Chapter 457: Chapter 232: Welcome Director Yang for the Work Inspection

"This Feng Shui arrangement I’ve set up is for the animals that will be coming here."

The explanation was both mystical and strangely plausible. Feng Jianye and An Yumin nodded thoughtfully, not pressing the matter further.

After touring the park, Yang Qi went to see the pair of lions that had been transferred from Mingguang Zoo.

The lions were temporarily housed in the quarantine enclosures behind the veterinary hospital, an area specifically for newly arrived animals.

The conditions here were a vast improvement over Mingguang Zoo. The enclosures were clean, spacious, and well-ventilated, with an indoor resting area and a small outdoor yard.

As Yang Qi and the other two arrived outside the quarantine enclosures, the new keeper responsible for the two lions hurried over to report. "Director Feng, Director An. The lions are relatively stable. The lioness, Lisa, is still a little nervous and isn’t eating much. The cub, Simba, has adapted quickly, though. He’s already eating and playing normally."

Through the observation window, one could see the two lions, one large and one small, in the indoor enclosure.

The lioness, Lisa, lay on a bed of hay in the corner, her body slightly tense as she watched the window with wary eyes.

A little farther away, the half-grown cub, Simba, was having a grand time, curiously batting at a burlap ball. He would occasionally look up at his mother, as if wondering why she wouldn’t come play.

"I’m going to go see them."

Yang Qi said to Feng Jianye and An Yumin, then instructed the keeper, "Open the inner door. I’m going in. All of you wait out here. Don’t come in, and don’t make any loud noises."

"No, that’s too dangerous!"

The keeper was startled and quickly looked toward Feng Jianye and An Yumin.

"This is the director of our Xianlai Zoo, Yang Qi. Director Yang."

Feng Jianye introduced Yang Qi to the keeper first. With a serious expression, he said, "Director Yang is a renowned Animal Expert, a Special Investigator Advisor for the Donghua City Public Security Bureau, and a special training consultant for the Police Dog Base. He has a real gift for communicating with animals."

"Huh?"

The keeper’s eyes went wide, staring blankly at Yang Qi.

’The director?’

’A director this young?’

’And a special city advisor?!’

"..."

The keeper gulped. Even though he now knew Yang Qi was the director, he still didn’t move. Because this was a lion!

An unsettled adult lion that had just arrived, no less!

Seeing this, Feng Jianye also looked worriedly at Yang Qi and said, "Um, Director Yang, maybe we should observe for another two days? Or let Vice Director An use a tranquilizer blowgun first..."

"It’s fine. I know what I’m doing."

Yang Qi’s tone was calm. He smiled. "Teacher An, could you please get me one of Lisa’s favorite treats? A small piece of meat will do."

Then he looked at the keeper. "You don’t need to worry. If something really goes wrong, I’ll back out immediately."

"This..."

The keeper gritted his teeth. "Okay!"

An Yumin was worried too, but she had seen the videos of Yang Qi "communicating" with all sorts of dangerous animals: bare-handedly "pulling a tooth" from a Northeast Tiger, subduing a brown bear empty-handed, calming a pregnant leopard...

Coupled with an inexplicable faith in her future director, she didn’t try to dissuade him. Instead, she quickly went to the adjacent preparation room, fetched a small piece of fresh beef, and handed it to Yang Qi with a warning.

"Be extremely careful. If anything seems off, retreat at once. We’ll be right here to open the door."

"Okay."

Yang Qi took the beef, nodded to the others, and then signaled for the keeper to open the inner door to the indoor enclosure.

With a soft CLICK, the door swung open.

Holding the beef, Yang Qi walked in calmly, then gently pulled the door shut behind him.

Inside the enclosure, the light was dim, and the air was thick with the scent of lion.

The cub, Simba, was the first to spot the intruder. He stopped playing with his ball and looked at Yang Qi, a tentative, curious growl rumbling in his throat. He showed no immediate aggression, only curiosity.

The lioness, Lisa’s, reaction was much more intense.

She shot up from her bed of hay, the fur on her back bristling. Her amber eyes filled with alarm as she let out a low, warning roar at Yang Qi, her front paws restlessly scraping the floor.

[Untamed "Crimson Flame Frenzied Lion" detected. Host may bring it back to the sect to acquire contribution points.]

Yang Qi did not approach immediately.

He stood near the doorway, calmly meeting Lisa’s gaze. With a discreet flick of his left hand, he released some calming powder, which drifted silently toward the tense lioness.

Lisa’s low growls gradually quieted. She looked at Yang Qi, somewhat confused.

’This Two-legged Beast in front of me is different from the others I’ve seen before.’

’It’s not yelling, not throwing things at me, and it doesn’t have that frightening malice.’

’Instead, it has a very comfortable, approachable aura.’

Her body relaxed slightly, though she remained on guard.

Only then did Yang Qi, moving at a slow, unthreatening pace, produce the piece of beef.

He didn’t throw it over. He held it in his hand, slowly squatted down, and placed the beef on the ground not far in front of him.

"Hello, I’m Yang Qi. It’s safe here. From now on, this will be your home."

Yang Qi spoke softly, using the Basic Spirit Communication Technique.

The lioness’s eyes immediately widened, while the cub had a confused look on its face.

"Rrrr~"

[What kind of Two-legged Beast are you?]

[How can you speak our language?]

The lioness let out a surprised low growl.

Yang Qi didn’t answer, just pointed at the beef on the ground and said, "Are you hungry? If you’re hungry, have a bite."

"..."

"Lisa" sniffed the aroma of the beef, and her wariness lessened a little more.

After hesitating for a moment, she slowly took two steps towards the beef, then stopped again, looking at Yang Qi, then at the beef.

Yang Qi remained in a squat, making no extra movements, just watching her quietly with a gentle gaze.

Finally, unable to resist the lure of the food and the reassuring feeling he gave off, Lisa took a few more steps forward. She lowered her head, snatched up the piece of beef, and then retreated a few paces before devouring it.

She kept her eyes on Yang Qi as she ate.

Seeing his mother eating, the cub Simba also ran over happily. He sidled up to Lisa, trying to get a bite of the meat, but was gently nudged away by her head.

Simba wasn’t upset. He trotted over to Yang Qi, tilted his head, and curiously sized up this pleasant-smelling Two-legged Beast. A rumbling purr started in his throat, and he even gave Yang Qi’s pant leg a tentative sniff.

Yang Qi smiled slightly and extended his hand—not to pet Simba’s head, but held it out flat in front of the cub, palm up.

Simba sniffed Yang Qi’s palm, and seeming to decide there was no danger, he let out another rumble and licked Yang Qi’s palm with his rough tongue.

Then he flopped onto his back, exposing his belly, and started rolling around at Yang Qi’s feet, letting out happy little chuffs in a clear display of playful affection.

Yang Qi reached out and rubbed the cub’s belly. Simba chirped happily, his claws retracting instinctively as they playfully pawed at each other.

Meanwhile, Lisa had quickly finished the beef.

Watching her cub interact with Yang Qi, much of the wariness in her eyes dissipated.

She slowly walked a few steps closer, stopping about two meters away from Yang Qi. She took a deep, careful sniff of his scent, let out a low, inscrutable sound from her throat, and then lay down a short distance away, watching Yang Qi and Simba.

In just a few short minutes, the situation had gone from tense and hostile to relatively peaceful, with the cub even playing affectionately.

Outside the observation window, Feng Jianye, An Yumin, and the keeper were all dumbfounded, their mouths agape and their eyes wide.

"...That’s... that’s it? He handled it?"

The keeper murmured, his face full of disbelief.

"The rumors don’t do him justice. The Director’s affinity with animals is simply divine..." Feng Jianye adjusted his reading glasses and shook his head in amazement.

An Yumin’s eyes, however, were sparkling. As she watched Yang Qi coexisting peacefully with the two lions, the last of her doubts evaporated, leaving only heartfelt admiration and excitement.

’With a director this incredible, how could Xianlai possibly fail?’

’And how could the animals here not be considered fortunate?’

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