Chapter 8: Scaring Oneself
Outside the door, the relentless pounding sounded like a death knell. Yu Yan Tan could already see the indentations of giant bear paws pressed against the iron gate.
The sight was horrifying, and her legs went weak with fear. Could the Gobi bears they had encountered in the uninhabited zone have found their way to the rescue station?
It was nearly three hundred kilometers away—how could that be possible?
“Sis, quickly get me some water! My eyes burn and hurt so badly!”
Hearing her brother’s agonized cries, Yu Yan Tan clutched her head, nearly losing her mind.
The water buckets inside the rescue station were empty; to fetch water, she would have to go to the courtyard fifty meters away.
But the chili base used for hotpot was so potent—what if her brother’s eyes went blind?
Just as Yu Yan Tan hesitated, there was a loud “bang,” and the thin iron door collapsed to the ground.
At the doorway stood a bear shadow over two meters tall, as imposing as a mountain.
Terrified, Yu Yan Tan covered her mouth, clenched the electric baton in her hand, and switched it on.
But then—one, two, three—three shadows loomed like three towering mountains at the door.
She could no longer steady the baton, retreating step by step, while clutching her phone tightly in the other hand.
At that moment, regret flooded her heart.
To avoid sudden rescue tasks from their superiors, she and her brother sometimes turned off the rescue station’s signal booster, putting their phones into no-signal mode.
This way, their superiors assumed their routine patrol in the uninhabited zone was without signal and would assign tasks to other stations.
“Roar—”
The three bears roared in unison, the sound deafening, nearly shattering eardrums.
Yu Yan Tan, backing up in panic, didn’t notice she had stepped onto spilled hotpot broth and vegetables. Her foot slipped, and she fell hard, pain shooting through her tailbone.
Worse still, the electric baton she had switched on slipped from her hand and touched the liquid, instantly conducting electricity.
The baton hissed sharply, blue arcs dancing in the water, quickly reaching her body.
Her whole body trembled, muscles convulsing involuntarily, her fierce expression instantly replaced by agony.
The electric current not only passed through her but also traveled through the spilled broth to reach her brother, who was clutching his eyes and wailing in pain.
“Ahhhhh—”
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The misfortune piled on for Ming Tan: burning, tingling, and electric shocks combined like torture as his body convulsed, his screams pitiful and heart-wrenching.
Xue Ying Xu, holding a small flashlight, peeked from behind the Gobi bears and saw this entire scene.
She hadn’t even started to discipline them yet—how did these two end up lying so miserably on the floor?
Xu Ying gave a thumbs-up to the bears. “Brother Bear, you’re amazing! Just banging on the door scared them silly!”
The three Gobi bears scratched their heads sheepishly.
[It’s these two who are too weak. We haven’t even started to get serious, and they’ve already wiped themselves out.]
When the baton’s charge was spent, Yu Yan Tan and her brother had already fainted.
Xu Ying’s gaze landed on the tablet on the ground. Carefully stepping over the spilled hotpot broth, she picked it up.
Fortunately, the tablet, won in a knowledge contest by the original owner, hadn’t been damaged.
These two terrible colleagues were like thieves—forcefully “borrowing” the original owner’s tablet without returning it, and treating it so carelessly.
“Station chief, I have some alcohol wipes; you can clean it.”
Ze Xi Ning quickly pulled some alcohol wipes from his backpack.
Xu Ying took them with a thank you and carefully cleaned the tablet.
Though he wasn’t close to the two, Ning Ze Xi already despised them fiercely. “They’ve passed out—what do we do with them now?”
Xu Ying stroked her chin. “They left me abandoned in the uninhabited zone to fend for myself. Now they can taste hunger and cold!”
With the help of the big Gobi bears, Yu Yan Tan and her brother were dragged outside the rescue station to air out.
The fennec fox pups, exhausted from a day of turmoil and travel, needed plenty of sleep to continue growing.
Xu Ying found small blankets to line their airline carriers.
The fennec foxes huddled together, like a large fluffy ball of white yarn with little elf-like ears.
They seemed to have made a silent pact, all gazing at Xu Ying with their sparkling black grape-like eyes.
[Sis, do you have milk? Cow’s milk or goat’s milk? We want milk~]
[Mama’s been missing these days, and we’ve only been eating little bugs. After eating, we feel so full and it’s hard to digest~]
Hearing this, Xu Ying smacked her forehead. Oh no! The pups’ cooperative and sensible behavior during the day almost made her forget they were still nursing cubs.
Fennec fox cubs under five weeks old rely on their mother’s milk; only after five weeks do mothers gradually introduce solid food.
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It was truly a hardship for these motherless cubs. Xu Ying’s heart softened. They were so strong and so sensible!
In this resource-starved desert, where could she quickly get formula or fresh milk?
The youngest little fox glanced cautiously at the shabby rescue station.
[Sis, it’s okay if you don’t have any. We can eat bugs and fruit~]
Aww!
Such thoughtful and considerate little ones!
Xu Ying felt even more affectionate. “Good babies, I’ll do everything I can to get you milk powder and fresh milk, even if it costs me my last breath!”
[Thank you, sis~]
The cubs’ adorably sweet thanks made Xu Ying feel like she was floating on air. She sang a lullaby to soothe them to sleep.
Once the cubs were asleep, Xu Ying asked Ning Ze Xi, “Did you bring any milk?”
She explained the weaning situation of the fennec fox cubs.
Ning Ze Xi shook his head helplessly. “I’ve been allergic to dairy products since childhood.”
His eyes flicked thoughtfully, and he offered a suggestion. “Let me first post on social media to see if any kind-hearted netizens can help.”
He immediately pulled out his phone and began composing a post.
“By the way, my viewers have been eager for you to start a social media account. Most of them followed me today because of you.”
Ning Ze Xi typed as he spoke. “Your video of the fennec fox cubs lining up to enter the airline carrier went viral. Netizens want to see your daily life raising the fox cubs live, and they also want to watch you perform prenatal checkups on the Gobi bears.”
“Register an account quickly. I’ll jump on the momentum and promote you. You can start streaming tomorrow at 9 a.m. Then ask the all-knowing viewers if they can help.”
As an experienced streamer, Ning Ze Xi knew well that the time after 9 a.m. was prime time—office workers slacking at their desks, parents free after dropping off their kids at school...
His enthusiastic suggestion reminded Xu Ying that creating a social media account to share desert wildlife rescue would be essential.
It would help attract more attention to desert conservation and animal rescue, and the power of netizens could be a great help.