Why Do All the Beasts Want Me?

Author: Mo Ruigui In recent years, as global temperatures have risen annually, the survival environment of Arctic animals has become a hot topic. As a geology graduate student about to graduate, Qiao Qixi was fortunate enough to follow his seniors to the Arctic for scientific research. Just as Qiao Qixi was diligently adapting to his research life in the Arctic, a sudden accident forced his scientific research career to be interrupted. When he woke up again, Qiao Qixi found himself in a wildlife rescue station, surrounded by staff with European faces speaking English, and he had become a polar bear, an object of care and observation. Qiao Qixi felt utterly bewildered, thinking that the wheel of fate had turned in an incredibly absurd way. Perhaps this was a dream, and he would return to his original world after waking up—that's what Qiao Qixi initially thought. However, after two days, he was still in the same bear-like state, so he accepted the fact that he could no longer become a human. Alright, even if he was a polar bear, he still needed to have aspirations in life and not lose his positive spirit just because he had become an animal. After Qiao Qixi came to terms with it, he began to perk up and pay attention to his own situation and his surroundings. Through his careful observation, he learned that this was a wildlife rescue station on Greenland in the Arctic, and he was a polar bear rescued due to injury, less than two years old this year. Strictly speaking, he was still a polar bear that couldn't live alone without his mother. When humans discovered him, there were no other polar bears in the vicinity, which led to the conclusion that this young Male polar bear had already left his mother. polar bears that leave their mothers too early have limited survival capabilities in the wild, especially as the Arctic environment becomes increasingly harsh, leading to a very low survival rate for young polar bears. Fortunately, Arctic animal protection agencies have become increasingly Complete in recent years, doing their best to protect newborn polar bears every year. Although human interference in the natural ecological cycle of wild animals is not rational, the existing polar bear population is dwindling. According to statistics, there are currently only over 20,000 polar bears left in the world, so people cannot just stand by and watch polar bears go extinct. As the largest land carnivore in the world, this young, large polar bear with a coat of snow-white fur was surprisingly popular at the conservation facility. People even named him Alexander. Qiao Qixi: “…” It must be said that this name is truly common. Being able to come to the Arctic for scientific research indicated that Qiao Qixi’s English proficiency was good, so he could glean a lot of information from the staff’s casual conversations. For example, in the past two days, the rescue station had saved another injured polar bear, which was currently in the ICU for emergency treatment and seemed to be in critical condition. This made one ponder, is the attrition rate for polar bears really that high? Actually, there was no need to ask; Qiao Qixi himself knew perfectly well that the survival environment for polar bears was indeed not optimistic. After he recovered from his injuries, he would have to return to the snowy Arctic to make a living, and the thought alone made him feel cold. For a fleeting moment, the unpromising Qiao Qixi felt that staying in the rescue station for life and living out his days was also quite good. But that was impossible. After he recovered, the rescue station would definitely release him, at most equipping him with a GPS tracker to facilitate observation of his subsequent life. polar bears are not afraid of cold; on the contrary, they are afraid of heat. Therefore, the staff arranged a semi-open-air residence for Alexander, which was Qiao Qixi. It was quite large. Currently, Qiao Qixi was living alone as a bear. If he were a pure wild polar bear, he would certainly walk around in the snow every day to cool off, but Qiao Qixi was not. He preferred to stay indoors, doze off after eating, and after waking up, lie on a rock and watch the snow outside. In short, he just wouldn't go out for a stroll. The snow was so thick; it looked cold just by looking at it. Whoever wanted to go for a stroll could go for a stroll; he certainly wasn't going. It was precisely because of his extremely lazy demeanor that the staff always thought he hadn't fully recovered, and they were happy to continue taking care of him. After all, in the minds of foreigners, psychological illness is also a serious illness that needs to be taken seriously. So the question is, what kind of psychological trauma did Alexander suffer? The staff speculated, some guessed that Alexander was depressed because he lacked maternal love at such a young age, meaning he missed his mother. Some speculated that this young polar bear liked lively environments and yearned for the company of companions. Qiao Qixi: “…” No, I just want to freeload and live out my days here, that's all. Some people asked, “Don’t you find this monotonous life boring?” Qiao Qixi smiled without a word, thinking that people who thought that way must have never experienced the joy of being a pig. No academic pressure, no work pressure, no mortgage or car loan, and certainly no need to carry on the family line—pure happiness. In the blink of an eye, half a month of carefree days passed. It was time for Qiao Qixi’s physical examination. Given his gentle nature and friendliness towards the staff, after half a month, everyone had completely trusted this young polar bear with an exceptionally good temper. When the staff came to arrange his physical examination, they simply opened the door and allowed him to move freely outside. Qiao Qixi gently followed one of the staff members to the other end of the rescue station for his physical examination. Along the way, he occasionally saw other animals kept in cages, and these animals were all very wary of his presence. This was the instinctive reaction of the weak to the strong, as polar bears were considered the overlords in the Arctic. To avoid scaring the other animals, Qiao Qixi had to withdraw his curious gaze, a gesture that made the staff breathe a sigh of relief. Young polar bears are curious creatures; they are very interested in new things. Fortunately, this one was very obedient. Qiao Qixi waddled his fluffy big butt slowly into the examination room reserved for him, then obediently accepted the examination. As expected, his wound had healed, and he had even gained a bit of weight. Actually, he could already be released back into the wild. Hearing the staff seriously discussing the release plan, Qiao Qixi felt as if struck by lightning. Judging by their intentions, was his retirement plan going to fall through? QAQ No! Qiao Qixi screamed inwardly. Seriously, what's wrong with keeping one more bear in such a large rescue station? In short, Qiao Qixi didn't want to leave. He had no experience surviving in the wild, and going out meant certain death. After leaving the examination room, Qiao Qixi remained sullen, even eating very little for lunch, looking sickly. He unintentionally overheard staff saying that the reason they had to release him so quickly was because the polar bear in the ICU had pulled through and needed his residence vacated for him. “…” That was quite excessive. Wasn't this clearly saying that he was occupying the toilet without doing his business? Moreover, the residence was so spacious, it wouldn't be impossible to house two bears. Alright, Qiao Qixi knew that polar bears have a strong sense of territory, and the people at the rescue station would be crazy to put them together. However, Alexander's poor mental state made it unwise to rashly send him back into the wild. After careful consideration, the rescue station decided to divide Alexander's residence into two, separating them with a wall. Qiao Qixi, having successfully feigned illness, was bubbling with joy. However, he still didn't dare to eat his dinner with a full appetite, fearing that if he appeared too energetic, the rescue station would send him away again. In short, freeloading a meal really tests one's acting skills. The bear that came out of the ICU was brought over the next morning, creating quite a stir. Qiao Qixi sniffed a strong scent of an aggressor from next door and quickly imagined a strong Male polar bear in his mind. The sense of smell in polar bears is extremely developed, arguably the best among animals, as this allows them to find food on the ice. If polar bears have any natural enemies, it is other polar bears that are stronger than themselves. Avoiding strange polar bears stronger than themselves is an instinct for polar bears, so Qiao Qixi was quite afraid of the polar bear next door. This was an instinct he acquired after becoming a polar bear. However, he still had a human soul, and no matter how strong the scent, it couldn't deter his curiosity. So he approached the stone wall that had just been built yesterday, and peered through the gap to spy on his new neighbor. Even with an injured adult Male polar bear, the staff dared not be careless. They brought the cage in, opened it remotely, then pulled the cage out and closed the door. This injured adult Male polar bear, approximately four years old, was very large, though he appeared somewhat thin due to his injuries. Nevertheless, his aura and gaze still exuded a formidable ferocity and wildness that commanded respect. Qiao Qixi would bet that this Male polar bear, in his prime, weighed at least 800 kilograms—holy cow, a true giant. What does a weight of 800 kilograms mean? It means that when he is on all fours, his height can reach about 1.6 meters, and when standing upright, he can be as tall as 2.8 meters. Qiao Qixi looked at himself and suddenly felt full of anticipation for his bear life. The residence was relatively small, and the giant polar bear quickly circled his territory. From his slow gait, it was clear that he was still very weak. When the giant passed the wall, he stopped to sniff. Qiao Qixi, frightened, retreated, slipping away and returning indoors to sleep soundly. The new polar bear had already smelled the presence of another polar bear on the other side of the wall. He could even distinguish the other's age and strength from the scent. If they are much weaker than themselves, they usually don't care. In the wild, there are two situations where Male polar bears will kill unfamiliar polar bear cubs. One situation is hunger, where they will hunt their own kind, and polar bear cubs are the easiest targets to kill. The other is for reproduction. Female polar bears do not go into estrus while raising cubs, and Male polar bears, wanting to mate, can only induce the Female polar bear to re-enter estrus by killing the polar bear cubs. Therefore, polar bear cubs will hide from unfamiliar Male polar bears; this is an instinct ingrained in their genes. And Qiao Qixi dared to peek over the wall simply because he wasn't a pure polar bear; otherwise, he would have hidden in fear long ago. The adult polar bear lingered by the wall for a moment, then returned indoors to rest. As Qiao Qixi, with his keen hearing and smell, he could hear the other's abnormal breathing and the scent of his wounds. At noon, the staff came to observe the injured polar bear's condition and deliver food. They found that despite their extreme caution, the polar bear had already hidden himself. One staff member said, “Audiss is still very sensitive to smell and hearing, even though he’s injured.” Audiss? Upon hearing their conversation, Qiao Qixi immediately felt a sense of imbalance. What? The neighbor's name was the awesome Audiss, while his was the common Alexander. Talk about double standards. In terms of sensory acuity, he was no slouch either. And Audiss means ‘the sensitive one,’ which is both cool and handsome. Soon after, Qiao Qixi also received his food. The menu was, to say the least, very polar bear-like: some sea fish, lively and jumping. When Qiao Qixi was human, he had never killed a fish, and he never ate uncooked food, including sashimi. However, over the past half month, for the sake of survival, he had gradually adapted to this diet and was no longer so resistant to eating raw fish. After all, a polar bear's taste buds were there, and fresh live fish were very tempting to him. Qiao Qixi's only complaint was, could the variety of fish be a bit more diverse? Eating the same kind every day would get boring. Through the surveillance cameras in the polar bear's residence, the rescue station staff observed their every move. Alexander's appetite was good today; he seemed unaffected by the new neighbor moving in next door, which greatly relieved the staff. They had originally planned to send Alexander away, but now it seemed there was no need to rush. Young polar bears with limited life experience find it truly difficult to survive in the wild; even strong ones like Audiss can encounter accidents. “Audiss doesn’t seem to have an appetite,” one staff member said, watching the monitor with a worried tone. “He’s not like young polar bears; he’s much more vigilant,” his colleague chatted with him. As a professional rescue organization, they rescue countless polar bears every year and are quite familiar with their habits. “Hmm, I believe it’s very difficult for him to accept life in captivity.” But there’s nothing that can be done. The staff member sighed, “It seems we need to release him back into the wild as soon as possible.” “But his injuries are quite severe; he can only stay at the rescue station for a short time,” everyone said worriedly. Audiss was indeed very resistant to this strange and cramped environment. It was filled with complex scents and was not a place he liked, yet he, being weak, could only stay there. Maintaining a wary attitude until the next mealtime, Audiss slowly got up, walked to where the food was placed, and began to eat. It is April, and the Arctic Circle has just emerged from a long Night, welcoming a polar day that lasts over five months. For the Arctic Circle, where it snows for more than half the year, heavy snowfall in this month is truly nothing out of the ordinary. Qiao Qixi had long since curled up indoors, sleeping soundly. Because it was now only daytime with no Night, for him, snowfall was the best time to sleep. At the height of the blizzard, the wall standing between them collapsed at its furthest corner. Qiao Qixi woke up in his dream, but he was bewildered and didn't know what had happened, so he changed his position, curled up, and continued to sleep. Audiss, who was not in a deep sleep, looked up at the corner where the noise came from. However, the wind and snow outside were too heavy, and the polar bear, whose eyesight was not particularly good, could not see what had happened. After the wind and snow, it seemed to be the next morning. The sun broke through the clouds, casting a gentle light, and the pristine white snow shimmered faintly. Qiao Qixi, who was incredibly lazy, decided to go out and get some exercise after breakfast. As a polar bear less than two years old, his fur was exceptionally white, looking almost brand new. When he walked on the thick snow, the scene was incredibly beautiful, but unfortunately, he couldn't witness it himself. Even though he had transformed into a polar bear, he couldn't fulfill his wish of petting a polar bear. However, when Qiao Qixi saw the collapsed gap, his entire bear self froze. “Ah, this…” Although Qiao Qixi himself was a polar bear, he had never observed a polar bear up close. So, his first reaction upon seeing the gap was not fear, but excitement as he poked his bear head through to check out his new neighbor. Audiss was dozing. Smelling the young polar bear's scent, he lifted his eyelids and raised his head, then saw a bear head stuck in the wall 20 meters away. The injured Audiss was very wary. He regarded Qiao Qixi as an intruder, so he bared his teeth and let out a deep, resonant warning growl from his throat. The polar bear's vocal cords are very deep, and the low-frequency sounds he produces can easily cause fear. Qiao Qixi was a little scared, so he immediately pulled his head back, only revealing half of his face to observe the other party. The consequence of his action seemed to greatly displease this adult Male polar bear. The giant, who appeared to have a bad temper, walked towards him. Damn it! Qiao Qixi couldn't help but be terrified, quickly retracting his two bear paws from the wall, turning around, and hopping back into his small den. Audiss stood silently in front of the collapsed gap for a moment, then lowered his head to sniff the scent Qiao Qixi had left on the wall.