Chapter 624: Chapter 520: I, Tiger Cub, Am Hungry, So I Came for Food_2

Driving from Jiamu Gully to the destination would take about twenty to thirty days, not including rest, visa processing, and vehicle clearance times.

Fortunately, when Kelas drove over, the weather was still warm. Although the climate was a bit worse on the return trip, it was much steadier for two people to take turns driving than for one person to drive alone.

Their journey would take them northwest, exit through Hu’er Guosi Port in New Province, pass through Central Asia, and finally arrive in Europe.

The first few days of the journey were quite normal; the unexpected happened after they entered New Province.

When coming, they were in a hurry, so Kelas didn’t visit the desert he longed for; on the return trip, he was determined to take a look.

Anyway, Kelas’ destination was the same as his, and Chen Ying was quite interested in the world-renowned desert, so he followed Kelas straight to the center of the Talimu Basin’s Taklamakan Desert.

Along the way, they would follow the main stream of the Tarim River for a long stretch. This area is located on the desert’s edge, with oases and three large tributaries, inhabited by many unique animals.

For example, the Talimu Maral is a unique species of the basin, relatively large in size, with a reddish-brown coat. It used to be a crucial food source for the Talimu Tiger, but now, the tiger has disappeared for a long time, and the maral has dramatically decreased due to habitat degradation and human activity.

In addition, wild camels are quite common here, mostly distributed in the eastern and Lobu Lake areas.

Their route would just traverse through the Alkhan Mountain Reserve. The reserve borders the Lobupo Wild Camel Nature Reserve, and thus they smoothly encountered two wild camels on the road with ordinary appearances and adorable eye expressions.

The camel mother, with its naughty little cub, went out to move around, occasionally stopping and exchanging glances with travelers on the road.

Kelas put down his camera, his expression slightly puzzled.

“Chen, why do I rarely see animals when I come? But with you, they’re everywhere along the road. I’ve heard you’re called a Druid; are you really an Oriental Druid?”

Chen Ying rolled his eyes, “When you came, you were probably focused on driving, and with your precious Meidi together, how could you notice other animals?”

He lowered his gaze, looked at Meidi using his legs as a cat bed, and sighed, “Luckily, I won’t go back for a while; otherwise, the scent Meidi leaves on me would be hard to dissipate, and the cats at home would start making trouble.”

Kelas laughed heartily. He had stayed at the Protection Station for a few days, and witnessed the clinginess between Chen Ying and the wild animals—closer than even domestic pets.

Initially, he felt a bit angry, as he thought this completely violated the principle of maintaining a reasonable distance between rescue veterinarians and wild animals.

But then he realized that not all animals clung to him like they did to Chen Ying. When he tried to approach, those cats would surely make his face “blossom.”

After a night’s rest, the next day they entered the desert along the national highway, traveling along the Tarim River, with desert on both sides and the thousand-year-old Tamarisk Forest by the river.

“There used to be Talimu Tigers living here, but unfortunately, due to the Tarim River’s rerouting—from the north following the ancient river course of the Peacock River via Tieban River Mouth to flow into Lobu Lake—the downstream water source dried up, the lake shrank or even dried up, and the reeds and Tamarisk Forest also died. The ecological change caused the wild animals here to drastically decrease, the food source for tigers diminished, and their numbers plummeted rapidly.”

However, there’s another saying that during those years a type of ant appeared in vast quantities; newborn tiger cubs, still in their coats, were swarmed and killed by these ants.

But local elders say it’s because ants crawled onto the mother tiger’s nose and bit it during birthing, causing it to kill the cub in a frenzy, and then the ants devoured the cub’s body.

Regardless of the story, the ultimate blame seemed to point to the tiny ants.

Although the Talimu Tiger has long been declared extinct domestically, people have claimed to see tigers here over the years, with activity range in the Talimu Basin to the Alkhan Mountain area, but no actual evidence has been presented.

Years ago, companies even put out bounties to find Talimu Tigers, but later it was deemed as hype.

Nevertheless, considering the Talimu Tiger’s previous distribution, it’s possible some escaped into the Alkhan Mountain or Altai Mountains.

Chen Ying and his companions rarely stayed at hotels; most of the time, they slept in the car.

That night, they rested at a RV camp near the main stream of the river. While preparing dinner, Kelas laughed and mused whether they might suddenly meet a Talimu Tiger coming to beg for food.

Chen Ying rolled his eyes at him, “Beg for food as in the tiger wanting you to offer yourself to fill its belly? You go ahead; Meidi’s got me to take care of, so you can leave without worry.”

Kelas cursed with a smile, gulped down his instant noodles. After dinner, he had to take Meidi for a walk—a daily ritual.

The Norwegian Forest Cat isn’t suited to being kept at home. It was already cooped up in the car during the day, which is quite unfair, so in the evening, it must be taken out for fresh air.

While Kelas took the cat for a walk, Chen Ying was responsible for cleaning up the leftover trash from dinner. Then he’d boil a pot of water, brew a pot of hot tea, sit down to rest, and browse the latest news.

The area they were in had forest by the river, where protection efforts in recent years have shown effects, with the original Tamarisk Forest and windbreak and sand-fixing artificial forest having increased in area significantly compared to decades ago, occasionally spotting goitered gazelles and Talimu rabbits.

Chen Ying yawned, zipped up his jacket, put on his hat, crossed his arms, preparing to take a nap.

In front of him, a basin fire was burning, with enough warmth to dispel the chill.

The wood and coal were purchased from a passing small town. The fire basin was also bought at a market, a rustic square charcoal basin commonly used in the countryside, where wood and smokeless coal could be placed in the recessed middle.

Paired with a pot, it couldn’t be handier for cooking hot pot.

The orange flames leapt and shone on Chen Ying’s face, mostly concealed by the windproof hat, just exposing lips dried from the cold and a chin sprouting blue stubble.

In the man-made forest not far ahead, an animal was quietly approaching, eventually staying twenty meters away, using the trunks and bushes for cover, staring at Chen Ying without blinking.

Suddenly, there was a “ding” in Chen Ying’s head, as if something had come online.

Immediately afterwards, a rapid alarm sounded in his mind.

Chen Ying grimaced, pressing his temples, rolling his eyes in frustration.

Damn, he almost got wiped out by this unreliable system!

[New task released: Please assist and teach a solitary stray tiger cub, and successfully return it to its original habitat five years later. Task completion will reward with “Biological Gene Library.”]

Chen Ying swore, he really felt the vein beside the back of his head jump a finger’s height! If he weren’t usually in good health and attentive to it, tonight he might have suffered a brain hemorrhage.

However, the system’s odd behavior stirred a strong curiosity within him. Previously when it released the “Save the Small One-Horned Rhinoceros” task, it wasn’t so urgent; why now, is it a system that goes easy on beasts?

Despite the complaints, Chen Ying’s sharp eyes already started surveying the surroundings.

Although tiger cubs aren’t considered rare, finding one here, if it’s not a Talimu Tiger, he’s ready to take it in for himself!

The little tiger cub didn’t deliberately hide itself. Upon locking eyes with Chen Ying, although it shrank back a bit, an unseen excitement seemed to motivate it, causing it to flick its beautiful tail high.

Alright, it’s been seen, so stop flicking it; the sound of it smacking the tree, if it doesn’t hurt you, it’ll hurt me for you!

When Chen Ying went over to pick up the little tiger cub, he suddenly paused, looked down at the obedient Hu Bao, and fell into contemplation.

This creature came knocking, but can he continue forward smoothly?