Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl
Chapter 381 - 379: Netizens Are Skilled at Virtually Petting Cats

The young man in charge seized the opportunity and asked Chen Ying to take his online friends for a walk by the river.

There were stone steps leading down the mountain right next to the municipal park.

Because the mountain was steep, the steps were constructed in a winding, spiral fashion that followed the terrain.

Chen Ying found it particularly amusing and even had someone take a few photos of him there.

The online friends also loved it so much that, it was said, someone wanted the address right away to come and visit.

After spending more than twenty minutes to get down to the bottom of the mountain, they followed a rather rudimentary river embankment path with a sandy and pebbly surface, bordered by cobblestones to prevent the encroachment of wild grasses.

But in reality, little spots of green still poked through the sandy pebbles.

If you went up the hill, there was a newly constructed road that cut through the mountain and led directly to the highway entrance.

Arriving at the spot where the fishing brother was, Brother Ma was on the phone, calling for others to come and fish with him and asking them to bring some food and drink.

Seeing Chen Ying and his group, the man raised a hand in greeting, thinking they were like those young lads from the city who did live broadcasts for fun.

"Brother, have you caught any rare and wild fish species here?" Chen Ying asked.

[Here they come, the fishermen are here!] The live streaming audience perked up instantly.

"Of course I have, but I've always let them go. Do you see the billboard by the road? It lists the rare fish that might be found in our river. We anglers have all taken photos and studied them carefully, ensuring that we don't knowingly break the law. We even have a group chat with some experts added in, so if we're unsure about any catch, a quick photo posted in the group can clarify what it is."

Brother Ma, worried they might not believe him, even pulled out his phone to show them.

Just then, they saw a photo posted by a fellow angler. Inside the bucket was a Sichuan White Armor Fish (wild)--a Second Nation species. After taking the photo, this fellow angler also posted a video showing him pouring the water and fish back into the river.

"Many of you might have eaten this Sichuan White Armor Fish, but it is indeed a Second Nation species, which specifically refers to the wild population. Nowadays, many aquaculture farmers have also started to artificially breed and rear this type of economic fish. I've eaten it before at a reservoir in our county, and the taste was really good, but you must be certain that you're eating fish from a fish farm; otherwise, I believe everyone understands the consequences."

Chen Ying opened up the photo of the Sichuan White Armor Fish on Brother Ma's phone for everyone to see.

Honestly, if you're not specialized in this area, it's really not easy to see the difference. The promotional guy beside him quickly reacted by posting an illustrated guide to the Sichuan White Armor Fish in the live stream chat.

It looked quite ordinary; most viewers probably wouldn't recognize it as a revered Second Nation species.

The fishing brother kept fishing and chatted with Chen Ying about his catches, while the live stream audience laughed and filled the comments section with strings of "hahaha."

Chen Ying changed the subject and asked him if he knew about the leopards that had entered the city.

"Yeah, I know about it. Our area is mountainous and forested, with plenty of wildlife. I live up on the hillside, right over there. Wasn't there a wild boar that barged into town last month, got itself stuck in the guardrails on the road, and then was rescued by the traffic police and fire department before being released back into the mountain?"

The young man beside them exclaimed in surprise, he didn't know about that incident.

"It wasn't long ago. Right at the top of that road there, near the first checkpoint into the city. It was around 7 or 8 in the evening, luckily there weren't many people on the street at that time."

The young man quickly asked about it in a group chat, and a coworker confirmed it had happened; their Forestry and Grassland Bureau hadn't been involved, and the traffic and fire department had dealt with it directly.

"Let's not talk about wild boars; we often see civets and porcupines around my place. As for common birds and mountain chickens, they're also a common sight. We're all good citizens here, we would never do anything to harm nature. Fishing is alright, isn't it?" he added, hoping for approval.

The live stream audience roared with laughter; the last sentence was filled with an intense will to live.

After saying goodbye to the brother, Chen Ying planned to end the live broadcast, but the viewers weren't having it—they wanted to see what a porcupine den, as described by Brother Ma, looked like.

Brother Ma leaned over to look at the live stream chat and saw the comments about wanting to see a porcupine. He laughed at that.

"That won't do, you can't see it here. Those creatures are nocturnal and only occasionally seen by those of us living up in the mountains like myself. I saw one last year, and I heard someone might have seen one this year, but I'm unsure if it's true."

The promotional guy eagerly asked for the location, and Brother Ma didn't hold back—he put down his fishing rod and decided to personally lead them there.

Just then, Brother Ma's friend arrived with food to keep him company. Hearing what was happening, he volunteered to stay and watch their gear, telling them to go quickly and return soon.

"You see the vegetable plot over there? That's the place. I saw it several times last year, coming out at night to steal veggies."

The piece of land Brother Ma was referring to was planted with sweet potatoes and corn—both favorites of the porcupine.

A lady picking water beside them heard them talking about porcupines, pointed toward the cultivated land on the back hill, and started talking a mile a minute.

Brother Ma quickly translated, "The lady said that when she went to her field last month, she saw signs of crops being nibbled on, most likely the work of a porcupine."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ying and his team greeted the woman and wanted to go up to have a look.

Chen Ying, with his sharp eyes, indeed spotted traces of small animals coming and going in the northwest corner, and the crops there weren't growing as well as in other areas.

"You won't see anything during the daytime. Why don't you rest at my place and come back to take a look at night?" suggested Brother Ma.

"No problem. We're going to set up a camera here. If any porcupines appear during the night, we'll be able to see them right away."

After all the commotion, with Big Sister's permission, they found a tree near the vegetable garden to place the camera.

After the tech guys finished installing it, it was almost six o'clock.

Chen Ying had stopped live streaming, and now the live stream was directly showing the footage from the temporary shelter at the Forestry and Grassland Bureau, where two leopards, after having their fill of food and drink, were lying down, one on top of the other, fast asleep, snoring away.

The netizens were patient too; watching the two dopey leopards sleep was enjoyable for them, and the online audience in the live stream room remained in the four digits—a level of popularity that many sales live stream rooms could only dream of.

Dinner was on the colleagues from the Forestry and Grassland Bureau, and they ate lamb meat and wild mountain chicken at a well-known local restaurant.

"Brother Ying, since you guys are heading to the mountains tomorrow, I've prepared some small items for you that you'll need in the mountains."

The young man from the Publicity Office handed over a small cloth bag filled with nearly twenty bottles, all labeled. There was also a handwritten booklet about important things to pay attention to in the mountainous area here.

Even if Chen Ying didn't need them, the gesture was full of consideration.

The others didn't give any gifts, but during the conversation, they all shared with Chen Ying and Shu Nan what they knew about the distribution of animals within the conservation area.

"Brother Ying, my boss said you guys are going on ahead, and if the two little leopards are still doing well in three days, we plan to send them to Liangjiaba for release. I've checked and in three days, you guys should be near Mamu Mountain by Liangjiaba; you might even run into the two leopards by chance."

There was a hint of regret in the young man's voice, and Chen Ying, smiling, asked, "What, you want me to help you take the leopards out for release?"

"Well, that wouldn't be out of the question. I just think those two little leopards would definitely prefer to follow you, Brother Ying."

"Don't get too carried away—I'm following the expedition team. Carrying two leopards along, are you trying to keep the team awake all night or what?"

Of course that wasn't the case, but for some reason, whenever Brother Ying visited the two leopards, the way they rubbed against his calves reminded him of house cats, making him unconsciously think that Brother Ying had raised the little leopards himself.

No wonder there are still netizens who don't think the two leopards look like wild ones; otherwise, why would they be so affectionate toward Chen Ying, whom they had just met? Are they taking the Druid jokes seriously, thinking there's some great virtue involved?

Even later on during the live streams, the aggression the leopards showed towards other feeders—growling and scratching—were understood by those people as being "because the leopards weren't hand-raised by them."

Fortunately, Chen Ying's reputation among the netizen community was decent; after all, there wasn't much to criticize him for except saying he had low emotional intelligence and wasn't good with words.

So what's to fear? As long as the animals are friendly to him and his main job isn't hindered, it's all good.

Netizens sometimes nitpick, sometimes show great tolerance; the main thing is to go with the flow.

Heizi's attempt to create a commotion didn't take off, and in the end, as an official account, he could only rage impotently and then wrap things up.

The next morning, Chen Ying brought the meat for the two leopards to the Animal Shed.

He was leaving in an hour, and unless something unexpected happened, they would be parting ways after this.

Perhaps the two leopards sensed that today was a day of farewells; they clung to him for more than twenty minutes before letting him go.

Chen Ying watched them finish eating the meat, then rubbed each of their backs one by one, before finally leaving with the empty basin.

The number of viewers in the live stream room had dropped to around four or five hundred after a night.

Seeing the harmonious interaction between the man and the two leopards, and then the farewells at the end, those with shallow tear ducts were already tearing up.

At eight o'clock, the expedition team was notified to gather for departure at the entrance to the Forestry and Grassland Bureau; they were going to take a vehicle to the nearest Protection Station, and then trek for eighteen days to reach the northernmost Protection Station.

Chen Ying's team would split off from the expedition at some point but would stick together for about seven or eight days.

The nearest Protection Station was located at the edge of the Buffer Zone, also the closest to the city.

Old Luo from the Protection Station would be their Guide, escorting them to the next station before returning by car.

The expedition team was mainly young people, with Guide Old Luo at forty, and the oldest being the team leader, Brother Su Ma, at thirty-eight. This was his third time leading a forest resources survey.

After entering the experimental area and trekking for a day, by six in the evening, Old Luo led everyone to the prearranged campsite.

The camping site at night was located at the boundary between the Buffer Zone and the experimental area. Just below the hill they were camping on, they could see a few old farmhouse buildings and terraced fields.

"Most of the villages here have been evacuated, and those who are left are mostly old folks who refuse to leave. After they pass away, I reckon the village will naturally fall into ruin."

"Once inside the Buffer Zone, there's basically no sign of human presence. Make sure to take good care of your supplies; check your waterproof bags and also your shoes and clothes. Once we get in, it'll be at least a week before we reach the next supply point."

Brother Su Ma exhorted his team members, then sat down beside Chen Ying.

"Brother Ying, could you tell me about the situation on your side? Next year, I'd like to work with you on a joint project about Davidia involucrata conservation. I might need your help to make some connections."

"Brother Ma, don't call me Brother Ying; I can't live up to it. Just call me Ah-Ying. I'm not well-versed in botany, but I have a friend who is half an expert in this field. How about I let him talk to you?"

Chen Ying gave Yin Li's VX account to Su Ma, then told him about the situation at Jiamu Gully.

While the two of them chatted, the others, having finished their chores, sat down to listen to Chen Ying talk about the neighboring conservation area.

It was so close by; who knows when they might collaborate on research? To know your friends and foes is to be battle-ready.

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