Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl

Chen Ying thanked them, carrying two large bags into the car. As they reached the fork in the road, the car veered northward.

The village originally stretched east to west, with shorter distances on the north and south sides. After a little over a hundred meters, they reached the fence.

Chen Ying parked the car and glanced around. Just then, a staff member was measuring footprints with a notebook in hand. Chen Ying called out, introduced himself, and offered some help.

The person hesitantly approached, checked Chen Ying's credentials, and let him pass the fence.

"This side has been measured. Initial guess is it's a feline. Based on the local environment, this cat falls between a medium and a large-sized cat."

While listening, Chen Ying squatted down and compared his hand to the print.

He was all too familiar with this paw print — it was clearly left by a Lynx. But this was a wetland, not an environment Lynxes prefer, and the surrounding area didn't offer a suitable stay for them.

In some fringe areas of the wetland park, there exist forest grass environments, which slightly increase the possibility of encountering a Lynx.

Theoretically, it was impossible, but the footprint defied theory.

After Chen Ying discussed what he knew about Lynxes with the staff, they proposed setting up an infrared camera here and another surveillance camera at the fence to see if a Lynx had indeed ventured into the village.

The request to set up cameras was quickly approved, and half an hour later, additional staff brought the necessary equipment.

The bird research team, upon learning this, used their own equipment to set up cameras and surveillance at the northeastern and eastern entrances.

Everything was ready, just waiting for the Big Cat.

The likelihood of the Big Cat appearing during the day was low. After setting up the equipment, Chen Ying bid farewell to the staff and drove back to his temporary lodgings.

Kelas was in the courtyard playing with Meidi. Seeing Chen Ying return, he quickly helped carry the items.

"Kelas, there are suspected feline paw prints discovered north of the village. I suspect it might be a Lynx, though I'm not certain. They have set up surveillance there. There's basically no one living around here, so remember to lock the room door at night. Meidi should also be kept in the room."

A Lynx could easily catch a cat like Meidi, and they certainly didn't want to start their morning dealing with Meidi's remains.

The two shared a room with Uighur-style beds on both sides: a larger one on the left, and a smaller single one on the right.

Meidi usually slept with Kelas at night, leaving them the big bed on the left.

After settling his belongings, Chen Ying checked the doors and windows. Once sure they could be shut, he carried the groceries to the kitchen.

A bag of braised beef, two packs of noodles, onions, vegetables, and a tray of eggs were basically enough for their week's breakfast. Lunch and dinner could be bought from the cafeteria. If they wanted something else, adding money to the convenience store owner's account would get his wife to cook some Uighur dishes.

Driving over was pretty tiring. Though they took turns driving, Chen Ying, being more familiar with the country's roads, drove most of the time.

After settling in today, there wasn't much left to do. Chen Ying planned to rest early after dinner, as he needed to visit the city tomorrow and complete some clearance papers.

He woke up at nine in the evening.

The sun had set just over half an hour ago, and the sky had just turned dark.

It was colder in the evenings, and there was an electric heater in their room, which Meidi had claimed.

Kelas was chatting on his phone. Seeing Chen Ying sit up, he looked up and mentioned that the instant noodles were on the table and the hot water was ready, before diving back into cheerful conversation.

Stepping outside to breathe in the fresh and cold air instantly cleared his mind.

Chen Ying inspected the yard surroundings with a flashlight, ensuring no unexpected guests before heading to the bathroom.

There was heating in both Yining City and the suburban area, but the village's old site at the wetland park lacked heating equipment. To endure the cold nights, only electric power could help.

With the electric blanket on the bed turned on, it felt manageable lying on it. Along with the electric heater running, at least the room's temperature remained tolerable.

Chen Ying had bought some alcohol during the day. Now, as he heated up the braised dishes and prepared some peanuts as appetizers, sipping a little by the heater was a good way to spend the cold, boring night.

Each kept busy, occasionally chatting. After reading documents, they'd sometimes play with Meidi, making the time pass quickly.

Around midnight, Kelas, exhausted, hugged Meidi and fell asleep.

Chen Ying reviewed the examination results and recorded activity video of Little Cub sent by Xiao Song, adjusted the subsequent care plan, and sent it off. Then he chatted with Little Sen and others in the emergency station group until about one o'clock and decided to get back to sleep.

Not long after he lay down, faint shouting and barking reached his ears.

Startled, he sat up, clutching his blanket, trying to listen closely.

"What's going on? Where's that noise coming from?" Kelas, having also been roused, rubbed his eyes and sat up yawning, looking quite groggy.

Just as Chen Ying was about to speak, a heavy sound fell from the courtyard, startling him. He lifted a corner of the curtain to peek out, and couldn't help but exclaim, "What the hell!"

Kelas and Meidi let out a yelp, and Meidi, quicker to react, jumped onto Chen Ying's bed to look outside over his shoulder, her ears perked up.

In the courtyard's shadows, an animal about one and a half times the size of Meidi was curled up, locking eyes with Chen Ying.

In those eyes, they saw not fear or panic but a hint of curiosity.

After a two- or three-minute stare-off, with the noises growing clearer, the creature looked at the wall and, astonishingly, ran toward the window, leaping onto the sill and pawing at the glass.

Chen Ying didn't dare open the window. He quickly dressed, threw on a coat, and dashed outside.

The gray-white Lynx seemed not too big and acted quite rashly. Upon seeing Chen Ying, it scampered over. When Chen Ying bent to grab it, it deftly dodged between his legs and slipped through the door crack inside.

Meidi, who was guarding the door, was knocked to the ground by the Lynx stepping on her head, letting out a cry of despair.

Enraged, she tried to turn and grab the Lynx, but it had already jumped onto the bed and was baring its teeth at her from above.

Ultimately, the Lynx proved more ferocious than the Forest Cat, and its innate predatory pressure forced Meidi to retreat pitifully, until she leapt onto Kelas's bed and hid in the blanket, trembling.

Kelas was trembling as well; he was now fully awake.

After all, seeing a wild, unrestrained Lynx appear right in front of him was genuinely nerve-wracking.

Chen Ying returned and saw the Lynx calmly perched on his bed, even tilting its head to glance at him, as if it were the true owner of the house.

As Chen Ying was about to approach and drag it off, a loud knock came from outside, followed by someone calling his name.

"Dr. Chen, Dr. Chen, did you secure your doors and windows? A wild cat has gotten in, and we're searching for it."

Chen Ying dashed to the door, opened it, and outside stood two or three people with large flashlights, one of whom was on the phone directing others to search the village.

"No need to look; the creature's in my room."

The silence outside was deafening. After about ten seconds, the staff member who knocked repeated the sentence with a dry voice, "In your room?"

"Yeah, it ran in just now. I was about to open the door to check, and it slipped in. It's currently sprawled on my bed."

Led by Chen Ying, the group entered the courtyard. Through the glass window, they met the Lynx's gaze pressed against the pane.

They also didn't miss Kelas and Norwegian Forest Cat Meidi on the other bed holding each other tightly, backs against the wall.

Unlike the calm Lynx, Kelas and Meidi's eyes screamed a huge "SOS" signal.