just her — even the police probably wouldn’t recognize him.

But man proposes, heaven disposes.

The big willow tree at East Lake? It was very close. Ling Yue had often played there as a child. She dialed a number and turned back.

On such a hot day, East Lake Park was deserted. It was simply too sunny.

Ling Yue wiped her face. She noticed a patch of grass near the tree that looked bald. She walked over. The soil was unusually loose. Using a small shovel, she dug for a short while before the tip hit something hard.

Half of a gray sack was buried in the ground. Ling Yue pulled it up. The moment she opened it, the golden shine nearly blinded her!

It was a whole sack full of gold and gemstones!

Before Ling Yue could marvel, her ears twitched. She heard the distant cawing of crows: “Big Sis, someone’s digging up the treasure!”

“Hurry! I want to see the shiny stuff!”

Ling Yue’s heart jumped. These crows had been following the thief. If they came, the thief would naturally follow. She couldn’t let him catch her.

She didn’t know where her strength came from, but she lifted the dozens-of-jin sack in one go, stuffed it into her tote bag, quickly filled the hole, and stomped on it hard several times.

As she came out, she ran straight into him. Ling Yue carried the bag as if it weighed nothing and walked past calmly.

The moment they brushed past each other, cold sweat broke out on Ling Yue’s back.

Behind the tree.

The jewelry thief carried an empty snake-skin bag. Yesterday, he had finally found the chance. He was just waiting to retrieve this pile of gold and then disappear to live freely!

A smile appeared on the man’s honest-looking face. He checked his surroundings — no one around.

He breathed a sigh of relief, found the marker he had left before, and suddenly noticed several footprints. He dug in with his fingers. The fresh soil was still loose and moist. But where was the stuff underneath?

Fuck! His stash had been robbed!

He immediately thought of the woman he had bumped into twice earlier. Like an angry bull, he charged forward furiously!

Ling Yue had already run away. The heavy bag pressed against her back. In the sweltering heat, crows circled above her head, cawing chaotically.

“Mommy! She’s so awesome! The jewelry thief just noticed!”

“He’s chasing you! On the right! Hey girl, turn left quickly!”

Ling Yue immediately turned and ran toward the park entrance.

At the same time, several sedans stopped one after another at the East Lake Park entrance. Several young men in casual clothes moved agilely, with one man clearly in the lead.

Longxiang Jewelry’s branch manager Zhao Lin got out surrounded by his subordinates. Seeing the leading man, he smiled and said, “Captain Lin, what brings you here?”

The man had handsome features and a cold, lofty temperament. He rolled up his sleeves, revealing a cold white wrist and slender, clean fingers. They looked as exquisite as art pieces displayed in a gallery. Few people knew how many criminals had had their arms broken cleanly by those hands and been brought to justice.

His sharp, blade-like eyes flashed with light. “You received that call too?”

Zhao Lin immediately became serious. “You too? She told me to come to the East Lake Park entrance. There’s nothing much going on at the store these days, so I came.”

If he hadn’t accidentally touched the angry fever blisters on his lips while speaking, Lin Shaoze would have found his words a bit more credible.

After the Longxiang Jewelry robbery, the impact had been extremely bad. Jewelry worth nearly ten million had been stolen, yet the perpetrator remained at large — a hard slap to the police’s face.

Longxiang Group offered a 500,000 reward, and the police offered one as well. They had launched a massive manhunt, but because the criminal was experienced and moved quickly, there had been no solid leads so far.

In the civilian sphere, countless people were chasing the 500,000 reward. Normally, a single phone call wouldn’t warrant the personal appearance of Lin Shaoze, captain of the criminal police squad. But the female voice on the phone had been too certain, as if she had seen the thief hiding the loot with her own eyes, and she had firmly named the exact location.

It was completely different from the hesitant voices of others.

Lin Shaoze had keenly sensed something unusual. Before coming, he had checked information on East Lake Park — an old park built decades ago. Usually only elderly locals visited. Most importantly, it was only a ten-minute walk from the crime scene!

The criminal couldn’t possibly keep carrying dozens of kilograms of gold and jewelry while fleeing. To avoid police detection and escape quickly, he would definitely choose to stash the loot as soon as possible!

The man’s sharp, eagle-like gaze seemed to pierce through the iron gate, looking into the distance.

They had no idea what kind of intense chase was happening inside the park.

In terms of speed and stamina, Ling Yue was actually no match for the thief. However, she had the crows acting as living GPS, giving her real-time directions. Besides, East Lake Park wasn’t very big.

She slammed her hand on the gate. She had finally made it.

The crows circling above cawed loudly: “Waaaah! The jewelry thief is catching up!”

Ling Yue pressed her lips together and smiled lightly. “It’s fine. The people I’ve been waiting for have already arrived.”

In the sky, the excited crows suddenly froze mid-flap. Then they let out a loud caw.

“You’re talking to me?”

“Aaaah help! She can speak bird language!”

Ling Yue had already opened the gate. What greeted her was not only the scorching sunlight but also a group of people outside. She immediately locked onto Zhao Lin — the only person she recognized.

She had seen him online before. He was the manager of the Longxiang Jewelry branch in the east of the city. Although only once, she had a photographic memory.

Ling Yue said, “Manager Zhao, I’m the one who reported the case earlier.”

“What I’m carrying is the stolen goods. Please wait a moment.”

She made a gesture as if listening carefully. Her mysterious demeanor made everyone subconsciously hold their breath. Except for the experienced officers, Lin Shaoze at the front frowned. *What a strange person.*

The next moment, a shrill bird cry rang out. Ling Yue, who had been hiding to the side, suddenly swung the heavy bag in her hand. What happened next left everyone dumbfounded.

Dozens of kilograms of gold and jewelry smashed heavily onto the man who had just rushed out, producing a painful dull thud.

The man staggered. His brain took a heavy blow. In his dizziness, he could only make out Ling Yue’s face. It was exactly as he had guessed — it was this bitch!

Ling Yue declared loudly: “I want to report him. He is the main culprit behind the East City jewelry theft case!”

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