Chapter 246: Chapter 245: Snow Mountain Guard Team

Chen Su shook his head in confusion: “What happened?”

——”This Snow Wolf Pup just called you Little Xu Station Chief.”

Xu Ying pointed at the little wolf lying by Chen Su’s feet.

The Snow Wolf Pup was circling around Chen Su, sniffing him non-stop.

Chen Su was taken aback upon hearing this, as if something suddenly dawned on him, and his tone turned a bit stiff: “Maybe it got the scent mixed up?”

Just then, the Snow Wolf Pup on the ground seemed to realize something. It ran to Xu Ying’s feet, tilting its little head in confusion: [Could it be that you’re Little Xu Station Chief?]

It opened its mouth wide, showing two sharp little milk teeth that appeared both fierce and adorable.

“Yes, I am Little Xu Station Chief.”

With doubts in her heart, Xu Ying picked it up from the ground: “Shall we go out of the tent to visit your den now?”

The Snow Wolf Pup was very warm, its fur fluffy and soft, almost like a furry heat pack.

If it weren’t for the urgency, Xu Ying would have wanted to take a deep breath of the little wolf.

The Snow Wolf Pup nodded, [Don’t worry, our family has other animal companions who will protect you all!]

“Thank you all!”

Xu Ying turned to face her companions inside the tent, her eyes shining with warmth: “The Snow Wolf Family has invited us to their den to take shelter from the storm and will escort us safely there.”

“Everyone, pack up quickly, we set off now.”

The four of them acted quickly, synchronizing as they organized their gear.

Chen Su and the male police officer lifted the heavy equipment box together, exchanging a determined look between them.

As they lifted the tent flap, the biting cold wind mixed with snowflakes hit them in the face, but what they saw next left everyone breathless.

Over a dozen silver-gray Snow Wolves surrounded them like guardian knights, with sparkling snowflakes dotting their fluffy fur.

The leading Snow Wolf nudged Xu Ying’s hand gently, its warm breath turning into white mist in the cold wind.

Three agile Snow Leopards had joined the protective formation at some point, elegantly weaving between the wolves, their golden eyes shining brightly amidst the snow curtain.

At the rear of the procession, a Brown Bear like a moving fortress used its broad back to shield everyone from the fiercest of the snowstorm.

It occasionally let out a low grumbling sound, as if urging people to quicken their pace.

With the protection of the fluffy animal guard team, the raging snowstorm suddenly became far less daunting.

The Snow Wolves warmed each person with their body heat, while the Snow Leopards deftly cleared the path ahead, and the steady footsteps of the Brown Bear played a stabilizing role.

The drifting snowflakes accumulated on the animals’ fluffy fur.

These normally fierce beasts provided Xu Ying and her companions with a warm moving haven.

Xu Ying was very surprised. The Brown Bears on West Mountain typically hibernate between November and March. Right now, in the high-altitude areas of West Mountain, it’s snow season, and the weather is so cold; logically, the Brown Bear should be hibernating. But why isn’t this Brown Bear asleep?

The question lingered in her mind.

Led by the furry animals, Xu Ying and her group soon arrived at the territory of the Snow Wolves.

Snow Wolves don’t have fixed nests, but they use natural caves, rock crevices, or other animals’ abandoned dens as temporary resting places or nurseries.

The entrance to the cave was hidden behind a thick layer of ice, like a natural screen keeping the raging storm outside.

As they stepped into the cave, a warm atmosphere greeted them—this was a huge cavern sculpted by millions of years of glacial movement, with a towering dome and crystal-clear ice forming on the rock walls.

The cave’s depths were layered with thick dry grass and moss, meticulously arranged by the Snow Wolves as their “beds.”

Several naturally formed stone platforms were scattered around, resembling specially prepared desks.

Ji Xuehui couldn’t help but chuckle as she unfolded a table and chairs.

Beside the folding chair, several Snow Wolf Pups were curled up together napping, their fluffy tails occasionally brushing against her ankles.

A strange yet surreal feeling welled up inside her.

To be a guest and work in the home of a ferocious Snow Wolf pack—it was unbelievable!

Soon after, Ji Xuehui noticed a Brown Bear sitting at the cave entrance, its mouth moving as if chewing something, but Ji Xuehui could clearly see there was nothing in its mouth.

She excitedly pulled Xu Ying over to see the Brown Bear: “Little Xu Station Chief, look at this Brown Bear; it’s chewing air!”

Xu Ying also turned her gaze toward this unusually docile Brown Bear.

Its mouth moved from time to time, occasionally licking its lips, as if there was something delicious in its mouth.

Suddenly, Xu Ying guessed why this Brown Bear wasn’t hibernating.

Perhaps it hadn’t stored enough fat before winter, forcing it to wake up and forage mid-hibernation, and then it was brought here to help.

Animals hibernate due to scarce food and cold climates in winter, which helps them lower their metabolism, storing energy to sustain their life.

When animals that need to hibernate have health issues or suffer food shortages and malnutrition, they struggle to enter hibernation.

Environmental disturbances or hormone imbalances can also cause hibernating animals to “suffer insomnia,” much like humans; being hungry, in pain, or in noisy environments makes it hard to sleep.

The Brown Bear’s air chewing behavior was an urgent reaction of smelling food but not being able to eat it.

But where was the food that this Brown Bear was longing for…

Xu Ying got goosebumps, wondering if this bear saw them as emergency rations?

Was it keeping quiet just because there were so many fierce animals around?

Quickly, Xu Ying turned to ask the other three: “Does anyone have any meat on them?”

Ji Xuehui quickly took out a canned meat tin: “I have three cans of meat.”

Xu Ying opened a can, found a waterproof cloth to spread on the ground, and then dumped the meat from the can onto it using disposable chopsticks.

The Brown Bear caught the scent, its head turning, fixing its gaze on the meat laid out on the waterproof cloth.

However, it didn’t rush over immediately, but looked eagerly at Xu Ying.

Xu Ying noticed that this Brown Bear was much smaller than its peers, its shoulder height only about 1.2 meters, and weighing approximately 300 kilograms.

It had a fox-like face, with a slender and graceful muzzle.

The small size and “fox-like face” were characteristics of a female bear.

Looking at the Brown Bear’s shy demeanor, Xu Ying thought of the Gobi Bear.

Her heart softened, and she nodded affirmatively at the Brown Bear: “Go ahead, eat; these are for you.”

The Brown Bear quickly crawled over, eating the meat while mumbling: [The Snow Wolves and Snow Leopards didn’t lie to me; by helping Little Xu Station Chief, I do get to eat!]

Xu Ying understood then; no wonder the Snow Wolves and Snow Leopards could get the Brown Bear to help them.

However, these canned foods were just enough to fill the gaps between its teeth.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep