Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl

Lightning gave a soft snort, his tone a bit gritted, "That guy isn't special, he's a complete fool."

"Lightning, did he bully you?" Chen Ying shivered in the chilly mountain stream, quickening his pace, "That guy seems to be particularly fond of the lynx competing with you for territory, wanting to be with it."

"The guy competing with me for territory is strong, but still weaker than that fool, mainly because of size issues." Perhaps due to the extended time spent with humans, Lightning's thoughts still carried some traces from his time in the research lab.

Once Chen Ying was dressed and ready to head back, Lightning stood up and stretched lazily.

"I'm going back now. Will you come again tomorrow?" Chen Ying crouched halfway down, "Why are you avoiding Matil? She's very worried about you."

"I haven't decided yet, let's talk about it later. Anyway, Matil will stay here, this is my territory, and I will protect it." Without waiting for Chen Ying to say more, Lightning leapt up onto the rocks with a few bounds.

As he jumped, he was pondering Chen Ying's words. In a couple of days, there would be a few more of his kind here. Should he try moving a bit further up the mountain?

Suddenly, a shadow flashed before him, startling Lightning, who leapt in place and evaded the ambushing animal with an incredible twist.

Once he steadied himself, he was shocked to see that the attacker was Matil!

"Matil, what are you doing?"

Matil crouched low and bared her teeth at him, "Roar, why are you avoiding me?"

"I wasn't really avoiding you, we just didn't run into each other." Lightning glanced left and right a bit guiltily, trying to find a chance to flee.

Unfortunately, Matil wasn't giving him that chance, as she jumped up onto the stone he was standing on and bit his chest fur.

"Ow~ Stop biting, it'll go bald!" Lightning tried to dodge and even opened his mouth, but under Matil's sharp gaze, he dared not move an inch.

Unbeknownst to the two of them, a big cat lay quietly perched at a higher ground, occasionally glancing at them, but mostly focusing its gaze on the ditch just below the spot where Lightning and Matil were.

Another lynx, whose fur color was quite similar to Lightning's original appearance, was fiercely skinning a wild rabbit.

Tonight, the mountain forest felt inexplicably harmonious.

Chen Ying returned to the camp, where Mike and Daniel were whispering and Judy was typing furiously with a stern face.

"I'm back. I just saw Lightning by the water, but it didn't come too close. It just showed its face across the river before leaving."

Chen Ying sent a deliberately staged photo to Mike, showing Lightning's pretty little face two-thirds obscured by leaves, but the lightning-shaped patterns on its face and neck unmistakably revealed its identity.

"Lightning's fur seems to have changed a bit. It feels like it's thinking of heading towards higher peaks. Its fur volume and color seem more abundant and lighter compared to the Iberian lynx in the Mediterranean Forest."

"That's right. I suspect that Lightning might have Eurasian lynx genes. Its fur volume and color seem closer to that of the hybrid lynx we previously bred."

"Impossible," Chen Ying replied with certainty, "Lightning is a purebred Iberian lynx. I'm certain of this. After all, lots of tests were done in the lab back then. If it were a hybrid, I wouldn't be unaware."

Mike said no more, exhaling, "We just received notification—tomorrow at ten in the morning, the first batch of two lynxes, one male and one female, will be released near Stone Bridge. The release sites for the other three will be farther away, with the youngest male lynx being released at the forest edge at the mountain's foot."

Given that we already know the mountaintop's territory is occupied by two adult males, and among the waiting males, the older one was rescued from the wild and has more experience. Its inclusion might even push the other two lynxes to migrate further away.

Meanwhile, another lynx, purely bred in captivity and newly wild, just reached adulthood and lacks experience, so its release site requires more cautious selection.

The forest edge is more suitable for Iberian lynxes' survival, with the lower mountain climate being more humid and offering more food. An area of the same size can support a slightly larger living population of lynxes.

Female lynxes have it relatively easier since they can carve out a part of the male's territory and establish their own domain.

The more female territories overlap on the fringes of male territories, the less reproductive pressure there is.

Chen Ying and the others needed to rush to the vicinity of Stone Bridge for pre-arrangement, ensuring the Eurasian lynx wouldn't injure or kill the newly released lynxes.

Hearing Mike say this, Chen Ying knew he was speaking to him.

"I think that Eurasian lynx will definitely come tomorrow. It seems to enjoy a spectacle, and its aesthetic appears fixed on Iberian lynxes. If it takes a fancy to the released female lynx, isn't your research subject ready?"

Daniel chimed in from the side, "We're just afraid it won't fancy them, but instead help the male Iberian lynx drive away the newly released ones."

It seems, there's a possibility of that, too?

Chen Ying felt a faint toothache, but the release plan was set. Regardless, they had to stay tightly wound these next couple of days and closely monitor the activities of the original three lynxes.

That night, Chen Ying was startled awake in the middle of the night and cautiously peered out from the tent flap. He saw the possibly not-so-bright Eurasian lynx pointing its rear at Daniel's tent.

Despite Chen Ying quickly covering his mouth, the momentary quiet sound still alerted the lynx, busy spraying urine.

This guy was unceremoniously trying to squeeze into the tent through the small opening.

"Hold on, let me open it for you first, take it easy..."

Pushing hard against this fool of a big lynx's head and quickly unzipping the tent door, the next second, this guy squeezed in, circling around, seemingly up to no good again.

"Behave yourself." Chen Ying couldn't help giving the lynx a pat on the head and even gave it a ruffle in the process.

Their commotion was loud enough to wake the dead, and the next second, Daniel's string of curses could be heard.

Anyone who has ever kept a cat knows what the smell of big cat urine... heady!

Laughing after causing trouble, when Chen Ying turned his head for a look, the sight was simply exasperating, though...

"Lie still, don't move, there's something on you, let me get it off," Chen Ying serious-faced patting the lynx's belly, maintaining it belly-up with four paws up.

A brief glance under the tent light revealed Little Lingdang was indeed real.

A closer examination of its stomach felt nothing unusual.

This big guy had never been petted by a human like this, wearing a shocked expression, feet drawn in front, stomach taut, perplexed airplane ears, a big "囧" etched on its face.

With Chen Ying's tent flap open, one could glimpse inside from the outside.

Daniel's cursing halted, and both he and Mike stared unblinkingly at Chen Ying inspecting the Eurasian lynx.

Soon, the lynx rolled over, shook off, squeezed past him, exiting the tent. As it left, it bared its teeth in Daniel's direction.

Daniel took half a step back, raising a perplexed hand and pointing to himself, "What, what did I do to it?"

The Eurasian lynx darted into the darkness and disappeared, leaving the four facing the ever-increasing assault of the big cat urine's pungent odor.

In the wilderness, the scent wasn't typically this intense, and perhaps almost intentionally retaliatory, this urine seemed plentiful, with a broader spray range.

"Forget the tent. When they come over tomorrow, have them bring a new one for you."

Unable to stand the smell, Mike silently dragged his tent to a new spot.

"No, this..." Daniel leaned in for a whiff, his remaining words drowned in a series of coughs.

Chen Ying gave him a sympathetic look, just about to speak when Judy suddenly asked,

"Daniel, when you went into the woods for a moment earlier today, did you take a look at the surroundings?"