Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl
Chapter 379 - 377: What are you saying, can't our Local Leopards go into the city for a stroll?

The Golden Cat was skinny, its fur coarse, and in the dim night light, it appeared utterly miserable.

The Little Golden Cat cautiously looked at them, baring its teeth and making threatening sounds.

"I'm so sorry, this is my cat. It's a bit wild, did it scare you all?"

The owner came over and gently nudged the Little Golden Cat with the tip of his shoe, setting down the lamb bone he was holding, which still had meat clinging to it.

"This cat was brought back by our family's old cat. When it first arrived, it was only the size of a rat, really likes meat, and doesn't touch leftovers or cat food. It's quite good at catching mice; many people in our village have asked me for its kittens."

The owner smiled happily, and a hint of sympathy flickered across Chen Ying's eyes.

"Boss, I guess people from your village can stop hoping."

"Eh? Why?" The owner looked at him, puzzled, "No, this cat, male or female, any kittens are still mine..."

Chen Ying sniffed and pulled out a veterinarian certificate and a work ID from the Forestry and Grassland Bureau from his bag.

"Boss, this isn't just any cat. This is a Golden Cat, a national Class I protected animal!"

"It's also known as a 'lifetime behind bars cat'!" Ji Xin's friend added with a suppressed laugh, "According to national law, such animals cannot be kept privately or you could face up to five years of fixed-term imprisonment or criminal detention."

The owner's face turned pale instantly, and his hands trembled.

"No, I didn't know, it was our old cat that brought it back!"

"Boss, don't be nervous. We understand it wasn't intentional, but this is a national Class I protected species. We must report it as per the regulations, please understand."

The driver consoled him by patting his shoulder and helped him to sit down.

The other diners stopped eating as they noticed the commotion, and a few even tried to come over and watch but were dissuaded by the staff and Ji Xin's friend.

Chen Ying took out specialized protective gloves from his backpack and swiftly grabbed the Little Golden Cat.

"Little buddy, don't be afraid, I won't hurt you. Just a quick check-up and that's it."

At that moment, hearing the news, the owner's family gathered around, particularly the owner's two younger brothers, who questioned their words, thinking they were looking for trouble to avoid paying the bill.

"Don't worry, I've reported it to your local Wildlife Conservation Office. They should be right here in your town, and you probably know them. They'll know if it's true once they arrive."

The owner's daughter even brought over a metal cage, lined with old clothes, and a big Coke bottle turned water bowl.

Chen Ying stuffed it in, closed the door, placed it where the lamb bones were previously eaten, and casually dropped in the fresh bone the owner had fed it.

The Little Golden Cat kept panting, and the bone Chen Ying fed it was swiftly clamped under its left front paw, nibbling on it while protectively whimpering.

"I told you this cat had a fierce temper, it even dares to bite dogs, turns out it's a Young Tiger!"

The helper at the owner's place checked on his phone and sure enough, it really resembled a Golden Cat.

Moreover, the cat was fierce, intimidating both dogs and cats from getting too close.

People from the Wildlife Conservation Office arrived quickly, and local police officers also came to understand the situation.

The police had been quietly called by one of the owner's workers; they were worried that Chen Ying and his group might be extortionists.

After a thorough examination, someone from the Wildlife Conservation Office confirmed it was a Golden Cat, a national Class I protected species. The owner broke into a cold sweat upon hearing this.

"Comrade, police comrade, I didn't know, I really didn't know!"

Chen Ying quickly came forward to explain, "The boss was likely unaware. I've checked, this Golden Cat is skinny but otherwise healthy."

At this point, a member of the owner's family impatiently spoke up, arguing that the cat was brought back by their old cat which they don't recognize, and they thought it was just a kitten born by their cat outside. Why should it be considered unauthorized possession?

And besides, they had been raising this cat for more than half a year now, feeding it quite a lot each day. Taking it away now, whose loss would that be considered?

"Enough about that," a bald man beside them gave a stern look, "I know what you're thinking. Aren't you just thinking this cat is valuable and you could make money by selling its kittens? This is a Class I protected species, if you dare sell it, we are getting divorced tomorrow. I won't let you jeopardize our children's future."

Chen Ying and the police officer exchanged looks, knowing they had to clarify the situation or else those present would think they were robbing the villagers of their property.

"Big brother, this is a Golden Cat. Although it's still young and not as big as a normal Golden Cat of the same age because of the way you've been feeding it, a mature male of this species can grow up to one meter in length, weigh up to sixteen kilograms, looking just like a Little Leopard."

"The temperament of the Golden Cat is very fierce, just like the big brother mentioned earlier, ordinary cats and dogs can't defeat it. Right now, it might eat the meat and bones you feed it. But as it grows, it won't satiate its hunger with these, and it will either venture out to catch rabbits, voles, pheasants, or it'll start troubling the poultry and livestock in your village and town. By then, forget about making money; you'd be lucky not to lose money."

Hearing this, the woman who spoke earlier fell silent.

The bald brother glared at her again, "Look, the officer has made it clear, this isn't a cat we can just feed!"

Just as the officer from the Wildlife Conservation Office was about to take the Little Golden Cat away, the owner's little niece came over and tugged at Chen Ying's hand.

"Uncle, are all cats like this one also Golden Cats?"

Chen Ying was startled and squatted down to look the little girl in the eyes, "What's wrong, little sister? Have you seen another cat like this one?"

"Mm, when my cousin and I went to herd sheep on the mountain, I saw it, right behind on the ridge. That cat was so huge, I was scared. My cousin didn't see it and said I was making things up."

The little boy next to the bald man, who looked a lot like him, suddenly turned bright red, "I, I didn't say you were making things up, I just said you must have seen it wrong, there's no cat that big!"

The little girl got upset, pouting and stomping her foot, "I didn't see it wrong, it was just that big, and it looked so much like a Little Golden Cat, it must be Little Golden Cat's father."

Their conversation caught the attention of a comrade from the wildlife conservation station, who came over and gently asked her if she still remembered the place.

"I remember, there's a jujube tree there, my brother likes to take the sheep there. He would also pick jujubes for me to eat, but I eat slowly, he had eaten three and I hadn't even finished one."

The little boy gave a sheepish laugh, looked down, and scuffed his foot on the ground.

The bald man slapped his son on the back of the head and laughed scoldingly, "Have some ambition!"

The wildlife protection staff arranged to come back when it was light the next day, asking the kids to take them to the place.

Indeed, if the old cat could bring back a cub, it meant that there must be adult big cats nearby.

It was just unknown why the big cats didn't look after their cubs themselves and handed them over to the old cats in the village to raise.

It was too late, they couldn't keep eating. The owner packed their food and also gave them a portion of hand-grabbed meat, saying that if it weren't for them recognizing it, his place would definitely have faced losses compensating others.

Chen Ying secretly took a photo of the owner's QR code; once they had driven a distance away, he scanned and paid for the hand-grabbed meat.

Due to these delays, they arrived near the city almost at two o'clock.

Fortunately, the team they had arranged to meet had temporarily changed the schedule and would only gather to depart two days later, allowing Chen Ying and his party a good day's rest.

"Brother Xiong said he would meet you directly at the eastern side of the Liu Ping conservation station. Here is the map he asked me to give you, marked with the movement track of the Giant Panda he has been monitoring," said Ji Xin.

Ji Xin's friend had to rush back to Liu Ping to substitute for Brother Xiong at work; they would drive back and probably arrive by the afternoon.

They hadn't asked Chen Ying and his companions to join them in the car as the area of the Giant Panda's activities was vast, and entering the mountain from this side overlapped halfway with the activity map created by Xiong Youming; perhaps, with some luck, they might even directly encounter that Giant Panda.

Chen Ying had gathered numerous photos of that Giant Panda, with Xiong Youming having specifically marked several unique identification spots on the panda's body.

After Ji Xin's friend left, Chen Ying and the researcher Shu Nan went to register at the conservation area management center to acquaint themselves with the overall situation of the conservation area.

Shu Nan's task for this trip was ostensibly to accompany Chen Ying to investigate the Giant Panda, but actually, it was to examine a collaborative project. He didn't elaborate, and Chen Ying was not one to ask out of curiosity.

After leaving the Administration Bureau where they had lunch, Chen Ying planned to go shopping, while Shu Nan needed to attend to some matters at the County Forestry and Grass Bureau, so they split up.

The small county town in the mountainous area, built against the mountainside, had a narrow terrain.

The whole county town had five major roads arranged in two horizontal and three vertical directions, followed by a web-like network of alleys, looping around one another, making it easy for the unfamiliar to get lost.

Chen Ying was lost.

He looked at the navigation, a big question mark forming over his head.

The navigation indicated there was a path to take, but the stone stairway in front of him clearly led to someone's front door!

An old grandpa smoking a water pipe by the roadside glanced at him and greeted him.

Speaking in the local dialect, Chen Ying couldn't understand well, but from the man's gestures, he seemed to be asking what Chen Ying was looking for.

"I want to go to the biggest supermarket in the county; do you know how to get there, grandpa?"

The old man thought for a moment, slapped his butt, and with a gesture of his smoking pipe indicated Chen should follow.

Chen watched him walk up the stone stairs, hesitated for a moment, and then followed.

At the end of the stairway, the old man pushed open a door, leaving Chen Ying stunned.

My God, who came up with this? Behind the door was not someone's house but a suspended corridor leading out to the main road.

There were doors on both sides of the corridor and stairs leading to upper floors.

Such ingenious design, literally creating a path from beneath someone's house.

It was an eye-opener.

After thanking the old grandpa, Chen Ying was about to hurry through when he saw people at the other end of the corridor running in panic and screaming.

The old grandpa also curiously followed, even moving slightly faster than Chen Ying.

As they reached the end of the corridor, they saw chaos on the road and several cars had collided.

"What happened, was there a car accident? Is anyone hurt, do we need to—"

Before Chen Ying could finish, he saw two Big Leopards dashing out from under a heavy truck.

In the midst of the chaos, the two leopards charged straight towards Chen Ying.