Super Zoo

``` Panda births were the most important event at the zoo right now, and to keep it a secret, the panda exhibit had been in a semi-closed state for quite some time, with the live feed suspended long ago. Only five people knew about the panda's pregnancy, Suming included. According to estimates, Lele's delivery time was in these few days, and after some thought, Suming finally decided to keep it a secret. Yingying and Lele were on loan from Xiangjiang Ocean Park and would soon be returned. As per usual practice, once the pregnancy was announced, the offspring would also belong to the Ocean Park. Suming gathered the keepers and the vet in the office, shut the door, and had a secretive meeting for half the afternoon, ensuring that the panda would give birth successfully while all other information was kept under wraps. That said, Suming was still a bit worried. It wasn't that he distrusted the vet's discretion, but as a male who would never experience childbirth in his lifetime, he instinctively felt that giving birth was a rather dangerous affair. "Can you ensure it's safe?" Suming asked the vet. If it really came down to it, the panda mother's life was paramount, and they would have to find an expert from the province to assist with the delivery. As for the risk of leaking information, that could no longer be a concern. "Don't worry, giving birth is really easy for pandas, unlike humans," the vet said confidently, making a disgusting comparison, "It's about as easy as humans going for a big toilet break." "What if it's constipated?!" the keeper asked worriedly from the side. "Constipated?" the vet rolled his eyes, "Have you ever heard of someone dying from constipation?" Indeed, that had never happened. As the vet explained, panda cubs are extremely small when they are born, only a fraction of the size of an adult panda, so the mother panda faced almost no risk of childbirth. However, they needed to be cautious with the panda cub's safety. With the little one being so small, and pandas being somewhat muddle-headed animals, a lack of attention might actually harm the cub. For the next few days, the keepers and the vet practically lived in the ticket office outside the panda exhibit, observing around the clock. Suming's phone was always on, and every time it rang, he couldn't help but tense up, becoming a bit neurotic. While all animals were supposed to be treated equally, how could that truly be the case? The national treasure's status and importance were definitely vastly different from those of ordinary animals. Even though the Qinling Golden Monkey was also a first-class protected animal, Suming didn't pay it much heed, letting it tumble around with the Macaque Group in the back mountain; not seeing it for ten days or half a month didn't worry him. Nor had he been as anxious when the mother wolf was about to give birth. The expected delivery date stubbornly persisted for several days with no sign of activity from the panda mother, who continued to eat, sleep, and enjoy herself, while the humans became jumpy and exhausted. Early that day, after Suming got up and, as usual, strolled to the panda exhibit. The main door was tightly closed. Like a thief, he used the prearranged secret knock, two long and three short, on the door. The door creaked open, revealing the yawning face of the vet with sleep in his eyes. "Director, there's still no movement," he said. Suming squeezed into the ticket office, woke up the keeper who was still sleeping, and sent him to Whisperwind Pavilion to bring back three breakfasts. Suming and the vet then sneaked into the panda exhibit through the keeper's passage. Yingying lay like a big dog at the entrance of the air-conditioned glass room, sleeping with her belly rising and falling gently, making faint snoring sounds. Because it was too hot, she pressed herself tightly against the glass of the cool room, trying to catch some chill. Pandas had poor eyesight, but their sense of smell was sharp. As Suming and the vet approached, Yingying sniffed them out in her sleep. She snorted through her nose, her round ears twitched twice, and she opened her eyes, squinting sleepily at Suming. ``` "Hi!" Suming waved and called out. "Ah..." Yingying opened her mouth in a big yawn, showing all her teeth, then covered her head with her two big paws and continued to sleep. The deep dark circles under her eyes revealed that the poor thing probably hadn't had a good night's sleep. Inside the air-conditioned glass room, the temperature was kept at a comfortable 25 degrees Celsius. Panda Lele was in a blissful sleep position, lying on the soft hay, facing up with her limbs spread out, exposing her white belly in a 'big' character shape. Since she was a female panda, she couldn't arrange herself into a 'greatest' character shape... For the majority of animals, the belly is the most vulnerable area, always under protection. Other than domestic pets like dogs, very few animals expose their bellies voluntarily. Even those animals that are familiar with Suming would only show their bellies to him. He had never seen a wild animal sleeping belly-up before. "Pandas, they're just silly. Otherwise, why would such a fierce creature be on the brink of extinction?" The veterinarian shrugged his shoulders, pointing to his temple to signal that there was something off about the pandas' brains. Well, Suming had thought that the panda mother was just trying to protect the fetus in her belly from being squashed. Lele didn't appear to be pregnant at all on the surface; her belly wasn't even as big as the veterinarian's. Lying there, she smelled people approaching, glanced at Suming and the veterinarian, covered her head with her big paw like Yingying, turned over, and prepared to continue sleeping. "Let's go, time to eat." Suming looked around and saw nothing unusual; the keeper had already bought breakfast and was waiting outside the glass window. He waved to the veterinarian, ready to leave the glass room. As they were about to exit the door, Suming saw through the glass that Yingying, who was sleeping, suddenly rose up like a zombie, stood on her legs, and pressed her face to the glass, staring inside with wide eyes. "Ow ow ow..." Behind them came the sound of Lele's cries. Turning around, they saw Lele had also stopped sleeping, sitting on the ground with her head down, her big paw holding two tiny, pink, mouse-like creatures. "What the fuck... when did she give birth?!" Suming was taken aback, exchanged glances with the veterinarian, and carefully approached Lele. At the same time, a wave of spiritual power was sent towards Lele. The newborn cubs were very fragile, and if the animal mother sensed danger, she might kill them. Luckily, Lele was well acquainted with everyone and showed no signs of aggression. Seeing Suming approaching, she even seemed to be offering a treasure, scooting her paw, which was cradling the two panda cubs, towards him. Lele was quite amazed by the sudden arrival of these two little ones. The umbilical cords of the two little pandas had already naturally fallen off. It seemed that Lele had given birth unconsciously while sleeping. If it weren't for her turning over and accidentally touching them, she wouldn't have known she had given birth. The glass door behind them opened, and the keeper and Yingying rushed in, one after the other. Three people and two pandas formed a group, curiously examining the newborn panda babies. The two little ones hadn't opened their eyes yet, and at first glance, they didn't look at all like pandas; their skin was tender and pink, covered with fine fur. Their eyes were sticky and couldn't open, their ears were just two tiny holes, and behind their tails was a short little tail. The tiny creatures made faint noises and looked around curiously. After staring at each other for a long time, Suming couldn't hold back and let out a melancholy, "They're really ugly..."