Chapter 277: Chapter 276: The Sick Youngest

Xu Ying stroked its wings, “Alright, the aerial reconnaissance is up to you!”

“Don’t worry about me falling. I’ll just tie the safety rope on me to this drone.”

Xu Ying patted the bag containing the drone.

A Golden Eagle’s single claw has a grip strength of twenty kilograms, and its two claws can hold forty kilograms. Xu Ying weighs over ninety pounds. If she were to fall, the Golden Eagle would still find it quite strenuous to catch her. Furthermore, this gripping strength lasts for less than a minute and cannot be sustained for too long.

Seeing the Golden Eagle be so considerate towards her, Xu Ying felt warm inside. That’s how it is when you interact with animals—if you treat them well sincerely, they will respond to you in their own way.

Xu Ying took out the drone, teaching Zhang Yongfeng, the captain of the fishing team, how to operate her military drone.

As a technician, Zhang Yongfeng had rich experience in operating drones. Once Xu Ying quickly familiarized him with the features and structure of this drone, Zhang Yongfeng got the hang of it quickly.

The technicians of the fishing team were drooling over Xu Ying’s military drone, all casting envious glances at their captain.

“This drone is like comparing a steel tiger to a kitten compared to ours!”

Zhang Yongfeng struggled to suppress the smile tugging at his mouth; what he touched today was the latest research achievement of the military! It was indeed thanks to Little Xu Station Chief’s connections.

“Coo, coo, coo ——”

The two other Snow Pigeons that went looking for the otter flew back, one landing atop Lu Jinyu’s head.

Lu Jinyu immediately became twice as alert, “Station Chief Xu, what’s it going to do, is it going to poop on my head?”

Lu Jinyu showed a very miserable expression, “Why do rabbits and birds all take me for a public toilet?”

Having been attacked by camel droppings, Jia Yao patted him on the shoulder, “Finally, someone is taking over my epic position.”

The Snow Pigeon tilted its head, [Little Xu Station Chief, this bird’s nest is fiery red, how daring and unique, can I pluck a few strands to decorate my nest?]

Xu Ying glanced at Lu Jinyu’s head of red hair, then at Lu Jinyu’s face of silent anger, holding back the corners of her mouth from forming a smile, “Don’t do it yourself, I’ll ask later if I can cut a few strands for you.”

“Cut what?” Lu Jinyu, seeing Xu Ying communicating with the pigeon on his head, quickly became alarmed, looking miserable, “What do these little animals want again? Why always target me?”

[Little Xu Station Chief, we’ve found the otter family of three nearby!]

While the Snow Pigeon was eyeing the bird’s nest on Lu Jinyu’s head, it didn’t forget to report the vital information to Xu Ying, [I’ll take you there!]

Xu Ying pressed her hands together, “Alright, I’ll rely on you guys!”

The Snow Pigeon fluttered its wings, landing lightly on Xu Ying’s shoulder, softly saying, “Little Xu Station Chief, the otter family is just in that shallow pool ahead!”

Xu Ying and the follow-up photographer followed the Snow Pigeon through a snow-covered thicket, suddenly opening up to a small shallow pool set in the snow, with water shimmering gently, not yet completely frozen over.

Several smooth, nibbled tree branches were piled by the poolside, evidently the “masterpiece” of the otter family.

As she got closer, there came a sound of water splashing, and three round heads popped out of the water.

The sturdiest male otter still had water droplets on his whiskers, watching Xu Ying warily;

The female otter had a small piece missing from her left ear, grooming the fur of the cub beside her with her paws.

And the little otter was the liveliest, spurting a mouthful of water at the sight of human beings, then squeaking as it hid behind its mother, leaving only a pair of eyes like black beans, curiously peeking.

Xu Ying squatted down, smiling as she spread her hands to show she meant no harm, “Hello there, I’m a veterinarian at the animal rescue station, and I’m here to ask for your help.”

The male otter tilted his head, his whiskers twitching, “Squeak?”

[What kind of help? Aren’t you humans more powerful than us and have so many advanced metal monsters?]

“In the face of nature, you diving experts are still more powerful!”

Xu Ying took out a frozen fish provided by the show’s crew from her backpack and waved it, “I want to ask you to help retrieve something from the Big Ice Lake, cylindrical, about this long——”

She gestured, “If you can help me attach a towing rope and drag it up, I’ll treat you all to a fish feast!”

[A fish feast?!] The little otter jumped out from behind its mother, its eyes bright like stars. [Really? Is there any fatty fish? Is there any trout?”]

The mother otter pressed down the overly excited cub with her paw, cautiously asking, [The Big Ice Lake is very deep and very cold, where is the thing you want to be retrieved?]

Xu Ying answered seriously, “I will ask the schools of fish in the lake to help locate it. At that time, we will provide you with the exact position, so as not to waste your energy.”

Xu Ying took out a small section of a metal tube sample model given by the technicians from her pocket, “Similar material to this, shiny and bright.”

The male otter sniffed at it, his whiskers twitching, turning to exchange a glance with his wife. The mother otter sighed, [Recent heavy snow made catching fish difficult, the kids indeed grew thin from hunger…]

The little otter was already eagerly patting the water’s surface, [I’ll go! I’ll go! I can dive really deep!]

[I want to catch lots and lots of fish for my little sister! That way, she can get better quickly~]

Upon hearing the mother otter mention “the kids” and the little otter’s words, Xu Ying immediately understood something, “Is there another little one who’s sick and hasn’t shown up?”

Otters usually operate in small family units, and it is more common for a pair of otter parents to have two to three cubs with them.

The mother otter worriedly responded, [Yes, I have two children, the youngest has been sneezing a lot lately, with a dry and red nose, also unwilling to enter the water, always saying it’s too cold.]

Xu Ying frowned upon hearing this; it sounded a lot like a high-risk snowfield disease, a respiratory infection.

“I am a vet who can treat sick little animals. If you trust me, I can have a look at your little one.”

The otter parents exchanged a glance and then nodded towards Xu Ying.

Xu Ying immediately pulled out her satellite phone, briefly explaining the situation to the show crew. Soon, a drone buzzed through the snow curtain, dropping an orange emergency kit.

Since this was a variety show with animal guests, the crew kept an animal emergency kit handy for quick support.

She knelt on the snow, unpacking the kit, and took out a collapsible pet tent with the metallic frame clicking audibly.

The silver insulating layer inside the tent shimmered warmly under the sunlight.

The moment she laid out the electric blanket, the snow around melted into a small puddle.

The mother otter’s nose poked through the tent flap, her whiskers twitching violently, “This is ten times warmer than our tree hole!”

The male otter had already gone back to the den to fetch the little one.

The mother otter turned and called sharply in the direction of the water’s edge.

The male otter responded, emerging from an ice hole, carefully holding a grayish-brown ball of fluff in his mouth—the sick cub hung limply like a melted toffee, its nose crusted with suspicious yellow scabs.

Xu Ying had already put on her gloves for examining small animals; she must treat this little cub quickly to gain the trust of the otter parents.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep