On the other side, Chen Zhanye originally thought Blackie had just gone to the back mountain to play with its friends. But an entire day passed without any sign of it, and his unease gradually grew.
On top of that, Su Muzhi’s sudden departure made it obvious to him—no matter how slowly he thought about it—that something was off. He called her again.
This time, Su Muzhi did not ignore the call. She answered immediately and said before he could speak:
“Blackie is with me. Don’t worry, I’ll send it back to you in a couple of days, safe and sound.”
She hung up right after.
Before coming here, she had considered telling Chen Zhanye about her plan. But given his personality, he would never agree. This, however, was the fastest way. She did not want to experience another animal death again.
【Old Chen, don’t listen to her nonsense! She’s lying!】
Blackie, who had been listless earlier, immediately perked up upon hearing Chen Zhanye’s voice and shouted toward the phone.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard it yelled, Chen Zhanye could not understand it.
Su Muzhi sat at her desk studying the animal park map, occasionally marking and scribbling on it. She casually poured cold water on Blackie’s excitement:
“Save your energy. He can’t understand you.”
Blackie became even more furious. It flew in front of her, standing on the map and scolding her:
【Su Muzhi, I never realized you were this cruel! Why is the world so unfair, giving special abilities to someone like you!】
Su Muzhi looked up and met its eyes.
“Then go argue with the heavens.”
Blackie was so angry it felt like smoke was coming out of its head, but Su Muzhi acted as if nothing had happened. She opened the drawer, took her ID badge, and walked out.
【Where are you going?!】
“To work.”
She had already made up her mind: she needed to return to work early and find the truth as soon as possible. Blackie had been refusing to eat out of anger these past two days, and she feared that before the investigation even ended, it would already collapse from starvation.
Blackie watched her leave, hopping furiously on the table. Then it glanced at the map and a malicious idea formed.
If she was going to be so heartless, it would just ruin her map.
It flapped into the air, preparing to “strike,” but paused mid-flight when it saw the markings more clearly.
At first it had been too close to see properly. Now it could read the writing.
【Suspect Point One, Suspect Point Two… what is all this?】
It began to suspect that Su Muzhi was hiding something from it. If it had been before, it could have investigated on its own—but now it was confined here.
Then it suddenly remembered the sparrow it had spoken to earlier.
【Little Ma, are you there?】
A plump sparrow poked its head out from a branch outside the window.
【I’m here, Big Brother Black. What do you need?】
Blackie told it the marked locations on the map:
【Elephant House, Brown Bear Enclosure, Fox House, and Raptor House. Do you know these places?】
The sparrow trembled at the names, fear in its eyes.
【Why are you suddenly asking about those places? I’m telling you—except for the elephant house, don’t go near the others. They’re terrifying!】
Blackie became alert.
【Why?】
The sparrow became excited and hopped closer to the window frame.
【Black Brother, you’re new so you don’t know. These places are famous around here. They’re called “devil enclosures”!】
It began recounting rumors: someone who once accidentally entered saw blood everywhere, animals crammed into cages, humans selecting animals for twisted purposes, torturing them until they were barely alive, then “treating” them so they wouldn’t die. When they grew bored, the good-looking ones were kept as displays, and the rest disappeared forever.
Blackie was skeptical.
【Is that true?】
【Of course! We sparrows are well-informed! I swear on it!】
Blackie admitted sparrows were usually reliable, even if exaggerated. But why was Su Muzhi investigating these places?
Before it could think further, the sparrow suddenly warned:
【Black Brother, someone is coming toward your room!】
Blackie immediately reacted. It knew only this room was in use, so whoever was coming was likely targeting Su Muzhi’s place.
It quickly flew up and dropped its “payload,” perfectly covering the marked areas on the map.
The door opened with a creak.
It was Zhang Tengshi.
He entered and began rummaging through the desk. Seeing the bird-dropping-soaked map, he cursed under his breath and moved on.
He opened a drawer and found a worn notebook. A slip of paper fell out—a one-million IOU note.
His eyes lit up.
“So she’s in debt for a million. No wonder she’s rushing to switch sides.”
He took a photo, put everything back, and left.
Blackie emerged from its hiding spot, thinking quietly.
It had formed a vague understanding—it might know what Su Muzhi was planning now.
That afternoon, Su Muzhi returned from work exhausted and frustrated. None of the animals at the park were willing to interact with her, and she had been assigned to the panda enclosure all day without finding anything unusual.
The moment she opened the door, she saw Blackie staring at her from the back of a chair.
She assumed it would mock her again—but it spoke differently this time.
【I’m hungry. I want food!】
Her eyes lit up. She rushed to the drawer to get its food bag.
The moment she looked down, she realized something was wrong.
Just as she expected—someone had been here.