Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl

Chen Ying had thought about many things, but he had never considered this issue.

Beside him, Manman also looked on with an innocent face.

Don't ask it, if you do, it's just that it can't speak clearly at all, Jin Yan was going crazy wanting a child.

Chen Ying, between laughter and tears, picked up the two and walked outside.

"You're still young, if not this year, then definitely next year, why are you so eager to have a baby?"

After a lot of humming and hawing, Jin Yan finally gave the reason.

"They say that only those with babies get those sweet fruits to eat. And the crunchy bamboo shoots."

Hearing this, even Manman, who was chomping on a pumpkin, froze, turning his head incredulously to look at it.

Just for a bite to eat, is it worth it?

Continuing to hum and haw, Jin Yan hesitated for a moment before adding another line.

"I'm the boss, they all have babies, but I don't..."

Chen Ying almost couldn't hold back his laughter, holding it in until his chest hurt.

"It's okay, let them set an example for you, and by next year when you have babies, it will be a breeze."

Chen Ying also hadn't expected that he, a grand veterinarian responsible for rescue, would have to double as an animal psychology counselor.

Indeed, nothing from the system came for free.

After easing Jin Yan's irritability, the two little ones ran back to the animal shed closely together.

One of the animal sheds was converted into a panda birthing room, while the other was left as it was without changes.

Since the two little pandas came to stay, Little Sen installed the vacant cat box, making it into a sleeping den for Jin Yan and Manman.

Presumably, because they'd stayed in the emergency station for a longer time and carried a slightly different scent, these animals, which should have repelled each other, got along exceptionally well.

According to Little Sen, the two little pandas were even taken on a stroll outside by Sesame twice.

"The people from the panda supervision group originally thought this wasn't good, as it would cause the animals to lose their wariness towards each other. Then, Miss Dao equipped Sesame with a tiny pinhole camera, and they didn't just stroll when they went out--they totally went to gang up on others."

Little Sen paused, then suddenly looked up at Chen Ying.

"Brother Ying, can you believe it? Sesame actually went and fought for food with a street rat and a young female bear, and it was over the carcass of a dead antelope."

Chen Ying was stunned for a moment, "Pandas aren't strictly vegetarians to begin with, and black bears are omnivorous, so I can understand it eating meat. But you said it went to fight for a street rat's food and wasn't beaten up?"

"Of course it was, but Sesame is quick. When it saw the street rat about to hit it, it climbed up a tree."

The street rat was bigger than Sesame and couldn't climb as well, so the tree wouldn't hold, and the black bear couldn't do anything to Sesame either.

"And Big and Small Yueya too, these two brothers helped Sesame deal with the street rat, they're small but have big guts and even dared to roar loudly at the street rat."

If it weren't for the young female bear present, probably the Yueya brothers would have been beaten badly.

The carcass of the old dead antelope was eventually taken away by the Forest Patrol Officers for disposal. Both the black bear and Sesame were not the kind to consume large amounts of meat, and leaving the antelope in the forest could lead to rot and other issues.

Most importantly, the location where the antelope died was not ideal, with three panda babies and two black bear cubs around. If anything happened, everyone couldn't afford the loss.

By noon, the head of the Protection Station had personally made a trip over.

"The testing data for this year came out, and the animal activity traces in Jiamu Gully have nearly doubled compared to last year. The authorities said that in the future, rescue and release might have to be carried out in places further away."

This result was bittersweet.

More animals meant that the ecological environment was improving. But if it exceeded the carrying capacity, it could easily lead to a collapse of the food chain.

"The reason for my visit is to seek Brother Ying's opinion on whether to collaborate with the Protection Stations at Hot Spring Gully and Gula Gully for forest patrolling."

Ordinarily, each Protection Station's management area is fixed, but after Chen and Old Gao expanded the range and took a round, the superiors decided to appropriately enlarge the Protection Stations' management area based on their findings.

Now the patrolling area for these three adjacent Protection Stations had increased by at least a quarter. If they continued to follow the old plan for patrolling, it definitely wouldn't work and would cause omission of many locations.

But adjusting the plan would necessitate additional staff, which in turn implied increased costs.

With unchanged allotment from superiors, hiring more staff meant that everyone would get a pay cut, and the old employees would definitely have issues with this.

"Why not learn from other Protection Stations, hand basic forest protection tasks to the villages for assistance, and just provide a subsidy every month?"

For patrolling close by and within safe areas, the task could be assigned to the village and forest farm, and the Protection Station would only need to spot check and patrol further and more unreachable areas.

And with the convenience of technology now, using drones to patrol for forest fires was very easy.

Those uninhabited deep mountain areas should not be entered too frequently by humans anyway. Returning the forests to the animals was the true essence of protection.

The head of the Protection Station had come to seek Chen Ying's opinion to see if the patrolling routes discussed by the three station heads had any issues.

Another point was the need to know which rare animals might exist along each route and how to conduct patrols and protection.

A map came up on the tablet.

"This is the activity map of the pandas we compiled this year. The colored areas are the activity data left by pandas wearing locators. The gray ones are the sighting locations of pandas recorded by infrared cameras and Forest Patrol Officers during their work."

After integrating the information, the full map of the natural reserve area formed by the three large conservation districts came into view. The map was covered with densely packed light spots in seven or eight different colors, with some special ones among them.

"This region is the central activity area for the giant pandas. The data from the previous years showed that the number of active giant pandas recorded was only between thirteen and fifteen, but this year, according to the results tallied by various equipment and instruments, the number has risen to over fifty," the station chief said with a smile on his face.

After all, this vast area was part of the giant panda conservation zone. Although other animals were also within the protected range, the increase in the giant panda population was what these "Panda People" cared about the most.

After looking at the giant pandas, he checked the distribution of First Nation and Second Nation. Indeed, in just about one and a half years, from last year to this, the number of animals on their side had increased more than in the previous five years.

Could it be that this place really was a geomantic treasure spot, a place where the "Holy Fetus" was nurtured?

Seeing that even the Huanan tigers had re-emerged this year, there was a sense of a resurgence of beast blood.

Having finished chatting with the station chief, they started talking about Old Gao's business.

"We just received a notification last month that from October to December next year, the Bird Research Institute will be stationed at these three points, and our Protection Station will undertake the patrolling and resupplying tasks. Dr. Gao is in charge of this area of ours. Now that he's injured, I don't have anyone to consult. It's a good thing you're back, Brother Ying, otherwise, I'd have scratched my head bald over this."

He knew that the chief was probably exaggerating a bit, but it still felt good to hear.

Chen Ying copied the distribution map from the chief's tablet and enlarged it, studying it for a good while.

He had an idea; Mendun'er and the three cubs could perhaps be guided towards the north.

In the future, once the three cubs grew up and continued heading northward to expand, was there any chance of opening up the ecological corridor that had been cut off for many years?

In the past, it wasn't just the Sichuan-Shaanxi provinces that had giant pandas.

If they existed there before, why couldn't they in the future?

If they truly spread northward and connected the ecological corridor between the two large conservation areas, it would be a great help in sustaining the small populations.

At least, it would be better than the current artificial methods for improving the gene pool.

Counting them up, there were Mendun'er's three cubs, Great Bai and Jiaojiao's two cubs, and Fufu's big fat boy – that was six altogether.

Even if only half of them were to branch out, with a territory of forty hectares per cub, that would end the bear-free areas that spanned hundreds of hectares.

Just thinking of the many years in the future when the internet joke about each person in Sichuan Province having a giant panda might come true, Chen Ying felt his scalp tingle with excitement.

Just as Chen Ying was daydreaming about the future possibility of owning his very own black and white dumpling, Little Sen's cry of surprise came from downstairs.

"Hey, ah, be careful, get away!"

What's going on, why all the commotion?

Chen Ying pushed open the window, and before he could even speak out, a nimble little creature darted inside.

Chen Ying took a quick glance, startling himself.

"Crap, a Yellow-throated Marten!"

This little thing could be ruthlessly vicious beyond description.

But this was the first time a Yellow-throated Marten had made its way into his place.

It must be because Leopard Sister and Jinya had been away for too long, their scent had dissipated, and no longer deterred these little guys, right?

But the next second, Chen Ying felt something was off and looked sideways.

Sure enough, Big and Small Yueya were not taking the normal path and had climbed up along the balcony support column.

And they didn't just come up, they went straight for the Yellow-throated Marten.

In just three short minutes, his room was ransacked as if bandits had passed through.

Fortunately, he was quick enough to protect his computer, otherwise the screen would have been smashed to bits.

An infuriated Chen Ying, unable to catch the nimble Yellow-throated Marten, grabbed Big and Small Yueya by the scruff of their necks and tossed them out onto the balcony.

The Yellow-throated Marten, perched atop the room's bookcase, taunted the two bears and the man with a mocking cry.

Damn it, this marten's good days are about to come to an end!

Just as Chen Ying was about to take off his jacket and fight the marten for three hundred rounds, a golden-red figure leaped in through the window.

In terms of agility, Little Jin had never considered losing!

That marten actually had the audacity to run wild in the emergency station. Was Elder Jin too gentle with these creatures?

Seeing Little Jin come in, the Yellow-throated Marten finally recognized fear and stood up against the wall, issuing a high-pitched, sharp cry.

"Hold on a second, Little Jin, don't be too harsh," Chen Ying immediately stopped Little Jin from intending to kill the creature, upon hearing the Yellow-throated Marten's cries.

"Sick? Or are many martens sick at the same time?"

Chen Ying's expression changed slightly, not expecting any situation that might cause a group of Yellow-throated Martens to fall ill, unless it was a contagious disease or mass poisoning?

Whichever the case might be, it had to be handled immediately.

Chen Ying asked Little Jin to help keep an eye on the emergency station while he suited up with protective gear and a first aid kit, following the Yellow-throated Marten into the woods to investigate the situation.