Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl

It wasn't easy to traverse the mountains and forests. After two days of hiking in the wilderness, they reached a narrow wind gap on the eastern slope. At this point, there was only a natural stone bridge over three meters long that could be crossed, with a deep trench over twenty meters below.

For the two who were used to long walks in the wilderness, crossing the stone bridge posed no difficulty, provided there were no distractions around.

Chen Ying was the first to step onto the stone bridge, but after two steps, he suddenly stopped, made a gesture, and slowly retreated.

The companion behind him made room, watching the surroundings warily.

"What's wrong?"

"There's a fresh rock antelope calf carcass up ahead that's not completely eaten."

"...Does this mean there's a predator nearby? What do you think it is, a lynx or a brown bear?"

Chen Ying took out the binoculars he carried with him and carefully scanned the mountain forest opposite. Finding nothing, he put them down and took out his phone, set it to the maximum zoom, and took a photo.

If it were flat ground, he would have gone over to inspect it directly, but the current location was dangerous; one misstep could send him plummeting into the trench, either dead or crippled.

"Before coming here, I researched this place. There are basically no large predators; brown bears were reintroduced and released to restore the population. The Iberian lynx is not large enough to prey on rock antelope calves, and their main diet is rabbits, not interested in ungulates. But the other type of lynx is different; this lamb is its favorite delicacy."

The companion was baffled by his words, his eyes unfocused.

About ten seconds later, as if realizing something, he let out a strange cry, "Wait, are you saying it's possibly a Eurasian lynx?"

Luckily, this person wasn't so dense that he couldn't understand Chen Ying's clear hint.

He's been responsible for monitoring in the mid-section for three years and has never seen a Eurasian lynx. It can't be blamed on bad luck, can it?

So, encountering one here on the stone bridge, does it mean luck is on his side?

Their conversation took less than a minute, and at this moment, a sharp crack of breaking twigs came from across the way. A gray-furred lynx with black spots slowly walked out, placing its paws into the stone crevices to prevent slipping while walking.

In the morning light, its fur shimmered with a hint of silver, standing at the other end of the bridge, slightly raising its chin to reveal a white spot on its throat.

Having studied lynx behavior patterns, Chen Ying knew this was an intimidation tactic lynxes often used against their kind. The Eurasian lynx, due to its larger size, prefers to use size domination in confrontations. Like when Lady Lynx raced across the steppe of River Source against Er Niu, she adopted this intimidating stance.

Although his Jinya was also a Eurasian Lynx, she was relatively smaller compared to her kind in colder regions. Even so, compared to the Iberian lynx, Jinya was already considered big.

Lynxes living in the warmer southern regions have coats that turn noticeably reddish-brown in summer, while some change to gray-brown in winter. In places with minor temperature fluctuations, their fur color changes little.

This was a very healthy, fierce yet composed big cat.

Chen Ying was captivated by its beautiful appearance, thinking for a moment that his Jinya would match well with it.

Nonsense, Little Jin is good too!

Regretfully tearing his gaze away from the beautiful large lynx, Chen Ying looked at his companion, raising an eyebrow, inquiring with his eyes what to do next.

Contrasting the foreign and domestic realms, outdoor monitors receive formal training and are better informed on how to interact with wild animals without violating regulations.

Before his companion could speak, Chen Ying's expression changed again.

"My God, Matil is here."

Following Chen Ying's gaze, his companion looked over, seeing the stunning and strong Matil perched high above on the rock, looking down at the large lynx across the stone bridge.

In the standoff, Matil fluffed out her neck hair and exposed her white flanks, like a pair of "false eyes." Nimble as ever, she leaped along the rocks, landing by Chen Ying, lowering her head and neck slightly, exposing her canines.

The Eurasian lynx on the opposite side, its size almost half larger than Matil, also crouched low, emitting a huffing sound from its throat, seemingly conveying some threat to Matil.

Suddenly, the Eurasian lynx swiped its paw, shattering loose rocks which tumbled noisily, causing Matil's pupils to contract as she took a step back.

"Watch out, Matil!" Just as Chen Ying shouted, the gray and white lynx leapt from the bridge, pursuing Matil's figure as they bounded along the cliffside to the trench floor, disappearing from sight.

Chen Ying, anxious to follow, was pulled back by his companion.

"Don't go, you can't catch up to them."

Not to mention the impracticality, even safely descending to the trench floor requires assistance from a rescue rope. By the time he safely gets down, both lynxes would be well out of range.

His companion, holding a camera, took photos of the bitten-to-death rock antelope calf carcass, then quickly steered Chen Ying away from the area.

No one knew if the Eurasian lynx would return for a feast. If they lingered, they might become part of the meal as well.

Not stopping until far from the stone bridge, Chen Ying and his colleague rested and chose a good camping spot.

Indeed, they had already discussed, deciding to stay here for two days to see if they could capture some imagery of the Eurasian lynx.

Matil is still alive, and there's infrared camera evidence, but the notion of wild Eurasian lynxes frequenting here wouldn't be believed on just their word.

The arduous journey was attributed to their efforts to track down traces left by the Eurasian lynx along the path.

Persistence paid off, and they indeed found some "evidence." But those combined were not as compelling as an actual photo of a Eurasian lynx.

"I've set up three cameras; should we use the remaining two as well?"

Chen Ying bit on a tool as he finished adjusting the third camera, wiped the sweat from his brow, and placed the tool back in his bag, "No need, these three cameras are enough. Should there be additional findings along our route, we wouldn't want to be without enough cameras, the boss would kill us."

His companion shrugged, "Alright then, I'll fix some food. What do you want?"

Chen Ying patted his waist pack, "Just a cup of hot water will do. Instant soup with puffed rice tastes pretty good."

There's a stark contrast in dietary preferences between East and West.

This monitor colleague was a typical carnivore, carrying plenty of jerky in his bag and enjoying an occasional drink.

Of course, he exercised restraint, sipping a bit of alcohol only at night to ward off the cold during keeping watch.

The mountains had no shortage of caves, definitely enough here. They didn't need a luxurious large cave; one that could shelter from wind and rain and accommodate two single tents was good enough.

Familiar with this mountain area, the companion planned to get some water after dinner while taking care of personal business.

Chen Ying rested a while, organizing the day's findings, preparing to doze in the tent, when he heard an animal's panting outside.

Alarmed, he grabbed a protective tool, gently lifted a corner of the tent's door flap to look outside.

As soon as he lifted it, a cat's head poked in.

"Matil? Are you okay?" Chen Ying quickly unzipped the tent flap, letting Matil in.

After a thorough check, confirming only minor scratches, Matil was unscathed.

"You scared me today, that big one didn't catch you, right?"

"Hmm, no, but I felt like it didn't intend to chase me. After a short run, it was out of sight. I was worried it would follow and attack you, so I came looking for you."

Moved, Chen Ying hugged Matil's head, giving it several kisses, making the beautiful Matil blush. With her soft paw, she lightly pushed against Chen Ying's face, not allowing him to bury his face in her fur.

"I came for something else too; I think I caught a whiff of Lightning's scent." Bright big eyes blinking, Matil spoke with some uncertainty.