Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl

Little Sen, who was engrossed in taking notes, looked up for a moment.

"It's Zhao Manman, the photographer. She's in charge of this issue's wildlife protection publicity."

"Even if she's a photographer, she can't enter the animal shed. That's the rule!"

Little Sen slammed the pen onto the table with a loud smack.

"This is the rescue station, not a panda research base. We don't provide dedicated facilities for giant pandas here. Either you go ask her to leave right now, or shut up. Do you think complaining makes you capable? If you don't want to be here, you can apply to leave."

After finishing his words, Little Sen grabbed his notebook and file folder and stormed out.

The female doctor was livid and her hand pointing at the door trembled.

"What does he mean by this? A veterinarian at a rescue station acting like the Heavenly Gang?"

"Enough already," the male doctor, frowning, stood up and glared at her, "He's able to work at the rescue station, his skills are no worse than yours. Even the leadership trusts them enough to let them handle the giant pandas. What are you making a fuss for?"

The female doctor's face twitched and she glared back fiercely.

"The giant panda shouldn't have been sent back at all. It had such a major surgery, with tumors and ascites. It should have stayed at the base or center for the most meticulous care."

The male doctor didn't want to argue with her any further.

*Did she really think no one knew what she was up to? She just wanted to keep Mendun'er at the research center, then get someone to help set up a panda tumor research group centered around her. Once they achieved something, she'd have fame and status.*

*Too bad the leadership didn't agree to her proposal and sent the giant panda back to the rescue station.*

*She came here just to find fault with the rescue station, hoping for a way to take the giant panda away.*

*It's not like she didn't care about the national treasure at all, but her personal desire definitely played a significant role.*

Little Sen carried his stuff to Duanmu Lin's office, where he was also sorting through documents, analyzing the test results of Mendun'er.

"What's up, you look all fired up. Who ticked you off?"

"Who else, that fool," Little Sen found a spot to sit down and mimicked what the female doctor had said to Duanmu Lin.

"*How does a person think like that, with zero emotional intelligence? They probably managed to get into the team thanks to some connections, right?*"

"Why are you worrying about others?" Duanmu Lin wasn't as indignant as Little Sen, "Just give Brother Ying a heads-up later, relax. A rescue station as big as this one can be entrusted to Brother Ying. How do you know Brother Ying doesn't have connections himself?"

Little Sen seemed convinced, muttered a few words, and then stopped being angry, continuing to sort through the materials.

Chen Ying played with Mendun'er for a while, performed a palpation exam, and confirmed that its recovery was going well before leaving the Panda House.

Zhao Manman hadn't actually violated any rules. She hadn't entered the inner den, only took some photos and videos at the entrance.

Seeing Chen Ying come out, Zhao Manman put away her camera and followed him as they walked out.

"I plan to head up the mountain tomorrow. Yin Li said he'll first take me to the golden snub-nosed monkey camp to check it out. If I can capture some suitable shots, I'll choose a place. If not, I might have to trouble him to accompany me for a few more days."

"You're only photographing animals, not birds?"

"Of course, I want both. But Yin Li and Little Sen mentioned that the rescue station has more data on animals, whereas the Forestry Bureau has more comprehensive records on birds."

Chen Ying grinned, revealing his white teeth, "Our rescue station belongs to the Forestry Bureau too. If you really want to shoot, I can point out a few places for you to try. They're not far, and if you have some outdoor survival knowledge, you'll be fine."

Zhao Manman smiled without answering. As a well-known photographer in the wildlife protection circle in China, she had more than a little wilderness survival knowledge. Otherwise, where would her award-winning photos come from?

Chen Ying didn't interfere with Mendun'er's feeding and left the Panda House with Zhao Manman, then went next door to check on Meng Yan's condition.

Not having to live in close quarters with the Big Cat, Meng Yan seemed to be having an easier time.

It was curled up, its injured hind leg stretched straight, the whole panda in the nest sleeping soundly.

After replacing some fresh bamboo, Chen Ying quietly left the animal shed.

Under the light, Zhao Manman's figure was graceful. Leaning against the wall, her legs looked even longer. Her eyes were fixed on the camera screen, a soft gaze accompanied by a smile at the corners of her mouth.

"Want to see? A picture of you and the giant panda together."

Chen Ying glanced at it, the image was small, showing Mendun'er resting its head in his lap, sharing a moment of mutual gaze.

"I've been photographing wildlife for many years, and apart from primates, it's rare to see a scene of such affection between a bear species and a human."

"Maybe I naturally appeal to them."

Chen Ying didn't dare mention the system granted him a Level 100 animal affinity bonus, so he simply attributed it to luck.

Zhao Manman wasn't the type to insist on getting to the bottom of things. She came looking for Chen Ying just to ask him one question.

"Did I do something wrong? It feels like you're deliberately avoiding me, Brother Chen."

"How could that be?" Chen Ying awkwardly laughed, raising his hand to scratch his head, "I'm just used to being a bit rough, not so comfortable interacting with girls."

"But you have female colleagues at the rescue station, right?"

"That's different!" Chen Ying blurted out, realizing instantly that he misspoke, and awkwardly tried to backtrack, "That's because we all know each other well, like brothers."

Zhao Manman chuckled, letting him off the hook.

"They say it's three months, but in reality, I won't be here for that long. After this shoot, I'll leave for a while. I need to go to the Qiangtang wilderness to photograph snow leopards, then return to stay for about a month and a half. Mainly to capture a competition-worthy photo."

Without any apparent reason, Zhao Manman explained her work schedule to Chen Ying, without adding much else.

"I'm heading back now, need to go up the mountain early tomorrow. Wish me luck."

"Huh? Oh, I wish you a smooth trip."

Chen Ying watched her turn into the office building, stood in place for a while, then shook his head and went into the adjacent medical area.

"Brother Ying, did you check your phone?"

As soon as Chen Ying walked in, Little Sen moved closer to mumble, repeating what the female doctor had said.

Chen Ying furrowed his brow slightly, but didn't seem overly worried.

*He would definitely not use any medication privately. All of Mendun'er's medication, food intake, water, and excretion situations were recorded and uploaded daily.*

Besides, she had a teacher; did he not have a teacher as well?

The female doctor still had a shred of rationality and didn't directly come to trouble Chen Ying.

The next day, a meeting was held by the medical team. Whatever they discussed, after the meeting, the team leader came looking for Chen Ying.

"Little Chen, are you making food for the Flower Leopard family?"

The team leader, slightly older, in his forties with a tendency toward balding, wore glasses and had a warm smile.

"Group Leader Li, take a seat, I'll be ready in just a moment."

Today, he planned to give the little leopards an extra meal, slicing the meat strips a bit thicker, to help exercise their tearing and chewing abilities.

These two were stronger than other leopards their age, likely because they ate more nutritious food, and their teeth were growing faster and better than their peers'.

As for Leopard Sister's meal, it was much more straightforward, just a live chicken for her to catch and eat on her own.

The nutritious meal for the little leopards was placed in the animal shed, while Leopard Sister's live chicken would be thrown directly into the rewilding area later, so she could teach the two kids hunting skills.

Even though the cubs were still small, what they needed to observe and learn also required attention.

*His cubs couldn't afford to lose at the starting line!*