The leader was the center's chief director. Chen Ying had looked up his profile online and wouldn't mistake him.

The tiger cub was sound asleep on the cushion one meter away from the fire pit, full with a round belly that contrasted sharply with its skinny body.

"The little guy should be about six to eight months old. It's a miracle that such a young tiger cub survived in the wild. I roughly examined it, and apart from some scratches, there are no bite or claw wounds on its body. Its bones and muscles are normal, but it is underweight."

The chief director immediately responded, "No problem, we have arranged professional breeders, two in a team, to take care of it. Gulixia is setting up the animal shed for the little tiger cub at the center and has started formulating its food recipe. Ha Yi came with me to pick up the tiger cub; he's another breeder responsible for taking care of it."

Chen Ying glanced at the man beside the chief director, in his thirties, slim, with typical Uighur features.

After greeting Chen Ying, Ha Yi's gaze returned to the sleeping tiger cub on the ground, filled with genuine love and joy.

Besides picking up the little tiger cub, they also needed to make more arrangements.

The little tiger cub couldn't have appeared from nowhere, and since it's not yet at the age to live independently from its mother, it may have accidentally been separated from her. It's possible that the mother tiger is anxiously searching for its child elsewhere.

Therefore, the rescue center will gradually expand the search range based on the cub's activity area, striving to find the mother tiger as soon as possible. After all, for the little tiger to return to the wild, it's best to live with the mother tiger and learn the survival skills from her.

After the chief director finished assigning tasks, Chen Ying pulled him aside, carefully proposing a completely different viewpoint.

"Typically, even in the event of an accident, a tiger cub wouldn't rashly leave its mother's side. If it has wandered off, it would return to the place where it previously lived to wait for the mother to find it. But when I discovered this little cub, it must have traveled quite a distance. In its feces, I even saw undigested fruit peels and some fish bones. So, I suspect it may have accidentally fallen into the river and was carried here by the current, just like that giant panda before."

This locks in the search direction: the riverbanks and the nearby slopes and forests.

"There's also another possibility: what if the mother tiger was killed by other animals, forcing the cub to wander? If that's the case, the search direction becomes uncertain. I suggest mobilizing the community to search along the riverbanks. However, we need to be cautious not to let certain people exploit the situation."

Actually, even without Chen Ying's reminder, the chief director had considered these two possibilities; he just hadn't thought of involving the community in the search. He's afraid that some people might take extreme risks, and if someone injures a tiger or gets injured by one, the outcome would be hard to manage.

"Mobilizing the community doesn't mean sending ordinary people barehanded to fight the tiger. We could engage volunteer forest guards from various villages, or foresters in artificial forests, and offer a little reward to ordinary people who find clues—whether it's honorary or monetary, you decide with the local departments."

After chatting for a while, the little tiger cub woke up, stretched lazily, then was startled to see the crouching man nearby and let out a little tiger roar. It then turned around and rushed to Chen Ying, clutching his leg, trembling.

This scene had a strong sense of déjà vu! All cats seem to act the same way when they're young—tough on the outside, soft on the inside.

Chen Ying picked up the tiger cub and handed it to Ha Yi. It wanted to struggle, so Chen Ying gently stroked its head.

"You'll be better off with them than with me. They live near this river, and after you grow up, you can return here, but if you follow me, that's not guaranteed."

The tiger cub seemed to understand, stopped struggling, but clung to his forearm with tears in its eyes, looking incredibly pitiful.

"Did you see those two-legged beasts? They are helping you find your mother. Do you want to find your mother?"

The cub seemed confused for a moment and then let out a sorrowful cry.

"Mom, Mom fell asleep, didn't care for me, and wouldn't give me food. I tried to wake her up, but couldn't. Later, I tried to find food myself, I saw a small prey, but accidentally fell into the water and then couldn't find Mom anymore. Wahwah ┭┮﹏┭┮"

Chen Ying's expression shifted slightly, "Do you remember where you lived?"

"Hmm, hmm, no, I don't remember."

Looking into the cub's innocent and clear eyes, Chen Ying's tense body gradually relaxed. How could he expect a creature not yet a year old to find its way home? Moreover, it had survived countless trials to escape the water and reach the shore. Its survival was already a miracle from heaven.

But this also confirmed that his thinking was correct. The little one's home was by the river, likely on a sloped area by the river, otherwise, it wouldn't have been easy to fall into the water.

They were heading west along the Tarim River, the nearest tributary coming down from the Tianshan Mountain Range. So the most likely scenario is that the cub's home is in the Heavenly Mountain!

The latest investigation indicates that there are no wild tigers currently in the Tianshan Mountain Range. The former Xinjiang Tigers extensively roamed the north and south of the range, but now not even a single tiger hair remains.

Though the cub and its mother appeared here, without genetic testing, it's impossible to confirm if they are indeed the proclaimed extinct Xinjiang Tigers.

Currently, only three types of tigers exist in our country: Northeast Tigers, Bengal Tigers, and Indochinese Tigers.

Northeast Tigers are too far and unlikely to appear here, whereas Indochinese Tigers are already few, with only a few sightings in Dian Province.

Only Bengal Tigers have long frequented the area south of Tibet, and recent data shows they are gradually expanding their range. Could it be that a Bengal Tiger wandered into living in the Heavenly Mountain? Possible, but unlikely.

Thus, the general consensus is that the tigers appearing here might be a local species, specifically the declared extinct Talimu Tiger.

Chen Ying wasn't particularly keen on tracing the origins but was concerned about the mother tiger's situation.

Based on the cub's account, the mother tiger was either injured or ill. Has it survived after so long?

Due to this little episode, Kelas excitedly called his mentor, rambling for nearly an hour. Finally, holding his phone, he informed Chen Ying that the mentor suggested collaborating with the local departments to locate the mother tiger, even if it meant delaying other work; the school would personally assist with handling matters.

Being researchers of rare and endangered animals, if it weren't for the importance of the Lynx project, Kelas's mentor would have wanted to fly domestically to assist with the Talimu Tiger research.

"The mentor also mentioned if help is needed in the subsequent research on the tiger cub, feel free to reach out."

This message was directed toward the rescue center's chief director. Kelas's mentor is renowned in the field of endangered animal breeding research, highly esteemed among researchers in the field.

Ha Yi took the tiger cub back to the center overnight, and Chen Ying ended up losing a jacket.

Had no choice, although smart, the little tiger cub was still young, clinging to Chen Ying's clothes persistently. To comfort it, Chen Ying had no choice but to remove his jacket and use extra shoelaces to fashion it into a makeshift doll.

Only after the cub grabbed the doll did it obediently follow Ha Yi into the car.

Due to these clingy big cat cubs, Chen Ying had lost several articles of clothing one after another. These creatures have a way of targeting expensive items. If his assets weren't substantial, he would definitely feel the pinch.

After spending a night by the river, they set off early the next morning before seven, heading downhill along a tributary, releasing two drones to investigate along the way.

The drones are equipped with infrared thermal imaging devices, capable of detecting the thermal radiation signals emitted by creatures under low light conditions, contrasting them against the surrounding environment to locate living beings.

Moreover, the thermal imaging device can transmit images and data in real-time, allowing for swift understanding of the mountainous terrain and formulating appropriate search strategies.

If the mother tiger is deceased, the drone's thermal imaging device won't detect it directly, but it can identify its location through the behavior of other animals consuming the mother tiger's remains.

Of course, no one wishes to see the second scenario. They hope the mother tiger is merely ill and has already recovered.

After all, a healthy and experienced mother tiger is significantly more valuable than an inexperienced little tiger cub.

For the tiger cub, a child with a mother is truly precious and can grow into the majestic ruler of the forest.