Chapter 118

Chapter 118: The polar bear is like a resilient and reliable guardian in the snow and ice, keeping the wind and snow at bay.

The little snow leopard rubbed against her neck, “Awoo!”

It had to be scooped up.

Lin Qianyu used the dry part of her wrist to rub its ear and coaxed it with a smile, “Scoop, scoop, of course I’ll scoop you up.”

The little snow leopard rolled over, its ear pressed against her cheek. The tip of its ear twitched, and after touching something, it couldn’t help but twitch again. It shook its head, climbed forward a few steps, and draped itself over Lin Qianyu’s shoulder.

Seeing it had more or less found its balance, Lin Qianyu let it play on its own while she continued processing the net full of fish.

There were a lot of fish this time, so it took more time to clean them.

By the time all the fish were cleaned up, it was already past 3 o’clock.

Lin Qianyu washed her hands and sipped the hot water from her lunch box, looking at the big pile of frozen fish. “Feels like this should be enough.”

But the fishing net would be idle anyway, so she left it hanging in the ice hole.

With lots of fish came lots of guts and blood, which made the baiting smell stronger. The next net would surely catch more fish—it would be a waste not to drop it again.

After setting the fishing net, Lin Qianyu ruffled the little snow leopard’s head, pinching its ear tips together with her fingertips. “Bunny.”

“Woo?” The little snow leopard, who was currently stuffing a frozen fish into the backpack, looked up blankly.

Snow leopard ears are also triangular, but not as pointy as a lion’s or tiger’s. Maybe it was because of the thick fur covering them, making them look soft and silly in a cute way.

Lin Qianyu loosened her fingers and made a hairband-like arc with her thumb and index finger, sliding it upward along the little snow leopard’s brow and eyes. The ears were pressed down, and she squinted with a smile. “Little seal.”

The little snow leopard puffed out its chest. “Awoo!”

【Ahhh fluffy little seal awoo!】

【Auntie’s baby is just too cute, why are you so adorable, I love you so much!】

【Those fluffy soft ears look so good, let me bite them, just once, please!】

She smoothed down the messy fur on the little snow leopard’s head.

Lin Qianyu scratched its chin, picked up the backpack, and said, “I can’t carry all the fish in one trip. I’ll head back first—watch over the fish for me.”

She added more wood to the fire, put on her gloves, and lit the fire, saying, “Be careful not to roast yourself.”

Little snow leopard: “Woo!”

Before leaving, she didn’t forget to adjust the livestream camera to point at the little snow leopard.

Lin Qianyu stacked two extra fish on top of her backpack without zipping it up and called out, “I’m off.”

“Awooo!”

—There were a lot of fish, both stuffed in and carried.

The freezer at home already had plenty of meat, and now there was a whole load of fish. The inside was almost full of animal and fish meat.

Lin Qianyu simply tossed the extra meat to the side and, holding the freezer lid up, thought, “When I come back, I’ll make more snow bricks and build a bigger freezer.”

There wasn’t enough room in the current one for the rest of the fish.Everyone at the base wasn’t just relying on Lin Qianyu to collect food—since receiving the news, almost everyone had gone out in search of supplies.

Although the weather was still very cold and moving around was difficult, compared to blizzard conditions, this was considered good weather.

Su Yuxing returned with a seabird in hand and buried it in the snow. When he noticed Lin Qianyu, he waved to her, “Qianyu, the phone has been delivered. Just take it.”

Lin Qianyu, who was about to head back to find the little snow leopard, paused her steps and responded, “Okay.”

The phone wasn’t her own, but one provided by the production team, with all the software and settings pre-configured.

Su Yuxing pointed to an app in the lower right corner and said, “Just bind it to the livestream device when you get back. If you run into any issues, message me. I’m heading out to gather more food.”

Time was short and tasks were pressing—after handing the phone to Lin Qianyu, Su Yuxing left the base again without pause.

Lin Qianyu put the phone away. Unlike a watch, phones would automatically shut down in extreme cold. Compared to a smartwatch, the phone’s disadvantages in this environment were glaring.

Since she also wanted to cut some snow bricks and hadn’t yet gathered all the fish, this time she deliberately brought a wooden board with her when going out.

…

On the ice.

The little snow leopard was squatting beside the fire, watching a distant flock of great auks.

“What are you looking at?” Lin Qianyu crouched down beside it.

“Woo…” The little snow leopard kept its gaze fixed in that direction but leaned over to rub against her.

There seemed to be something surrounded at the center of the auk flock.

She vaguely made out the logo of the production team—it might be one of the guests.

Lin Qianyu picked up the little snow leopard and casually tossed the frozen fish nearby onto the wooden board. She said suspiciously, “Are they… fishing?”

Great auks usually fish underwater by chasing their prey with speed. This was the first time she’d seen them gather onshore like this to fish.

After a while, as if the auks saw something, they all shifted to the sides, leaving an open space in the middle, and Lin Qianyu saw Yin Youlin sitting there.

Those setups by the shore must have been fishing gear.

It looked like the great auks were watching Yin Youlin fish.

Although the livestream equipment was mainly filming the little snow leopard, the aerial device had a wide enough range to capture the scene with the great auks as well.

Many fans in the livestream chat were paying attention to Yin Youlin’s fishing.

【It’s been half an hour, my eyes are sore. Still no fish?】

【It’s normal to go hours without a bite when fishing. It’s only been thirty minutes—no rush.】

Since joining the third episode of the show, Yin Youlin had gone fishing several times. You could say that after arriving at the polar island, most of his food had come from fishing. He wasn’t exactly a master angler, but he was at least somewhat experienced.

But now… with so many eyes watching him, Yin Youlin felt immense pressure. As time went on, he kept pulling his cap lower.

Trying to avoid the curious stares from the great auks.

Splash—the quickly sinking float and the taut, horizontal fishing line stirred the water with a faint sound.

Yin Youlin suddenly looked up. “Got one.”He hurriedly began reeling in the line, skillfully letting it out at the right moments. After repeating the process a few times to wear the fish out, he quickly reeled it in and yanked upward. The fishing line brought a brightly colored sea fish bursting out of the water.

Pa! The fish landed on the ground, flopped its tail twice, and then lay still.

Yin Youlin looked at the size of the fish and laughed loudly. “Ha! How about that? Impressive, right?!”

The great auks surrounding him looked at each other, blinking their beady eyes, seemingly at a loss for words.

Xiao Hei was the closest. The little chubby auk looked at the small fish, then back at Yin Youlin.

Yin Youlin: “……”

Why did it feel like he just got judged by a bird?!

【Hahahaha the great auk: That’s it?】

【We stared at you all this time and that’s all you caught? Not even enough to get stuck in our teeth.】

【Same stick, same line—Lin Qianyu hauls up a pile in one pull. And you got a palm-sized one. Of course the auks are disappointed.】

【Fishing and netting are totally different in difficulty! Fishing is hard.】

【Mmm… but clearly, the auks don’t get that. They only care about how many fish there are.】

Not seeing the iconic scene of a big fish haul, the great auks shook their feathers and changed position to keep watching from another angle.

Yin Youlin removed the small fish from the hook. “This…”

“Wuwu!”

Yin Youlin’s hand trembled, nearly throwing the fish back into the sea. “I’m going, I’m going!”

He originally wanted to test his luck and stock up some extra food, but now, being pressured by a flock of birds, it really felt like he was clocking in at a job.

He sighed inwardly, but his hands kept moving.

Fishing like his life depended on it.

…

Nearby, Lin Qianyu had finished cutting snow bricks and packing the fish into her backpack. Just as she was done, a faint buzz came from her pocket, followed by silence.

To prevent shutdown from the cold, Lin Qianyu had kept the phone close to her body. Now, when she took it out, it had already shut down automatically. Long-pressing the power button did nothing.

Lin Qianyu sighed helplessly and put the phone away. “The temperature’s dropping. The blizzard might come early. You should head back soon.”

“Huh? It’s getting colder?” Yin Youlin, who’d been entirely focused on fishing, hadn’t even noticed the temperature change.

Hearing Lin Qianyu say that, he instinctively tried to get up—only to find half his body nearly frozen. The tops of his shoes had frozen to the ice, probably from the water that splashed up during fishing. Without realizing it, he had stood still long enough to freeze in place.

Yin Youlin wasn’t planning to die out here. While he could still move, he forced his feet out of the shoes and said, “Alright, I’ll pack up and head back.”

“You all too—find somewhere to hide.” Lin Qianyu patted the chubby auk’s belly through her gloves. “Go join your flock. Don’t just stand here.”

Great auks spent most of their time in the sea and had their own ways of dealing with blizzards, so there wasn’t much Lin Qianyu could do to help.

“Woo!”

Animals are sensitive to weather changes. Since earlier, the great auks had already begun leaving one after another. Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai were the last to remain.They led the remaining companions into the ice cave.

For them, moving underwater was much faster than on land.

Lin Qianyu reacted relatively quickly. Sensing something was off, she started heading back. But weather is unpredictable—forecasts are just for reference—and before she’d gone far, snow had already started falling.

Fortunately, the snowfall wasn’t heavy at first. But once the wind picked up, snowflakes blew into her face and began to obscure her vision.

“This wind and snow… it’s kind of like the day we first arrived on the island.” Lin Qianyu cradled the little snow leopard, occasionally wiping her goggles. “All this white snow—it is kind of beautiful, isn’t it?”

【If Sister Lin says it’s beautiful, then it is—but before I keep praising, can someone please wipe the snow off the camera? I can’t see a thing!】

【It’s fine, the livestream equipment has self-cleaning. The snow will fall off soon.】

【Wait—am I imagining things, or is the camera drifting farther away?】

【Linlin! Stop talking! The kid’s about to be blown away!】

While trying to keep the snow bricks on her sled from falling off, and shielding the little snow leopard from the wind and snow—on top of her phone already shutting down—Lin Qianyu couldn’t see the livestream chat.

She pushed through the storm and returned to the shelter.

The rest of the furry crew had also come back.

The polar bear was currently holding a fish in its mouth, trying to stuff it into the icebox. Mimicking Lin Qianyu’s food storage habits, it was attempting to press it down with the last remaining piece of ski wood.

“I’ve got it, Xue Tuan.” Lin Qianyu set the little snow leopard down at the door.

Amid the swirling snow and wind, the snow leopard had barely touched the ground before the gust blew it back two steps. With a thunk, it bumped into Lin Qianyu’s leg.

The little snow leopard immediately puffed up, shook its head, and snapped at the flying snowflakes. “Awoo!”

Lin Qianyu patted it, opened the arched door, placed it inside, and reached out to carry in the Arctic fox and the young spotted seal as well. “Don’t run around in there. You might get blown away.”

The polar bear’s fur was blown all to one side by the wind, but thanks to its massive build, it stood firm in front of the icebox.

Lin Qianyu walked up to it and brushed the snow off its back. “Xue Tuan, you go in too. I’ll build another icebox.”

“Wuu…” The polar bear turned its head and bit the rope on the wooden board, dragging the snow bricks over.

“It won’t take long—just a quick stack.”

“Rawr!”

The polar bear patted a snow brick with its paw, seemingly trying to help, but couldn’t control its strength. At the lightest touch, the clean edges of the neatly cut brick were instantly ruined.

“These are light. I’ve got it.” Lin Qianyu didn’t mind. She picked up the snow bricks and started stacking them next to the previous icebox, building toward the direction of the igloo.

While she built the icebox, the polar bear stayed right beside her.

Its massive, fluffy body blocked most of the wind and snow. Amid her busy work, Lin Qianyu couldn’t help but think, if she just tucked herself in a little tighter, maybe not even a strand of her hair would move in the wind.

Once the icebox was finished…

Lin Qianyu quickly threw in the previously caught fish, along with the prey the fluffballs had brought back from this outing.

Leaving them outside risked getting blown away. In the icebox, weighed down, they were much safer.

After finishing everything, her hands were starting to stiffen, and her gloves were nearly frozen stiff. “Let’s go, Xue Tuan. Let’s head inside.”“Wuu!”

The polar bear answered but didn’t go in first. It still followed Lin Qianyu step by step, only entering the igloo after she had bent down and gone inside.

Like a steadfast and reliable guardian in the snow, it blocked the storm outside.

“Thanks for your hard work, Xue Tuan.” Back inside, Lin Qianyu hugged the polar bear and gave it a kiss.

“Wuu?” The polar bear tilted its head, unable to understand why the human would say that—it had just been standing there doing nothing.

Seeing its puzzled and innocent expression, Lin Qianyu couldn’t help kissing it again. “Good bear.”

The polar bear licked her cheek. “Awo!”

Even though they were back inside, they’d been in the cold for too long.

Chilled to the bone, Lin Qianyu didn’t rush to hug the rest of the fluffballs. She first changed clothes, then placed her phone on the table, hoping it would recover more quickly in the warm environment.

She sat by the fire, rubbing her hands. “We’ll be staying indoors for the next few days.”

No one could say exactly how many.

The snowstorm might go on for seven or eight days, or it might clear up by dawn. Nature’s changes are always unpredictable.

Lin Qianyu boiled water and mixed the milk powder given by the rescue station. With so many fluffballs in the house, she had to use a full can at a time.

The rescue station had likely allocated the amount based on how many animals she was caring for—there was a whole wall stacked with formula.

It was mainly for the little snow leopard, but every time she made some, every fluffball got a share.

In the small space, once the sweet milk powder met hot water, the entire room filled with a rich, creamy fragrance.

The little snow leopard was sitting on the table, licking its fur. The moment it smelled the milk, its little nose started twitching nonstop. It walked to the edge of the table and peeked curiously in that direction.

“Almost ready.” Lin Qianyu used one hand to stroke its fur.

The polar bear, tired after the hunt and now in a warm environment, was getting sleepy. It found a comfortable spot and lay down, the white fluffball like a little mountain in the corner.

Baby spotted seals also drank milk, but only for the first month of life.

Usually, the young seal was happy eating fish, as its nursing period had long passed—but when it came to this specialized animal formula, it had zero resistance.

The moment Lin Qianyu opened the milk powder can, it had already plopped down beside her, sitting upright and stretching its head as high as it could.

It looked a bit like it was trying to balance a ball on its nose—all it needed was a colorful one on its snout.

“Don’t rush, it’s too hot. You wouldn’t be able to drink it.” Lin Qianyu stepped outside to dig some snow to cool the milk. She had to push the door twice before she could barely open a small gap.

Cold air instantly poured in through the crack, and the howling wind became almost tangible.

A flurry of snowflakes blew in with it. Whatever warmth she’d regained just now was completely blown away in an instant.

“The snowstorm seems to be getting worse again.” Lin Qianyu gave a light cough and made it quick—she flung the door open, dashed out to gather snow, and rushed back inside.

Bang—the door shut tight, cutting off the wind and snow.

With the darkened skies and the storm blotting out the sun, it looked like dusk outside.

Lin Qianyu mixed the milk powder. Her phone had automatically powered back on, and now messages were flashing nonstop in the group chat—Su Yuxing was calling roll.【All guests, please return to the shelter immediately.】

【Repeat, all guests, please return to the shelter immediately.】

...

The messages filled the screen. A few people replied with punctuation marks, roughly meaning "Got it."

But it was hard to type while walking in the wind and snow.

Lin Qianyu was just about to reply to the director’s message when she caught sight of a popup barrage message.

【Lin-jie! Look at the child, ahhh!】

【You lost the child again, wuwu I’m seriously going to cry.】

“?!” Lin Qianyu froze for a moment, then belatedly turned around. The place where the livestream device used to hang was now completely empty.

Crap.

Author’s note: I’m here, I’m here.