Super Zoo-Chapter 655 - 646: Qinling Mudslide

The crested ibis, also known as the red crested ibis or red ibis in ancient times, is medium in size with white plumage. It's a class of protected animals. Like the red-crowned crane, it has brilliantly red head feathers, and a dash of rosy red also adorns the tip of its pointed beak.

No wonder Suming mistook it. From a distance, things weren't very clear, but up close, not only the red tip of its beak was visible, but one could also clearly make out the willow-leaf-shaped feather crest on the back of its head. This is the most distinctive feature of the crested ibis, with the feathers looking like a stylish little braid...

Unexpectedly encountering a crested ibis in the Qinling was quite rare. In the 1980s, there were only a few dozen wild crested ibises left. Afterward, their numbers gradually recovered thanks to large-scale captive breeding, but the wild population remains small.

The crested ibis not only has a high conservation and ornamental value but is also among the most ancient of birds in today's world. Known as the "bird immortal," traces of the crested ibis date back to 60 million years ago. In ancient Huaxia, people believed the crested ibis brought auspiciousness, regarding it and the magpie as "birds of good fortune."

The little crested ibis, pitifully staring at Suming, understood he had no ill intentions after making contact via spiritual power.

But it was still very hungry. It hadn't dared approach the river ever since it saw two groups of animals fighting viciously by the riverbanks, their brains spilling out. Then, a group of "bipedal beasts" had been searching around the river, and it hadn't dared to come close for days. Today, driven by extreme hunger, it mustered the courage to risk its life by venturing near the water.

Suming guessed right on one count: this was not a juvenile red-crowned crane but indeed a young crested ibis. Over the years, its parents and siblings had all been eaten by the bad crocodiles in the lake.

Nature is like this—the food chain links one ring to another, with natural selection and survival of the fittest. Each animal plays the role of the hunter while also being potential prey.

Freedom is not without a cost. On the contrary, to enjoy true freedom, one must be prepared to risk their life.

Animals all have their own territories, including the weaker ones, with a fixed range of activities. Since this little crested ibis came here to drink, it must live nearby. The mountains are dangerous, and for such a little creature, it's impossible to just be 'passing by.' Otherwise, it would have become food for other animals long ago.

So, it was necessary to 'inquire' about what had happened here. But seeing its pitiful appearance, Suming chuckled, "The emperor doesn't withhold food from his soldiers. Eat first!"

The little crested ibis seemed to understand and looked down dejectedly at its feet—no fish. What was there to eat?

With incredible efficiency, Su Meng stripped down to nothing, not even his underwear, getting ready to catch fish.

Suming covered his face, "Brother, calm down! Have you gotten into the habit of stripping lately?!"

A burst of spiritual power was cast into the water. While there weren't any big fish, there were plenty of small fish the size of fingers. The spiritual power acted like a net, herding all the small fish toward the shore.

Suddenly, the water near the little crested ibis's feet was boiling with activity as countless little fish darted around in shallow water. The crested ibis flapped its wings excitedly, pecked, and caught a small fish, tilting its head back to swallow it, a small bulge passing down its neck and into its stomach.

The little guy had big eyes but a small stomach. After four or five small fish, it was full. Shaking its head, it wobbled over to Suming's feet.

"Alright, enough. Everyone can go now." Suming relaxed his spiritual power, allowing the gathered small fish by the shore to leave.

He was beginning to understand what it felt like to be a Buddha.

Legend has it that one day, while Buddha was meditating in the mountains, a lame rabbit ran to him for protection. Shortly after, an eagle swooped down from the sky, eyeing the rabbit rapaciously.

"Save me, Buddha! That bastard wants to eat me!" the rabbit said.

"You can't put it that way," the eagle argued. "If I don't eat you, I'll starve to death. You figure it out, Buddha. Either save the rabbit and let me starve or let me eat the rabbit so it dies and I live."

Buddha stroked his shiny head, thought for a while, then pulled out a small knife with a smile, "I haven't had dinner yet. Why don't I just slaughter both of you and make some barbecue!"

The eagle: "..."

The rabbit: "..."

"Just kidding, don't mind me." Buddha gritted his teeth, stabbed himself, tore off a piece of his thigh, and handed it to the eagle, "If you eat my flesh, you won't need to eat the rabbit, right?"

Follow current novels on freewebnσvel.cѳm.

The story of Buddha cutting flesh to feed the eagle.

There's no gain without loss, no saving a life without harming another. This is the most straightforward rule of nature. Buddha attained enlightenment because he possessed a level of compassion and benevolence that ordinary people couldn't fathom.

Suming didn't have such profound compassion and wasn't ready to cut flesh from Su Meng or himself to feed the little crested ibis, so those unfortunate fish had to suffice.

After it had its fill, the little crested ibis began to spill the beans.

Over the past few days, not just around its small lake but throughout the nearby areas of the Qinling Mountains, chaos ensued.

A group of unwelcome invaders stormed the peaceful Qinling region, committing brutal acts of plunder against the local wildlife. Wherever they went, they were like a senseless landslide, obliterating everything in their path. They took everything, ate everything, and if there was any resistance, they unleashed a tempest of violence. It didn't matter whether the victims were young or old or protected species; the invaders didn't care one bit.

After eating and beating, they weren't satisfied. They conscripted the strong, incorporating them into their ranks and continuing their march towards the next target.

The native animals of the Qinling suffered dearly!

The Qinling Mountains were not devoid of fierce creatures; on the contrary, deep within the Qinling, ferocious beasts abounded—bears, wild boars, leopards, tigers, gorillas, any one of them was a king of its own hill, stomping the ground to make it tremble threefold, roaring so mightily that animals for miles around would scurry away in terror.

But the problem was, the more ferocious the animal, the more solitary it tended to be.

You've heard of flocks of sheep, packs of wolves, but who has seen a group of tigers or bears? Such fierce animals have a particularly strong sense of territory, and even their own grown offspring are driven out to live independently.

So, when facing foreign invaders, the scattered local natives hardly had any ability to resist and were caught completely off guard.

Of course, there were also groups, like packs of wolves, that were hard to deal with.

But those foreign animals seemed very smart, continuously co-opting local animals and getting to know the lay of the land thoroughly. When they were not strong enough, they would not bother the local big bosses, instead picking on the weaker ones. Gradually, their numbers grew larger, their warriors fiercer, and their types of soldiers more complete. By this time, within a hundred miles, there was no one who could oppose them.

Leading this group of animals, it was said, were two pandas that seemed rather dumb, yet all animals would subconsciously feel some dread when approaching them, as if they were in the presence of a higher form of life;

Among the crew, there were several core fighters, with a big brown bear at the forefront. In every fight, it was brutally vicious! It would grab an armadillo, clad in iron armor and hurl it like a massive iron ball, smashing opponents to a bloody pulp from a distance!

The creatures of the Qinling Mountains had never seen such a sight in their entire lives. It was terrifying!

Scatter, as far as you can, just scatter!

Those who could run spread the word far and wide.

"Hey, mole, haven't you moved out yet..."

"I'm not scared, my home is underground. They'd have to dig down here to fight me!"

"Cut the crap, they've got two pangolins..."

"Eh... I'm moving today!"

"Sika deer sister, aren't you leaving?"

"I'm so well-behaved, so obedient, so cute, they wouldn't hurt me, right?"

"Dream on, that bunch is terribly vicious! Just yesterday, they crippled little Miss Blue Sheep from across the mountain..."

"They even beat up a female! Wah wah wah, so scary..."

"Tiger bro, tiger bro? Are you home or... crap, what a coward, already ran away..."

...

According to the "buddy" birds of the crested ibis, nearby animals with a bit of 'intelligence' had either already conformed and joined with those foreign animals, or had slicked their feet with oil and run away.

The little crested ibis also thought about escaping but didn't know where would be best.

Of course, although the intelligence of the crested ibis was among the higher ranks in the bird kingdom, it wasn't at a level to communicate normally with humans. All this information was deduced by Suming based on many fragmented snippets provided by the crested ibis, which were very close to the truth.

"This is a disaster!"

Suming's eyelids were twitching.

Undoubtedly, the escaped animals not only refrained from massacring one another but also managed to survive well and establish dominance in the Qinling, surely the masterpiece of those two pandas.

Animals that have made contact with spiritual power are, in a way, no longer on the same plane as ordinary animals. Releasing animals that have touched spiritual power back into the wild is like putting an adult among a group of seven- or eight-year-old children; becoming the boss, or even ruling all the local animals, isn't difficult—it's just a matter of how long it takes.

This was first proven on Huiya, who was merely a young wolf yet managed to rule the back mountain of the zoo. Several adult wolves that had ventured from the deep mountains had already joined its ranks.

In the back mountain of the zoo, this was not so evident since most animals there had had some contact with Suming. But in Qinling, it was different. The two pandas were like two powerful countries with modern armies, joining forces to invade a group of primitives still relying on swords and spears for battle. The outcome was inevitable.

"If I don't do anything about them, won't this group of creatures take over the Qinling in a few years and cultivate into immortals on the mountain? Or even establish a nation?" Suming was uncertain. He had only attained his spiritual power a little over a year ago, and who knew what heights animals in contact with spiritual power could reach in the end.

Fortunately, for now, it seemed that the pandas and the escaped animals were not in any significant danger, but he still needed to check on them to be at ease.

He could be at ease, but others were not.

The relevant departments of Yangchuan City, through some channels, learned that a transnational poaching group had set its sights on those escaped animals and had likely already smuggled into the country with weapons, heading toward the Qinling Mountains.