The 9th Escaped Animal

As the name Li Hei was officially confirmed, Yang Lin returned the newborn cub to its parents.

The bear enclosure's popularity instantly skyrocketed to become the most visited spot in the zoo, with crowds of visitors eagerly rushing to catch a glimpse of this internet-famous little cutie.

Just as Yang Lin was preparing to take a well-deserved break during this interval, Chen Kexin approached him with a young woman.

"Cousin, I think there's something I need to tell you," she said.

Seeing Chen Kexin's serious expression, Yang Lin's eyes immediately showed confusion.

"What's the matter? Is there a problem with the accounts?"

As soon as Yang Lin finished speaking, Chen Kexin shook her head.

"No, our park's finances have never been better."

"I want to talk about something else. I have a classmate..."

Before she could finish, Yang Lin noticed the above-average looking young woman beside her.

"Is she looking for a job?"

"No."

"Don't tell me this is a blind date setup? That's not appropriate - if she's your classmate, I must be several years older than her."

"Though I suppose it's not really a big issue. You can step out and let me get to know your classmate better."

Seeing that Yang Lin had misunderstood, the girl Chen Kexin had brought quickly pulled out a cage from behind her.

"Director Yang, I'm here to ask for your help."

"Inside is a British Shorthair cat I found in my residential complex a few days ago. I've been taking care of it for several days."

"But I've noticed it only drinks milk and won't eat cat food, and its condition has been getting worse these past few days."

"I saw online that you're an animal expert, and since you're Kexin's cousin, I wanted to ask you to take a look."

After hearing the girl's explanation, Yang Lin felt somewhat disappointed.

"Won't eat cat food? That could be a complicated issue."

"Let me take a look at this British Shorthair's condition."

As he spoke, Yang Lin took the cage from the girl's hands.

However, when he opened the cage the next moment and saw what was inside, he was completely stunned.

Following his gaze, they saw a black and white creature weighing about six or seven pounds staring back at them with large eyes.

At first glance, it didn't look much like a British Shorthair, but rather more like an American Shorthair tabby, except for its somewhat unusual face.

"Could you tell me again where you found it?"

Looking at the little creature with disbelief, Yang Lin asked the girl beside him.

"In the residential complex, about a week ago. At the time, it was being bullied by a group of stray cats, so I rescued it."

The girl answered earnestly.

"Kexin, she's in the same major as you, studying veterinary medicine, right?"

After the girl's response, Yang Lin suddenly asked Chen Kexin.

"Of course."

"Then I'm guessing she didn't do well in school," Yang Lin said with a hint of playfulness in his voice.

"Cousin, how did you know? She was always at the bottom of the class, even worse than me."

Chen Kexin was clearly surprised that Yang Lin had guessed this, her face full of amazement.

The girl beside her had already turned red with embarrassment.

"Kexin, why are you bringing that up? What does my academic performance have to do with this little cat?"

Just as she finished speaking, Yang Lin immediately added:

"Of course it's relevant. If you had paid more attention in class and studied more, you wouldn't have mistaken a Little White Tiger for a British Shorthair."

"What?"

As soon as Yang Lin finished speaking, both Chen Kexin and the girl showed expressions of shock.

"Cousin, did you say it's a little white tiger? Did I hear that right?"

Saying this, Chen Kexin quickly picked up the Little White Tiger and began examining it carefully.

Seeing her reaction, Yang Lin's face showed a hint of exasperation.

So after all this time, Chen Kexin hadn't noticed either - presumably her academic performance hadn't been much better.

"Look carefully - its legs are so thick, and its face is large and square. How could you think it's a cat?"

"But it really looks just like a little cat! Look, when I pet its belly, it even purrs!"

Seemingly unwilling to accept that her little cat was actually a tiger, the girl quickly reached out to stroke the Little White Tiger's chin.

The next second, the little creature contentedly lay on the ground, showing its white belly, with engine-like rumbling sounds coming from its throat.

Seeing this scene, Yang Lin's expression froze.

"This is definitely a tiger. If you keep it for a couple more days, someone in your complex will probably call the police."

"At that point, it won't be about you finding it cute anymore - it'll be about it finding you tasty."

"Let's do this - tell me exactly when and where you found it?"

Perhaps due to Yang Lin's serious expression, the girl now began to doubt the creature's identity herself.

After some thought, she immediately told Yang Lin the time and location where she had found the little one.

After hearing her answer, Yang Lin's previously confused expression suddenly cleared up.

When he examined the Little White Tiger again, he immediately had the answer.

The Little White Tiger before him had unmistakable Bengal tiger characteristics.

"Could this be the cub of those two Bengal tigers from before? The ninth escaped animal?"

Ever since the eight escaped animals had been captured, Yang Lin had been searching for clues about the ninth escapee.

But no matter how much he searched, there wasn't a single lead.

There were no news reports of wild animal sightings, nor had any zoo reported missing animals.

He had even begun to doubt whether the ninth animal existed at all, thinking the system might have made a mistake.

Now, seeing this Little White Tiger, everything became clear.

The female Bengal tiger must have given birth during transport, which was why no one knew about it.

Later, when the truck overturned, this little one must have escaped into the nearby residential complex, where it was mistaken for a British Shorthair and taken in.

As for why the park hadn't noticed anything unusual, they probably assumed the female Bengal tiger had miscarried during transit and eaten the dead fetus, never imagining that a newly born tiger cub had also escaped.

"Truly, what you seek often appears when you least expect it."

"After searching for so many days without a clue, it just walks right up to us."

As Yang Lin was marveling at the wonder of fate, the system prompt arrived right on schedule.

"Congratulations to the host for successfully capturing the 9th escaped animal. Reward: 1 Talent Point, 1 Talent Chest Fragment."

With the system prompt's announcement, the escaped animals series of tasks was finally complete, and all 9 fragments were collected.

However, at this moment, Yang Lin wasn't focusing on the treasure chest, but rather on the Little White Tiger before him.

Without a doubt, it seemed the West Rainbow Zoo was about to gain another adorable new member.