Su Muzhi walked aside with both hands covered in blood, accidentally stepping into the livestream camera’s frame. The screen immediately filled with a flood of exclamation marks.
The bleeding gradually stopped. At the same time, Veterinarian Huang finally arrived on his electric bike. Taking in the chaotic scene, his expression grew even more serious. He stepped forward to examine the eagle-owl and immediately ordered Chen Zhiye:
“Quick, get it into the car!”
Chen Zhiye didn’t even have time to rinse the blood off his hands. He picked up the owl and rushed toward the vehicle, not forgetting to remind Su Muzhi:
“Su Su, I’ll take it down the mountain first. The rest is up to you!”
Su Muzhi nodded, then looked down at her trembling hands and quietly mocked herself.
“How did I become worse than before?”
She squatted on the ground to steady herself. Once her hands finally stopped shaking, she picked up the cardboard box and examined it closely.
Among the sea of red, a patch of white stood out sharply. Her heart sank. The worst outcome had still happened—this time, it was likely the same group that had harmed Long Princess.
She reached in and pulled out a note. The perpetrator was clearly skilled and deliberately provocative—worried that blood would blur the writing, they had wrapped it in cling film before placing it inside.
The handwriting was chillingly clear. Only a few words were written, but the mocking tone was unmistakable:
“You’re still nothing. There’ll be another surprise next month!”
A surge of anger shot straight to her head. It was the first time she had encountered someone so shameless—far more despicable than even Scarface.
She washed the blood off her hands and bent down to clean the bloodstains at the gate. Only then did she notice the phone still streaming.
Her expression changed instantly.
Bad.
She quickly picked it up. She had assumed the livestream audience would be small—but instead, it was even larger than before. The comments flooded in as soon as she appeared.
<Su Su, how’s the situation?><Is the animal still alive?>
Su Muzhi forced a smile.
“Thank you for your concern. I’ll end the livestream for now. After I finish cleaning up here and go down the mountain, I’ll update everyone.”
She quickly ended the stream.
Originally, she intended to look for the electric bike, but as if guided by instinct, she unconsciously walked toward Long Princess’s enclosure.
Long Princess flew up to the front upon hearing movement, still as arrogant as ever.
【What, so you finally remember me? The past few days it’s been that rough guy taking care of me—I thought you’d forgotten me.】
Su Muzhi gently stroked its head through the bars and sighed.
“How could I forget you? You’re the first animal I ever saved myself.”
Long Princess leaned into the touch, clearly enjoying it, but quickly sensed something was wrong.
【Spit it out. Something happened, didn’t it? Tell me—maybe I can help.】
Su Muzhi smiled and ruffled its feathers again, not planning to tell it the truth. She feared it might end up with psychological trauma like the ferret.
“It’s nothing. I just missed you. I need to go down the mountain for a bit.”
By the time she reached the foot of the mountain, Chen Zhiye and Veterinarian Huang were already there, heads lowered, washing blood off their hands with grim expressions.
“How is it?”
Veterinarian Huang sat down heavily on a chair and took a long drink of water before speaking.
“It was too badly injured. We couldn’t save it.”
Su Muzhi accepted the fact without expression. She took the bloodstained note from her pocket and placed it on the table.
“Take a look. It was found in another box.”
Chen Zhiye slammed the table hard after reading it.
“Damn it.”
Veterinarian Huang hadn’t seen the note, but he could guess its contents.
“Any updates from the police on Long Princess’s case?”
Su Muzhi shook her head.
“Not yet. At first, they suspected Scarface, but he denies everything. And now with this incident… it probably wasn’t him.”
The atmosphere in the clinic dropped another level.
Unable to stand the suffocating silence, Chen Zhiye stood up, lit a cigarette, and walked outside without saying a word.
“I’ll go check on the owl.”
Seeing his cue, Su Muzhi also fled into the treatment room.
The eagle-owl was smaller than Long Princess, barely an adult. Its wings had been brutally twisted into a grotesque angle. The empty eye socket silently screamed of the injustice it had suffered in life. Its heart, which should have been beating fiercely, was now eerily still.
It should have been soaring in the sky—but now it lay like it was merely asleep on the operating table.
When Chen Zhiye walked in, he saw Su Muzhi standing rigidly in place, tears covering her face. The moment she saw him, she broke down completely.
Her sobs grew louder until she was crying uncontrollably.
Chen Zhiye sighed and gently patted her shoulder. At this moment, she needed support more than anything. The familiar scent of smoke oddly gave her a sense of comfort, and she collapsed into his arms, crying without restraint.
It was her first real encounter with death.
Deep down, she had once believed that as long as they were rescued, the animals would not die.
Only after a long time did her emotions slowly settle.
Chen Zhiye spoke softly.
“Feel better after crying?”
Su Muzhi nodded awkwardly, wiping her swollen eyes.
“Then we should check the surveillance. The sooner we catch the culprit, the better we can give it closure.”
The surveillance footage was clear—but the intruder had clearly come prepared: hat, sunglasses, mask, full disguise. The entire visit lasted less than five minutes. Before leaving, they even turned toward the camera and flashed a mocking peace sign.
Veterinarian Huang slammed his cup onto the table.
“How can someone be this shameless!”
After releasing their emotions, Su Muzhi and Chen Zhiye had become unusually calm.
“I’ll post the footage on our account later and see if anyone recognizes him. But we can’t just wait.”
Chen Zhiye nodded.
“We can’t, but we basically know nothing about him.”
Then Su Muzhi added:
“Even the feed store owners downstairs didn’t know there was a rescue station here—but he did. That means he knows this place extremely well, and is probably monitoring us constantly. He even knew we installed new cameras.”
A thought formed in her mind.
“If he pays this much attention to us… could he also be watching our livestreams?”
Chen Zhiye suddenly looked up.
“You haven’t posted about the owl’s death or a missing person notice yet, right?”
Su Muzhi froze.
“No… why?”
Then she understood immediately.
“You mean… we set a trap and wait for him to walk into it?”