Cat 90: Making a Move on Dr. Peng

Chapter 90 Making a Move on Dr. Peng

It wasn’t that Yan Jiyun didn’t want to take quests and earn points, but these missions were all essentially death sentences. Look at Dr. Peng—the last man to try sample collection nearly lost his shoulder to a zebra. How was he, not even a medical professional, supposed to draw blood from animals? What if he botched it and caused the poor creatures to bleed out or die from infection?

Dr. Peng seemed to anticipate this worry. Right before passing out, he said, “Don’t be afraid, Xiao Jiang. You did just fine when you drew the monkey king’s blood. I wrote a detailed guide on the underside of my medical kit—read it carefully before sampling again. It will help you a great deal.”

Yan Jiyun: …

Was this a joke? Drawing blood from large animals after just reading a manual? What did he think this was, setting up a home appliance?

He reminded himself this was an instance—it couldn’t be taken too seriously, couldn’t be treated as real.

Seconds before Dr. Peng’s eyes fluttered closed, Yan finally nodded. “Alright, no problem. Just focus on your shoulder.”

Receiving Yan’s reassurance, Dr. Peng relaxed at last and passed out.

Wounded Dr. Peng now hovered in a state between offline and online, not actually dead; the protection quest was still listed as “in progress.”

Now, how was Yan Jiyun supposed to get Dr. Peng back to the medical facility? All this running back and forth was exhausting—was he supposed to haul the man himself?

If only there was a gentle elephant to carry him back. But Dr. Peng had offended every elephant in the zoo barely an hour ago—no help there.

Still troubled, Yan suddenly saw a zoo sightseeing cart turning onto the path, headlights blazing.

Two unfamiliar security guards appeared. “Hello, is everything alright?”

So this was an instance after all—the plot would always find a way to progress. There were other night staff in the zoo besides him.

He colored the story. “Dr. Peng was bitten while examining a zebra.”

Security said, “Alright, he’s lost a lot of blood. We’ll take him to the medical wing at once.”

The guards seemed to exist for rescue only, ignoring the ring of animals crowding around. They swiftly brought out a stretcher and whisked Dr. Peng away, not a second wasted.

Yan Jiyun: … No need to elaborate—the NPCs didn’t care.

He watched the little cart fade down the shadowed road, thinking what was the point to all his frantic running? Had he smacked Dr. Peng, he’d have earned a ride back himself, instead of having to collect even more blood samples.

As it stood, the monkey king no longer served any purpose. Yan Jiyun untied its limbs, and the king, watching him and the tiger in terror, retreated with a wordless look before skittering off into the woods with his followers—no doubt to torment other animals next.

Yan checked his quest again: Black Panther, Orange, Wolf King—he was at least on complicated footing with those three. As for the last targets, the gorilla and the brown bear, he didn’t even know which animal was which. The brown bear surely wasn’t the player from outside the medical wing earlier.

As he was puzzling this over, the white tiger suddenly sprang up beside the zebra and banged its head on a low tree branch.

Yan Jiyun: …

What was the white tiger player so excited about?

Meng Changsheng was overjoyed—he finally had a quest!

His job: assist Keeper Jiang You in drawing blood samples from large animals.

Yan Jiyun saw him approach, clearly excited but offering no suspicion of Yan’s true identity.

For now, all he could do was figure out how to find the panther and Orange and get samples from those two first.

Where was the panther?

With its silent movements, there was no way to pinpoint it by sound.

Suddenly remembering his cat teaser—something only he had in the whole zoo—Yan thought of using it as his unique “badge” to draw out the panther or tigers.

Hopefully, it would lure out Black Panther and Orange.

He tossed a ball—just pocketed earlier—to the white tiger. “Fetch.”

Meng Changsheng thought the keeper simply wanted to play, so he dashed off after the ball.

While he was distracted, Yan took his long cat teaser from his inventory, then sat down on a huge stump in a clearing, carefully memorizing the blood collection manual with one hand while flicking the teaser in the other like a fishing rod. Instead of a feather, it had a little ball the size of a ping-pong with a bell inside.

What was he fishing for?

Answer: Whoever takes the bait.

Jingle, jingle.

Swish, swish.

Jingle, jingle.

Swish, swish.

From the woods came the crackle of branches as something large moved through.

Had his “bait” worked—was a cat coming to play?

Yan didn’t see a big cat popping out, but both he and the white tiger heard it.

A noise so loud yet refusing to show—it wasn’t Orange or the three sisters, nor was it the panther, which never made a sound.

Who was there?

Who was crouching in that little wood, peering at him in secret?

Yan already had a guess, and it made him uneasy—he really had drawn out something big, just not quite what he wanted.

Meng Changsheng, still adjusting to tiger sensibilities, found picking apart scents and subtle sounds overwhelming.

Suddenly, east of them, he heard the faint tread of several paws—here came Orange and the three sisters.

Yan nearly teared up at the sight. How timely!

“Orange, come here,” he called to Orange and the three Zhuzhu sisters. He had to wonder if they were all from the same mother—they never left each other’s side and must all be South China tigers.

Orange didn’t approach too quickly. It circled around Yan, sniffed the white tiger, and only after confirming he was no threat did it come to his side.

Yan patted the spot beside him. “Orange, sit here.”

After some hesitation, Orange jumped up.

Seeing its cooperation, Yan stroked its chin until the tiger fully relaxed. Only then did he open the medical kit and withdraw the syringe.

He patted Orange’s head. “I need to take a blood sample from your tail—might hurt a little. Can you bear it?”

He was literally about to touch a tiger’s rear—one wrong move and he’d be kicked clear off the rock.

Orange flicked its tail, clearly displeased, but allowed it after more coaxing.

Only after further communication and comfort did Orange finally agree to offer its tail.

Yan quickly and smoothly drew Orange’s blood. Maybe the directions helped, after all.

[Player has successfully collected South China tiger blood sample (1/6).]

Meng Changsheng watched, amazed; in a real zoo, you’d have to tranquilize a tiger for blood work, but here, tigers could apparently be soothed with a few pets—how odd.

But then again, why wasn’t the keeper collecting blood from him?

He realized, of course, there was a reason. As a player, he wasn’t among the “aggressive animals.” No point collecting from a player—NPC logic would stop that. The best thing was to play along and help with the quest.

The value of a good keeper: double the happiness.

Yan drew only Orange’s blood, then talked with him for a while, not sure if the tiger understood.

Oddly, the panther had not appeared, though something big had been lurking in the forest.

Clearly, luring a “volunteer” wasn’t so simple.

Had the panther gone off to tend its own wounds, hiding somewhere to lick them alone?

Dr. Peng, in his dash to retrieve the medical kit, had never mentioned the panther—either it was secretly guarding Dr. Peng or had never protected him at all, perhaps running into another dangerous animal.

But weren’t tigers and lions the most dangerous in the zoo?

A panther should have been able to escape any of those, especially after ditching dead weight like him.

So now what? Without the panther, the quest was doomed; he had no means of tracking it down. What was he supposed to do—turn into a cat again and meow for help? That wasn’t realistic.

But still, apart from Black Panther, he had to draw blood from the lion, the wolf king, and the brown bear.

Where was the wolf king now? He’d have to track it down too.

After a few minutes playing cat teaser with the Zhuzhu sisters, he took them to look for the wolf king.

With a bike, every trip was easy—anything beat going on foot.

He only had to finish the mission before dawn, but “protecting Dr. Peng” remained in-progress. Why not “complete” when the man was already in the infirmary—would completion require him to awaken?

Whatever, he’d finish his current quest first. He’d have to swing by the medical center anyway, so he’d pay attention to that then.

Yan Jiyun led his big cats straight for the artificial lake—but there was no sign of the wolf king, only the corpses of two gray wolves on the ground. Maybe before daylight, the system didn’t despawn dead animals.

Who had won, wolf king or wolf player?

He pointed to the wolf corpses and asked Orange, “Can you track them?”

Orange appeared to understand and led them in another direction. Yan quickly mounted his bike to follow.

Two kilometers later, they found the wolf king’s pack. In a faux-stone cave, a cluster of wolves cowered as the wolf king faced down a group of tigers at the entrance.

Moments before a fight broke out, Yan squeezed past the tigers, having lost a bit of time unloading his bike.

He realized that, perhaps due to his feline nature, animals seemed to understand his words—at least the intent of “friend” or “foe.”

The wolf king, mistaking the tigers for a challenge, growled low, but once Yan emerged, it looked uncertain.

“Don’t fight, Wolf King— I need something from you,” Yan reasoned.

But the wolf king wasn’t ready to drop its guard. Yan added, “The wolf pup’s recovering at the medical center—he’s alright, nothing serious.”

This seemed to relax the wolf king; Yan seized the chance to ask if he could draw a sample.

Meng Changsheng had his doubts: Was everyone supposed to just roll over and give blood to the keeper just because he asked? No way.

But his jaw dropped when the wolf king lifted a leg and let the keeper do it!

Jiang You must be the chosen one—no doubt he was the lead character in this instance; betting on him was a sure win.

Meng Changsheng mentally patted himself on the back for his judgment.

Following the manual and Peng’s instructions, Yan successfully drew blood from the wolf king.

[Player has successfully collected gray wolf king blood sample (2/6).]

Wolf king’s followers each bore some injury, prompting Yan to disinfect all their wounds—light ones got a bandage, more serious ones got gauze wraps.

This kit was all defensive, not curative—he’d need to remember external wound care supplies next time.

He figured Wolf King’s pack had just driven off the wolf player’s crowd; where the others went, he had no idea.

The lead wolves had calmed. They decided to return to rest in their familiar territory.

After tending all the pups, Yan left the cave with his tiger entourage in tow.

Just out of the faux-stone cave, he looked back and spotted the black panther crouched atop the cave. Yan waved with delight.

“So you’re up there—come down.”

The panther didn’t budge. Instead, it faced the noisily thrashing jungle and growled low.

Yan knew now that the creature trailing them still hadn’t left.

With tigers and a panther on his side, he had nothing left to fear.

He’d known from the start who it was.

When the panther crouched, ready to pounce, Yan called, “Panther, don’t go—let him come out on his own.”

In less than ten seconds, a massive lion’s head poked out of the brush—Caesar.

The big lion had been chased off by tigers and the panther before, nearly eating Yan by mistake. Now, with several powerful tigers on Yan’s side, Caesar dared not rush in.

Yan guessed Caesar had come for his cat teaser. Ordinary teasers were useless on these big cats, but system-issued ones had unique appeal. To date, Black Panther, Orange, and the three Zhuzhu sisters had all fallen for its charms.

He never expected it would work on lions too—lucky pick of gear this time.

He’d left the teaser dangling from his bike, jingling all the way and luring the lion behind him.

Yan scaled the cave top where the panther crouched, and waved the toy toward Caesar. The lion fixed its gaze on either the shining silver feather or Yan and the cats.

After playing for a while, Yan tossed the toy aside and, with the panther’s permission, drew its blood.

Panther: … Never imagined its attention could be so easily diverted.

[Player has successfully collected black panther blood sample (3/6).]

Yan carefully stored the sample in the kit.

Alright—Caesar next.

Up came the magical, evergreen cat teaser, this time for Caesar.

Little by little, the lion exposed itself, gaze fixed to the shimmering feather.

Yan extended the teaser closer—Caesar, seeing the other cats staying back, inched nearer, only a leap or two from snatching the feather.

Yan continued to tempt the playful lion, wondering if it ever truly intended to eat him or simply wanted to roughhouse.

Could a lion understand a human’s terror? And to Caesar, Yan was just a cat—who wouldn’t be frightened?

He recalled news stories of lion cubs’ play turning deadly. Perhaps, back then, all Caesar wanted was playtime. If anything, Caesar’s patterns proved he wasn’t a player—players would never waste time playing with a kitten. Last time, he’d nearly been played to death.

Yan teased Caesar for a while before the lion truly took the bait.

Was the zoo’s enrichment not enough for them? How could one toy captivate so many?

He wedged the teaser between two rocks, beckoned the panther to take over. The panther, knowing its role, gladly whipped the toy around in his place.

Yan grabbed the kit and descended.

At some point, the wolf king had come out with his pack. They peered out with adorable curiosity, wary to face so many tigers at once.

Yan thought to himself—even with a few tigers, he couldn’t match the wolf king’s gravitas.

Making a gesture, he signaled the tigers to step aside and clear the way. The wolf king stayed put, helping him keep an eye on Caesar.

Well, these animal monarchs all had minds of their own—he could only go with it.

If Yan or Orange approached Caesar, the lion immediately halted.

Yan looked back at loyal Orange and signaled with a hand: “Just stay over there.”

Meng Changsheng gave his keeper a mental salute: brave enough to stroke a tiger, a panther, and even a lion.

Yan Jiyun’s nerves were shot as he cautiously approached Caesar, terrified of losing a hand to the huge jaws.

A meter shrank to fifty centimeters, then thirty, then ten—

His hand reached Caesar’s head!

The lion shook its golden mane, nearly swallowing Yan’s hand in fur.

Good—not bitten!

Yan lavishly praised, “Your mane is magnificent.”

He continued to push his luck, stroking Caesar’s nape and back. “Your back is strong and sleek—surely you’ll find a beautiful mate someday.”

Using the opportunity, Yan asked, “Can I draw some blood?”

Caesar eyed the keeper with suspicion, backing away a step.

Yan coaxed, “Just a little blood—just a tiny bit. If you don’t let me do it, someone else might use force instead—”

He pantomimed shooting himself in the head and collapsed dramatically.

Climbing back up, he said, “See? That’s what they’ll do to you.”

Caesar: …

Yan pressed, “But if you let me, I’ll play with this.” He pointed to the panther jiggling the cat teaser. “Understand?”

Caesar seemed half convinced. Sitting down, he watched as Yan pulled out a syringe—something he clearly recognized and disliked.

Seeing its hesitance, Yan didn’t push, just signaled the panther to keep flicking the teaser. The panther obliged.

After some tense moments, Caesar finally relented.

Thanks to Dr. Peng’s manual, Yan carefully selected the vein and drew the sample, then bandaged the minor wound.

[Player has successfully collected lion blood sample (4/6).]

“Great job, Caesar. You can flick off the bandage when you’re ready,” Yan said while stowing the kit.

All the while, Meng Changsheng could only marvel: Keeper’s amazing! Keeper’s awesome!

Finished with Caesar, Yan tucked the teaser toy away again, clipping it to his bike, and led his entourage off to the gorilla and brown bear’s domains.

Now just the gorilla and the brown bear.

They soon found the big gorilla, pounding its chest madly. Regardless of whether it was truly the strongest, its rage meant blood collection was a safe bet.

No need for Yan to act—Orange and the panther tackled the frenzied animal for him to draw its blood.

[Player has successfully collected gorilla blood sample (5/6).]

Next and last: the brown bear!

Brown bears were easy to find—just look for the largest animal scratching its back on a branch.

But more than size, Yan looked at the eyes: system-designated quest targets always had a different look when they saw people.

The brown bear was tough. A single swipe could knock out most animals.

This time, Caesar took it upon himself to provoke, but the tigers couldn’t hold him down. Together, they managed a team “hunt,” exhausting the bear until Yan gave it the last tranquilizer in the kit and, once it slumped, drew the sample.

[Player has successfully collected brown bear blood sample (6/6).]

[In fifteen minutes, blood samples will lose efficacy. Deliver them to the laboratory promptly.]

“Done! All that’s left is to deliver these to Dr. Peng.”

Dr. Peng’s first request—for the elephant’s blood—had a twenty-minute deadline, but now there were only fifteen. Life was tough.

No choice but to mount the bike and sprint. Still, Yan felt obliged to maintain an unhurried air in front of the tiger player.

Meng Changsheng also received the quest update. But why wasn’t the keeper hurrying? With just fifteen minutes left, he didn’t want to fail!

In truth, Yan was pedaling as hard as he could.

No problem—the bear enclosure wasn’t far from the infirmary.

But as he was congratulating himself, the bike chain suddenly jammed and then snapped.

Of course! The system must be out to kill him, rigging it to fail now!

Yan ground his teeth, hurling the useless bike aside.

Damn.

Just then, heavy thumping footsteps thundered toward him.

An elephant, being herded by the black panther, charged up.

The panther nudged Yan with its nose, gesturing for him to climb on.

The elephant knelt to make mounting easy.

It was likely the very one Dr. Peng had angered earlier.

Yan’s pessimism instantly turned to delight. He praised the panther: “Bravo, Jiangyou!”

The panther tilted its head proudly—its “cub” might be a biped, but while it couldn’t carry him itself, the elephant could.

Ten minutes later, Yan managed to deliver all animal blood samples to the laboratory door. He finally relaxed.

He pushed open the lab door and, before he could enter, saw Dr. Zhou pinning injured Dr. Peng against the wall—Zhou’s fingers tight around the man’s neck.

Damn—Dr. Zhou was trying to harm the wounded Dr. Peng.

Though, honestly, Yan felt nothing at the dramatic sight, he still kicked hard at Zhou’s side and shouted, “What are you doing? Let go of Dr. Peng!”