"Yes, that’s right."
Mr. Zhang said quickly, pulling a sealed black device, slightly larger than a pack of cigarettes, out of his backpack, along with a notebook and a pen.
"It’s mainly two things. First, this is a high-precision environmental data logger."
"We’d like you to take this into the mountains. Once you’re inside that ’anomalous zone,’ just press the switch. It will automatically record basic data like temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, and magnetic field strength, taking a reading every ten minutes."
"You don’t need to do anything else with it. Just take it in, stay for a full two hours, and then bring it back out."
Yang Qi took the device. It felt slightly heavy in his hand. The casing was made of waterproof engineering plastic and had a few simple buttons and a small screen.
He glanced at the instructions. It was very simple—just a power switch and a record switch.
"Second, this notebook."
Mr. Zhang pointed to it. "If it’s not too much trouble, we’d like you to jot down your firsthand observations once you’re inside. Things like your sense of direction, whether you feel dizzy or have any other discomfort, any visible abnormalities in the plants or animals, and so on. It doesn’t have to be anything professional, just your personal impressions."
"No problem, that’s easy enough."
Yang Qi agreed readily. He carefully placed the data logger in an inner compartment of his hiking pack and stowed the notebook and pen as well.
"Thank you so much, Advisor Yang."
Mr. Zhang thanked him again and again. "Please, be careful! Our analysis shows that animal activity in the area isn’t affected, but that means large predators could be present too. You must be extremely cautious."
"Don’t worry," Yang Qi said with a smile. "I’ve got Bai Wan and Leopard with me. They’re very sharp."
After bidding farewell to Mr. Zhang and Xiaowang, Yang Qi adjusted his gear and waved a hand at Bai Wan and Leopard, who were already raring to go.
"Let’s go! Into the mountains!"
"WOOF WOOF!"
"AWOOO!"
The two dogs immediately shot off in excitement, dashing down the trail on the back of the mountain.
With Xiaojiu perched on his shoulder, Yang Qi followed behind at a steady pace.
Watching the figures of Yang Qi and his two powerful dogs quickly disappear into the shade of the trees at a bend in the road, Xiaowang, who had stayed behind, couldn’t help but sigh.
"’With this strange phenomenon happening on Cangshan, I’m afraid the only people who will be able to go deep into the mountains from now on are people like Advisor Yang and Uncle Cai—people with special ’partners.’"
"’Regular police dogs probably wouldn’t cut it. You’d need a team like theirs, one that’s worked together for a long time and has an extremely high level of trust. Or you’d need specially trained hunting dogs like Uncle Cai’s. There are just too few truly effective ’Mountain Search Dogs.’"
Mr. Zhang glanced at him and said meaningfully, "Isn’t that a good thing?"
"’Advisor Yang and Uncle Cai are on our side; we can trust them. What does it mean if effective Mountain Search Dogs are rare?’"
"’It means it’ll be much harder for people who want to enter the mountains to poach, illegally harvest rare plants, or engage in other illicit activities!’"
"’They won’t be able to find a guide like Advisor Yang, and they certainly can’t train hunting dogs as intelligent and attuned to humans as Uncle Cai’s.’"
"’From now on, this mountain range will essentially have a natural ’gatekeeper.’ Our own patrol duties might even become a little easier.’"
Xiaowang paused, stunned for a moment. Then, realization dawned, and he nodded with a smile.
"You know, that’s true! When you put it that way, it really is a good thing!"
...
...
After leaving the back-mountain area, he entered the range of the Array.
As promised, Yang Qi first found a relatively open clearing in the forest, far from any animal trails. He took the environmental data logger from his pack, placed it on a flat rock, and pressed the record switch.
The small screen lit up, displaying a string of fluctuating data and a "Recording" message.
The instrument would work automatically for two hours, and then Yang Qi could come back to retrieve it.
’That’s half the job done.’
He carefully tucked the instrument into a crevice between some rocks and covered it with a few dry leaves to ensure no passing animals would knock it over.
Next up was his true objective: finding the South China Tiger.
Yang Qi didn’t just wander around blindly. Instead, he first used his contract to establish contact with Qi Zai, who was circling high above.
"Qi Zai, focus your attention on the area surrounding the Ancient Goose Forest. Look especially for signs of large feline activity, like fresh tracks, trampled grass, claw marks on tree trunks, or a direct visual on the target."
"SKREEE—"
A clear cry of acknowledgment came from high above. Qi Zai adjusted his altitude and flight pattern, his sharp, golden eyes scanning the mountain forest below like a high-precision instrument.
Meanwhile, Yang Qi, along with Xiaojiu, Bai Wan, and Leopard, used a Divine Movement Talisman and headed toward the Ancient Goose Forest.
「Arriving at the outskirts of the Ancient Goose Forest.」
He slowed his pace. As he walked, he expanded his senses to their absolute limit, capturing the faintest scents lingering in the air and listening for the slightest stir in the depths of the forest.
Suddenly, Bai Wan and Leopard, who were walking ahead, both froze in their tracks. Their ears perked up, their noses twitched furiously, and a low, wary growl rumbled in their throats.
Xiaojiu also lifted its head from Yang Qi’s shoulder. Its amber pupils contracted slightly as it let out a soft cry.
’Master, I’ve detected the beast’s scent.’
It paused for a moment before adding.
’But the scent is very faint... It’s like a cub’s.’
’A cub?’
A jolt went through Yang Qi’s heart. He immediately signaled for Bai Wan and Leopard to be quiet, suppressed his own presence, and crept silently toward the source of the scent.
After passing through a dense thicket of bushes, a small, relatively open clearing appeared ahead. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the canopy, dappling the ground with spots of light.
And then, Yang Qi saw a sight that made him hold his breath—
At the edge of the clearing, by the opening of a natural ’den’ formed by a massive, fallen dead tree, two fluffy, roly-poly little tigers covered in dark stripes were clumsily pouncing on and nipping at each other in play!
They looked to be less than a month old, only slightly larger than house cats. They still wobbled when they walked, but they already displayed the mischievous energy typical of predator cubs.