Tiger, I rejected the iron rice bowl.

With a "whoosh," Wang Yuyu suddenly raised her head, her amber eyes instantly brightening, yet also carrying a hint of confusion.

He scanned the empty pit floor warily, his ears twitching slightly: "Tang Li? Is that Tang Li's voice?"

He frowned and shook his head, wondering if he was hallucinating from being trapped for too long, exhausted, and thirsty: "No way? How could Tang Li be here? I must be going crazy thinking about her and hallucinating..."

But the next second, Tang Li's voice came from inside the ball again, filled with obvious worry: "Iron rice bowl, can you hear me? Are you hurt?"

This time the sound was clear and real, not at all like a hallucination!

Wang Yuyu instantly became excited, scrambling to get close to the camera, her big head almost touching the ball.

He tilted his tiger head back, his amber eyes filled with grievance, and let out a soft, low growl, like a wronged kitten whining, "Tang Li! It really is you! You've finally come!"

"I'm trapped in this deep pit, I can't climb out! It's so dark and scary here!"

"Hurry and save me! If you're any later, I might starve or freeze to death here, and all you'll see afterward is my corpse!"

"Tang Li... hurry up..."

He poured out all his grievances and fears like beans spilling out, chattering on and on, not giving Tang Li a chance to interrupt.

On the other side, Tang Li was sitting in the off-road vehicle heading to the mountain village, staring at her phone screen.

The screen showed the view from the monitoring hall. Wang Yuyu's pitiful face was clearly reflected on the large screen in the hall, even the tips of his drooping ears looked pitiful.

She couldn't help but laugh out loud, but her eyes held a hint of heartache. She nodded repeatedly, laughing, "Okay, okay, I heard you, I'm here..."

When Wang Yuyu finally stopped talking and caught her breath, Tang Li immediately softened her tone and gently comforted her, "Don't worry, I'm almost there and will come to rescue you soon."

"Captain Fan has already led the villagers up the mountain to look for you. They will be at the edge of the pit soon."

"Be good, and don't hurt them. They're here to help you, okay?"

"You have to cooperate with them. If you don't, I'll get angry."

Upon hearing the word "villagers," Wang Yuyu immediately flew into a rage.

He abruptly took two steps back, shaking his head violently, and growled repeatedly at the camera, his tone full of vigilance and anger: "No! I don't want them to save me!"

"This pit is strange; I suspect it was dug by villagers who were guarding it but were actually stealing it!"

"They just want to arrest me! I don't trust them!"

"Tang Li, come here quickly! I only trust you!"

He leaned back in front of the camera, his tone becoming aggrieved again, filled with deep dependence, "You absolutely have to help me investigate thoroughly and find out who dug this hole. I'm going to dig up their ancestral graves!"

"How awful! They made me suffer so much being trapped here. I won't be able to sleep tonight if I don't get revenge!"

"..."

Looking at Wang Yuyu on the screen, who was excitedly flustered yet also looked somewhat pitiful, Tang Li frowned slightly.

She could tell that he must have been frightened to be so wary.

So she lowered her voice, speaking as gently as if coaxing a child: "Don't be afraid, it's a secure job, I'll be there soon."

"I won't let Captain Fan and the others get near you, okay?"

"You stay put at the bottom of the pit and don't move. I'll come and rescue you myself, okay?"

Upon hearing Tang Li's promise, Wang Yuyu's emotions instantly calmed down.

He nodded emphatically, his amber eyes filled with anticipation: "Yes! I'll wait for you! You have to come quickly!"

Seeing his instantly obedient demeanor, Tang Li's heart melted, and she said softly, "Okay, I'll come find you right away."

"Alright, the ball's battery is low, I'll talk to you for now and save some battery to help you locate it."

"You must behave well and not run around!"

Wang Yuyu nodded again quickly, her eyes fixed on the small ball.

Even after the ball's light dimmed and it returned to its quiet spherical shape, he didn't move. He simply lay down in front of the camera, rested his chin on his paws, and stared intently, not even daring to blink, afraid of missing Tang Li's voice.

The off-road vehicle bumped along the mountain road. Tang Li held her phone, staring at Ji Yongjun on the screen, her brows furrowed, her tone grave: "Uncle Ji, the 'iron rice bowl' is in a state of emergency. You need to quickly notify Captain Fan and the others not to approach for rescue for the time being! In case he loses control and hurts someone."

"Okay, I understand!" Ji Yongjun nodded immediately, his expression becoming serious. "I'll call Fan Zhengcheng right now and tell them to stay at a safe distance and not to act rashly."

After hanging up the video call, Tang Li turned to Wang Jianjun in the driver's seat and urged urgently, "Uncle Wang, could you drive a little faster?"

"Xiao Tang, this is your limit!"

Wang Jianjun sighed helplessly, gripping the steering wheel tightly. "Why is this secure job so full of trouble? I just left the zoo not long ago, and now I'm in trouble again?"

Tang Li leaned back in her chair, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of her lips: "Which one of these misfortunes wasn't man-made...? Not a single one of this child's misfortunes happened naturally!"

"This time we've fallen into another huge pit that people have dug."

She paused, her tone full of resentment, "Uncle Ji just said that it was the people from Sujia Village who dug a hole not far from the stream to look for stones, which left this hidden danger."

"I guess the person with a secure job is thirsty and wants to go to the stream to drink water."

"The snow has been heavy these past few days, and the snow has completely covered the entrance to the pit. It's too dangerous, let alone a tiger. Even if we were to walk across, we would easily slip if we weren't careful."

"Sigh!" Tang Li sighed heavily, "We've been protecting the reserve for so many years, but we still can't clear all the various traps left in the mountains."

"Every year, countless animals lose their lives because of these things."

"The last time I went to the research base, I saw that the traps they had confiscated and cleared almost filled a warehouse."

"Every year during our mountain patrols, we discover many new traps, some just set by poachers and others left over from decades ago. It's impossible to guard against them all."

Wang Jianjun stared ahead, his tone heavy: "There's no way to eliminate these hidden dangers as long as there are still people who target wild animals and those who violate regulations on the edge of protected areas."

"All we can do is try our best to investigate and save as many lives as we can."

Tang Li was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled, her tone revealing a hint of excitement: "But there's also good news!"

"The research base is looking for someone to customize a small metal detector, which will be installed on the small ball in the iron rice bowl."

"In this way, he becomes a mobile metal detector, scanning wherever he goes. When he encounters metal traps like wire snares or animal traps, he can get an early warning, protecting himself while we can follow the signs to dismantle them, saving us a lot of trouble!"