Ning Wei sat in the middle, everyone discussing in low voices, also to avoid being overheard by those who might be intentionally listening.
She told them about seeing the flayer ghost the previous night and shared her suspicions.
Tang Tang, sitting beside her, was so scared she instinctively clutched Ning Wei’s arm.
Mei Nan was shocked, "If what you're saying is true, then..."
"Then it's possible some animals here are people disguised in animal skins," Ning Wei finished his unspoken sentence.
Everyone's expression changed, and they instinctively moved closer to the person next to them.
Ning Wei looked at Tang Tang, "Do you feel anything strange about the pig that escaped today?"
Everyone had heard about the pig escaping from the zoo today, but not being there, they didn't understand the details, nor did they know how large the escaped pig actually was.
Tang Tang thought back, "The older employees said this pig had been raised in the park for two years. The director specifically bought a batch of small animals to attract children, but they bought the wrong breeds. This pig just grew this big, but many children had seen it since it was young, so they hadn't dealt with it."
"Did this pig have any accidents in between, like getting sick?" Ning Wei cautiously asked for more details.
Tang Tang shook her head, looking at Ning Wei apologetically, "I just started and haven't found out these things. I'll secretly inquire tomorrow when I'm at work."
Ning Wei nodded, then told everyone it would be best to look into whether any animals in the areas they were responsible for had any issues, and to observe carefully.
Although they were afraid, everyone understood how important this was and that they had to find out.
"Then what do we need to do to leave this zoo?" Zhu Yulian, seizing the opportunity while everyone was present, asked the most crucial question.
It was Ning Wei who answered this question.
"I asked. Normally, we get one day off a week. If there are unexpected situations, we can't leave. If we leave, we can go through the front gate. The director said we leave the way we came in."
"So, as long as it's a holiday, we can leave here?" someone asked uncertainly.
Unfortunately, no one could answer.
Anyway, Ning Wei couldn't leave this week, as the panda enclosure had just gained a new member.
Everything that needed to be said had been discussed. Except for Ning Wei's major discovery, no one else had found anything significant.
But there was no need to worry. They had only just arrived. If there really was a big secret here, how could they easily uncover it?
Everything they needed to discuss was finished, and it was getting dark. Thinking of the flayer ghost, they all asked Ning Wei, "Should we stay and see if we can help you catch the flayer ghost and find out the secret here?"
"Aren't you afraid?"
Everyone nodded in unison!
"But if there are more people, it's not as scary," Yuan Yuan said in a low voice.
"Forget it. Leave the ghost to me. You guys just focus on gathering other information," Ning Wei refused.
If so many people didn't return to their dorms to rest after work and wandered around the park, they would definitely be discovered. Therefore, such matters could only be handled individually.
Seeing that these people weren't brave enough for independent action, Ning Wei volunteered to handle it.
However, the others wouldn't be idle. Now that they had questions, the next step would depend on their investigation results.
"Let's go, back to sleep. I have to be on duty in the latter half of the night," Ning Wei said, getting up first and dusting off her pants.
Tang Tang and a few others got up with her, and then everyone resumed walking in twos and threes.
Everyone returned to the dormitories one after another. The director hadn't returned yet, so it seemed the tourists who were scared during the day were keeping him out.
This was good. Hopefully, the director would be kept busy outside for a few more days.
Since Ning Wei had to be on duty in the latter half of the night, Tang Tang told her to go wash up first.
When Tang Tang came out after washing, Ning Wei was already buried under the covers and motionless, likely asleep.
Tang Tang glanced over, then turned off the light and quietly got into bed.
When the alarm clock rang, Ning Wei quickly put on her clothes and left.
She deliberately allocated extra time today, planning to go to the wolf enclosure managed by Fu Chengwei.
This zoo was very large. Visitors sometimes took rides when they got tired.
The panda enclosure, managed by Ning Wei, was quite far from the wolf enclosure, managed by Fu Chengwei, so she had to move quickly.
At night, all the wild animals were driven into their enclosures, and the cages used for public viewing were nowhere to be seen.
Ning Wei stared with wide eyes and looked for a long time. She found nothing, not even a corner of Fu Chengwei's uniform.
Since there was nothing to be found here, she decided to look for the flayer ghost.
Ning Wei turned to leave but then saw a familiar red ghost flash by.
She quickly chased after it and found that the red ghost disappeared after entering the wild animal enclosure.
The wild animal enclosure mainly housed large carnivorous animals like lions and tigers. Fortunately, they were all locked up inside now. Otherwise, they would surely cause a commotion if they saw Ning Wei wandering around.
Passing by the lion enclosure, Ning Wei noticed deep claw marks on the wall. Some even showed red traces, indicating the claws had bled.
Having failed to find the flayer ghost, Ning Wei returned empty-handed.
She went to the surveillance room. Xiao Qi was lying on the table, secretly looking at her phone.
Ning Wei approached quietly. She was so engrossed in her phone that she didn't hear anything.
When Ning Wei cleared her throat to remind her, Xiao Qi was so startled that the phone in her hand fell to the ground with a "crack."
Xiao Qi glared at Ning Wei unhappily, "Why don't you make a sound when you walk? Do you know scaring people can kill them!"
Ning Wei glanced at the surveillance camera in the corner, "I only know you'll have your salary deducted if you're caught playing on your phone."
Xiao Qi snorted and looked at the time. She intended to find fault with something, perhaps to make Ning Wei not report her for playing on her phone during work hours. However, she saw that Ning Wei was not late and her expression turned somewhat unpleasant.
She stood up, pushed the stool away, "Alright, since you're here, I'm going off duty!"
After she left, Ning Wei glanced at the surveillance feed. The panda cub was sleeping soundly in the incubator, all pink, like a little mouse.
It was hard to imagine that such a large panda could give birth to such a small baby. It was quite miraculous.
Tonight yielded nothing, but work went smoothly.
When her relief colleague arrived, Ning Wei touched her empty stomach, planning to eat breakfast at the cafeteria before returning to her dorm to sleep.
Tang Tang was still uneasy because of yesterday's pig escape.
When Ning Wei arrived at the cafeteria, she saw Tang Tang staring blankly at a boiled egg.
"What are you doing?" Ning Wei waved her hand in front of Tang Tang's face.
Tang Tang snapped back to attention, "I'm a little scared. That pig yesterday..."
Mentioning this, Ning Wei sat next to Tang Tang and whispered in her ear, "You should pay more attention to this escaped pig today."