Chapter 627: Chapter 522: Clash of Tiger and Bear—The Bear Remains, but Where Is the Tiger?

They walked along the tributary for about a day.

It took a long time, but the journey wasn’t far. They had to watch carefully as they walked, searching both sides of the river. They even needed two or three vehicles to search repeatedly, fearing they might miss something.

“Brother Ying, there’s nothing here. We asked the locals, and they said there are several pits on this mountain, the deepest being about twenty or thirty meters. The leader wants us to hike up the mountain and check these pits.”

The origins of the mountain pits are subject to debate. Some say they were formed by earthquakes, others by meteorite impacts, and some claim it was caused by mountain bandits digging tunnels which collapsed.

They contacted local geology experts, who sent them a map marking several hazardous pits.

“Brother Ying, I just asked an old classmate who lives around here. His family says that decades ago, when his great-grandfather was still around, many tigers roamed these mountains, especially near the Heavenly Pit.”

One of the staff pointed to a significant pit on the map. This spot is actually a cirque formed by ancient glacial activity, surrounded on three sides with an exit to the east, covering an area just over ten thousand square meters. It’s about a third of the size of the famous Little Pot Pit at Heavenly Mountain.

Because this pit is quite isolated from the main attractions, and with both the Big Pot and Little Pot already present, similar attractions were not further developed.

Lacking development, this spot retains a relatively primitive appearance, with wildlife numbers exceeding those near other scenic spots.

However, it’s still not secure to recklessly enter the mountain. They set up camp down the mountain, and the local protection station arranged for three experienced rangers to guide them. Three vehicles split into three teams to ascend the mountain separately.

Kelas insisted on joining them, and even Meidi was meowing, claiming it could help.

Meidi had a special little vest with a locator.

Last time, they weren’t prepared, which allowed it to get away. This time, they were fully equipped: the little vest was worn, a mini camera attached, and they even had an alarm prepared for the cat.

This full gear amazed the rangers, feeling it was better than their mountain-climbing equipment.

Meidi stayed close to Chen Ying, completely ignoring its owner’s pitiful abandoned expression.

The search area for Chen Ying, his two companions, and the cat ranged from the mountain foot to the edge of the ice pit.

There was an old wooden house, left by a monitoring station, much like the original Jiamu Gully First Aid Station, originating from a decades-old hunter’s cabin.

That house became their campsite for the night.

There are safe overnight spots in the other two directions as well. The three veteran rangers’ primary role was ensuring the search members’ safety.

Uncle Alahan, the ranger accompanying Chen Ying, was very talkative. On their way up, he pointed out all the plants, animals, and geographical features to Chen Ying.

“There’s a small gully over there. Twenty years ago, water would flow down from it, but it dried up ten years ago. Geologists said an underground river in the mountain likely changed course, cutting off the water supply. But there are some larger pits there, and when the snow melts around this time, those pits fill with water, providing a safe watering spot for mountain animals.”

Chen Ying looked through his binoculars but saw nothing.

“Uncle Alahan, do you think if there were any tigers, they’d go there to drink?”

“Probably not. The gully is quite noticeable, and we inspect the infrared cameras arranged there every time during patrol, never capturing any tigers. We’ve only seen a snow leopard once; it’s usually small animals.”

It makes sense since infrared cameras are usually set up near watering spots. If a tiger were to drink, it would definitely be captured.

With a regretful sigh, they continued upward.

Meidi was quite lively in the forest. This kind of weather and environment was its favorite, and it was incredibly happy all the way, even bringing back a wild fruit to offer to Chen Ying.

Kelas was fuming, hands on his hips, accusing Meidi of being a capricious princess.

But Meidi couldn’t care less to spare him a glance, seriously scanning the surroundings, eager to catch prey to present to Chen Ying.

The forest was teeming with little squirrels. These agile creatures, upon spotting people from afar, swiftly looped around tree trunks, leaping onto branches of another tree in no time.

Meidi meowed with frustration, turning around as if utterly helpless.

Luckily, it ran in the direction of their climb, so they didn’t have to divert efforts to retrieve it.

After about ten minutes of walking, Kelas suddenly stopped Chen Ying.

“Chen, look at Meidi’s location. It seems to have discovered something and is circling there.”

Meidi’s position slightly deviated from their ascending path.

Uncle Alahan glanced at Kelas’s phone, “I remember there’s an old hunter pit there. Dug by old hunters to catch large beasts. I came here with Ata as a kid and caught two wild boars.”

Uncle Alahan’s words led Chen Ying to suspect that the pit might have trapped an animal.

Meidi wasn’t scared off, indicating the trapped animal wasn’t a fierce beast.

Uncle Alahan led them there, and as they neared, Chen Ying’s expression turned peculiar.

“Wait, in the pit, it seems…” He turned to Kelas, “You previously fitted Meidi with a camera. Can you receive its transmitted images?”