Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl

In the police station on the edge of the uninhabited zone, Blue-haired was pounding the table with the officers.

"You're detaining me without cause; that's illegal. I'm going to get a lawyer and sue you."

The two serious-faced officers watched him rage without uttering a word.

After cursing for quite a while, Blue-haired slumped down in the chair, breathing heavily, and looked down at his own fingers.

In another inquiry room, a female officer was softly speaking to a shivering girl, asking her about the situation.

"There were four of you traveling together, where did the other two go? Did you enter the uninhabited zone without permission, or where else have you been? Tell the truth."

The girl's lips trembled for a while before she finally looked up at the female officer.

"Will they, will they die?"

The female officer was taken aback. What did she mean by that, bringing up life and death?

Under persistent questioning, the girl eventually broke down and cried, revealing the truth between sobs.

Upon hearing that their companions had been abandoned in the wilderness, the officers were shattered and for a moment didn't know how to respond.

It was the officer in charge of surveillance who reacted, immediately reporting up the chain.

The feedback from the report was that the persons had been rescued and were currently being transported to the hospital.

Knowing that the other two parties were at the police station, the superiors instructed that they must be kept there, awaiting further investigation.

The nature of this incident was truly vile.

If it weren't for the rescue by the Snow Leopard, even if they didn't freeze to death, the ferocious beasts of the night would have been enough for a permanent farewell to this world.

After hearing from the leaders that it was a Snow Leopard and a brown bear that had protected the two and successfully obtained help, the officer put down the phone and it was a good while before he cursed bitterly, "Worse than beasts."

The follow-up was nothing more than notifying the parents and the school.

Chen Ying didn't know much about these proceedings; his focus these past few days had been on Er Sha and the young Lynx.

Er Sha was doing okay; after a complete set of examinations, except for being inherently weak, all other aspects were above the passing mark.

Hoping for him to grow into a strong and formidable big Leopard was wishful thinking, but surviving wasn't a big challenge.

The current challenge was the silent battle among Unfrozen River, Sonam, and River Source, the three protection stations.

Who wouldn't love such a wonderful Leopard?

In the Highlands, the herdsmen believe that the Snow Leopard is the embodiment of the Snow Mountain Spirits walking on earth, especially with Er Sha's act of saving people; elsewhere it might have just been a curiosity, but here, the herdsmen were almost ready to deify it.

In his heart, Chen Ying wanted Er Sha to stay on River Source's side, because Xiao Song and Yin Li were there, which would at least assure him of Er Sha's health.

But since he wasn't from this area, he had to follow whatever the superiors decided.

The examination results for the young Lynx came back, the cyst would be controlled with medicine first, and if it affected the body later on, surgery would be considered.

Thus, the young Lynx couldn't return to the wild, and the Wildlife Park was probably its ultimate home.

Er Sha lived up to his name, being a hefty Snow Leopard, he'd take two Desert Cats every day to bother the young Lynx.

It was almost enough to turn the Lynx into a gloomy mess.

In terms of food feeding and mixture, Chen Ying could only adjust according to some prescriptions previously obtained from the system, attempting to improve Er Sha's physical condition with medicinal diets to give it more competitive strength in the wild.

This was also because the environment in Jiamu Gully wasn't suitable for Snow Leopards to live for the long term; otherwise, he would've tried to see if he could apply to take Er Sha back for release.

The area of River Source was not small, and the altitude rose rapidly within its jurisdiction.

The Protection Station at the foot of the mountains was situated in a high-altitude meadow area, where rodent infestations had been severe in the past few years, coupled with human and livestock activity, causing serious ecological deterioration.

The new Protection Station was established to protect the already severely fragile ecology.

Snow Leopards don't generally eat rodents, but Lynxes and Desert Cats are expert mouse hunters.

However, Snow Leopards are a threat to other animals, such as Lynxes and Desert Cats, so whether Er Sha could stay was still an unknown.

The two from Budong River Protection Station knew this, so they hadn't left these past few days, chatting with Chen Ying every day and even taking Er Sha out to the meadows, all to build a good rapport from both angles.

"Dr. Chen, rest assured, Er Niu at our place will be just like here, we won't limit its activities. If it runs out of food, come to our station, we'll make sure it's fed!"

Such assurances were to be taken with a pinch of salt. If it came and was fed upon command, it would become a captive animal.

However, compared to the environment at River Source Protection Station, Budong River had conditions more suited to a Snow Leopard's life.

Chen Ying, stroking Er Sha's ears, mulled it over and thought that letting it live in the high mountain rock areas near Budong River would be suitable.

"Meow, won't you go? Wherever you are, I'll be."

Chen Ying sighed; he really couldn't promise Er Sha anything—if only Jiamu Gully were suitable, he would have done everything possible to take him along.

"Listen up, see that uncle? He's a good man, he has protected many of your kind and other animals. I'll come to see you every year, this same season, to play with you for a month or two, okay?"

Er Sha looked up at him, "Why can't you stay? I can go hunting to support you."

Chen Ying hugged its big head, burying his face.

"Silly Niu Niu, you are a Snow Leopard, the child of the Snow Mountain, while I am a Two-legged beast, I can't stay long in your world."

Er Sha, with her beautiful big eyes, stared blankly at Chen Ying, seeing her own reflection in his gaze.

"Okay, if that's the case, then I'll listen to you. You must come to see me, okay?"

"I will, for sure."

Chen Ying rambled to Er Niu, telling her not to trust humans too easily and to go find Uncle Tashi if something came up.

"I know, his scent is very pure."

Don't say that wildlife doesn't understand anything; they actually have their own ways of discerning good from evil.

It's just that they don't realize humans are even better at pretending.

A week later, the lynx was taken away by the provincial animal rescue and shelter center, and after treatment, would be given a job at the wildlife park the center managed.

Chen Ying, accompanied by Er Niu, headed to the Budong River Protection Station for her release.

Perhaps knowing that this parting would be a long separation, Er Niu clung to Chen Ying, just like Jinya did at first, happy only when close to Chen Ying for eating, drinking, defecating, and sleeping.

After half a week of getting used to the Protection Station, Chen Ying took her out every day for walks to familiarize her with the surroundings.

By month's end, the climate had begun to cool down, the air was crisp and clear, and the livestock were fat - it was the perfect time to stock up for the winter.

Chen Ying and Uncle Tashi discussed plans to take Er Niu 50 to 60 kilometers into the reserve before releasing her.

Two days before the scheduled release, the Budong River Protection Station received an unexpected group of visitors.

The leaders appeared to be a very polite couple with their twin children.

In the second vehicle was another couple supporting the girl who had been rescued before.

Journalists and staff from local animal protection agencies were in the other two vehicles, and the last car brought three police officers.

"Who might you be?" Station Chief Sang Jie asked, a look of confusion on his face as he greeted them.

"Hello, we're here to present a banner of gratitude."

The leading couple unveiled the silk banner they were holding.

"This is..." Station Chief Sang Jie glanced at it and realized that these were the parents of the young man Uncle Tashi and the others had rescued.

"Is Dr. Chen Ying here?"

"She is, oh no, she's not here right now. She went out with Uncle Tashi and Er Niu."

"Er Niu is the snow leopard that kept our comrade warm that night. We plan to release her, and we've been taking her out to patrol the territory these days. After tomorrow, we will officially release her."

"That's wonderful. In addition to thanking the comrades at the Protection Station for saving my daughter and her classmate, we also want to express our gratitude to the snow leopard that protected her."

Station Chief Sang Jie was a bit puzzled; thanking people is one thing, but thanking a snow leopard? How would they do that – surely it couldn't walk around holding a banner?

"Mr. Shan and Mr. Wei have donated a sum of money to the Protection Station to improve its facilities. In addition, they established a special Snow Leopard Fund to cover various expenses related to snow leopards, such as feeding and rescue."

The specifics were to be coordinated with local professional organizations. They came here first to deliver the banner, and secondly, to announce the donation, so the Protection Station could prepare reports to apply for supplies or propose renovation plans.

Also, Wei Ting insisted on coming; she wanted to see the snow leopard that saved her again and check out the Protection Station's situation.

"My daughter was originally studying economics. After this near-death experience, she decided to change her major to conservation science. We support her decision fully, and this visit is to let her see the hard work of the Protection Station comrades and mentally prepare herself."

Mrs. Wei bowed to Station Chief Sang Jie.

"My daughter wants to volunteer here during the next holiday, and we hope you can give her this opportunity."

Naturally, Station Chief Sang Jie wouldn't refuse, but volunteer arrangements weren't his responsibility, so he directed Wei Ting to sign up and wait for her turn.

Mr. and Mrs. Shan were the parents of the young man who had been rescued.

The young man had been through a lot and took a year off school to recuperate and receive psychological treatment.

Mr. Shan dealt in energy supply equipment and wanted to personally thank them, eager also to see what the Protection Station needed.

After a tour, he decided to donate a wind and solar power generation system to the Protection Station.

Station Chief Sang Jie hesitated, mainly because the Station's people were not the ones who had exerted the most effort.

"Don't worry, I have other plans for Dr. Chen. Please go ahead and accept it," Mr. Shan assured him after exchanging a glance with his wife.

"The donation is to thank you for saving my son, but also to thank you for your steadfast presence in this tough area, bringing hope of life to those in difficult situations."

"The Wei family's daughter plans to volunteer here, and my son has similar intents. His health hasn't recovered yet, but once he's better, he'll personally come to express his gratitude and make amends for the mistakes he made."

They did not wait for Chen Ying and Uncle Tashi to return.

Because while they were escorting Er Niu, Chen Ying and Uncle Tashi encountered two nomadic families relocating their herds.

Even in the no-man's land and buffer zone, grazing was prohibited.

The grazing areas for these two nomadic families were just outside the buffer zone in the experimental zone, separated only by a river from the buffer zone.

Uncle Tashi brought Chen Ying and Er Niu here also because his family's pasture was right at the edge of the experimental zone.

He hoped that if Er Niu encountered danger and couldn't reach the Protection Station for help, she would come straight to his family's pasture.

So today, they were essentially bringing Er Niu to recognize a potential safe haven.