POLAR BEAR ARC CHAPTER 1

In recent years, as global temperatures have been steadily rising, the survival of polar animals has become a hot topic.

As a soon-to-be geology graduate, Qiao Qixi was fortunate enough to join his mentor on a scientific expedition to the Arctic.

While Qiao Qixi was trying to adapt to his new scientific life in the Arctic, an unexpected accident abruptly interrupted his research career.

When he woke up, Qiao Qixi found himself in a wildlife rescue center surrounded by European staff speaking English. To his shock, he had become a polar bear, now the subject of care and observation.

"......"

Qiao Qixi was bewildered, thinking that the turn of events was absurdly outrageous.

At first, he thought it was just a dream and that he would wake up back in his original world. However, after two days, he was still a bear, so he accepted the fact that he might never become human again.

Well, even as a polar bear, one must have goals in life and not lose the positive spirit just because of turning into an animal.

After coming to terms with his situation, Qiao Qixi began to focus on his surroundings.

Through careful observation, he learned that he was at a wildlife rescue center on Greenland in the Arctic and that he was a young polar bear, less than two years old, rescued after being injured. Strictly speaking, he was still a cub that should not be living independently without his mother.

When humans found 'him,' there were no other polar bears around, indicating that this young male polar bear had already been separated from his mother.

Polar bears that leave their mothers too early have limited survival skills in the wild, especially as the polar environment becomes increasingly harsh, resulting in a low survival rate for young polar bears.

Fortunately, in recent years, polar animal protection agencies have been improving, striving to protect newborn polar bears each year.

Although human intervention in the natural ecosystem of wild animals is not ideal, with only about 20,000 polar bears left in the world, people cannot just stand by and watch them go extinct.

As the world's largest land carnivore, this young, tall polar bear with snow-white fur became surprisingly popular at the rescue center, and people even named him Alexander.

Qiao Qixi: "......"

He had to admit that the name was incredibly common.

Qiao Qixi's proficiency in English, which enabled him to participate in scientific research in the Arctic, allowed him to glean a lot of information from the staff's conversations.

For instance, another injured polar bear had been rescued recently and was in the ICU in critical condition.

It made one wonder just how high the mortality rate of polar bears was.

In fact, Qiao Qixi knew all too well that the survival environment for polar bears was indeed grim.

Once he recovered, he would have to return to the snowy wilderness to fend for himself, just the thought of it made him feel cold.

For a moment, the discouraged Qiao Qixi thought that staying in the rescue center for the rest of his life wouldn't be so bad.

But that was impossible.

Once he recovered, the rescue center would release him back into the wild, most likely with a GPS tracker for monitoring his future life.

Polar bears are not afraid of the cold but the heat, so the staff arranged a semi-open shelter for Alexander, or rather Qiao Qixi.

It was quite spacious.

At the moment, Qiao Qixi was the only bear living there.

A pure wild polar bear would certainly take a couple of walks in the snow daily to cool off, but Qiao Qixi wasn't like that; he preferred staying indoors, napping after a meal, or lying on the rocks watching the snow outside. He simply wouldn't go out for a stroll.

The snow was so thick, just looking at it made him feel cold.

Whoever liked to stroll could go, but he wouldn't.

Because of his lazy demeanor, the staff always thought he hadn't fully recovered and were happy to continue caring for him.

After all, in the minds of the foreigners, mental illness was a serious condition that needed attention too!

So, the question arose, what psychological trauma did Alexander suffer?

The staff speculated that Alexander was depressed because he had lost his mother at a young age and missed her.

Some guessed that this young polar bear enjoyed company and longed for companions!

Qiao Qixi: "??"

No, he just wanted to loaf around and enjoy free meals, nothing more.

Someone asked, wouldn't such a monotonous life be boring?

Qiao Qixi smiled silently, thinking that those who thought so had never experienced the joy of being as carefree as a pig.

No academic pressure, no work pressure, no mortgage, no car loan, and no need to carry on the family line, just happiness.

In the blink of an eye, half a month of worry-free days had passed.

It was time for Qiao Qixi's physical examination.

Given his docile nature and friendliness towards the staff, he had earned their complete trust over the past half month.

When the staff came to arrange his checkup, they simply opened the door, letting him walk freely outside.

Qiao Qixi followed a staff member obediently to the other end of the rescue center for his checkup.

Along the way, he occasionally saw other animals in cages, who all looked very alert at his presence.

This was the instinctive reaction of the weak to the strong, as polar bears were considered the rulers of the polar regions.

To avoid scaring the other animals, Qiao Qixi withdrew his curious gaze, a move that relieved the staff.

Young polar bears are very curious babies, interested in new things.

Luckily, this one was very obedient.

Qiao Qixi, swaying his fluffy bottom, slowly walked into the examination room reserved for him and accepted the checkup obediently. As expected, his wounds had healed, and he had even gained some weight.

He could actually be released into the wild now.

Hearing the staff seriously discussing the release plan, Qiao Qixi felt thunderstruck.

It seemed his retirement plan was about to be ruined.

QAQ! No, Qiao Qixi cried out inwardly.

Honestly, such a big rescue center, what's the harm in keeping one more bear?

In any case, Qiao Qixi didn't want to leave. He had no experience surviving in the wild and would certainly die if he went out there.

After leaving the examination room, Qiao Qixi was downcast, eating very little for lunch, looking very sickly.

He overheard the staff saying that the reason for his quick release was because the polar bear in the ICU had survived and needed his shelter.

"???" That was really unfair.

It was like saying he was occupying a space without doing anything useful.

Moreover, the shelter was spacious enough to house two bears.

Okay, Qiao Qixi knew that polar bears had strong territorial instincts, and the rescue center staff would be crazy to put them together.

However, given Alexander's poor mental state, sending him back into the wild was not a wise choice either.

After careful consideration, the rescue center decided to divide Alexander's shelter in two, separating them with a wall.

Feigning illness successfully, Qiao Qixi was delighted, though he didn't dare eat too much at dinner, fearing that appearing too vigorous would prompt the rescue center to send him away again.

In short, getting free meals really tested his acting skills.

The polar bear from the ICU was brought over the next morning with quite a commotion.

Qiao Qixi smelled a strong scent of an intruder from the adjacent space and quickly imagined a robust male polar bear.

Polar bears have a highly developed sense of smell, arguably the best among animals, essential for finding food on the ice.

If polar bears had any natural enemies, it would be stronger polar bears.

Avoiding stronger unfamiliar polar bears was a survival instinct for polar bears, so Qiao Qixi was quite afraid of the bear next door, a fear stemming from his innate instincts after becoming a polar bear.

However, he still had a human soul, and no scent could curb his curiosity.

So, he approached the newly built stone wall, peeking through the gaps to spy on his new neighbor.

Faced with an adult male polar bear, even if it was injured, the staff remained very cautious.

They brought the cage in, opened it remotely, and then pulled the cage out and closed the door.

This injured adult male polar bear, about four years old, was quite large, though he looked somewhat thin due to his injuries.

Despite this, his aura and gaze still exuded a formidable ferocity and wildness.

Qiao Qixi dared to bet that this male polar bear in his prime could weigh at least 800 kilograms, damn, a giant.

What does 800 kilograms mean?

It means that even on all fours, his height could reach about 1.6 meters, and standing upright, he could be as tall as 2.8 meters.

Qiao Qixi looked at himself and suddenly felt hopeful about his future as a bear.

The shelter was relatively small, and the giant polar bear soon surveyed his territory. From his slow pace, it was evident that he was still very weak.

When the giant passed by the wall, he stopped to sniff around. Qiao Qixi fearfully stepped back and fled back indoors to sleep.

The new polar bear had already detected the presence of another bear on the other side of the wall.

He could even discern the other bear's age and strength from the scent.

If significantly weaker, they usually wouldn't care.

In the wild, there are two situations where male polar bears might kill unfamiliar bear cubs.

One is hunger, where they hunt their kind, and polar bear cubs are the easiest targets.

The other is for reproduction.

Female polar bears won't go into heat while raising cubs, so male polar bears kill cubs to induce the females to enter heat again.

Therefore, bear cubs instinctively avoid unfamiliar male polar bears, a behavior embedded in their genes.

But Qiao Qixi dared to peek through the wall only because he wasn't purely a polar bear; otherwise, he would have been too scared to hide.

The adult polar bear lingered by the wall briefly before returning indoors to rest. With his keen hearing and sense of smell, Qiao Qixi could hear the other's labored breathing and smell his wounds.

By noon, when the staff came to check on the injured bear and deliver food, they found that despite their caution, he had still hidden away early.

One staff member said, "Even injured, Otis's hearing and sense of smell are still very sharp."

Otis?

Hearing their conversation, Qiao Qixi felt somewhat unbalanced. How come the bear next door had a cool name like Otis, while he was stuck with the common name Alexander, double standards.

In terms of sensory acuity, he was no worse.

Otis means 'keen,' both cool and handsome.

Soon, Qiao Qixi also received his food, which was very typical for a polar bear—some live fish, fresh and lively.

Qiao Qixi had never killed a fish as a human and never ate raw food, including sashimi.

However, over the past half month, to survive, he had gradually adapted to this diet, becoming less resistant to eating raw fish. After all, a polar bear's taste buds made fresh, live fish quite tempting.

Qiao Qixi's only complaint was whether there could be more variety in the fish. Eating the same kind every day got boring.

Through the surveillance cameras in the polar bear shelters, the rescue center staff monitored their every move.

Alexander's appetite today seemed unaffected by the new neighbor, much to the staff's relief.

Initially, they planned to release Alexander soon, but it seemed unnecessary to rush now.

Young polar bears with little life experience struggled to survive in the wild, even strong ones like Otis could encounter danger.

"Otis seems to have no appetite," a staff member said worriedly, watching the monitor.

"He's different from young polar bears; he's much more cautious," his colleague replied. As a professional rescue organization, they rescued countless polar bears annually and were well-versed in their habits.

"Yes, I believe it's hard for him to accept being in captivity," but there was no choice.

The staff sighed, "It seems we'll have to release him into the wild soon."

"But his injuries are severe; he can only stay at the rescue center for now," they said worriedly.

Otis indeed resisted this strange, confined environment filled with complex scents, not his preferred place, but his weak body kept him there.

Maintaining vigilance until it was time for a meal, Otis slowly got up and began to eat at the feeding spot.

It was April, and the Arctic had just emerged from the long polar night, welcoming over five months of continuous daylight.

With the Arctic Circle covered in snow for most of the year, heavy snow in this month was not unusual.

Qiao Qixi had long since nestled indoors, sound asleep, as the continuous daylight made snowy days perfect for napping.

During the most violent snowstorm, the corner of the wall separating them finally collapsed.

Qiao Qixi woke up startled but was confused and didn't know what had happened, so he changed his sleeping position and continued to sleep.

Otis, who wasn't fully asleep, lifted his head to look at the noisy corner.

However, the blizzard outside was too severe for the polar bear with poor vision to see what had happened.

After the storm, it seemed to be the next morning. The sun peeked through the clouds, casting a faint glow on the snow.

The lazy Qiao Qixi, after breakfast, decided to go out for some exercise.

As a polar bear not yet two years old, his fur was very white, looking almost new.

Walking on the thick snow, the scene was very picturesque, but unfortunately, he couldn't see it himself, nor could he fulfill his wish of hugging a polar bear even after becoming one.

However, seeing the collapsed gap, Qiao Qixi was stunned. Ah, this......

Although Qiao Qixi was a polar bear, he had never watched a polar bear up close, so seeing this gap, his first reaction was excitement. He eagerly poked his bear head through to check out his new neighbor.

Otis, who was dozing off, smelled the scent of the young polar bear, lifted his eyelids, and saw a bear head stuck in the wall 20 meters away.

The injured Otis was very vigilant, viewing Qiao Qixi as an intruder. He bared his teeth and let out a deep, low growl from his throat.

The deep growl of a polar bear's voice was very intimidating.

Qiao Qixi, a bit scared, quickly pulled his head back, leaving only half of his face peeking at the other bear.

His action seemed to infuriate the adult male polar bear, who looked rather grumpy as he walked towards him.

Damn......

Afraid of dying, Qiao Qixi quickly pulled his paws off the wall and bounced back to his little room.

Otis stood quietly in front of the collapsed gap for a while, then sniffed the spot where Qiao Qixi had left his scent.

I have revised the chapter. I hope you can see my progress 😄