Here we go again.

Any "Spirit Beast" it came across, the system wanted to bring back to the "Sect."

It was one thing if they were strays—Yang Qi would just take them in.

’But it wants to snatch one that already has an owner?’

...

The ambulance, its lights flashing and siren wailing, drove away.

Dou Dou chased the ambulance for a while, only stopping when it vanished at the end of the road. It then trotted slowly back to the villa’s entrance, tail drooping, and collapsed weakly on the ground. Its eyes remained fixed on the direction the ambulance had disappeared, and a low whimper escaped its throat.

"Don’t worry, your owner will be fine."

Yang Qi patted its head, his voice gentle and reassuring.

Then, he turned to Chen Hao and said, "Brother Chen, I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you and your wife to get some food and water for Dou Dou over the next few days. It looks like Sister Yang won’t be back for a little while."

"Don’t worry, we’ll make sure it’s well-fed."

Chen Hao also crouched down, stroking Dou Dou’s trembling back. He sighed emotionally, "We really have Dou Dou to thank this time, and you too, Xiao Yang. Otherwise..."

Chen Hao didn’t finish his sentence, but they both knew what he meant.

If not for Yang Qi’s exceptional hearing and his ability to discern the abnormality in the dog’s barks, the consequences for Sister Yang, who lived alone, would have been unimaginable...

"Hey, I just happened to be there. I couldn’t just pretend I didn’t hear anything."

Yang Qi smiled, his tone calm, showing no pride in his accomplishment.

Chen Hao stroked Dou Dou without speaking. After a moment of contemplation, he suddenly looked up at Yang Qi and asked seriously, "Xiao Yang, do you really like animals?"

Being a zookeeper didn’t necessarily mean one truly liked animals. For many, it was just a job to make a living.

Likewise, Yang Qi’s ability to communicate with animals might be a gift, but Chen Hao couldn’t tell if he genuinely liked them or not.

"Of course."

The words tumbled out of Yang Qi’s mouth.

Before, he’d been indifferent to animals, but after acquiring the system and gaining the ability to truly communicate with them, he now genuinely loved these simple creatures.

"Animals are much simpler than people, and their demands are fewer. You’re good to them, and they’ll be good to you. There aren’t so many complicated ulterior motives."

"I see..." Chen Hao nodded at his words and said no more, but his eyes flickered slightly, as if he were pondering something.

After staying a while longer to comfort Dou Dou and confirming that building management would look after it for the time being, the two of them returned to Chen Hao’s home.

Yang Qi sat for a moment before getting up to leave.

As he left, he carried two large bags of high-end health supplements that Du Xi had insisted he take, saying they were a gift for his grandmother.

Chen Hao insisted on driving him back to the Zoo, but Yang Qi politely refused, asking only to be dropped off at the nearest intersection where it was easy to catch a cab.

...

Sitting in the back of a ride-share heading to the Zoo, Yang Qi watched the vibrant city lights stream past his window and began to mull things over.

’I don’t need to buy a house just yet, but maybe I could get a car first. It would make getting around more convenient.’

Just as he was thinking this, his phone started vibrating nonstop.

He took it out and saw that the "Liudong Study Group" chat was blowing up.

It turned out the news and video of the Hongyun Group rewarding him had been released, and after seeing it, Gao Zhenyue was exclaiming nonstop in the group chat.

[Gao Zhenyue: Holy shit! @Yang Qi Brother Qi, when did you secretly go out and be a hero? You’re even on the news!]

[Ye Haibing: What’s going on? Brother Qi, were you in any danger? You didn’t even say a word in the group about something this huge.]

[Qian Yu: It was pretty dangerous, but Brother Qi is amazing. He wasn’t hurt and even saved everyone. (Thumbs up)]

[Ye Haibing: You know the inside story, Qian Yu? I saw the news from the Hongyun Group, but it didn’t have any specifics about how Brother Qi saved people.]

[Qian Yu: I know a little, but sorry, I can’t talk about it due to certain circumstances.]

[Song Wan: Um... has anyone else noticed that Brother Qi seems even more handsome now? (Blushing)]

[Qian Yu: You’re right! (Screenshot) Brother Qi’s aura is on a completely different level from everyone around him!]

[Gao Zhenyue: Whoa, I didn’t even notice until you said it. @Yang Qi You punk, did you secretly get plastic surgery?!]

[Ye Haibing: Oh no, Brother Qi just stole the title of Most Handsome in the Group!]

...

Seeing the 99+ new messages in the group chat and reading his friends’ words of concern and teasing, Yang Qi couldn’t help but smile.

[Yang Qi: @Gao Zhenyue Plastic surgery my ass!]

[Yang Qi: Thanks for the concern, everyone. I’m fine.]

[Yang Qi: But Hongyun Group is definitely generous. To give back to society, I’ve decided to answer the call and stimulate the economy by buying a car. Old Gao, Brother Bing, help me out. Any recommendations for an SUV around 500,000?]

His words sent the group chat into an even greater frenzy.

[Ye Haibing: An SUV around 500k? Gotta be the Grand Cherokee! It’s a classic!]

[Gao Zhenyue: Come on, Brother Bing, the gas mileage on the Grand Cherokee is terrible. Driving it in the city is like pouring gasoline down a drain, and repairs are a hassle. If you ask me, he should check out the Aito M7. It’s smart and fuel-efficient.]

[Ye Haibing: The Aito isn’t built for off-roading. If you want hardcore and badass, I say go for the Mengshi 917. That thing looks so cool on the road!]

...

The two of them argued endlessly in the group chat.

Yang Qi would chime in occasionally.

In the end, balancing cost-effectiveness with the need for both city driving and light off-roading, he chose the Wrangler, a model with a consistently good reputation—specifically, the four-door Sahara edition.

The next afternoon, on his day off, Yang Qi called up the car-savvy Gao Zhenyue and they took a trip to an auto mall.

After looking at the car, taking it for a test drive, and negotiating the price, Yang Qi didn’t hesitate and bought it on the spot with his card.

By evening, he was driving his brand-new Wrangler back to the Zoo.

Using legally obtained money to buy a car worth several hundred thousand yuan naturally caused quite a stir at the Zoo.

Some colleagues were envious, while others made snide remarks.

Yang Qi couldn’t be bothered to respond to any of it.

Chen Ze, however, couldn’t hold back. When he heard someone being passive-aggressive, he retorted directly.

"If you’ve got what it takes, why don’t you go win a good samaritan award and have the Hongyun Group give you 800,000 yuan?"

"If you don’t, then shut up!"

...

For the next few days, Yang Qi carried on with his usual work at the Zoo: feeding, cleaning, and behavior training.

During this time, he took Ta Xue back to the mountain behind the zoo for a brief reunion with the mother clouded leopard.

In his spare time, he followed online tutorials, fiddling with the clay xun he had bought and learning the basic playing techniques.

In the meantime, he also tried the lottery draw twice.

The first time, he got another Strengthening Pill.

But the prize from the second draw made Yang Qi’s eyes light up.

[Congratulations, Host, you have drawn a prize: Fire Qilin Fruit]

In the system inventory, a fist-sized, fiery-red fruit appeared, its surface etched with patterns resembling scales.

[Fire Qilin Fruit]: Contains pure Fire Spiritual Power and life essence. Consumption can slightly enhance one’s Fire-Attribute Spiritual Root aptitude, strengthen vitality, and increase physical power.

Another treasure that could improve his Spiritual Root aptitude!

Although this one was fire-attribute, unlike the water-attribute of the Three-tailed Spirit Fish he’d drawn before, any treasure that could improve his Spiritual Root aptitude was an incredibly rare find.

’First water-attribute, now fire-attribute... just what is my Spiritual Root?’