Su Muzhi looked up, intending to place the bowl on the desk, and paused slightly when she saw the map on the table. Something was wrong—she had forgotten to hide it.
Blackie noticed her gaze lingering on the map and quickly tried to signal her.
【What are you looking at? Never seen this masterpiece before? You even sent someone to monitor me, huh? But they can’t catch up to my speed. By the time they arrived, I’d already finished my masterpiece!】
Although Su Muzhi felt Blackie was acting oddly today, at least this ensured that whoever was monitoring her had only seen what she intended them to see.
“Alright, I’ll clean up. You eat first.”
Seeing the sparrow outside the window drooling uncontrollably, Blackie suddenly stopped her and said awkwardly:
【Wait! I’ve got a friend—I want it to eat with me!】
Su Muzhi paused slightly. Blackie’s behavior today was unusual, but it seemed to be moving in a positive direction, so she nodded.
Outside the window, a sparrow was already impatient, twisting its round body, ready to squeeze through the gap once the window opened.
The moment it got in, it rushed straight toward the food without even acknowledging Blackie, burying its head in eating.
【Oh my god, this is amazing!】
Su Muzhi smiled at its behavior, which contrasted sharply with Blackie’s more “refined” eating style. She tried to gather information from the sparrow.
“Little Sparrow, are you a native here?”
The sparrow, which had been secretly observing for days, already knew Su Muzhi could understand animals, so it wasn’t surprised. It calmly swallowed its food before replying:
【My name is Xiao Ma. My family has lived here for generations.】
“I want to ask you something.”
Su Muzhi took out a complete map from her bag and pointed at several marked locations.
“Have you been to these places?”
Xiao Ma glanced at them and realized they were the same locations Blackie had asked about earlier. It looked at Blackie, who clearly gave it a warning stare.
Those places were dangerous—what if Su Muzhi got hurt?
But Xiao Ma’s lack of backbone quickly collapsed under the pressure of food and it obediently replied:
【I’ve only been to the elephant house. That’s the only safe one. I wouldn’t dare go anywhere else even if you gave me ten lives!】
Su Muzhi’s eyes flickered. Her suspicions seemed correct.
She continued asking:
“Are there any other dangerous places?”
Xiao Ma tilted its head and thought again. Then it looked at a spot on the map, fear filling its eyes.
“There’s one more place… it’s not even just scary. It’s basically hell!”
Su Muzhi immediately became interested and followed its gaze.
Primates Area!
She regretted forgetting about it. Those people were like demons—of course they wouldn’t spare animals that resembled humans the most. And if that logic continued, would they eventually target humans themselves?
Although this added an unexpected location, she still decided to follow her original plan: go to the brown bear enclosure first and take care of the elderly bear. Zhang Wentao had already set his sights on it—she needed to protect it.
After lunch break, Su Muzhi prepared to head to Zhang Wentao’s office to request a transfer to the brown bear area.
Only Blackie and the stuffed, immobile Xiao Ma remained in the room.
Blackie questioned it:
【Xiao Ma, why didn’t you tell me about the primates area?!】
Xiao Ma answered confidently:
【You didn’t ask!】
【You told her about such dangerous places—what if Su Su gets hurt?!】
Blackie panicked.
Xiao Ma looked confused:
【But Blackie, don’t you actually dislike Su Su?】
Blackie shot it a glare, still stubborn:
【What do you know? I just don’t want her to get hurt and then no one feeds me!】
Xiao Ma nodded in agreement and continued eating:
【That’s true. Losing such good food would be a pity!】
Meanwhile, Su Muzhi stood outside Zhang Wentao’s office. The door was slightly open, as if he had expected her arrival.
“Muzhi, how was your first day? Isn’t it much better here than your broken rescue station?”
Zhang Wentao didn’t even look up as he spoke softly.
Su Muzhi hated being called “Muzhi.” Combined with her disgust for this man, her expression darkened instantly.
“The environment is indeed much better. But I didn’t come here to be anyone’s assistant. Don’t forget—you recruited me for livestreaming.”
Zhang Wentao played with a pen, thinking of what his subordinate reported earlier about her debts. Now, seeing how urgently she wanted to earn money, it seemed true enough.
“What do you want, then?”
“I want to work in the brown bear area and take care of that bear that keeps circling. That would definitely go viral.”
Zhang Wentao finally looked up, his tone cold:
“Why not just film Blackie directly?”
Su Muzhi knew he was still testing her, so she put on a troubled expression.
“Blackie has been acting up lately and refusing to cooperate. This morning it even messed up my desk. I’m planning to starve it for a few days to teach it a lesson.”
Zhang Wentao burst into laughter and applauded.
“Muzhi, I didn’t expect you to be this ruthless. Good. You can report to the brown bear area this afternoon.”
When she arrived, the brown bear enclosure was the most filthy and chaotic she had ever seen—by far. It was nothing like the panda area from the morning.
The escorting staff member, Zhang Tengshi, warned her:
“You’re only responsible for feeding and basic care of Old Bear Kaka. Don’t wander anywhere else. Got it?”
She nodded. It seemed Kaka had already been abandoned due to its stereotypic behavior. That explained why Zhang Wentao allowed her assignment so easily.
After Zhang Tengshi left, she quickly unlocked the enclosure and approached the bear. The closer she got, the stronger the foul smell became—coming from Kaka itself.
Kaka turned its head when it heard her.
Its eyes widened in shock.
【Why are you still here? Didn’t I tell you to leave?!】
As she approached, the massive bear began trembling. Its gaze turned blank as it started circling the rock formation again, but still insisted in a shaking voice:
【Leave… listen to me… leave right now!】