Chapter 1 Now I Have a System Too

"Brother Ying, are you sure you don't need my help? Then shall I go down the mountain to move the feed?"

Chen Ying looked up and shook his head at Yin Li through the window, who was in the yard.

"You go ahead, I can manage by myself. Bring back more fruits and nuts; we've had quite a few injured birds recently. Once everything's settled here, we might have to go into the mountain to check on things."

Chen Ying and his childhood friend Yin Li currently work at the Jiamu Town ranger station and wildlife rescue station.

After graduating from the veterinary medicine major at the Southwest Province Agricultural University, he returned to his hometown and passed the Forestry Bureau's civil service exam.

Yin Li graduated a year earlier than him, also from the agricultural university, with a major in forest protection, and he became a ranger in their hometown.

The ranger station and the rescue station are in the same location, two three-story buildings side by side make up their work area.

The third floor is for dormitories, the second floor for offices. On the first floor, the rescue station has a medical room and temporary animal shed. The ranger station on the first floor has storage and a tool room.

Apart from the two of them, there are five or six other colleagues, mainly working at the base of the mountain.

Jiamu Town is located on the southwest edge of the reserve, nestled against the mountains and by the water, with the second-highest coverage of primitive forests in the country. It boasts a rich diversity of flora and fauna and is one of the earliest designated conservation areas in the country.

Chen Ying and Yin Li's location is at an altitude of over 1600 meters; this place serves as a working station for both the rescue center and the Forestry Bureau.

The main camp is at the base of the mountain, where over a hundred acres of land have been designated as an animal rescue center.

Chen Ying's daily job is to treat injured animals brought in by villagers or other forest patrol officers.

For those with minor injuries, he treats them directly at the station, observing them until they're okay to be released back into the forest.

Animals with severe injuries or those unable to continue living in the wild are sent to the rescue center for more detailed treatment and then placed in suitable zoos or live out their days at the center.

Lying on the operating table is a red panda still not awakened from the anesthesia.

The little guy is lying on his side on the operating table with his tongue drooping out, obediently. His right hind leg has been shaved, the broken bone already set, and the external wounds disinfected and bandaged.

Chen Ying, with a smile, took advantage of the red panda's unconsciousness to snap a photo of it with its "fur pants" off and sent it to the work group.

"Hahaha, Yuanxiao had its fur pants removed before, and now our Meng Yan has had them removed too."

"Meng Yan's calf muscles are pretty solid."

"Are these photos for us to see? Hahaha, no way, I have to show them to my classmates group so everyone can get an eyeful."

The group chat was filled with laughter. Chen Ying took a video, did a quick edit, and posted it on the rescue station's official account.

He had applied for the rescue station's official account after he started working. Now it only has seven or eight videos, all of which are the embarrassing history left by the little animals he rescued.

After placing the red panda, Meng Yan, in a separate cage, turning on the surveillance, and informing his colleague Little Li to pay extra attention to Meng Yan's condition, Chen Ying packed his things and prepared to venture into the mountain.

A few days ago, they found an injured lynx a kilometer east of the rescue station. He and a senior colleague had observed that the lynx's injuries weren't severe and it should be able to heal on its own.

The rescue station only aids animals that are too injured to move or those whose injuries have been assessed as unable to heal without intervention.

Protecting wild animals also means preserving their wild nature; contact with humans should be kept to a minimum.

After a strenuous trek, he arrived at the spot where the lynx had been found; from the looks of the environment, the Big Cat obviously hadn't stayed there.

After contacting the colleague responsible for monitoring, the colleague confirmed that there had been no sighting of the lynx for three days. Chen Ying let out a breath and prepared to head back.

Heading back, he took a different route than the one he came by, planning to follow the mountain stream downhill for a while before turning towards the rescue station above the waterfall.

Unlike the old days of patrolling the mountain by sheer manpower, the introduction of drones had greatly reduced the danger inherent in the jungle.

After controlling the drone to survey the surroundings and finding nothing of interest, Chen Ying casually ate a small bread, took a couple sips of water, stuffed the bread wrapper in the backpack's trash bag, and stood up to brush himself off and pull on his face mask, ready to continue on his way.

He had only walked a few steps when he heard a faint rustle.

Without rushing closer, he piloted the drone to thoroughly search the area from which the noise originated, and Chen Ying's face turned pale.

"Calling for support, calling for support, injured lynx found at coordinates xx, located on the slope of the mountain stream in the shrubbery, immediate rescue is needed."

The drone took two photos of the trapped lynx and sent them to the work group; the staff at the rescue center sprang into action immediately.

But it would take at least forty minutes to reach the mountain from the center, and that was the fastest estimate.

However, the lynx's struggles were already very faint, and without rescue, it likely wouldn't last until the center's personnel arrived.

Chen Ying surveyed the immediate surroundings and chose a large tree that two people could wrap their arms around, securing the rescue rope to it. After testing its weight-bearing capacity, he put on protective gear and a helmet, intending to slide down to where the lynx was trapped.

Even if he couldn't pull it up, he had to secure it in advance, just in case the shrubbery couldn't withstand its struggles and it fell—it was a drop of over thirty meters into the deep stream.

By then, it wouldn't just be about the big cat—if they could recover even a pancake-shaped cat, it would be considered lucky.

He carefully slid down next to the lynx but, even stretching his arms, he couldn't quite reach its body.

Chen Ying observed meticulously and, with caution, used the surrounding shrubbery to move beside the lynx.

The big fellow was even more seriously injured, with clear symptoms of blood loss and dehydration.

Chen Ying hesitated before reaching out to touch its body, but the animal was already too weak to struggle.

Just to be on the safe side, Chen Ying still administered an anesthetic shot to the big cat.

As Chen Ying was attempting to secure the injured lynx with another rescue rope, a sizzling electrical sound rang in his ear.

[Host detected rescuing a dying wild animal, system bind activated ahead of time.]

[Novice gift package has been issued, please check it at your convenience.]

[Novice mission automatically accepted, revive the dying lynx within 24 hours. Mission success grants a reward, failure results in automatic system unbind and retraction of the issued gift package.]

Well, talk about not losing out.

After successfully securing the lynx, Chen Ying breathed a sigh of relief; while waiting for his colleagues to arrive, he began to bug the system.

"Just open that what's-it-called gift package directly, see if there's anything I need right now."

The system was straightforward—it opened at the command.

[Host has received an animal affinity bonus (temporary), Level 100 Beast Healing Skill (temporary), Level 100 Beast Feeding Formula (temporary). A beast waterer, a bag of high-energy beast snack blocks, and a bag of general infant milk powder are also included.]

"You've got to be kidding me, why is everything temporary?"

[Upon successful completion of the mission, the host may solidify these three skills.]

(#‵′)凸, stingy system!