The Adélie penguins were skeptical; although they stopped rushing forward, they still stared at her warily.
Taking advantage of the situation, Xia Zhining asked, "Tell me, what exactly happened here that day? How were your family members murdered?"
An Adélie penguin with a wounded wing, clearly a survivor, stepped forward.
It recalled that day with a hint of fear in its voice: "[That day... our group was wrestling on the ice. Suddenly, a huge, noisy ship came.]"
[A huge, moving net was thrown into the water... and it even lifted up chunks of ice!]
[Many families didn't even have time to escape; they were caught in the net and dragged away!]
It gestured excitedly: "[I struggled desperately and managed to escape from the edge of the net along with a few other lucky ones...]"
[But the penguin colony's family...they were all dragged into the sea...and never came back.]
Another penguin added, his voice trembling: "[Later, other two-legged creatures returned in small boats, searched the ice for a long time, and... they managed to take their families and escape."]
The information was finally put together.
Xia Zhining's heart sank. He relayed the animal information he had learned to Anhe, a member of the scientific expedition team.
Anhe solemnly wrote down what Xia Zhining said: "This tragedy was caused by the icebreaker's illegal operation and the trawling net accidentally catching an entire flock of penguins."
"To cover it up, they moved the body to the vicinity of the Xinglan ship and planted the evidence."
Anhe dialed a satellite phone to report the situation to his superiors.
Xia Zhining then crouched down and gently said to the injured Adelie penguin, "Can I see your wounds?"
"I'm a veterinarian, I can help you."
The injured Adélie penguins looked at each other, then glanced warily at her.
The smallest bird, which had been the most furious and had an injured wing, hesitated for a moment before finally staggering forward and showing her its injured wing.
The wound is not deep, but it needs to be cleaned and simply bandaged.
Xia Zhining took out disinfectant from her medical kit and began to treat the patient gently.
When the cool seawater washed over it, the little penguin shrank its neck, but soon found that the two-legged creature's hands were warm and its movements were very careful, so it didn't hurt at all.
"Okay, don't get it wet for the next few days."
Xia Zhining treated the wound and gently patted its intact wing.
The little penguin looked down at its neatly bandaged "arm," then looked up at Xia Zhining; the anger in its eyes had long since subsided.
It turned into curiosity and a little embarrassment.
It suddenly turned around, spread its wings, puffed out its chest, and cackled proudly at the group of penguins still watching behind it, as if to say, "I've verified it."
[Guys! Come quick! This two-legged creature is a pro!]
[It can cure diseases! I'm not lying to the birds!]
It even acted like a little promoter, waving its wings at the neighboring emperor penguin colony: [Call all our injured ones over! Line up for treatment, don't push!]
Emperor penguins are reserved and gentlemanly; they were just observing.
Now, seeing that the Adélie penguins in the neighboring group have been properly treated, they have also begun to send out gentle calls.
Soon, a magical scene unfolded on the ice: several injured emperor penguins and Adelie penguins actually began to waddle and line up.
Everyone craned their necks, waiting for Xia Zhining to inspect them; surprisingly, the order was quite good.
Xia Zhining simply knelt on the ice, which was the perfect height.
The icy cold air seeped through her trousers, but she remained focused on her work, carefully examining each penguin's wounds, disinfecting, applying medicine, and bandaging them.
An emperor penguin whose wound had just been treated and which she had gently released did not immediately walk away.
It looked down at Xia Zhining's knees kneeling on the ice, then at her hands, which were red from the cold, and a glint flashed in its bright black eyes.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com