Chapter 401 - 217: The Enraged Crimson Flame Frenzied Lion (Part 2)
Chapter 401: Chapter 217: The Enraged Crimson Flame Frenzied Lion (Part 2)
For the most part, tourists were now able to follow the rules. Uncivilized behaviors like feeding the animals or tapping on the glass had decreased significantly.
Yang Qi’s patrol duties became much less stressful.
He still walked through the various exhibits every day, sensing for any trace of discordant fluctuations.
But most of the time, what he perceived were the stable or slightly weary emotions of the animals, along with the heightened but orderly excitement of the tourists.
Yang Qi focused more of his energy on the animals with a "prior record" or those that were particularly sensitive.
For instance, the alpaca "Sunflower" in the herbivore area had her mood stabilize significantly after being moved to a secluded back enclosure. Yang Qi made a point to detour past her every day to make sure she hadn’t been "forgotten."
Another example was the male kangaroo sensitive to the color red. The zookeepers had followed Yang Qi’s suggestion and put up an eye-catching sign outside the enclosure, and the situation had improved.
The busy yet orderly days slid by, bringing the holiday to its end.
On the sixth day, the flow of visitors began to slowly recede. Although the park was still bustling, it lacked the "bursting-at-the-seams" feeling of the previous few days.
Yang Qi found some time in the evening to visit the Veterinary Station and check on the red panda cub, An An, who was now able to eat small amounts.
The little one was recovering well. When it saw Yang Qi, it even let out a soft chirp as a greeting.
「In the blink of an eye, it was the last day of the long National Day holiday.」
It was just after three in the afternoon. The sun was slanting west, and the heat was subsiding.
Most of the tourists had their fill of fun and were beginning to leave one after another. The flow of people on the park’s main path started to reverse, streaming toward the exit.
Yang Qi had just finished his patrol of the Bear Mountain area and was walking along the tree-lined path leading to Lion Mountain.
Just then—
"ROAR!!"
An ear-splitting lion’s roar, filled with frenzied rage, suddenly exploded from the direction of Lion Mountain like a clap of thunder on a clear day.
This was not the usual lazy, territory-claiming growl. It was a roar that carried a tearing force, filled with unconcealed killing intent and fury.
It was followed by a second roar, and then a third.
Along with a series of heavy, rapid impacts: "THUD! THUD! THUD!"
It sounded as if some behemoth was frantically ramming against a wall.
Yang Qi’s expression changed. He pushed off with his feet and sprinted toward Lion Mountain.
Bear Mountain wasn’t far from Lion Mountain. After two turns and a path through a bamboo grove, Lion Mountain’s iconic features came into view: the tall, man-made mountain styled after the African Savanna and its thick glass curtain wall.
The sight before him made Yang Qi’s pupils contract.
Inside the Lion Mountain enclosure, the male lion "Xiong Ba"—who usually lazed about on the highest rock like a king surveying his domain—was now standing right in front of the glass wall.
He was no longer his lazy self. His mane bristled, every muscle in his body was tensed, and his amber pupils had narrowed into dangerous vertical slits. He stared intently at a specific spot outside the glass, his gaping jaws unleashing an earth-shattering roar.
"ROOOAR!!"
Every roar was accompanied by a violent charge.
His massive body, weighing over two hundred kilograms, slammed viciously against the specially reinforced glass wall again and again, like an out-of-control truck.
"THUD! THUD! THUD!"
Each impact sent a dull boom through the heavy glass wall, and the steel frame behind it let out a groaning CREAK.
Behind the glass wall, the tourist viewing area was now in a state of utter chaos.
The few tourists closest to the glass were scared out of their wits by the sudden, violent display. Their faces turned deathly pale, and they were too terrified to even scream, only able to instinctively stumble backward. A few of them even collapsed to the ground, their legs giving out.
The tourists a little farther away erupted in terrified screams and cries.
"The lion’s getting out!"
"Mommy, I’m scared."
"Run!"
"..."
The crying of children, the screaming of women, and the shocked shouts of men mingled with the lion’s furious roars and the sound of his impacts, turning the area into a sea of panic.
The few nearby security guards were also stunned by the sudden turn of events. It took them several seconds to react before they started blowing their whistles frantically, waving their arms, and shouting at the top of their lungs.
"Back up! Everyone, back up! Get away from the glass wall!"
"Don’t push! Everyone evacuate in an orderly fashion."
"..."
But panic is contagious.
Some people started pushing and shoving without a care, trying to run for it.
There were also some bold individuals who actually stood their ground, raising their phones with trembling hands to film the rare scene of a "lion’s rampage."
Yang Qi charged into the crowd and shouted,
"Everyone, don’t panic! The glass wall is specially made—it’s very safe! Listen to the guards and leave in an orderly manner! Don’t push!!"
He helped the guards evacuate the tourists who were blocking the path, frozen in fear.
His voice, bolstered by Magical Power, was steady and powerful. It carried a strange, soothing quality that made several of the panicking tourists around him subconsciously obey and start moving with the guards’ guidance.
But most of Yang Qi’s attention was fixed on Xiong Ba inside the glass enclosure.
To Yang Qi’s ears, however, those deafening roars conveyed a different meaning.
’Killer!’
’I’ll kill you!’
’A killer?’ Yang Qi was astonished.
’Xiong Ba’s roars and attacks aren’t a random rampage.’
’Is he identifying a killer?’
’Who is the killer!?’
Yang Qi’s gaze shifted. He scanned the scene, following the direction of Xiong Ba’s amber-eyed stare.
Outside the glass wall, at the edge of the panicked crowd of evacuating tourists.
One figure appeared remarkably calm.
He was a man in his forties with a medium build, dressed in an inconspicuous dark gray tracksuit. He wore a black baseball cap, its brim pulled down low, obscuring part of his eyes and brows, but one could still make out his round face and broad chin.