Chapter 300: Chapter 299: Fallen Into a Trap

Xu Ying was excited: “Moreover, the deer’s sense of smell is super sensitive, it can smell human scent from a kilometer away, it’s simply the perfect guide and bodyguard!”

Hearing this praise, the deer proudly lifted its head, its antlers gleaming with a bronze luster in the sunlight.

It walked gracefully ahead, its hooves making a crisp sound on the snow, but it walked slowly, as if showcasing its beautiful steps and antlers.

Chen Su couldn’t help but wonder, lowering his voice to ask Xu Ying: “Little Xu Station Chief, it’s called a deer, but with ’horse’ and ’deer’ in its name, shouldn’t it be able to run very fast? Why is it walking slowly?”

Xu Ying covered her mouth, laughing as she whispered an explanation: “Male deer have a particularly strong desire to show off.”

“They are called deer because their build is as strong as a small horse and they run as swiftly as a deer. The ancients just decided to call them ’deer’ with a slap on the head.”

“They sing love songs in the dead of night, with deep voices roaring through the valleys, and roll in muddy urine, filling themselves with ’male hormone scent’; in short, they have a strong desire to show off.”

[I don’t understand, I’m shocked that they actually roll in their own urine mud!]

[The animal world is truly baffling. Do they think this makes them manly?]

Chen Su’s lips twitched slightly after hearing Xu Ying’s explanation, and with a flash of disdain in his eyes, he moved a little further away from the deer.

Noticing Chen Su’s reaction, Xu Ying smiled: “Our animal guests for the morning show are all health-checked and bathed, don’t worry~”

However, the good times didn’t last long. After less than five minutes, the deer suddenly stopped and started scratching the ground with its antlers, making an agitated noise.

Chen Su frowned: “Is it feeling uncomfortable?”

[My antlers and head are so itchy!]

The deer whimpered in distress, [Usually a little crow perches on my head to scratch my itches, but it hasn’t shown up in days…]

Xu Ying carefully approached: “May I take a look?”

She gently touched the deer’s antlers. As a seasoned veterinarian, she knew that during the growth period, the surface of antlers is covered with velvet tissue rich in blood vessels and nerves, known as valuable velvet.

During this time, antlers are extremely sensitive and need to rub against trees to relieve itching frequently.

However, the touch from her fingertips eased her concern — the deer’s antlers were already completely hardened, smooth and cool, long past their growing phase. Xu Ying thoughtfully withdrew her hand: “Your antlers have hardened, they shouldn’t be this itchy…”

Recalling the deer mentioning a little crow that used to help with the itch, Xu Ying remembered that this was a symbiotic relationship. The crow would perch on the deer’s head to peck away parasites, and during the deer’s molting period, the crow would even pluck its fur for nest building.

The deer endured the itching, obediently raising its head, its moist nostrils quivering with restraint.

Xu Ying gently parted the velvet at the base of the antlers, keenly discovering small black bugs attached to several inflamed patches of skin.

“It’s ticks.”

She immediately pressed the intercom button, “Director team, we have an unexpected situation. Please send over animal dewormer and tweezers.”

Chen Su tacitly stood beside the deer, placing his broad palm comfortingly on its neck.

The medical kit arrived quickly, and Xu Ying deftly donned medical gloves, gently yet precisely using tweezers to grasp the parasites.

“It might hurt a bit, bear with me.” As she spoke, she steadily pulled out the tick at a 45-degree angle, then sprayed disinfectant.

The deer only twitched its ears lightly, its amber eyes curiously following her movements.

When the last parasite was removed, the deer shook its head in surprise, discovering that the itching tormenting it for days had vanished.

It affectionately nudged Xu Ying’s shoulder with its nose, [You’re much better than the little crow!]

Xu Ying patted its antlers: “Don’t tell the little crow that, or it might stop helping you with your bugs in the future!”

On the next stretch of their journey, this proud deer seemed like a different creature entirely. It no longer strolled leisurely but occasionally looked back to ensure the two were keeping up, and patiently waited at intersections.

When Xu Ying almost slipped on black ice, the deer agilely blocked with its antlers.

Xu Ying saw a glimmer of light and excitedly asked, “Mr. Deer, is that the exit ahead?”

The deer recalled with its excellent map memory: [Little Xu Station Chief, going ahead leads to a trampoline area, then it’s another forked maze, and after a bit more maze, it’s the end!]

Xu Ying immediately felt invigorated by the news.

“Which side of the forked maze leads to the exit this time?”

The deer quickly answered: [Right!]

However, just then, the deer sniffed the air, [Little Xu Station Chief, there are two unfamiliar scents coming our way!]

Xu Ying and Chen Su exchanged a glance, with Xu Ying looking worried: “Could it be that two members of the Hunter Team are chasing us again?”

But at that moment, Xu Ying heard Ye Jie’s exclamation, immediately realizing a teammate was in danger!

“Come on, let’s go check it out!”

Xu Ying and Chen Su hurriedly ran forward, only to see Ye Jie and Yao Yingzhe from their team being chased by Jia Yao and Su Zhining from the Hunter Team, who were trying to rip their name tags off.

Spotting Xu Ying and Chen Su peeking from behind the ice wall, Yao Yingzhe quickly shook his head at them, signaling them to hide back.

The look in his eyes was adamantly hinting: “Watch the uncle perform!”

Xu Ying nodded, gesturing left with her hand and then making an X with her fingers.

Yao Yingzhe gave an almost imperceptible nod and suddenly yanked the storage bag from his waist, handing it to Ye Jie: “Run! To the left!”

Ye Jie instantly caught on, grabbed the bag, and sprinted towards the left fork, with Su Zhining predictably falling for it and chasing after her in ten-centimeter snow boots: “Stop!”

Just as Jia Yao was about to give chase, Yao Yingzhe suddenly collapsed onto the snow with a cry: “My old cold legs!”

He clung tightly to Jia Yao’s leg, “Young man, take a look, is it broken?”

“Mr. Yao, please don’t!” Jia Yao was at a loss, bending over but afraid to touch the elder, could only futilely support him, “Are you genuinely hurt or… Oh! Please don’t make it difficult for me!”

At this point, Jia Yao could only squat down, meticulously working to peel off Yao Yingzhe’s name tag with his nails, while struggling to move Yao Yingzhe’s body with both hands.

Only by eliminating Yao Yingzhe could he escape the fate of being toyed with by this elder’s antics.

Taking advantage of Jia Yao’s focus on Yao Yingzhe, Xu Ying and Chen Su slipped like shadows into the right-side passage of the final maze.

When Jia Yao finally tore off Yao Yingzhe’s name tag, the old artist dramatically clutched his chest and fell: “This move… not a loss…”

In the distance, Su Zhining’s scream came: “Jia Yao! The bag is full of snowballs! We’ve been tricked!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep