Chapter 426 - 224: Demon Cultivator Invasion, Wolf Pack Howls at the Sun
Chapter 426: Chapter 224: Demon Cultivator Invasion, Wolf Pack Howls at the Sun
He immediately saw the heavy iron door, its lock violently broken, now hanging ajar.
There were obvious pry marks around the lock, and the lock core was destroyed.
Yang Qi pushed the door open and entered the wolf enclosure’s exercise yard.
The moment Happy saw Yang Qi enter, he immediately stopped his wary pacing at the gate and trotted over cheerfully. His tail wagged like a propeller, his amber eyes were filled with a look that screamed ’praise me,’ and he let out an excited whimper.
’Two-legged Beast, Two-legged Beast, you’re here!’
’A bad Two-legged Beast came just now. He opened the door and wanted us to go out.’
’I remembered what you said! I didn’t go out, and I even closed the door again!’
’Then the bad Two-legged Beast opened it again, so I got everyone to howl with me, and we scared him away!’
"Excellent! Good boy, Happy! You did great!"
Yang Qi crouched down and generously used his Basic Spirit Communication Technique. He projected his thoughts of praise and relief, along with a soothing wave of gentle Magical Power, to the hero before him, as well as to the other wary Gray Wolves in the exercise yard.
"Ao Tian, and the rest of you, you all did very well! Very vigilant, very brave!"
Yang Qi’s gaze swept over the Wolf King, Ao Tian, and the other Gray Wolves.
The Wolf King, Ao Tian, remained calmly lying on a high perch. He simply gave Yang Qi a slight nod, a flicker of approval flashing in his deep green eyes.
The other Gray Wolves also whimpered softly, relaxing their tense postures.
"I’ll give you guys a special meal for lunch. Something delicious,"
Yang Qi said with a smile.
’Something delicious! Something delicious!’
Happy spun in a circle with excitement.
’Roast chicken! I want roast chicken!’
A Gray Wolf next to him sidled over. ’Me too, I want roast chicken too!’
Another Gray Wolf yelped, ’I want roast goose!’
’What’s roast goose? Is it tastier than roast chicken?’
’I don’t know. I heard the Two-legged Beast mention it...’
The pack began to chatter, full of anticipation for their extra meal.
Yang Qi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He responded to them one by one.
’Yes, yes, you’ll get it all. I’ll arrange for roast chicken and roast goose.’
"..."
After calming the pack and confirming that none of them were frightened or had escaped, Yang Qi finally left the enclosure.
He stood in the staff corridor, his eyes turning cold as he looked at the broken lock.
’These people will really stop at nothing.’
If Happy hadn’t been so alert and obedient today, can you imagine the chaos and danger that would have ensued if all the Gray Wolves had rushed out of their enclosure into a Zoo packed with tourists?
However, the goal of these people was also very clear.
To cause chaos!
To make it easier for them to act!
Yang Qi immediately contacted the Zoo’s technical department via his walkie-talkie.
"Technical Department, this is Yang Qi. The lock on the iron door in the Gray Wolf enclosure’s staff corridor has been violently destroyed. It needs to be replaced with a higher-grade security lock immediately, and an internal alarm system needs to be installed. Please send someone over to handle it right away."
"Copy that. We’re on our way!"
After arranging for the lock, Yang Qi contacted Deng Lei.
"Captain Deng, the lock at the wolf enclosure was destroyed, but the pack didn’t get scared and escape. The suspect may have already blended in with the tourists to flee. There are too many visitors here; we need to evacuate and screen them."
"Understood. My people have arrived and are evacuating tourists and checking their identities one by one. Also, we’ve caught two suspicious individuals over at the young animal observation area who were trying to get close to ’Stone’!"
Deng Lei’s voice carried a mix of excitement and gravity. "But based on surveillance and reports from the scene, at least one more person slipped through the net. They could be in the crowd near the wolf enclosure, or they may have already fled in another direction."
"Understood. I’ll have Xiaojiu help with the search," Yang Qi said quickly.
"Good," Deng Lei replied. "Be careful."
"Understood!"
After ending the call, Yang Qi took a deep breath and calmed himself.
Once the technical department staff arrived, Yang Qi began to move. As he walked briskly, he circulated his Magical Power, activating his Earth Listening Technique to its full extent.
His hearing was instantly enhanced to its peak. Within a certain range, countless sounds rushed into his ears like a tidal wave.
The excited chatter of tourists, the crying and laughter of frightened or curious children, the shouts of security guards maintaining order, the crackle of commands from walkie-talkies, the calls of distant animals, the rustling of wind through the leaves, and even the sound of his own slightly rapid heartbeat...
Yang Qi needed to pick out a single discordant note from this cacophony of sound.
Someone whose breathing was ragged, whose heart was racing, whose footsteps were panicked, or whose emotions held abnormal fluctuations like fear, anxiety, or malice.
He was like the most precise sonar, slowly rotating the focus of his "hearing" and filtering out useless background noise.
To his left, a family of three chatting and laughing relaxedly.
To his right, a few students in heated discussion.
Ahead, a security guard was calming down tourists.
Behind him...
Hm?
About seventy or eighty meters behind him, at a fork in a tree-lined path leading toward Swan Lake, Yang Qi caught a slightly jarring sound.
It was the sound of a person breathing—faster and heavier than normal, with obvious signs of suppression and tension.
Their heartbeat was also very fast, THUMPING like a drum.
Although their footsteps were deliberately light, they landed with a faint, almost imperceptible unsteadiness and panic. Moreover, the person was moving away from the main exit, heading deeper into a more secluded part of the Zoo.
’Found you!’