Working in a Zoo with Beast Taming System

Yang Qi walked to a spot a moderate distance from the corner, where the onlookers’ view was blocked by the perches. He opened his palm, extending the Spirit Rice slightly in the corner’s direction.

At the same time, he activated his Basic Spirit Communication Technique and spoke in a gentle voice.

"Hello. You don’t seem very happy. Would you like to talk? I have something tasty here."

The delicate fragrance of the Spirit Rice, instinctively comforting and pleasant to living creatures, was like an invisible finger, gently strumming the numb nerves of the parakeet in the corner.

Its lowered head twitched slightly as it slowly turned to face him.

When its round, originally dull and lifeless eyes saw the few distinctive grains of rice in Yang Qi’s palm—grains that seemed to shimmer with a vital luster—a faint glimmer of light sparked within them.

A nearly inaudible, yearning gurgle rumbled in its throat. It stretched its slender neck forward tentatively, its beak parting slightly...

But a moment later, as if recalling something terrible or painful, it snapped its neck back and lowered its head again, burying it even deeper than before. Its body curled into a tighter ball, and it began to tremble faintly.

It rejected the temptation right before its eyes, sealing off any possibility of communication.

Yang Qi frowned.

’A refusal to communicate, and obvious fear... This isn’t just a simple case of low spirits.’

’What happened to this parakeet?’

Yang Qi was puzzled, trying to think of what to do next when—

WHOOSH—

A brightly-feathered, well-built parakeet on a nearby perch, drawn by the scent of the Spirit Rice, took flight.

It flapped its wings, flew over gracefully, and landed precisely on Yang Qi’s free shoulder. Without a hint of shyness, it lowered its head, eyeing the hand that had held the Spirit Rice, and spoke.

"Smells so good."

"Want eat."

At these words, an idea struck Yang Qi. He flipped his hand over, instantly stowing the Spirit Rice back in his Hundred Pouches Belt.

"Gone."

The parakeet on his shoulder tilted its head in confusion. It hopped a few times between his shoulder and arm, its little head swiveling about, seemingly searching for the delicacy that had suddenly vanished.

"Gone," it repeated, turning its head to look at Yang Qi.

Yang Qi reached out and gently tapped its small head, asking in a coaxing tone, "You want something tasty?"

"Want."

The parakeet nodded decisively.

"Then tell me..."

Yang Qi glanced toward the withdrawn parrot in the corner. "Why is it plucking its own feathers? Why is it so unhappy? Tell me the reason, and I’ll give you something tasty to eat."

"Really?"

The parakeet on his shoulder stopped moving. It tilted its head, its round eyes staring at Yang Qi, as if trying to judge whether this Two-legged Beast kept his word.

"Of course it’s true."

Yang Qi chuckled, his tone confident. "Can you tell me?"

"Okay."

This parakeet seemed quite naive, or rather, it had absolutely no resistance to "tasty treats."

It turned slightly to face the other side of the enclosure. Raising a wing, it pointed toward a parakeet perched on the highest roost. This one was a full size larger than the others, with sleek, glossy feathers and a disdainful demeanor.

It was a parakeet that had the distinct air of a "boss," and it was surrounded by three or four equally robust companions.

At that moment, it too was staring in Yang Qi’s direction, its gaze sharp and appraising.

The "Little Informant" on Yang Qi’s shoulder faced the "boss" and let out a string of rapid, garbled chirps, as if it were recounting or explaining something.

"The boss won’t let it eat."

"Won’t let it get near the females, won’t let it breed."

"The boss also told all of us not to play with it. He beats up anyone who does."

"I have to listen to the boss, so I can’t play with it."

"It couldn’t find food and didn’t have any friends, so it started plucking its own feathers..."

"Two-legged Beast, you have to listen to the boss, too."

"Okay, I’m finished. Can I have the treat now?"

Yang Qi was speechless.

He struggled to keep a straight face.

’Good grief!’

’And here I was, thinking it was some complex psychological trauma, a drastic environmental change, or the pangs of unrequited love...’

’After all that, it turns out a blatant case of "bullying" was playing out right here in this little parrot enclosure!’

’Because it was ostracized, isolated, and deprived of resources and mating rights by the "boss," this parakeet—which was probably introverted or weak to begin with—developed severe psychological problems that led to self-harm: plucking its own feathers!’

’In human society, this whole drama would be enough for a news report on school bullying.’

Yang Qi felt a mix of amusement and exasperation.

The social structures and behavioral patterns of the animal world were sometimes appallingly simple and direct.

Letting out a breath, Yang Qi kept his word. He nonchalantly took a few more grains of Spirit Rice from his belt and gently tossed them onto the clean ground at his feet.

The "Little Informant" saw this and chirped happily. It immediately flew down from Yang Qi’s shoulder, landed on the ground, and began pecking at the grains with single-minded focus, its recent act of "informing" completely forgotten.

Who cared about some boss? In the face of a delicious meal, the boss was less than nothing...

Yang Qi, meanwhile, strode directly toward the "ringleader of the bullies"—the enormous parakeet "boss."

He stopped a few steps away from the "boss" parakeet’s perch. Yang Qi looked up at it, his gaze calm, and with his Spirit Communication Technique still active, he got straight to the point.

"Why are you bullying it? Why won’t you let it eat or make friends?"

The "boss" parakeet seemed not to have expected this Two-legged Beast to approach it directly, let alone ask such a question.

It looked down on Yang Qi condescendingly, letting out a short, sharp squawk. Its tone was full of arrogance and impatience.

"What’s it to you?"