Chapter 31

Chapter 31

This size had already exceeded the front paw of an average Siberian tiger.

【Pfft—hahahaha rainbow deer.】

【Not gonna lie, the dye job actually looks pretty good—better than the Tony salon downstairs from my place.】

The little chevrotain shook its head, looking completely clueless about what it had just done. “Yoo?”

“Ah, wait a sec.” Lin Qianyu didn’t dare take the little one into the water, so she used a plastic tub from home to pour some water and wipe it down.

The freshly dyed colors, even after being wiped twice, only lightened a little.

On top of that, the little chevrotain’s fur was short—so the color hadn’t just stayed on the surface. Even when parted, the inner fur was stained.

Lin Qianyu looked at the one eye that had been dyed a different color and chuckled softly. “Not bad. This way, it'll be easy to spot you when we’re out.”

It was all natural flower juice diluted with water, no additives—harmless as a dye.

After drying the little deer off, Lin Qianyu said, “Alright, go sunbathe a bit, don’t catch a cold.”

“Yoo!” The little chevrotain rubbed against Lin Qianyu’s hand, then gave it a friendly lick before wagging its tail and scampering off.

Lin Qianyu dumped the excess water in a corner and went to collect the yarn. It had dried completely and felt slightly stiff to the touch.

Earlier, when soaking it, one end had been dipped into the flower-dye water while she used one hand to unwind the yarn ball. It had hung loosely from the drying rack in two loops.

Now she took it down and wound it back into yarn balls.

“These colors should be enough.” Holding the yarn balls, Lin Qianyu glanced at the wood nearby.

A moment later, she sat at the door with two sticks she had deliberately sharpened thin. Yarn freshly dyed in color was looped over the sticks. “Let’s start by knitting flowers. If anyone’s interested, feel free to knit along with me. You can use normal knitting tools at home. I don’t have any, so I’ll just make do with these sticks.”

This setup really gave off the vibe of sweater knitting.

But only near the pointed tip was there a bit of petal shape already knitted.

Lin Qianyu kept adjusting the angle, looping the yarn around the sticks. Before long, a flower’s outer petals had taken shape, with an empty space left in the center for the pistil.

She gave a tug on the lowest thread, and the petals gathered inward, leaving a few threads scattered in the middle like a stamen.

“Look! A flower!”

Unbeknownst to her, the leopard had silently leapt down from the tree and was now walking lazily over. The moment it neared, the flower was suddenly thrust in its face.

The leopard blinked slowly and sniffed. Maybe it found the flower’s scent strange, so it tilted its head.

Lin Qianyu sniffed it too—nothing. Not even a trace of grassy bitterness.

But humans and leopards smell things differently. Maybe the flower had retained the scent of the dyed juice.

Holding the petals, Lin Qianyu said, “Once I finish all the flowers, I’ll wash them with soap pods.”

She could extract a bit of essential oil to scent the flower crown, but it felt like the furry ones at home wouldn’t enjoy strong fragrances.

She removed the flower from the stick and gently placed it on top of the leopard’s head.

The leopard had just been about to lie down, but froze mid-motion. Its slightly bent hind legs stopped as the flower landed.

In that moment, it was as if someone had hit a pause button—it didn’t move at all, maybe for fear of the flower falling off, who knew. With the fake flower atop its head, Huahua stood utterly still.“Haha.” Lin Qianyu, who was hanging yarn onto the wooden sticks, laughed and leaned back, scratching the leopard’s chin. “Why are you being so careful?”

“Rr…” The leopard let out a low growl without even opening its mouth.

Lin Qianyu's smile deepened. She picked up the flower and even leaned in to kiss the furry head.

A flower crown was all about being colorful and flashy. She planned to make several different flower shapes and piece them together into a complete crown.

Lin Qianyu sewed a whole table full of flowers, then bent some dry twigs into a circle, using them to measure against the red-tailed crested eagle. She broke the twigs into shape and said, “Let’s just make the base a fixed size.”

It could be elastic or loose, but if the furry ones wore it, it might catch on their ears and bunch them all up like little bunnies.

There were still a few uncrushed fresh flowers on the corner of the table. Their colors were unique, and there weren’t many, so they couldn’t produce much juice even if smashed—she decided to keep them for decoration.

The red-tailed crested eagle looked at the fresh flowers, then the fabric flowers. It pecked and flipped one over, clearly finding the situation curious.

The sky grew darker.

Lin Qianyu turned on her watch and used its light to continue working until all three flower crowns were finished.

“Not bad?” The three crowns were all different in size, and the fake flowers had been sewn on at random. From a distance, they actually looked pretty decent.

【So pretty!!! Sister Lin is so talented, please make one for me I beg you.】

【Suggestion: add two straps under the flower crown so it doesn’t fall off.】

【The idea is sweet, but maybe don’t execute it just yet.】

“Come on, little eagle. A flower crown that never wilts.” Lin Qianyu had made many flower shapes, some in bud and others fully bloomed.

The red-tailed crested eagle lowered its head as Lin Qianyu gently parted the feathers on its head and placed the crown on.

Yarn flower crowns were a bit heavier than regular ones, but the weight difference was basically nothing to the furry creatures.

After adjusting it a bit, Lin Qianyu turned to hug the leopard. “This one’s for Huahua.”

“Awrr…”

Pinching one of the flower petals, Lin Qianyu asked, “Is Little Bear done eating?”

Little Bear, still chewing on jerky, turned his head—only for a fabric flower crown to be placed on top.

Little Bear looked up. His ears were holding the crown in place, so even when he tilted his head, it didn’t fall.

Perfect.

Lin Qianyu was very pleased with today’s results. She stood up and poured a bowl of water. “Jerky’s here—eat when you’re hungry.”

She lifted the curtain and broke a piece of flower candy from the pot. While it was still semi-soft, pulling it created a bit of stringiness. The surface had dried completely, and when broken apart, some sugar crumbs fell off.

Compared to when it was hot, the hard candy texture was far better—no sickly sweetness, and the floral scent wasn’t overpowering.

The outside was hard, the inside soft. Biting into it had the feel of hard candy with a soft center.

Lin Qianyu's eyes lit up. “Tastes great.”

Even better than she’d expected.

It was just that when she added the petals, the syrup might have been too hot—the color of the petals didn’t come out very pretty.“Just right to wrap them with oiled paper.” Lin Qianyu had saved up a whole basket of candy wrappers.

The reward from the director’s team was fruit candy, but the candy wrapper around the fruit candy was a bit like the kind used for nougat.

Every time Lin Qianyu ate candy, she would collect the wrappers—not necessarily because she’d use them, but she definitely wouldn’t toss this kind of trash carelessly in the rainforest. She’d been keeping them as trash, and now they finally came in handy.

Put the candy in the center, roll up both ends of the wrapper.

Once wrapped, they were tossed into a basket to the side, left in a cool, shaded place so they’d solidify faster.

By the time you finished chewing the gummy, you could even taste the texture of the flower petals inside.

Lin Qianyu swallowed a mouthful of saliva. She didn’t plan to eat dinner tonight—just roasted a piece of cassava and dipped it in sugar.

She sliced up the meat for the furballs and laid it out on leaves.

Biting into cassava, Lin Qianyu looked at the furry companions eating meat on the platform and hummed a little tune. “After dinner, I want to go to sleep. That’s it for today’s stream.”

【???】

【I looked at the time and I can’t believe what I just heard.】

【She’s ending the stream earlier and earlier lately. The director’s stream already released the voting results. Lin Qianyu, I advise you to be kind!!】

“Been more physically active recently,” Lin Qianyu explained. Noticing the mention of “voting,” she frowned slightly and asked, “What vote? Something related to the guests?”

As she spoke, Lin Qianyu opened the program’s official live stream.

She found that it was a vote for current guests' overall performance—covering living standards and live stream vibes. This was different from survival duration, and would be used to evaluate guests who were still in the show at the end but hadn’t yet received rankings, to determine their final scores.

Looks like it had opened in the morning.

Lin Qianyu hadn’t noticed until now.

At that moment, she was ranked first by a large margin—her progress bar far ahead, while the other guests’ bars looked barely a centimeter long in comparison, their vote counts stuck in place.

The vote was very rigorous.

Each voting account had passed real-name verification.

Votes were distributed based on how long users watched the stream, with different time slots giving different amounts.

The director had probably promoted this on Weibo, and many fans already knew about the vote.

Looking at her vote count, Lin Qianyu said, “Even if you knock three zeros off that number, I’d still be in first place.”

【Now you understand how much we adore you!】

【We said we wouldn’t vote, but the moment the prompt popped up we immediately switched tabs to vote for you.】

【Do you really have the heart to leave us and go to sleep alone? Sob sob sob…】

Lin Qianyu thought for a moment. “But it’s dark now, and there’s nothing much to stream. How about…”

She snapped her fingers and smiled. “As thanks for the votes, I’ll take you all on a walk tomorrow to explore a bit farther out and see the scenery… maybe we’ll even run into a tiger. The director said there’s a species on this island you can’t see anywhere else.”

After the first part, the comments were filled with: “Who wants to see scenery?” “So boring!” “Black screen and I’m reporting the stream!” But once Lin Qianyu finished her sentence, the live chat instantly changed tone.

【!!! Is that true, godfather?!】【Deal, you can go to sleep now. Just make sure to get up early tomorrow—I want to see your stream light up by 3 a.m. sharp.】

Whether or not they’d run into one depended entirely on luck—Lin Qianyu herself wasn’t too sure.

After all, even the owner of this island had never seen that kind of tiger on their own land. It was possible the tigers died not long after being released into the wild for breeding. If there wasn’t even a photo or a screenshot from a hidden camera in the rainforest, then the odds of them still being alive were pretty low.

That said, Lin Qianyu had already explored nearly all the area near the cave.

It was about time to expand her activity range and head farther out.

After finishing her cassava and washing her hands, Lin Qianyu waved at the streaming gear and said, “I’m logging off now. Goodnight, everyone.”

Amid a flood of “Goodnight” comments on the screen, Lin Qianyu turned her stream to black.

In the show Wilderness, guest rankings were mainly based on two factors.

First, surviving the difficult and dangerous environment—only those who made it to the end had a shot at first place.

Second, audience votes in the livestream room. The production team’s judgment played only a minor role in the final outcome.

Most of the power was handed over to the viewers.

To ensure absolute fairness.

An Lanqing had carefully calculated her strategy ever since she decided to participate in this show—how to perform to achieve the best results.

But now...

Looking at the vote count in the official livestream, she was actually in last place.

Dead last!

Even Guo Yanpeng ranked above her.

Her streaming equipment was left outside. Sitting in her tent with a dark expression, An Lanqing checked the vote page over and over, trying to spot some mistake so she could report it in time.

Unfortunately, the voting page was working perfectly, without a hint of lag. Every time it refreshed, Lin Qianyu’s vote count went up again.

Second was Hang Sisi. Third was Yin Youlin. Fourth was Guo Yanpeng...

Every one of them was a stumbling block in her path.

An Lanqing clenched her fists tightly. The other two had leached quite a bit of popularity from Lin Qianyu, and borrowed quite a few supplies—their daily survival routines were indeed better than hers. But Guo Yanpeng? On what grounds?

That brainless meathead somehow still ranked above her.

“Yanpeng.” An Lanqing opened the tent flap. Seeing the empty cave, she walked outside—Guo Yanpeng was still tending the fire, with a cleaned chicken sitting beside him.

Hearing her voice, Guo Yanpeng looked up and replied, “What’s up?”

An Lanqing hesitated for a moment, then told him about the livestream voting.

Guo Yanpeng laughed upon hearing it. “Don’t worry, there’s still plenty of time, right? What if someone ahead of us quits? If we stick it out to the end, and only the two of us are left for the final episode, the director won’t have a choice but to give us first and second.”

An Lanqing felt he was being a little too optimistic, but she didn’t bother arguing. After saying what she needed to say, she just muttered indifferently, “...Mm.”

Then she paused for a moment and added, “You know, you came on this show for me. Whether we win or not, you probably don’t really care. Even if you do end up in the top three, I bet you wouldn’t even want it.”

An Lanqing tested the waters with a joking tone."Then why wouldn't I want it?" Guo Yanpeng said. "The rewards from the show are actually pretty decent."

An Lanqing's breath caught, her face gradually going pale.

But Guo Yanpeng didn’t notice her change in expression.

An Lanqing clenched her fists—Lin Qianyu was doing so well she clearly wouldn’t withdraw, Hang Sisi and Yin Youlin obviously came for the rewards and likely wouldn’t leave either.

And now even Guo Yanpeng wanted to compete for a ranking?

Standing behind Guo Yanpeng, An Lanqing’s expression darkened as she bit her lower lip lightly.

【What’s An Lanqing trying to imply here?】

【Don’t tell me she’s thinking of quitting. Feels like she’s lost hope of winning and doesn’t want to keep suffering here.】

【Is it true? Is it true? Hang Sisi’s fans send their congratulations.】

Already frustrated and troubled, An Lanqing read these mocking and sarcastic comments—each one landed like a slap across her face.

Her chest felt so tight, it was as though even her heart was tangled into knots.

“Lanqing? Are you not feeling well?” Finally realizing something was off, Guo Yanpeng turned to look at her, immediately dropping the wood in his hands and standing up.

“I’m fine.” An Lanqing stepped back, dodging the hand he reached toward her, then turned and walked off. “You keep busy. I’ll go gather some firewood.”

Guo Yanpeng replied, “Okay.”

As she walked up the path, An Lanqing slowly turned back, her expression shadowed as she looked at Guo Yanpeng’s back.

The next day.

Stepping over a tree trunk lying across the ground, she crouched in a thick patch of grass, carefully parting it to peek outside.

In her line of sight, tucked away in a very hidden spot, was a leopard. Its magnificent pattern was half-concealed by the dark grass. Its pale amber eyes didn’t blink once as it crouched low, staring intently at a zebra not far off. With its subtle movements, the tight, streamlined body looked like an arrow nocked on a bowstring.

As soon as the livestream camera turned on, this was the scene it showed.

The leopard in the frame seemed to sense something, and cast a sidelong glance toward the camera.

In an instant, all the silly barrage comments stopped.

It was a long while before someone finally sent an exclamation mark—as if, beyond that symbol, there was no standardized language that could describe the shock they felt the moment they saw that scene.

“Hua Hua, eat the meat at home today,” Lin Qianyu’s voice came from behind the camera. Realizing the leopard intended to hunt, she quickly tried to stop it. “We still have plenty of meat at home.”

With no extreme weather lately, Lin Qianyu didn’t plan to stockpile meat. Everything that could be turned into jerky had already been processed, and even the drying racks were full.

The rest of the fresh meat would be eaten all at once for this meal.

“Hua Hua?” Lin Qianyu walked up and grabbed its tail, giving it a shake.

“Growl…”

Lin Qianyu had woken up very early today. Over the past few days, her biological clock had nearly adjusted to a perfect routine—early to bed, early to rise. Occasionally, she even went jogging with the leopard in the morning.

She’d said last night that she was going to explore a new area on the map.

After feeding all the fluffballs, Lin Qianyu began packing her backpack.When she left the house, the baby birds were kept in her backpack. Now seeing Lin Qianyu pick up the backpack, the three little birds in the nest started flapping their wings excitedly.

They liked going out to play too.

【Hahaha, just like my dog. Every time I pick up the leash, my dog gets super excited.】

【It must be boring staying in the nest all the time. Going out to run a bit is good.】

However, Lin Qianyu tapped each bird on the head. “Be good, you all stay home for now.”

It wasn’t safe going to unfamiliar places, and the Red-tailed Mountain Hawk-Eagle was too important—she didn’t dare bring it around casually.

Right now, the area around her cave was the safest. Predators didn’t dare approach, and if there were poachers, they wouldn’t even make it up the mountain. They’d get warned the moment they came near, and once they tried to ascend, they’d be attacked without mercy.

So… the birds should stay home.

Together with the fawn.

After feeding the birds, Lin Qianyu gave each of them a head pat. “Stay well at home, I’m heading out.”

“Chirp!”

Lin Qianyu carefully selected things to pack into her bag—seasonings, insect-repellent spray, a hiking pole, sunhat…

After a long period of picking and choosing, the backpack was fully packed.

“Little Deer, come here.”

The little musk deer grazing outside didn’t understand the reason but still responded enthusiastically to Lin Qianyu’s call. Bleating excitedly, it dashed inside, only slamming the brakes just before it could crash into her.

“Don’t run around indoors.” Lin Qianyu carried the fawn into the back room and left it with plenty of grass. “When I get back, your brother Huahua will teach you how to hunt.”

“Bleat!”

【???】

【Is that something that can even be taught?】

【Hahahaha I’m dying. One dares to say it, the other dares to answer…】

【It looks cool and all, but it’s a herbivore, what’s it going to hunt? The grass gonna grow legs and run away?】

Grass wouldn’t run, of course. But since the little deer liked fighting, rather than suppressing its instincts and risk getting killed by other animals after being released into the wild, it was better to go on the offensive.

Whether or not it could catch prey was another matter—at the very least, it needed to know how to protect itself.

After settling things at home, Lin Qianyu slung on her backpack and set out.

Before leaving, she didn’t forget to send a message to Pei Feng, asking him to keep an eye on the cave while she was away.

Lin Qianyu opened up the map, pointing and tracing with her finger. “We’re here right now… we’ve pretty much covered all this area, so today let’s go this way, to the left. Let’s check out the other side of the river.”

She was carrying so many supplies and definitely didn’t want to swim across.

So the route took a bit of a detour. She said, “We’ll go around this way and walk over directly. Too bad there’s no bridge.”

If she could build a bridge here, she could come straight from home and walk across the middle section of the river.

“Huahua? Is something wrong here?” Lin Qianyu noticed the leopard sniffing around the area. Thinking about how territorial wild animals could be, she began to worry—would her own animals clash with the owner of this territory?“Wuu…”

The little bear licked its paw, too busy eating tasty snacks to care about things like territory.

Ever since leaving home, its mouth hadn’t stopped moving.

However, the leopard was only sniffing the scents—it didn’t show any signs of alertness, suggesting the owner of this territory didn’t see them as a threat.

Usually, in this kind of situation, the territory owner wouldn’t actively pick a fight.

After all, it’s not like anyone was trying to take over its land, so why escalate conflict? Just wait for them to leave.

“Look, that’s Paphiopedilum purpuratum.” Lin Qianyu used her hiking pole to press down the surrounding weeds, pointing at the flower in the center. Its large, vivid bloom and especially large dorsal sepal gave it a striking shape rarely seen outside. “This is a national treasure–level plant. Don’t casually pick it if you see it out there.”

Lin Qianyu only directed the livestream camera to get a close-up, then turned and noticed a Habenaria. “Careful when walking this way. If I accidentally step on one, I’ll probably need a helicopter to carry me back to court.”

【The rainforest is filled with treasures! These plants are so beautiful!】

【No wonder people love adventuring in rainforests. I’m just watching the stream, and this scenery already feels breathtaking. Seeing it in person must be amazing.】

【I’ve been to the largest botanical garden in the world—it still can’t compare to a natural rainforest.】

Lin Qianyu had to be cautious navigating through the untamed rainforest, but the black bear and leopard didn’t need to worry about that. They forged ahead, and when they got too far, they’d come back to fetch her.

The Red-tailed Mountain Hawk-Eagle wasn’t interested in any of this. It perched quietly on Lin Qianyu’s shoulder like a striking, elegant accessory.

“Here.” Suddenly, Lin Qianyu discovered something and lowered her voice. “There’s a tree frog—can you see it? With red eyes, too.”

【That thing’s poisonous, right?! Lin Qianyu, get away from it!】

Most people would avoid vividly colored animals in the wild at all costs. Not only did Lin Qianyu move in closer, she even adjusted the camera to zoom in—her guts were unreal.

Some poisonous frogs don’t even need to bite; they can spray toxin. Just a trace contact could cause paralysis or even death.

The tree frog on the branch blinked, clearly aware of Lin Qianyu’s presence nearby. It shifted position and turned to face her.

The Red-tailed Mountain Hawk-Eagle narrowed its eyes, leaning forward.

The tree frog didn’t hesitate—it immediately turned its back, froze, and pretended to be a leaf.

【Pfft… Hahahahaha】

【Why was I even worried about Lin Qianyu’s safety, seriously!】

【I’ve seen some professional adventurers livestreaming in the rainforest—they creep through so carefully, making sure every angle is in view before taking a step. Meanwhile, Lin Qianyu walks like she’s on a picnic.】

【Come on now—Red-tailed Hawk-Eagle, black bear, leopard. With this trio plus Lin Qianyu? Anyone who dares show up is done for.】

Predators with high combat abilities typically won’t attack others of similar strength unless they’re out to seize territory.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t initiate a fight.

After all, even if they won, they’d still get hurt. In the wild, even a minor wound can get infected and fester, leading to death.

You could say, with Lin Qianyu bringing her furry companions along, the chance of other beasts picking a fight was practically zero.

“Wuu!” The black bear walking ahead seemed to have found something. It pawed the ground a few times, then turned and called out to Lin Qianyu.

“What is it? What did you find?” Lin Qianyu quickly ran over, resting her hand on the little bear’s back, and turned to the side—only to see a civet curled up under the roots of a tree.Judging by the pattern on this civet, Lin Qianyu pondered, “Looks like a large-spotted civet?”

It was called a civet, but its appearance didn’t really resemble a cat.

Its back was grayish-brown, with a black stripe running from its forehead down its back, covered in black spots. Its furry tail had four black rings, and the tip was black.

Right now, this large-spotted civet was barely breathing, seemingly wounded, with blood on its paw, curled up and trembling.

Was it pretending to sleep?

Lin Qianyu glanced at the few predators around her, wondering if the civet was scared of them and had closed its eyes to fake sleep. “Don’t worry, they won’t hurt you.”

“Is your paw injured?” Lin Qianyu softened her tone and took out anti-inflammatory medicine formulated for animals from her backpack.

“Civets are usually most active from night to around 1 or 2 AM. Coming out at this hour... maybe it got hurt and couldn’t hunt properly, so it came looking for food.”

Just one look at its thin frame, and Lin Qianyu could already guess.

She didn’t have fresh meat in her bag, but she had plenty of jerky.

Lin Qianyu took some out. “Here, have something to eat first.”

After a pause, she muttered to herself, “You should be able to chew it, right?”

The large-spotted civet, smelling the food, didn’t open its mouth immediately. It cautiously evaluated whether it was safe to eat, visibly conflicted, as if debating with itself.

After hesitating for a while, it finally opened its mouth and bit down decisively.

Seeing it eat on its own, Lin Qianyu let out a sigh of relief. If it could eat, then there was still hope.

“I’ll spray a little of this on you.” Lin Qianyu waved the medicine bottle in front of it. “It doesn’t smell strong. You can just think of it as water.”

The civet gave a quiet “wu” in response.

Lin Qianyu gently sprayed twice on the wounded area. Then she extended her open palm, letting the civet sniff her scent—a common way to show friendliness to animals.

But—just earlier, Lin Qianyu had rubbed the Red-tailed Hawk-Eagle’s head, smoothed the black bear’s fur, and played with the leopard’s tail.

So, when she brought her hand close, the large-spotted civet immediately shrank its neck, fur standing on end in alarm. It grabbed the jerky and bolted.

Lin Qianyu: “???”

Chat comments: 【???】

【I declare, this is the first major defeat of Sister Lin’s professional career!】

【Help, with so many predators around, I’d be terrified too if I were that civet.】

【Wake up—it's a protected species. Who told you to project yourself onto it.】

...

Lin Qianyu looked at the medicine, then at the direction the civet ran off in, and sighed. “Hope that stuff works.”

After all, in the wild, an injury could mean death for a solitary animal.

Even for lions or tigers—if they’re wounded and can’t recover, it’s basically a slow death.

【The large-spotted civet has tragically lost its brief but blissful life of three daily meals and care.】The large-spotted civet ran off without looking back, and Lin Qianyu didn’t dare chase it. If she so much as followed, the civet would definitely run even harder, and what was originally a minor injury might get worse.

To be able to run that fast and move so nimbly, its overall condition was likely still decent. She’d already applied the medicine—its wound should heal on its own soon.

“Let’s go. Let’s explore a bit more and circle around the coast before heading home.” Lin Qianyu broke off a small piece of jerky, packed away the medicine, and slung her backpack on. “Haven’t eaten coconut crab in a while—might as well bring one back on the way.”

“Wu!”

The further inward they went, the more rare and unusual plants appeared.

Many of the species that required meticulous care in laboratories to barely stay alive were growing wildly here.

There was no need to worry about different plants competing for nutrients even if they grew next to each other.

In such a vast area, overlapping and flourishing together, not a single one looked weak—in fact, they just kept growing taller and stronger.

Although not all of them were officially protected species, they were all rare and hard-to-cultivate varieties.

Lin Qianyu clicked her tongue in amazement. “This place must be driving a ton of botany grad students mad.”

【…My bared teeth are slowly retracting.】

【Wuwuwu this is so cruel! I watered and fertilized my thesis plant on time and it still died.】

【Plants outside the lab: bursting through the soil, thriving in the cracks of a wall. Plants inside the lab: you stared at me too long today, I don’t care, I’m dying.】

【Streamer can you pick me a Mortis magnolia? I’ll pay cash on delivery.】

...

There was no courier service on the island, so shipping anything out was impossible. They could only look through the livestream.

“Is there… something in there?” As Lin Qianyu adjusted the livestream camera, she noticed something flash briefly through a gap in the dense shrubs up ahead.

By the time she tried to get a better look, the wind had stopped, completely concealing whatever it was.

Lin Qianyu didn’t go over recklessly. The shrubs were too tall for her to push aside with her trekking pole. She turned to ask for help and pointed at the bushes: “Huahua, what’s over there?”

“Roar—” Meat.

“Something edible? Or prey?” But judging by Huahua the leopard’s response, whatever she saw earlier must’ve been dead.

Lin Qianyu tapped the shrub. Some small fruit, like little grapes, rustled down. But with how swollen and clustered they were, and still untouched by any animals, they were most likely inedible.

Parting the shrubs and moving forward, a strong metallic scent of blood suddenly hit her.

The temperature also seemed to rise subtly—was there a water source here?

Lin Qianyu raised her eyebrows. Yes… and no.

It wasn’t drinking water—it felt more like… a hot spring.

A natural hot spring hidden deep within the rainforest.

Steam still rose gently from the shallow pool.

Stepping into the area, the already stifling heat combined with the unpleasant surrounding smell made it even harder to breathe.

A massive figure lay sprawled on the ground. As she walked closer, Lin Qianyu said, “It’s a water buffalo.”The water buffalo's neck and head were completely severed, as if something had bitten through it in one go. To be able to bite through the neck of such a massive buffalo—it was clear how terrifying the predator must’ve been.

The buffalo’s flesh had been selectively eaten. Whether it was because it died beside the hot spring or had only been eaten recently, its body still felt warm to the touch.

Its liver and heart were gone, along with large sections of meat from the abdomen. The rest had been discarded, seemingly untouched.

Only the choice parts were eaten.

Lin Qianyu opened her map and marked her current location on the virtual map—there was no mention of a hot spring in this area on the map.

Looking at the red dot indicating her position, Lin Qianyu measured the distance from here to home with her fingers, only to be surprised to find that while walking and exploring, she had nearly crossed the entire island.

So the island wasn’t all that big after all.

Whether it was the black bear, the leopard, or the red-tailed mountain eagle, none of them showed signs of sensing a powerful threat—otherwise their reaction wouldn’t be so calm.

If they had sensed danger, they would’ve immediately tugged at Lin Qianyu’s clothes to get her away from here.

Since they weren’t reacting, it meant the beast that had eaten the buffalo wasn’t nearby anymore.

It likely caught the buffalo on the spot, ate its fill, and left.

【That buffalo’s huge—it looks like it could eat two of me in one bite.】

【Am I the only one thinking that buffalo would taste amazing roasted?】

【I think some places raise buffalo—lemme ask the BBQ shop downstairs if they’ve got any. Sisters, I’m off first.】

On the grasslands, some animals like hyenas and vultures feed on the remains of prey left behind by predators—but in the rainforest, those kinds of scavengers didn’t exist.

Abandoned corpses would have to rely on insects and natural decay, or if a lucky small animal found it before it rotted, it could make for a full meal.

Lin Qianyu couldn’t stand the smell here any longer. After checking things over, she called out to her furry companions, “Let’s go—let’s head to the beach and find something to eat.”

They’d been walking all day and still hadn’t reached the shore. It was already getting dark.

At this rate, they’d only make it home by the next morning.

Luckily, Lin Qianyu had predicted that she might go too far and wouldn’t make it back in time, so she had fed the little birds and fawns at home before leaving and even left them some extra food.

“Huahua and Little Diao, keep an eye on the backpack from the shore.” Lin Qianyu placed the young eagle on top of her hiking bag. “I’m counting on you.”

The leopard rarely came to the beach, and walking on the sand felt unfamiliar—it seemed to think the sand had dirtied its paws and kept trying to lick them clean.

Lin Qianyu quickly grabbed its paw. “Don’t lick it—I’ll wash it for you.”

She spread out a waterproof sheet and patted it, motioning for Huahua to lie down on it. “Come on, lie down.”

The fully spread waterproof sheet covered a wide area, but since it wasn’t folded, it felt a little thin on the sand and deformed slightly under pressure—not a big deal.

Worried she wouldn’t find fresh water along the way, Lin Qianyu had brought a small bottle just in case—perfect for washing Huahua’s paws.

While rinsing, she also massaged the pads and carefully felt around for any small pebbles stuck inside.

After she let go of the paw, the leopard retracted it, gave it a few licks, then couldn’t help but shake it a few times.

“All done. Stay on the sheet, don’t get off, okay? If your paws get sandy again, don’t lick them—come find me. I’ll clean them until they’re spotless, alright?” Lin Qianyu raised its paw and gave the soft fur on its chest a firm rub. “My massage skills are pretty good too, huh?”

Lin Qianyu laughed, gently pushed the leopard back down, gave its fur a good ruffle, then turned and prepared to head into the sea.Gotta get back up before it gets dark.

There wasn’t a diving mask to begin with, not even swim goggles. Once it gets dark, you really can’t see anything.

Quick in and out.

Lin Qianyu called out, “Xiao Xiong, let’s go!”

“Awooo!”

【Wait… if you’re going into the sea to catch fish, what are we supposed to watch?】

【@Director, hurry up and make some gear that can livestream underwater—do I have to teach you everything?!】

【Help help help—I don’t want to see you two splitting up!】

【Huahua: Do you hear yourself right now?】

The big cat, who didn’t like water, stood up a few times watching Lin Qianyu walk into the sea. It looked like it wanted to follow, but remembering what she had just said, it paced anxiously on the waterproof sheet, letting out a low whine, “Mmm…”

“Roar—” “Huahua, don’t come down,” Lin Qianyu waved at it, “Wait for me, I’ll catch something tasty for you.”

With that, she dove beneath the surface, the water rising over her head as she swam down.

Underwater felt like an entirely new world. Faint light filtered through the surface, but the sunlight couldn’t reach the ocean floor.

Light only clung to the upper layers. In its glow, she could see schools of small fish swimming past, and translucent jellyfish disappearing into the shoal wherever she looked.

Lin Qianyu opened her mouth, out of habit wanting to talk to the viewers in her stream—then immediately remembered she was underwater, with no livestream gear. She gave up, exhaled a bubble, and turned to look for food.

The black bear started playing as soon as it entered the water. It had been in the sea before, so it wasn’t unfamiliar. But no two seas are exactly alike—this side of the island was different from the front bay.

The bear charged into a school of fish and clapped its paws together, trapping one.

With nowhere to store it, it just swam up and threw the fish toward the shore.

The fish landed on the sand, flopped a couple of times, then lay still.

Lin Qianyu swam over to check it out. Xiao Xiong had thrown it far—a clever move. The bear had tossed it past the reach of the waves, keeping it from being dragged back out to sea.

Xiao Xiong swam back and rested its head on Lin Qianyu’s shoulder. “Awooo?”

Lin Qianyu reached back and ruffled its wet head. “Nothing—let’s go.”

“Mmm!”

The shallow waters near shore had plenty of edible things.

There were sea urchins and abalone on the rocks, lobsters and crabs hiding in crevices. Compared to the rainforest, getting food here was simpler and less dangerous—provided you could swim and handle sudden situations underwater.

Lin Qianyu hadn’t brought a basket. Without a handle, carrying one in water was a hassle. If the waves knocked it away, she’d have to chase after it.

So she just used her jacket as a makeshift pouch, stuffing in a bunch of sea urchins. Oysters embedded in the reef needed a knife or blade to pry off—without one, she didn’t waste time and skipped them.

She surfaced now and then to breathe, took a deep breath, and dived again.

After repeating this several times, Lin Qianyu came ashore with her jacket full in one hand and a lobster in the other.Water dripped the whole way as the lobster’s tail kept curling and flicking. It struggled, raising its claws to flail, but it couldn’t even touch Lin Qianyu’s hand gripping it from behind.

“Xiao Xiong? Time to get back to shore.”

“Awooo!” Xiao Xiong deliberately surfaced and responded with a call.

“Where did Xiao Diao go?” Lin Qianyu looked around but didn’t see the Red-tailed Mountain Eagle. Huahua let out a sound and glanced to the right.

Lin Qianyu nodded—so it had gone hunting.

She placed her catch together with the fish Xiao Xiong had tossed ashore. “Looks like tonight’s going to be an all-nighter livestream. Don’t wait up for me to log off, everyone—remember to rest early.”

【!!! It’s like hearing celestial music—momentary clarity.】

【First time hearing Lin Qianyu say she’s staying up all night, instead of saying the stream’s going to go dark.】

【It’s fine, do your thing—just let me watch the fluffies.】

Lin Qianyu stepped away from the camera to change in the rainforest. When she returned, she had a few coconuts in her arms and, seeing some banana leaves, grabbed two as well.

Crack crack crack—Lin Qianyu snapped several banana trees.

While reaching out to pull more, the leaves in her hand slipped, and with a thud, they dropped to the ground.

She glanced at them, about to squat down and pick them up, but her eyes shifted slightly to the side—and there she saw an animal footprint.

“What is this...?” Her voice trailed off as she brushed aside some blocking leaves.

A full imprint was revealed—it looked like a feline paw print.

Lin Qianyu narrowed her eyes, roughly gauging the size.

22 centimeters wide, 20 centimeters long.

That size already exceeded the forepaw of a typical Siberian tiger.

And that’s not even accounting for the possibility of the sand being blown or other external factors that might have made the print smaller.

Could it be that...

On this island, on the sparsely explored left peninsula, there really are descendants of the Caspian tiger and Siberian tiger?

Author’s note: Good night, sleep early, love you all.