Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl

The sound was painful to hear.

Chen Ying prodded her cheek with her tongue and cautiously walked a few steps toward the valley.

Just as she peered down, she saw a big fellow stand up from the water, hands on hips, and roar towards the sky.

With its roar, dozens of monkeys appeared at the edge of the forest above, one of them particularly large and looking exceptionally fierce.

Golden Snub-Nosed Monkeys and a Bear!

The clueless bear who had fallen into the water was undoubtedly the same villain who had stolen the little monkey that day.

Luckily, the Black Bear had thick skin and flesh; otherwise, rolling down a slope of over ten meters would have caused serious injury, if not death.

The Black Bear was strong, but the Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey troop didn't do one-on-one fights, unless they ganged up on a single Black Bear like now.

The Black Bear wasn't afraid of the monkeys. Its audacity was evident when it went to grab the little monkey for fun.

But a dozen is not the same as several dozen.

It was also fortunate that although the Golden Snub-Nosed Monkeys occasionally ate meat, their main source of food was still plants; otherwise, the scene would have been a bloody mess.

Chen Ying silently took out her phone and started filming the standoff between the Black Bear and the Golden Snub-Nosed Monkeys.

She speculated that the conflict might have started because the Black Bear had snatched the little monkey, but more likely it was over food.

Huaqiu was not only loved by the Black Bear but also by the Golden Snub-Nosed Monkeys.

This area of Huaqiu trees wasn't large, and there were many monkeys; the tasty treat just wasn't enough and was partly seized by the invasive villain—bearable for the monkeys, unbearable!

The voice of the Black Bear grew louder and louder, and the monkeys didn't indulge it, throwing whatever they could find without caring about the accuracy, driven purely by emotional catharsis.

The Black Bear climbed up the bank, shaking its fur, sending a spray of water everywhere, which even reflected a rainbow light.

Then it charged bravely, running towards the nearest tree.

Black Bears can climb trees, their actions deceptively agile compared to their bulky bodies.

But they were up against the tree-dwelling Golden Snub-Nosed Monkeys.

It had only climbed two meters when the monkeys had already scattered quickly.

Continued throwing, continued fury, with the infuriated Black Bear sliding down the tree and sweeping its paw in a wide arc, hitting the tree so hard it shook like a sieve.

"Tsk, watching is risky, and snacking needs caution."

Hidden behind a rock, Chen Ying muttered softly, started to pack up, and planned to slowly retreat from the area.

The monkeys could play with the Black Bear, but she could only kneel and kowtow.

She carefully withdrew from the mountain gully, and only when she was sure the Black Bear hadn't noticed her did Chen Ying breathe a sigh of relief, ready to head back.

Just as she turned around, she saw a row of small creatures perched on a nearby tree.

They looked familiar.

Chen Ying squinted and thought for a moment, then slapped her forehead.

She remembered now, this was the Red Squirrel Mother she had encountered before.

But if she remembered correctly, Red Squirrel Mother's nest wasn't in this direction!

Red Squirrel Mother also recognized Chen Ying, squeaked twice, and swiftly scurried over, jumping onto her shoulder and offering her a plump pine nut.

This must have been Red Squirrel Mother's stash.

Chen Ying took it, thanked her, and remembered she had some dried fruits in her bag.

Before she could reach for them, Red Squirrel Mother had already dived into her backpack.

Wait, isn't this a bit too hasty?

As a mother, couldn't you be a bit more composed?

He helplessly looked up at the little cubs in the tree, taking Squirrel Mother in one hand and pulling out a small bag of dry fruit with the other.

"I'll help you tear it open, here, take it slowly."

Squirrel Mother wasn't about to slow down one bit; she whisked out sparks with her tiny paws and quickly stuffed her cheeks full of dry fruit.

With a sweep of her big tail across Chen Ying's presence, Squirrel Mother curtly bid him farewell and returned to the tree to distribute the fruits to her own cubs.

"Click, click." After a fierce shooting session, Chen Ying packed up his backpack, ready to continue on his journey.

Just then, one of the little squirrels, surprisingly bold, ran down from the tree, leaped onto Chen Ying halfway, then sprang onto his head, grabbing his hair and refusing to leave.

What breed of fearless munchkin was this?

Chen Ying dared not look up; he could only roll his eyes upwards desperately, his right hand tentatively reaching to touch the little squirrel.

Normally, a little squirrel this size wouldn't leave its nest.

Who knew why Squirrel Mother was so carefree as to actually bring her cubs out for a stroll.

"Squeak, squeak, I remember you, you saved me."

The little squirrel nestled in Chen Ying's palm squeaked in a milk-like voice.

Chen Ying's eyes lit up; this little creature could actually remember his scent? If he figured out this question, he could possibly flesh out a paper.

Sadly, others lacked the gift of animal language; he would have to wing that paper himself.

He stroked the little squirrel's plump body, pulled out a chunk of plant-based snacks hidden at the bottom of his bag, broke it up, and let the little squirrel stash it in its cheek pouch.

Unfortunately, it was still too small to hide much, and in the end, Squirrel Mother had to intervene, stuffing her own mouth until she could almost not close it before she reluctantly gave up the last few crumbs.

The little squirrel cub was still reluctant to leave; finally, Chen Ying placed it on a tree, and it squeaked twice and followed its mother back to their new home.

With this little episode added, a smile remained on Chen Ying's face all the way back.

He sent photos of the little squirrels and a video of them eating to the work group chat, which made Sister Dai green with envy.

"Little Chen, are you on the mountain?"

Just after closing the work chat, he received a call from Brother Liu.

"Yeah, took Leopard Sister out for a little exercise today; she's off patrolling her territory now, I'm heading back first."

Hearing Chen Ying's words made Brother Liu choke up a bit, seemingly unsure how to respond.

Letting that Flower Leopard roam around the forest? Only Chen Ying would dare to open the Animal Shed's door and interact closely with a Flower Leopard like that. The others wouldn't dare.

This wasn't a leopard from a zoo; it was a wild one!

"Brother Liu? Do you have something you need me to do?"

Brother Liu snapped back to reality, hastily explaining.

"Earlier, Yin Li reported to his superiors about discovering an abandoned hunter's cabin in the forest. The authorities are considering refurbishing that little cabin to maybe use it as a foothold or something. I took on this survey task, and since Yin Li just came back from the mountains, I felt bad asking him to go again, so I wanted to see if you were free to make a trip."

Brother Liu meant that if the cabin was usable, both the Forest Patrol Officers and the Animal Protection Patrol Officers could use it to stay overnight.

The forest is fraught with dangers, and sometimes a patrol might not make it back in one day, and encountering unexpected events and having to stay overnight in the forest is common.

Having such a place would definitely be safer than pitching a tent.

"Brother Liu, you prepare the report on your end first, arrange a good time and let me know in advance. With Xiao Xia and Duanmu to help me here, taking a few days to go into the mountains would definitely not be a problem."

He had been wanting to go back into the mountains for a long time now. But since Leopard Sister had been severely injured and no one else could take over his work, he had to suppress that thought.

He still remembered something Leopard Sister had once mentioned, saying Mendun'er hadn't found a suitable mate in the area.

Could that mean there were still wild giant pandas around here?

It didn't matter if Mendun'er wasn't impressed; their base and center had plenty of beautiful pandas. What if the beauties and a wild male bear took a liking to each other? Wouldn't that be a grand success!

Missing this year's breeding season was fine. From now, he could start preparing next year's matchmaking profiles for the base's giant pandas.

Humming a tune cheerfully as he put away his phone, Chen Ying walked past a tree when a flash of black and white fur darted before his eyes; he stumbled, nearly biting his tongue.