Forest Ranger: Starting with a Giant Panda Mom Clinging to Me
Chapter 41 - Gunshot!

Chapter 41: Gunshot!

The wolf pack, intimidated by Panda Mom and the Chinese Alligator, hesitated and didn’t dare approach further. But they weren’t ready to leave either.

As Lin Tian pondered how to drive them off, a sudden noise interrupted his thoughts.

—Bang!!

A sharp gunshot rang out, startling Lin Tian. He instinctively dropped to the ground.

A gunshot? Where did it come from? Could it be poachers?

A flurry of thoughts raced through his mind.

• • “What the hell?! Where’d that gunshot come from?”

• • “Is someone setting off firecrackers?”

The wolves trailing behind were also spooked by the sound. Instinctively fearful of such noises, they let out a collective awoo, gave Lin Tian’s group a reluctant glance, and scattered into the forest.

But Lin Tian stayed low, not daring to stand.

Whoever fired that shot had a gun—and he didn’t know if they were friend or foe! Swallowing nervously, he used the grass for cover and peeked toward the source of the sound.

Then he saw a familiar figure.

“Brother Wang?”

Emerging from the forest, holding a small revolver in one hand and an electric stun baton in the other, was none other than Wang Jian!

“Lin Tian, relax, it’s me!”

Wang Jian gripped the revolver tightly, his eyes fixed on the direction the wolves had fled, as if worried they might return.

Seeing it was Wang Jian, Lin Tian let out a sigh of relief and stood up from the grass.

“Brother Wang, what are you doing here?!”

Lin Tian approached him.

“I had something to drop off for you. Went to your place, but you weren’t there, so I tracked you down using your live stream’s location,” Wang Jian explained, still a bit shaken. “Didn’t expect to run into a wolf pack.”

“Thanks for the trouble, Brother Wang.” Lin Tian paused, his eyes drawn to the small revolver in Wang Jian’s hand. “By the way, where’d you get that gun?”

Forest rangers weren’t issued firearms, and the revolver looked tiny—smaller than the palm of a hand.

“Oh, this? Ha, it’s a toy.” Wang Jian chuckled, showing Lin Tian the revolver.

Upon closer inspection, Lin Tian recognized it. It was one of those toy guns kids played with, loaded with red nitrate powder that made a pop sound when struck, even producing a bit of smoke to mimic a real gun.

They were a hit back in elementary school. Who would’ve thought Wang Jian was carrying a toy gun?

“When I’m out patrolling, I bring this along in case I run into wild animals. Makes me feel safer,” Wang Jian said with an embarrassed smile. “I’ve also got a recorder with sounds animals hate. Honestly, I’m a bit jealous of you sometimes—your affinity with animals makes things so much safer.”

• • “Pfft, hahaha, so Brother Wang’s holding a toy gun!”

• • “Suddenly, Brother Wang seems kinda adorable.”

• • “Wolves: You think you can scare me with a toy gun? I have no dignity?!”

…

The audience was amused by Wang Jian’s reveal.

Lin Tian didn’t find it funny, though—he admired Wang Jian’s resourcefulness.

“By the way, is this the pangolin?” Wang Jian stepped closer, eyeing the curled-up pangolin on the ground.

It looked adorable, and he reached out to pet it. But the pangolin, shy around strangers, scurried behind Lin Tian, clutching his pant leg and peeking at Wang Jian like a timid kid hiding from a guest.

“Ha, this little guy’s pretty shy,” Wang Jian said, a touch envious. It must be nice to have such cute animals around.

Well … maybe not the Chinese Alligator. He glanced at the alligator lying in the grass, staring at him, and swallowed hard, edging closer to Lin Tian.

“Brother Wang, thanks for coming to get me. Let’s head back—it’s getting late,” Lin Tian suggested.

The sky was nearly pitch-black.

Wang Jian nodded, no objections.

…

On the way back to the ranger station, they reached the residence.

Inside, Lin Tian noticed a gift—a bottle of fine Maotai liquor, neatly tied with a red ribbon.

“Brother Wang, what’s this?” Lin Tian looked at the bottle, surprised.

Wang Jian gave a shy smile. “My family sent it over, so I thought I’d bring it to you.”

“No way, I can’t just take this.” Lin Tian hesitated, then grabbed some dried Cordyceps flowers from the house. “Brother Wang, these are Cordyceps flowers I dried recently. Take them home to brew tea.”

These were soaked in spiritual water before drying, giving them a sweet, refreshing taste. Wang Jian had loved the Cordyceps tea last time.

As a gesture of reciprocity, Lin Tian offered him some.

“Oh, no, I can’t take that! Heh, thanks, Lin Tian.” Wang Jian’s eyes lit up at the sight of the Cordyceps flowers but accepted them bashfully.

He’d loved the tea last time and had been craving it since. He’d even tried brewing some Cordyceps he found in the bamboo forest, but it never tasted as good as Lin Tian’s.

This visit, he’d hoped to taste it again, and now Lin Tian was generously gifting him a bunch.

Grateful, he carefully tucked the flowers into his pocket, wrapping them in three layers of cloth to ensure none would spill on the way home.

“Brother Wang, you’re too kind. It’s late—why don’t you stay the night? I’ve got some rabbit and fish we can pair with the liquor. It’ll be great.”

“Alright, alright, I won’t say no to that!”

It was indeed late.

Wang Jian smiled and didn’t refuse.

Lin Tian had Wang Jian sit while he stepped outside to prepare dinner. But the moment he reached the door, a round head nudged him. Panda Mom pawed at Lin Tian, nuzzling him and whining.

“Ying ying…”

(Sweet stuff!)

She was fixated on her honey.

Lin Tian had almost forgotten.

“Alright, alright, I’ll get it for you.”

He went to the backpack, pulling out the wrapped beehive. He grabbed a jar, and the pangolin, smelling the honey, trotted over, tilting its head to watch.

Lin Tian carefully tore open the beehive, put on gloves, and began squeezing out the honey.

Wang Jian, curious, followed him outside to see.

“Whoa, wild honey? Where’d you get this?” Wang Jian’s eyes sparkled at the sight of the golden honey.

This was rare stuff—you couldn’t buy it easily. He’d seen wild beehives while patrolling, but they were always high in trees, out of reach.

“Panda Mom brought it back,” Lin Tian said with a smile, pointing at her.

She was leaning on the table with her front paws, eyes glued to the honey.

Wang Jian nodded, understanding.

As a bear, Panda Mom was naturally skilled at climbing trees. He hadn’t expected her to find such a large hive, though.

Lin Tian’s luck was unreal.

Lin Tian carefully broke apart the hive, squeezing the honey into the jar. Soon, the glass jar was nearly full.

As he cracked open the innermost part of the hive, a faint buzzing sound emerged.

—Bzzz bzzz

(Help, no!)

“Hm? There’s still a bee inside?”

Lin Tian froze, surprised.

Then, a larger bee crawled out of the hive. It was noticeably different from ordinary worker bees—bigger, with a large abdomen and wings that only covered half of it.

“This … is the queen bee?”

Lin Tian recognized it instantly, astonished.