Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl

On a May morning, the air was filled with the freshness of spring.

While the plains were gradually warming up, it was the perfect time for spring blossoms on Jiamu Gully Mountain.

Professor Bai put on a thin jacket and did some exercises at the door, performing a set of health preservation boxing.

While he was doing his exercises, Mengmeng had already brewed his morning tea and brought over breakfast.

Professor Bai liked to have breakfast at the outdoor table in front of the small building, feeding the birds and small animals along the way.

Although there was a relatively high cat presence at the emergency station, there were always some fearless ones willing to try their luck.

A red squirrel was one of them, having gotten used to appearing promptly at 7:30 AM every morning. The small porcelain dish on the table filled with dried fruits was prepared especially for it.

After finishing today's breakfast, the red squirrel didn't hurry away but ran back up the tree to fiddle for a while, then brought down a fruit for Professor Bai.

"Squeak, squeak," the red squirrel placed the fruit in the dish and even knew to push it towards Professor Bai, waiting for him to take it before bouncing back up the tree, soon disappearing from sight.

"This little guy knows the art of reciprocity."

Professor Bai chuckled heartily, unable to bear eating it just yet, and took the fruit to show off to Chen Ying.

In three days, the mother fox's condition had stabilized.

She was still very weak, with chronic inflammation having worn down her body.

Leopard Sister learned about the mother fox's condition from Chen Ying and suddenly felt a sense of shared sympathy.

Gazing at the male fox, then at Brother Leopard, she decided that if the male fox resented or abandoned her upon knowing that the mother fox couldn't have cubs anymore, she would send Brother Leopard to have a heart-to-heart with him, or even shake some sense into him if necessary.

Perhaps out of fear of scaring the five little ones, Elder Tiger had voluntarily moved upstairs, to the room where Big Tiger once lived. The external platform was perfect for sleeping in the sun, without worrying about being disturbed by the little cubs.

Without the big tiger, the animal shed became a playground for the little fox cubs.

Elder Tiger had merely relocated, not died, so its lingering scent was still strong. The five little cubs treated the animal shed as a haunted house challenge.

Little Sen and Mengmeng found these little cubs quite amusing and decided to search the forest for a suitable hollow tree trunk, processed it, and constructed an artificial forest with stones and thin wood sticks.

Not just the little fox cubs, even the little lynx found it fun, often curling up in the tree hole to block the passage and listen to the five little foxes fretfully "whimper," while it laughed mischievously, resembling a supervillain.

Two more days passed, and the mother fox could barely manage to step outside, lying at the top of the stairs watching the children play.

Aside from feeding the mother fox with nutritional powder, the male fox refused her to consume the food fed by the two-legged beasts. He hunted for her every morning and evening, even plucking out most feathers from the pheasants he caught before bringing them back.

Old Gao's gaze was as sharp as knives every day, but the male fox didn't even glance at him. One day Old Gao even saw on surveillance that the male fox was prowling outside the egg incubation room, seemingly plotting to get the pheasant eggs he had brought back.

It infuriated Old Gao, making him want to beat the fox with a stick until Little Sen grabbed him by the waist to stop him.

After that, they added an extra gate outside the incubation room, dense enough that the male fox couldn't squeeze through.

In mid-May, Dao Meihua called Chen Ying to say her side was ready to set off.

They planned to meet at the reserve management bureau, with Phase One team currently organizing work and specimen preparation there.

The Phase Two team originally planned to enter the mountain in mid-month but had to delay by a week due to sudden changes in work.

Chen Ying and Dao Meihua still proceeded as scheduled, intending to spend the week strolling in the outer zone, especially Chen Ying who wanted to bring Little Bai along to see if he could find an Officer Xu for Little Bai there.

In fact, any further delay might cause Xiao Hai to protest.

The nest of cobras in the valley had been treated like snacks by Little Bai, who devoured two in a week!

While snake-eating isn't uncommon, Little Bai's digestion was astonishingly good, raising doubts whether the snake nest could last him two months.

Moreover, Little Bai only preyed on that nest of snakes, ignoring other snakes passing by.

Old Qing also indulged in snake-eating, but one meal could last half a month. Compared to its kind, Old Qing preferred mice, savoring both big and small, and rather enjoyed hanging mice on its dwelling tree like meats curing for winter.

Due to Old Qing's chilling habits, Xiao Hai engaged in a long battle of wits, finally stopping the hanging and resorting to mouse-hiding. The surrounding tree holes were besieged by an unprecedented assault of death.

Fortunately, there were many rat eaters around to prevent the persistent stench of death from engulfing the area.

Originally, Xiao Hai also intended for Chen Ying to take Old Qing away. To everyone's surprise, looking gentle but inwardly sharp, Old Qing disappeared two days before Chen Ying's departure, only showing up the day after he left with Little Bai, sliding down slowly from the tree.

With Little Bai, they journeyed through the green channel to the destination, arriving a day later than expected, given that even with the green channel, handling a cobra like Little Bai guaranteed it wouldn't be a smooth pass.

Upon arriving at the management bureau's guesthouse, after registering the species of animals being carried, the young lady responsible for registration was left astonished.

What a bold person, carrying a cobra as his travel companion! Even if a white one, it's still a cobra!

Not to mention, the young girl is from Jiangsu Province, and seeing the white snake pulls at a painful place in her heart!

After all, the meme about "two snakes from Sichuan fighting because of a man from Zhejiang, drowning a group of people from Jiangsu" is insanely popular online.

And this time, the registration clearly states this white snake is from Sichuan Province!

Little Bai coiled up in the snake box, looking at the two-legged beast responsible for its registration with a puzzled expression; it hadn't played any tricks to scare anyone, so why was it receiving such a look?

Fortunately, the girl managed to stay rational, closed the registration tablet with a straight face, drily briefed Chen Ying on the precautions, and then turned and left.

The accompanying female member of the research team covered her mouth and laughed for quite a while before mentioning that the girl was from Jiangsu.

Although Chen Ying doesn't go online much, he was aware of these memes, as there were many "meme kings" around him who loved surfing the internet.

"Mr. Chen, are you and Dao Bo planning to visit the scenic area?"

The female team member pulled a map of the area from her pocket.

This was a collection of hers from the surrounding areas, made by some local inns themselves.

"This inn we frequent has great-tasting food, albeit a bit pricey. But even though it's expensive, it's transparent about it; the ingredients they use are excellent, and the chef's veterinarian is also quite good."

"If you're not in a rush to return, Mr. Chen, you can stay there for a night. The rooms have distinct features; for recommendations, the rooms facing the sunrise and the breeze are good choices. You can see the sunrise and enjoy the enchanting view of mist-covered trees in the morning."

Dao Meihua glanced at the small map, then looked up at Chen Ying.

"Why don't we check it out there?"

Though feeling a bit inexplicably awkward, Chen Ying was also attracted by the female team member's description.

It's a rare opportunity to come out, so why not take a look?

The inn was near Golden Monkey Ridge, the main habitat and activity area for Golden Snub-Nosed Monkeys. Previously reported sightings of a white monkey were observed there.

However, since the monkeys move quickly and the sighting was accidental, by the time people thought to take photos, the best opportunity had passed.

The hastily taken photos only showed a blurry white figure in the trees, without any clear monkey features, making it unsuitable for use.

Chen Ying and Dao Meihua placed Little Bai in the room for temporary care, instructing others not to enter easily, and entrusted the female team member to feed it if they didn't return in time, before the two of them rented a car and went to the inn near Golden Monkey Ridge.

This area has an altitude of over two thousand meters, primarily consisting of Bashan Fir, Red Birch, and Needle-Broad mixed forests. The ancient trees here stand towering, and the high-hanging waterfalls alone make the scenery worth the price of admission.

The lush forest here, close to a water source with an abundance of edible fruits and tender leaves, explains why the monkey troop settles in this location.

They arrived by noon, had a meal, rested a bit, and in the evening, guided by the inn owner, went to the viewing platform by the waterfall to wait for the monkey troop to appear.

Indeed, around four or five o'clock, monkeys appeared in groups to play, search for food, and splash about.

But after a careful look, Chen Ying didn't find the white Golden Snub-Nosed Monkey.

"Is it possible that the Golden Snub-Nosed Monkeys turn white as they age?"

"Impossible," Chen Ying responded firmly to Dao Meihua's question, "The fur of Golden Snub-Nosed Monkeys becomes dull and loses its sheen with age, but it does not turn white."

Dao Meihua studied plants, so her knowledge of animals was limited. She knew the most about felines; both big and small cats can grow white fur in old age, but she hadn't seen any that turned entirely white.

She pondered that humans' hair turns white with age, and since monkeys are also primates like humans, perhaps they could turn white too.

But after Chen Ying's explanation, she felt a bit embarrassed for having such an unscientific guess.

Chen Ying didn't think much of it, picked up the binoculars to search once more, and sighed.

"We probably won't see it today; let's come in the morning again. If not, we might have to venture deeper into the Primitive Forest to have any discovery."

As they were about to leave, they were startled by a pair of adorable animals that had approached without them noticing.

"When did these guys get so close?"

Dao Meihua leaned back slightly, looking at the mother monkey with her baby sitting on the branch beside the viewing platform.

Bathed in the sunlight, the mother monkey's fur gleamed brilliantly gold; her expression was gentle yet dignified. The infant in her arms eyed them curiously, eager to approach, but was gently yet firmly restrained by its mother to prevent it from being mischievous.

Chen Ying, who had seen many kinds of monkeys and their offspring, found this mother and child pair oddly endearing.

With food that Golden Snub-Nosed Monkeys love in his backpack, Chen Ying tried offering it. The mother monkey didn't take it but didn't flee in fright either.

Chen Ying pondered for a moment, grabbed a nearby bunch of leaves, quickly crafted a simple "leaf plate," placed the fruits and nuts on it, then quickly left with Dao Meihua.