Animal Whisperer: Take Back My Life and Love Chapter 216: The Underground Surveyors

"Don't we have a surplus of 'Sunshine Gold' cherry tomatoes and 'Honey Dew' snack cucumbers from the test fields?" Professor Grace asked.

"And those purple sweet potatoes we were using for disease-resistance research—they didn't quite meet the visual standards for the project, but they taste incredible. Go grab them to thank our friends!"

The students were thrilled to have a legitimate reason to feed the fluffy little creatures. They dashed to the warehouses and test fields, hauling out crates of "research-grade" produce.

In no time, the marmots were presented with piles of ruby-red cherry tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, and fragrant purple sweet potato chunks. The little guys swarmed the feast, propped up on their hind legs and holding the food with both front paws, their large incisors making a rapid crunch-crunch-crunch sound as they ate with gusto.

After their feast, they sprawled out contentedly on the warm grass, exposing their round bellies to the sun, looking utterly relaxed.

Professor Grace returned from a quick phone call and observed the heartwarming scene before turning back to Nancy and Simon to get down to business.

"I've consulted with a few bioscience experts," she began. "Ricin is a protein-based biological toxin, which means it will naturally degrade in the environment over time."

"If we can catch the culprit quickly and cut off the source of the pollution, the toxin in the well water should break down to safe levels in about a month. After that, everything can return to normal."

Just then, Professor Grace's research assistant hurried over, looking anxious. "Professor, the rice seedlings in Sector A are at a critical tillering stage. They must be irrigated immediately!"

"Their growth data is the core of this entire project; we can't afford a single day's delay!" The assistant added helplessly, "And we've always used the groundwater here because the quality is stable and pure. If we suddenly switch to a different water source, the chemical variance could interfere with the experimental results, rendering all our samples useless."

Professor Grace's brow furrowed as she faced the dilemma. "This... this is a massive problem."

Nancy looked at the group of chubby marmots sunning themselves nearby, and her eyes suddenly sparkled.

"Maybe... these 'local residents' can help."

"Though," Nancy added with a grin, "it'll require the whole family to move out. It might take some effort, and they'll definitely expect a 'labor fee.'"

Professor Grace caught her drift immediately and didn't hesitate. "If they can solve our irrigation crisis, the base is willing to provide their colony with twenty pounds of our latest snack cucumbers and golden cherry tomatoes every week."

"Plus ten pounds of our specialty honey-sweet potatoes! I guarantee they are the freshest and sweetest varieties available!"

Nancy leaned down and gently poked a few of the sunbathing fatties with a small twig. "Alright, babies, nap time is over. Back to work!"

"Professor Grace's precious plants are parched. We need to help them find a new source of groundwater—one that's clean, fresh, and sweet~"

The marmots stretched their paws and rubbed their eyes lazily before rolling upright. They chirped back in a flurry of overlapping voices:

"Leave it to us!"

"Finding water is our specialty!"

"I'll go grab them from the burrow next door to help!"

Simon, seeing how seamlessly Nancy and the furry crew were cooperating, felt the corner of his mouth twitch into a smile. He turned to Nancy. "I'll leave you to lead this 'Marmot Survey Team' to help the Professor. I'm heading back to Bricksfield Village to keep an eye on things there."

He paused, adding softly, "Stay safe. Keep in touch."

Nancy winked at him, her eyes curving like crescent moons. "Got it ~ You go ahead. We've got a 'subterranean intelligence network' on our side!"

Under Nancy's "translation" and direction, the marmot family fully utilized their home-field advantage as underground dwellers. They quickly located a new water source on a lower slope. Even better, the soil there was loose and the water table was shallow, meaning no heavy machinery for deep drilling was required.

"Just slide the pipes down through their old tunnels!" Nancy directed.

At her command, several experienced marmots stepped forward like a well-trained miniature construction crew. They nimbly dragged the irrigation hoses through the network of tunnels they had already dug. Nancy stayed above ground, communicating with the technical staff and relaying instructions to pinpoint the exact direction and depth.

The engineer in charge of the pumps stood frozen as he watched the hoses disappear rapidly into the holes. It was his first time collaborating with actual underground engineers!

Before he could even process this miraculous feat, a lead marmot popped its head out of a different hole and slapped the ground with its paw.

"Done! You can start the pump now—don't just stand there gawking!"

The engineer started the pump, and crystal-clear groundwater surged out instantly. He couldn't believe his eyes.

"This... the efficiency is incredible! This just saved us days of manual labor!"