Ignoring Ka Ka’s warning, Su Muzhi placed her hand on its body. Unlike the soft fur of the animals at the rescue station, she only felt hard bone—so prominent it was as if only a thin layer of skin and fur remained to cover what lay beneath.
Ka Ka froze.
It had been a long time since it last felt human touch. How long exactly, it couldn’t remember anymore.
A blurred figure surfaced in its mind. Tears welled up in its eyes, and the image gradually sharpened into an elderly man with silver hair.
It remembered now. That was the first keeper it ever met—the only person who had truly cared for it.
Ka Ka was still pacing in circles, but it lowered its head to look at the girl beside it. The same movements, the same expression, the same lack of disgust toward it as that old man. Slowly, it stopped moving and stood still, looking at her gently as it spoke in a low voice:
“You remind me of someone. You’re very much like him.”
Su Muzhi paused, then took out three or four apples from her bag and held them out in front of Ka Ka, smiling brightly:
“You mean he looks like me? I’m this pretty—there can’t be a second me, right?”
Ka Ka swallowed.
It had not seen apples in a very long time. It was too old, too noisy, and no one cared about it anymore. The zoo had long stopped investing in its care. It usually only received the cheapest feed—apples were something it could not even dream of.
It tried to bite the apple, but its limbs suddenly moved on their own, beginning a repetitive ball-throwing motion. It was a stereotyped behavior, deeply ingrained in its body, automatically triggered by certain stimuli.
“Ka Ka!”
The moment Ka Ka stood up, Su Muzhi immediately recognized that its compulsive behavior had started again. Like before, she gently placed her hand on its body. Her warmth spread through her palm into its frame.
The red apple fell with a soft thud onto the grass, rolling forward a few times. Ka Ka immediately grabbed it and took a big bite.
The sweet juice of the apple spread through its mouth. A spark seemed to explode in its mind, rekindling something long extinguished—hope.
It leaned against the rockery and sat down, continuing what it had not finished saying:
“It’s not that she looks like you. It’s that your behavior is similar. Both of you appeared when I was at my most desperate, giving me a sliver of hope. Unfortunately, I didn’t hold onto it last time… this time…”
Ka Ka did not finish. Its eyes were filled with exhaustion and helplessness.
Su Muzhi felt its despair and softly comforted it:
“This time it won’t be the same. I want to take you out of this place—not just you, but all the animals here. So, are you willing to trust me once more?”
Her determined gaze met Ka Ka’s eyes. For a moment, her figure overlapped with someone from its memory.
Something inexplicable made Ka Ka feel that it could trust her.
“…Okay.”
It blurted out the word, then immediately felt as if it had been possessed. It had already prepared itself for death, yet it had still agreed.
Since it had said it, then so be it. At least it could be for those small bears next door, who cried in pain through the night.
After receiving Ka Ka’s answer, Su Muzhi finally relaxed.
“Ka Ka, I know that besides you, the other brown bears are being abused. Can you reach them?”
Ka Ka answered directly:
“No. But our enclosures aren’t far apart. I often hear their cries at night. I should be able to communicate with them.”
Su Muzhi nodded, unsurprised—this was within her expectations.
“Good. Tonight ask them for details about the abuse site. If possible, try to describe a rough map. I’ll attach a small recording device to your fur later. I’ll come back for it tomorrow.”
Ka Ka agreed.
After that, Su Muzhi cleaned the enclosure. She spent the entire afternoon, but only managed to clear a small area. Before leaving, she clipped the recording device deep into Ka Ka’s fur.
“Be careful.”
Ka Ka looked at her deeply and nodded.
Back at the dormitory, Su Muzhi collapsed onto the bed, unwilling to move.
Black Bird kept pacing on her head while Little Ma kept calling from outside the window. She had no choice but to get up, prepare two portions of food, and open the window to let Little Ma in to eat with Black Bird.
Watching the unexpectedly warm scene, her expression softened slightly. She took a photo and sent it to Chen Zhiye, just to report that Black Bird was doing fine with her.
Right after sending it, an unknown number called.
After a three-second pause, she answered.
“Hello?”
A low, dark voice came through the receiver.
“Why didn’t you livestream today?”
Su Muzhi sighed internally. This man was as persistent as a snake lurking in the dark.
But outwardly she remained composed.
“Mr. Zhang, livestreaming is for promoting the zoo, not destroying it. I need to clean the enclosures first and build a bond with Ka Ka before going live.”
The man still sounded suspicious:
“But you said earlier you were in a hurry to make money. Now you’re not?”
She replied flatly:
“They’re not the same thing. If I go live now, people will only criticize the zoo’s management. We won’t make money, and the account might even be lost.”
“So I need time.”
After a pause, he relented:
“Fine. I’ll give you time. But don’t push your luck just because I appreciate you.”
After hanging up, Su Muzhi muttered:
“Idiot.”
Black Bird and Little Ma both looked up in shock.
“Su Su, you can curse people?”
Black Bird immediately panicked, while Little Ma eagerly exposed it:
“Black Boss said you don’t know how to curse anyone!”
Black Bird shot Little Ma a glare.
Su Muzhi became interested:
“What else did your Black Boss say about me?”
“Little Ma!”
But it was too late.
Little Ma, unable to resist the temptation of a bag of mealworms suddenly produced by Su Muzhi, flew onto her shoulder.
“Alright, Su Su, I’ll tell you…”