The camp wasn't large, with eleven people in total including Chu Tingwu.
Chu Tingwu and Lian's room was about the size of a college dorm room, but notably, the camp was surrounded by robust protective facilities.
White explained to Chu Tingwu that this was because they were in the core area of the Red Rock Reserve—unlike the outer areas where tourists frequented, they could encounter dangerous large animals at any time here.
When going out, they would try to travel by car, as their modified vehicles could withstand attacks from large wild animals.
However, some places weren't accessible by car, so they would try to go with rangers and carry self-defense tools.
There were three wolf packs in the vicinity, with the camp located slightly to the right of the center area. Food was plentiful in summer, so the wolf packs generally wouldn't attack humans.
White said, "Our task during this period is to regularly install and retrieve infrared cameras, looking for traces of wolf pack activity... if we're lucky, we might also see Michelle."
The wolf packs were mobile, and although humans knew the locations of their dens, they wouldn't install cameras directly at the den sites.
The older wolves actually better understood what kind of creatures "humans" were. The nearby wolf packs would try to avoid the humans who occasionally appeared at the camp, and Michelle, having grown older, rarely appeared on camera anymore.
Gray wolf fans worldwide eagerly awaited news of Michelle, but it all depended on "luck."
During this period, White and his team had discovered a gray male wolf with an injured front leg and were tracking and reporting news about him.
Chu Tingwu took a tour around the camp and quickly understood everyone's roles:
Two were originally rangers, responsible for regular patrols of the protected area. Another was a reserve staff member who handled communications for White's team and delivered supplies to the camp.
White and another professor were good friends, both passionate about American wolves. Each brought three students, with Chu Tingwu occupying one of those positions.
It was clear that the students needed to handle various camp chores, process data, and manage official social media accounts, compile video materials... only with good luck would they be taken out to help install cameras.
Chu Tingwu knew she was new and only knew White, with Lian being the only person she was somewhat familiar with, so she didn't rush to do anything. Moreover, she had the lowest qualifications, age, and experience among everyone there, and was of a different ethnicity, so when White didn't call for her, she stayed in her room unpacking and tidying up.
While Chu Tingwu was busy, the system also took over the camp's internal surveillance, rudely scanning through everyone's information before quietly returning to accompany its young charge.
When Lian came in, Chu Tingwu asked, "I might take some videos and call my cat every day, would you mind?"
—As for livestreaming, she decided to only do it when she was alone.
Lian was surprised: "You actually have phone signal here?"
Then she nodded, indicating she didn't mind, and quietly left after finding her notebook.
Chu Tingwu packed her recording equipment and followed her to the living room.
Everyone seemed to be discussing a video, debating which wolf from their observed packs appeared in two particular frames.
Lian stared intently at the screen, sitting next to White's other student, who had brown hair, appeared to be in his early twenties, and had several freckles on his nose.
Chu Tingwu remembered his name was quite long and difficult to pronounce, so she privately called him Freckles.
Freckles glanced at Chu Tingwu twice, greeted her in somewhat awkward Chinese, then explained in English:
"The closest to us is the Maria Valley wolf pack. They were originally three conflicting groups, but last winter was too cold with insufficient food, and deaths caused them to merge into a new family."
"The Michelle pack is on the east side, living on that mountain, occupying the sunniest slopes. Although the current pack leader isn't Michelle but her grandchild, everyone loves her so much that they still call it the Michelle pack. This is also the pack with the largest number of wolves."
"Crossing the diagonal line of the camp to the other end, on the west side, is the Kate pack, led by a very young male. Nobody expected him to become the pack leader, and they're generally somewhat weak. But this year they had three cubs, and hopefully this food-abundant summer will help the cubs survive."
The injured male wolf they were tracking was a lone wolf who had wandered in, and they hadn't yet confirmed which pack he had separated from.
Everyone was concerned about this young male wolf's fate, and the image in the footage looked very similar to him, but they weren't sure—
Was this a Maria Valley wolf with similar coloring and markings, or the young male wolf they had lost track of yesterday?
After all, the injured paw wasn't visible in the footage.
Lian suddenly spoke up: "It's Qiula from the Valley pack."
Chu Tingwu couldn't confirm this either, as due to signal issues, many of the camp's devices weren't connected to the internet, limiting the system's usefulness here.
But after Lian spoke, several people exchanged glances, and White and the other professor both nodded, seemingly believing her statement.
White said: "Qiula has indeed reached the age where he might leave the pack."
But he hadn't seemed to have this thought before?
They would add Qiula's movement patterns to their records.
Freckles enviously whispered to Chu Tingwu: "Lian has a photographic memory, not just for what she sees but also for what she hears, and she can even mimic it."
Like imitating various animal sounds.
Although Lian was sometimes unreliable, or rather, her thinking and behavior were too "pure," she was still the camp's treasure.
So, Freckles was actually very curious about what special qualities Chu Tingwu possessed that made White wait until late May to finalize her position on the team.
He wasn't sure about Chu Tingwu's age, as racial differences made her look very young to him, though he thought perhaps her ethnicity naturally appeared youthful. Because it was summer, Chu Tingwu wore light clothing—a simple black t-shirt and cargo pants, with a baseball cap on her head.
However, as Chu Tingwu rested her chin on her hand while listening to their conversation, Freckles noticed the muscle definition in her arms, and that her build was very proportionate, with limbs that looked strong—at least she could help with physical work, he thought.
He had heard from White that this young woman could spot issues with wolves at the zoo with just one glance, seemingly naturally attuned to animal emotions—and White had learned from other Chinese contacts that Chu Tingwu could even speak "cat language" and was skilled at communicating with felines and canines, which was why he had enthusiastically invited her.
But White was an enthusiastic and straightforward person, and Freckles had always felt pressure working under him. If you weren't useful, White would directly express it, telling you: I can't keep you on this project because I don't see your value in it.
If Chu Tingwu couldn't demonstrate her value to the camp, White might just buy her a ticket straight back to her country.
That's just how direct and cold his attitude could be.
Freckles looked at this unfamiliar girl with mixed feelings, noticing she had wandered into the kitchen.
The rangers took turns cooking at the camp, with students helping out, and "cooking" meant—
Simply cooking meat, like steaks, pork chops, lamb chops... then adding lettuce, salad, and potatoes. Occasionally, when supplies didn't arrive on time, there would be no fresh vegetables that day, only various canned foods.
The ranger was now opening cans.
Glancing at the young girl who came in, he casually said, "Dinner won't be ready for a while. Come help me cut the steak."
Chu Tingwu: "...Why don't I cook instead?"
The ranger: "Hm?... Oh! You're Chinese, right?!!"
He immediately moved aside and stood expectantly by the door, seemingly wanting to watch Chu Tingwu perform her "Chinese culinary magic."
Chu Tingwu: "=="
She felt slightly stereotyped.
But coincidentally, she happened to fit that stereotype perfectly.
Looking around, she found that the basic seasonings were well-stocked, though these people rarely used them. The ingredients were plentiful too, though they made the same dishes every day.
Chu Tingwu took out potatoes and began peeling them. Looking around, she waved to Freckles: "Could you help me cut the beef?"
Freckles: "?"
The ranger looked over too.
Freckles had no choice but to come over and cut the beef into small pieces as Chu Tingwu instructed.
After putting the potatoes and beef to stew in one pot, she couldn't find breadcrumbs, so she simply fried some pork cutlets. Then she marinated some chicken wings. By the time the potato beef stew was done, she could start on the cola-braised chicken wings.
Looking at the table full of meat dishes, Chu Tingwu shredded some lettuce and added dressing to add a touch of green to the table... though she wouldn't eat it herself.
However, just one day abroad, and she was already craving steamed buns.
Everyone was delighted by the new dishes. They could endure hardship, but of course, they preferred not to—as for the lack of staple food and the heat from eating too much meat, no worries, they could just open a can of fruit.
So Chu Tingwu experienced for the first time what it was like to eat oranges with potato beef stew.
It wasn't bad actually.
The meal seemed to remind White why he had asked Chu Tingwu to come in the first place. He said, "Tomorrow, you and Lian, both of you will come out with us."
As for today, the sun was about to set.
When Chu Tingwu pushed open the door to go outside, the sun had already half-disappeared behind the mountains, leaving only a golden-red glow along the mountain ridges.
The wind carried various animal scents as it slowly caressed this land.
Long wolf howls could be heard in the distance.
Chu Tingwu hung her camera around her neck and first took a photo of the last rays of sunset.
Freckles leaned against the window and called out to her: "Wu, could you send me those photos you just took? I might use them in the blog post."
—Research needs funding too, so the team had created an account where they would post daily camp life and animal videos after getting verified.
Many wolf fans knew they were here to observe wolves and were close to the Michelle wolf pack, so they followed this account.
Although they hadn't posted any photos of Michelle yet, people were concerned about the injured grey wolf's condition.
Just now, Freckles had posted photos of today's meal on the account, mentioning that the final team member had arrived—"WU" from China, whom White believed to be a genius at communicating with animals.
People are generally quite tolerant and curious about geniuses. After slightly deepening their stereotypes about Chinese people, they left curious comments asking to hear more about what work "Wu" would do next and whether she would make great contributions.
Chu Tingwu turned around and waved to Freckles: "I'll send them right away, just let me finish taking photos."
Then she continued adjusting her camera's focus while Freckles watched.
The next second, he saw Chu Tingwu take two steps forward, suddenly leap up while holding her camera, and jump two meters high, landing steadily on top of the camp's perimeter fence.
She stood straight up there, holding her camera and gazing into the distance before taking one final photo.
Freckles: "Good heavens—come down!"
He hurriedly said: "That's dangerous!"
To his surprise, as soon as he finished speaking, Chu Tingwu turned around and jumped straight down, landing effortlessly with no sign of discomfort in her feet.
Chu Tingwu sent both photos to Freckles.
Freckles's mouth twitched as he saw that the first photo indeed captured the sunset, while the second was a close-up of the hillside, showing dark tree shadows and bits of light filtering through the leaves—upon closer inspection, it had quite a unique and mysterious quality.
He left with the photos but remained curious, so he casually mentioned to White how Chu Tingwu had jumped down from such a height.
White laughed heartily: "Yes, young people have more flexible bones, they don't feel anything jumping from heights—we can't do that at our age—"
Freckles: I'm only 21!
White: "Well, she's only sixteen after all."
Freckles: ...
Freckles: ?
-
After shocking her colleagues with her age, Chu Tingwu wandered back to her room.
Lian was wearing headphones and typing on her keyboard, blocking out all external sounds.
Chu Tingwu made a video call to Three-Five-Five, connecting directly to the projector that Manxing had moved to the training base.
She could project her face to Three-Five-Five, while Three-Five-Five's image was still transmitted to her through the livestream drone.
When the camera first turned on, a kitten's face appeared on the other side.
The kitten was pressed close to the camera, apparently sound asleep. The system showed no mercy, controlling the drone to rise higher. Without anything to lean on, the kitten fell flat on its face.
But it didn't wake up.
Then the camera finally captured Three-Five-Five in the room. Three-Five-Five also saw the hovering drone and Chu Tingwu's projection on the wall. She meowed at Chu Tingwu, and Chu Tingwu responded with a "meow" of her own.
She had learned last night that Three-Five-Five had declined the director position and only became a junior class teacher. Now asking again, she learned with mixed feelings:
The kittens Three-Five-Five didn't want weren't actually problematic—she just found them too noisy.
As for those she kept, not all of them were clever. For example, that still-sleeping kitten... its only merit was being sleepy, crawling to food with eyes closed, making it very easy to care for (according to Three-Five-Five).
Chu Tingwu: =v=
As for these remaining kittens, they were all quite young now. Some were awake and staring blankly at the screen, while others were slightly more enthusiastic, mewing "miu miu" while approaching the wall to nuzzle against it, rubbing their heads against the glowing surface.
Three-Five-Five went over to push the kitten away, then squatted for a couple of seconds before moving closer, pressing her head against where Chu Tingwu's hand appeared to be.
Chu Tingwu called out "mama" in cat language, her voice unusually soft.
Though they'd been apart for less than a day, she was already feeling guilty.
Even though Three-Five-Five was the "mama" and she was the kitten, both mother cat and kitten felt they hadn't taken good care of each other.
The system felt guilty too—
"If only I could upgrade to directly pull you both into the same dream across half the planet..."
Chu Tingwu: That sounds like the beginning of a horror game!
"Miu?"
Beside her, Lian took off her headphones and looked at Chu Tingwu curiously, making the same cat sound.
Yes, it was the cat word for "mama."
Chu Tingwu: "So there wasn't any music in your headphones..."
Lian: "Wearing headphones is just my habit... What does 'miu' mean? White said you speak cat language."
She also sat on Chu Tingwu's bed and saw the tortoiseshell cat on the phone.
The tortoiseshell mama cat looked curiously at this stranger and meowed to Chu Tingwu: "I can't understand the language you're speaking meow!"
She wasn't a cat who knew foreign languages!
Lian also imitated the "meow meow" sound, then looked expectantly at Chu Tingwu.
Chu Tingwu: "..."
Three-Five-Five: "!!?"
Through the screen, Three-Five-Five cursed.
Chu Tingwu quickly raised her phone, made a "I'll explain in a moment" gesture to Lian, calmed down mama, then said: "Why don't I start a livestream?"
It was said that some footage had been shot at the training base, but they weren't systematic, and editing and plotting needed time. Chu Tingwu felt she couldn't leave all her streaming tasks to Cat Mom, after all, she had signed a contract with the website.
She decided to simply chat with her fans about her experiences today.
However, she didn't start streaming from her end, but maintained connection with Three-Five-Five, letting the system broadcast her wall projection through an unmanned flying sphere.
Noticeably, fans entering the streaming room seemed slightly hesitant and confused. They first greeted Three-Five-Five as usual, then cooed at the kitten beside them, before finally asking Chu Tingwu:
[Chu Meow, why have you become two-dimensional?]
Chu Tingwu replied with a calm expression: "Because I've been sealed inside the wall. Send 55 yuan and the cat god can help break the seal."
[Why 55!?]
Chu Tingwu: "The god charges processing fees."
After the playful exchange, she explained her current situation.
[So you're really observing wolf packs... Wow, I visited Red Rock Reserve earlier this year, but I only went for sightseeing. In two days, I only saw one wild elk, though I took lots of photos of waterfalls and volcanoes.]
[Yes, yes, the reserve's scenery is quite nice, and transportation is convenient, though accommodation is expensive. Our family drove in and out the whole time because the place is so vast - it takes a whole day just to drive around once!]
[Following what Chu Meow said, I found that account, and they really posted photos. Nice, let's give them a taste of our food culture! Followed!]
Although Chu Tingwu had crossed over from being a cat-focused content creator to becoming a wolf observer and lifestyle vlogger living in the reserve camp, everyone was already used to her versatility. As high school students would say, finding Chu Tingwu in any place or any video seemed perfectly reasonable.
Some viewers who weren't familiar with wild wolves asked:
[Can't you just use drones to film? Observing manually seems too slow and random for gathering data?]
Seeing many people's partial understanding, Chu Tingwu decided to explain from the beginning:
"Wolves are intelligent creatures with their own hierarchy and internal society, similar to the famous 'ABO' society. They divide into Alpha wolf kings, Beta assistants, and Omegas who serve as internal punching bags. A wolf pack has at least these three roles, plus other ordinary wolves—"
"Apart from the wolf king, other citizen wolves might leave the pack after maturity to find mates and form new groups... because only the female wolf king has breeding rights, other female wolves aren't allowed to reproduce."
"When we observe wolf packs, they also observe and study us. Currently, the camp tries to maintain a non-interference relationship with the wolves. This is to prevent human activities from affecting wolf life... For example, if wolves realize they can get food from humans, some lone wolves might not form new packs. Even indirect human intervention helping certain wolves could affect the wolf king's authority in the pack, potentially leading to bloodshed."
To secure their position, in extreme cases, wolf kings might kill pack members, even their own offspring.
Since wolves are pack hunters, the ruler's position directly affects hunting success rates, which in turn affects pup survival rates.
"As for why we don't use drones: first, damaged drones are hard to recover; second, they make noise that disturbs wolf hunting; and third, it's a cost issue."
Forget drones - even in areas where vehicles could pass, they must walk on foot, all marked on offline maps.
Chu Tingwu answered a few more questions, consulting Lian for details she wasn't clear about, since Lian seemed quite free. After chatting for half an hour and completing her self-imposed one-hour streaming target for the day, Chu Tingwu ended the stream.
Then, Lian: "Meow?"
Chu Tingwu: How do you still remember that!
She translated those cat phrases for Lian, who showed an expression of sudden understanding, then said, "So this means you can actually understand when I communicate in cat language, right?"
Of course.
Knowing Lian's perfect memory, Chu Tingwu taught her several simple daily expressions.
After thinking for a moment, she took out her camera and showed Lian the second photo: "Here, beside the tree... can you recognize who this is?"
-
Freckles finished editing the blog post and uploaded it, then set it aside. He had other data to process and didn't think today's post would cause any issues.
Regular followers checked the photos, and many found the text was about a new member, quite young too, sharing some daily life details, so they didn't think much of it.
But some people liked to examine content under a microscope.
After seeing this "Wu's" message, some people went to other networks and, using Chu Tingwu's pinyin name, discovered her identity and traced it to her streaming account.
After reviewing the account's content, hardcore fans were surprised: "Has this child done parkour with Arthur?"
Moreover, although they couldn't fully understand what Chu Tingwu was saying and had to rely on machine translation, they could tell she was indeed popular with animals, especially cats.
So, the hardcore fans went back to like the team account's blog post and shared some information they'd found through VPN, expressing their positive expectations for Chu Tingwu joining the team.
Finally...
The hardcore fans couldn't resist looking at the photos again. The first was a dinner photo, the second a simple landscape shot, but the third, taken from the outer wall, seemed to have a wider angle... but why zoom in for this particular shot?
With this curiosity, they downloaded the image, continuously adjusting contrast and exposure, until they surprisingly discovered—
Is that a wolf's head under the tree! My goodness, which wolf is it! Is it Seville, Milian, Monica, or Ivan... or could it actually be Michelle!? The color's just unclear due to exposure issues!?
Freckles finished his work busily and logged into the account, only to find the backend messages about to explode.
Freckles: "?"
After understanding what they were discussing, he suddenly stood up, ready to find White and Chu Tingwu, then realized it was too late - they were probably already asleep.
Freckles: "..." Why did he only see this now!
Plus, did Chu Tingwu capture that inconspicuous head deliberately or by chance?
With these doubts, excitement, and curiosity, Freckles fell into an uneasy sleep.
The next morning, he first found White and told him about the photo, then located the two girls—
Lian: "That's Qiula."
Others: Why is it you again?
Chu Tingwu peeked out from behind her: "I had Lian check it last night. Although that's Michelle's pack's territory, she believes it's indeed Qiula."
Qiula, who left the valley pack, might have sought refuge with Michelle's pack, but could also have just passed through while pursuing prey alone - no one could be certain.
White: "But, Wu, how did you get this photo?"
"Yes," Freckles hurriedly added, "was it coincidence, or did you spot him and deliberately take it this way?"
Chu Tingwu: "Probably coincidence."
Freckles: Probably?
Chu Tingwu: "If you think it wasn't coincidence, it's fine to consider it intentional."
Although cats are farsighted, they can't see that far. Chu Tingwu's ability to capture the shot indeed involved some luck, but it was also due to her quickly spotting the well-concealed Qiula in the lens and taking the shot.
The reason Chu Tingwu said this was because...
She sniffed the air.
Having arrived just yesterday, she was like a cat in unfamiliar territory, her five senses not yet accustomed to the environment, unable to identify the various elements present. But after one night... with her keen sense of smell, she could now detect the scent of wild animals running several kilometers away.
This naturally included wolf packs.
She just wasn't sure which wolf—she would need to match each scent to its individual owner.
Although they had only managed to photograph Qiula, White was still pleased, humming a tune as he called for Chu Tingwu and Lian to get in the car.
The ranger was driving, with White in the front seat, while Lian and Chu Tingwu sat in the back with the equipment.
They were going to make a round to check the installed infrared cameras and, if possible, track the wolf pack within the permitted range.
However, after the car had traversed an uncomfortably bumpy stretch of road, the ranger looked oddly toward the window: "Wait a moment, I think I saw something reflective."
White sat up straight abruptly: "Could it be a rifle scope?"
Hunting was strictly prohibited in the reserve, but violations were persistent, with past incidents even including poachers wounding rangers.
If it wasn't a scope, it could be unauthorized tourists tampering with cameras deep in the reserve, which was equally illegal.
The ranger clicked his tongue and backed up a couple of steps.
Chu Tingwu pointed to the left front: "Is that it?"
Yes!
The ranger got out and soon returned with White, carrying an animal trap. This old trap was heavily rusted, having been buried in the soil where parts had corroded faster, but recent heavy rains had washed it out of the earth.
The ranger pointed to the rust marks: "It probably caught prey before."
And then, that prey had managed to escape.
It wasn't a scope after all, and they'd found a buried trap—their luck wasn't too bad.
With thoughts of "today might bring good fortune," the ranger continued driving.
Chu Tingwu looked out the window, turning on her camera to start recording.
The surrounding grass had an intensely saturated green color, towering trees blocked the path to the southwest, and the wind carried the scent of prey. As Chu Tingwu watched birds hopping through the trees, she felt a surge of vibrant emotion awakening within her.
Driving until they reached a spot overlooking the river valley, Chu Tingwu could already hear the sound of the stream. A stronger moisture reached her nostrils, and while the others hadn't noticed yet, she had already detected the scent of wolves mixed in with the water vapor.
White looked through his binoculars, excited: "The river valley pack is by the water, and they've brought out their pups."
The river valley pack had been reassembled after winter, with only one pup surviving, now a half-grown wolf cub.
Chu Tingwu raised her camera, using the lens as binoculars to film a segment, quickly spotting the small wolf among the pack.
It was bouncing around in the grass with its rear end up in the air, probably having found an insect to chase and pounce on. The alpha male was gazing at the stream, the alpha female was lying nearby, and the rest of the pack maintained a comfortable distance—a peaceful scene.
On the other bank, yaks had also come to drink.
Seeing the wolf pack on the opposite side, the yak herd hesitated before approaching the riverbank. The young yaks stayed close to their mothers, while the alpha female wolf stood up and herded the wolf cub to the middle of the pack.
The wolf pack did hunt yaks, but neither side seemed to think this was an appropriate time or place.
The humans watching from afar shared this opinion, with White saying:
"'Hope' isn't old enough to hunt yet. The pack won't bring cubs along when hunting large prey like yaks."
"Hope" was the name given to that wolf cub.
Usually, wolf enthusiasts don't name very young cubs because they're unsure if they'll survive, but when Hope became the only survivor in the river valley pack, they decided to give it a name filled with blessing, hoping it would become the "hope" of the river valley pack.
Cubs typically begin their hunting training with simpler prey, as yaks can fight back during a hunt—under the threat of death, even a deer could potentially kill a wolf with a kick.
Both groups finished drinking from opposite sides of the stream. The young calf seemed reluctant to leave, but after being nudged by its elders, it grudgingly retreated from the riverbank.
Chu Tingwu suddenly shifted her camera and alerted White: "There's the smell of blood on the right."
White first looked to his own right, then noticed the direction of Chu Tingwu's camera and raised his binoculars accordingly. He blinked, finally spotting a hint of grey in the grass.
It appeared to be a pair of wolf ears.
A wolf was lying in the grass along the yaks' retreat path, and since the wind was blowing from the opposite bank, it had effectively concealed its scent.
Even if the wind direction suddenly changed, the yaks might not react quickly enough—because the recent breeze had carried the river valley pack's scent.
A lone wolf!
White thought of something and grew excited, constantly looking back and forth between the yaks and the ambushing wolf, while asking Chu Tingwu: "Blood smell? You smelled blood—is it an injured wolf?"
Though he wondered how she could smell it from such a distance!
Chu Tingwu continued filming without answering, while the ranger and Lian observed as well. Lian squinted her eyes, and White clenched his fist—
The wolf suddenly charged into the yak herd, targeting a young yak that had fallen slightly behind due to its playfulness.
The young yak let out a terrified cry and immediately ran toward its mother.
The wind not only carried their scents to them but also brought the emotional pheromones to Chu Tingwu's nose.
She watched the hunt without blinking, seeing how one grey wolf threw the entire yak herd into chaos. The grey wolf had caught the young yak by its hindquarters, and other yaks immediately came to attack it.
The river valley pack across the stream had also stood up, with both alpha wolves standing at the water's edge, observing the hunt and seemingly assessing the situation.
Chu Tingwu heard White sigh.
White: "They won't go help him."
Chu Tingwu: "...Mm."
Because by now, she had also identified this wolf's scent from the complex mixture and had made a judgment about his identity.
Lian: "That's the injured Qiula!"
Yes, it was Qiula again.
Qiula, who had separated from the river valley pack.
