Chapter 43
Everyone quickly divided up the work and finished counting all the animals inside.
Most were common pets. The scale of fraud alone was enough to land him in prison for years.
But now—they had also found a pelican here.
A nationally protected animal.
The way everyone looked at Doctor Chen had completely changed, as if saying… you’ve got some nerve.
That’s a pelican!
Doctor Chen finally snapped back to his senses, struggling violently. “I didn’t lock up any pelican! I don’t even know where it came from! This cage originally held an Alaskan Malamute!”
“Bullshit!” someone spat. “If you didn’t lock it up, did it just walk in by itself?”
What, did the pelican grow a brain, sneak into the house, release the dog, and lock itself inside?
“I want to know that too!” Doctor Chen shouted in despair.
How the hell did that pelican even get in?!
With all the evidence laid out, he had no way to escape now.
At that moment, two people entered through the doorway. Doctor Chen looked up—and saw Xiao Li and Si Jingce.
Xiao Li called out loudly, “Everyone, move the animals outside first! Separate the injured from the uninjured—doctors will examine them properly.”
Meanwhile, Si Jingce stood nearby, silently watching him, a faint smile on his lips.
Standing close to the cage, Doctor Chen turned his head—and suddenly saw a familiar pearl bird poke its head out from within the pelican’s feathers.
The little bird tilted its head at him.
For a split second, Doctor Chen thought he saw a trace of mockery in its eyes…
He finally understood.
“There’s a pearl bird there!” Doctor Chen shouted, trying to redirect everyone’s attention back to the pelican. “I’ve been framed! That pelican wasn’t put there by me! They made it go into the cage!”
He pointed directly at Xiao Li and Si Jingce. “He raises a pelican, and the other one has a pearl bird. I just saw them together—they must be the ones framing me!”
Everyone exchanged looks.
Xiao Li pointed at himself. “Huh? Me?”
Someone scoffed. “You think you can just tell a pelican to get into a cage and it’ll listen?”
A police officer looked at him suspiciously. “You also kept a pearl bird?”
Si Jingce stepped forward with the officer to check. Taking the opportunity, Yanyan slipped straight into his sleeve.
With the thick winter clothes covering him, no one noticed.
“No,” the officer reported after checking, shaking his head. “No pearl bird.”
How could there not be? He had clearly seen it!
Doctor Chen knew he couldn’t admit to harming a protected animal—this was no longer just a few years in prison.
Seeing no one believed him, he gritted his teeth and suddenly blurted everything out.
“They can control the pelican and the pearl bird to frame me,” he said. “Because those birds aren’t normal—they can turn into humans!”
Everyone: ?
Has he gone insane?
“My research is about the mutation period in animals—you can find my papers,” Doctor Chen swallowed, forcing himself to stay calm. “After years of study, I discovered a shocking secret—animals can turn into humans after passing through this mutation phase!”
“That pelican and pearl bird can both transform. They were instructed to come here and harm me. I couldn’t possibly catch a pelican and stuff it into a cage myself, nor transport one all the way here…”
The more he spoke, the quieter his voice became. The disdain in everyone’s eyes felt almost tangible, breaking down his mental defenses bit by bit.
“I remember Professor Li studies this too,” someone joked. “Is it true?”
Doctor Chen’s face turned deathly pale.
He used to be the authority in this field—his words once carried weight.
But ever since Xiao Li made breakthroughs, he was no longer the top expert.
“How could that be?” Xiao Li said with a smile. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Yeah, what is this—demons turning human? Did we get transported into Journey to the West?”
“Seriously, just to avoid punishment, he’ll say anything.”
Someone else poked holes in his logic: “So you knew animals could become human—and still tortured them for experiments?”
“Heh,” another person crossed their arms, sneering. “Are you trying to fake a mental illness to dodge prison?”
That single remark hit the point exactly.
Otherwise, how could a perfectly normal person suddenly start spouting nonsense?
“Officer, you have to be careful and verify everything!” a young girl shouted. “You mustn’t let him get away!”
Seeing that no one present believed a single word he said, Doctor Chen shot Xiao Li and Si Jingce a vicious glare.
The police prepared to escort him to the patrol car. As he was being taken away, Doctor Chen suddenly saw a small bird’s head poke out from Si Jingce’s sleeve.
The tiny pearl bird popped its head out and chirped twice at him. The bright blush-like markings on its cheeks seemed almost like mockery of everything he had done.
But the scene was too noisy—hardly anyone heard the chirping.
Before Doctor Chen could be driven to rage, Si Jingce tucked the troublemaking little bird back into his sleeve and flicked Yanyan lightly through the fabric.
“You’ve had enough fun.”
Yanyan refused to accept it and pecked his arm hard.
Doctor Chen was taken away, while Xiao Li and Si Jingce stayed behind to help clean up the aftermath.
The Alaskan Malamute was eventually found in the yard. Such a large dog, yet it could only howl “awoo, awoo” at everyone.
They first rescued the animals on the third floor—these were the ones Doctor Chen had deemed “failures” of the mutation phase.
Fortunately, they had arrived in time, and nothing too serious had happened.
When moving the animals from the second floor, several volunteers first carried down the crow from the center.
“Why does this one feel so heavy?” one volunteer muttered.
The crow was so frightened it didn’t dare move inside the cage.
There was no way this crow could be returned to Luo Huoxi. Xiao Li planned to take it, along with the white sparrow, to the Waterfowl Sanctuary.
After having someone load the crow into his car, Yanyan and Shi Yu transformed back, got dressed again.
“Some owners have already arrived and taken their pets home,” Si Jingce said. “Those more seriously injured have been sent to the nearest pet hospital. The police are also working to contact the rest.”
Despite the cold weather, Xiao Li was sweating heavily.
He wiped his forehead. “Everyone’s worked hard today—let me treat you all to a meal tonight.”
Shi Yu hesitated. “I’ll pass… my husband’s looking for me.”
Xiao Li slowly turned to look at Si Jingce.
Si Jingce said, “I promised Yanyan—we’re going on a date tonight.”
Yanyan nodded beside him.
“Fine then…” Xiao Li wiped away imaginary tears. “Guess I’m just destined to be single and overworked.”
He quickly pulled himself together and gave the crow a brief check.
“It’s gained weight—needs to slim down.” The crow was now so heavy it required both hands to hold. Xiao Li squeezed its belly. “Animals in the mutation phase do need nutrition, but not like this…”
“Otherwise, once it turns human, it’ll end up with all three highs.”
The chubby crow was placed back into the cage beside the little white sparrow.
It quietly examined its own body… The solid muscles it once built from fighting the cat were gone. Now it could barely even fly.
Xiao Li glanced at Si Jingce. “By the way, is it really okay to just take it like this? Its owner doesn’t care at all?”
“Oh, he cares,” Si Jingce said calmly. “Of course he does.”
…
Luo Huoxi was indeed very anxious now.
After Doctor Chen hung up, he couldn’t get in touch with him again.
The online backlash against Luo Huoxi intensified. After all, he had heavily promoted Doctor Chen’s “excellent medical skills” in his livestreams, and many uninformed fans had sent their pets there for treatment.
Now that Doctor Chen’s true face had been exposed, Luo Huoxi’s follower count plummeted again. Even longtime fans were no longer willing to support him.
Damn it.
He paced restlessly around the hotel room. When his phone rang, he nearly jumped.
He hurriedly answered. The voice on the other end had lost its usual warmth.
“I’ve helped you deal with it. Causing something like this right before the streamer annual event—are you trying to ruin yourself?”
“I’m really sorry,” Luo Huoxi said obsequiously. “I genuinely didn’t realize I’d been deceived.”
“This isn’t the first time. Keep this up, and I won’t be able to help you anymore.”
Luo Huoxi hadn’t become the top streamer on Gemstone TV for nothing. Aside from his unique streaming style, he had also benefited from strong backing within the company.
But no backing lasts forever.
Over the years, internal changes had reshuffled everything. Those senior figures who once supported him were long gone.
“Lay low for now,” the person continued. “Try to get your crow back. We’ll arrange some paid commenters to help repair your image—claim firmly that you were also deceived.”
Luo Huoxi smiled bitterly.
He couldn’t even contact Doctor Chen anymore—how was he supposed to get the crow back?
Maybe… buy another one?
Crows were all black anyway—shoot from a few angles, it might pass.
The other person seemed to see right through him. “You can’t deceive the public again. You must get your original crow back and make a proper apology.”
After a pause, he added, “And stop provoking lcberg.”
Luo Huoxi froze. “Why?”
“Why?!” the person snapped. “You’ve been copying his streaming style and watching his streams every day—don’t you know his surname is Si?”
Luo Huoxi went still.
Gemstone TV had been acquired a year ago. The new boss also had the surname Si.
With new leadership always comes faction struggles. The old guard still clung to Luo Huoxi, while the new management clearly didn’t favor him.
lcberg… surname Si…
“Damn it, how is that fair?” Luo Huoxi gritted his teeth. “Favoring insiders and squeezing out other streamers’ space.”
The other person fell silent briefly. “When lcberg first started streaming, his popularity skyrocketed—during your peak, no less.”
In other words, lcberg didn’t rely on connections to rise. He even carved out success during Luo Huoxi’s strongest period.
And back then, Luo Huoxi himself had also been a “favored insider.”
Luo Huoxi suddenly said, “But I remember… the big boss only has a daughter…”
“You think lcberg is an illegitimate son?” the person scoffed. “Stop it. Even if you expose that, it won’t help—you’ll only offend the boss. You’d be better off figuring out how to make peace with lcberg.”
Luo Huoxi closed his eyes, thinking back on everything he had done to him.
His downfall had started when he attacked lcberg for raising birds, then imitated him by raising one too.
Then came the cat-and-bird scandal—his carefully crafted “animal lover” persona collapsed, and he got banned for a month.
After returning, he still didn’t change, even trying to poach lcberg’s “wall.”
When lcberg tried to help treat his sick crow, he rejected it and even suspected ulterior motives.
A chill ran down his spine.
This time… he was really finished.
After that warning, Luo Huoxi finally gave up stirring trouble.
Now that Gemstone TV was under the Si family, and with no backup plan, he couldn’t afford to offend lcberg anymore.
Still, his heart pounded as he watched his follower count drop visibly on Weibo.
After sitting in his room for a long time, he went out to get some air. A cigarette hung from his lips as he ignored the “No Smoking” sign in the elevator and lit it.
The harsh smoke barely steadied his mind.
When the elevator reached the first floor, the doors opened.
Standing before him were lcberg and his boyfriend.
Both looked slightly travel-worn, as if they had just returned from somewhere.
lcberg stood tall, his gaze soft as it lingered on Yanyan—but when it passed over Luo Huoxi, that warmth vanished, replaced by cold distance.
Luo Huoxi shrank back like a mouse seeing a cat.
The two stepped into the elevator. lcberg glanced at him once more.
As the doors were about to close, Luo Huoxi saw his lips move slightly, chin lifting just a bit—carrying a hint of danger.
He read the words clearly—
“Next… is you.”
