Chapter 16

Chapter 16

【Lin Qianyu, are you fucking crazy? You see a bear and don’t play dead—are you seriously trying to die?】

【At a time like this, and you're still not running? Do you have a death wish?!】

【Fuck! You say “wait a second” and we’re just supposed to wait?! Even vicious criminals hesitate, but you’re facing a bear—a bear! It doesn’t understand human language, okay?!】

It wasn’t just the livestream viewers who were baffled—even Yin Youlin beside her looked utterly confused. After being chased by the black bear the whole way, he was now drenched in sweat and panting heavily. When he heard her, even his breathing paused for a second.

Yin Youlin opened his mouth, but his mind was blank—only his bodily instincts were keeping him breathing.

Just when everyone thought the black bear was going to slap down and splatter their brains, the aggressive bear suddenly stopped.

Under the hazy moonlight at night, the night-vision livestream clearly captured everything.

It was obviously in attack mode, but it now stood upright with its arms spread wide—and didn’t strike down. Even though it only had to lower its arms to touch the two people lying on the ground.

Still, it made no move.

Lin Qianyu was close and saw the dazed expression on the bear’s face.

Without its bared teeth, the bear’s ferocity seemed cut in half.

Black bears are actually highly intelligent animals—often underestimated.

Precisely because of that intelligence, it seemed confused after understanding human speech, even forgetting to fight.

……

【W-Whoa?! It’s really not moving?】

【No way... Is this staged? This plot is way too fake.】

The livestream viewers were dumbfounded.

It just stood still after hearing a sentence—this bear really acted like it could understand human speech.

Seeing this, Lin Qianyu also let out a breath of relief. She patted Hang Sisi and, seeing that she had passed out, waved to Yin Youlin, signaling him to come carry her away.

Yin Youlin didn’t understand but still took a step forward to get a better look—only for the bear to suddenly turn its head.

Whether it was targeting him or not, Yin Youlin didn’t dare move any further in this situation.

Lin Qianyu, helpless, could only first drag Hang Sisi aside while she herself stayed where she was and spoke to the bear, “Why were you chasing her?”

They weren’t on a black bear’s typical prey list, and its belly looked full. Normally, a well-fed black bear was relatively mild-tempered and wouldn’t actively attack humans.

Yet the moment they met, the bear had been chasing Hang Sisi and Yin Youlin—something Lin Qianyu couldn’t quite make sense of.

The black bear didn’t reply, but circled around Lin Qianyu once, then leaned close behind her and sniffed the side of her neck.

This was an extremely close distance—at her vulnerable neck, where a single strike could be fatal.

If the bear turned violent at that moment, Lin Qianyu could’ve died instantly without even a chance of rescue.

Yin Youlin’s Adam’s apple bobbed—he wanted to make a noise to distract the bear, but worried it might startle it into attacking. Torn between these options, he didn’t dare move recklessly.

Lin Qianyu, on the other hand, looked calm and composed, showing no trace of the tension one would expect when being targeted by a wild beast. She let the black bear get used to her scent without resistance.It seemed to sense that she wasn't one of its kind. The black bear circled back, leaned close to Lin Qianyu’s face, and tilted its head, its small eyes curiously studying her.

As if trying to confirm something, it gave her a push with its paw.

It looked casual, but the strength behind a bear's paw wasn't something an ordinary person could withstand. Lin Qianyu was somewhat prepared—but, “Eh?!”—the push still knocked her flat on her back.

“……”

Seeing her fall, the culprit instantly stood up with a jolt and leaned over in a bit of a panic. “Woo?”

【It attacked! Ahhh! Where’s the rescue team?! Why aren’t they here yet?!】

【What are you shouting for? The rescue team doesn’t work just for your convenience. It's the middle of the night—don’t people deserve to rest?】

【Exactly, anyone joining this variety show should’ve expected the risks. If Lin Qianyu really gets mauled, she has no one to blame.】

【Serves her right if she dies! You were told to get out of the show and didn’t—now face the consequences. You deserve it.】

By the time the rescue team and the director arrived, this was the scene they saw:

Lin Qianyu was half-covered by the bear, her face obscured, lying on the ground with no sign of life. Hang Sisi was motionless beside her, and Yin Youlin stood stiffly not far away, like a mannequin.

And the black bear… was lingering next to Lin Qianyu, its snout seemingly nearing her neck.

The director instantly gasped sharply and didn’t dare shout. He smacked the arm of the rescue team member holding the tranquilizer gun, opened his mouth, and silently pointed toward the bear.

His body language made his intentions perfectly clear.

The rescue worker aimed the tranquilizer but didn’t pull the trigger.

He shook his head and whispered, “It’s too close. The tranquilizer won’t take effect immediately. The moment it’s hit, the bear might go into a rage.”

If that happened, everyone nearby would be in danger—especially Lin Qianyu and Hang Sisi. They’d be the first to be torn apart.

As a rescue professional, he would bear most of the responsibility too—there was no way he could act rashly.

“Then what do we do? Just sit here and wait? Wait until the bear gets bored and takes a bite?” The director took a deep breath, feeling like he was about to have a heart attack.

This area was confirmed safe during the on-site survey. Not even large animals were seen, let alone bears—where the hell had this bear come from?

If this went badly, he could already picture the fallout.

It felt like a blade hanging over his head.

“Director?” Lin Qianyu, hearing the commotion, sat up on her own. When she saw the tranquilizer in the rescue worker’s hands, she paused and said, “Don’t act yet. It’s not trying to attack.”

Seeing that Lin Qianyu was still able to sit up, the director let out a huge sigh of relief—but the very next moment, the bear moved.

The director immediately waved his hand. “Lie back down! Play dead!”

“…Playing dead with bears is a myth. Leave this to me.” Lin Qianyu reached into her pocket—she had kept the candy Hang Sisi gave her in there the whole time. “Want some candy?”

The brightly colored plastic-wrapped candy glimmered faintly under the moonlight.

The black bear blinked and placed its paw in front of itself, looking rather docile.

Lin Qianyu unwrapped one and popped it in her mouth. It had melted a little from the heat, but the taste was unaffected. She bit into it and said, “See? You can eat it. It’s sweet.”

The black bear chewed on its paw. “Woo?”“Like this, you—” Lin Qianyu opened her mouth wide. “Like me.”

“Aw—” The black bear mimicked her. Lin Qianyu tossed a few candies into its mouth. “Alright, there you go.”

With something in its mouth, the black bear chewed a bit. Unfortunately, the candy was too small and didn’t land on its teeth, so it didn’t bite into anything, but it could still taste the sweetness.

The sweet taste made the black bear’s eyes light up.

From afar, the director watched the scene in complete silence, overwhelmed by a sense of absurdity spreading in his chest.

What… what the hell was this situation!?

Wasn’t the guest supposed to have encountered a wild black bear on the mountain and been chased all the way down?

Why did it look like Lin Qianyu was familiar with this bear—she was even feeding it candy!

But something felt off—the bear looked fierce, but when it mimicked Lin Qianyu and opened its mouth, it seemed goofy and adorable, like a big dummy.

Weren’t they saying the guest was in a life-threatening situation?

The director was completely baffled.

It’s fine… the director took a deep breath. After being a director for so many years, what kind of scene hadn’t he seen before? This was a minor…

——DAMN IT, he had never seen this kind of scene before!!!

Just standing there for a short while made the director’s head buzz.

He felt like he was in a daze.

Maybe things were going too smoothly, and the audience began to grow suspicious.

【This must’ve been staged by the director, right? To build Lin Qianyu’s image.】

【Yeah, feels fake to me too. Probably a trained bear, brought to the island with the guests.】

【Come on, I’d believe it if you said it was a guy in a bear costume. Who the hell uses a real bear for a reality show hoax?! Do you know how dangerous and unpredictable wild animals are?】

……

The barrage of comments intensified, with rumors floating that the bear was personally trained by the director just to make Lin Qianyu famous.

The director, noticing the live chat: “……”

Can you people brag without dragging me into it?

The black bear, having eaten the candy, had already dropped its fierce demeanor, and now looked even more obedient.

Lin Qianyu sat cross-legged, unwrapping all the candy she had and feeding it to the bear to build rapport. As she did, she asked, “Why were you chasing her?”

“Woo……”

The black bear plopped down with a thud and sat neatly, obediently opening its mouth, waiting for Lin Qianyu to toss in another sweet.

Lin Qianyu: “You weren’t chasing her? You were after another man?”

The black bear nodded.

Lin Qianyu shifted her gaze. Yin Youlin said, “It was probably Guo Yanpeng. He was the one who led us up the mountain.”Yin Youlin’s words sounded like gibberish to the black bear—it didn’t understand a thing. But when it noticed Lin Qianyu wasn’t looking at it, the bear raised a paw and let out a soft grunt.

Lin Qianyu timely fed it a few more candies. “Keep talking.”

Recalling what had happened, Yin Youlin sighed. “Earlier, the live chat was all saying you ran into a bear. And then didn’t you and Guo Yanpeng… have a bit of a conflict? The livestream was full of mockery, and Guo Yanpeng, holding in a bunch of frustration, decided to organize a group of us to go up the mountain to look for supplies.”

He said it was to find supplies, but it was really just an excuse.

But over the past few days, most of the guests had managed to somewhat adapt to the environment. They could hunt and cook for themselves and weren’t too exhausted at night. Since they were a team—and Guo Yanpeng was the leader—everyone followed along with the plan.

They even informed the director before heading out.

But somehow, with Guo Yanpeng leading the way, they veered off course.

“Then we suddenly ran into the black bear, which went into a rage. Everyone freaked out and ran. In the panic, we couldn’t tell which way we were going and ended up scattered,” Yin Youlin said. He and Hang Sisi had run into Lin Qianyu, who was on her way back to base.

“Raged?” Lin Qianyu raised her eyebrows. That sounded reasonable, but… if they hadn’t done anything, it didn’t quite make sense for the bear to suddenly go berserk and chase people.

Yin Youlin gave a bitter smile. “I was kind of far away, so I don’t know exactly what happened. I just remember everyone suddenly bolting, so I ran too.”

Lin Qianyu nodded, then used a piece of candy to poke the soft pad of the bear’s paw. “Did Guo Yanpeng provoke you? The man you were chasing?”

“Woo!”

“He stepped on you?”

“Awo!”

The black bear, sitting on the ground, stretched out its short leg. Faint traces of blood were visible, along with fur matted together from the bleeding.

Lin Qianyu: “……”

No wonder the bear went into a rage.

The director, noticing their back-and-forth, suddenly developed an absurd yet not entirely impossible thought.

He was the director—no one understood the reality of the show better than he did. And this… this moment of untrained communication was entirely genuine.

After hesitating for less than three seconds, the director made a snap decision. “Lin Qianyu, um… what did it say?”

As he spoke, the bear turned its head to look over, and the director instinctively shrank back a little.

“It said it was sleeping, and someone came over and stepped on its foot. That made it very angry.” Lin Qianyu paused, then added, “It stepped right on the wound.”

The wound was fresh.

It probably got injured today, and after exhausting itself and finally eating its fill, it had just found a place to nap—only to get stepped on by a stranger intruding into the rainforest.

Who wouldn’t be furious?

Forget the bear—anyone would lose it.

The director’s expression shifted to sudden understanding, and he nodded seriously. “Ah, so that’s what happened.”

【???】

【Wait a sec, are you two doing a comedy skit?】

【When did Guo Yanpeng step on a bear, and right on its wound no less? How do you come up with this stuff?!】【“Wilderness” is faked! Lin Qianyu, get out of the show!】

Lin Qianyu finished feeding all the candies. “Director, can I use the medical kit? I’ll trade some supplies with you for the right to use it.”

“No need, no need,” the director stepped forward and handed her the medical kit. “This is originally prepared for the guests, like the clothes—it’s provided by the program team.”

This stuff wasn’t part of the barter system.

If a guest got injured and couldn’t exchange anything, leading to infection or illness, the production team wouldn’t be able to bear that responsibility. To ensure guests could use medication without hesitation, the program provided it for free.

The black bear, with its mouth full of sweetness, only glanced at the approaching director and didn’t issue any warning like it had before.

Even so, the director still feared the creature might suddenly turn aggressive and didn’t dare get too close. He walked over and placed the medical kit on the stretcher, letting Lin Qianyu pull the stretcher over herself.

The medical kit was well stocked, but Lin Qianyu didn’t dare give the bear any oral antibiotics. She only took out disinfectants, ointment, and gauze for external treatment.

Twisting the lid open, she said, “Come on, I’ll help you take care of your wound.”

The oddly-shaped little bottle piqued the bear’s curiosity. It sniffed it, then scrunched its nose at the pungent smell, its eyes narrowing as it shrank its head back in disgust.

The director rubbed his nose and couldn’t help saying, “Um… the livestream chat is full of people criticizing you. Do you want to clarify anything?”

“What are they criticizing me for?” Lin Qianyu picked up a small pair of scissors. “Let them say whatever they want. I’m not reading it anyway.”

Seeing she didn’t care, the director didn’t press further.

The wound was matted with fur, so before cleaning and applying medicine, she had to trim the hair clean.

“How about I give you a little styling while I’m at it?” Lin Qianyu brushed aside the surrounding fur. “These are kind of in the way anyway, hard to wrap with gauze later.”

Styling?

The bear’s brain overloaded—it didn’t quite get it.

“Let’s just take that as a yes, alright? And even if you don’t like it afterward, you can’t complain about the stylist, got it?”

“Woo.”

“Good bear.”

Lin Qianyu called out, “Yin Youlin, did you bring a flashlight?”

“I did.” Yin Youlin responded as he handed it over. He had picked compact supplies that he could carry easily and access on the go.

With the flashlight providing light, cleaning the wound became much easier.

She carefully snipped away the bloodstained fur around the area, revealing the injury underneath.

The open wound had been stepped on, and the ground had been muddy—shoes would’ve carried dirt. Now, there were even tiny pebbles embedded in the wound.

It hadn’t healed in the first place, and now it was bleeding even more after the second trauma.

It probably came from a fight. The injury wasn’t particularly deep, but the fresh aggravation made it look gory and raw.

One look at this kind of wound was enough to make anyone wince.

Lin Qianyu unwrapped a pair of medical tweezers. As she tore open the packaging, she glanced at the black bear—this dopey giant was still licking its mouth, savoring the sweetness of the candy.

Completely unfazed by the gruesome wound on its leg.Lin Qianyu laughed helplessly. “I’m going to clean your wound now. It might hurt a little—bear with it. I’ll bring you more candy next time.”

The moment the black bear heard the word “candy,” it snapped its head up—“Awooo!”

Deal.

Lin Qianyu wasn’t a doctor, but she often treated her own wounds and helped teammates when they were injured. While she couldn’t be called a seasoned medic, she had at least developed some basic skills.

She used tweezers to remove the visible dirt from the wound, then rinsed it with saline solution.

She ended up using two full bottles.

“What are you all doing here?” Guo Yanpeng stumbled out of the forest in a mess. Seeing the group, he immediately started complaining, “Weren’t we supposed to return to the base by night? If it weren’t for the livestream chat reminding me, I wouldn’t have found any of you.”

An Lanqing followed behind him. “Where are Jiang Ke and Jing Huai? Has anyone seen them?”

...

...

No one responded. Not a word.

It was as if the two of them were just talking to themselves—whatever they said dropped to the ground, and nobody picked it up.

Yin Youlin glanced at them and then looked away again, his face openly showing impatience. That bastard had gotten them into this mess and now had the nerve to come over and blame them for not returning to base?

Even Guo Yanpeng, as dense as he could be, sensed the group’s unfriendly attitude by now. “What’s this about? What the hell—is that thing?!”

At first, he thought what sat in front of Lin Qianyu was just a large rock. As he got closer, he realized—it was a bear sitting on the ground!

Guo Yanpeng’s eyes widened in shock, and he yelled, “Lin Qianyu, what are you doing?!”

The director clicked his tongue and muttered under his breath, “Why are you yelling?”

Everyone present had gone quiet upon seeing the bear, worried that any noise might provoke it into attacking. If Lin Qianyu hadn’t already calmed it down, Guo Yanpeng’s shout would’ve gotten her throat torn out, seriously.

Even though the director said it softly, the quiet was so complete that Guo Yanpeng still heard him clearly.

His brows furrowed, feeling like the director had disrespected him. But he didn’t dare retaliate, so he tried to lower his voice. “Did none of you see? There’s a bear right there.”

Yin Youlin replied blandly, “We’re not blind.”

Guo Yanpeng: “Why are you talking to me like that?”

Yin Youlin rolled his eyes and simply turned his back, refusing to respond further.

The bear, which had been sitting quietly, spotted Guo Yanpeng and instantly recognized him as the one who had stepped on it. With a heavy paw slap to the ground, it roared furiously: “ROAR—!”

Standing closest, Lin Qianyu squinted at the sudden sound, pressing her knuckle to her ear. Even with her fast reaction, her ears still rang from the blast.

What’s more, the black bear made as if to stand.

Lin Qianyu quickly reached out. “I just cleaned your wound—don’t move yet. He’s not getting away. I’ll give you a chance to hit him later. Be good, alright?”

This wound would start bleeding again with the slightest movement. The medicine hadn’t even been applied yet. If the bear rushed off to hit Guo Yanpeng now, the wound would be a bloody mess by the time it came back.

Guo Yanpeng’s legs trembled from the roar, and he instinctively turned to run—only to be grabbed by An Lanqing. “Everyone’s here. What are you running for?”

Her face was filled with unconcealed disgust—probably because nobody else reacted the way Guo Yanpeng did. His panicked fleeing made her feel utterly embarrassed.Everyone was perfectly fine, and it was obvious the bear hadn’t hurt anyone. Although no one knew the exact reason why, it was clear enough to say that, at least for now, this bear posed no threat to anyone’s life.

So what was all that yelling for?

“I…” Guo Yanpeng, feeling deeply embarrassed, pressed his lips together. “That bear was coming straight for me.”

Lin Qianyu gave him a sidelong glance as she rinsed the blood with saline, her tone impatient: “You stepped on it, and now you think it shouldn’t even growl at you?”

Already irritated, Guo Yanpeng glared at her after hearing that. “What’s that got to do with me? It was so dark, and that thing was just a big lump in the path—I stepped on it by accident. How am I to blame for that?”

It was, indeed, an accident. No one in their right mind would deliberately step on a bear in the middle of a rainforest.

Guo Yanpeng thought to himself that this really wasn’t his fault.

He said it directly, not even worried about being criticized by the livestream audience.

But unexpectedly, the entire screen filled with question marks.

【He didn’t deny it? He actually did step on it—he really stepped on the bear!】

【I’ve been watching the livestream. The camera had night vision, no blind spots. I only saw Guo Yanpeng walking toward the bear, then the black bear sprang up. I couldn’t see him actually stepping on it.】

【WTF?! Don’t scare me! How did Lin Qianyu know?!】

Almost everyone had the same question in their minds—how did Lin Qianyu know?

The bullet comments that had just been mocking her for having wild ideas suddenly went quiet.

As if the only way to express their confusion now was through strings of question marks.

Finally, a high-tier VIP account posted: 【Could it be that Lin Qianyu really can understand what animals say?】

After all, Lin Qianyu had been cooking by the river the whole time. The only possible way she could’ve known what happened was if the bear had told her.

The audience didn’t know, so no one had said it.

The director and Yin Youlin didn’t know either—if they had, Yin Youlin would’ve spoken up earlier and said Guo Yanpeng stepped on the bear. Hang Sisi was still unconscious, so she couldn’t have been the source either.

After thinking it over, that really seemed like the only possibility.

Guo Yanpeng had gone up the mountain purely on impulse, provoked into doing it. He hadn’t even had time to make up a script.

Some even speculated that he’d been bribed to create hype for Lin Qianyu.

That theory was immediately shot down. Aside from how obviously antagonistic their relationship was on the show, even before the filming, the animosity between Lin Qianyu and Guo Yanpeng had already been intense.

Guo Yanpeng had never hidden his hostility toward Lin Qianyu—he often posted sarcastic jabs about her on Weibo.

If the female lead had been An Lanqing, maybe Guo Yanpeng would’ve been willing to cooperate to build a storyline.

【So… that time she was seriously talking to the red-tailed crested eagle?】

【Help me—how can something be both completely absurd and totally believable at the same time?!】

【Director! Come out, director! Say this is all scripted! If you say it, I’ll believe you!】

A nearby assistant handed the summoned director a phone.

The director gave a stiff, twitching smile. Even the corners of his mouth were trembling. “This script… who the hell would dare write it?”A persona where someone talks to animals? That kind of image could collapse any minute, you know?

A public image that can be overturned so easily is definitely not a viable direction for a celebrity's development.

Lin Qianyu had already turned off the bullet comments earlier, knowing she was about to get flamed—out of sight, out of mind. By now, the wound had already been treated.

After applying the medicine, she even tied a neat butterfly knot.

Lin Qianyu closed the kit. “Alright, get up and move a bit, see if it affects your walking.”

“Woo…” The bear, still sitting, wobbled its bandaged back paw.

It still hurt, obviously, but it was a lot better than having the wound caked with mud and blood earlier.

It rubbed up against Lin Qianyu and let out a happy, “Awo!”

Sweet.

Lin Qianyu pushed the bear’s head down and looked coldly at the stunned Guo Yanpeng. “Even if it wasn’t on purpose, you messed up and still expected someone else to pay for it. Bears are very intelligent animals—so over the next few days, you’d better be careful.”

The bear nodded in agreement—yes, smart indeed. Be careful, you!

Guo Yanpeng’s face flushed red. “Are you threatening me?”

Lin Qianyu coughed and sneered, “If I get the chance, I’ll beat you up myself.”

That unfiltered hostility made Guo Yanpeng feel like he’d caught something incriminating. “Director, did you hear that? Lin Qianyu, she—”

“Enough already, you’re always stirring up trouble,” the director snapped, clearly fed up. “Do you even realize you almost got Hang Sisi killed? We told you like a hundred times not to climb too high, and you agreed, but if the assistant hadn’t noticed something was wrong, I’d still be completely in the dark right now!”

Guo Yanpeng always had a mind of his own—he went wherever he pleased, even sneaking into areas the production crew explicitly forbade. It was complete disregard for the rainforest and total irresponsibility toward the crew.

If Lin Qianyu hadn’t been there today, this show might have ended right here.

The director had thought he’d planned for everything—except Guo Yanpeng wandering off into unsafe zones in the dark!

Later, when the guests scattered after being terrified by the black bear, the crew had no idea who to chase after. In the end, they simply followed the bear to find people.

Just thinking about it made the director furious. To an outsider, it might’ve looked like Guo Yanpeng had it in for him.

The director had absolutely no patience left. “Let’s just head back. And make sure you bring Hang Sisi.”

Hang Sisi had already been moved onto a stretcher by Lin Qianyu. She was just unconscious, not injured.

The rescue team hesitated to approach because of the black bear next to Lin Qianyu.

Lin Qianyu took the initiative, stood up, and patted the bear’s back. “You should go home too—we’re leaving now.”

“Awo?”

When the bear didn’t move, Lin Qianyu stepped aside a little.

The black bear followed her step for step.

Lin Qianyu: “???”

She looked up suspiciously.

The bear tilted its head up cheerfully. “Woo!”"Are you coming with me?" Lin Qianyu pointed above her head. "It might rain today. If you don’t go home, you’ll get wet."

The black bear followed the direction of her finger and looked up, but it didn’t leave. Instead, it rubbed up against her and continued to stand by her side.

However, Hang Sisi had moved farther away from the bear, allowing the rescue team to approach cautiously. They lifted the stretcher and carried her away swiftly and professionally.

The other guests also gradually began heading back.

No one paid any attention to Guo Yanpeng—they treated him like he was invisible, even going out of their way to walk around him.

An Lanqing frowned. She didn’t want things to blow up like this, especially since during these days of livestreaming, Lin Qianyu's popularity had far surpassed hers. Lin's competence only made her own shortcomings more glaring.

She took a deep breath. Though reluctant, seeing that Guo Yanpeng was still standing nearby, she went over and patted his shoulder. "Let’s go back too."

Seeing that her expression didn’t look good, Guo Yanpeng was just about to say something to comfort her when An Lanqing stepped over a tree trunk first. He quickly turned and followed her.

Most of the guests and the rescue team had already left.

Lin Qianyu was still softly negotiating with the bear in front of her. “You can’t come with me. You have to go back to your own home.”

【Ahhh why can’t it go with her? I want them together!】

【That bear is so cute—bring it home!】

【Lin Qianyu, have you kicked the habit or not? How could you say no to this?! If I were you I’d grab this chubby guy and run.】

There were still other guests back at the base, and although the black bear appeared gentle, it was still inherently dangerous.

Lin Qianyu didn’t think the bear would hurt anyone, but the other guests would be scared just seeing it. Bringing it back wouldn’t work out well.

"How about this—go home for now, and come find me tomorrow for a bandage change. I’ll give you more candy, okay?" Lin Qianyu tried to make a deal with it, already wondering what she could trade with the director for some sweets to appease the bear.

"Wooh!"

Agreement reached.

Back at the base, no one had gone to rest yet.

Guo Yanpeng was taken aside by the director for a private talk in a tent. The other guests sat around the campfire, each lost in their own thoughts.

Hang Sisi noticed Lin Qianyu had returned and was the first to stand up. “Qianyu-jie, thank you for earlier. If it weren’t for you, I might have…”

She still remembered what happened before losing consciousness.

Just thinking about that bear still made her heart race. Hang Sisi felt a wave of lingering fear, and her eyes welled up with tears.

There were still traces of tears on her face—she’d clearly been crying for a while.

Lin Qianyu comforted her, “It’s okay. Don’t cry. Get a good night’s sleep and forget all about it.”

Hang Sisi took a deep breath and choked up, “I told the director I want to go solo, like you. I’m done sticking with Guo Yanpeng.”

She hadn’t been able to refuse in the beginning, but after what happened, she didn’t care anymore about keeping up appearances—she’d almost died!

If not for the steep penalty for breaking the contract, Hang Sisi would have quit the show and flown straight home.

Lin Qianyu reassured her, “Being on your own is nice too—freedom and peace.”

“Yeah!”Jiang Ke was also so frightened that her little face turned pale. She sat to the side, her eyes blank, like a wooden puppet.

After being chased by the black bear today, everyone truly experienced what it meant to face a wild beast.

It was a completely different kind of pressure compared to watching them hunt on TV.

—They were no longer spectators. They were the prey.

“Is everyone okay?” Lin Qianyu sat down in the clearing. She usually didn’t participate in group activities like this, but now the person she disliked wasn’t here.

“We're alright.” Yin Youlin, who had observed the entire event, remained relatively calm. “You… can really talk to animals?”

Lin Qianyu didn’t answer directly, instead saying, “Didn’t I say that before?”

She had already said it once when they encountered the red-tailed crested eagle.

It’s just that no one had believed her at the time.

Yin Youlin: “……”

Back then, everyone thought you were joking.

Who would’ve thought you were actually serious.

Lin Qianyu smiled and said, “You can think of it as part of the show’s script if that makes it easier to accept.”

The director, who had just stepped out of the tent: “???”

I don’t accept that!

The livestream comment feed was also flooded with:

【Don’t believe it.】

【Look how scared the director was—almost knocked a tooth out.】

【Director: Who could even come up with something this outrageous???】

…

The director clapped his cue card and raised his megaphone: “Since everyone’s here, I’ll explain how we’re handling today’s incident.”

“We sincerely apologize for the scare. The production team will offer compensation. Filming will continue, but if anyone wants to withdraw, please contact an assistant. For those who choose to stay, we ask that you stick to the map—don’t go outside the designated area.”

He paused, then added, “If you’re very capable of protecting yourself, you can move around freely.”

As soon as he said this, everyone looked toward Lin Qianyu.

No doubt, the person with the strongest self-preservation skills in their group was now Lin Qianyu.

“One more thing—the team leader is being removed. From now on, everyone will act individually. You can form your own groups if you want, but that’s up to you—the production team won’t interfere.”

The team leader had only been meant to serve an organizing role, but Guo Yanpeng had turned it into some kind of power game.

The director had wanted to remove him earlier but lacked a solid reason. Guo Yanpeng might have been arrogant, but he hadn’t caused serious harm—until now.

Once the announcement was made, the guests became eager to act.

Lin Qianyu knew exactly what they were thinking and immediately raised her hand. “I’ll act on my own.”

She had more interaction with the animals in the rainforest anyway.Bringing along other guests might make movement inconvenient.

Lin Qianyu spoke decisively, leaving no room for discussion. The other guests, even if they wanted to team up, could only give up on the idea.

She yawned and was about to go rest when she suddenly asked, “By the way, Director, can I trade prey for supplies?”

“You can, but it’ll be expensive,” the director replied tactfully. “It’s actually not a very cost-effective trade.”

“That’s fine.” As long as the trade was possible.

Lin Qianyu waved at the camera. “Overtime's done. Good night, everyone.”

【Wait—something that major just happened and you’re going to sleep?!】

【Lin Qianyu, at your age, how can you still sleep so soundly!】

Too bad the barrage comments couldn’t be converted to audio—if they could speak, the whole rainforest would be playing a symphony.

A chaotic, frantic day ended with the team leader being kicked out of position.

In the second half of the night, a light rain began to fall.

Luckily, there was a raised stone ledge at the base. Everyone took shelter underneath and avoided getting soaked.

Though the livestream equipment didn’t short-circuit, the rain affected the lens, and the broadcast became a blurry mess.

A dark shadow could vaguely be seen, but it was unclear whether it was a leaf knocked loose by rain or a little insect hiding from the rain on the lens.

As dawn broke, a dark, round, fluffy shape appeared beside Lin Qianyu’s small shelter in the corner of the blurry livestream.

【?!! What is that?!】

【Looks like... a bear?】

“Ah——!!!”

A girl’s scream shattered the morning silence.

Lin Qianyu hadn’t even opened her eyes yet, but at that shriek, her hand went straight to her ear.

She’d gone to bed late and was exhausted—completely unable to get up. She tugged on her sleeping bag’s zipper, rolled over, and was back asleep in seconds.

It was a deep sleep.

By the time Lin Qianyu opened her eyes again, the sun was already high in the sky.

Rubbing her sore neck, she rolled her head from side to side as she walked out of the little shelter. She’d thought that, since it was so late, the other guests would’ve gone out already—but when she looked up, all six guests were still there, not one missing.

And they were all either standing or sitting, frozen like someone had hit the pause button—no one was moving much.

Even Hang Sisi, seeing Lin Qianyu come out, only widened her eyes slightly.

Lin Qianyu raised an eyebrow. “What are you all doing?”

Was it a new task assigned by the production team?

Jiang Ke’s eyes shifted sideways to the left, but her neck didn’t move at all.

“?”Even weirder.

“Awoo!”

“!!!”

Lin Qianyu's eyes opened slightly. She turned around and saw the black bear squatting under the tree. Its leg was still wrapped in gauze, but after just one night, the once clean and pure white gauze had already changed color.

Lin Qianyu asked, “Why are you here so early?”

I haven’t even gone hunting to trade with the director for candy yet.

She was completely empty-handed right now. She wasn’t sure if the director would allow her to buy on credit.

【Wuwuwu, the streamer finally woke up. If you didn’t wake up, they were about to pee themselves in fear.】

【The bear came all this way early in the morning to bring you honey, aren’t you touched?】

【Guests: Don’t dare move, absolutely don’t dare move.】

The little bear stood up, holding a dark yellow object of a rather strange shape in both paws, wanting to give it to her.

“What’s this?”

“Awoo!”

Sweet.

Holding it in her hand without the bear paw blocking it, she finally got a clear look at the whole thing.

…A honeycomb?

And a whole, complete one—with no bees.

“For me?” Lin Qianyu shook the honeycomb. It was pretty heavy. Given its size, there should be a lot of honey inside.

The black bear nodded and licked its paw pad.

Noticing that its right paw was noticeably larger than the left, Lin Qianyu poked the plump, puffy pad. “Did the bees sting you?”

“Awoo!”

“Come on, I’ll change your dressing first. We’ll eat this later.” Lin Qianyu cut the honeycomb in half and placed the cut side down into a metal can, then picked up the medical kit.

Because they knew the bandage would need changing today, the director hadn’t taken the kit back.

If Lin Qianyu couldn’t find it when she needed it, and the bear ran to the director to get it itself, what then?

The outer layer of gauze was dirty, but the inside was still okay.

Probably got dirty from climbing around last night to get the honeycomb.

“Injured and still not staying home to rest, running around like this.” The black bear’s outer fur was wet, and the silly thing was still licking the paw that had been stung.

Lin Qianyu held onto its fluffy paw. “Let me apply medicine, and no more licking, understand?”

The black bear tilted its head. “Awoo?”

“You’re supposed to say ‘mm’.”The black bear mimicked Lin Qianyu’s pronunciation and let out a soft “hmph,” like a nasal puff.

Lin Qianyu chuckled. “What are you hmphing for? If you act fierce again, I’ll ruffle all your fur off.”

【RUA! Ruffle it hard! Ruffle it on my behalf too, please.】

【Damn, it’s so cute! Is this really the same terrifying bear from last night? It’s too adorable.】

【Okay, I admit I was a bit loud yesterday. Bear-bear is the cutest fluffball in the world!】

【This bear really has two faces? Just now, while Lin Qianyu was sleeping, it scared Guo Yanpeng so badly that he didn’t dare take a step. Every time he moved, the bear bared its teeth, so the others all froze like they were playing statues.】

After tending to the bear, Lin Qianyu picked up the livestream device. “Today’s mission: catch more prey to trade with the director for candy.”

At the mention of candy, the black bear was the first to respond, “Awoo!”

The black bear looked dopey and not too smart. When it wasn’t angry, it even seemed rather mild and easily bullied.

Lin Qianyu looked at its two semi-circular fuzzy ears, and as she ruffled its head, she also rubbed its ears.

Before the bear could react, she quickly pulled her hand back. The bear lifted its head, eyes full of confusion.

After applying medicine to its paw, Lin Qianyu wrapped another layer of gauze for safety. The wound didn’t really need to be bandaged—it was just to stop the bear from licking the paw pad.

The external medicine probably wouldn’t harm a human if accidentally ingested, but for a bear, who knows.

Thinking this, Lin Qianyu added yet another layer.

“All done.” The bandaged bear paw looked even rounder now—plump and soft-looking, like it would feel amazing to touch.

Gurgle—her stomach, empty all morning, voiced its protest.

Since joining the show, Lin Qianyu had never gone hungry. The honey had pooled a thin layer at the bottom of the iron can, but it wasn’t filling.

After thinking a bit, Lin Qianyu said, “Let’s go hunting.”

“Awoo…” The black bear shook its fur and was about to follow, but just as its front paw touched the ground, it seemed to sense something and stood back up.

Seeing it stop, Lin Qianyu paused and turned around. “What is it?”

The black bear didn’t respond, only lifted its head to gaze at the sky.

The next moment, the brilliant tail feathers of a red-tailed crested eagle streaked across the sky, diving through the canopy and heading straight for the black bear.

“Chirp—!”

“Awoo—!”

Lin Qianyu: “???”

No—!