Within the dense forest, ten minutes had passed since Yang Lin bid farewell to the python couple.
Now, drenched and with the packaged blood orchids strapped to his back, Yang Lin carried the reluctant little tooth spirit cat on his chest.
A baby dragon, the thickness of a wrist, was coiled around his waist.
This was hardly the director of a well-known domestic zoo; he looked more like a mountain man gathering goods from the wilderness.
Watching the two little ones occasionally poke their heads in front of him, Yang Lin quickly warned them,
"You can't come out again soon. If you're discovered, you'll be stewed into a Dragon-Tiger feast."
As if understanding his words, the little tooth spirit cat immediately retracted its head into the backpack.
The baby dragon also coiled itself tighter inside Yang Lin's clothes.
However, the moment it moved a couple of times, Yang Lin burst into uncontrollable laughter, his strength draining away.
"Don't touch my ticklish spots..."
...
As time ticked by, it was half an hour later when Yang Lin finally emerged from the dense forest again.
There was no other way; although the baby dragon's size had shrunk from before, it still weighed twenty to thirty catties.
Coupled with the little tooth spirit cat, weighing over ten catties, he felt as if he had just completed a weighted cross-country run.
When the vast blue sea reappeared before his eyes, he was already gasping for air.
At this very moment, the construction team, who had been anxiously waiting outside, spotted his figure.
Immediately, a group of people swarmed towards him.
Upon seeing Yang Lin's condition, their faces were filled with surprise.
"Director Yang, you're finally out. If you hadn't come out soon, we would have had to call for a search and rescue team."
"Yeah, you didn't see it just now. The island was like an earthquake, and the birds were going crazy."
"Right, right, and there were two super big snakes. You didn't see it, Director. Those snakes were as big as the one in that big truck commercial."
"Really? We didn't see any."
"Director Yang, what exactly is in the dense forest?"
...
As the crowd spoke one after another, Yang Lin could only wait until they finished.
Once they finally quieted down, he began to speak.
"I've had a general look at the island's situation, and there are indeed a large number of wild animals inside."
"Most of them are national protected animals, so after we return, I will apply to the relevant authorities to establish a wild animal reserve here."
"Besides the large number of protected animals, I also discovered a vast array of snakes within the island's interior, with nearly a hundred species. There are over fifty known venomous snakes, and even large ones like pythons."
As soon as he finished speaking, the faces of the construction team members turned pale.
"So many venomous snakes? That's too scary."
"And pythons, my heavens, I knew there were big snakes here."
"No, this place is too dangerous."
"We might even lose our lives doing this project."
...
Seeing everyone turn pale at the mention of snakes, Yang Lin had anticipated this.
He immediately explained,
"Don't worry, I've already resolved this issue. As long as you don't enter the forest area, you won't be attacked by wild beasts or venomous snakes."
As if to prove his point, Yang Lin walked back and forth along the forest's periphery several times in front of everyone.
Both wild animals and snakes seemed to have vanished without a trace at that moment.
Seeing that it was indeed as Yang Lin had said, the construction manager could only brace himself and follow along.
After repeated confirmations, the construction team finally confirmed one thing.
That the trench that had suddenly appeared acted like an invisible barrier, keeping all sorts of animals and snakes confined within the forest.
Upon realizing this, everyone present could only exclaim in disbelief.
However, having worked in the wild for so long, they had seen all sorts of strange occurrences.
Therefore, after a brief moment of awe, they didn't dwell on it too much.
At this point, Yang Lin addressed the construction manager again,
"Given the current situation, my suggestion is to establish all artificial structures on the outermost perimeter of the island."
"Additionally, erect guardrails along the forest's edge to prevent future tourists from entering the forest."
The construction manager nodded repeatedly as he listened to Yang Lin's suggestions.
"Understood, we will proceed according to your requirements, Director Yang."
"In that case, I won't stay here any longer. If there are any further issues, you can contact me again."
With that, Yang Lin walked directly towards the temporary dock.
A speedboat was already waiting there.
By the time Yang Lin returned to land, the sky had completely darkened.
Under normal circumstances, he might have found a hotel to stay for the night.
However, when he saw the two little heads occasionally peeking out from his chest, a wry smile appeared on his face.
He had no choice but to travel through the night.
By the time he finally returned to Xihong Zoo, it was already late into the night.
As soon as he entered his room, he immediately released the two little ones.
Instantly, the already small room was occupied by the two little ones in separate corners.
The little tooth spirit cat consciously burrowed into his quilt.
The baby dragon, on the other hand, curled up on the washbasin.
Coupled with the saber-toothed viper on the table, the small room was effectively divided into three territories.
However, Yang Lin clearly didn't have the time to deal with them at this moment.
Looking at the blood orchids, which were beginning to dry out, he immediately found some empty flower pots and planted them.
Although these blood orchids were everywhere on Dolphin Island, they were unique elsewhere.
In terms of classification, they were undoubtedly national first-class protected plants.
After the blood orchids were replanted, Yang Lin, having had a busy day, felt no hint of sleepiness.
"Right, I haven't had a chance to check the previous mission rewards. I wonder what I'll get this time."
As he spoke, Yang Lin opened the system panel and found two reward items in his backpack.
He first looked at the skill level upgrade voucher.
He currently had 7 skills. Four could be upgraded, and three could not. Among these, one was an intermediate skill.
Therefore, only three skills could be upgraded: Beginner Healing, Beginner Underwater Breathing, and Beginner Light of Life.
Upgrading any one of them to intermediate level would be a significant improvement for him.
Thinking of this, he immediately made up his mind.
With a silent command in his heart, the next second, a system notification chimed.
"Congratulations to the host for successfully upgrading Beginner Light of Life to Intermediate Light of Life."
"After upgrading to intermediate level, this skill can be used twice daily, significantly increasing reproductive desire and conception rates, with a certain probability of offspring gene optimization."
Hearing this, Yang Lin felt that his luck this time was quite good.