Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl

As an outsider, Chen Ying rarely gets involved in the disputes of local residents.

This time was no exception. After standing at a distance to watch for a while, he was about to turn and leave but hadn't walked far when he heard someone calling his name.

"Chen, thank heavens you're back." The chubby village chief ran all the way from his house, speaking in an exaggerated tone which made Chen Ying feel obliged to help.

Chen Ying frowned. He didn't mind lending a hand for a small favor and wasn't too concerned about benefits, but the village chief's tone was unsettling, making him feel somewhat offended.

Just as he was about to find an excuse to decline, a scream came from the crowd, followed by exclamations.

In the next moment, a white-furred animal dashed out of the crowd, running towards him.

Chen Ying's expression changed slightly. He was about to crouch down when the white animal suddenly changed direction mid-way, darting into the garden of another resident's home.

The village chief muttered a low curse and, without speaking to Chen Ying, hurried to gather people to find the animal.

The crowd parted, revealing three young people leaning against a car, both crying and cursing.

If Chen Ying saw correctly, one of them had a bleeding arm, likely bitten by the animal.

This village was so small that it didn't have a clinic. The nearest clinic was in a larger neighboring town.

Although Chen Ying was a veterinarian, he was certainly better than someone with no knowledge. He sighed and walked over to see if they needed help.

The wound clearly looked like it was from a canid animal, and the most likely and rarest candidate locally would be the Arctic fox.

Of course, it could also be a Red Fox, as the international animal community knew that due to climate change, Red Foxes were expanding northward, compressing the Arctic fox's habitat. Currently, only within the Extreme North Protection Zone does the Arctic fox have a stable population.

However, their village situates on coastal lowland, while Arctic foxes live in mountainous tundra and frozen tundra within the Arctic Circle, as well as high-altitude areas. The chance of spotting an Arctic fox in coastal regions is extremely rare and usually not because they venture here on their own.

The thought flashed through Chen Ying's mind, and his gaze at the three young people became more scrutinizing.

"Hey, do you think we caught this guy?" the least injured among the young men mumbled. "If I knew this guy had such a temper, we wouldn't have rescued it."

"Rescue it? What do you mean?"

From the young man's words, Chen Ying learned they had rescued this little fellow from the mouth of a Wolf Weasel.

"So, where is that Wolf Weasel?"

"Ran off. We scared it away, and it dropped the fox and ran. That's it, that guy."

This fellow, about a meter long and looking like a little Brown Bear, was the notorious predator "Arctic Wolf."

This guy's diet is wide-ranging, especially fond of hunting reindeer. Particularly in winter, they eat part of the reindeer on the spot and bury the rest in portions for later when food is scarce.

In the cold Arctic Circle winter, the wilderness is a natural grand freezer.

After the three young people complained for a while and communicated with the returning village chief, they decided to go to the neighboring town for vaccines.

After all, the fox was a wild animal. Who knows if it carries deadly bacteria?

Before they left, Chen Ying disinfected their wounds with medicine from his home and asked them to pass his regards to the town's doctor.

Four months ago, Chen Ying had passed through the neighboring town and saved the doctor's pet dog, which led to their friendship.

After the three young people left, Chen Ying packed up, preparing to return to his home.

Just as he reached the beach, he saw two large and four small plus some medium-sized Sea Seals making a cautious and defensive stance towards the bushes by the roadside.

His heart skipped a beat, wondering if the little fox had run over to him?

It shouldn't be likely. Their village had few residents and houses were far apart. His house was 50-60 meters away from the elderly couple's, only the gardens were adjacent.

His house was even further from the other neighbor's house, with nearly ten meters of wild bushes in between.

While the bushes were wild, every household trimmed the plants close to them neatly, and the ground was free of any trash except for fallen leaves and the lawn.

Wild animals occasionally appeared here, but they were common critters like birds and squirrels. Their small sizes wouldn't cause such a big commotion.

Chen Ying grabbed an outdoor broom used for sweeping leaves and cautiously approached the bushes.

As soon as he got close, he heard whimpering sounds. Squatting down slowly, he peered through the slightly sparse part of the bushes and locked eyes with a trembling little creature.

The little one was startled, jumping out and running across the snowy lawn towards the direction of a small wooden house.

Chen Ying hurried to follow, going through some troubles until he cornered the seemingly juvenile creature by a tool shed adjacent to the wooden house.

The little one bared its teeth in a threatening manner at Chen Ying, but after two or three minutes, its eyes slowly turned dazed, and even its whining became a clamped voice.

"Whimper, it hurts, it hurts so much, hungry, whimper~~"

Chen Ying grabbed a pair of thick work gloves from a nearby shelf and, after some struggle to put them on, lifted the little fox for examination.

The fur didn't show any wounds, but parting the fur on its neck revealed two sharp bite marks. It was fortunate that it had been saved from the Wolf Weasel by the three young people just as it was bitten. The wound wasn't deep, and the blood had only just started to flow before being congealed by the thick fur, indirectly providing a bit of hemostatic effect.

The little fox, uncomfortable with the way Chen Ying held it, wrapped all four paws around his arm. Its soft whimpering made one's teeth ache.

Just as he was bringing it out of the tool shed, he saw the village chief and two villagers coming with capturing tools.

"Chen, how's this little fellow? Should we call the Animal Protection Association to have them take it?"

Knowing Chen Ying was a veterinarian and that he rescued Sea Seals, but the village chief and others assumed Chen Ying knew more about sea creatures. They believed land animals, especially the locally unique Arctic fox, were outside his area of rescue expertise.

"This little one is scared, and has some wounds. I need to handle it immediately. If it's convenient for Mr. Village Chief, please send an explanatory email to the Animal Protection Association on behalf of the village to see how they plan to deal with this injured Arctic fox."

The little fox's injuries were not fatal. After administering medicine, it would recover in three to four days.

According to national law, the Arctic fox is an endangered species, and individuals are not allowed to keep or handle protected wildlife privately. It must be handled by professional institutions.

Additionally, the Animal Welfare Law stipulates that untrained individuals rescuing wildlife might cause secondary harm due to improper handling, requiring a licensed veterinarian to assess health conditions.

Fortunately, Chen Ying was pursuing a veterinary doctoral degree from the country's most authoritative institution, and over the past three years had earned all certifications necessary for animal rescue. He could temporarily handle the Arctic fox's injury without any issues.

Under normal circumstances, rescuers place the rescued Arctic fox in a dark box, ensuring a quieter environment to reduce stress response from the injured fox.

But this Arctic fox wasn't willing to stay in a "dark house"; it wanted to be gently held by a Two-legged beast, whimpering (╥╯^╰╥)

After shearing the contaminated fur, treating the wound, and doing a simple bandage, Chen Ying carried the little fox into the wooden house.

The east room on the first floor had been specially modified as a temporary animal shelter, containing a large cabinet filled with toys favored by feline and canine animals.

It is said that the Arctic fox comes in two color morphs.

The white morph typically lives in tundra areas, feeding mainly on lemmings, while the blue morph generally inhabits coastal regions, feeding primarily on fish, occasionally preying on marine mammals, seabirds, or Sea Seals.

This little one seemed to be the white morph, its diet mostly meat-based. So after its wound was treated, Chen Ying placed some thawed chicken meat in front of it.

The little one sniffed, took a big bite, and squinted its eyes with a satisfied expression!