Proud Fox spread his hands: [Er Bao got into a fight with Little Desert Rat over more desert dates. Rest assured, he wasn't hurt.]
The other fox cubs chimed in: [Yeah, yeah, Er Bao is the best fighter among us five little ones!]
Er Bao, hiding shyly behind Proud Fox Boss, nodded like a little chick pecking rice: [Sister, I'm fine, don't worry.]
Xu Ying looked at the tiny Er Bao, touched in her heart, and gently patted Er Bao's head: [Thank you, baby, you're amazing!]
Finally able to pet the fluffy fur, the soft and warm sensation made Xu Ying reluctant to let go!
The ear foxes are very clingy, lively, and love interactions. With Xu Ying patting his head, Er Bao felt shy yet thoroughly enjoyed it, his bashful little appearance was utterly adorable.
"Squeak squeak!"
"Squeak squeak!"
Seeing Xu Ying patting Er Bao's head, the other cubs rushed over in excitement.
[Sister, sister, what about me? Am I strong?]
[Sister, the water Fox Boss and I carried was really heavy~]
[Sister, am I strong or what!]
…
Being called sister in baby voices by a bunch of fluffy fox cubs melted Xu Ying's heart.
These cubs were simply little angels!
She pampered each of the cubs, "Thank you, babies! All five of you are super amazing!"
Then she gently explained to the cubs: "In three hours, there's going to be a sandstorm. I need to rest a bit, so when I have the energy to repair the motorbike, we can escape right away!"
"Squeak squeak—"
[Alright, sister, stop talking, save your strength!]
[Oh my god, a sandstorm, are we gonna be blown away up into the sky?]
[Trust sister, she'll protect us~]
[Let's go get some more water and food for sister!]
The cubs one by one brought Xu Ying water and wild fruits like sea-buckthorn berries and white spiny fruits.
When Er Bao pushed a can of meat in front of Xu Ying, she was stunned. These cubs were just too amazing, "Er Bao, how did you find a can?"
"Squeak squeak~"
Er Bao: [Aunt Pearl Bird saw me all dirty and pitied me, so she gave me a can~]
The other cubs also said: [While mom's been missing these past few days, we've relied on our desert neighbors' help, they found these foods with us ~]
No wonder, many animals working together create strength.
Xu Ying could imagine the other small desert animals uniting after the cubs asked for help, finding food and water for them.
She was even more determined to protect the little animals, these cuties were kind and great.
The can of meat had less than a month before expiring, covered in bird peck marks. It looked like after finding the can, the Pearl Bird didn't know how to open it, so she left it there.
"Cubs, are you guys hungry?"
The fox cubs shook their heads.
[We're full thanks to our neighbors' feeding.]
Xu Ying devoured the can, occasionally eating some wild fruits while waiting for her strength to recover.
Although she was starving, it wasn't good to eat too much at once after fasting for so long.
An hour passed, and Xu Ying felt she had enough strength to support her while repairing and riding the motorbike, so she got up from the ground, approached the broken motorbike, took out repair tools from the rear trunk, and started tinkering with it.
In her previous life as a seasoned veterinarian, Xu Ying had served as the leader of the Animal Rescue Team, mastering quite a few wilderness survival skills, including motorbike repair.
She tinkered by the motorbike, while the kind, considerate cubs occasionally helped by passing her a wrench or pliers.
After a while, Xu Ying tried starting the motorbike. When the engine roared to life, a huge weight lifted from Xu Ying's heart, it was fixed!
She removed the aviation box fixed to the back of the motorbike.
Animal rescuers frequently keep an aviation box on the back of their motorbikes to transport injured small animals during missions.
The original owner was very considerate, even making sure the box was lined with air columns and anti-collision foam and a soft cushion to prevent injury during travel.
Xu Ying opened the aviation box's hatch: "Cubs, quickly get inside the aviation box, we're escaping!"
"It's bumpy on the road, so you all need to huddle together, so you won't get thrown around~"
The five little ones obediently slipped into the aviation box, huddling together, [Sister, we're ready.]
"Alright."
Xu Ying closed the aviation box's hatch and firmly secured it to the motorbike's rear seat.
After getting on the motorbike, Xu Ying was about to ask the system which direction to escape from the sandstorm when she heard the system prompt in her mind.
[Planning desert escape route for you now...]
A layout similar to a map application appeared in Xu Ying's mind.
[To escape the sandstorm's sweep range, head northwest for 140 kilometers, approximately taking an hour and a half.]
There's still three and a half hours until the storm arrives, plenty of time!
"System, can you detect the nearest rescue station on the northwest path?"
Xu Ying thought that given her current physical condition, she'd definitely need to find a place to rest well after escaping the sandstorm.
[Automatically locating the nearest 028 rescue station on the northwest path for you.]
The mention of 028 rescue station made Xu Ying's eyes darken; this was the rescue station where the two colleagues who abandoned her were.
Xu Ying put on her helmet, started the engine, and sped away on the motorbike.
After traveling about a hundred kilometers, the system informed Xu Ying she was now within signal range, meaning they had escaped the uninhabited zone.
Xu Ying's phone was dead, so she couldn't call her superiors for help.
There were 40 kilometers left to escape the sandstorm's range, and she still had plenty of time.
Xu Ying stopped the motorbike, immediately taking down the aviation box to check on the fox cubs. The little ones had been confined for so long, it was time for them to breathe some fresh air!
"Squeak squeak——"
The five little ones eagerly rushed out of the box, rolling around in the sand.
[The air outside is so fresh~]
[Being in the box was awful! I'm getting dizzy~]
[Thank you for the hard work driving, sister!]
The little ones breathed in the fresh air for a while, feeling much better.
"Let me know when you're all feeling relieved!"
Xu Ying opened the hatch of the aviation box, gently coaxing the fox cubs as if they were little babies: "Although we have enough time, it's better to leave the danger zone sooner."
At this moment, she was unaware that her every move was being captured by someone else's camera.
Behind two massive sandstones, the walking streamer Ning Zexi had been secretly observing from the moment Xu Ying stopped.
He wore a live streaming device on his chest, conducting a desert walking broadcast. When he saw a sandy motorbike approach from a distance, he quickly hid behind the sandstone.
Seeing that reckless motorbike rider, he thought she must be up to something illegal!
Ning Zexi hadn't encountered anything interesting in his live stream today, which left the broadcast a bit dull.
Little did he expect an opportunity would come knocking so quickly.
"Guys, it's unbelievable! Just now while I was resting behind a rock, a suspicious woman appeared!"
Ning Zexi excitedly spoke to his phone camera: "She's actually got five national grade II protected animals, ear foxes, in an aviation box!"
"And there are five of them!"
"She must be a poacher!"