Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl

Chapter 278: Chapter 278: The Mysteriously Poisoned Yellow-throated Marten

The place where this group of Yellow-throated Martens lived was not far from the rescue station.

The road leading to Huaqiu Valley, a third of the way there, turned northwest.

From inside the dense forest came a slight odor, and on the grass under the trees, lay seven or eight Yellow-throated Martens.

Two of them were completely lifeless, while the remaining few were still twitching slightly.

Chen Ying put on a protective mask and gloves, took out the emergency kit, and began to examine the living Yellow-throated Martens.

Judging from the symptoms, it seemed to be a typical case of group poisoning.

However, in the same area of the trees, a few younger Yellow-throated Martens were perched and quietly chirping.

She called the protection station to request support.

This sudden incident definitely had to be reported.

They also had to send the bodies of the deceased Yellow-throated Martens for examination, determine the cause of death, then deal with them.

The cat cages Chen Ying brought were not enough, so she could only put the worst-conditioned one in first.

Two others, with milder symptoms, were given injections of medication, and their heartbeats and pupils almost returned to normal.

The little Yellow-throated Marten that had come for help never left, obediently lying on the tree stump, accompanying Chen Ying as she treated its companions.

Uncle Zhao arrived quickly with his new partner.

In addition to treating the symptomatic Yellow-throated Martens, they also brought specialized bags for animal corpses and securely packed the deceased.

“We initially suspect poisoning, but since there are others from the same group of Yellow-throated Martens that were unaffected, the exact cause still needs to be investigated.”

This matter had to be reported to the forest police to determine whether it was caused by natural toxins or if someone had poisoned them.

But the probability of poisoning was really low.

Not to boast, but the villages in their area had been extremely diligent about animal protection for the past couple of years. They would actively report any issues and even assist other villages in rescuing wildlife.

Besides, to specifically go into the forest and poison a group of Yellow-throated Martens—that would be purely insane.

Chen Ying was more inclined to believe that it was an environmental issue, such as decaying bodies contaminating the water source.

But that reasoning didn’t quite hold up either, as if it were water contamination, other animals would be affected too.

After racking her brain for half a day and coming up with no answers, she could only have Uncle Zhao and his team send the bodies of the Yellow-throated Martens for examination.

With the help of Uncle Zhao and the young ranger, they took all the surviving Yellow-throated Martens to the emergency station for treatment.

Three big cages, once again full.

The next day, the station manager personally called Chen Ying to explain the reason for the poisoning of the group of Yellow-throated Martens.

“The dissected corpses showed they died from consuming poisoned mice.”

The two mice that ended up in the martens’ stomachs had died from eating toxic plant fruits.

Now, what confused everyone was why those two mice would consume toxic fruits.

After all, it was summer, and the forest was filled with plenty of edible plant fruits, tender roots, and leaves—there was absolutely no need for them to seek their own death.

Little Sen, listening nearby, suddenly chimed in, “Could it be that those two mice had their entire family eaten by these martens and then poisoned themselves as revenge…”

Such a wild imagination—He really shouldn’t waste it; he should write novels.

But since the mice were already dead, they couldn’t summon their souls to get a clear answer.

At least they were sure the issue wasn’t the water or food, which finally put the anxious hearts of the Panda People to rest.

In passing, Chen Ying also educated all the young animals in the area, forbidding them from eating any dead animal bodies.

Especially the little bears, particularly big Yueya, who was extremely curious and therefore most at risk.

For safety, Chen Ying specifically took two little ones to find Miss Bear and told her about the Yellow-throated Martens, asking her to keep a close eye on the little ones, and not to let them even sniff or lick any dung.

Chen Ying casually mentioned this, but Miss Bear’s temper flared up instantly, catching Big Yueya and giving it a beating.

Lick dung? Go rinse your mouth immediately—don’t even think about having another drop of milk until you’ve cleaned it all!

Chen Ying hadn’t expected Miss Bear to be so fierce and didn’t dare explain that she had just made a casual remark. She took the opportunity to escape while Miss Bear was disciplining her son.

Jinya had not gone anywhere with Little Jin these past few days.

Apart from watching Little Lynx and taking it out for exercises in the forest, the rest of her time was spent lying on the platform, watching the Yellow-throated Martens in the three big cages of the observation room.

The irritable Yellow-throated Martens, being watched by Jinya, were almost driven to nervous breakdown, not daring to make a sound while she was there.

But as soon as Jinya went out hunting, the martens caused so much trouble it made one’s blood pressure soar, wishing they could just throw them far away.

After observing for three days, except for two that still required treatment for more severe conditions, the others had all recovered.

Chen Ying simply released them all.

They didn’t have to go far, just behind the small building, and within ten seconds, their forms were no longer visible.

Four days later, the Yellow-throated Martens had completely recovered.

Those two martens, just like their companions, were able to stir up trouble as if they were two hundred.

Even Jinya couldn’t stand it anymore, chasing after them several times with green fire in her eyes, her mouth opening and closing as if deciding where to bite first.

Chen Ying did not intervene in the ecological chain among the animals, but she would never allow Jinya to strike in the observation room.

As soon as she confirmed that the two martens had recovered, without spending the night, Chen Ying immediately packed up and sent the martens away.

Jinya, still mischievous, chased for a long distance before returning.

“Those things were so irritating to ‘She’, if you hadn’t stopped me, I would have taken care of them with one bite each.”

Chen Ying gave a bitter smile, scratching Jinya, and casually picked up the Little lynx.

“The little guy’s body isn’t bad, we can begin the first phase of treatment now.”

The report had been approved, staffing would still take some time to arrive, but the medicines and equipment had already been delivered yesterday.

The medicine was a request for traditional herbs, supplied by Professor Bai’s partner’s herbal garden.

Since only one little fellow needed treatment and the quantity of herbs required wasn’t much, the herbal garden didn’t charge any money. They only hoped if the treatment showed progress, to have their name mentioned in the report.

That was a request they could meet.

What Chen Ying hadn’t expected was that on the second day of the official start of treatment, Miss Dao had actually come to report.

The young man who came with her kept stealing glances at her, not hiding the admiration in his eyes at all.

Seeing this, Chen Ying felt a headache coming on.

That young man was the descendant of the old leader Chen Ying last met, coming to boost his resume by tagging along with the research project.

And Miss Dao, this time, wasn’t coming in the capacity of a volunteer from the Cat Alliance to participate in the rescue research but had officially joined their scientific research project.

“I passed my doctoral studies, focusing on the rational application and supervision of traditional medicine. My professor asked me to participate in this project. While cooperating with you, I also need to complete a small sub-topic on my own.”

She was probably here for the use of medicinal herbs in Traditional Veterinary Medicine.

With Miss Dao already there, Chen Ying couldn’t just send her away, but there was a slight issue with the room arrangements.

Originally, that young man could have just shared a room with Little Sen, but now with Miss Dao around, it was inconvenient no matter where she stayed.

Seeing Chen Ying worry, Miss Dao coughed lightly.

“Last time when I came to deliver equipment, I had someone measure it ahead of time, with plans to build another wooden house to the northeast of the small building, considering the surrounding situation and the regulations of the Protection Station.”

Now, the designer was reputable, and moreover, she was acting under the guise of constructing a research station. Even if Chen Ying wanted to object, she couldn’t find an excuse.

However, Miss Dao had learned from last time and hadn’t truly done as she pleased without prior approval.

“I just made a preliminary plan, considering that next year there might be more pandas released into the wild and introduced, fearing that you’d have to set up temporary boarding again, affecting the animals’ day-to-day lives, so I made some preparations.”

She glanced at Chen Ying, “How about you look at the design proposal first? If it’s not okay, I can stay at the Protection Station. I just need to travel back and forth, which takes some time.”

Little Sen shrank to one side, staying silent, while the other young man seemed to have figured it out as well, his gaze constantly shifting between Chen Ying and Miss Dao.

Chen Ying pinched the bridge of her nose, not rejecting Miss Dao’s suggestion.

“Let’s take a look then, it’s not going to cost me an arm and leg. If it’s really not suitable, I’ll veto it.”

The tablet turned on, and a blueprint unfolded.

The main structures were still the current small building and warehouse, completed with two animal sheds.

But in a spacious area on the east, a uniquely designed building was connected to the main small building using a wooden pavilion bridge.

The building adapted to the local conditions, employing a modular design.

It was also a two-story structure, designed as relatively independent, with the second floor connected in the middle by a wooden balcony forming a unique-shaped dormitory building.

The rooms were about twenty square meters each, with independent bathrooms, each room equipped with bunk beds, a desk below, and a modular small wardrobe; two floors could accommodate four people, and two buildings could accommodate eight people.

“If there’s a research team, they could basically squeeze in. Just leave it unlocked when not in use.”

Most crucially, these two buildings did not harm the surrounding trees and fully adapted to the local conditions.

Just the design cost alone wasn’t a small amount.

Miss Dao hadn’t considered that at all, stating that her sister helped with the design for free.

“She specializes in designing unique B&Bs, this kind of work is second nature to her, easily providing several plans.”

Once the design is settled, Designer Cao would be found for construction.

The person no longer handled local business, but he patted his chest and assured that he would find the most suitable construction team to do the job, and if any problems arose, they should go to him, no matter where he might be.

This made Miss Dao, who initially wanted to handle everything herself, shut her mouth and obediently listened as Chen Ying discussed finalizing this matter over the phone with Designer Cao.

Although the construction of such small buildings was quick, it would still take about a month’s time.

During this period, Miss Dao could only stay temporarily at the Protection Station.

The old leader’s descendant also suggested that he could stay there too, providing company for each other going in and out of the forest in the morning and evening.

Chen Ying nodded noncommittally, letting them arrange it themselves.

With the accommodation issue resolved, Chen Ying took them to see the Little lynx and shared the Little lynx’s medical case with both of them.

“Xiao Shen will mainly assist me in treating the Little lynx. You familiarize yourself with the situation for a few days and think about a rescue plan.”

Chen Ying looked at Miss Dao, “As for you… The medicinal herbs are already in storage, how about you help check the quality of the herbs first?”