After receiving the message, Chen Zhiye returned to the rescue center.
When he saw Su Muzhi’s completely empty desk, he was stunned.
Hadn’t she said she was only taking a few days off?
Then why had she taken all her belongings with her?
He tried calling her, but no one answered.
Looking around, he noticed that Hei Zi, who usually loved perching by the window, was nowhere to be seen either.
An uneasy feeling crept into his heart.
It felt as though something was quietly brewing in a corner beyond his knowledge.
Looking at the constantly vibrating phone, Su Muzhi sighed inwardly.
The words “Station Chief Chen” reflected in her eyes.
Beside her, Hei Zi mocked her mercilessly.
[Oh, look at that. Why aren’t you answering Old Chen’s call? Feeling guilty, are you?]
Su Muzhi silenced the phone and placed it face down.
Opening the door, she turned back to Hei Zi.
“I’m going out for a walk. Stay here and behave yourself.”
Without waiting for its reaction, she slammed the door shut.
She wandered aimlessly through the enormous zoo.
Groups of tourists passed by in twos and threes, making her solitary figure seem especially out of place.
Using the visitor map she carried, she eventually found a remote enclosure.
Inside was an elderly brown bear.
Its eyes were dull and lifeless as it sat beside an artificial rock formation.
Perhaps because of its age, nobody paid much attention to it anymore.
Its body was gaunt, with hardly any flesh left on its bones.
After carefully checking that nobody was watching, Su Muzhi approached the enclosure and asked in a very soft voice:
“Can you hear me?”
As far as she knew, brown bears had better hearing than humans.
Her voice was quiet enough that passersby wouldn’t hear it.
She only hoped the bear’s hearing hadn’t deteriorated too much with age.
The bear’s ears twitched.
It looked around after hearing the voice.
When it found only Su Muzhi standing there, disappointment flashed across its face, and it lowered its head again.
It simply didn’t believe a human would be talking to it.
Seeing that it had reacted, Su Muzhi’s eyes brightened.
She repeated herself softly:
“You heard correctly. I’m talking to you, Brown Bear.”
The bear seemed unable to believe it.
It immediately began pacing around the artificial rock, circling it over and over.
Su Muzhi’s heart sank.
This was a classic example of stereotypic behavior in animals—a psychological disorder caused by being unable to satisfy their natural needs.
“Miss Su, what are you looking at?”
Just as Su Muzhi was about to call out to the bear again and try to stir its memories, Zhang Wentao appeared out of nowhere.
Startled, she jumped back several steps.
Following her gaze, Zhang Wentao noticed the bear still pacing in circles.
He watched it with great interest for quite a while before sighing:
“I never realized our zoo had such a little treasure. If we posted this online, it would definitely go viral. Miss Su really does have an eye for discovering hidden gems.”
For the final sentence, he deliberately leaned closer.
Su Muzhi could even feel his warm breath.
The sensation made her skin crawl.
It felt as though a venomous snake had wrapped itself around her.
Goosebumps rose all over her body.
“You seem to have a lot of free time, President Zhang.”
Suppressing her disgust, she forced herself to stay calm.
Yet seeing Zhang Wentao take such an interest in the bear filled her with fear.
Had she acted too rashly this time?
Could she have inadvertently put the bear in even greater danger?
“Not really,” Zhang Wentao replied.
“The main reason is that you forgot your employee badge. I brought it over for you.”
He handed her a brand-new employee ID card.
Attached to it was a one-inch photograph of Su Muzhi.
But it wasn’t a recent picture.
It was a photo from her high school days.
Shock and fear filled Su Muzhi’s eyes.
The hand holding the badge trembled uncontrollably.
Meanwhile, Zhang Wentao seemed to thoroughly enjoy seeing her wary of him.
Smiling, he turned and left.
Su Muzhi stared at his retreating figure for a long time, unable to regain her composure.
Only when the bear inside the enclosure let out a hoarse sound did she snap back to reality.
[Little girl, this isn’t a good place. You should run away.]
She turned and looked deeply at the bear.
Not daring to stay any longer for fear of increasing Zhang Wentao’s suspicions, she only said two words:
“Wait for me.”
The bear stopped pacing.
Its cloudy eyes fixed on her, as though trying to memorize her face.
The growing number of mysteries left Su Muzhi increasingly uneasy.
She no longer had the mood to continue observing the zoo.
After a brief walk around, she returned to her dormitory.
Back in her room, she still didn’t dare let her guard down.
She locked the door, drew the curtains, and thoroughly searched every corner of the room.
Only after confirming there were no hidden recording devices did she finally breathe a sigh of relief and sit down at her desk.
Hei Zi watched her busying herself with disdain.
[Oh? Feeling guilty now? Afraid someone’s going to frame you?]
Su Muzhi ignored the sarcasm.
Her gaze remained fixed on the photograph.
She remembered it clearly.
The picture had been taken at school.
There had only been two copies.
One was attached to her student ID, which she had carefully stored away.
The other had always been tucked inside her phone case as a keepsake.
So how had Zhang Wentao obtained this photo?
And where had he first met her?
Her thoughts felt like a tangled mess.
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t figure it out.
Although Hei Zi was still angry over what it considered her betrayal, it felt obligated, as an old friend, to tell her what the sparrows had reported earlier.
[Don’t say I didn’t warn you. There aren’t any good people here. The sparrows said two vicious-looking men are planning to keep you under surveillance.]
“I know.”
Su Muzhi replied calmly.
Then she took out her phone and called Zhou Yu.
After two short rings, Zhou Yu’s cheerful voice came through the receiver.
“Su Su, what’s wrong? Miss me already?”
“Yeah, I miss you.”
After a pause, she continued:
“Xiaoyu, I wanted to ask you something. Do you remember anyone named Zhang Wentao from our high school?”
Frowning at the photo on the employee badge, she waited nervously for the answer.
“No, I don’t.
“But there was a poor student in Zhang Yaoxi’s class named Wentao. His surname wasn’t Zhang, though.
“Why are you suddenly asking about this? Did something happen?”
“No. I was just curious.”
After chatting for a few more minutes, Su Muzhi hung up.
Hei Zi looked at her with an expression of utter exasperation.
[Do you realize how dangerous this place is? All the animals say this zoo treats them terribly!]
Those words jolted Su Muzhi awake.
Her purpose for coming here had always been simple:
Find the person responsible for abusing and killing animals.
Gather evidence.
Send that person to prison.
That was the most important thing.
Everything else could wait.
Once she sorted out her priorities, she placed the employee badge inside a drawer and redirected her attention to the main objective.
Based on everything she had observed so far, she was almost certain the animal abuser was Zhang Wentao.
Too many of his actions felt suspicious.
Seeing that Su Muzhi continued to ignore it, Hei Zi finally reached the end of its patience.
Already hurt and frustrated, it flew directly in front of her.
Its voice was filled with accusation.
[Su Muzhi, you’ve changed. You’ve changed so much that I don’t even recognize you anymore. Just tell me it’s not true, and I’ll believe you!]
Looking into Hei Zi’s hopeful eyes, Su Muzhi’s heart ached.
Her lips parted slightly.
But in the end, not a single word came out.
Hei Zi’s final hope crumbled.
The light in its eyes dimmed.
Lowering its head, it quietly said:
[Okay. I understand.]