Forest Ranger: Starting with a Giant Panda Mom Clinging to Me

Chapter 06: The Sudden Appearance of a Wild Giant Panda

Morning.

Wolong Mountain Nature Reserve.

Lin Tian followed Wang Jian, walking deep into the dense forest. On both sides were towering ancient trees, their lush canopies blocking out much of the sunlight.

“This area mainly grows sky-gazing trees and silver firs, along with a few camphor trees, all rare protected species unique to our country.”

Along the way, Wang Jian introduced the types of trees in the area to Lin Tian.

Lin Tian looked at the towering giants, craning his neck until it ached. Especially the sky-gazing trees. They were at least as tall as a dozen stories.

Looking up from the base, all he could see was a pointed treetop. Such massive trees were impossible to find in the city. They could only be seen in specific nature reserves. And protecting these giant trees was Lin Tian’s duty.

Hmm.

> “Wow, the scenery here is amazing, it feels like stepping into a primal forest!”

> “These trees are so tall!”

> “Trees this tall must have been growing for over a hundred years, right?”

> “Brother Tian, climb to the top and show us the view from up there!”

…

In Lin Tian’s livestream, broadcast from the phone hanging on his chest, comments floated by from time to time.

After last night’s video of Lin Tian interacting with the golden snub-nosed monkeys went mildly viral on Douyin, his livestream gained a lot of organic followers. The unique scenery of the broadcast also captivated city viewers who had never seen the deep mountains.

At this point, just two hours into the stream, the online viewer count had already surpassed a thousand. And the numbers were still climbing. Occasionally, small gifts floated across the screen. These small gifts added up, and Lin Tian’s backend had already earned a few hundred yuan. This was an unexpected bonus Lin Tian hadn’t anticipated.

However, Lin Tian didn’t dwell on it too much. He maintained his laid-back attitude toward the livestream. He didn’t pay special attention to it just because of the growing popularity or tips.

“This is a sky-gazing tree, huh? It’s really tall.” Lin Tian tilted his head back to look at the sky-gazing tree, marveLin at how nature could produce such tall, sturdy, and straight trees. If he watered the sky-gazing tree with spiritual water, would this unique species grow even taller?

Of course, Lin Tian was just musing. This forest was too vast; watering it with spiritual water would require an unimaginable amount.

“Tall, right? These are rare protected trees that have been growing for decades, but because of that, we have to be vigilant against illegal logging. To prevent logging, this area needs to be patrolled once a day under normal circumstances. Besides this area, there’s another region with many rare protected plants that also needs daily patrols …”

Wang Jian and Lin Tian continued forward while he explained the daily tasks of a forest ranger in this jurisdiction.

Lin Tian took out a small notebook, jotting down the essentials to avoid mistakes.

“Actually, I have to thank you for taking up the forest ranger job. Otherwise, I was the one handLin this area before.” Wang Jian grinned at Lin Tian, his smile tinged with gratitude.

As it turned out, before Lin Tian arrived, due to a shortage of staff at the bureau, Wang Jian had been responsible for patrolLin this area in addition to his own. Wang Jian was already in charge of one area’s ranger duties. Taking on the Wolong Mountain area as well was like doing two jobs for one salary. He was busy until late every day before he could rest.

So, when Wang Jian heard a new ranger was coming, he was thrilled and went out of his way to help Lin Tian, eager to ensure he settled in. He was worried that if Lin Tian quit halfway, the workload would fall back on him.

“Brother Wang, don’t worry. I’ll handle these tasks well from now on and lighten your load.”

Lin Tian put away his notebook, patted Wang Jian’s shoulder, and reassured him that he wouldn’t run off. This put Wang Jian at ease, and he became even more diligent in teaching Lin Tian the job.

The two chatted idly while patrolLin. Soon, they left the sky-gazing tree reserve. Crossing a hill, they arrived at a lower-lying area. The trees here grew shorter. But that was only relative to the sky-gazing trees; they were still over ten meters tall.

There were just more shrubs and undergrowth.

“Rustle…”

Since the area had seen little human presence, the ground was covered with accumulated fallen leaves.  Stepping on them produced a rustLin sound.

Wang Jian walked ahead, turning back to chat and laugh with Lin Tian while sharing some personal stories. But Lin Tian suddenly stopped in his tracks. He stared at a massive figure behind the shrubs and quickly grabbed Wang Jian, who was about to keep walking.

“Brother Wang, wait! There’s something up ahead!”

“Huh?!” Seeing Lin Tian’s tense expression, Wang Jian’s heart skipped a beat. He immediately stopped; his gaze cautiously fixed ahead. Sure enough, about ten meters away, behind the shrubs, a dark figure was moving.

Because of their footsteps, the figure clearly noticed someone approaching. Suddenly, the dark figure emerged from behind the shrubs and rushed toward them.

“Huff, huff…!”

As the figure came into view, Lin Tian and Wang Jian finally saw it clearly.

A round head and chubby body, covered in distinct black-and-white fur. Around its eyes were the iconic black circles. It looked adorably clumsy and cute. It was none other than the beloved national treasure—the black-and-white giant panda!

But this wild giant panda was far from the docile, cute ones in zoos.

Its four limbs swayed clumsily, and it waddled quickly toward Lin Tian and Wang Jian!