Chapter 70

Chapter 70

If It’s a White Lion, Then That Explains It.

Lin Qianyu raised an eyebrow. “Hey, you—” Before she could finish her sentence, Chasing Wind took off at full speed.

The hand she had resting on the zebra's neck was left hanging midair.

The zebra stopped not far away, turned sideways, and strutted in front of her, its four legs shuffling playfully against the ground.

Lin Qianyu rolled up her sleeves. “If you’ve got the guts, don’t run!” She made a move as if to chase it.

Chasing Wind tossed its head and bolted without looking back.

【Hahaha... so cheeky.】

【Makes me wanna run up and kick it.】

Even at night, the zebra didn’t dare sprint recklessly—after all, if it became prey for some predator lurking in the dark, too focused on running, it wouldn't see where the attack came from.

As Lin Qianyu followed behind, she noticed that right after the zebra passed by, a branch suddenly snapped and drooped at a ninety-degree angle. She thought at first that the zebra had bumped it by accident, but on closer inspection, it was a chameleon hanging upside down, its tail curled around the branch, now stuck and dangling.

She picked up a stick over a meter long and held it beneath the chameleon.

With the replacement branch in place, the chameleon tried letting go of its tail and climbed onto it.

Lin Qianyu then carefully moved the chameleon to a higher branch on the other side. Once it settled, she tossed away the stick and turned to chase the zebra again.

Chasing Wind had stopped ahead, clearly noticing no one was behind, and only when he saw Lin Qianyu catching up did he resume running.

But the next moment, it was as if Chasing Wind saw something terrifying. Without a word, it spun around and dashed back, hooves scraping the ground in a sharp turn, nearly face-planting itself in the dirt.

Barely managing to stay upright, it slipped in place and didn’t even dare to let out a sound.

“What’s wrong?” Lin Qianyu steadied it. The zebra was frantically jerking its head, clearly panicked, and even tried to bite her shirt to drag her back the way they came.

In the depths of night, the occasional shriek of wild animals rang out across the grassland.

But Lin Qianyu glanced into the distance and saw nothing—just a clearing.

Riiip— With Chasing Wind's relentless tugging, the shirt Lin Qianyu had carefully washed every day was torn clean from a T-shirt into a crop top.

“……”

She thought of the half-knitted sweater back home and the freshly washed set hanging to dry. Her gaze sharpened.

Chasing Wind instantly lost all sense of urgency.

The panic from moments before—as if a lion had been chasing it—disappeared completely. It grinned, ducked its head shyly, and gave her a pair of big, ingratiating eyes full of flattery.

【Hahaha, report for one stripe~】

【As expected—if you want people to forget one scary thing, distract them with something even scarier.】

【Chasing Wind, eyes closed: already planning which part of himself to use for a shirt, which for pants.】

Lin Qianyu pushed the zebra’s face away, looked at the big torn piece of cloth, and after a moment’s thought, decided to tie it around herself. Fabric was fabric, after all.

Out here in the wild, making your own cloth was no easy feat.

She dusted off the hem, shined her flashlight on it—it looked barely passable. Less like it was damaged, more like it had been styled.Lin Qianyu asked, “What did you see just now?”

Her zebra was considered pretty brave—often hanging out with the wolf pack and the cheetahs. How could it not be bold? It just had a bit of a jumpy personality.

“Whinny.”

Judging by the look, it must’ve really been something scary—the zebra even lowered its voice.

But…

When the zebra tried to turn around and head back the way they came, Lin Qianyu lightly cleared her throat. “Chasing Wind, we’re already here.”

Zebra: “?”

Not far away was a mound of earth, its sloped surface jutting abruptly out of the grassland.

The grass was about waist-high—tall enough to fully conceal a person lying down. But such cover was only good for hiding from direct sight—anyone looking down from above would still see clearly.

Lin Qianyu lay at the edge of the mound. The mint scent from her insect repellent spray had mostly faded.

She had no idea how long they’d been waiting. As far as her eyes could see, all was still and quiet.

She’d been staying cautious for so long her limbs were starting to go numb. Not a single rabbit had popped out—only the wind swaying the grass tips.

“There’s nothing here.” She rested her chin on one hand. Even from this height, the view was the same.

So why had Chasing Wind freaked out earlier?

Under her doubtful gaze, Chasing Wind stomped the ground with a front hoof. Not skilled at stealth, the zebra slowly dragged itself forward on its belly. Despite the clumsy movement, its stomping was full of drama.

Chasing Wind didn’t make a sound this time—perhaps being too close made it more cautious. It lifted its head and used its chin to point, signaling Lin Qianyu to look in that direction.

Following its cue, Lin Qianyu squinted and stared for a long while before finally noticing that what she’d thought was a large rock… moved.

In its mouth—it was holding a marmot?

The lighting was very dim, and Lin Qianyu couldn’t make it out clearly, nor could she just aim her flashlight directly over.

She whispered, “Looks like a Pallas’s cat.”

As she spoke, she scooted a bit closer. The Pallas’s cat was dragging the marmot along. For a Pallas’s cat, a marmot was considered large prey. Carrying it like that, the cat walked slowly and occasionally stepped on the tail. Each time it did, it would stop and reposition the prey in its mouth, showing no rush—just slowly searching for a place to eat.

“It really is a Pallas’s cat.”

While Lin Qianyu’s view was fuzzy, the night vision in the livestream captured everything clearly.

Pallas’s cats are felines, belonging to the genus Otocolobus. In the wild, they look like a small cat with a fluffy explosion of fur.

But despite their cute and cuddly appearance, their temperament is the complete opposite—just like the fearless honey badger. Short-tempered and not to be messed with, they’ll throw down at a moment’s notice.

In winter, when food is scarce, wild Pallas’s cats will even venture near human settlements to look for food—completely unfazed.

Seeing the adorable Pallas’s cat, Lin Qianyu couldn’t help but be puzzled. “Just one Pallas’s cat scared you that much?”

Earlier, Chasing Wind had looked ready to snap his own legs off and bolt—and it turned out... it was just a Pallas’s cat.

“Whinny!” Chasing Wind stomped the ground indignantly.

Fierce!Lin Qianyu watched it speak so seriously and had a guess. “You got beaten up by a Pallas’s cat?”

The zebra, still snorting and panting, froze instantly. Its hoof, which had just been stomping hard on the ground, quietly withdrew, and it lowered its head to rest it on its own legs.

“…Fell asleep?”

Its ears twitched, and even its breathing softened noticeably.

Judging by the reaction, it really had been beaten up before.

But… zebras live in herds. No matter how fierce a Pallas’s cat is, it wouldn’t go after zebras as prey.

Their diet mainly consists of rodents, pikas, and small birds. Prey like wild hares and marmots, which are already considered large for them, are rare meals—hunting zebras is out of the question.

Lin Qianyu thought aloud, “Maybe it got attacked by one when it was little?”

It was just a guess, but as soon as she said it, the “soundly sleeping” zebra beside her lifted one eyelid—Lin Qianyu instantly understood.

It had been beaten up by a Pallas’s cat when it was young and had been left traumatized.

A little pitiful. Lin Qianyu fought to keep a straight face, pressing a fist to her lips to suppress a laugh.

【Help, hahaha—judging from Chasing Wind’s behavior just now, it’s hard not to guess it went to provoke a Pallas’s cat when it was little.】

【Does it even need to provoke it? It just has to smile and the cat will chase it down. If I could catch up, I’d beat it too.】

【Why are you all being like this to Chasing Wind! It’s just a little dumb, a little silly, a little annoying—that’s all. No need to hurt a poor little animal’s fragile heart.】

【LOL damn—Chasing Wind: thanks for speaking up for me, please don’t do it again.】

...

While they were chatting, the Pallas’s cat had already stopped and begun enjoying its freshly caught midnight snack.

It tore the meat into little bites, and when it couldn’t tear through, it even squinted one eye and gnawed harder.

Exactly like a house cat—a soft, gentle little chubby feline. It gave off the vibe that other wild cats could easily steal its food.

Its appearance was extremely misleading.

Without realizing it, Lin Qianyu had sat quietly watching for a long time.

Only when the Pallas’s cat had slowly finished its meal, dropped the leftovers where it was, and walked out of her sight did she finally stand up and stretch.

She had originally come cautiously, expecting some kind of large predator. She hadn’t even dared sit upright and had been lying there for a while. Now she rolled her shoulders and rotated her neck to work out the stiffness.

But just as she stood, she caught sight of a shadow approaching.

Lin Qianyu calmly stepped in front of Chasing Wind, one hand already reaching into her backpack for the kitchen knife.

The Pallas’s cat had jumped onto the mound, lowered its head, and was squinting at her with a scrutinizing expression.

“…”

So it had noticed her watching it eat the entire time. She’d thought she hadn’t been spotted—but clearly, the cat had simply chosen to ignore her earlier. Now that it was done eating, it had come to confront her.

Apparently, it wanted an explanation.

Lin Qianyu felt around in her backpack, but she hadn’t dried any jerky, nor did she have any portable meat on her. All she had were some wild fruits and a handful of berries she’d picked up along the way.The Pallas’s cat probably doesn’t eat these things.

While Lin Qianyu was observing the Pallas’s cat, the Pallas’s cat was also observing her.

Noticing that it didn’t seem to have any intention of attacking—perhaps because it was in a good mood after eating—it hadn’t categorized her as an enemy and was behaving rather amicably.

For a Pallas’s cat, not baring its teeth or extending its claws upon meeting you already counted as friendly.

With no food to use for bonding, Lin Qianyu could only try to greet it. “Hi…?”

The Pallas’s cat glanced at the zebra beside her, then looked at her again, tilting its head slightly. “?”

Lin Qianyu said, “Hello there.”

If that first word had been too light and carried away by the wind to be heard clearly, these three words were unmistakably distinct—confirming to the Pallas’s cat that she had indeed been speaking to it.

The Pallas’s cat blinked, curled its tail to its front, and stepped its paw on the thick, fluffy tail. “Hah…”

A very light exhale—not like a warning.

Generally, putting their paw on their tail like that is a behavior used in cold environments, to insulate the paw pads from the freezing ground.

It wasn’t cold now. The Pallas’s cat was simply doing it out of curiosity—a small, unconscious motion.

“Yes, I’m greeting you,” Lin Qianyu said with a smile, her eyes curving. She had placed the flashlight beside her, and its beam was enough to let her see the cat clearly.

It looked very round, similar in appearance to a civet.

But Pallas’s cats are actually quite light in weight. They appear round because of their fluffy fur, which makes their face look like a chubby ball.

Too bad they weren’t familiar yet—otherwise, she’d love to pick the cat up and let everyone feel how light it was. It wouldn’t weigh much more than a housecat.

Two-thirds of a Pallas’s cat is fluff.

The Pallas’s cat stared at Lin Qianyu for a while, then did nothing—just turned around and walked off.

The move left Lin Qianyu a little dumbfounded. It hadn’t said a word. She had no idea what it came here for—it seemed like the only sound it made was that one little “hah.”

After a pause, Lin Qianyu raised an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me… it came over just because I was watching it, so it came to watch me back?”

【Ah? Hahaha, that’s so Lord Pallas’s cat.】

【Lord Pallas’s cat is so cute, how could you think you could just stare for free!】

【Awoo~~ after Lin-jie said that, the Pallas’s cat suddenly seems extra cute. I wanna snuggle it in my arms and pet it.】

【You want to cuddle Lord Pallas’s cat in your arms—he wants to kick you into a river.】

The Pallas’s cat raised its long tail high and swiftly ran off into the night.

It looked pudgy, but ran with surprising agility.

Lin Qianyu sat up and brushed the dry grass off herself. “Let’s go. We’ll keep moving and look for the little wolves.”

It was getting late—nearly the latter half of the night.

The wolf pack was quite large. To feed an entire group, it wasn’t likely they’d stop after catching just one animal—unless it was a big one, like a reindeer.

Chasing Wind had dragged itself across the ground some distance, but upon hearing Lin Qianyu’s words, it shot up to its feet."Did any of you see the wolf pack in other livestreams?" Lin Qianyu was feeling a bit thirsty and took a wild fruit from the side pouch on Chasing Wind’s back.

Overly sweet wild fruits weren’t very thirst-quenching at this moment—even if they were fresh and juicy—but it was barely enough to get by.

Lin Qianyu looked at the path ahead and felt like she was getting close to the sea.

Grassland wolves wouldn’t go hunting near the sea—there was nothing to catch there. It’s not like they could form a pack and go harvest coconuts.

Unless they had locked onto prey somewhere else, and that prey panicked and bolted in this direction.

But the distance ahead was completely quiet—not even a single sound of movement, let alone any calls or howls.

So Lin Qianyu changed direction. Over that way was a wider stretch of grassland, a more suitable environment for grassland wolves to hunt.

She had never come this way before.

In the past, she’d always headed straight to the beach to find Da Bai; this was the first time she’d detoured like this.

Scattered fireflies flickered across the endless grassland. There were most fireflies in summer, but even now a few flashing lights could still be seen.

Lin Qianyu didn’t disturb the drifting fireflies and instead walked along the side. In the dim light, it seemed she kicked something, causing her to pause. Her flashlight swept casually over it—it was a dead tree lying on the ground.

There were few trees around here, and this one had fallen over, its branches already dry and its leaves brittle.

It was normal to come across a fallen trunk like this in the woods—sometimes you even ran into trees that had been struck by lightning.

Lin Qianyu stepped over the log and kept walking. Then… after a couple more steps, she stepped on three more logs. They were arranged in a row. Looking farther ahead, she froze. “Why are there so many logs here?”

The path ahead was almost completely covered in wood.

No wonder the bushes here had looked pressed down—Lin Qianyu had thought it was a road, but now she realized it was actually because of the stacked logs pushing them down.

Rescue center staff wouldn’t camp or build shelters on their own out here on the island, so what was going on with all these logs?

Lin Qianyu found it odd. “It’s like someone’s living here.”

Thinking this, she stepped forward a few paces, walked around a few trees, and sure enough—found piles of wood stacked together.

【Huh? What’s going on?】

【Could this be… wild people?! Cannibals?!】

【Calm down... this is just a wilderness setup. It's not like no one's monitoring the island. Cannibals don’t have clearance to be on the island.】

【Crying while laughing... I didn’t sign up to sob! Boohoo, how do I become friends with the island owner? I’m not even that into the island itself—I just like making friends.】

Going further in, there was a large clearing in the forest where no trees grew—just a pile of rocks, and behind that came the sound of flowing water.

Fallen tree trunks lay all around, some leaning diagonally against rocks, crisscrossed to support each other. It looked quite a bit like the framework Lin Qianyu had used when she built her palm leaf shelter earlier.

Just rougher—simply leaning against one another and not yet collapsed, not sturdy at all. The moment anything heavy was placed on top, it’d collapse immediately.

It really did look like the early stages of building a shelter, just freshly started.

Lin Qianyu found it odd and asked the viewers, “Does this place belong to one of the other contestants?”

Fans often hopped between livestreams, and news from one stream spread everywhere.

Everyone pretty much knew where each contestant was staying.It was already so late that many of the contestants were likely asleep in their own shelters—so clearly this place didn’t belong to any of them.

Looking at the chat, Lin Qianyu pursed her lips. “Then it might be something left by a staff member.”

She didn’t dwell on it. Without knowing whether something was useful or not, she wouldn’t randomly touch someone else’s belongings. She turned to go around it.

However, just as she passed by, she noticed some strange markings on the wood and immediately stopped in her tracks. “This… looks like bite marks?”

With a flashlight in one hand, Lin Qianyu gently brushed her fingertips over the markings. From the look of it, whatever left these marks wasn’t a small animal.

Near the center of the tree trunk, a significant patch of bark had been gnawed away, exposing the pale inner wood—which stood out sharply against the darker outer bark.

She ran her hand from top to bottom, estimating, “It bit like this, but it probably didn’t use its canine teeth.”

The bite was shallow, just scratching the surface of the bark.

In that case… rather than “bit,” “held in its mouth” would be more accurate.

Like something holding the wood with its back teeth—it was a thinner log, so canine teeth wouldn’t have been practical for gripping.

The first image that came to Lin Qianyu’s mind was the white lion she had seen at the rescue center, the one that had carried wood in its mouth.

Looking again at the stacked wood frame, a bizarre idea emerged in her mind, and even her voice carried a bit of uncertainty: “The white lion… is it trying to build a house out of wood?”

Aside from the stacked pile, the upright pieces clearly suggested the white lion’s intention.

And all of this looked like an attempt to build a house—but without the knowledge of how to do it. It was only mimicking what it had seen, trying to replicate the shape, but in practice, it wasn’t livable at all.

Even humans, no matter how inexperienced, wouldn’t fail to make a basic tripod structure.

If it were the white lion… then it would make sense.

【???】

【It sounds kind of absurd, but since it’s Lin-jie saying it, I actually believe it.】

【No wonder it was gathering wood near the rescue station. So it basically picked the whole area clean?】

【Lin-jie!! Just what have you taught the white lion?!】

All this wood clearly wasn’t gathered in a single day.

Even Lin Qianyu found it hard to believe. But looking at the situation now, everything was pointing toward the conclusion she had just voiced: “The white lion has a very high IQ. If it likes something, maybe it’s possible…”

“Whinny—!”

Before she could finish her thought, Chasing Wind suddenly cried out in alarm.

Lin Qianyu jerked her head up—and in the darkness, a bright streak of white was already charging straight at Chasing Wind.

“Wait! Chasing Wind?!” Lin Qianyu rushed forward to stop it.

In an instant, the white lion was right in front of the zebra.

Chasing Wind tried to flee toward Lin Qianyu, but his path was blocked. Even though the white lion was intentionally hiding itself in a familiar environment, it could still conceal itself extremely well.

At first, the zebra had hesitated at the edge, clearly unwilling to enter a place reeking of white lion scent. By the time it realized the lion was there, it was too late.

The zebra didn’t know the terrain well, and with trees all around and logs littering the ground, it was easy to stumble and hard to run.There was a loud bang as Chasing Wind slammed headfirst into a tree.

Lin Qianyu chased after him, shouting from not far away, “White Lion! Don’t—!”

The white lion, which had pounced forward, abruptly changed direction and stopped, paying no attention to the zebra that now looked completely dazed from the collision.

Chasing Wind wobbled unsteadily, clearly out of his mind. Then, in a full-on "to hell with it" move, he turned and kicked straight at the white lion.

The white lion stepped back and effortlessly dodged.

But Chasing Wind refused to let up—he kept kicking and braying, full of righteous fury. “Whinny! Whinny!”

【Hahaha Chasing Wind: Just eat me, eat me already, I’m so embarrassed I don’t wanna live anymore!】

【I’m dying, even the white lion looks stunned.】

【The white lion doesn’t dare eat him—it’s afraid it’ll become brain-dead too.】

Author's note: 【All information about white lions is sourced from the internet】