Chapter 163: Chapter 163: Midnight Call

The “chirping” sound was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, and Xu Ying heard despair in it.

She shuddered and quickly followed the sound to find its source.

Following the sound, Xu Ying discovered a large gray-brown furry ball convulsing violently beside a crack in the channel wall, its upright ears swaying like dandelions in the wind.

She recognized it as a desert cottontail rabbit, its body gray-brown, but its tail was a fluffy white ball, resembling soft cotton, hence the name cottontail rabbit.

Adult desert cottontail rabbits are generally smaller than common domestic rabbits, yet this rabbit appeared exceptionally bloated due to an abnormal swelling of its abdomen.

The area around its mouth and nose was covered with white powder, and the fur on its hind legs was matted together with some sticky substance, looking filthy and pitiable.

“Nitrate poisoning.”

Combining knowledge of fertilizer pollution and years of diagnostic experience, Xu Ying immediately made the judgment.

She quickly put down her backpack and took out the emergency kit she carried with her.

At the same time, she exchanged for proficiency in rabbit language with the system.

The cottontail rabbit saw her approaching and instinctively tried to flee but could only feebly kick its hind legs a few times.

Xu Ying noticed bite marks on its right front paw, with white granules wedged in its nail crevices—the poor creature had tried to clean the chemical off its body, but only made matters worse.

“Don’t be afraid, I’m here to help you, a doctor for small animals.”

She said softly, wrapping the cottontail rabbit’s body gently in a towel.

The Steamed Bun Frog in the airline crate started croaking, sending out friendly signals.

[Big bunny, this is the vet, she’s great at healing, trust her, croak!]

[She can even understand you, tell her what hurts, and she’ll help you, croak!]

Though the cottontail rabbit couldn’t quite comprehend the croaking, it could sense the safety signals from the Steamed Bun Frog, a creature beneath it in the food chain. It reasoned that if even a weaker creature was safe, it would be too.

The cottontail rabbit curled up its body.

[Water… pain…]

“You got sick from drinking the water, right?”

Xu Ying’s fingertips trembled slightly.

She carefully placed the cottontail rabbit down in a flat area and began examining it with a medical flashlight.

Pupil light reflex was sluggish, a sign of neurotoxicity;

Upon abdominal palpation, the stomach felt like a drum, indicating severe gastric distension;

The stethoscope revealed almost no bowel sounds, suggesting the intestines were paralyzed.

“Hold on, bunny!” Xu Ying’s voice was gentle and soothing, yet her actions were swift and precise.

She cleaned the fertilizer residue on the cottontail rabbit’s body using a soft brush made of camel thorn fibers, to prevent further poisoning from licking. Then, from her emergency kit, she took the pre-prepared ORS oral rehydration solution, feeding it drop by drop.

The cottontail rabbit struggled for a moment, then calmed down under her soothing.

Xu Ying knew it could now understand her: “This is glucose and electrolytes, it’ll help you fight dehydration.”

The next step was crucial—the activated charcoal suspension.

She precisely weighed 0.8 grams of activated charcoal powder and mixed it with saline to form a paste. “It might be a bit bitter, but it’s the best antidote.”

She gently explained, carefully prying the rabbit’s mouth open and administering the solution.

Just then, a pungent smell wafted in.

Xu Ying looked up to see a strange blue foam drifting downstream. She quickly took out pH test strips and dipped them in the water; the strips instantly turned dark blue—indicating a pH of at least 9, highly alkaline.

“The water in the village’s irrigation channel has been severely polluted…”

Xu Ying bit her lip, knowing this land could not withstand further fertilizer poisoning, and that all fertilization activities must be halted.

Remembering the villagers’ superstition and stubbornness during the day, Xu Ying let out a deep sigh.

Suddenly, the cottontail rabbit in her hands shook violently, scratching at the ground with its front paws. One scratch, two scratches, three—then it stubbornly pointed northwest.

Xu Ying took out binoculars from her bag and peered in that direction, vaguely seeing the shadow of a truck a few kilometers away.

“What’s there?” Xu Ying asked softly.

The rabbit’s intermittent consciousness conveyed: [Lots of bags, near the water…]

Just as Xu Ying was about to inquire further, the rabbit suddenly stiffened and pretended to be dead.

Almost simultaneously, heavy footsteps sounded behind her.

“Veterinarian, working so late?”

Xu Ying turned around to see three men standing on the canal bank.

It was Master Wu and two other villagers.

Master Wu squinted his surviving eye, his gaze falling on the rabbit in Xu Ying’s hands: “That cottontail rabbit is the Earth God’s messenger; touching it brings disaster!”

Xu Ying noticed the blue particles stuck to Master Wu’s shoe soles, identical to the substance floating in the canal water. Without giving anything away, she held the rabbit protectively: “I’m just conducting an ecological survey of the oasis.”

“But you guys, what did you pour into the irrigation canals?”

“To increase crop yields, you have to fertilize!” one villager in brown clothes waved his arms excitedly. Xu Ying noticed fresh chemical burn scars on the back of his hand, “What do you know about farming, you clueless youngster?”

“Last year, using ’Harvest Treasure,’ my wheat production increased by 30%!”

“And this year?” Xu Ying calmly countered, “Isn’t the soil becoming harder and getting drier after irrigation?”

The two villagers paused.

Seeing this, Master Wu snorted coldly: “Stop spewing nonsense!”

“This rabbit’s foaming at the mouth is clearly diseased, very inauspicious, affecting the village’s feng shui.”

“Why save it, what’s the point? You can’t even save the cattle in the old barn.”

Master Wu spoke with deep meaning.

The rabbit in Xu Ying’s arms convulsed more severely. She stopped arguing, carefully holding the rabbit close, and got up to leave.

Master Wu’s mocking laugh echoed: “Take your plague-ridden rabbit far away!”

Back at the storeroom of Song Dongbai’s old house where she was lodging, Assistant Liu had already tidied everything up.

Perhaps afraid of Xu Ying taking photos to report, the storeroom, though simple, was very clean; Xu Ying grew increasingly satisfied with Assistant Liu.

She constructed a quiet recovery environment for the rabbit, using old fabric to make a nest in a dark, airy corner.

The activated charcoal seemed to work; the rabbit’s breathing had stabilized considerably.

Recalling the villagers mentioning “Harvest Treasure” multiple times today, Xu Ying squinted her eyes.

This fertilizer must have issues; a sample needs to be sent for testing.

Sleeping in the eerie old house and having concerns on her mind, Xu Ying was only in a light sleep state.

In the dead of night, a chorus of “croaks” was heard in the old house.

Xu Ying opened her eyes, finding over a dozen Steamed Bun Frogs surrounding her, performing symphony.

She groggily rubbed her sleepy eyes and yawned: “In the middle of the night, having a choir session?”

[Station Chief Xu, some intel!]

One Steamed Bun Frog appeared from the wall crack, shouting at the top of its lungs:

[Station Chief Xu, someone’s sneaking towards the old barn you’ve been treating!]

[You should go check it out!]

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep