The very next morning, the first thing Yang Qi did after getting up was to check his "spoils of war."

The rewards from vanquishing the demon, combined with his earnings from daily work over the past two days, had pushed his total contribution points past the five hundred mark.

The mosquitoes were small, but there were many of them. The accumulated contribution points were quite substantial.

"Draw!"

[Congratulations, Host. You have drawn a prize: Low-Grade Spirit Rice (five pounds)]

[Congratulations, Host. You have drawn a prize: Strengthening Pill]

[Congratulations, Host. You have drawn a prize: Vitality Nutrient Cream]

[Congratulations, Host. You have drawn a prize: Strengthening Pill]

Aside from the Vitality Nutrient Cream, the rest were all regular supplies.

Yang Qi’s expression was calm.

’Keep drawing!’

[Congratulations, Host. You have drawn a prize: Beast Spirit Pill]

’Beast Spirit Pill?’

’A new pill!’

Yang Qi checked the description.

[Beast Spirit Pill]: A low-grade pill exclusively for beasts. It contains gentle, pure energy suitable for Spirit Beasts that have gained sentience and stepped onto the path of cultivation. It can help Spirit Beasts quickly condense Spiritual Power, solidify their foundation, and promote their growth.

"So this is a ’Qi Condensing Pill’ for Spirit Beasts?"

Yang Qi’s eyes lit up.

’This is great stuff!’

’It’s perfect for Xiaojiu, Bai Wan, and the others.’

Unfortunately, Xiaojiu, Bai Wan, and Ta Xue couldn’t use it for now.

Although they had all formed contracts and gained sentience, they had not yet officially begun practicing the Ten Thousand Beasts Devouring Moon Technique.

Without a Cultivation Technique to guide the refinement process, consuming the Beast Spirit Pill directly would waste most of its medicinal power, and could even cause discomfort due to the inability to absorb it.

’I have to be at the Fourth Level of Qi Refining to pass on the technique...’

Yang Qi shook his head and temporarily stored the bottle of Beast Spirit Pills in his Hundred Pouches Belt.

He brought the mosquito-killing device from the backyard back inside and began his daily feeding routine.

...

Around ten in the morning, sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled spots of light on the clean-swept ground.

Yang Qi had just finished cleaning the little raccoon’s enclosure and was dumping the last bit of trash into a special bin when the phone in his pocket began to vibrate.

The caller ID read "Security Chief - Zhao Dalong."

"Hello, Chief Zhao."

"Xiao Yang, are you busy right now? If not, come over to the gorilla enclosure," Zhao Dalong’s voice came through the receiver.

"Not busy, I just finished up. What’s wrong?" Yang Qi asked.

"There’s a situation over at the gorilla enclosure. It’s hard to explain over the phone. You’ll know when you get here. We might need your help," Zhao Dalong said, not going into detail.

"Okay, I’ll be right there."

After hanging up, Yang Qi quickly put away his cleaning tools, got on his electric scooter, and headed toward the gorilla enclosure.

The gorilla enclosure and Monkey Mountain were both in the primate exhibit area, not far from each other.

When Yang Qi arrived, he found the small iron gate at the back of the gorilla enclosure—used by staff for entry and for transporting supplies—was open. Several people were standing near the entrance, and the atmosphere seemed tense.

Besides Lao Zhang, who was in his zookeeper uniform with a worried look on his face, there were three veterinarians in white coats carrying medical kits.

Zhao Dalong, Chen Ze, Hu Haodong, and a few other security guards were also standing by, holding riot forks, shields, and other equipment.

Through the partially open iron gate, he could see a large, muscular gorilla lying on its side in an open area near the entrance. A few veterinarians were gathered around it, talking in low voices and performing an examination.

"Chief Zhao, what’s the situation?" Yang Qi asked, standing outside the entrance without going in immediately.

"You’re here, Xiao Yang."

Hearing his voice, Zhao Dalong walked out of the small gate. "It’s the gorilla, Vajra. He seems to be sick. He’s been listless since this morning, looking weak and barely moving."

He pointed at the gorilla lying inside the gate.

"Xiao Yang, you’re here. Sorry to make you come all this way."

The zookeeper, Lao Zhang, also walked out. He was in his fifties and had been taking care of these gorillas for many years. His brow was furrowed. "I don’t think Vajra is sick."

"Not sick?" Yang Qi was puzzled.

"Here’s the thing."

Zhao Dalong picked up the conversation, explaining, "Lao Zhang has been responsible for these gorillas ever since they arrived at the zoo. After all these years, he’s incredibly familiar with them. He can basically understand the general meaning of many of their gestures and calls."

Yang Qi nodded. That was perfectly normal.

Great apes are highly intelligent, comparable to a young child. When they spend a long time with a specific keeper, it’s easy for them to establish a unique way of communicating.

"When I came over this morning,"

Lao Zhang continued, his voice filled with confusion, "Vajra actively greeted me and then kept gesturing, saying he wanted to ’see a person’."

"He wanted to see someone?"

Yang Qi found this even stranger. "See who? Did he gesture what the person looked like?"

"I wish I could have understood the specifics!"

Lao Zhang gave a wry smile. "First, he gestured the outline of a person, then pointed outside. Then he made an exaggerated sniffing motion for ’smells very good,’ and finally emphasized ’very tall’."

"I thought he was sick and uncomfortable and wanted to see a vet or a specific person, so I quickly called the veterinarians over."

He pointed to the three veterinarians who were still conducting their examination.

"In the end, one veterinarian came, checked him, and said there was no major problem. Vajra just shook his head and gestured ’no’. We called a more senior one, and it was still ’no’."

"Finally, we even brought in the most senior veterinarian in our entire zoo, but Vajra still insisted, ’no’!"

"After all this fuss this morning, he seems to have gotten more and more listless and just lay there without moving. I was worried he might be depressed, or have some hidden illness we couldn’t detect. That’s when Chief Zhao suggested you come and take a look."

"Uncle Zhang, don’t worry! With Brother Qi on the case, it’ll definitely be fine!" Chen Ze, who had heard the conversation, couldn’t help but interject from inside.

"Yeah! He’s a Druid, after all!"

Hu Haodong and the others nodded in agreement.

"Don’t set me up for a fall, you guys."

Yang Qi shot them an exasperated look. "What if I can’t handle it either? Wouldn’t that be incredibly embarrassing?"

Though he said that, he was quite curious. ’Who on earth does Vajra want to see?’

’Very tall?’

’Smells very good?’

"Alright, I’ll go in and take a look," Yang Qi said to Lao Zhang.

"Thank you, Xiao Yang. I’m really sorry to trouble you," Lao Zhang said, thanking him profusely.

Yang Qi waved his hand, indicating that it was no trouble, and stepped through the small gate.

He first approached the veterinarians, who were still discussing in low voices, and greeted them quietly. Then, he looked at Vajra, who was lying on the ground.

Vajra did indeed look listless. His eyes were half-closed, his massive body was lying on its side, and his breathing was steady.

But as Yang Qi drew near and his shadow fell over him, Vajra’s eyelids twitched, and he slowly opened his eyes.

His gaze was unfocused at first, but when he saw Yang Qi’s face clearly and caught the "good-smelling" scent that made him feel exceptionally comfortable and close, his eyes instantly lit up with a brilliant light!

At the same time, Yang Qi felt a little strange himself.

’Logically, the system should have triggered a mission in this situation. Why is there no activity at all?’

Just as he was pondering this, Vajra suddenly moved on the ground!

He abruptly rolled over from his side into a sitting position. Although his movements were still a bit slow, the sense of weakness seemed to fade instantly.

Immediately after, he reached out with a massive, calloused hand of astonishing strength and grabbed Yang Qi’s wrist.

"Watch out!"

Lao Zhang and Zhao Dalong exclaimed at the same time.

But Vajra had no intention of attacking.

He just pulled Yang Qi along, ran a short distance deeper into the gorilla enclosure, and then stopped. He gestured and chattered at Yang Qi, his expression finally turning into one of pleading.

The veterinarians were stunned.

Lao Zhang, Zhao Dalong, and the others were also dumbfounded.

"What... What’s going on?" Zhao Dalong’s jaw dropped.

"What else could it be? He’s not sick, he’s faking it! He’s putting on an act!"