Sichuan Nature Reserve.
“Handsome young man, you’re still so young.
Why did you decide to become a forest ranger in this remote mountain forest?
Being a forest ranger isn’t as easy as you might imagine.
The monotonous and lonely daily routine alone is enough to drive many people away, let alone someone as young as you.”
As they ventured deeper into the forest, Su Lin and a middle-aged man walked along the rugged mountain path, carrying bags of various sizes.
The middle-aged man had been curious about Su Lin ever since they met.
After all, Su Lin had only recently graduated from university.
Yet, instead of looking for a comfortable job in the city, he had applied to become a forest ranger in the mountains of Sichuan.
“Brother Wang, I’m a child of the mountains.
I’ve always loved nature.
To be honest, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do after graduation.
I just prefer quiet places, so becoming a forest ranger didn’t seem like a bad choice.”
What Su Lin didn’t mention was that, after graduation, he had originally expected to face unemployment.
But on the very day he graduated from university, something unexpected happened.
He awakened a system.
The Get Close to Nature System.
As its name suggested, Su Lin could receive various rewards by genuinely getting close to nature.
And the drone flying quietly above them was one of the welcome gifts the system had given him.
It was called the Nature Drone.
A few days earlier, while hiking with some friends, Su Lin had unexpectedly received his first reward from the system.
It was a bottle of spiritual liquid.
[Spiritual Elixir: Enhances all aspects of physical attributes.
Even an ordinary greyhound can become muscular after consuming it.
When used to water plants, it can also accelerate their growth.]
After discovering the system’s ability, Su Lin became excited.
He immediately went hiking again the next day, hoping to receive another reward.
But nothing happened.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
After several failed attempts, Su Lin became so frustrated that he nearly stomped his feet.
“This system is a liar!”
The system remained silent for several seconds before responding with a cold mechanical voice.
[The system does not allow you to exploit loopholes.]
Su Lin was speechless.
That was when he finally understood.
If he wanted the system’s rewards, he had to genuinely become closer to nature.
And so, Su Lin made a decision.
He would become a forest ranger.
Now, he had officially entered the Sichuan Nature Reserve and was on his way to the forest ranger station.
The middle-aged man walking beside him was Wang Yi, another forest ranger working in the reserve.
Although they both worked in the same nature reserve, they were responsible for different areas.
Today was Su Lin’s first day on the job.
He had come to help Wang Yi transport supplies to the ranger station.
The mountain path was rough and difficult to walk on.
Fortunately, they didn’t have too many supplies.
Most of what they carried consisted of basic daily necessities.
Suddenly, Wang Yi looked up at the drone hovering above Su Lin.
“Hey, that drone is amazing!
It doesn’t even need anyone to control it.
Where did you buy it?”
The Nature Drone was a gift from the system.
Besides having functions such as high-definition aerial photography and livestreaming, it had another remarkable feature.
It was completely autonomous.
Unlike ordinary drones, which still required users to set flight parameters and control their movements, Su Lin’s drone could be operated with nothing more than a thought.
Naturally, Wang Yi was curious.
Su Lin casually replied, “Oh, a friend gave it to me.”
There was no way he could tell Wang Yi that the drone had been given to him by a mysterious system.
The Forestry Bureau had already approved Su Lin’s use of the drone for aerial photography and livestreaming.
It was also a good way to showcase the beautiful scenery of the nature reserve to the public.
So, there was no reason not to use it.
“Everyone, take a look!
We’re in the middle of the magnificent mountains of Sichuan!”
The drone rose higher into the sky.
The livestream instantly displayed an incredible view.
Towering trees stretched toward the sky, their dense leaves blocking most of the sunlight and leaving only scattered patches of light dancing across the forest floor.
As the drone climbed higher, the scenery became even more spectacular.
One after another, lush green peaks appeared in the distance.
The mountains rolled across the horizon like enormous waves, forming an endless green sea.
Su Lin had previously been a gaming streamer.
Although he had stopped streaming games regularly, a small group of his old fans had still followed him.
At this moment, more than a hundred people were watching his livestream.
“Wow!
So this is Sichuan?
The scenery is incredible!”
“SuSu has abandoned us!
This is a complete career change!
No!
I still want to watch SuSu play games!”
“Everyone has their own ambitions.
This is SuSu’s choice, so let’s respect it.
If you don’t want to watch gaming content anymore, you can stay and enjoy the scenery.
That’s not bad either.”
“I heard there are giant pandas in Sichuan!
I’m so jealous of SuSu.
He might actually get to see a giant panda!”
“Hey, don’t assume you can just pet a panda.
Pandas may look cute and harmless, but an adult panda is still a powerful wild animal.
One slap could seriously injure a person.”
“Nothing else matters.
The scenery is beautiful, and SuSu is even more beautiful.
Mua!”
“Enough talking.
The scenery is amazing.
Time to send some gifts!”
[Money to Burn has gifted the streamer 3 Rockets!]
Three rocket animations immediately appeared across the livestream.
Su Lin wasn’t surprised.
This particular fan was famous for throwing gifts around without hesitation.
Whenever he appeared in the livestream, the other viewers jokingly called him Brother Money.
“Hahaha!
I’m dying!
Brother Money’s familiar robotic behavior is back again!”
“Brother Money is awesome!”
“Brother Money is awesome!”
“Brother Money is awesome!”
The livestream chat quickly filled with similar messages.
Most of the viewers were longtime fans of Su Lin.
They were still a little reluctant to see him abandon his gaming career.
After all, Su Lin had once been a popular gaming streamer who regularly led his teammates to victory as a jungler.
Now, instead of sitting in front of a computer, he was walking through the mountains carrying supplies.
The difference was enormous.
“Yes, from now on, I’ll take everyone with me to explore the magnificent scenery of the mountains and show you my daily life as a forest ranger.”
Su Lin smiled at the camera.
“As for gaming, I’ll play whenever I have some free time.”
He connected his phone to the drone’s livestream feed.
The drone transmitted the surrounding scenery in real time, while Su Lin used a selfie stick to communicate with his viewers.
His voice was relaxed and pleasant as he continued walking along the mountain path.
Then—
Ding!
A familiar mechanical voice suddenly echoed inside Su Lin’s mind.
[Host detected entering the Sichuan Nature Reserve and officially becoming a forest ranger.]
[Nature Connectivity Gift Pack ×1 has been awarded.]
Su Lin’s eyes lit up.
Sure enough.
The system didn’t give away rewards through loopholes.
Only by genuinely getting close to nature could he receive them.
A golden gift box appeared inside his system inventory.
[The gift pack has been automatically opened.]
[Congratulations, Host!
You have obtained:]
[Spirit Fruit ×10]
[Animal Affinity Physique]
Su Lin was delighted.
Especially by the second reward.
He quickly checked the descriptions.
[Spirit Fruit: Slightly enhances physical fitness, eliminates fatigue, and restores physical strength.
When consumed by animals, it can also slightly increase their intelligence.]
[Animal Affinity Physique: Greatly increases the affinity between the host and animals.
Animals affected by the host’s affinity can sense and understand the host’s emotions and expressions.
The host can also better understand their emotions and expressions.]
Su Lin’s eyes widened.
This was interesting.
With the Animal Affinity Physique, he could potentially communicate with animals on an entirely different level.
Combined with the spiritual liquid he had consumed over the past few days, his physical abilities had already improved significantly.
His eyesight had become much sharper.
Even his hearing had improved to the point where he could clearly distinguish many subtle sounds around him.
“Interesting.”
A faint smile appeared on Su Lin’s face.
He had a feeling that this ability would be extremely useful during his future forest patrols.
Suddenly—
Su Lin stopped walking.
He seemed to have heard something.
He closed his eyes and listened carefully.
After a few seconds, he opened them again and looked at Wang Yi with a puzzled expression.
“Brother Wang, did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“It sounded like some kind of wild animal.”
Wang Yi looked around in confusion.
All he could hear was the crunch of their footsteps on dry branches and fallen leaves, along with the occasional chirping of birds.
“Are you sure?”
He listened again.
Nothing.
“You probably heard something wrong.”
But Su Lin shook his head.
“No.
I’m sure I heard it.”
He stood still and listened again.
There it was.
A faint, low growl came from somewhere nearby.
It sounded painful.
Su Lin’s expression became serious.
Could they have encountered an injured wild animal on his very first day?
As forest rangers, protecting wildlife was one of their most important responsibilities.
If an injured animal was discovered, they couldn’t simply ignore it.
“Brother Wang, the sound is coming from over there.”
Without waiting for a response, Su Lin followed the sound.
Wang Yi hurried after him.
Meanwhile, the livestream audience was confused.
“Did SuSu hear something?”
“I didn’t hear anything.”
“He said it sounded like a wild animal.
Could he have discovered something?”
“Maybe it’s a bird?”
“No, he looks serious.”
The farther Su Lin walked, the clearer the sound became.
That low, painful growl echoed through the forest.
Finally, Su Lin reached a dense patch of bushes.
He carefully pushed the branches aside.
The scene ahead suddenly came into view.
A huge black-and-white creature was lying on the ground.
Its round body was covered in thick fur, and every few seconds, it let out a low, painful groan.
Su Lin froze.
His eyes widened.
Was that…
a giant panda?
He immediately recognized it.
A national treasure.
A giant panda!
On his very first day as a forest ranger, he had actually encountered a giant panda in the wild.
For a moment, Su Lin was filled with excitement.
What incredible luck!
But his excitement quickly disappeared.
Something was wrong.
The giant panda was breathing heavily, and its expression was clearly distressed.
Su Lin carefully observed it.
It wasn’t simply resting.
It was in pain.
His expression became serious.
“Brother Wang…”
Wang Yi had finally caught up and looked toward the panda.
His face changed instantly.
“A giant panda?”
Su Lin nodded.
But before either of them could say anything else, the giant panda let out another painful cry.
“Awoo…”
Su Lin’s heart tightened.
He immediately realized that this wasn’t an ordinary encounter.
Something was happening to the panda.
And whatever it was, they needed to find out quickly.
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