As Lele awoke, both the assembled experts and netizens eagerly following the pandas back home breathed a collective sigh of relief.
This was immediately followed by an even stronger surge of anger.
"What on earth were the people at the Memphis Zoo doing? Lele was in such a state, and their staff didn't even notice."
"It's impossible they didn't notice. There are cameras above all the enclosures; they must have seen it long ago."
"Exactly. I suspect they saw it but simply didn't care."
"I'm so incredibly angry. Why should our precious pandas have to endure such hardship overseas?"
"Fortunately, Lele has been rescued this time. Otherwise, those people from the Animal Association would have to atone."
"I honestly thought Lele was gone just now. I never imagined Director Yang could save him."
"What kind of garbage is the Memphis Zoo? They must give us a reasonable explanation this time."
"I'm increasingly grateful that we left comments on the Animal Association's website back then, asking Director Yang to join the expert team."
...
"Director Yang, how is Lele doing now?"
Inside the panda enclosure, the experts looked on with concern at Lele, who had now opened his eyes.
Hearing their questions, Yang Lin quickly pretended to wipe sweat from his brow and then let out a soft sigh. "Lele's condition is very grim. His internal organs are almost failing, and he's suffering from numerous complications."
"Furthermore, his mental state is unstable, and he's beginning to exhibit stereotypical behaviors."
As Yang Lin spoke, Lele, having recovered slightly, turned his face towards a corner of the enclosure, as if facing a wall.
Seeing this, the experts' hearts ached once more.
Professor Chen, the most hot-tempered among them, rolled up his sleeves and prepared to charge out of the panda enclosure.
"Damn it all! They bullied us in the past, and now they're bullying our pandas? I'm going to beat them up!"
Seeing Professor Chen's actions, the other experts quickly grabbed him.
"Old Chen, don't be impulsive. I know you have feelings for pandas from your time at the base in your youth, but this is their territory."
"That's right. Our most important task right now is to safely bring Lele and Ya Ya back to Longguo."
After hearing their counsel, Professor Chen calmed down slightly.
Once calm, he turned his gaze back to Yang Lin.
"Director Yang, why don't you take a look at Ya Ya? If Lele is like this, Ya Ya must be too."
Hearing Professor Chen's words, Yang Lin nodded slightly.
The next moment, he cautiously approached Ya Ya.
He had expected that with his natural affinity passive ability, Ya Ya wouldn't be wary of him.
However, as soon as he got close, Ya Ya, whose face had been ashen, showed a flicker of terror.
Seeing Ya Ya's reaction, Yang Lin immediately realized something.
Without a doubt, Ya Ya's stressful response must have been due to past abuse and beatings by her keepers.
Otherwise, given a panda's nature, she would have no reason to fear humans.
With this thought, he quickly checked Ya Ya's information from a distance.
[Female Giant Panda (Severely Weakened, Severely Depressed) 22 years old, Apathetic]
As everyone had expected, Ya Ya's condition was very similar to Lele's, but with the addition of severe depression.
To cause a naturally optimistic panda to suffer from severe depression, one could only imagine what she had endured in her life.
Realizing this, Yang Lin slowly approached Ya Ya, attempting to communicate with her.
"Ya Ya, we're here to take you home. Don't be afraid."
However, Yang Lin soon discovered that these words seemed to have little effect.
Even with all his efforts to soothe her, Ya Ya's face remained filled with resistance and unease.
To avoid further agitating Ya Ya, Yang Lin had no choice but to stop.
Seeing that even Yang Lin couldn't get close to Ya Ya, the experts became anxious and angry.
"What can we do? If Director Yang can't get close, he can't diagnose Ya Ya."
"Why don't we try?"
"Forget it. When it comes to animal behavior and psychology, the sum of all of us here doesn't match Director Yang's expertise."
"But we can't just stand here and do nothing."
At this moment, everyone was clearly worried.
But then, a flash of inspiration struck Yang Lin's mind.
The next second, to everyone's surprise, Yang Lin spoke again.
"Ya Ya, we're here to take you home."
The same words as before, but this time Yang Lin spoke them in the Bashu dialect.
As soon as he finished speaking, Ya Ya, who had been full of resistance and vigilance, suddenly froze. Then, a spark of life appeared in her previously hollow, vacant eyes.
Seeing Ya Ya react, everyone, including Yang Lin, was overjoyed.
However, as a stream of cloudy tears rolled down Ya Ya's cheeks, the smiles that had just appeared on their faces vanished.
Ya Ya was crying.
She hadn't cried living in a dilapidated enclosure, eating rotten, dry bamboo, or being neglected and abused by her keepers.
But upon hearing the familiar dialect of her homeland, tears welled up.
No one had expected this scene, least of all the viewers in the live stream.
After a long silence, countless netizens in the distant land of Longguo began to shed tears.
"Wuwuwu, Ya Ya has had it so hard. She left Longguo at two years old, and now twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye. She still remembers the dialect of her home."
"Yes, how many people forget their mother tongue after immigrating, let alone their regional dialect? But Ya Ya has always kept the sounds of her hometown in her heart."
"Crying, Ya Ya, we came too late."
"It feels like being kidnapped by traffickers for years and suddenly seeing your family and hearing your hometown dialect."
"If Ya Ya could speak, she would be asking, 'Why did you take so long to come?'"
"How much suffering must she have endured? She couldn't speak, and she had no one to confide in."
"All I hope now is for Ya Ya to have a peaceful old age. As the expert just said, nothing is more important than bringing Lele and Ya Ya home now."
...
Perhaps it was because she heard the familiar sounds of home, but the previously resistant Ya Ya finally lowered her guard towards Yang Lin.
Seeing this, Yang Lin breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly walked up to Ya Ya and gently embraced her frail body.
While softly comforting her, he used his Intermediate Healing and Intermediate Mental Healing abilities to soothe Ya Ya's trauma.
Before long, this wanderer, who had been away from home for many years, fell into a deep sleep in Yang Lin's arms.
As Ya Ya slept, Yang Lin's anger could no longer be suppressed.