While Qin Zhendong and Lin Li were conversing.

Northeast of the Qinling Mountain Range.

In a signal vehicle at the junction of a mountain forest and a highway, a group of people dressed in wildlife garments gathered around a surveillance screen.

They whispered quietly, their faces flushed, looking like a college dorm watching a short film together.

At this moment.

In the center of the screen.

"Roar—"

Thump thump—

As a giant orange paw landed.

Several wild birds were instantly startled, flapping and fleeing in all directions.

But the owner of the orange paw showed no intention of letting them go.

Accompanied by a fierce roar that resonated through the forest, a somewhat plump but agile orange figure suddenly jumped into the air.

With one paw pressed down,

one mouth to catch,

one tail swept.

Three simple movements.

Three unlucky creatures fell to the mud, lifeless.

A moment later.

The figure landed heavily.

From the frontal angle, this was clearly no mere big cat... It was a giant tiger!

Inside the signal vehicle, watching the drone footage of this scene,

a fifty-something expert couldn't help but lick his lips, his hands trembling as he adjusted his glasses:

"Perfect, absolutely perfect!

Look at those eyes... the patterns... that chubby little belly...

Who would have thought, truly unexpected.

That I, an old man close to retirement, would see a living...

Wild South China tiger!"

Upon hearing this.

The young people around the expert, who appeared to be students, nodded in agreement with expressions of admiration.

The elderly expert in the tent was Cui Xiaofeng, fifty-two years old, a professor at the Xijing University School of Biology.

Though not as renowned as Lin Li, a top-tier figure,

his specialization in large wild animal fields means his experience doesn't lag much behind Lin Li's.

In reality,

these types of experts are the norm in everyday life.

They fall between ordinary professors and top authorities, representing the backbone of a school—top academicians and major figures that even students from leading universities might not frequently encounter.

Some time ago,

Cui Xiaofeng and several graduate students suddenly received an order:

They were required to urgently travel from the Da Xing'an Ridge to Central State to participate in a large, comprehensive field exploration mission.

Cui Xiaofeng and his team weren't surprised—a mission like this happens annually, with some provinces frequently inviting experts to conduct joint explorations.

For instance, the Huaxia Geography public account organizes several such activities over the years.

The recent location was in Qionghai Province, sending thousands of invitation letters.

Yes, correct.

It's merely team building, definitely not due to any discovery.

Ahem....

In summary.

Cui Xiaofeng was accustomed to such missions, and quickly returned with his students.

After coordinating with the person in charge, Cui Xiaofeng's team was soon assigned a task:

Detailed biological sampling and exploration of a designated area following certain orientation requirements.

Alongside them were a geography group and an archaeology group, with full signal blackout.

Geography, humanities, biology combined.

This belongs to a standard 'Di Ku' level project.

However, Cui Xiaofeng wasn't sure how many combined modules there were.

Initially, everything was smooth without any disturbances.

But when the search target reached the vicinity of Xiao Mountain in the eastern segment of the Qinling Mountains, one of Cui Xiaofeng's graduate students unexpectedly found a footprint.

This footprint featured evident tiger attributes, quickly capturing Cui Xiaofeng's attention.

Thus, while reporting this discovery, Cui Xiaofeng and his team continued tracking relevant prints.

Unexpectedly,

as they searched further, they discovered the tiger that appeared earlier.

Which is...

A wild South China tiger!

Wild South China tiger.

These five words encapsulate everything.

Unlike the famous Northeast orange cat, the rarity of the South China tiger is undeniably higher.

The current domestic South China tiger population stands at 165.

Including 79 males and 84 females, with 2 unknown-gender cubs.

These 165 South China tigers are all direct descendants of 6 South China tigers, i.e., results of inbreeding.

The reason for this is due to the extinction of wild South China tigers.

Yes.

Extinct!

According to genealogical records, no confirmed wild South China tiger entity has appeared domestically for over 40 years—not even a corpse.

Some older readers might remember the name:

Zhou Zhenglong.

He captured a photo of a wild South China tiger in 2007, receiving local commendation and awards at the time, causing a huge online uproar.

Ultimately, authoritative departments intervened, discovering the photo was taken with extracted tiger painting placed in the jungle, deceiving countless emotions.

Zhou Zhenglong ended up imprisoned, becoming the earliest victim of "photo fraud."

Currently in Huaxia,

finding a photo related to the South China tiger, whether it be footprints, droppings, or fur, can earn a reward of no less than 1,000 yuan.

And capturing a living South China tiger on photo can bring a reward exceeding 100,000 yuan—In 2007, it was 20,000, increasing to ten thousand through the Beilin University's wildlife institute in 2015.

Unfortunately.

Until now, there have been no signs of wild South China tigers domestically.

Who would have thought.

At the end of the Qinling mountains, a very healthy South China tiger was found?

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