Animal Whisperer: Take Back My Life and Love Chapter 333: The Contaminated Pond

The bad news was that the interaction felt as stiff and formal as a diplomatic summit.

The only good news was that she was holding his hands so tightly he couldn't pull away. Barry silently took in the warmth of her palms and sighed.

Upon returning to the zoo, Nancy went straight to the reptile house. The blunt-headed snake she had rescued at the hospital was temporarily being kept there. After her emergency care and some time in a proper environment, the little guy was doing much better. The moment it saw Nancy, it swam toward the glass with excitement.

"My hero!" it hissed.

Over the past few days, Nancy had learned that the snake originally lived in Sanction Peaks before the Mckinley father and son caught it while fishing.

"I’m taking you home tomorrow," she said softly.

The snake practically danced in its tank. "That’s amazing! I finally get to go home!"

Sanction Peaks was a famous mountain in the southeastern province. It also happened to be the primary source for the core ingredient in Summers Corp’s new dog food. Nancy recalled the intel Master Crow had provided. Recently, the population of freshwater jellyfish in Sanction Peaks had plummeted, causing a massive die-off of the seeds.

She couldn't help but worry. These jellyfish were extremely rare and precious. Their disappearance didn't just mean the extinction of an ancient species. It would trigger a chain reaction that could destroy the entire ecosystem of Sanction Peaks.

This couldn't wait. Nancy decided to use the trip to release the snake as an opportunity to investigate why the jellyfish were disappearing. She immediately filed for the necessary permits from the forestry department.

Early the next morning, dressed in light hiking gear and accompanied by Master Crow, Nancy arrived at a pond deep within the mountains. The air in Sanction Peaks was crisp and fresh. Unlike other wilderness areas, there were no dangerous animals like takins here, and parts of the mountain had been developed for tourism.

Under the morning sun, the pond water was so clear it was almost transparent. Nancy waited for a long time before she spotted a few freshwater jellyfish drifting through the water. They weren't actually pink, but translucent. They only earned their name because they typically appeared during the season when the peach trees were in bloom.

Jellyfish didn't have brains, but their neural networks spanned their entire bodies like an invisible sensory web. Nancy couldn't hear their voices, but she could see their fear. After swimming for a while, the few jellyfish hit the edge of the pond and curled into tiny, tight clumps, darting around in a frantic, unsettled rhythm.

"Slither," she said, opening the travel tank for the snake. "Can you do me a favor and invite a few of the locals over for a chat?"

Released back into the wild, Slither wasted no time. It vanished into the grass and returned shortly after with a pond frog pinned gently under its tail. The frog was kicking its legs desperately.

"Let go of me!"

The frog’s cheeks puffed out in indignation. "You can kill me, but you won't humiliate me! If you aren't going to eat me, don't kidnap me! How am I supposed to show my face in this pond after this?"

Nancy quickly had Slither release it and suppressed a laugh. "It’s a misunderstanding. We aren't bad people. We just want to ask a few questions. Have you noticed the jellyfish in this pond disappearing lately? Has anything strange happened?"

The frog stayed frozen in shock, finally realizing that Nancy could command a large snake and speak its language. Its round eyes went wide with sudden worship. "Holy croak! A human who speaks!"

The frog immediately began to vent. "Finally, someone's asking about it! I don't know what kind of curse is on the mud in this pond, but if I use it to scrub myself, I itch for three days straight. My jellyfish friends are definitely suffering because of it. And those little green pearls at the bottom? The seeds are almost all dead."

The green pearls the frog mentioned were the algae that lived in symbiosis with the jellyfish. This was a serious problem. It wasn't just a production issue for the dog food. The entire local food chain was at risk. She needed to report this to the forestry department as soon as possible.

Frogs were known as survival experts. They weren't picky about their environment and could make a home anywhere from rice paddies to mountain streams.

If even a hardy little guy like this is afraid of the water, the problem at the bottom of the pond is worse than I thought.

Nancy knelt down and pulled a sampling tube and a sealed bag from her pack. "There’s definitely something wrong with this silt."

As she carefully collected samples from different areas of the pond, she turned to the frog. "Hey, little guy, can you help me find any other friends nearby who got sick after touching the mud? Tell them to come see me. I'm an animal doctor, and I can help."