Super Zoo-Chapter 646 - 637: Search Party Enters the Mountain

Misfortunes never come singly, but today they strike, and blessings never come in pairs until this morning they've arrived!

The originally baffling case, when investigated along the lines of Suming's thinking—that is, starting with the angle of "animals breaking out on their own"—immediately revealed several important clues.

Beyond finding that hole filled with animal feces, which was nearly producing methane, Suming had almost reconstructed the 'crime scene' because he understood the habits of those animals so well, especially the two pandas.

Nangong Hua immediately arranged for staff to re-question the ground crew involved that day and inspect the damaged cages.

Panda bite marks were found at the break in the cage, and the ground crew candidly admitted that, indeed, they had not immediately closed the door after loading the animal cages. The interior of the transport hold was out of their sight for a good fifteen minutes.

There was nothing to hide about this; it was always done this way. After moving the cargo into the hold, the ground crew would leave the plane and wait for commands from the control tower before assisting the pilot in closing the transport hold.

Although this time it was animals being transported, there was no difference. The animals in the transport hold were locked in cages—surely they couldn't run away, could they?

They'd been careless.

Meanwhile, a technical staff member from Ocean Park, unable to bear the intense psychological pressure, took the initiative to confess about the lost key.

This guy had actually realized the key was missing on the day itself, but, fearing responsibility, he didn't dare to report it right away. After struggling internally for two or three days and no longer able to bear it, he confessed everything.

Piecing together a series of evidence from before and after, it was nearly possible to form a clear chain of evidence supporting Suming's conjectures and inferences.

The only somewhat unlucky one was that technical staff member from Ocean Park. With the pandas' escape, he was saddled with the blame and might even be fired.

There's still a lack of experience in the long-term and large-scale breeding of pandas. If it had been an animal caretaker from the Shudu Panda Conservation Base, they would definitely know that no matter when, as soon as you're near these trouble-loving chubbies, you must hide keys, wallets, and any snacks on your person very securely.

After some thought, Suming decided to have Mrs. Tong make some contact with the technical staff member, and if he indeed ended up being fired because of this incident, they might as well hire him to work at the Yangchuan City Zoo.

Although he'd been somewhat negligent, since he was able to hold a position at Xiangjiang Ocean Park, his skills were undoubtedly solid.

On one hand, it would be like cleaning up after two mischievous scamps; on the other hand, the zoo was indeed short of professional talents.

After receiving the report from Nangong Hua, the three leaders each uttered a 'good' in turn.

"Good!"

"Very good!"

"Extremely good!"

Suddenly, the case seemed clear. There were no criminals harboring malice, no so-called mysterious forces that would cause an uproar, only a mere accident resulting from a coincidence of many factors.

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It could even be said that this incident, far from causing any social unrest, will actually attract people's attention and become a light-hearted topic of conversation over tea and meals.

A group of clever animals tricked the keepers and stealthily escaped into the mountains, giving people the impression that they are not afraid of humans, but rather quite amusing.

In this matter, it's not really a case of assigning blame. If one were to argue there's blame to assign, it could only be said that the conditions at the Yangchuan City Zoo were too good and the management was too capable. The animals had lived there so long that each of them had turned into a little trickster.

All that was left was to confirm the details and then it would be time to announce the news to the media, and it was indeed necessary to do so. Although many animals had not hurt anyone at the airport, among them were mostly fierce creatures. Not to mention the formidable "Hei," even baboons were not to be taken lightly. Should an incident occur where someone gets hurt, it would be troubling, so it was important to prepare the public, urging them to avoid playing in remote and uninhabited wilderness areas as much as possible.

After careful consideration, it was decided by the Xiangjiang side that Xiangjiang Ocean Park would release the news through an entertainment newspaper, treating it like a story of amusement to avoid panic to the greatest extent;

On the Yangchuan side, the Yangchuan City Zoo would first release the news through the TV program "Daily Amusements," followed by reminders on other shows.

"Daily Amusements" was a bit awkward in the lineup of TV programs. Originally a radio show, it was converted to a television segment just a year ago. Thanks to its light and fun content, the viewership was actually not bad. However, genuinely amusing incidents were all too rare, and the station didn't want to lower the tone by turning every little incident, like a kitten stealing fish or a dog making a mess at home, into a "fun" TV segment, so the show only aired once a week.

The program's host happened to be Nangong Yan's close friend, Shen Ying.

Since the car-smashing incident she had experienced with Nangong Yan, Shen Ying had only seen Suming once when she invited a few good colleagues from the radio station to a meal after Nangong Yan resigned.

Knowing that she was going to interview Suming, Shen Ying subconsciously spent extra time in the makeup van in front of the mirror, meticulously applying a professional makeup look, taking twice as long as she usually did before a show.

There were three outfits that the host usually wore, and logically, choosing any of them would have been fine. Shen Ying used to pick at random, at most considering which one she had worn in the previous episode and switching to a different one to avoid repeating.

But today, she was troubled over choosing an outfit for a long time, constantly recalling the colors of the clothes Nangong Yan had worn during their few brief encounters with Suming.

In the end, she picked a pink suit.

When Suming saw Shen Ying in all pink, he couldn't help but frown, thinking to himself what taste this girl had... He didn't like it when women wore pink on the outside, especially not business suits, which gave off a tacky vibe. It was different with underwear, which was why Nangong Yan never wore this color when she was alone with him.

"Brother-in-law, how do you like my outfit?" Shen Ying finally couldn't resist asking before filming began.

"Very nice!" Suming looked at her seriously and nodded sincerely.

Shen Ying beamed with joy...

"Traces of the escaped animals were found at the base of the Qinling foothills, about 4 kilometers from the edge of the airport. So, Mr. Su, would it be correct to say that these animals have escaped into the mountains and no longer pose a threat to the nearby residents?"

"Based on normal reasoning, animals instinctively avoid human settlements, and this includes fierce creatures like bears and wolves," Suming first nodded, then quickly added, "But I must remind everyone that most of the escaped animals grew up in the zoo and many of them were pets. Compared to wild animals, they are more accustomed to artificial conditions. Therefore, it's possible that they cannot adapt to life in the mountains and stay near the mountain range, or even appear near human villages and towns. So, please be vigilant. Avoid going to isolated areas alone and if you see pandas or non-native animals, immediately call the police."

"What measures will the police and the zoo take?" Shen Ying asked.

"The police and the zoo have dispatched personnel to search the mountains based on the traces left by the animals."