Working in a Zoo with Beast Taming System

It cooed a couple of times, affectionately spread its wings, and leaped from the tree, landing precisely on Yang Qi’s shoulder.

"Hiss—"

Yang Qi felt his shoulder sink, followed by a slight, stabbing pain. He sucked in a sharp breath and quickly ordered, "Get back in the tree, Qi Zai! Don’t you know how sharp your talons are?"

The talons of a Beaked Eagle are weapons capable of piercing a sloth’s skull and capturing monkeys. Even as a sub-adult, its unconscious grip was strong enough to tear through normal clothing and even break the skin.

’Ah? I’m sorry, Master.’

Qi Zai quickly released its talons. It flapped its wings in a fluster and flew back to a branch, perching and looking down at Yang Qi.

’I didn’t do it on purpose.’

"It’s okay. It’s not your fault."

Yang Qi rubbed his stinging shoulder and smiled. "I’ll get a sturdy shoulder guard and an arm guard. It’ll be easier for you to stand on me then."

A yellow hound on the left, a dark hawk on the right—that’s a man’s dream.

But safety precautions were a must.

He mobilized his Magical Power, and a faint glow once again appeared at his fingertips. Yang Qi pointed at Qi Zai in the tree from a distance.

"Basic Spirit Awakening Technique!"

A cool, gentle, and spiritually nourishing energy crossed the space and entered Qi Zai’s body.

To the naked eye, the intelligent light in Qi Zai’s eyes grew more intense, as if they were polished gems.

It excitedly flapped its wings.

’What is this?’

’It feels so good. Thank you, Master.’

’I feel... I feel like I’m smarter now.’

’My thoughts are faster and clearer.’

’Huh? What’s that food?’ 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

’It smells delicious.’

Qi Zai’s attention was drawn to the strips of beef in the food container in Yang Qi’s hand.

Smiling, Yang Qi used a pair of long tweezers to pick up a strip of bright red beef and offered it to Qi Zai.

Qi Zai’s movement was swift and precise. It swooped its head down, snatched the strip of meat, and tilted its head back to swallow it.

’Delicious. More, please.’

Yang Qi fed it a few more strips.

Qi Zai didn’t seem to find this satisfying enough.

’Forget it, I’ll help myself.’

With that thought, it jumped down from the tree again, landing on the empty ground by Yang Qi’s feet. It stretched out its neck and used its strong, powerful beak to pick up the beef strips from the container one by one, eating them cheerfully.

In no time, the beef strips in the container were devoured as if a whirlwind had swept through.

Still wanting more, Qi Zai flapped its broad wings and let out a satisfied coo.

’Master, can you bring more next time?’

"Sure, I’ll increase your portion."

Yang Qi replied with a smile, "In a few days, once you’ve adjusted a bit more, I’ll find a chance to let you out. Then you can hunt for yourself and have a taste of ’game meat’."

’Really? Thank you, Master!’

Hearing this, Qi Zai’s eyes immediately lit up, and it looked exceptionally excited.

It affectionately drew close to Yang Qi and nuzzled him with its head.

’When I catch something tasty, I’ll share it with you, Master.’

"Uh... that won’t be necessary."

Yang Qi quickly declined.

’Just imagine the "game meat" a Beaked Eagle might bring back.’

’It could be a wild rabbit, a squirrel, or even...’

He quickly stopped that train of thought and said sternly, "Qi Zai, there’s something you must remember."

’What is it? Tell me, Master.’

Qi Zai tilted its head, its expression serious.

"The Two-legged Beasts that look like me."

Yang Qi pointed to himself and then gestured to outline a human figure. "Whether it’s an adult or a child, as long as they look like this, you must absolutely never attack them. Got it?"

’Okay, I’ll remember.’

Qi Zai nodded decisively, then added a thought.

’Two-legged Beasts. I only eat the furry kind.’

Yang Qi was speechless.

’Seems about right, though?’

In a Beaked Eagle’s natural diet, sloths and monkeys were indeed furry "Two-legged Beasts."

’Well, as long as it understands, that’s what matters. The important thing is that it doesn’t attack humans.’

After exchanging a few more words with Qi Zai, soothing it and promising to see it again tomorrow, Yang Qi left the Beaked Eagle Cage.

The rest of his routine was the same as always.

First, he tidied up the utility room, then headed to the Giant Panda Hall.

Tuantuan was already waiting at the entrance to the activity yard. Upon seeing Yang Qi, it immediately let out its signature whimper.

Yang Qi took it for a long stroll along their familiar path, letting it stretch its limbs, and finally fed it two specially enhanced apples.

Tuantuan hugged the apples and waddled back to its enclosure, completely content.

By the time he returned to his dorm, it was already dark. Yang Qi set up the Demon Extermination Array in the empty space of his backyard to harvest contribution points.

Then, he went back to the kitchen and cooked a pot of fragrant Spirit Rice Porridge.

He served himself a bowl, then gave a bowl each to Bai Wan, Hu Zi, Leopard, and Xiaojiu, who had wandered back at some point.

After dinner, just as he finished cleaning the dishes and was about to head upstairs to begin his evening cultivation, his phone vibrated.

It was a message from Jiang Kai.

[Xiao Yang, just wanted to sync with you about the work schedule.]

[Starting tomorrow, the new keeper, Xiaoliu, will take over the daily cleaning and feeding for the lynx.]

[From now on, you’ll be primarily responsible for the daily care of the Gray Wolf and the raccoons, as well as the feeding, training, and adaptation observation for the new Beaked Eagle, ’Qi Zai’.]

[Focus on the Beaked Eagle. Report any needs or abnormalities to me immediately.]

After reading, Yang Qi understood. The zoo had made this reasonable work adjustment considering he had just become Song Chunfang’s apprentice, which would increase his academic pressure, and also to allow him to focus more on the Beaked Eagle, which had immense potential.

[Got it.]

Yang Qi replied.

He had already told Jiang Kai, Huang Zhongmu, and the others that afternoon that he had named the Beaked Eagle "Qi Zai".

Just as he closed the chat app, a call came in.

The caller ID showed Song Wan.

"Hello, Song Wan?" Yang Qi answered.

"Yang Qi, am I bothering you?" Song Wan’s voice came from the other end, tinged with hesitation.

"No, I just finished dinner. What’s up?" Yang Qi walked over to the living room sofa, sat down, and asked directly.

"Well, it’s like this..."

Song Wan sighed and explained, "Brother Pang recognized me from the videos I posted."

"Hm?"

Yang Qi raised his eyebrows. He hadn’t expected that.

Song Wan usually didn’t show her face clearly in the videos she posted on social media, but someone familiar with her might be able to recognize her from the environment, her voice, or other details.

"He sent me a private message asking how I trained Overlord to be so outstanding, so unbelievably smart."

Song Wan continued, "I told him I asked a friend to help with the training, but I didn’t tell him it was you. Then, Brother Pang kept pestering me about it. He’s very persistent, saying he wants to meet this ’expert’ and ask a few questions."

"I’m not sure what to do. Brother Pang helped me out a couple of times back in school..."

Song Wan’s voice was filled with conflict.

"Brother Pang?"

Yang Qi was puzzled at first, then a person came to mind.

"Are you talking about Pang Yunrui?" Yang Qi asked.

"Yes, that’s him," Song Wan replied. "Brother Pang... Yang Qi, you’ve met him a few times, right?"

"More than just met him. I even got two free meals out of him."

Yang Qi smiled. "It’s fine, don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to him. I have his contact info."

"Ah? You have his contact info?"

Song Wan was clearly relieved, her tone becoming much lighter. "I’m so sorry to trouble you with this."

"It’s no trouble, it’s a small thing. Don’t give it a second thought," Yang Qi reassured her.

The fact that Yang Qi had saved Pang Yunrui from a car accident was unknown to Song Wan, Ye Haibing, and the others. Yang Qi himself had never brought it up, feeling it was unnecessary.

’Looks like this saves me the trouble of explaining things,’ he thought.

He chatted briefly with Song Wan about how things were going before ending the call.

After hanging up, Yang Qi opened his messaging app and found the profile picture for "Fatty Rui" in his contact list.

After a moment’s thought, Yang Qi didn’t send a text message; he initiated a voice call directly.

The ringtone only sounded twice before the call was quickly answered.

"Junior, you’re calling me? This must be my lucky day!" Pang Yunrui said joyfully.

"You’re exaggerating, Senior."

Yang Qi chuckled and got straight to the point. "Senior, that leopard cat of Song Wan’s, Overlord, I’m the one who trained him. Are you looking to have a cat trained too?"

"Haha."

Pang Yunrui laughed on the other end of the line. "I had a feeling it was you, Junior!"

???