Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl

For the entire day, they found several traces that seemed to be left by the Indochinese Tiger, but the big fellow never showed up, as if it was playing hide and seek with them.

Even with Chen Ying's abilities, he could only learn from those little animals that there was a big fellow trailing them from afar.

"Everyone hang in there, today we rest, and for the next four days we'll pick up the pace."

Although everyone was experienced in the outdoors, such intense mountain climbing, along with mapping side routes, discovering rare plants, animals, and birds, and the cumbersome recording processes made this journey much more exhausting than a simple hike.

Fortunately, the team's configuration was reasonably arranged, with Brother Li planning meticulously. Even Dao Meihua's sister-in-law, who was the weakest in stamina, managed not to drag the team down with her load being shared.

Choosing to stay at this location for a day was not only for rest but also because they found several rare trees and orchids here, truly exciting Yin Li and Dao Meihua.

They split into two groups, Old Gao went with Yin Li and Dao Meihua, while Chen Ying stayed behind to analyze the big cat's territory.

He wanted to stake out a big cat to observe the survival state of the Indochinese Tigers here.

"Mr. Chen, there's a cliff ahead, be careful going up there and don't get too close to the edge. Those plants might grow at an angle; it looks like there's space, but stepping on them could send you sliding down the mountain."

"Got it, don't worry, I won't go near the edge."

Chen Ying chose a place with rocks, stomped his feet, and sprayed some insect repellent around nearby.

He made it himself, and it works brilliantly.

After a few minutes, he set up a camouflage tent and crawled inside, lying down quietly to wait.

The location he chose was carefully selected. According to his analysis, big cats loved choosing a comfortable spot to rest in the afternoon, and rocks were their favorite, followed by thick branches.

Though this place was a plant paradise, not many trees could hold a big cat's weight. Scanning the surroundings, the spot he chose seemed perfect.

Brother Li accompanied him for a while, but after realizing Chen Ying wouldn't move from his position, he returned to camp.

For lunch, he quickly munched on a few bites, yawned, and decided to take a short nap.

By late October, the mountain's temperature had dropped quite a bit. The afternoon sun was warm and cozy; it was easy to oversleep if one wasn't careful.

When Chen Ying awoke leisurely, he almost rolled off.

A big cat, startled by his movement, yawned, turned over, and continued sunbathing on the other side.

Chen Ying sat up, looking speechlessly at this young adult Tiger.

While sleeping, it barely made any purring sounds, with its mouth slightly open, revealing a bit of tongue.

Down below, there were flatter rocks more suitable for sunbathing, yet this guy chose to squeeze into a corner with him. Was it trying to eat bitterness like some king?

Upon closer inspection of this big cat with beautiful fur color, Chen Ying had to admit that adequate sun exposure and plentiful food had given the cats living here a stunning coat.

Previously the Big Beauty, now the Mountain King, effortlessly walking the runway, they could gain a million followers in minutes.

He took quite a few close-up shots, especially focusing on the round bell collar with a special close-up.

It wasn't about being shameless; he needed this big cat's features to clearly enter the data library.

And besides, with such sleek lines and robust resources, perhaps in ten years, this could be its kingdom, its progeny everywhere.

No, that's unacceptable; genetic diversity is essential.

He had intended to collar the big fellow, but due to this study's differing purposes, he lacked permission, unless he had the resources like Dao Meihua to implant a chip in the big cat.

But that chip was pricey. Although he had some assets, compared to the Dao family, it was like a drop in the ocean.

Carefully, he plucked a handful of fur from the sleeping big cat to collect.

A handful, but really just seven or eight strands, due to the season change leading to fur change.

Big cats didn't like their sleep being disturbed; it pressed down Chen Ying's mischievous hand, smacked its lips, bared its teeth, and fell back asleep.

This posture was somewhat tiring.

Over half an hour passed, and as the sun gradually leaned away, the tree branches blocked most of the sunlight, and the temperature within the woods began to drop.

The Tiger rose, vigorously shook its fur, stood on the rock, let out a roar toward the valley, then leaped off the rock and soon disappeared.

Left behind, Chen Ying felt a bit abandoned, akin to the feeling after being dumped and left with nothing.

Today's harvest was still considerable; being able to photograph closely, stroke fur, and gather necessary samples made the expedition worthwhile.

Returning to camp, he heard Dao Meihua's group hadn't come back yet, leaving Chen Ying restless.

The sister-in-law hadn't gone out, instead she was writing reports and diaries at the camp. Observing Chen Ying frequently scanning the surroundings, a subtle smile appeared on her lips.

"Alright, they won't get into trouble with so many people. If something happened, they'd have called for support long ago. Don't go looking, who knows where they've wandered off to; searching for people can be futile."

The sister-in-law put down her notebook and looked at Chen Ying, "I heard from Meihua that you haven't been in a relationship?"

Chen Ying paused, feeling slightly embarrassed.

He didn't like discussing his private matters, and facing the sister-in-law's question, he only mumbled "uh-huh."