I have a wildlife zoo

He got in the car and headed for the Gaba River hydropower station that was under construction!

Fang Ye closed his eyes to rest, when suddenly he heard a dull blasting sound in the distance. Even though he was sitting in the car, he could feel a slight vibration.

He instantly opened his eyes!

He saw a cloud of flying yellow dust drifting from afar; the closer they got, the louder the blasting sounds became, and the stronger the vibrations felt in the car.

They were probably nearing the construction site as truck after truck passed by slowly.

"Why is there a traffic jam?" Fang Ye wondered aloud.

Li Shi honked twice and poked his head out the window, yelling, "What's causing the block?!"

The driver in front also stuck his head out: "Construction! Traffic is restricted; we can't go until 2 PM!"

He glanced at the time— it was 1 PM. Well, guess they would just have to wait.

By the time it was 2 o'clock, they were finally allowed to proceed!

Further ahead, the landscape was engulfed in dust like a desert. The lush green trees that once covered the surrounding slopes were gone, leaving vast expanses of bare rock and yellow sand, along with the dragon-like twisted roots of fallen trees, each broken and contorted.

An entire mountaintop had been shaved bald.

A large tree that had been cut down but not yet cleared lay on the bare slope, buried in yellow sand and dust, like a defiant hand reaching out.

In stark contrast to this scene, huge machines were bustling on the dam base being built in the river channel, roaring and booming with activity!

The sight of the construction site cast a shadow over the hearts of those who had come for the green peafowl. Explore more adventures at empire

Gu Shi looked out at the scene with an extremely pained expression and sighed despondently, "This is just heartbreaking. If the hydropower station is completed, the seasonal rainforests and riverbanks on both sides of the Red River Valley will be submerged, and the green peafowl's habitat will face total devastation.

But what can we do for the green peafowl? If we reach out to the hydropower station, would they stop because of the green peafowl?"

No wonder Gu Shi felt despondent!

He had seen too many forests and animals disappear with the construction of hydropower stations; this station was just another typical replay of the same story.

He had also sought advice from other experts several times, hoping to communicate with the construction team, but all efforts sank like stones in the sea.

An individual's strength is so insignificant compared to a hydropower station!

This time, when Fang Ye brought up the construction of the hydropower station and asked if it would affect the green peafowl, he initially wanted to dissuade him from finding out more, as it would be futile.

The extinction of the green peafowl might just be an inevitability.

But on a whim, he spoke at length to Fang Ye and even accompanied him here.

What one thinks is one thing, but seeing it in person is another!

When he actually saw the construction site, a complex and strong emotion surged in Gu Shi's heart.

Anger, reluctance, frustration, grievance!

Why, oh why!

Time and again, and now it was the turn of the green peafowls' last sanctuary!

Fang Ye patted his shoulder and comforted him, "Don't worry, we can file an environmental public interest lawsuit. The green peafowl is so beautiful that it's sure to get everyone's attention and be protected."

Gu Shi gave a bitter smile, "Public interest litigation... litigation relies on evidence. To prove that the dam's construction will definitely lead to the extinction of the green peafowl isn't as simple as just talking about it; it requires very solid evidence, and the litigation will certainly be very challenging.

The dam has already been built so much; I'm worried that before we can gather all the evidence, the habitat of the green peafowl will already have been destroyed!"

"Since there is such a concern, why not litigate first? Just stop the construction of the dam for a while and use that time to collect evidence, couldn't we?"

Gu Shi was greatly surprised, "Is that kind of operation even possible? Are there any examples?"

Fang Ye touched his nose, "Er, probably not, I don't understand, I was just talking nonsense."

He criticized internally, of course there were no precedents, the pre-emptive public interest litigation in his past life was pioneered by the green peafowl case.

In the beginning, several environmental organizations tried for three months through submitting suggestion letters, appeal letters, and meetings with local governments and hydropower station companies, but to no avail. Watching the habitat of the green peafowl about to be submerged, they could only resort to the newly amended Environmental Protection Law and employ such a tactic.

Li Shi said excitedly, "Zoo Director Fang is awesome, I think this could work!"

Gu Shi pondered his words, not quite certain, "As to whether it's feasible, we'd still need to consult a legal expert!"

Fang Ye said, "We shot footage of the hydropower station today; let's head back now, or they won't let us through later."

After returning, he organized the footage taken that day, and the next day, following a tip from a local resident, he went to stroll by a riverbank next to another village to see if he could find the green peafowl!

Saying it was next to it was actually still quite far, once inside the mountain it was basically only accessible on foot.

The trees became denser, branches intertwined with each other, and mostly Sunshine darkened noticeably, giving a feeling of a pristine jungle!

Gu Shi, having the most experience, led the way, occasionally pointing out some plants and explaining them to Fang Ye!

"This is trigonostemon tuberculatus, this is fire flame bush... all endemic species of the Yuanjiang area!

The proportion of endemic species here is very high. This dry-hot river valley may be the oldest place in Yunnan. It was once a dry environment.

But as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau rose, this place at low altitude suddenly became high altitude. With the formation of the East Asian monsoon, the climate here changed, and precipitation increased. The environment changed drastically.

This valley has been isolated from the outside world for a very long time, so many species here have evolved independently..."

Li Shi, confused, asked, "What does that mean?"

Fang Ye explained, "In simple terms, this place has a very special environment! Biodiversity here is extremely rich, with many precious animals and plants that can't be found elsewhere, and there might even be some undiscovered new species. It's a place of irreplaceable natural resources!"

As he said this, he remembered something about the green peafowl case, that the key point was not winning by relying on the green peafowl, but on some plant.

Since green peafowl can fly and migrate, proving that they can't live without the river valley is complex. But plants, which don't have legs and can't move, make it much more straightforward to prove that a certain rare plant can only exist here in large numbers and can't be transplanted— the evidence is much clearer!

Li Shi now understood, "Then we should protect this place even more!"

"Exactly! Now, there's a concept called biodiversity hotspots, right? There are a total of 34 in the world, and this area is one of them!"

While Gu Shi was speaking, he seemed to have spotted something and suddenly became excited, "It's feathers from a green peafowl! There really are green peafowl here!"

He bent down, picked up the feather, and handed it to Fang Ye.

Fang Ye held it in his hands, carefully examining it. The tail feather's pattern was very distinct, enclosed by rings of grassy and aqua green, within the deep, gold border lay an eye as lustrous as jade green, with a pupil in dark, profound blue.

Lifting it against the Sunshine, he slowly rotated it; the changing angles shimmered with different colors!

Watching on the side, Li Shi couldn't help but exclaim, "It's so beautiful!"