I raise furry animals and fly them to my motherland.

Chapter 155 Poisoning
Xu Ying quickly bandaged the serval's wounds and asked the vultures, "What's wrong, guys? What happened?"

The largest vulture landed on a rock in front of her, pacing back and forth restlessly, its wings half-spread.

[Station Chief Xu! Quick! My child... my child is dying!]
Xu Ying sensed the fear in the vulture's tone.

Judging by the time it's been, the baby vulture should have hatched by now, after incubating its eggs near the rescue station for so long.

Xu Ying's heart sank.

She had checked on the vultures last week, and all three eggs in the nest were normal. How could they suddenly stop working as soon as they hatched?

"Quick, take me there."

Xu Ying stroked the bandaged serval and said goodbye, "Don't touch the bandaged area for the next few days, take good care of yourself!"

The flock of vultures immediately took off, and Xu Ying jumped onto a sand motorcycle, following closely behind the black figure in the air.

The car bumped and jolted along the rugged Gobi Desert, kicking up a cloud of dust.

When Xu Ying arrived near the vulture's nest, the sight before her made her gasp.

Eggshell fragments were scattered in the nest, and a wet baby vulture huddled in the center, its breathing so faint that its chest barely rose and fell. Another egg had cracked, but the chick inside had clearly not survived. The third egg remained unopened.

The elder vulture was anxiously nudging the baby vulture with its beak, emitting a low, mournful cry. Upon seeing Xu Ying, it took a few steps back, its eyes full of pleading.

[Station Chief Xu, please save my child.]
"Don't rush, let me take a look."

Xu Ying carefully picked up the baby vulture. It was much lighter than a normal chick, with sparse feathers and an unhealthy grayish-white beak.

Xu Ying pursed her lips into a thin line and quickly checked its vital signs with her toolbox—a weak heartbeat, low body temperature, and shallow, rapid breathing.

"When did it hatch?" Xu Ying asked the vulture.

[This happened shortly after you left the shelter.]
The elder vulture answered, his voice trembling, "[It cried out a few times at first, but the cries grew weaker and weaker; the other child didn't move at all.]"

Xu Ying nodded and quickly made a decision: "I need to take it back to the rescue center. It needs professional treatment; I can't help it here."

Vulture Brother and Vulture Sister-in-law have already regarded Xu Ying as their partner, so of course they choose to trust him unconditionally.

Xu Ying carefully placed the baby vulture into the specially made insulated box on the motorcycle.

Although the vulture's nest was not far from the rescue station, every bumpy ride made Xu Ying's heart clench, fearing that the fragile little life would be harmed.

When the white building of the rescue station finally came into view, Xu Ying drove the last stretch of road at almost sprint speed.

Upon entering the rescue station, Xu Ying connected the baby vulture to monitoring equipment and then prepared warm water and nutrient solution. The only sound in the medical room was the regular beeping of the equipment.

Vulture Brother and Vulture Sister squatted inside the rescue station, barely daring to breathe, their eyes fixed on the child on the hospital bed.

Xu Ying gently examined the baby vulture's beak with her fingers.

The baby vulture's condition fluctuated throughout the following day, causing Xu Ying to have sleepless nights. The two vultures also suffered from insomnia, lost their appetite, and their feathers visibly lost their luster.

The little foxes haven't been in the mood to play these past two days. They've been gathered around the baby vulture's sickbed, knowing that the baby is ill and likely won't survive.

Two days later, Xu Ying suddenly noticed that the baby vulture's beak had become abnormally soft. She immediately communicated the situation to the vulture's parents.

"This is soft beak syndrome."

Xu Ying frowned. "It's very rare; it's usually related to environmental toxins or genetic defects. No wonder it's so weak."

[Can it be cured?]
The two vultures' voices were filled with undisguised worry.

Xu Ying frowned: "It needs to be fed special nutritional supplements. I'll call headquarters to see if they have any. If they do, I'll bring the little guy over!"

She quickly dialed the headquarters and, after receiving confirmation, Xu Ying breathed a sigh of relief. She then quickly took the insulated box, rode her motorcycle with the baby vulture to the rescue center's main station, and also remembered to bring along the unhatched vulture egg.

Xu Ying judged that all of these vulture eggs were probably problematic, and given the current severity, they were likely congenital.

But despite all the medical checkups she'd done for Vulture Sister-in-law, Vulture Sister-in-law was in excellent health.

This situation is really tricky!
After communicating with Zhuo Yi at the main station about the baby vulture's condition, Xu Ying was greeted by a rescuer upon arrival at headquarters, who led her to get nutritional supplements.

The syringe slowly pushed the nutrient solution into the baby vulture's mouth.

After feeding the baby vultures, Xu Ying was persuaded by Zhuo Yi to go to the cafeteria for lunch. Xu Ying had only eaten a piece of bread since she woke up before dawn.

However, when Xu Ying returned after finishing her meal and pushed open the door to the medical room, the scene before her eyes made her heart sink instantly—the heart rate line on the monitor was fluctuating violently, and Fu Qiuhua and two assistants were urgently trying to save the baby vulture around its incubator.

"What's wrong?" Xu Ying rushed forward, her voice trembling.

Why did Professor Fu have to be involved?
"Sudden respiratory failure," Professor Fu Qiuhua replied briefly, her hands still moving. "Go prepare for intubation!"

The next half hour felt incredibly long to Xu Ying.

She assisted Fu Qiuhua with various first aid measures, watching the little vulture's palm-sized body struggle on the edge of life and death.

When the curve on the monitor finally stabilized, everyone in the medical room breathed a sigh of relief.

“It pulled through.” Fu Qiuhua took off her mask, a tired smile on her face. “But the situation was more complicated than we imagined. Besides soft beak syndrome, it also had a congenital respiratory problem.”

Xu Ying gently stroked the baby vulture's head, feeling its faint breathing.

The next day, a batch of special medicines arrived at headquarters, one of which was perfect for the little vulture.

However, the treatment with the specific drug was not successful.

The baby vulture reacted strongly to the medication and fell into a coma. Xu Ying and Fu Qiuhua took turns watching over it, adjusting the dosage, and trying various adjunctive therapies.

On the third night, while reviewing old medical records, Xu Ying suddenly made a discovery.

"Professor Fu!" She rushed into the medical room, holding a yellowed file in her hand. "Last year, the 017 Rescue Station rescued a peregrine falcon that was poisoned; its symptoms were very similar to those of a baby vulture!"

Fu Qiuhua quickly glanced through the file: "You mean the little vulture's problem might be due to a genetic accumulation of toxins?"

"The older vulture may have been exposed to some kind of environmental toxin for a long time, which was passed on to the baby vulture."

Vultures have strong immune systems, so these toxins might not be a problem for adult vultures, but they could be a different story for newborn vulture chicks!