It had been over a month since Yang Lin acquired the system, and roughly fifty to sixty animals in the park had awakened their talents. Among them, over ten had awakened golden talents, meaning he only needed to gather one hundred animals to upgrade the system to level two. Driven by the anticipation of the level two system's functions, Yang Lin was filled with motivation.
However, there was a very thorny problem: the usable area of the park seemed insufficient. Although Xihong Zoo occupied a vast area, each type of animal required a certain amount of living space. This wasn't something a mere cage could solve. For instance, the lion king, a single lion, occupied a large swathe of grassland, making it impossible for other animals to survive nearby. Yang Lin had once considered placing other animals from the African savanna with the lion king, but the moment they were released, they all collapsed, their bowels and bladders letting loose from sheer terror. Not only the lion king, but the tiger enclosure also required a large open space, further reducing the usable land.
With this in mind, Yang Lin casually picked up his phone and dialed a number. "Director Nie, it's me, Xiao Yang. Weren't we discussing renting the land from the city zoo and the adjacent commercial land to Xihong Zoo? Could I go and take a look at those two plots?"
"Let me arrange it myself? How can I impose?"
"I'll treat you to a meal some other day. I have time today. I don't have time today. Let's talk next time, next time." Before Director Nie on the other end could reply, Yang Lin quickly hung up the phone.
"That was close, almost had to treat him to a meal. Why is Director Nie so honest? The zoo director is also struggling for funds." Shaking his head, Yang Lin casually picked up the keys to a minivan and, after informing the other zoo staff, drove his eighth-hand minivan out of the zoo. Although he was making money now, he hadn't spent a dime on himself. He couldn't help it; poverty had been a fear passed down from his grandfather's generation.
After driving for about ten minutes, a large expanse of abandoned land appeared before him. Looking at this barren land adjacent to Xihong Zoo, Yang Lin's eyes lit up. If he remembered correctly, this area was originally intended for a residential complex, but due to a large karst cave beneath, it failed to meet the conditions for building residential buildings and was thus abandoned. Its area was not much smaller than Xihong Zoo. What was even more fortunate was that this long, narrow strip of land was situated precisely between Xihong Zoo and the city zoo. Once the three were connected, Xihong Zoo's park area could be directly expanded by more than three times.
With this thought, Yang Lin got out of the car and, after a short while, entered the long-abandoned land through a gap in the barrier. The moment he entered, he felt as if he had stepped into a forest. On the land covered with weeds and shrubs, trees that had grown for who knew how many years were growing wildly in this urban green space. Occasionally, the sounds of various birds and animals could be heard, making it a miniature ecosystem.
As he curiously surveyed this small, enclosed world, a few round little things scurried out from the bushes. At first glance, Yang Lin thought they were animated chestnut balls. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a mother hedgehog leading a group of hedgehog babies.
Just as Yang Lin was amused by these little creatures, movement also came from the grass on the other side. The next second, two small rabbits with long, upright ears emerged, looking curious. "Why are there so many small animals here?" Yang Lin was filled with questions, but after a moment's thought, he understood. As a large city gradually moving towards modernization, the indigenous small animals that originally lived in this area could only choose this pure land to settle down. Compared to the animals in Xihong Zoo, these small animals were not as fortunate.
With this in mind, Yang Lin immediately returned to his car. When he came back, he had several large bags of various foods, including vegetables and specialized pet feed. Shouldering the food, Yang Lin plunged back into this mysterious corner hidden within the city. Along the way, he stopped to leave food for any small animals he encountered. The species diversity within this urban greenway truly astonished him. Besides the hedgehog family and the rabbit family he had seen initially, he also discovered squirrels, owls, foxes, kittens, and various other small animals. Some had strayed into this area from the forests, while others had been forced to wander here. As a result, they were wary of humans. However, after Yang Lin communicated with them and offered them food, these small animals gradually let down their guard.
Soon, Yang Lin was surrounded by all sorts of small animals, from a dozen at first, then dozens, and then hundreds. In addition to the initial small animals, Yang Lin also unexpectedly found a pure white silver fox and a dirty large golden retriever. These small animals, struggling to survive in the city, now completely let go of their defenses and focused on eating.
Seeing this, Yang Lin sat down on the ground, stroking the closest little beast and saying, "How about it? Follow me from now on. If I have something to eat, you'll have something to eat too." Hearing Yang Lin's words, the little beast, whose intelligence was clearly lacking, suddenly looked up at him, then shoveled a large peanut into its mouth. Yang Lin smiled and shook his head. Compared to the large animals in the park, these small animals clearly had insufficient brain capacity and, before awakening their talents, were essentially impossible to communicate with.
At this moment, the silver fox, which had been hiding behind other animals, slowly walked towards Yang Lin. "Human, you're not lying to us, are you?"
"Lying to you? Why would I lie to you? If you don't believe me, you can send a representative to my zoo for an inspection." Just as Yang Lin thought the silver fox wouldn't believe him so easily, it directly nodded. "Okay, Da Jin and I will go with you to see." With that, the silver fox jumped onto the back of the large golden retriever beside it and gestured for Yang Lin to lead them away. Seeing this, a smile spread across Yang Lin's face.