We're Live!

Two days later, at two in the afternoon, urged on by the fans, Xiao Su started the live stream on time. Huang Qi stood by, just in case.

Although she had watched some live streams, it was her first time operating one herself. Xiao Su had even gone to learn a bit, but of course, she still wasn't very professional. She watched as several thousand people flooded into the stream room in just half a minute, and the number was still rising. She greeted them with a beaming smile, "Hello, everyone."

"Is that the admin? I'm so excited, you're just as cute as I imagined."

"Where's the Great Immortal? I'm here to see the Great Immortal!"

"Reporting in, here to cheer for our Lele!"

"Where's the great Luya? I want to see the Zoo Director hold the great Luya like a hen."

"Yes, I'm the admin of the official account. I'll be the one live streaming for everyone today." Xiao Su looked at the notebook in her hand. "I made a schedule, but you can all tell me what you want to see first, and I can adjust accordingly."

The bullet comments instantly flew by. Xiao Su glanced at them. "It seems everyone is very superstitious. Alright, then let's go to the canine exhibit first today." Xiao Su introduced as she walked, "Right now, in the canine exhibit, aside from the Arctic fox we had before—yes, the White Fox Great Immortal—and a red fox, we also have two newly introduced animals: a snow hare that's temporarily lodging with us, and a Tibetan fox."

"A Tibetan fox? You actually have a Tibetan fox? Holy crap, I'm so excited!"

"It's so rare for a zoo to have a Tibetan fox... I've never even seen a living meme."

Xiao Su walked to the canine exhibit and first filmed a panoramic view for everyone. "When the sun is at its strongest, there aren't many visitors, so let's look at them one by one."

"I just saw the Tibetan fox! It's right next to the Great Immortal. The comparison makes it look even uglier..."

"Daily dose of superstition. Dropping a plane for the Great Immortal."

The superstitious crowd started spamming gifts. Xiao Su said with a chuckle, "Is this the part where I'm supposed to say 'thank you for the gifts, darlings'?"

She walked to the front of the Tibetan fox's enclosure and filmed both Yousu and the Tibetan fox in the same shot. The camera was closer to the Tibetan fox, making its face look even bigger, just like a trapezoid, its gaze listless and dazed.

"WTF hahahahahahaha, don't zoom in so close, I just spat out my water."

"Screenshot successful. Meme get!"

"Putting the Tibetan fox and the Great Immortal in the same frame is truly a cruel thing."

"...I agree. Especially putting the Tibetan fox in front. Do you know how big that makes its face look?"

"Hahahahahaha, I don't know why but I just want to laugh seeing it."

"Admin, that's enough! I just bathed and changed my clothes to worship the Great Immortal, how am I supposed to piously burn incense now that you've done this!"

"Sending a gift. Just consider it nutrition money for the Tibetan fox. It's not easy growing up to look like that, and it's even harder living next to the Great Immortal when you look like that."

With a mischievous sense of humor, Xiao Su filmed the Tibetan fox from various angles. The fox was also very aware of the camera, staring straight at it, which made many netizens comment that they felt like they were being stared down by the Tibetan fox and were about to be sucked into its mesmerizing gaze.

Only when everyone said they had screenshotted enough memes did Xiao Su move over to the Arctic fox. She took a short break to chat about some interesting anecdotes from when the Great Immortal filmed the commercial, and let the netizens indulge in some long-distance superstition.

When it was about time to move on, with the screen full of people spamming gifts and making wishes, Xiao Su silently aimed the camera at the civility promotional poster on the wall, a gift from the sub-district official, which had the Core Socialist Values printed on it.

Xiao Su filmed it for three seconds and drily explained, "So we don't get our account banned."

The netizens: "..."

The camera moved, this time aiming at the snow hares.

Everyone was used to seeing rabbits, so Xiao Su just briefly explained the habits of snow hares. She saw a female rabbit pressing down on a smaller male rabbit and said with great interest, "Look, doesn't it look like they're stretching cotton candy?"

"...The admin's train of thought is very unique."

"It does, it does."

"You could say it's a perfect resemblance, lol."

......

After leaving the canine exhibit, Xiao Su headed for the waterfowl lake.

"There are red-crowned cranes, mandarin ducks, white swans, black swans..." Xiao Su listed, then seeing some bullet comments, she answered, "Mm, this is our new area, it was just completed. That's right, those are all bamboo plants. I don't know what kind, the Zoo Director seemed to say it's Purple Bamboo."

Xiao Su didn't mention how delicious the shoots were. If word got out, what would she do if everyone came to pull up the bamboo shoots?

In the waterfowl lake, pairs of black and white swans and mandarin ducks swam leisurely, while red-crowned cranes stood on one leg on the island in the center of the lake.

"These birds didn't participate in the commercial, but they're very interesting. The peacocks at our zoo get to come here every few days for a stroll." Xiao Su gestured for Huang Qi to bring the peacocks. This was a planned segment, to have the peacocks interact with the new birds.

Speaking of Lingyou Zoo's peacocks, they also had a certain number of followers. Some people didn't even know Jinwei and Cuicui were from Lingyou, but had seen the video of them flying.

After Jinwei and Cuicui were placed on the bank, the swans and mandarin ducks quickly gathered around.

The swans also came ashore, surrounding the two peacocks like stars clustering around the moon.

"Are they communicating? Amazing, this is the first time I've seen peacocks and swans become friends."

"Please fly, peacocks!"

Just then, the red-crowned crane on the island let out a cry, its call extremely piercing.

Before the netizens could figure out the source of the sound, they saw the swans and peacocks on screen begin to take a running start—

Reaching the edge of the bank, led by the two peacocks, the black and white swans behind them all spread their wings and took flight!

They didn't fly too high, only a few meters above the ground, and the distance from the bank to the island in the lake's center was several tens of meters.

This distance was actually a bit far for peacocks, and the netizens in the stream room, whose numbers had now reached the tens of thousands, even began to worry if the two peacocks could successfully reach the opposite shore.

But in the next moment, they were all stunned into speechless amazement.

The two male peacocks' wings were simply too strong and broad, making the distance from the bank to the island no difficulty for them at all.

They led the way, their colorful feathers shimmering in the sunlight. Behind them followed the black and white swans, the contrast of color against black and white silently moving. With the lake water nearby, the Purple Bamboo in the distance, and their reflections cast upon the clear surface of the lake, the scene was just like a painted scroll coming to life.

The peacocks landed on the island, their gorgeous, phoenix-like wings folding in. Only then did it feel like everyone was waking from a dream.

"Holy sh— I'm speechless from the beauty!"

"My god, that was so stunning!"

"I've got goosebumps..."

"I'm inexplicably moved. I'm completely shaken."

"My mom is asking why I'm crying while watching a video..."

"Indescribable! The word 'beautiful' is too feeble, but I can't find a more accurate word!"

"Look at the friends they have. I'm crying myself unconscious in the bathroom."

At this moment, Xiao Su silently panned the camera down from the island and aimed it at the group of dazed-looking mandarin ducks.

"I almost forgot about the mandarin ducks..."

"What's up with them? Can't they fly??"

"They're probably too embarrassed to fly. The comparison is too harsh."

"The admin silently twisted the knife, lol."

Compared to the other birds, the mandarin ducks were indeed a bit plain. At that moment, several pairs of mandarin ducks silently swam towards the island. Xiao Su explained, "Their feathers aren't fully developed yet. Some of them can fly, but not very gracefully, so they chose to swim instead."

"So they really were too embarrassed to fly, hahahahaha."

"The admin is being very tactful."

Having just watched what felt like a grand performance, and with all the birds now on the island, Xiao Su moved on to the next location.

Passing by the bamboo forest, Xiao Su casually dug up a shoot and took everyone along to feed the red pandas.

Although she had already done a science popularization post on the official account, there were always new netizens who didn't know, so Xiao Su once again explained the difference between red pandas, giant pandas, and raccoons.

The red pandas in the park were lying on a stone slab, enjoying the sunlight filtering through the transparent roof. Their warm, red fur was clearly visible in the sun, and their large tails with nine rings hung down. The two circular tufts of white fur on their brows made them look exceptionally cute.

The red pandas were very docile. When Xiao Su entered the enclosure, the red pandas immediately came over upon seeing the bamboo shoot in her hand.

Xiao Su raised her hand a little higher, and the red panda stood up on its hind legs, its mouth slightly open, looking up at Xiao Su. It occasionally pawed upwards, trying to grab the bamboo shoot.

Xiao Su took the opportunity to get a great shot of their faces, which completely melted the netizens.

"So cute!! I want to hug and kiss the red panda!"

"This is the 'little raccoon' I had in mind! I made a special trip to the zoo to see a raccoon last time and felt so deceived!"

"Pfft, the admin's leg is being hugged..."

"Cute! I want a red panda to hug my leg too!"

Seeing that it couldn't get the bamboo shoot, the red panda actually hugged Xiao Su's calf and started acting spoiled.

Xiao Su didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She had to hand her phone to Huang Qi, break open the bamboo shoot, and give it to the red panda to get away.

The two red pandas took the shoot and went back. It was only then that one could see a slight limp in their hind legs. Many questions popped up in the bullet comments; they still trusted that Lingyou Zoo wouldn't abuse animals.

"What's wrong with its leg? The keepers at Lingyou are so few, do they have to find time to abuse red pandas?"

"Find time my ass, lol."

"I think they were rescued and were already disabled."

"That hits a sore spot, bro. Even though we have few employees at Lingyou, each one is worth ten. I think the admin said her actual job is finance. But it probably doesn't include animal abuse."

"Fellow finance major here, for every debit, there must be a credit..."

"And debits must equal credits?"

Xiao Su smiled, "Don't be like that, the Zoo Director has already hired new employees, and we have part-timers!"

She explained, "These two red pandas were rescued by our Donghai Forestry Bureau. They were injured by poachers, so they were sent to Lingyou. They're much better now. The Zoo Director says with a bit more rest, their limp won't be as obvious when they walk, but you can still see it when they run. There's nothing to be done about that."

Xiao Su paused, then continued, "Some unscrupulous merchants will buy and sell red panda pelts, or tame them as pets. Actually, it's not just red pandas that face this situation; many animals couldn't be rescued. This requires a public boycott. After all, where there is no demand, there is no slaughter."

In fact, public awareness was gradually increasing. After promotional efforts, most people would support animal protection, just as most of the bullet comments were cursing poachers and traffickers.

......

Xiao Su adjusted the live stream order according to the netizens' suggestions, so the next place she went was the Lion and Tiger Exhibit. Although it was called that, there were no tigers yet, only two lions. However, it symbolized Lingyou Zoo's determination to introduce tigers in the future.

When Xiao Su went in, she was surprised to see Duan Jiaze. She had thought he would be in his office or the aviary, since the only part of today's live stream that required his assistance was with Luya.

"A curly-haired guy has appeared in the crowd!"

"Zoo Director, Zoo Director, I see the Zoo Director~"

Even the netizens had spotted him, so Xiao Su had no choice but to call out, "Zoo Director."

Duan Jiaze turned around and saw Xiao Su live streaming with Huang Qi beside her. "Hey, you're streaming here now."

Duan Jiaze leaned into the screen and greeted them, "Hello everyone, I'm the Zoo Director of Lingyou Zoo. Welcome to Donghai City for a visit, and to tour Lingyou."

Duan Jiaze started with an advertisement, then whispered an explanation to Huang Qi, "I was just about to go into the cage. Should we broadcast this?"

Duan Jiaze had just received a side quest. Lele, who was always bouncing around, had suddenly become depressed. He had no companions and was always playing by himself on one side of the glass. There was no one to play with him or groom his fur.

So, Duan Jiaze had come over. There were few visitors at this time, so he could go in and play with Lele for a while. Because Huanhuan was old and rather lazy, even after putting them in the same enclosure, Huanhuan wouldn't play with Lele and looked at him as if he were an idiot, let alone lick his fur. After all, there was a generation gap and a difference in personality.

Huang Qi whispered, "Say a few words, then go ahead and broadcast it."

Duan Jiaze then said to the phone, "I'm about to enter the lion's cage for some recreational activities. The lion must be fed beforehand. Generally speaking, keepers do not enter the cage, but I have special lion-playing skills. Please don't imitate this, everyone."

"Here we go, here we go, so scary, the Zoo Director is going to play with a fierce beast again..."

"The memory of him walking the bear in the behind-the-scenes clip is still fresh!"

"Can the Zoo Director make a lion's head meatball?"

Duan Jiaze took a stick, a rope, and a rattan ball, entered Lele's enclosure, sat down on the spot, and began to tie the rattan ball with the rope, then fasten it to the stick.

Lele lay at Duan Jiaze's feet, watching him do all this.

After tying it, Duan Jiaze began to swing the rattan ball with the stick. Lele instantly shot up and pounced.

The more the netizens watched, the more familiar it looked, and they couldn't help but roast him.

"...Holy crap, what the hell are 'special lion-playing skills'! Isn't this just a cat teaser?!"

"I thought the Zoo Director was going to build something amazing when I saw him doing handicrafts, but making a cat teaser is pretty awesome too."

"The atmosphere changed in an instant. Give me back my majestic lion!"

"When has Lele ever been majestic? Our Lele has always been an adorable big cat, okay?"

"This is fine. This is very Lele."

Not only did Duan Jiaze interact with Lele using a giant cat teaser, but he also pushed Lele to the ground afterward to groom his fur and rub his chin.

The netizens were all in a daze. Were they really watching lion taming?

"I suddenly feel like I could play with lions too..."

"He was definitely acting as himself in the commercial!"

"Can I just say I'm doing the exact same thing to my cat right now?"

"Lele: So comfy!"

Duan Jiaze petted Lele until he was happy, then came out. Before he left, Lele reluctantly stood up on his hind legs and placed his two front paws on Duan Jiaze's shoulders.

Duan Jiaze: "..."

With that gesture, he realized that Lele was actually quite large and rather intimidating, truly worthy of being the first animal to have scared Duan Jiaze. But now, Duan Jiaze was no longer afraid of him. He pushed the heavy paws away and, ignoring Lele who was rolling on the ground showing his belly, left the cage.

Since Duan Jiaze had appeared, the netizens certainly weren't going to let him go just like that. They all demanded to see him play with the bird.

Duan Jiaze felt exasperated at their choice of words. "Don't say it so suggestively, 'play with the bird'... Fine, let's go see Luya."

Xiao Su aimed the phone at herself and Duan Jiaze, saying with a grin, "Speaking of which, do you guys know why Luya is named Luya?"

The netizens began to guess wildly, all thinking it was because Luya the bird's feathers were fiery red, just like how the blizzard corn snake, green tree python, and albino python were the trio from Legend of the White Snake.

Xiao Su: "Nope. It's because our Zoo Director has a friend also named Luya. He said that the bird's personality is very similar to his friend's, so he gave it the same name."

"The Zoo Director is quite a character, just a bit..."

"gay gay."

"My cat has the same name as my ex-boyfriend. Heh, now I have mixed feelings whenever I see it."

"The key point is, is the friend handsome? Any photos?"

Duan Jiaze: "..."

Xiao Su: "I wouldn't dare take a sneak photo. Zoo Director, do you have any?"

Duan Jiaze: "...No."

'If Xiao Su didn't dare, did he?' If he took a sneak photo and the narcissistic Luya found out, wouldn't he be forever branded as a creepy fan of the Daoist Lord?

Duan Jiaze shivered at the thought.

......

Inside the newly completed exhibit, Luya was conducting business in his private, single-family office—that is, standing motionless on a branch.

"The treatment is excellent. He's the only one in this exhibit." Duan Jiaze had Xiao Su pan the phone to show everyone.

Luya noticed they had arrived and looked over.

Duan Jiaze went over, opened the enclosure, and held out his hand. Luya flew over and landed on his arm.

"I object! Why didn't he land on the Zoo Director's head?"

"The Zoo Director would want to beat someone up, hahahaha!"

As Luya became more famous, the nonsense Duan Jiaze had made up for the local news could no longer satisfy the gossipy masses. They wanted to hear more details, so the bullet comments were full of questions about how Duan Jiaze had rescued Luya.

After being trained by the System and Yousu, coupled with a little bit of his own talent, Duan Jiaze was now able to tell lies with relative sincerity.

"It was a... dark and stormy night," Duan Jiaze lived up to expectations, taking Luya from his arm and holding him like a hen. "I went up the mountain to admire the moon. Unexpectedly, I heard the 'chirp chirp' of a bird."

Even Xiao Su was stunned for a moment. "Chirp chirp?"

'So Luya used to chirp like that when he was little?'

Luya: "..."

"Listen to me," Duan Jiaze said. "Then, I pushed aside the leaves and saw a fledgling with a rope still tangled around its foot, having lost many of its feathers, on the verge of death. So, I took it home and cared for it meticulously. Back then, it was yellow, just like a little chick. It wasn't until it grew bigger and bigger that I realized it might be a rare species of bird."

"Training?" Duan Jiaze saw this question. "I don't even know how to hunt, how could I train it? I, uh... I showed it videos to learn."

"What the hell, learned from watching videos, lol."

"Are there thirty-day-guaranteed-success tutorials online?"

"May I ask if the great Luya has a partner yet?"

"No partner yet, he's a single bird. After all, there are no others of his kind." Duan Jiaze chatted for a while, answered some questions, and seeing that it was about time, he said, "Next, we have a little segment. We'll have Luya take you on a live stream."

Before the netizens could react, they saw Duan Jiaze reach out and take the phone, and the screen suddenly pointed at the ground.

There was a suction-cup-style ring holder on the back of the phone. Duan Jiaze threaded the ring holder through Luya's talons. Luya clenched his talon, securing the ring, and Duan Jiaze carried him to the entrance.

"...What is this? It can't be what I'm thinking, right?"

"Holy crap, what's he gonna do?"

"Zoo Director, are you going to send us to heaven??"

Amidst a flurry of questions, Duan Jiaze released Luya, and the view for the netizens instantly shot up, and up.

As Luya took off, the entire Lingyou Zoo was laid bare. Then it rose higher, and the towering Cape Mountain came into view, from the dense forest to the sheer, breathtaking cliffs on one side. Even the dense clusters of buildings in the distant Donghai City and the long coastline on the other side were all in full view!

Luya flew extremely high, circling in the air for a full few minutes, and the stream's popularity exploded once again.

"Just got here, is this footage from a drone?"

"It's a Luya-drone..."

"Mom, I'm in heaven TAT"

"Literally live streaming to the heavens!"

"I'm on my knees!! The Zoo Director is too good at this!"

"It's so beautiful! Why is Donghai City so beautiful? I want to go to Donghai City!"

"It's decided, I'm going to Donghai for the short holiday. It's too beautiful!"

"I'm so worried about the phone! What if we fall..."

From time to time, Luya would perform acrobatic flights, shooting straight up until the buildings became tiny, or coming to a sudden stop, or flying in a spiral.

"Holy crap, I feel like I'm flying a fighter jet."

"What's the altitude right now?"

"I'm being conquered by the great Luya!!"

At that moment, Luya made a steep dive. The wind whistled, showing just how fast he was moving. The view was incredibly thrilling. Many netizens yelped and ran to their computers; this scene had to be watched on a big screen to be fully appreciated.

After descending to Cape Mountain, Luya weaved through the forest and among the tourists, sometimes flying low enough for the camera to capture the tourists' faces clearly, or getting close to a bird's nest in a tree. The screen could also see many tourists looking up and pointing at the sky.

All the way back to Lingyou, Luya flew over the sika deer, alpacas, and other animals, twisting and turning within the zoo, until finally, Duan Jiaze's figure appeared on the screen. He stretched out his hand, caught Luya, and took the phone off.

Duan Jiaze smiled at the camera, "Surprised? Thrilled?"