Chapter 223: Chapter 222: Found a Goofball

Xu Ying was examining the last Mongolian Rabbit while explaining, “That’s to adapt to the cold environment.”

“A flat face can reduce heat loss, and the dense fur serves the same purpose.”

“Did you notice its pupils? They’re round even during the day, to have better vision at dawn and dusk for hunting.”

“Wow…” Little Sand Cat leaned in to observe the Tusun’s face, which finally reacted a bit, slowly turning its head to this overly enthusiastic little fellow.

“Alright, give them some space.”

Xu Ying gently pulled Little Sand Cat away, “Dehydrated animals need quiet rest.”

She glanced around the treatment table, and all the little animals’ breathing had calmed down.

The Tusun’s eyelids began to fight, and in this safe environment, it could finally relax and doze off.

“We have you to thank for today.”

Xu Ying squatted down, stroking the heads of the Black Jungle Cat and Little Sand Cat in turn, “If not for your timely discovery, these little guys might have been in danger.”

Little Sand Cat proudly puffed out its chest: [We are the Desert Animal Patrol Station! Guardians of the desert animal residents!]

[My master is the station chief, and I’m the team leader, just like Captain Chen Su!]

The Black Jungle Cat rarely smiled, its tail tip gently swaying.

Little Sand Cat had already jumped onto Xu Ying’s shoulder, affectionately rubbing its cheek against hers.

Inspired by Little Sand Cat’s “cat talk and cat speak”, Xu Ying thought it might be a good idea to formally establish a Desert Animal Patrol Station for these little animals?

With ample funding now, preparing equipment and supplies for these enthusiastic little animals could be voluntary, without needing to clock in for work every day.

Xu Ying silently put the “Desert Animal Patrol Station” on her agenda in her notebook.

Putting away her click pen, Xu Ying looked out the window, the scorching sun still baking the desert, and she couldn’t help but feel a hint of doubt in her heart.

Today’s temperature is indeed high, but such high temperatures are normal in the desert, and this kind of weather occurs occasionally.

There usually aren’t so many dehydrated little animals, though?

Might something have happened?

She would ask the dehydrated animals once they woke up.

Xu Ying turned to prepare the next round of rehydration.

The Tusun snored slightly in its sleep, as if it were having a sweet dream, with its gray whiskers rising and falling, looking extremely cute.

Xu Ying smiled as she adjusted the drip speed, her fingers gently stroking its thick fur. The grey-brown long hair on the Tusun’s outer layer felt rough and hard, like a thin layer of wax, providing good water and dust resistance.

And it surprisingly had a bit of bounce; after she pushed apart the fur with her fingers, it quickly returned to its original state, similar to the effect of a feather pillow, but with more support.

The inner layer of hair, shielded by the outer fur, was very delicate to the touch, like a coarse long-haired cashmere scarf, and Xu Ying even felt the Tusun’s flesh, which was very springy.

She was a bit addicted to petting it, with a smile almost reaching the back of her ears, feeling so happy to openly touch all kinds of protected animals!

Just as Xu Ying was happily petting the Tusun, there was another commotion outside the rescue station.

Xu Ying quickly opened the rescue station’s door.

A Vulture steadily landed on the “helipad” post Xu Ying had prepared for them, its sharp claws holding a fluffy object.

This Vulture was the little brother in the Vulture family, fond of “adventure cruising” around.

The little Vulture released its beak, and two Oriental Scops Owls lethargically plopped down, their wings drooping, too weak to even stand.

[Little Xu Station Chief, I picked up two fainted owls, I saw they weren’t dead, the taste wasn’t rich enough, so I brought them to you.]

Xu Ying: … This kid is quite picky.

The Vulture tilted its head. Originally, it wanted to wait for these two owls to die and rot before enjoying the feast, but this owl seemed far from death.

Known as little owls, the Oriental Scops Owls had a pair of pale white eyebrows, and at this moment looked like overheated little old men.

Xu Ying quickly cradled the little owl, gently parting its feathers with her fingers for examination: [Dehydration, elevated body temperature.]

She skillfully opened its beak and fed it a few drops of glucose water with a dropper.

The little owl took a breath and weakly blinked: […water…]

Xu Ying slowly fed the little owl water.

While doing so, she asked, “Little Vulture, where did you find these two little ones?”

The little Vulture turned its head to look northward: [North, there seem to be quite a few little animals searching for water there.]

It shook the dust off its wings: [Not just them, along the way at least a dozen animals were dehydrated, sand foxes, gerbils, lizards… even two of the best water-storing sandgrouse have died.]

Xu Ying’s fingertips paused.

The water source in the north seems to have a problem.

Time moved to the afternoon, and the sun had waned a bit.

The dehydrated little animals gradually recovered.

The first to awaken was the Tusun, its round pale golden eyes swiveling left and right, tilting its head to look at Xu Ying, its round eyes filled with “Where is this? Who are you? Why am I here?”

Xu Ying squatted down, gently poking its forehead, “Silly little thing, you don’t even know you’re dehydrated?”

The Tusun blinked, slowly lowered its head, licked its cracked paw, and then… froze.

It seemed to finally realize—[Oh, I do feel a bit thirsty.]

It had already sat up, its tail coiled in front, front paws stepping on its fluffy tail, with its natural footpads, squatting there entirely, like a chibi stone block.

The Tusun’s call sounded like a tabby cat, making sounds like “wao wao” “wau wau.”

[Where is this?]

Xu Ying slowly explained to it, “This is the 032 Desert Animal Rescue Station. I’m Station Chief Xu Ying. You fainted from dehydration in the desert and were brought to the rescue station by a kind-hearted cat.”

The Tusun stared at her blankly, its round eyes unblinking, seemingly trying hard to understand these words.

[Th… Thank…] it said slowly.

“Why did you faint from dehydration? Could you not find a water source?” Xu Ying gently asked.

[The little river where I often went to drink suddenly dried up.] The Tusun tilted its head, recalling, [I thought if I slept for a few days and then went back, the water would return…]

As the Tusun said this, it suddenly felt thirsty again, opening its mouth wide towards Xu Ying: [Station Chief, I’m thirsty.]

Xu Ying handed it a large two-liter water bottle with a straw, “Suck hard on this tube.”

Wrapping its four paws around the large water bottle, the Tusun began to suck, guzzling down the water.

After a while, it let go of the water bottle, looking confused again, as if pondering why there was so much water here.

It looked up at Xu Ying: [Who are you? Why are you in front of me?]

Xu Ying: … She’s seen plenty of smart and sharp little animals, but this was her first encounter with one so naturally clueless it was a bit hard to adjust.

Xu Ying had to repeat her introduction once more.

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