Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl

Half a minute later, a slightly larger than average-sized brown bear burst out of the supermarket doors, stood up on its hind legs, and let out several howls before rushing towards the wall where people were standing.

Those on the wall quickly climbed onto the roof and ran to the other side.

The brown bear was quite clever, knowing how to climb up by stepping on the beer crates stacked against the wall. It actually managed to get up there.

This scared the onlookers considerably, with several families yelling to close doors, windows, and turn off lights, fearing the brown bear would invade their homes with no respect for rules of engagement.

In this critical moment, the veterinarian finally arrived and blew a tranquilizer dart at the brown bear, but, oops, it was blown off course by the wind before it could hit the bear.

The second dart did hit, but it seemed the dosage wasn't enough. The brown bear showed no fear and instead turned around, attempting to pounce on the veterinarian.

Chen Ying couldn't just stand by any longer and rushed out to pull the veterinarian aside, taking the blowpipe from him in the process.

This veterinarian's aim needed work.

Pushing the veterinarian into the courtyard of an inn, Chen Ying calmly locked eyes with the brown bear.

This brown bear didn't look particularly aggressive, and even began to calm down as it sensed Chen Ying's presence. Its pace slowed, and eventually, it settled down rubbing against the wall.

Chen Ying wasn't sure if the tranquilizer had finally taken effect or if the bear simply didn't intend to hurt anyone.

After waiting a while, he tentatively approached, and while the bear was panting heavily, it made no threatening moves toward Chen Ying's approach.

He asked the landlady to turn on the outdoor lights, and under the bright illumination, Chen Ying discerned that the bear was female, and though sitting, had clear eyes untouched by the daze of sedation.

"Hey, what brought you here?"

Chen Ying stopped over two meters away, blowpipe ready, in case the bear decided to charge—he could dodge and counter with the tranquilizer at a moment's notice.

"Hungry, want food, going to have babies." came the sluggish and weary voice. The brown bear lifted its paw and scratched its chin, "I want to eat."

A pregnant mother bear? Timing it out, December to January was the peak birthing period for Tibetan brown bears. Currently, about four months from delivering cubs, experienced mother bears would be eager to fill their bellies and store sufficient fat.

This stored fat would be an essential food source for the little bear cubs during the birth month.

Chen Ying told it not to move and went to his car to get the portable ultrasound machine he kept there.

The veterinarian, still in the yard and seeing what he was doing, hesitated for a moment before stepping forward to help.

The brown bear was not opposed to Chen Ying's approach but growled threateningly at the veterinarian when he came close.

Chen Ying patted its belly lightly.

"Easy now, he's here to help you."

The brown bear grumbled for a while, turned its head away, and slid down a bit to lie more comfortably.

"It really is pregnant," Chen Ying pointed to the image on the screen for the veterinarian to see, but the veterinarian was completely clueless and had no idea what he was looking at.

Chen Ying paused, then quickly conveyed the diagnostic findings to the veterinarian in words.

Most veterinarians in small towns operated independently, and being able to treat livestock and administer vaccinations was as good as it got.

"I need to collect its blood and other biological samples, be careful," Chen Ying said as he packed away the ultrasound machine and went to get the test tubes.

Seeing Chen Ying about to leave, the brown bear stirred, causing the veterinarian to jump back in fright.

"Don't be scared, it just wants to find food," Chen Ying turned to ask the landlady if they had any pumpkins, as black bears from Jiamu Gully loved to eat old pumpkins. He wondered if the Tibetan brown bear would be interested too.

As for meat, it wasn't convenient to offer any right now; better to let it hunt for itself in the wild.

Mouse rabbits were delicious; it could eat more of those.

The landlady handed half an old pumpkin through the window, and Chen Ying broke off a piece for her to try.

The brown bear had never tasted such a thing and nibbled curiously. Hmm, not a bad flavor.

Crunch, crunch, within a few minutes, it had finished off half the pumpkin.

Brown bears are omnivores, usually favoring meat but occasionally eating plant fruits or seeds and various fruits.

The old pumpkin provided both plant nutrients and sugar, strangely satisfying the expectant mother bear's palate.

Seeing it still patting its belly for more pumpkin, Chen Ying felt he might have made a miscalculation.

In Jiamu Gully, old pumpkins were really not rare; one could simply dig them up from the ground.

But on the highland, especially in the pasture areas, old pumpkins had to be transported from other places or grown in local greenhouses, resulting in a much higher cost. Providing them for a brown bear to eat was more painful than feeding it meat.

Just then, another guest on the second floor who had been silent until now suddenly spoke up.

(Lastly, a photo of the brown bear fetus.)