contribution points earned in one go.

Awesome!

That was equivalent to more than half a month of Yang Qi’s daily feeding and training work at the Zoo.

As expected of a clouded leopard...

’If I had brought back the mother clouded leopard, would I have gotten even more contribution points?’

Yang Qi mused.

But he knew it wasn’t realistic.

One of the Zoo’s missions was to release animals back into the wild.

Animal conservation wasn’t about keeping animals locked in cages, but about returning them to nature.

The mother clouded leopard wasn’t a cub; she had sufficient survival skills for the wild.

For wild animals like her, regular monitoring was enough.

...

Although it was nearly one in the morning, the Zoo’s office area was still brightly lit.

Having heard that Yang Qi and the others had returned safely with the sick Little Clouded Leopard, the Zoo’s upper management—Huang Zhongmu, Jiang Kai, Cheng Xiaoou, Zhao Dalong, and others—had all forced themselves to stay awake and wait.

As soon as the vehicle stopped, Huang Zhongmu, Cheng Xiaoou, and a few others immediately came up to greet them.

"Thank you for all your hard work."

"There’s a late-night snack in the cafeteria. Anyone who’s hungry can head over and get something to eat."

"..."

The two groups met and exchanged a few simple pleasantries.

Then, without much time for small talk, some of them surrounded Professor Tang Ji, who was holding the Little Clouded Leopard, and hurried to the Zoo’s Veterinary Station. The station had more professional equipment and medicine for emergency treatment. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Yang Qi didn’t follow them. Instead, he went to the cafeteria to eat with Deng Lei, Qiao Fei, and Chen Ze.

After eating, he walked Deng Lei, Qiao Fei, and the others, who were preparing to leave, to the gate.

"Keeper Yang, it was a great honor to be on this mission with you."

Deng Lei shook Yang Qi’s hand, his tone sincere. "Could I get your contact information? There might be things I need to consult you about in the future."

"Of course, Captain Deng, you’re too kind." Yang Qi readily agreed, taking out his phone to exchange WeChat contacts and phone numbers with Deng Lei.

"Me too, me too!"

Seeing this, Qiao Fei smiled and took out her phone, her face filled with admiration and a hint of curiosity. "Yang Druid Qi, I want to add you too! You really opened my eyes."

"Me too!"

"Add me too!"

Li Rui and Wang Xiaochao also eagerly joined in, both whipping out their phones.

In their eyes, a remarkable person like Yang Qi who could communicate with animals was a rare find. They had to add him as a friend, no matter what; he might prove to be of great help in the future.

"Alright, I’ll add everyone."

Yang Qi smiled, accepting all requests, and added the three of them one by one.

In fact, the person Yang Qi most wanted to add was the guide, Uncle Cai. However, Uncle Cai was reclusive and had left with his two hounds, Dahuang and Big Black, as soon as they came down from the mountain. Besides, according to Li Rui, Uncle Cai used an old-fashioned feature phone that could only make calls and send texts, so adding him wasn’t an option anyway.

"Well, we won’t disturb Keeper Yang’s rest any longer. We’ll be heading out now." Seeing that everything was settled, Deng Lei said his goodbyes.

"Goodbye, Yang Druid Qi."

"Keep in touch!"

Qiao Fei, Li Rui, and Wang Xiaochao also said their farewells.

"Take care, you all. Drive safe."

Yang Qi watched as the four of them got into a police car and drove away from the Zoo.

"Let’s go, Brother Qi. I’m dead tired after working all day. Time to sleep!" Chen Ze finally said with a yawn, his eyelids practically glued shut.

"You guys go ahead. I’m not tired yet. I think I’ll sit for a little while longer."

Yang Qi shook his head. After cultivating, his energy was abundant. Plus, with the Little Clouded Leopard and the contribution point lottery on his mind, he didn’t feel sleepy at all.

"Alright then. I’m dead on my feet, so I’m gonna go back and crash."

Chen Ze didn’t press the issue. He waved and walked toward the employee dormitory area.

Fang Dawei nodded at Yang Qi as a silent greeting, then quietly followed.

Watching their figures disappear into the night, Yang Qi looked away and sat down on a public bench by the side of the road.

The night was deep and quiet. The only sounds were the chirping of insects and the faint glow of light from the windows of the distant Veterinary Station building.

He took a deep breath of the cool air and sank his consciousness into the system interface.

This trip into the mountains had been quite fruitful. The final haul of 655 contribution points was enough for six lottery draws.

Without hesitation, Yang Qi rubbed his hands together and began the lottery.

[Congratulations, Host. You have drawn: Clear Spirit Powder]

[Description: Refreshes the mind, relieves fatigue, and slightly restores Spiritual Power.]

’Not bad. Good for pulling all-nighters or when I’m exhausted. A godsend for us cultivators.’

’Another draw!’

[Congratulations, Host. You have drawn: Strengthening Pill]

’Another Strengthening Pill. I’ll keep saving it for Grandma. My own physique is stronger than anyone else’s now.’

’Time for another draw!’

[Congratulations, Host. You have drawn: Low-Grade Spirit Rice (five and a half pounds)]

’More Spirit Rice.’

’This Spirit Rice is good stuff, though. It looks like I won’t be running out anytime soon.’

’Enough for me and Xiaojiu to eat our fill.’

’On to the next one!’

[Congratulations, Host. You have drawn: Meditation Cushion]

[Description: Woven from Ning Shen Grass. Helps the user quickly calm their mind and focus, greatly increasing cultivation and meditation efficiency. Meditating on it for three minutes is equivalent to three hours of deep sleep.]

"This is great!"

A smile appeared on Yang Qi’s face. This cushion would be a great help for cultivating the "Moon Invitation Qi Refining Art" and was exactly what he needed right now.

’Let’s keep going!’

[Congratulations, Host. You have drawn: Qi Condensing Pill (Low-Grade)]

’A Qi Condensing Pill?’

Yang Qi’s eyes lit up.

"Finally, something really good!"

The Qi Condensing Pill was a basic pill for the Qi Refining Stage. It contained pure Spiritual Qi and could be used to advance one’s Cultivation and increase Magical Power.

This was a proper cultivation resource meant for raising one’s Cultivation level, far superior to the gentle nourishment provided by Spirit Rice!

Even if Yang Qi couldn’t break through to the next realm just yet, increasing his Magical Power would still be a huge boost.

He suppressed the urge to take it immediately. Swallowing pills was something best done back in his own room.

After reveling in his excitement for a moment, Yang Qi took a deep breath, calmed his mind, and started the final draw.

[Congratulations, Host. You have drawn: Beast Taming Magical Artifact]

"A Beast Taming Magical Artifact?!"

Yang Qi’s eyes lit up again, and his heart began to beat a little faster.

"Ha, I can even draw a Magical Artifact? This is amazing!"

However, when he got a clear look at the artifact’s specific details, he couldn’t help but frown slightly.

The artifact he’d drawn wasn’t a bell, collar, or Beast Taming Token like he had imagined. Instead, it was a strange, hollow, egg-sized musical instrument with an ancient design.

Yang Qi took out his phone, looked up some pictures and descriptions online, and confirmed that the object was called a Xun.

It was a globular flute unique to China.

The system description indicated that this "Beast Taming Xun" was a special, bound-type Magical Artifact and could not be used universally.

Its only function was to control a specific type of animal called the "Four-winged Cold Kun" by playing particular melodies.

He could command them to defend, charge, or hunt, with a maximum controllable number of ten thousand.

In short, the Magical Artifact was already bound to the "Four-winged Cold Kun" species.

’A species-specific artifact isn’t a problem in itself.’

Yang Qi didn’t materialize it, instead studying the strangely shaped, bone-like Xun on the system interface with a slight frown.

’The key question is, what kind of animal is a ’Four-winged Cold Kun’?’