The others stood guard outside.
Yang Qi entered the enclosure again, guiding Big Flower to a spot near the inner safety bars where the light was relatively good.
He had Big Flower lie on her side and discreetly sprinkled so calming powder on her.
Then, he personally got to work. While soothing her, he carefully shaved a small patch of fur on Big Flower’s abdon, exposing the skin.
Although Big Flower was a little uncomfortable, she remained quiet and cooperative thanks to the calming powder and Yang Qi’s constant reassurance.
Next, Yang Qi applied the cool, harmless coupling gel to the shaved area.
Big Flower’s body tensed slightly, and a low rumble ca from her throat, but she quickly relaxed again.
The calming powder’s effects were ongoing.
Finally, Yang Qi took the ultrasound probe, which was covered with a disposable protective sleeve and passed through the gaps in the iron bars by Dr. Liu.
"Big Flower, relax. This will be over soon."
While soothing her, Yang Qi followed Dr. Liu’s real-ti instructions from outside the bars. He gently pressed the probe against the gel-covered skin of Big Flower’s abdon and began moving it slowly and steadily.
"A little to the left... Yes, hold it... Slower... Okay, stop... A little bit lower... Good, right there."
Dr. Liu’s voice ca from outside as he stared intently at the ultrasound screen.
The image on the screen changed as the probe moved.
At first, it was just a blurry image of tissue, but as Dr. Liu adjusted the settings and Yang Qi found the right angle, clearer outlines began to appear.
Suddenly, outside the bars, Dr. Liu’s eyes flew wide open, and he subconsciously held his breath.
On the screen, within the area of Big Flower’s uterus, he could clearly see not just one, but multiple small, regularly pulsing, bright spots of light!
Those were fetal heartbeats!
And judging by their size and developnt, they seed to be in excellent condition.
As an experienced old veterinarian, Dr. Liu managed to suppress the gasp that almost escaped his lips. However, his voice unconsciously carried a tremor of excitent and rose in pitch.
"Good... good, hold steady. Move it a tiny bit to the side... Yes, right there. Hold it for a few seconds!"
Yang Qi couldn’t see the screen, but he could feel the softness and warmth of Big Flower’s abdon under his hand. He could also sense that while she was a bit nervous, she was generally remaining quiet and cooperative.
He continued to move the probe up, down, left, or right according to Dr. Liu’s instructions, trying to get the most comprehensive scan possible.
After about five minutes, Big Flower, who had been lying on her side in the sa position, seed to be getting impatient.
She lifted her head and let out a low growl, a sound filled with both urgency and a question.
’Two-legged Beast, are you done yet?’
"Almost, almost. The check-up’s almost over. Just hang in there a little longer."
Yang Qi quickly soothed her while asking the old vet outside, "Dr. Liu, how much longer? Big Flower is getting a little impatient."
"Just a mont, just a mont."
Dr. Liu’s eyes were practically glued to the screen. He needed to confirm the number of embryos, their implantation sites, and their developntal indicators from various angles.
"Xiao Yang, could you please do a slow scan again from the top-left position? We need to make a final confirmation of the number."
Yang Qi had no choice but to follow Dr. Liu’s instructions and move the probe again.
After another five minutes or so, Dr. Liu finally let out a long breath and shouted, his voice filled with irrepressible excitent.
"Okay, that’s enough."
Yang Qi imdiately handed the probe back to Dr. Liu outside and began to gently wipe the remaining coupling gel from Big Flower’s abdon with a clean, soft cloth, soothing her all the while.
"There, Big Flower, the check-up is over."
"You did a great job!"
"The results will be ready soon. You rest here, and I’ll be right back to tell you."
’Okay.’
Big Flower gave a low growl, seeming to let out a sigh of relief as well.
She stood up, shook out her fur, and glanced back at Yang Qi and the things outside the bars several tis as she walked.
She slowly walked back to her usual corner and lay down.
...
After exiting the enclosure and closing the door, Yang Qi directed the staff to move the ultrasound equipnt out of the employee corridor piece by piece.
Jiang Kai, Cheng Xiaoou, and the others had been waiting outside the corridor, their eyes following the movents of the staff.
When Yang Qi and Dr. Liu ca out, Jiang Kai eagerly rushed forward and asked, "How did it go? Is Big Flower really pregnant?"
"She is!"
The one who answered was Veterinarian Liu.
The old veterinarian’s face was flushed, and his usually steady voice trembled with excitent.
"Not just pregnant—it’s a multiple birth! A total of..."
He took a deep breath, as if to calm his racing heart, before revealing the number.
"Seven!"
"What?"
"Impossible!"
"Seven?!"
Gasps of astonishnt erupted almost simultaneously from Jiang Kai, Cheng Xiaoou, and the other veterinarians.
Everyone present knew that a leopard’s typical litter size was between two and four cubs. Even in a ticulously cared-for, well-nourished captive environnt, the highest recorded litter size was only six.
Seven?
This was beyond the realm of common knowledge.
"Do I have any reason to lie to you?"
Veterinarian Liu’s beard was trembling with excitent. He thrust the tablet containing the scan’s recording into the air, jabbing his finger at the screen as if trying to poke the image through the glass and into everyone’s eyes.
"Look! Look closely! Are these not seven separate gestational sacs?"
"Are these not seven clearly discernible fetal heartbeats?!"
Jiang Kai wasn’t skilled at interpreting ultrasound images; all he could see were so blurry spots and pulsing points of light on the screen. However, from Veterinarian Liu’s adamant tone and the fire in his eyes, he was almost completely convinced.
He turned his gaze to Cheng Xiaoou and the two other young veterinarians.
Cheng Xiaoou had already leaned in close to the screen, her eyes fixated on it without blinking.
At first, she frowned, but then her pupils dilated slightly, and she unconsciously held her breath.
The other two veterinarians also squeezed in. Their three heads were almost touching as their fingers moved slowly across the screen, comparing angles and counting the small clusters of light that represented new life.
"One, two, three..."
Cheng Xiaoou counted in a low voice, which grew quieter but more certain with each number. "Four, five... six... seven."
When she reached the final number, she looked up. Her face was a mixture of shock, elation, and a hint of disbelief as she looked at Jiang Kai and slowly nodded. Her voice carried an incredible certainty.
"Minister Jiang, it’s true. The image is very clear. There are indeed seven separate embryos."
...
"This is incredible!"
"Big Flower is amazing."
The other two veterinarians also murmured, their expressions identical. They were all dizzy, struck by this unbelievable number.
Standing to the side, Yang Qi also felt a flicker of surprise as he heard the definitive number.
’Seven at once?’
’It seems the effects of this Creation (Fertility) Pill are even more potent than I estimated.’
Recalling the extraordinary activity and stamina that Big Flower and Er Hua had displayed in their mating behavior after taking the pill, this astonishing litter size seed to have a logical explanation.
The pill had greatly enhanced the activity of their reproductive cells and the probability of successful fertilization.
Of course, all of this could only be attributed to "Big Flower being amazing" or a "miracle."
"Good, good, that’s wonderful!"
Jiang Kai was stunned for a few seconds before a massive wave of joy washed over him. He slapped his thigh hard, a wide grin spreading across his face as he repeated the word "good" several tis.
The next mont, he turned around and, in a booming voice, began directing the other staff mbers who were still in a daze.
"Quick, pack up the equipnt! Save the data properly!"
"Notify the feeding team to imdiately start adjusting Big Flower’s diet! Increase her nutrition and calcium supplents."
"The environntal enrichnt and monitoring for her pregnancy must also follow the plan, effective imdiately!"
"And the birthing den! We can start preparing it ahead of schedule."
After giving his orders, he turned to look into the enclosure, his tone filled with emotion and heartfelt admiration.
"Big Flower... she’s a heroic mother!"
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