Chapter 105

Chapter 105: "Not Wanting the Walrus Anymore?"

Back in her own tent, Lin Qianyu first picked up the little spotted seal and shook off the snow, cleaning it thoroughly from head to tail, not even missing the paws. After tidying it up, she put it inside.

The polar bear, whose head had already slipped inside the tent zipper opening, saw this and backed out, sitting outside the tent watching her busily.

The little spotted seal was stiff when lifted, still not used to being held.

It didn’t have much snow on its body, just a bit on its belly, which could be easily brushed off with a light pat.

Sensing the little spotted seal’s stiffness, Lin Qianyu rubbed it gently, saying, “Alright, go play.”

She then put the little spotted seal inside the tent.

“Ah-ao!” The little spotted seal spun around on the ground, facing the tent door just like the arctic fox.

The polar bear shook its fur, took two steps forward voluntarily, and looked at her seriously, “Ao!”

[Polar Bear: My turn, my turn!]

[Hahaha, hurry and pick it up for a pat! Such a big polar bear, that must take several pats.]

[What are you talking about! Wild polar bears are all like this. This is a normal, even strong build! How can you call it a 'vehicle'?]

[What are you standing there for? Reach out!]

“I can’t carry you either.” Lin Qianyu caught the polar bear’s paw, hugged it and patted it, “You sit here, I’ll wipe the snow off your paws.”

“Wooh!” The polar bear sat right at the tent’s entrance, instantly blocking the whole door, closing it tight.

The two furry creatures inside trying to peek out both froze.

When their eyes met, the little spotted seal suddenly retracted its neck, “Ah-ao-ao!”

The arctic fox, who had no intention to bite the little spotted seal, was speechless: “...”

Next moment, noticing the polar bear who had come in after being patted dry, the little spotted seal immediately quieted down, puffing and crawling deeper into the tent. After crawling for a bit, it looked back to see the polar bear staring intently. After a brief silence, the little spotted seal flipped onto its back, tilted its head back, and played dead.

Lin Qianyu was about to zip up the tent and, looking at the wind-swaying live streaming equipment, hesitated a moment and said, “Should we keep the stream on tonight or turn it off...?”

If the streaming equipment stayed on but blacked out, it could be left outside to film scenery, but at night, with possible wind or snow, strong winds would likely blow the equipment away, and snow blocking the lens wouldn’t capture much.

Lin Qianyu thought for a moment and said, “Better to turn it off.”

Bring it inside to be safer.

If it got lost, she wouldn’t even know where to look.

The chat was about to say something, but as Lin Qianyu’s words ended, the live stream plunged into darkness.

The live equipment was set aside.

Lin Qianyu took off her down jacket, sighed in relief, and looked around. The tent had four corners, and the three furry ones each occupied one corner, as if each was doing their own thing without disturbing the others. She laughed, “Why are you all lying so far apart?”

The last corner was used by her to place her backpack.

Lin Qianyu walked inside; the tent wasn’t very tall, so she had to slightly bend over to walk inside. She opened her sleeping bag and lay down, reminding them, “I’m going to sleep now. Don’t fight and get some rest early.”

Lying in the sleeping bag was still much warmer than just sitting inside the tent.She had just closed her eyes when she heard the sound of fur brushing against the tent inside, and then felt warmth beside her.

The furry arctic fox and polar bear were on her left and right, the little spotted seal looked left and right and quietly squeezed in to occupy a corner.

Lin Qianyu whispered, “Good night.”

“Wooh…”

“Huh?”

“Ao!” The polar bear lay beside the sleeping bag, rubbing against her through the sleeping bag.

The empty tent warmed up because of the presence of the furry creatures.

Surrounded by the fur, wrapped in warmth, drowsiness surged up, but Lin Qianyu suddenly remembered something and raised her hand to send a message to Feng Jingye.

She had to let him know the polar bear was with her; if he didn’t know and the polar bear opened the tent at night to come in, no matter how strong his mindset, he wouldn’t be able to take it calmly.

Just as she finished editing and sent the message, Lin Qianyu felt a gaze on her. She looked up suspiciously and, by the light of her watch, noticed the polar bear stretching its neck, turning its head to look at the watch screen in front of her.

The polar bear’s gaze shifted to Lin Qianyu’s face, blinking its eyes.

Lin Qianyu: “...”

Although she knew the polar bear couldn’t understand the words, at that moment she inexplicably felt a bit guilty, even though she didn’t know why.

“Ahem.” She cleared her throat softly. “Can you understand it?”

“Ao…” The polar bear licked her cheek and lay back down.

[What? What are they saying? What’s happening?!]

[Looks like watching a silent play. @Su Yuxing, do you have anything to say about this?]

[Let me see! Lin Jie, are you treating us like outsiders? We’re all family—what can’t we see?]

Lin Qianyu quickly tapped send, then raised her hand to stroke the polar bear’s furry ear twice, “Sleep.”

At night, the wind and snow suddenly rose.

The icy, snowy wind slammed the tent, making muffled noises.

Until dawn, the muffled sound gradually ceased.

The sleeping bag covered half of Lin Qianyu’s face. Half asleep, she turned over, moved her hand but was trapped by the sleeping bag and couldn’t stretch it out. Feeling a bit hot, she groped to unzip, wanting to pull the blanket down a little.

This was just a fleeting thought in her mind, but when her hand touched the ‘blanket’ covering her neck, her fingertips paused.

—Where did this blanket come from?

Wasn’t she sleeping inside the sleeping bag last night?

Lin Qianyu instinctively grabbed the ‘blanket’ a couple more times, trying to figure out what was going on by the feel.

Before she could understand, the ‘blanket’ seemed to sense something and lifted its head; the arctic fox’s big tail swept over her shoulder, “Wooh!”

The arctic fox’s eyes were very round, but the fur and natural eyeliner outlined them, making them look a bit like phoenix eyes—narrow, with slightly upturned corners, and bright animal pupils.

Up close, it looked even more beautiful.Inside the sleeping bag, Lin Qianyu moved her hand and pulled the little fox into the sleeping bag.

The sleeping bag could only fit one person, so hugging like this was a bit tight, and the zipper wouldn’t close. Since she didn’t plan to continue sleeping, Lin Qianyu just held the smooth fur like that.

Sounds could be heard from the livestream; it seemed like the audience noticed Lin Qianyu was awake, and the chat was flooding with comments.

The colorful comments flashed rapidly on her watch.

Lin Qianyu got up and adjusted the livestream equipment for the full broadcast, saying, “Good morning, everyone.”

She smoothed the fox’s tail and yawned, rubbing it in her arms, then noticed the little spotted seal rolled to the side but didn’t see the polar bear.

Lin Qianyu froze. “Where’s the polar bear?”

The tent zipper was tightly closed without any sign of being opened.

But since there was no sign of the polar bear inside, it must have gone out — whether to hunt or for some other reason, she didn’t know.

Lin Qianyu took out some wet wipes to clean her face, put on her down jacket, unzipped the tent just a bit, and looked outside. Unsurprisingly, she saw the polar bear circling Feng Jingye’s tent.

There was probably no one inside; otherwise, the polar bear wouldn’t just wander outside without entering.

The polar bear tapped the tent. The tent frame was very elastic, and just from one tap, it was deformed. Once released, it bounced back immediately, almost hitting the polar bear’s face because it was so close.

“Roar!” The polar bear got even angrier.

[Good grief, adding fuel to old grudges.]

[No one’s even there and they still bully our bear, that’s too much!]

[Lol, really, no one’s speaking up for the island master? Feels like everyone’s just enjoying watching him get bullied.]

[The clash of strength, the battle between animals and humans — who will win, who will fall quietly, and who will sit on the champion’s throne! Stay tuned for the large-scale wilderness survival variety show "The Wild."]

Unable to find anyone to block, the polar bear leisurely walked out of the base. Judging from the direction it left, it was probably going hunting.

Lin Qianyu stretched, relieved it didn’t turn into a fight.

She came back, put her clothes back on, and reopened the tent. “Let’s just cook some canned soup for breakfast.”

Yesterday’s fire was already out, even covered with a thick layer of snow.

“Looks like the wind and snow last night were pretty strong.” Lin Qianyu tried to clear some snow off the fire, but it was mostly frozen inside. She decided to overturn the whole fire and restack it with wood.

The tent also had quite a bit of snow on it.

Lin Qianyu lit the fire first, then turned to use thin branches to clear the accumulated snow.

When the snow was light at first, it didn’t matter much whether she cleared it or not. But if it gradually thickened, melting and refreezing on the inside would make it hard to deal with.

Even for just one tent, it was better to be careful.

“Does the little spotted seal eat seals?” Lin Qianyu wondered when she dug out the seal. Earlier, when fishing, the little spotted seal didn’t seem interested in regular seal meat.

But now that she was finding fish to feed the little spotted seal, it was naturally too late to get anything else.

Lin Qianyu used an axe to chop the frozen seal in half, thawing it near the fire. “Fox, you eat first. If the little spotted seal doesn’t eat it, I’ll go fishing for it later.”

“Wait until the outer layer thaws a bit before eating,” Lin Qianyu said, getting up. The seal was now as hard as an ice block, still solid, and biting into it would just break teeth.The fire was strong, and the snow inside the lunchbox melted quickly. When the water started bubbling, Lin Qianyu scooped in half a can of canned meat.

Putting a whole can of meat in would be too greasy, but half a can was just right.

Lin Qianyu ate compressed biscuits, which were already hard to bite, and even harder because of the cold. It wasn’t really biting, more like slowly grinding the edges with her teeth.

She occasionally stirred the pot with a spoon to break apart the clumped meat pieces. “The canned meat smells pretty good.”

The meaty aroma had a chemical note. When opening the can, it wasn’t that strong, but the broth and fat had solidified. Boiling it in water released the flavors.

The little spotted seal sniffed and seemed very interested in the smell.

“Want some?” Lin Qianyu scooped a spoonful for it. “There’s a lot of seasoning inside; you can only eat a little.”

The little spotted seal eagerly opened its mouth and swallowed the broth and meat from the can.

No chewing, just swallowing.

After a gulp, the little spotted seal seemed stunned for a moment, then clicked its mouth.

Lin Qianyu smiled and asked, “How is it?”

“Ah ah ao ao ao ao!” The little spotted seal cried loudly and rolled on the ground, tumbling left and right.

Lin Qianyu: “? Is it that bad?”

So bad it’s rolling around?

Lin Qianyu took a bite herself. It really tasted like classic braised pork, with the typical canned meat flavor. The meat was tender and fatty without being greasy, and it went perfectly with the compressed biscuits.

Much better than food she had cooked herself with just salt and roasting.

Lin Qianyu poked the little spotted seal, which had stopped rolling. “It’s really tasty.”

The little spotted seal paused, then kept rolling. “Ah ao!”

Lin Qianyu: “...”

Maybe heavily seasoned food was hard for the little spotted seal to like.

The little fox didn’t lift its head, busy chewing on the seal’s head.

For the Arctic fox, waking up to food was something it could only dream of. Being able to eat well and then sleep was already great.

Lin Qianyu scooped a bowl of meat broth. “It would be perfect with some chopped green onions and coriander.”

With staple food and meat broth, all that was missing was some vegetables. If she cooked some meatballs or mushrooms, it could even be a meat hotpot.

In such cold weather, hot soup was perfect. The bowl would be warm to hold, helping to warm the hands.

After finishing a pot of meat broth, Lin Qianyu was already sweating.

The Arctic fox was still trying hard to eat the other half of the seal, which was frozen solid. Baking it for just a short time only softened the surface; it was impossible to fully thaw it. So biting into the inside meat was still quite difficult.

Lin Qianyu grabbed a handful of snow and put it in the pot. No need to wash, just rubbing the snow in the pot twice made it clean.

“Why are you up so early?” Feng Jingye walked into the base area. Right now, Lin Qianyu was the only one outside; the other guests’ tents were all tightly closed, clearly still asleep.

Lin Qianyu smiled slightly. “Got up early to build shelter. You’re even earlier than me—did you go out before dawn?”Feng Jingye stepped forward and said, “Better to be early, otherwise if the polar bear wakes up, wouldn’t it block me?”

Lin Qianyu raised an eyebrow, thinking Feng Jingye really guessed right—if they ran into each other before hunting, it looked like they’d have to fight before going out.

“Here, this is for you.” Feng Jingye picked up a bunch of fish, all different sizes and types, strung together with a rope. He handed her the biggest one. “Consider it thanks for reminding me last night.”

Otherwise, when he came back, if he lifted the tent flap, a polar bear might really jump out.

In his livestream chat, people were all talking about how Lin Qianyu persuaded the polar bear blocking the entrance to back off—naturally, she couldn’t let her effort go unnoticed.

Lin Qianyu didn’t take the fish and said, “No need, you keep it and eat it. I just finished breakfast.”

“Then keep it for lunch.” Feng Jingye hung the fish on a corner of the tent. “Put it here.”

“Eh...” Lin Qianyu was about to say something more, but the little spotted seal bit onto the fish’s tail.

After a moment, she said, “Thanks.”

Feng Jingye smiled, “You’re welcome.”

【Hmm... one attracts animals, the other repels them, these two are quite complementary.】

【Whenever I feel sad because I can’t attract animals, I watch the island master’s past streams. He’s like this, what do I have to be sad about?】

【But the island master has money, looks, and an island. Although the animals don’t like him, they live on his island, so basically it’s still his.】

【Damn, that makes me even sadder.】

【Someone get the polar bear and the white lion tiger together, then put the island master in to mediate. Arrange this show, I’d love to watch it.】

...

Lin Qianyu had originally planned to go fishing—she couldn’t let the little spotted seal starve.

With Feng Jingye’s fish, she didn’t have to rush out today.

Lin Qianyu dug out the wooden sled buried under snow. “You eat first, I’ll go move bricks some more.”

Moving snow bricks was still moving bricks.

The Arctic fox, carrying freshly torn meat, looked toward Lin Qianyu, dropped the meat without hesitation, jumped over the seal, and followed behind her.

“Are you full?” Lin Qianyu petted the Arctic fox’s belly. Wearing gloves, she couldn’t feel much.

But the seal’s meat hadn’t really decreased.

Lin Qianyu stroked the little fox’s head, picked it up, and walked back to the front of the tent. By the fire, she put the Arctic fox down and said, “You eat first. I’m going to the place we went to yesterday; I’ll be back soon.”

She opened the tent zipper, “If you get full and want to sleep, come inside and rest.”

“Ying!”

The Arctic fox’s tail brushed Lin Qianyu’s wrist. She caught the fluffy tail and rubbed its tip on the fox’s nose. “Good.”

After settling the two at home, Lin Qianyu pulled the wooden sled and walked out.

—The place where they dug snow bricks yesterday still had obvious snow height differences.

A night of wind and snow wasn’t enough to fill the snow pit here.On the lower side, there appeared mottled red patches. “Looks like blood.”

Lin Qianyu put down the wooden sled and walked over to examine carefully. It was indeed blood, but very little. Looking closely, there were some footprints. “Seems like an animal came here to hunt.”

The footprints were covered by snow, but not completely sealed, so the outlines were faintly visible, though it was hard to tell what kind of animal it was.

“Looks like there are quite a few small animals around here.” Lin Qianyu took an axe out of her backpack and began cutting snow bricks.

Like in the Antarctic or Arctic, where food is scarce and glaciers melt, even the ice for polar bears to stand on is very limited. The polar bears in documentaries look yellowish and thin.

Although the rescue station staff on the island don’t interfere much, if there is food shortage, they would artificially supply food.

They don’t feed it directly to you, but provide animals for you to hunt. This is somewhat different from truly wild conditions.

This was her second time moving snow bricks, so she had some experience.

This time Lin Qianyu pushed the sled straight in, used the axe to cut along both sides of the sled, and sliced off a whole block, then transported it back for finer division later, saving time.

“Some professionals who build ice houses even build ice beds that don’t melt or break and are very sturdy.” Lin Qianyu gently pulled the sled out. As for ice beds, she had no plans to try. Whether it melted or not wasn’t the main concern; she cared more about warmth.

Lin Qianyu thought and said, “Maybe it’s better to build a wooden bed here too.”

A wooden bed can be elevated, keeping distance from the ground, which is warmer than lying directly on the ground.

Like the air mattress under a sleeping bag, it separates you from the ground.

【Enough with ice houses, Lin Jie, look back!】

【There’s something on that cliff! Ahhh, I thought I was seeing things, but when I turned my head just now, it scared me.】

【Looks like an animal. Is it a bird? That high up it should be a bird.】

【The tail doesn’t look like one; it’s a bit like a cat’s tail... Too far away. I suggest Lin Jie climbs up a bit to see more clearly.】

“What animal?” Lin Qianyu, dragging a snow brick back, noticed the discussion and looked in the direction indicated by the chat. There was only a bare cliff, some protruding rocks, and short trees hanging above.

The scenery was complete, but no animals were visible.

Seeing this, Lin Qianyu said, “The one that came down to hunt earlier should be it.”

Last time here she hadn’t seen footprints or any animals; maybe it was chasing prey over here.

While speaking, Lin Qianyu glanced that way again. A tail hanging from a rock quickly retracted.

Hidden in a blind spot of the livestream, nothing was captured on camera.

“Looks a bit like a leopard’s tail.” Lin Qianyu walked back, pondering: “But... a snow leopard? Snow leopard tails should be thicker.”

But on a polar island, cheetahs or leopards probably wouldn’t appear.

They only place small animals in similar environments when the island is unsuitable for their survival.

Cheetahs and leopards obviously don’t belong in that category.

【Could it be a rather skinny snow leopard?】

【In cold weather snow leopards puff up their fur, so even if skinny, the fur volume shouldn’t be affected.】

【Help, I’m really curious to death. What exactly is that animal?】...

Lin Qianyu looked over there. Maybe because it was almost discovered just now, it didn’t even peek its head out—uncertain whether it was hiding behind or had left.

“Wooh?”

Her attention elsewhere, Lin Qianyu walked slowly. The polar bear, carrying the walrus, caught up in just a couple of steps.

Lin Qianyu was stunned for a moment, then curled her lips, “You’re back.”

She freed one hand to pat the polar bear’s head. “Good job.”

The polar bear stood up and tried to feed the walrus into Lin Qianyu’s mouth.

“Wait, wait, wait…” Lin Qianyu leaned back, repeatedly refusing, “I’m not eating, you eat it yourself.”

The plump walrus hung loosely, the two long tusks almost touching Lin Qianyu’s goggles.

Seeing it so close was quite a visual shock.

The polar bear tilted its head, “Wooh!”

Weak!

The strong polar bear didn’t understand why humans were so weak and still didn’t eat.

Eating more is how you get stronger.

“Not weak, more like skinny. But I’m not that skinny, just can’t compare with you,” Lin Qianyu explained with a wry smile. Seeing it insist, she added, “Go eat it back there. I don’t eat raw meat. I’ll grill it first.”

Like accepting Lin Qianyu’s suggestion, the polar bear stopped trying to feed her.

Lin Qianyu rubbed the polar bear’s ears. Finding no texture, she petted it lightly, then raised her hand and said, “Let’s go.”

“Wooh!” The polar bear strode forward to catch up.

Noticing what she was dragging behind, the polar bear glanced sideways repeatedly, then lowered its head to look at the wooden sled being dragged on the ground, following the rope up to Lin Qianyu’s hand.

The polar bear’s little black round eyes blinked. It was fully focused on the wooden sled, despite the walrus in its mouth touching the ground.

“Aw!” The polar bear, realizing, stepped forward, claw hooking the rope in Lin Qianyu’s hand.

Me!

“Hm?” Lin Qianyu was walking slowly. The tightened rope in her hand moved slightly, and even through gloves, she noticed immediately.

Seeing the polar bear stand up grabbing the rope, it even dropped the walrus from its mouth.

Lin Qianyu said, “Don’t want the walrus anymore?”

The polar bear hesitated a moment, then re-grasped the walrus and squeezed under the rope. Its forehead was caught on the knot, but the ears were pressed down on either side, resting on its head, making it look round and plump.

But it was very happy, squinting its eyes with a smile, “Wooh!”

Author’s note: Here we go. (Organizing the outline; no updates at midnight, updates during the day.)

Good night, sleep early, love you all.