Chapter 180 - 144: Lovesick Crimson Flame Frenzied Lion

"Okay. By the way, old classmate, want to add each other on WeChat? We should keep in touch." Chen Qiaodan took out her phone.

Yang Qi didn’t refuse. The two of them scanned QR codes to add each other, then headed to their respective cars.

The rest of the journey was silent.

An hour later, the bullet train arrived at the Provincial Capital’s high-speed rail station.

Yang Qi disembarked with his backpack, following the flow of people out of the train car.

Once he was off the platform, he dialed the number for the pickup personnel, which had been sent to him by his contact at Red Star Zoo.

"Hello, this is Yang Qi. I’ve just arrived at the station."

"Hello, Advisor Yang. I’m over by Exit A3, holding a sign that says ’Advisor Yang.’ I’m wearing a gray polo shirt."

"Okay."

Soon enough, Yang Qi found the person sent to pick him up at the exit.

He was a male staff member in his thirties who looked capable and composed.

After a brief exchange to confirm their identities, the man enthusiastically led Yang Qi to the parking lot.

They got in the car, which then pulled out of the station and sped toward Red Star Zoo.

They arrived at the zoo.

The one to greet Yang Qi was the Minister of the Animal Management Department, Zhao Mingfeng.

He was a slightly heavyset, middle-aged man in his forties.

"Advisor Yang, we’ve been so anxious for your arrival! Thank you for coming all this way."

Zhao Mingfeng greeted him in front of the office building with great enthusiasm.

"You’re too kind, Minister Zhao. It’s my job," Yang Qi said, shaking his hand.

"The situation is urgent, so let’s skip the pleasantries. The lion, Bart, is getting worse. Could I trouble you to go take a look at him right away, Advisor Yang?" Zhao Mingfeng cut to the chase.

"Of course. Take me to the lion enclosure," Yang Qi agreed with a nod.

Without further delay, Zhao Mingfeng personally led the way. They boarded a tour cart and headed toward the carnivore section deep inside the zoo, making for the lion enclosure.

...

When they arrived at the lion enclosure, several people had already gathered in the outside observation area.

In addition to a few veterinarians from Red Star Zoo, there was a well-built man in his fifties. He had salt-and-pepper hair but looked hale and hearty. With a furrowed brow, he was pointing at something inside the enclosure, discussing it in a low voice with the vets.

Zhao Mingfeng saw this and hurried over to make introductions.

"Director Lu, this is Yang Qi from Donghua Zoo. Advisor Yang."

"Advisor Yang, this is the deputy director of Yongcheng Zoo, Lu Gangsheng. He’s a renowned expert on large felines in the country. We specifically invited him to consult on Bart."

"Director Lu, it’s an honor. I’ve heard a great deal about you," Yang Qi said, stepping forward and politely extending his hand.

Lu Gangsheng also extended his hand, giving Yang Qi’s a firm shake. His palm was broad and powerful. He sized up Yang Qi, his tone serious but tinged with curiosity.

"I’ve heard a lot about you even back in Yongcheng, Advisor Yang. Calming a brown bear with your bare hands, communicating with dangerous animals as if it were nothing... Seeing you in person, you’re every bit as young and promising as they say."

"My colleagues and I have been observing Bart all day. We’ve run several rounds of tests, and his vitals are basically normal. We just can’t find the root cause of his refusal to eat."

"I’m afraid we’ll have to trouble you today, Advisor Yang. Perhaps your ’communication’ method will work wonders."

"You give me too much credit, Director Lu. I’ll do my best," Yang Qi replied humbly.

After that brief exchange,

Yang Qi turned to Zhao Mingfeng. "Minister Zhao, please have someone open the enclosure door. I’ll go in through the keeper’s passage to take a look."

"Of course, I’ll arrange it right now." Zhao Mingfeng immediately gestured to a nearby keeper.

The keeper opened the enclosure door at once. Yang Qi thanked him and stepped inside.

When Lu Gangsheng saw Yang Qi walk in empty-handed, without even any basic protective gear, he was flabbergasted. He couldn’t help but blurt out, "Advisor Yang is going in just like that?"

Zhao Mingfeng was apparently already "used" to Yang Qi’s style. He gave Lu Gangsheng a wry smile and explained, "Director Lu, we talked privately after Advisor Yang handled the brown bear incident."

"He said that wearing bulky protective gear interferes with an animal’s ability to perceive his scent. His special affinity, his ability to communicate with animals, is largely achieved through a ’unique aura’ he emits—one that makes animals feel calm and trusting."

He paused, then added, "And according to Advisor Yang himself, he was born with this aura."

Despite this, Zhao Mingfeng still discreetly motioned to two burly security guards standing nearby. For safety’s sake, he gestured for them to get the high-pressure water hoses, tranquilizer guns, and other emergency equipment ready.

They were to watch the enclosure closely and rush in to intervene at the first sign of trouble.

Lu Gangsheng’s astonishment didn’t fade as he listened to the explanation. His eyes, however, now held a look of inquiry as he muttered to himself.

’A natural, friendly aura? Is that really a thing?’

As an expert who had studied carnivores for decades, he had seen plenty of exceptionally talented keepers and Beast Tamers. But this was the first time he’d ever seen anyone so "skilled and bold" that they would enter a carnivore’s enclosure practically unprotected.

...

Inside the enclosure, Yang Qi was oblivious to the conversation and concerns of the two men outside.

Not wearing protective gear was, in fact, just an excuse he used for his various "unconventional" operations.

Whether he was scattering the system-produced "calming powder" or using Magic, the bulky protective gear would only get in the way and diminish the effects.

Stepping into the dim interior of the enclosure, he was hit by the unique, musky odor of a large feline, mixed with the scent of disinfectant.

The male lion, Bart, was still lying listlessly on a raised, dry stone platform deep inside the enclosure. He barely lifted an eyelid at Yang Qi’s entrance before lazily closing it again. He didn’t even give a token warning growl, looking utterly dejected.

Yang Qi’s expression didn’t change. As he slowly approached, he quietly took a pinch of calming powder from his Hundred Pouches Belt. With a natural-looking motion, he scattered it. The invisible powder transformed into a tranquilizing aura that slowly drifted toward the lion on the stone platform.