Chapter 29
Chapter 29
“Wait... Chasing after a crocodile?!”
Another bird inside an egg wasn't willing to fall behind either, pecking open a crack and peeking out.
The newly hatched chick was still damp all over, limp as it lay on her, its eyes moist and blinking, chirping as it curiously observed the new world.
Lin Qianyu cradled it carefully, afraid it would fall. Looking at the several chicks, all about the same size, she said softly, “I was just wondering earlier—why did the eggs from the same nest hatch so far apart?”
If she had to categorize the chicks by age, Lin Qianyu roughly divided them by appearance into infant, juvenile, and growing stages. She had assumed the chick that hatched earlier was in the juvenile phase, but now it seemed that chick wasn’t much older than the one that had just hatched.
【Ahhhh! They’re so tiny!】
【Does the streamer now have four red-tailed land eagles?! I thought their hatch rate was supposed to be low!】
【Wake up, the low rate is due to poachers. And adult red-tailed land eagles have to both hatch eggs and hunt, so they sometimes can’t manage everything. With the streamer helping, these two eggs hatching smoothly was only a matter of time.】
“Chirp chirp!”
Mama!
Lin Qianyu: “?”
“Wait, no, wrong call.” Lin Qianyu panicked a little, pointing to the red-tailed land eagle on her shoulder. “That’s your mama. Over here, look up.”
But alas, chicks could only understand so much. Of her long explanation, it seemed the only word they grasped was “mama.”
Lin Qianyu: “……”
Her finger trembled slightly. She hadn't expected the chick to suddenly hatch at that moment. One glance—and she knew something was going on.
“What should I do?”
The red-tailed land eagle remained calm and even lowered its head to gently nuzzle her finger.
【Hahaha! Streamer suddenly became a mom!】
【Kiddo! You got it wrong, kiddo! That’s your grandma!】
Lin Qianyu was already a bit flustered. Seeing the teasing comments on the barrage made her feel both annoyed and amused at the rising “generation gap.”
Still, the interruption helped her feel a little less dazed.
To keep them from catching a chill, Lin Qianyu adjusted her backpack and said, “Let’s go back first.”
There were plenty of fish on the ground, but with the leopard and black bear around, getting rid of a small pile of fish was no big deal.
The zebra they’d caught hadn’t even been touched, and they were already full from eating fish.
So the leopard carried the zebra back.
The little royal antelope looked around and, seeing Lin Qianyu about to leave, slowly chewed the tender grass in its mouth and followed behind her.
The cave entrance was open, and the tarp had been lifted when they went out.
The little royal antelope lingered at the entrance—since the leopard and black bear had already gone in, it paced back and forth, wanting to follow Lin Qianyu inside. But going into the cave was still dangerous.
It wanted to enter but didn’t dare, then noticed the rabbits on the ground outside.
There had been a steady supply of meat these past days, so no one had eaten the rabbits. They had just pulled some grass from the cave entrance to feed them. Now they were fat and plump, huddled in the corner.The little royal antelope sniffed around, slowly edged closer, then lowered its head to eat alongside them.
Rabbits are timid and usually panic at the slightest scare, diving into burrows. But now, the little royal antelope’s approach didn’t faze them at all.
After all, over the past few days they had encountered the leopard that came and went, the black bear that occasionally dropped by for honey water, and the red-tailed land eagle that caught them. At first, they had been afraid, but then became numb, and eventually—just focused on eating, fear forgotten.
Back in the inner room—
Lin Qianyu took down the bird nest. “These eggshells aren’t useful anymore, right?”
Red-tailed land eagles don’t have the habit of eating eggshells after hatching.
Holding the chick in her palm, she placed it back in the nest. The three chicks wriggled around, making the nest feel crowded.
Compared to the middle chick, the two that had just hatched didn’t have fluffy feathers yet, but once they dried off, they would be two round, puffy balls too.
Lin Qianyu didn’t wipe them down—letting them dry naturally. For a bird species like the red-tailed land eagle, there were no formally recorded or documented incubation methods. Labs that had tried to incubate them never released results, likely meaning the attempts had failed.
So this time, she went completely with nature and didn’t dare interfere.
Lin Qianyu picked up the little eagle on her shoulder. “Alright, I’ll go prepare food. You spend some time with your kids.”
Chicks can eat insects as soon as they hatch and aren’t picky. Aside from needing to cut the food into small pieces to avoid choking, their diet was the same as adult red-tailed land eagles.
There was plenty of everything at home—especially meat.
Lin Qianyu went out and soon returned with a full bowl of chopped meat.
Just like last time, when feeding the chick, she picked up the pair of specially made chopsticks and said, “We’ve got two more chicks at home now—calling them all ‘little bird’ might be too hard to tell them apart.”
She paused. “Complicated names are hard to remember too. If the mama’s called ‘Little Eagle,’ how about we just number the chicks from eldest on down?”
【???】
【Honestly, not being able to tell them apart isn’t even that bad.】
【Streamer already looks good, but naming sense... eh, forget it.】
【So lazy! And the names don’t even sound nice!】
The barrage protested fiercely.
Lin Qianyu replied casually, “Alright, alright, I’ll think more... Hmm… the eldest has a little patch of black fluff on the top of its head.” She parted that patch with her fingertip, and the black spot became clearer. “Let’s call it Diandian (Little Spot).”
Not bad—an actual name. The viewers in the stream all sighed in relief.
【I was seriously afraid Lin Qianyu would call the eldest: ‘A Little Bit’.】
“As for the second and third…” Lin Qianyu observed them while feeding meat. When she lifted the chopsticks, the chicks stretched their necks in anticipation. But unlike Diandian, the other two didn’t have distinctive features, so she said, “Once their feathers dry, they’ll probably be just as round and puffy as the eldest. Let’s call them Tuantuan (Little Round) and Qiuqiu (Little Ball).”
Very ordinary names—she named them as the thoughts came.
Still, the stream’s reaction was surprisingly positive.
Maybe the first name helped set the tone. As long as they weren’t just “Number One” or “Number Two,” people were fine with the rest.
With the chicks around, the cave became much livelier than before.
All the fluffy animals at home weren’t the type to make noise. They usually only called out when talking to Lin Qianyu.Now, the chicks were lying in the nest with their necks stretched out, chirping—though no one knew what they were chirping for. Lin Qianyu couldn’t make out any particular meaning in their calls; it just felt like they were chirping for the sake of it.
Only when Lin Qianyu fed meat into their beaks would they swallow the food and fall silent for a brief moment.
The black bear had finished eating its sugar and now seemed curious about the chicks. It leaned in to sniff.
“Chirp!” Tuantuan suddenly stretched out and pecked it.
With fur thick enough to withstand the swipe of a fierce beast, the black bear naturally wasn’t harmed by Tuantuan’s peck.
Instead, it was Tuantuan who suffered—after the peck, it suddenly toppled over with a “thump,” landing flat on its back, head resting against the edge of the nest, with its claws up in the air.
“?”
The chick was stunned.
Lin Qianyu couldn’t help but laugh, her hand holding the chopsticks trembling. “Come on, sit up. You’re in the middle of a meal.”
Tuantuan gave a little shake and, with the help of the red-tailed land eagle, managed to flip over again. “Chirp...”
Chicks are full of energy just after hatching, but by the time Lin Qianyu returned from rinsing the bowl and chopsticks after feeding them, the little birds were already dozing off under the red-tailed land eagle’s wing.
Seeing this, Lin Qianyu gently stroked the red-tailed land eagle’s wing. “You should rest a bit too.”
“Chirp!”
The well-fed leopard was grooming itself on the mat, while the little bear lay on the floor gnawing on wild fruit.
Normally, Lin Qianyu would squeeze herself in between the two to lie down and rest, but with the outside temperature so high—stuffy and hot—she didn’t want to cram into that warm pile. Instead, she sat behind the stone table, opened the bundle of shed fur she’d collected over the past few days from grooming, and started thinking about what she could make by mixing it with sheep’s wool.
When Lin Qianyu received a message from Pei Feng, the little royal antelope was already cuddled up with the rabbits, sleeping soundly in the outer room.
Pei Feng: [I’m handling some things related to a former colleague, so I’m not on the island for now. Can you look after it for a while? I’ll take it back when I return.]
Lin Qianyu: [Do you have a department specifically for wild animals?]
Pei Feng: [We do, but the department head was recently placed under investigation for taking bribes. Right now, I’m the only one left in our team.]
Since they weren’t even in the same department, it wouldn’t be right to shift the responsibility onto another colleague.
Lin Qianyu: “……”
She glanced at the little royal antelope snoring in the outer room, sunlight from the cave entrance spilling over its body, making it look like a harmless little woodland spirit.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Qianyu agreed.
She had been worried at first that the little royal antelope would be afraid of all the other furry animals in the house and might stop eating or fall ill.
But judging by the way it had been eating nonstop since arriving, both its appetite and state of mind were excellent—so keeping it for a while wouldn’t be an issue.
After replying to the message, Lin Qianyu set down her watch and reached for a pre-whittled wooden stick beside her—only to unexpectedly touch something furry.
At some point, the leopard had crept up beside her, tail swaying and now resting across her leg. When it saw Lin Qianyu looking, it immediately wrapped its tail around her wrist.
“Hm?” Lin Qianyu grabbed the tail and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Weren’t you napping?”
【Nap? What nap? I literally watched that leopard roll over, lick itself, and inch closer to you little by little.】
【Hahahahaha I watched the playback—it’s hilarious. That leopard really worked hard just to snuggle next to the streamer.】【The leopard is too cute!】
Lin Qianyu noticed the comment on the livestream, her eyes curved into a smile. She reached out to pet the leopard’s head, but the leopard suddenly lowered its head and folded its ears back, refusing the touch.
“Roar!”
“Mhm mhm.” Lin Qianyu laughed in response and hugged the leopard around the neck, lowering her head to rub her forehead against its head. “So soft.”
The leopard twitched its paws and couldn’t help but tilt its head to nuzzle her back. A deep purring sound came from its throat, and its paws swiped the air a couple of times.
Lin Qianyu opened her mouth and silently mouthed the words, pointing at the leopard’s paw to signal the livestream viewers to look.
She curled her fingers to scratch the leopard’s neck.
That spot was hard for the leopard to reach while grooming. Most felines love having their chin or neck scratched.
House cats like it—leopards are no exception.
The leopard completely melted, collapsing against Lin Qianyu’s thigh, head tilted back, eyes squinting in comfort.
She had turned the big cat into a puddle.
Lin Qianyu kissed its head. “Alright, I need to get back to work.”
“Rooaaar...”
Even the leopard’s roar had become airy and soft.
Lin Qianyu laughed and gave it another affectionate scratch, half hugging the leopard and pulling it onto her lap. But the leopard was too big—only its upper body could just barely fit.
She stretched her arm out onto the table, elbow naturally resting on the leopard—an all-natural fluffy armrest.
The little black snake, after spending the whole day playing outside, came back and slowly slithered in through the door crack after eating the dinner Lin Qianyu had left for it.
It had been staying here these past few days. Snakes are cold-blooded animals, but it loved snuggling up with the warm, fluffy chicks to sleep.
Even though those birds would be its natural predators outside the cave, inside this cave, the little black snake acted fearlessly.
Right in front of the red-tailed land eagle, it brazenly crawled into the nest.
Then, it froze as it stared at the three almost identical chicks in front of it.
The sleepy chicks seemed to sense something, slowly opening their eyes—and even in the dimness, they could see the little black snake that had crawled in.
The little black snake: “……”
Two more unfamiliar birds!
Unfamiliar birds might eat it!
That realization made the little black snake go rigid.
It lay stiffly in the nest—unable to go forward, but also unable to back out.
The three natural predators stared at it intently.
As if looking at a delicious meal.
The little black snake tilted its head—looking as if it had fallen asleep.【Youth is great—just knock out and sleep.】
【Little black snake: Hibernating, do not disturb.】
【Hahahaha damn, sleeping in a predator’s nest—you’ve got guts.】
Lin Qianyu didn’t notice the quiet storm between the little black snake and the chicks, but she did spot half a snake tail dangling outside the bird nest. She glanced at the comments. “Asleep? I didn’t even notice when it came back.”
The red-tailed land eagle lowered its head and picked the snake up with its beak, moving it to another spot to prevent the two newly hatched chicks from teaming up to make it their snack.
With no chicks staring at it anymore, the little black snake slowly curled itself up—this time, it really did fall asleep.
…
The wool on the table had all been boiled, with only soapberry added.
Normally, when processing wool, chemical agents are also used to remove oils and impurities.
Lin Qianyu only washed it with soapberry, then dried it and brushed it out with a comb, repeatedly carding it until it puffed up into a big fluffy pile on the table.
She pinched a bit of the wool and spun it between her fingers, twisting as she went downward, and gradually, a fine thread began to emerge and grow longer.
Spinning wool into yarn is a meticulous task, usually done by experienced artisans through careful, repeated effort.
Lin Qianyu tried to spin the yarn as fine and tight as possible.
While spinning, she also mixed in some fur from the leopard and the black bear, so the resulting yarn had hints of pale yellow and black.
The colors weren’t very obvious on their own, but when placed next to the undyed wool yarn, the contrast was clear.
【Lin-jie, you’re not seriously going to knit a sweater, are you?】
【Tsk—if you can even make your own yarn, is there anything you can’t do, jiejie?!】
【Wuwu she looks so capable and gentle, just like one of those elegant, intellectual goddesses knitting in the afternoon sun on a balcony.】
Strictly speaking, the leopard, as a fierce beast, should clash with this scene. But in the screenshots from the livestream, nothing felt out of place—on the contrary, it was a beautiful contrast between wildness and softness.
Her delicate and beautiful face looked slightly pale due to her thin lips, giving her a fragile appearance. The leopard lying on her lap would occasionally look up at her, or rest its head on her leg and nuzzle, as if guarding Lin Qianyu in this serene moment.
Gradually, the little bear came over too.
The black bear lay down on the other side, resting its chin on the edge of the table, blinking as it watched Lin Qianyu’s hands constantly at work.
Lin Qianyu didn’t have that much wool. She had originally thought that if it wasn’t enough, she’d pluck the fur blankets in the cave and boil that instead.
But seeing the amount of yarn already spun into balls, it turned out to be quite a lot.
That was thanks to the hardworking fluffy hunters in the house. Seeing that Lin Qianyu liked it, whenever they went hunting, they practically targeted sheep on purpose.
The artificially raised sheep introduced by the production team were specifically meant for shearing and meat.
They weren’t strong and stood no chance against any carnivore. Once discovered, it was game over.
Especially with the hunting prowess of the animals in her home.
They even knew she used pelts to line the ground and decorate the cave, so they’d avoid tearing them. Instead, they would bite the throat cleanly in one go and bring the whole sheep back—seriously considerate.
“All right, this batch of yarn balls should be enough.” Lin Qianyu weighed them in her hands. Not too heavy, but since the yarn was so fine, each ball ended up about the size of her palm.As for the remaining wool on the table...
Lin Qianyu gathered it up—there was still quite a bit. “Why don’t I try making some needle felting?”
There was plenty left anyway, and in a few days, she could collect more during grooming.
Once she said it, she got to it. She grabbed a knife and went out to whittle a wooden stick.
No iron needle? Then just carve the wood more and make one end pointy—it would work too.
【Needle felting!!! Are you going to make little animal figures?!】
【I’m a professional DIY blogger—I want a little bear, a little eagle, and Hua Hua too! After you finish them, send them to this address, I’ll check if there’s any problem.】
【I could hear that scheme from overseas, I swear!】
【Are you going to make a lot? Post a link, I’ll buy it in a second! Name your price, I’m begging you!】
When Lin Qianyu came back with a sharpened wooden stick, the livestream chat had already exploded. No finished product yet, but the bids were already flying.
“Not for sale. Don’t have that much faith in my needle felting skills,” Lin Qianyu tapped the stick and pulled some wool over. “This is my first time trying it—I don’t even know if it’ll turn out right. It might not look good at all, so how could I sell it?”
She paused, seeing that the enthusiasm in the livestream hadn’t died down. Knowing they all liked her fuzzy companions, she added, “How about this—if I manage to make something that actually looks decent, then I’ll make a few more later. I’ll talk to the director and see if we can do a giveaway through the livestream.”
It was just an idea for now. The details still needed discussion. Lin Qianyu rolled up her sleeves. “We’ll worry about that when the time comes.”
With that, she stopped reading the comments and started shaping the wool she had pulled together. She rolled and compressed it into a roughly round ball, repeatedly adding more until it became a firm, solid sphere. Only then did she begin poking into it with the sharp end of the stick.
The little bear sniffed it and pawed at the stick, knocking it to the ground.
“Careful.” Lin Qianyu quickly picked it up, worried the pointed end might hurt it.
“Wuu...?” The little bear rubbed against her hand, then tilted its head at the black ball on the table.
Maybe it smelled its own scent on the wool, which confused the bear.
“Do you like it?” Lin Qianyu held up the black ball she had been working on, palm open in front of the little bear. “I’m making a mini version of you.”
The bear tilted its head again, not really understanding.
Lin Qianyu put the stick away and continued, “Let’s do one sitting and eating candy. Just standing there is a bit too plain.”
“Ao!”
Plain!
To make a complete felt figure, parts like ears and tail had to be made separately. The nose, however, could be built directly on the sphere by adding more wool and stabbing it into shape.
After working the whole day, all the necessary parts were ready. The last step was to connect everything to the main round and oval shapes.
That was done by felting wool directly into the seams where the parts met.
Aside from being time-consuming—requiring repetitive stabbing motions—it wasn’t too difficult.
As she poked and shaped the ball, Lin Qianyu made it more defined, carefully measuring each position. Once the two ears were attached, the overall soft, cute look really started to come together.
Then came the sitting pose. She used white wool for the chest fur, added short legs that extended outward, and positioned the front paws near the mouth, as if it were eating candy. It looked vivid and lifelike.
“Look! Not bad, right?”The needle-felted little bear faced the camera. Lin Qianyu looked at the bear on screen, rubbed her chin thoughtfully as if she had an idea, then picked the bear back up and quietly added a lollipop to its paw.
【Aaaaah! That’s unbearably cute!】
【My fluffy baby, sob sob sob, when’s the giveaway? Pick me!!!】
【This humble believer is willing to follow a life of balanced diet between meat and vegetarian just to win this prize.】
【LOL girl, your faith clearly isn’t pure enough.】
...
“I’ll make a few more before doing a giveaway.” Lin Qianyu wasn’t in a rush. The giveaway wouldn’t happen until after this season ended—she still had plenty of time to make more.
She pulled over a bundle of light-yellow wool and said, “Next, let’s make Hua Hua.”
The leopard lifted its head upon hearing its name.
Lin Qianyu turned her head and met its gaze, then smiled and tugged the wool in front of it. “This is you.”
She rolled and poked the wool, forming another light-yellow ball.
“I’ll make a version of Hua Hua lying down… hmm, should it be licking its paw or its tail?” Lin Qianyu spoke as she visualized the pose in her head. Both seemed adorable, so she decided to make both.
She had started off slowly while figuring things out, but by now she had gained some experience after all that poking.
Before long, she had made two little Hua Hua figures. She couldn’t perfectly replicate the spots on its body, but she tried to mimic the leopard’s patterns as closely as possible.
One figure was lying on its side, head down, tongue slightly sticking out as it licked its front paw. The other lay belly-up, tail curled over from between its legs, with front paws hugging the tip of the tail, licking it.
“Mm.” Lin Qianyu nodded, very satisfied with her three creations so far.
Then she looked a bit troubled. “How should I make the little eagle?”
The eagle didn’t shed feathers, and all the feathers on it were precious—unlike the bear and the leopard, who shed fluffy tufts all over the place.
She gently fanned herself, the cool breeze lifting her hair, and for once, Lin Qianyu looked a little vexed.
Everyone else had one—of course the eagle had to have one too!
But… relying on the eagle’s feathers wasn’t very realistic.
Just as she hesitated, one of the feathers on her fan brushed her cheek and made it itch. She paused, looked down at the fan—
—Weren’t those feathers from the red-tailed crested eagle?
Once she had feathers, it all became much easier.
She used wool to make the body, then, with some reluctance, dismantled the feathers from the fan. She used the fine outer feathers to carefully cover the originally white wool body, leaving some gaps to show the white base underneath.
She trimmed the tail feathers into shape and inserted them directly.
To keep the felted eagle standing, the outstretched wing tips were posed to touch the ground, because the felt figure couldn’t balance on just two legs.
That left a bit of empty space beneath the wings.
So Lin Qianyu used the leftover wool to make a few round bird eggs—perfect.
The red-tailed crested eagle, now awake, blinked slowly and flew over.Animals actually don’t really know what they look like; most of the time, they rely on scent to identify everything.
The little eagle’s feathers were special, so even if more were made in the future, they wouldn’t be included in the livestream giveaway to avoid anyone using them for profit.
Lin Qianyu laid out the felted figures one by one and pointed at them: “Look, this is Hua Hua, this is Little Bear. Little Eagle, do you recognize yourself? You should know those are your feathers.”
“Do you like it?” Lin Qianyu poked the red-tailed crested eagle’s soft feathers with her fingertip. “I’ll make a stand later and display these on it.”
It’d be best to also make a cover to go over them, to prevent dust from getting them dirty.
If these got dirty, there’d be no way to wash them.
“All right.” Lin Qianyu stood up. Sitting too long made her back ache and her legs go numb. She stretched. “It’s this late already?”
It was already close to 8 p.m., yet the sky hadn’t darkened at all.
There had been heavy rain in recent days, keeping the sky overcast—during the day it still looked like 11 or 12 in the morning.
“You guys keep playing. I’ll go cook.” Before heading out, Lin Qianyu checked on the chicks. Tuan Tuan and Qiu Qiu had dried off. When they first hatched, they looked tiny and fragile, but now that their fluff had puffed up, they looked rounder and much plumper.
Same with Dian Dian. In reality, they weren’t heavy—it was just all that fluff making them look chubby.
Lin Qianyu patted each one. Today she’d slice up a little more meat—gotta fatten up the chicks.
Before starting dinner, Lin Qianyu first melted some sugar in water. Once it fully dissolved, she added a generous amount of honey.
She pulled out a batch of dried meat she’d sun-dried earlier—these would serve as the sticks. She poured the honey-sugar mixture into a bowl and propped it against the wall, sticking the dried meat into it.
The outside temperature was high, so the sugar cooled slowly and wouldn’t solidify for a while.
Only then did Lin Qianyu start preparing her own dinner.
Normally, in wilderness survival shows like this, the pace of life is extremely fast—once you finish one meal, you’re already thinking about the next. Besides eating, you’re building a home, constructing shelter, looking for water… there’s just always something to do.
But Lin Qianyu had turned wilderness survival into a kind of outdoor leisure.
She’d spent the afternoon felting—when you’re focused on doing one thing, it’s easy to forget hunger. Now she wasn’t very hungry anymore, but she ate anyway so she wouldn’t wake up in the night starving and have to go find food.
So she casually stir-fried some greens, paired them with grilled meat and cassava, and that was dinner.
“Here you go, Little Bear.” Once the sugar had set, Lin Qianyu handed the meat stick to the bear. “Lollipop.”
The felted little bear had a lollipop—of course the real bear at home needed one too.
“Awroo!”
Little Bear probably didn’t know what a lollipop was, but a big, sweet chunk of sugar—of course a black bear would like it.
She was worried that if the sweetness seeped into the wood stick, the bear might bite off the sweetened part of the wood too.
Just to be safe, Lin Qianyu used dried meat—so after finishing the sugar, the bear could still enjoy the meat.
That zebra, along with the remaining meat at home, all went into a few fluffy bellies.
After eating, Lin Qianyu drank a bowl of warm water, licked her lips, and said, “Today’s harvest—these felted animals! I’ll talk to the director about the giveaway later. And well… ahem, it’s getting late.”
The viewers and fans, ever since Lin Qianyu mentioned the giveaway, had been itching to join even before seeing the actual prizes. As she said this, they were just about to cheer.
Lin Qianyu: “So…”As soon as those words were spoken, the long-time fans had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, Lin Qianyu gave a slight smile to the camera and said warmly, “Good night!”
One second of freeze frame, then straight to black.
【……】
【She’s getting more and more skilled at blacking out the screen, not even giving us a night view! @Director, you’re really okay with this?!】
【This is injustice!!! She doesn’t even give us time to plead with her to stay!】
Lin Qianyu patted her pillow. “Sleep.”
Buzz buzz — At this hour, probably only the director would message her.
Could it be that he was coming after her for blacking out the screen, saying she’s not allowed to?
Just as she was thinking that, Lin Qianyu opened the message and was relieved to see it had been sent in the group chat.
Director: 【We’re glad everyone made it through the extreme weather safely. After program evaluation, we believe everyone has now acquired basic wilderness survival skills. The crew will no longer provide supplies or approach the guests’ bases. From now on, you’ll be completely on your own.】
【Also, because the recent harsh survival conditions were not part of the original plan, a reward will be given to those who endured to the end. It will be food-based—either fruit or staple foods like rice. Please choose one from the images. Only one item can be selected.】
【New tasks and a preview of the next guest will be released later. The new guest has a deep connection with this island—please look forward to it.】
……
The extra reward was outside the program’s regular tasks.
Lin Qianyu scrolled through the options. Each item had its weight clearly labeled.
Nothing particularly appealed to her.
While she was hesitating, the other guests had already submitted their choices—mostly staple foods.
Before choosing, Lin Qianyu asked in the group: 【Is the watermelon chilled?】
Director: 【It can be chilled.】
Lin Qianyu sent a “great” emoji. 【Then I choose watermelon.】
Buzz buzz Right after she sent that, a popup appeared on her watch.
Pei Feng: 【Are you asleep? I didn’t see you in the livestream. I wanted to talk to you about the red-tailed crested eagle.】
Lin Qianyu: 【?】
Pei Feng then sent a long message: 【The higher-ups already know about the red-tailed crested eagle hatching. Since you're streaming and it's on camera, poachers can also pinpoint their location.】
【To ensure the eagle’s safety, we’ve designated a thirty-meter radius around your cave as a special monitoring zone. If anyone approaches, a defensive response will be triggered immediately. The director has been notified. The other guests won’t come near without good reason. If you see anyone, just press the alarm right away.】
Although Lin Qianyu was capable of handling poachers herself, having someone else watching out added a second layer of protection.
In the quiet night, Lin Qianyu’s eyes curved slightly: 【Got it. Thanks for the trouble.】
—The production team moved quickly.
After the guests finalized their choices, the next day, a designated location would be marked for them to retrieve their reward.Lin Qianyu got up early but didn’t rush out; she wanted to avoid the other guests and dawdled at home until noon before heading off.
She put on a straw hat—its wide brim almost covered her entire face.
Waterproof in the rain and sun-shading in summer, it couldn’t be more practical.
“Little Deer? Want to come with me?”
Upon hearing her, the leopard lying on a rock lifted its eyelids slightly.
The little bear also flicked its tail.
The sunlight was excellent. After returning from hunting and eating, everyone—animal or human—was basking on the platform in the sun.
No matter how harsh the sun, the furry creatures didn’t have to worry about getting sunburned.
Lin Qianyu hung her backpack on her chest.
When heading out, she definitely had to carry the three baby birds in the backpack. Now that they had hatched, she didn’t have to be as delicate as before—afraid of bumping or bruising them. The fluffy little birds, squished together in the roomy backpack, wouldn’t get hurt.
The grass outside was growing fast. It had been trimmed by the rabbits before, but now the job seemed to have been handed over to the little mouse-deer.
The ground was gnawed bare. If not for needing a clean space to change shoes when returning or to clean the pads of the furry animals’ paws, Lin Qianyu would’ve laid woolen rugs outside too.
Midway through grazing, the little mouse-deer paused and looked up blankly. “Yoo——!”
The voice trembled a bit. It sounded somewhat like a lamb, but not exactly a bleating sound—it was hard to describe, but had a raspy quality.
That hoarse voice paired with its goofy expression was unexpectedly funny.
“Don’t wander off. Be careful—something might suddenly jump out and snatch you away.” Lin Qianyu turned and closed the door. The red-tailed crested eagle had been circling in the sky, but the moment she came out, it swooped down and perched neatly on her shoulder.
“Little Bear, Huahua! Let’s go!”
The leopard, seemingly sunbathing with its back to Lin Qianyu, twitched its ears and jumped down from the rock.
The black bear had nearly dozed off in the sun, but on hearing her, it groggily got up and took two lumbering steps forward. Its eyes were still half-shut and drowsy. Only after it walked to Lin Qianyu’s side did it yawn. “Awwww……”
Lin Qianyu rubbed its head to help it wake up. “Come on, let’s go get some treats.”
The little mouse-deer seemed timid at first, but once it got familiar, it turned quite bold.
Maybe it was because it had spent a whole day with predators yesterday and didn’t get eaten. Without that fear, it naturally became more daring.
Now, the little mouse-deer was walking at the front. Any grass swaying in the breeze, it had to take a bite.
It was nothing like the trembling, pitiful thing it had been when Huahua brought it back yesterday.
Which was just as well. A bigger heart would help—it’d be staying under Lin Qianyu’s care for a while, and if it was terrified all the time by predator presence, even with enough food and water, it’d still have psychological problems.
【Waaa, the little deer is so cute I want to bite it to death.】
【If Huahua bites it to death, it’s a snack. If you bite it to death, that’s jail time. Enjoy government-provided meals for life.】
【Hahahaha careful, the little deer might stab you with a horn.】
The little deer wasn’t even old enough to have grown horns yet.
Lin Qianyu rested her hand on the leopard’s back, poking at the fur, twirling a few strands around her fingers—her hands couldn’t stay idle.Touching a leopard like this would definitely be felt, but Huahua didn’t even lift her head, and the tail coiled around Lin Qianyu’s calf didn’t show any intention of stopping her either.
They followed the path downward.
From the mountain, she could already see a flag with the production team’s logo fluttering in the wind.
When Lin Qianyu arrived, the director was eating watermelon—a large, slightly oval one, sliced and spread out on a table. He was fanning himself with a palm fan and holding a watermelon slice bigger than his face.
“You’re here?” The director pointed with the fan. “The watermelons over there are all about the same size. Pick one.”
Lin Qianyu glanced at the ones on the cart, clearly much smaller than the ones on the table, and narrowed her eyes. “No rush.”
The director froze. “Huh?”
Then, as if suddenly understanding something, he stiffened and said with some embarrassment, “T-this… isn’t really appropriate…”
He reached out, trying to save the watermelon he had just cut and proudly displayed. His voice even trembled slightly as he spoke.
Lin Qianyu smoothed the fur on the leopard’s back and lightly tapped her fingers. “I think it’s fine.”
“Help! R-robbery!”
“Roar!”
“Chirp!”
“Raargh!”
Director: “Ah—ahhh!”
Other crew members watched from a distance as chaos unfolded ahead. The director, attacked all by himself, was running around clutching his head. As he tried to sneak off with a piece of watermelon, the little deer rammed him in the lower back, nearly sending him rolling across the ground.
Late arrivals Hang Sisi and Yin Youlin looked at each other, then each grabbed two watermelons while the director was distracted and bolted.
Director: “?!!”
“Hang Sisi! Yin Youlin! I saw you two!” the director shouted. I may not be able to control those protected animals, but I can deal with you! he howled.
And the two of them ran even faster.
Director: “……”
I can’t record a single day of this damn show anymore.
It’s lucky Lin Qianyu hasn’t gone after the villa—otherwise, with the people inside, wouldn’t she have driven them all out?
Who could possibly go toe-to-toe with these predators?
The director snorted heavily, then cracked open another watermelon for himself, scooping it out with a spoon.
【Hahahahahaha I’m laughing so hard I might throw up. Poor director.】
【Hang Sisi still wasn’t ruthless enough. If it were me, I’d drive off with the entire watermelon cart.】
【Director getting owned—greetings from Australia.】
【Is it possible Lin Qianyu leads these beasts to take down the production team, the guests go enjoy the villa, and the crew gets sent into the jungle instead?】
……Lin Qianyu took a bite of the watermelon—it was cold, crisp, and sweet. That one had a crunchy texture. After finishing it, she picked a softer, sandier one—very juicy.
After walking downhill in the sweltering heat, a bite of watermelon was pure bliss.
Each furry one got a slice too. It was their first time seeing one, so Lin Qianyu had to hold the watermelon up to their mouths before they were willing to try it.
The leopard lay on the ground, occasionally biting at the slice under its front paws. It wasn’t fond of sweet things, but it liked the watermelon’s cool temperature.
The red-tailed crested eagle was the same—pecking at it and holding it in its beak for a long time.
The little deer held a new melon by itself, starting from the rind and gnawing away.
Only the little bear ate with both elegance and appetite, even biting off a good chunk of the flesh.
Crunch, crunch—the fruit might as well have been made for the black bear’s taste buds. It ate slice after slice.
The chicks had delicate stomachs. Even though they poked their heads out of the backpack, Lin Qianyu didn’t dare feed them carelessly.
For newborn chicks, even a simple bout of diarrhea could be fatal.
Beside them, the director was digging into his watermelon with great gusto, smacking his lips. The chicks were cute, but not as eye-catching as the red-tailed crested eagle.
Noticing the commotion nearby, the director squinted toward the little deer behind the crocodile and said, “Your little deer’s got guts, huh? Not even scared being with a bunch of predators.”
Even though the scene made no logical sense—a crocodile being chased all over the place by what should be its food.
But maybe it had something to do with the leopard and the black bear watching like hawks nearby, plus the red-tailed crested eagle on Lin Qianyu’s shoulder occasionally glancing over. Any one of those three could pick the crocodile up and chew it like a teething toy.
Lin Qianyu agreed and nodded. “Yeah, it’s pretty brave.”
Within a ten-mile radius, if the little deer wasn’t afraid of the leopard, the bear, or the eagle, then there wasn’t much else left for it to fear.
After all, the furries at her place were pretty much apex predators.
The director clicked his tongue in amazement. “Incredible. First time I’ve ever seen a fawn chase a crocodile. And it’s just a baby!”
Lin Qianyu was eating her watermelon and casually replied, “Yeah, chasing a crocodile…”
She paused. Something about that sounded wrong. “Chasing a crocodile?!” Her tone suddenly shifted as she looked up—and there was the little deer, stamping its hooves aggressively behind a crocodile five times its size.
It was stomping and bleating “yo~ yo~” as it went, clearly provoking it.
Lin Qianyu: “!!!”
“Pfft…”
“Little deer?!!” Lin Qianyu was truly afraid the crocodile would suddenly turn and snap the little one up. “Huahua, go bring the deer back!”
“Roar—!”
Author’s note:
Little deer: Charge!!!
Good night, sleep early, love you all.