Forest Ranger, starting from Picking Up a Lynx Girl-Chapter 268 - : Caught in the Act (Extra, Seeking Monthly Pass)

Chapter 268 -268: Caught in the Act (Extra, Seeking Monthly Pass)

“This is the spot, have a look, whether you want to continue exploring or what.”

Uncle Tashi parked the car at the location where the scientific expedition team had previously called for help.

Not far off, one could still see the top of the expedition team’s tent.

They were here collecting water quality samples, along with surveying the surrounding environment and investigating vegetation, estimating that it would take another two or three days to finish.

Without disturbing the scientific expedition team, Chen Ying rubbed Lynx Sister a few times, quietly asking if she had scented any other lynxes.

“Yes, two.” Lynx Sister’s ability was tremendous, discerning the scent of interest to her from the faint trace in the air.

“Wow, it’s still nearby, and quite close to those two-legged beasts.”

Chen Ying followed Lynx Sister’s gaze, but there were no animals at the edge of the marsh campsite which he expected to see.

“Um, I’ll go take a look and come right back.”

The target of Lynx Sister was a small tent.

Through Chen Ying’s telescope, Lynx Sister nimbly made her way around to the back of the tent, sniffed briefly, expertly scratched the soil twice, and then crawled underneath the tent.

Chen Ying murmured under his breath and passed the telescope to Uncle Tashi while Yin Li, having a smaller telescope, saw the same scene.

“This lynx is incredible. Is there a hole there?”

Uncle Tashi’s first reaction was to look at the sky, “It might rain tonight. If there is a hole, water will get into the tent.”

Chen Ying rubbed his face, only being able to pat on the seatback, urging Uncle Tashi to move closer to the scientific team.

They had to inform the comrades in the scientific team about this issue.

If there were valuable items inside the tent, and if it got flooded, everything would be ruined.

The team leader, seeing Chen Ying approaching, came up curiously.

“Dr. Chen, what brings you here today?”

“I’m sorry, um, may I ask what’s in that tent?”

Chen Ying pointed at the small tent, causing the team leader to be momentarily puzzled.

“Just some commonly used supplies. They are hard to find and access in the car, so we put them all in there. Why, did someone…”

“No, don’t get me wrong. Maybe, why not you go in and have a look?”

Chen Ying’s expression was a bit awkward and he began to walk towards the tent as he spoke.

The other team members, seeing his action, curiously stopped their work and their eyes followed him.

Reaching the entrance of the small tent, the team leader was about to pull open the tent flap, but Chen Ying stopped him.

“Wait, let me do it.”

He was worried that the team leader might be too forward and on opening the door, Lynx Sister might run out and scare everyone.

Carefully lifting the door flap, light spilled inside revealing two intertwined lynxes at the center, catching everyone’s eyes.

“What, what’s going on here?”

The team leader’s expression stiffened, a thousand words in his heart unable to find expression.

Lynx Sister darted out of the tent first, sprinting to the side and crouching to lick her paws.

The other lynx paused for a moment before casually walking out under the gaze of the crowd, stopping not far from Lynx Sister.

“How did they get in?”

The team member responsible for logistics, scratching his head, expressed his doubt.

“I check every day and I didn’t see any cracks.”

“Maybe, you should check more closely?”

Chen Ying, having said that, clearly had a problem.

Several young people gathered around and carefully inspected the tent.

“Come quick, these two…they’re too cunning.”

With a whoosh, several people circled around and saw a spot of loose mud, where a slit had opened along the bottom edge.

But because there was a clump of grass on the side blocking the view, it wasn’t easy to spot without looking closely.

The team leader’s face darkened as he rushed into the tent, and behind a pile of miscellaneous items, he found dirt and grass leaves brought in by the lynxes.

These two lynxes were really clever, knowing to choose an inconspicuous spot to start their mischief.

But it was probably a hole that had just been made. If it had been used a couple more times, not only would the fabric seams have stretched, but the entire back part wouldn’t be as flat as it now was, and it would become obvious at a glance.

Everyone hastily began to check the supplies inside the tent.

Fortunately, it was mostly cans of flour and noodles inside, and other than a bag of jerky that had already been opened and tampered with, everything else was intact.

“It’s all my fault for being careless, if I had checked one more time…”

This morning’s teammate who had entered to grab supplies patted his head and looked disheartened.

“It’s alright, I’ll replace these items for you.”

Uncle Tashi patted his chest, “I’ll have my family send over a bag of jerky to you later.”

“No, no, no, there’s no need. We have enough supplies.”

The team leader hastily refused, as accepting it wouldn’t seem right.

Besides, coming out for a scientific expedition in the wild meant they had to reserve extra supplies.

One reason was the fear of being stranded in the wild, and another was that in case of danger, the supplies could help distract wild animals and buy time for trapped personnel to seek help.

The tent was still usable, but Uncle Tashi mentioned that there might be rain tonight, and the tent must be repaired before evening.

“No need to repair it, we have spare tents in the car, just switch to another one. We can still fix this one when we get back.”

The scientific expedition team had sponsorship aid, so they were not financially strained. However, they were accustomed to fieldwork and knew that savings were necessary when possible, as no one knew what might happen next. A damaged tent might turn out to be a life-saver in a critical moment.

Chen Ying apologized repeatedly to the team, causing the deputy team leader to lose his patience, retorting that they weren’t his responsibility and if this continued, would they need to apologize to the relevant authorities?

That remark left Chen Ying too intimidated to speak further.

“You guys didn’t come here specifically for our tent, did you?”

The team leader changed the subject to lighten the mood.

“We came because of it,” Chen Ying tactfully took the hint, nodding towards a lynx involved in the incident.

“That day, among the group of animals around you, there were two lynxes, and we happened to have a female lynx on our side, so we thought we’d come and see if we could let them interact a bit.”

The leader hesitantly began, “If I’m not mistaken, isn’t the mating season for lynxes in spring?”

“You’re correct, but that doesn’t mean lynxes don’t exhibit courting behavior before spring. We just understand little about it, and each lynx’s personality is different, so… no harm in trying, right?”

There was no refuting that statement.

From the looks of it, there did seem to be something between these two lynxes—otherwise, the male would have run off by now.

Chen Ying went over and rubbed the ear of Lynx Sister.

“So, are you guys going to continue searching?”

He whispered, and Lynx Sister bashfully glanced at the male lynx lying nearby, “No need for now, let’s take it slow.”

“Alright then, you two take your time. I must head back now; I have a litter of kittens at home.”

Patting the sturdy back of Lynx Sister, Chen Ying stood up to say goodbye.

Just as he turned around, he suddenly noticed an animal appearing by the lake opposite.

He casually picked up the binoculars and looked through them, his expression showing slight surprise ((ᵒꈊᵒ᷅ू‖))՞.