Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl-Chapter 286 - There’s Actually a Wild Panda Here (Asking for Monthly Votes)

Chapter 286 -286 There’s Actually a Wild Panda Here (Asking for Monthly Votes)

Brother Chi was still shaken and couldn’t stand up for a while.

In the wild, especially where there is no signal, getting bitten by a poisonous snake is basically a one-way ticket to death.

Chen Ying grabbed a hiking stick and tried to flick the snake away.

This Highland Viper is also a protected animal, so if it can be released, then let it be.

Just as the standoff between man and snake was happening, Golden Cat Lady returned with a Mouse Bar in her mouth.

Just as she was about to greet Chen Ying, she sharply noticed something was amiss, and upon a closer look, anger surged within her.

“Mouse-forsaken cat, I just went for a stroll, and some spicy strip dares to sneak into my home?”

A tiger might tolerate, but a cat won’t.

Golden Cat Lady dropped the Mouse Bar and bravely leapt, extending her claws in midair, and performed an earth-shaking maneuver on the snake.

The moment the Highland Viper was flung into the air, it was completely bewildered.

What’s happening, why am I suddenly involved in an aerial 360-degree spinning strike? This two-legged beast is calling in reinforcements, shame on the serpent’s face!

Golden Cat Lady was ready to pursue her victory, but Chen Ying stopped her.

“Don’t go, that one is poisonous.”

The thwarted Golden Cat Lady howled in protest and glanced scornfully back at him.

“I’ve eaten who knows how many of these things, you think I don’t know? It’s just a spicy strip with a decent flavor. Look at how scared you are, tsk, indeed, you can’t do without me.”

Chen Ying understood her words and kept silent.

How to put it, it seems that three grown men really were no match for one little cat at dealing with snakes; this scorn, they could only accept with tears.

The snake was nowhere to be found afterwards, and Golden Cat Lady went back to pick up her Mouse Bar, finding a spot with a good view to slowly enjoy her meal.

Chen Ying took over cooking duty, comforting Brother Chi while also explaining to Ying Bo some methods for dealing with such emergencies in the wild.

Ying Bo listened and helped out as Chen Ying imparted his knowledge.

“Brother Ying, why do the animals seem to treat you differently than us?”

This question had been weighing on Ying Bo’s mind for too long and he finally couldn’t resist asking it today.

He didn’t believe in some Druid theory; this isn’t a novel, one has to understand science.

Chen Ying really had no explanation and could only suggest that it might have something to do with his personal aura.

“Some people are born with an affinity for animals, others inexplicably don’t attract animals’ affection. But most people have a neutral relationship with animals, not bothering each other.”

Chen Ying casually mentioned the girl from the River Source Protection Center.

“She has loved animals since she was young, but animals have never taken a liking to her—and there’s no real way to explain why.”

He had also asked the Lynx about it, but no animal could clarify; they simply disliked her, sensing an unpleasant aura about her.

Regarding this matter, Yin Li quietly complained in the little group chat that she might have been a butcher in her past life.

That was something you couldn’t let out, or that girl and Yin Li would be at each other’s throats!

After coming back, Chen Ying had looked up a lot of information and even inquired with researchers, but nobody could provide a satisfactory explanation.

He planned to investigate the issue thoroughly during winter at Budong River.

After eating, Golden Cat Lady somehow dragged back another snake, slurping it up as she glanced at him.

Of course, it wasn’t the poisonous snake that had confronted Chen Ying earlier, just a common mountain snake known as a cauliflower snake.

Golden Cat Lady slurping up snakes was almost like eating spicy strips.

Chen Ying discreetly snapped a photo and a ten-second video, knowing that with Golden Cat Lady’s looks and the natural elegance she brought to her meal, it would surely thrill his fans.

Golden Cat Lady had that delicate look but radiated an unbeatable aura, described by the internet lingo from a few years back as being “18 centimeters tall with an 18-meter presence.”

The next day, Chen Ying led Ying Bo up the mountain as they planned to check the conditions at an elevation of 3500 meters, mainly concerned about the giant pandas’ wintering situation.

They took a straight path to reach their destination as quickly as possible, even though the route was somewhat difficult, requiring some rock climbing in places.

Although Ying Bo didn’t have much experience going deep into the mountains, his good physique and youth somehow unlocked an ability to traverse them with ease, much like a Rock Sheep.

Chen Ying watched in astonishment and, unconvinced, asked Ying Bo to demonstrate back and forth a couple of times before recording a video of the entire ordeal for contrast to his own difficult climb.

Finally receiving praise for a strength, Ying Bo was excited and gained a bit more confidence.

These past few days had been so discouraging that he began to doubt his suitability for this line of work.

“This job is very tough, if you really want to continue, you need to study. You know Little Deng, right? The young man from Xiaozhai Village. He was like you, becoming a Forest Patrol Officer on the recommendation of the village leaders. But he worked hard, studying for adult college exams and even attended training classes from the Forestry and Grassland Bureau. His future prospects will definitely be better than now.”

Hearing this, Ying Bo’s eyes showed envy.

Since they weren’t from the same department, Chen Ying didn’t go into too much detail, just shared Little Deng’s experience with him, suggesting he look out for opportunities to recommend himself.

Of course, the most essential thing was still that diploma to serve as their ticket in.

You may never use what you studied in your job, but without that piece of paper, you can’t even enter the industry.

To Chen Ying’s and his team’s surprise, at an altitude of 3,200 meters, there was an unexpectedly large bamboo forest.

This bamboo was growing well, and there were many bamboo shoots just beginning to poke out.

“Brother Ying, come quick and see, is this a giant panda’s ‘Qingtuan’?”

Upon hearing Ying Bo’s call, Chen Ying hurried over.

There was quite a lot of ‘Qingtuan’, and judging by the moisture level, its owner had haunted this place at least three days ago.

Chen Ying was a bit shocked.

Wasn’t it said that there were no giant pandas in the north? Where did this panda come from?

“Ying Bo, hurry down and tell Brother Chi, we might need to relocate.”

The trace of the giant panda had been found here, and it was very likely that the panda was still roaming nearby. Chen Ying hoped to find it and collect its biological samples to determine whether it was related to the pandas in captivity.

In the past decade or so, several captive pandas had been released into the wild, and some had been bred in the wild. Was it possible that this panda was the father of some ‘Wild Second Generation’ panda?

Or perhaps, it was a former captive giant panda that chose to settle here after being released into the wild.

The Conservation Center had previously wanted to guide the pandas northward. Many people disagreed, saying that the different environmental climates could strike a destructive blow to the fragile panda population.

If it could be confirmed that this wild giant panda was living well here, wouldn’t that prove that this area was suitable for giant pandas?

It wasn’t realistic to move up the mountain today. Chen Ying had Ying Bo go down to notify Brother Chi, just to have him pack things up and get ready in advance.

After checking around, he also had to rush down. Tomorrow they would climb up together in search of the wildcat.

They also needed to find a suitable camping spot. With the rainy and foggy mountain climate in August and September, they couldn’t just pick any spot to pitch a tent.

Luckily, on the west side of the bamboo forest, there was a crevice about seven or eight meters deep and around twelve to twenty meters high, with an entrance about three meters wide.

A tent could be set up inside the crevice, accommodating two people without issue. Another tent was set up next to the right-hand rock wall, barely able to block the nighttime mountain wind.

They couldn’t manage without tents, given the numerous vines in the wilderness; who knew if Mouse Bars would wander by at night.

When Chen Ying found this cave, Golden Cat also came over.

It didn’t like the high altitude much and seemed quite irritable, urging Chen Ying to descend the mountain quickly.

On the way down, Chen Ying negotiated with it to wait for them at the foot of the mountain.

“We still need to go find Black and White Bear. It’s not the same ones you fought with before, but another one. After finding it, we’ll need to observe it for a couple of days, so it might take about seven or eight days before we can leave. If you don’t like the environment on the mountain, can you just wait for us at the bottom?”

Golden Cat Lady became even more irritated.

You already have four Black and White Bears, so why look for others? Are you that fickle?

Looking at Golden Cat Lady’s contemptuous gaze, Chen Ying was speechlessly choked up.

He really couldn’t argue clearly with beasts!

Back at the tent area, Brother Chi had already packed up the miscellaneous items, leaving only the overnight necessities.

“I made a satellite call outside just now, and I estimate it might take about ten days before we can leave. They asked if we needed supply replenishment, and I said not for now.”

They hadn’t brought much food, but there were plenty of wild vegetables to pick in the mountains, as well as rabbits, which genuinely didn’t require protection.

This time Chen Ying had brought a large bag of shredded beef, which, when added to a pot of mushy noodles, produced an enticing aroma.

Brother Chi said that he would also prepare some for home, and if he went out on long patrol trips, he would bring a jar; it was tasty, inexpensive, and convenient.

Chen Ying’s bag of meat shreds was actually a gift from Uncle Tashi. After distributing some of it, there was still about two pounds left, and now nearly half of it had been eaten.

Additionally, as a precaution, they had brought civilian-version compressed biscuits, which had meat floss added to them; boiling them with water for half an hour produced a bowl of high-calorie mush.

Although these biscuits were convenient and filling, their high caloric content meant they weren’t necessary for ordinary people and could lead to constipation if consumed in excess.

Due to the long trip this time and mostly being in no-signal zones, they had prepared ten compressed biscuits to avoid hunger.

During the meal, Chen Ying briefed Brother Chi and Ying Bo about the situation on the mountain.

“I’ve picked out a spot as our last resort. Pay attention tomorrow when we go up the mountain and look for a better place; we’ll have more options.”

“Also, Ying Bo and I followed this route up today, and tomorrow I want to try this one.”

Chen Ying drew a line on the map.

“This side is more sunlit, so check if the bamboo quality is better there. Also, be observant for signs of animal activity other than giant pandas.”

After assigning tasks, the three of them rested early to prepare for the next day’s work.

In the middle of the night, Golden Cat Lady, who was sleeping outside Chen Ying’s tent, suddenly perked up her ears, staring at a silhouette in the darkness and baring her sharp teeth.

Apparently, the other party hadn’t expected a Gold Cat with decent fighting ability to be there; hesitating for a moment, it silently retreated.

Chen Ying seemed to sense something, glanced at the tent ceiling, and listened for a while. Not hearing any unusual sounds, he, exhausted from the day’s activities, closed his eyes and fell back asleep.