It's finally here!
How are you supposed to cultivate without a Cultivation Technique?
Before, as a "servant disciple," I naturally didn't have one.
Now that I've become an "Outer Sect Disciple" and officially entered the Mountain Gate, a Cultivation Technique has been granted, just as expected.
However…
Upon receiving the profound new information in his mind, Yang Qi discovered that while the Moon Invitation Qi Refining Art allowed him to cultivate Magical Power, it couldn't be used to break through realms, much less tame beasts!
'The beast-taming arts are the core of the Beast Taming Sect.'
'And on top of that, it can't even be used to break through realms.'
'If I want to get the core Cultivation Technique of the Beast Taming Sect, it seems the only way is to become a permanent employee, secure a tenured position, and get promoted to Inner Sect Disciple!'
'Going from a temp to a contract worker is easy, but getting promoted from a contract to a permanent position is much harder.'
Mei Ying hadn't been lying about that. Yang Qi knew because he had taken the civil service exam himself.
Ye Haibing, Song Wan, Gao Zhenyue, and in fact, most of their other classmates had all taken the exam.
Society is just too competitive these days; getting a stable government job is everyone's first choice.
"The ultimate goal in life is a stable government job." That wasn't just some empty phrase.
But in the end, only Qian Yu had succeeded, landing a position in the city.
That just went to show how hard it was to get a permanent city-level position.
But Yang Qi wasn't in a hurry.
The Moon Invitation Qi Refining Art let him cultivate Magical Power. If he could get one or two spells on top of that, taming animals would only become easier and easier.
And his performance at work would become more and more outstanding as a result.
Yang Qi was confident it wouldn't be long before he made a name for himself.
By then, it would be just as Mei Ying had joked: zoos from other cities would probably try to poach him, especially when they found out he was just a contract worker.
'Would Donghua really refuse to give me a permanent position then?'
'If they really refused, they couldn't blame me for voting with my feet.'
...
Now that he had officially started his new position, Yang Qi was quickly informed of the animals he would be responsible for.
Just as he had expected, there were only two species.
Wolves!
And raccoons.
The former group consisted of nine wolves, including Happy and Ao Tian.
The latter was a family of four.
He had already been to the wolf enclosure a few times, but he had yet to see the raccoon's, so after lunch, Yang Qi headed to the raccoon exhibit first to get familiar with the work area.
...
It was mid-afternoon, and the sunlight was pleasant.
Yang Qi had just finished cleaning the raccoon enclosure and was about to start his next task when his phone rang in his pocket.
He took it out and saw it was an unfamiliar local landline number.
"Hello, is this Mr. Yang?" a brisk, professional female voice asked from the other end of the line.
"Speaking. Who is this?" Yang Qi replied.
"This is the Hongshu Public Security Branch. The reward money for your report on the fugitive Liu Honghui has been approved. We need you to come down in person with your ID to give a statement and sign for it."
The hundred-thousand-yuan reward had come through!
Yang Qi's heart skipped a beat, but he suppressed his excitement and replied calmly, "Okay, I'll be right there."
After hanging up, Yang Qi clenched his fist.
He immediately found Jiang Kai, the director of the Animal Management Department, and told him he needed to leave for a personal matter, without going into detail.
Jiang Kai had been growing fonder of Yang Qi lately, so he didn't press for details and readily approved his request for leave.
After thanking him, Yang Qi quickly left the Zoo, hailed a taxi at the entrance, and headed straight for the Hongshu Public Security Branch.
After arriving at the branch and explaining his purpose to the officer at the front desk, he was quickly led to an office by a young female officer.
The process was very smooth: verifying his identity, giving a detailed account of how he discovered Liu Honghui that day for the record, and finally signing his name on several forms.
"Mr. Yang, this is your reward money, a total of one hundred thousand yuan. Please check it," the female officer said, handing over a document.
Yang Qi looked at the numbers on the document, nodded, and confirmed they were correct.
Soon, his phone received a text message from his bank confirming the deposit.
Looking at the long string of zeros in the text message, Yang Qi felt a new spring in his step.
He gave a self-deprecating laugh in his mind.
'My cultivation has only just begun. I guess I can't escape these worldly possessions just yet.'
Filled with joy, Yang Qi left the office building, walked down the steps, and prepared to return to the Zoo.
Just as he got to the bottom of the steps, his gaze was drawn to a scene near two police cars parked in the shade not far away.
Two majestic police dogs were sitting by the cars. One of them, a large German Shepherd with a glossy black coat, was none other than Black Panther, whom he had met once at the subway station.
Next to Black Panther sat a Labrador, also wearing a K-9 vest.
Yang Qi looked around but didn't see their handler or any other police officers.
On an impulse, he couldn't resist tiptoeing over.
"Hey, Black Panther, remember me?"
Yang Qi stopped about two meters away from them, crouched down, and greeted them softly with a smile.
Black Panther's ears perked up immediately. His dark brown eyes looked sharply at Yang Qi, and his nostrils flared rapidly.
The next second, the wariness in his eyes melted into affection. He even took the initiative to move closer, rubbing his head against Yang Qi's outstretched hand and letting out a comfortable rumbling sound from his throat.
The Labrador K-9 next to him saw its companion's reaction, looked curiously at Yang Qi, and seemed to be drawn in by the calming aura he emitted that put animals at ease. It couldn't help but let out a couple of soft whimpers and also moved closer.
Yang Qi laughed and used his other hand to gently stroke the Labrador's head and chin.
"Hello there. What's your name?"
"WOOF!"
Sensing the goodwill, the Labrador gave a happy bark, its tail wagging like a fan, its mouth open as if smiling.
"Grr-woof~"
Black Panther barked at it.
'What are you afraid of?'
The Labrador immediately moved a little closer.
"Haha~" Yang Qi couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"What are you doing?"
Just then, a sharp shout tinged with wariness came from behind Yang Qi.
Hearing the voice, Yang Qi withdrew his hands, stood up, and turned around.
He saw six police officers in crisp uniforms, walking briskly toward him with sharp gazes. They had clearly noticed the stranger's friendly interaction with the police dogs.
"Sorry, officers."
Yang Qi quickly explained, pointing at Black Panther, who was rubbing against his leg, "I'm a zookeeper at the Donghua Wildlife Park. I've met Black Panther once before. I just came out and saw him here, so I came over to say hello."
The six officers had naturally seen how the two police dogs were completely unguarded and even quite friendly toward Yang Qi, and the wary expressions on their faces softened slightly.
"Hey, it's you!"
A familiar voice rang out.
He saw Black Panther's handler, dressed in training fatigues, jogging over from a corner. Seeing Yang Qi, a surprised smile appeared on his face. "What are you doing here?"
"Hello, officer." Yang Qi nodded to him. "I'm here on some personal business."
"Wang Chao, you two know each other?"
Among the six officers, the leader, a man in his thirties with a medium build and sharp eyes, looked at Wang Chao and asked.
The insignia on the man's epaulets indicated he held a high rank.
"Yes, Captain Sun, we've met once."
Wang Chao answered immediately, pointing at Yang Qi and the police dogs to introduce him. "He's a zookeeper at the Donghua Wildlife Park. He has a special way with animals. Captain Sun, look how friendly Black Panther and Bai Feng are with him."
The officer called Captain Sun, Sun Zhenghong, had already taken in the scene.
His gaze shifted between Yang Qi and the two police dogs, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes. He said to Yang Qi, "You're a zookeeper from the Zoo? That's perfect. We're about to handle a case involving the illegal captivity of a protected animal, a Clouded Cat, at a private manor."
"Do you have time right now? If you can, we'd like you to come with us. After we rescue the Clouded Cat, you can take it directly back to the Zoo for placement. It would save a lot of handover procedures."
'A Clouded Cat?'