Chapter 99

Chapter 99

Polar Bear Assault!

“Haha.” Lin Qianyu laughed as she took the apple from her phone and set the phone aside, turning to feed the giant panda.

【Aww so cute! I want to hand-feed a giant panda too, like this, hands-on.】

【I think at panda bases you can feed panda cubs, but not adult pandas.】

【So soft and lovable—some fluffy ones don’t even have to do anything, just sitting there eating is already super adorable.】

Lin Qianyu thought it was adorable too, but there were still very few people who could be this close to an adult giant panda.

Giant pandas tend to be more affectionate toward familiar caretakers, but they don’t know how to control their strength. Even when playing with their keepers, they might unintentionally hurt them. So once a panda reaches adulthood, even if it was raised by hand since birth, it’s still better not to get too close.

The red pandas hadn’t had fresh fruit in a while either. This time, Lin Qianyu brought quite a bit of cucumber and carrot.

They were cuddled up with heaps of fruit, eating with great delight.

Lin Qianyu propped her chin with one hand. “The last time I came, I brought Little Wolf with me.”

Though “with” wasn’t exactly accurate—Little Wolf went off to hunt while she came here alone.

But the journey there and back, they did together.

“I wonder what Little Wolf is doing now.” Lin Qianyu looked up at the bamboo house’s roof, listening to the wind rustling the leaves outside. “Probably sleeping?”

Wolves are nocturnal. Back when she was on Grassland Island, Little Wolf always came by at night to guard her. Now that she had left, who knew if their hunting schedule had changed.

It hadn’t been long since they parted, but familiar surroundings easily brought up memories.

Lin Qianyu took a bite of apple. Having just eaten a banana, the apple now tasted not sweet at all—just more sour.

She paused, then took a large bite of the fruit and stood up, rubbing the roof of the bamboo house. “This part needs to be reinforced.”

Do it now or it might get delayed again by the next rain.

Lin Qianyu got to work. The giant panda watched her eagerly, slowing its pace as it chewed its apple. Holding the apple core in its mouth, it stood up and handed her a piece of bamboo from the ground.

Just what she needed. “Thanks.” Lin Qianyu took the bamboo, stood it up, and used the leafy top to temporarily support a part of the roof until the leaves set in place.

Once the inside was reinforced, Lin Qianyu stepped out and circled the bamboo house. Nothing seemed wrong on the outside.

When she came back, she saw a red panda tilting its head, peeking a little face through the door crack. “Ah!”

“Hm? What is it?” Lin Qianyu followed its gaze and saw a leopard slowly approaching with prey in its mouth.

The red pandas were somewhat familiar with the leopard, but seeing it approach now still made them instantly dart into hiding.

Lin Qianyu opened the door and, mimicking them, peeked out too. She patted the little red panda’s head and said with a smile, “You guys take your time eating. I’m heading off for now. See you next time.”

The red panda obediently held its carrot, “Aww!”

The giant panda turned around too and came over, nudging the door crack open and rubbing against Lin Qianyu.

It probably mistook her departure this time to mean she’d be gone for a long while again, like the last farewell.

Lin Qianyu squatted down and held the giant panda’s face, explaining, “It’s okay. This time I’m staying here for a while. You can come find me in the cave and bring the red pandas too.”“Aw.”

The leopard stopped near the wooden cabin.

Lin Qianyu left all the fruit behind and only brought an empty backpack with her. “Let’s go, Huahua.”

“Roar!”

“Let’s take a detour and check on the koala first? We’ll pass by the squirrels’ tree on the way.”

She had her pockets stuffed with almonds, pine nuts, macadamias—various nuts that the little squirrels had probably never tasted before. She wasn’t sure if they’d like them.

The leopard gave a low grunt of acknowledgment, picked up the prey, and turned to walk ahead.

Back at the car, Lin Qianyu opened the trunk. “Come, put the buffalo here.”

The leopard tilted its head, seemingly not understanding the reason behind this, but obediently released its jaws.

Lin Qianyu said, “It’ll be easier to run this way.”

She stuffed the gazelle into the trunk. Only two-thirds fit; the legs in the back were still hanging out. She couldn’t get it all the way in, so she just loosely closed the trunk lid.

Lin Qianyu clapped her hands, opened the car door. “All done.”

Just as she sat down and fastened her seatbelt, before she could even start the engine, the rainforest vehicle suddenly shook violently. Luckily, it only lasted a moment.

But...

Lin Qianyu got out of the car, half her body leaning out through the door. She looked up and saw the leopard lying steadily on the roof of the car, like it was resting on a cushion.

Because the vehicle was relatively small, the leopard had curled itself up especially tight to fit.

When it noticed Lin Qianyu looking up, the leopard lowered its head and licked her cheek from above.

“Alright, sit tight.” Lin Qianyu glanced at the tires—no signs of a blowout. The vehicle’s frame was sturdy, possibly designed from the beginning to handle the weight of large furry creatures.

Lin Qianyu sat back in the driver’s seat, started the engine, and pressed the gas pedal. “Let’s go!”

“Roar—!”

They had spent almost half a month in the rainforest.

This time, they had to set off early for Polar Island to get used to the environment in advance.

There’s a difference between a wilderness survival challenge and just going to die. What the director wanted was the first—something with drama and excitement, not trending online because a few guests went missing.

So even though there were waivers signed, out of responsibility to the guests, Su Yuxing still required them to arrive on the island early.

“Mr. Feng isn’t coming with me?”

At the airport, even as she was about to board, Lin Qianyu still hadn’t seen Feng Jingye’s figure.

Pei Feng shook his head. “President Feng is in the hospital.”

Lin Qianyu was startled. “He’s sick?”

During this period, she and Feng Jingye had kept in touch through text messages, never breaking contact, just not meeting in person. Feng Jingye had never mentioned anything about his health.

Pei Feng said, “No, he’s injured.”Lin Qianyu thought for a moment. Considering Feng Jingye’s status and position, it wasn’t surprising that he attracted jealousy. It wasn’t unexpected that someone would try to harm him.

The next moment, Pei Feng added, “He was hospitalized a while ago. Remember last time when we ran that test—whether, if you and President Feng landed on the island at the same time or close together, the tiger would choose whom? Back then, the tiger went to you. Then, while you were asleep, it snuck out in the middle of the night and got into a fight with President Feng.”

As someone who witnessed that battle firsthand, Pei Feng said helplessly, “And then he ended up in the hospital.”

The strength difference between a human and a tiger was still vast, especially since it was an unusually large and rare breed.

Fortunately, Da Ju had always held the belief that if it seriously hurt someone this time, it wouldn’t be able to hit them again next time. So while it did fight, it never went for the kill.

But even so, a single paw strike to the back—no matter how tough you are, you wouldn’t walk away unharmed.

Luckily, the room was small, greatly restricting the tiger’s movement. Otherwise, Feng Jingye would have had to miss the third episode of the variety show as well.

Lin Qianyu: “……”

Thinking back to the next morning, all the other furry ones had gone hunting, but Da Ju stayed home catching up on sleep.

So it had gone out at night to “take care of business.”

【Ah... how is this not being emotionally attached.】

【You’re the person I’d cross thousands of miles and stay up all night just to fight. I’m too sexy to hold back my tears.】

【You’re so sexy, don’t you care about your life?!】

【I’ll always be moved by the mutual devotion between the island lord and Da Ju. When will Tuanzi experience mutual devotion too, hahaha.】

Since Lin Qianyu wouldn’t be able to livestream again until the next episode officially started after the flight, she opened a quick impromptu stream today. Seeing the comments in the chat, she couldn’t help but curl her lips in amusement. So tragic... and so funny.

As they talked, it was almost time to board. Pei Feng said, “Safe travels.”

Lin Qianyu nodded. “Mm. See you next time.”

Flying solo on a private jet was a bit empty and boring.

She sat by the window and fastened her seatbelt.

Feng Jingye’s injury hadn’t healed yet, so his arrival on the island would definitely be delayed.

But that wasn’t a problem. Their early arrival was just for familiarizing themselves with the island’s environment and learning survival skills in the harsh polar climate.

As the island lord, Feng Jingye would already be more familiar with the place than anyone else. It was good he had time to rest in the hospital.

Lin Qianyu opened the suitcase at her feet and took out her thick down jacket, changing out of her thin shirt into warmer clothes.

On Polar Island, running on sheer passion wouldn’t cut it. You’d turn into an ice sculpture in a few steps.

Feng Jingye had even helped her pick out those clothes.

Rainforest Island was too hot, so she brought a suitcase just to make changing easier.

Before getting off the plane, she wrapped herself in the down jacket, put on goggles, and thick snow boots. The moment the cabin door opened, a howling cold wind blasted in her face.

The temperature difference between Rainforest Island and Polar Island was like two extremes.

“Cough cough!” Lin Qianyu choked a little on the icy air and coughed twice.Su Yuxing held up a banner below. Compared to the fanfare on Rainforest Island, the director was now so frozen he could barely lift his hands. When he saw Lin Qianyu come down, he opened his mouth, but even his tongue felt frozen.

A staff member helped Lin Qianyu take her luggage and sent it to her room.

Lin Qianyu wrapped her coat tighter and greeted the director, “Long time no see.”

Su Yuxing sniffled, “L-Long time no see.”

“Achoo!” Hang Sisi wobbled a bit, “Qianyu-jie, go inside quickly, don’t catch a cold out here.”

Lin Qianyu saw her rubbing her hands and asked, “Are you okay?”

Hang Sisi replied casually, “No big deal, I can still manage. I already took some medicine.”

The sky was full of snow and wind. At the airport, staff were constantly clearing the snow, and it was even starting to pile up on the plane.

Just as Lin Qianyu was about to go inside, she suddenly noticed something moving in the corner.

Something white—uncertain if it was drifting snow—her goggles still slightly obscured her vision.

But the next moment, a roar erupted from the ground, and the snow seemed to come alive, rushing straight toward Lin Qianyu.

Looking closer, it was a polar bear covered in snow.

【WTF?!! What the hell is that, why’s it so huge?!】

【A welcome greeting on arrival? No, wait—what's going on?! Where did the polar bear come from?!】

【Run! Run fast! It’s like a snowman standing up—this is terrifying!】

The official livestream’s comment feed was flooded with exclamation marks.

Lin Qianyu had just stepped off the plane and hadn’t even taken a few steps on Polar Island—how could she possibly know any animals here? This polar bear was clearly hostile.

Not only were Lin Qianyu and her fans stunned—Su Yuxing and Hang Sisi were also bewildered.

They’d been standing here for a while and hadn’t seen any polar bears around.

Could it be that this polar bear had been lying flat on the ground the whole time, blending in with the snow, just waiting for a chance to ambush Lin Qianyu?

But why?

They were all strangers to it—why did it ignore those who’d been standing around for ages and target Lin Qianyu the moment she arrived?

Judging by the bear’s demeanor, it clearly wasn’t here to make friends with Lin Qianyu.

Even Lin Qianyu herself had no idea when she’d developed a grudge with a polar bear—but now wasn’t the time to think. She immediately stepped back, using the plane’s stairs to put distance and misalign herself from the bear’s path.

“Roar!” The polar bear bellowed in fury and viciously swiped its paw at Lin Qianyu.

With a loud bang, it smashed the stair handrail clean off.

Su Yuxing was wide-eyed with shock. “I… Mr. Qiao—Qiao! Help!”

No one had expected a polar bear to appear within the base perimeter of the rescue station.

His first instinct was to call the person in charge—but even if they came, it would take time.

Su Yuxing looked around frantically for anything usable on the ground, but it was bare—not even a stick in sight. In desperation, he scooped up a handful of snow, quickly packed it together, and hurled it at the polar bear. “Hey!”That hit didn’t hurt at all, but the polar bear was likely distracted by him. What Su Yuxing needed to do was buy time for Lin Qianyu.

However, the provoked polar bear didn’t even spare him a glance and instead swiped its paw straight at Lin Qianyu again.

“Wait!” Lin Qianyu pushed off the opposite handrail and jumped down. “First time meeting, and you just start swinging without even knowing me?”

Another loud bang.

The polar bear froze slightly, its raised paw still mid-air. It stretched its neck, closely examining Lin Qianyu, trying to see through the goggles and face mask to identify the person underneath.

Lin Qianyu lifted the edge of her goggles. “Hi?”

“!!!”

In that moment, the polar bear suddenly pulled its neck back, stepped back two paces, still in disbelief.

It began circling around Lin Qianyu, and when it got behind her, it stood up to sniff at her.

But she had just changed into fresh clothes, and in the frigid environment, even the scent of detergent was faint. It was impossible to identify her by smell.

Even so, the polar bear realized—it had mistaken her identity.

It was hard to believe, but Lin Qianyu could clearly see an expression of embarrassment on a polar bear’s face.

It almost looked like it wanted to laugh. The bear lifted a paw, shook the snow off its fur, stood up, and placed both paws on the ladder’s handrail, looking very busy—but it was unclear with what.

Lin Qianyu seemed to realize something and asked with amusement, “Were you waiting to ambush Mr. Feng?”

【Hahaha I can’t, Island Master, what kind of karma did you accumulate.】

【The polar bear is seriously impressive—hiding in this environment and we didn’t spot it at all.】

【With full protective gear on, plus a private plane—of course it mistook her identity.】

【Did you notice? When it thought she was the Island Master: vicious and ready to kill. Once it realized it was the wrong person: bashful, obedient, soft as a plushie.】

【Bear, you’re late—Island Master is still recovering from the last beating.】

...

The polar bear gave a low grunt and tilted its head, leaning in. “Awo?”

Speaking?

“Yes, I’m the one speaking.” Lin Qianyu looked at the chubby, round polar bear and wanted to pet it. But her gloves were too thick—when she laid a hand on it, she couldn’t feel its fur at all, like she was just touching her own glove.

The polar bear’s round black eyes widened as it looked her up and down, its confusion nearly tangible.

After all… she didn’t look like a polar bear.

Why could she understand bear speech?

Did the bear hear wrong?

As for her identity, it wasn’t something Lin Qianyu could explain clearly with just words—it was something the polar bear had to process on its own.

And Lin Qianyu didn’t intend to go into detailed explanations. She simply reached out her hand and said, “No fight, no acquaintance. Let’s get to know each other—I’m Lin Qianyu.”

“Awo!”Fish!

From that one word, Lin Qianyu immediately knew it wasn’t calling her name. Wild polar bears, aside from eating seals, walruses, and sea lions, also rely on fish as one of their main food sources.

Lin Qianyu patiently explained, “I’m not food, okay?”

The polar bear sniffed her, then opened its mouth and bit down on her glove.

Lin Qianyu: “……”

Communication failure.

Thankfully, it was just a light bite, and her glove was thick enough that it didn’t even hurt as much as accidentally closing a door on a gloved hand.

Lin Qianyu placed her other hand on the polar bear’s head. “Sandwich.”

She curved her eyes into a smile. “Polar bear filling.”

The pinned-down polar bear lifted its head, nudging her glove with its nose, opening its mouth again, trying to bite both gloves at once.

Lin Qianyu shook her hand, and the polar bear’s head swayed along with it.

Before she could figure out how to free her glove, staff from the rescue station arrived.

“Don’t move!” A worker raised a tranquilizer gun. “Don’t provoke it!”

The shout made the polar bear turn its head to glance at them. It seemed familiar with tranquilizers and didn’t take the threat seriously at all.

Lin Qianyu stepped sideways, blocking in front of the polar bear. “It’s a misunderstanding, don’t shoot.”

The worker hesitated, finger still on the trigger, and instinctively looked back.

Qiao Chuan came rushing over, not even fully dressed in his protective gear, hastily wrapping it around himself as he ran.

Out of breath, he raised his hand to signal the worker. “Lis—listen to her.”

The polar bear let go of her glove and stood up.

Towering over three meters, the polar bear cast a full shadow over Lin Qianyu.

The staff still looked tense.

But the polar bear had no intention of hurting her. It wrapped around from behind as if to hug her, lowered its head, and rested it atop her hood.

Lin Qianyu lifted her gaze, meeting the polar bear’s eyes through her goggles.

The bear’s paw rested on her shoulder, awkwardly kneading it for a bit. After a moment, it climbed down and ran off.

It was beyond familiar with the terrain here.

“Pretty fast runner,” Lin Qianyu adjusted her glove. It hadn’t been damaged, but if the bear had bit a little longer, it might’ve helped her take it off entirely.

Qiao Chuan hurried over. “Are you hurt? Anywhere uncomfortable?”

Lin Qianyu brushed off her gloves. Just standing there for a bit had left her covered in snow. “I’m fine.”

Qiao Chuan said, “Sorry, that polar bear usually doesn’t come near the rescue station. I didn’t get any word from President Feng about arriving today either. We didn’t expect a polar bear to show up, so—”

That polar bear might’ve looked aggressive, but it never involved others. Even when someone kicked it while it was chasing Feng Jingye, it didn’t even glance at them and just kept chasing him.Over time, everyone got used to it.

Normally, they’d prepare ahead of time whenever President Feng came to the island—who would’ve thought something like this would happen today?

Lin Qianyu said, “It’s alright.”

【The island lord really is… not only kind-hearted, but animals also seem to love her.】

【And the animals that do have a grudge against her are all so principled—they only go after her, never hurt anyone else.】

【Hahaha exactly. When it realized it had attacked the wrong person, that pitiful look on the polar bear’s face—I almost thought it had been the one hit.】

【Wait… I remember polar bears can stand up to three meters tall, and about 2–2.5 meters long on all fours. Is it just my screen, or does this one look way bigger?】

Qiao Chuan introduced himself, “Miss Lin, I’ve heard so much about you. I’m the person in charge of Polar Island. My name’s Qiao Chuan—you can just call me Xiao Chuan.”

Lin Qianyu was just about to shake his hand, but nearly laughed when she heard that line. She was just an intern, and in terms of job roles, Qiao Chuan was technically her superior. But the way he spoke made it sound like their roles were reversed.

Lin Qianyu replied, “Alright, Mr. Qiao.”

Qiao Chuan chuckled as well. “I’ve been watching your livestreams for a while now. Ever since the Grassland Island episode ended, I’ve been wondering when you’d come to our island. I’ve been waiting and hoping… finally, you’re here.”

Su Yuxing was almost frozen solid by now. His gloves still held the snow he’d packed into a ball earlier, and his hand’s warmth had melted it just enough that it was starting to freeze into a layer of ice. “Let’s stop standing out here—let’s go inside first.”

Out in this freezing cold, if they stayed any longer, they’d become part of the scenery—an elegant ice sculpture.

Qiao Chuan quickly echoed, “Yes, yes, I’ve been so nervous I forgot what I’m doing—let’s head in.”

As he spoke, Qiao Chuan stepped aside and gestured politely for them to enter.

Even his walking had a slight spring to it.

This once-in-a-lifetime blessing had finally come to their island.

Every island had its own official site. The other two were already using footage of Lin Qianyu interacting with animals, playing with fluffy creatures during vacation as promotional material.

With her popularity, the videos on the other islands’ sites were racking up clicks like crazy.

Their island had fallen to third place.

Originally, the frigid and pristine environment of their island—harsh winds and all—still drew a decent crowd thanks to its beauty.

Qiao Chuan pushed the door open and said, “You can take off your coat, boots, goggles, and such here.”

Before entering the main room, there was a specially designated area for storing clothing and gear.

One, it kept snow from being brought indoors and melting all over the floor, which would just add to the cleaning workload.

Two, it allowed for a gradual temperature transition. Going from minus several dozen degrees straight into a warm, heated room—such a drastic shift could easily make someone sick.

Even someone with a strong constitution couldn’t take that kind of stress every time.

Lin Qianyu took off her coat, patted off the snow, then pulled off her gloves to touch the down jacket—cold and piercing.

She casually hung up her coat and changed her shoes in a nearby glass room.

The glass wasn’t fogged up, so when she looked up, she had a clear view of the snowy landscape outside.

It felt entirely different from seeing it through goggles. With the glass barrier, there was no need to worry about snow blindness.Although snow blindness can recover on its own after some rest, getting it again may worsen the condition. Repeated occurrences can lead to declining vision and, in severe cases, even permanent blindness.

It’s still quite dangerous.

After changing into slippers, Lin Qianyu stood up and was about to head out when she caught sight of a snow pile not far away out of the corner of her eye.

Outside the fence, on the snowy ground, a small white animal walked through the falling snow. It scraped at the snow with its paws a couple of times, then suddenly leapt up and dove headfirst into the snow.

Its fluffy white tail trailed behind it.

When it looked up again, the snow fox’s muzzle was covered in snow. It licked its nose, then continued jumping and diving into the snow.

Author’s Note: This chapter is 6,000 words—3,000 to double make up for the 1,500 missing in the last chapter, and 3,000 to compensate for not updating on time today… sob I logged into the backend at midnight, but I must’ve been too sleepy and accidentally scheduled it for the 24th. I only realized the mistake after seeing readers mention there was no update QAQ truly sorry… I’ll send out red envelopes for 24 hours to make it up to everyone. Just leave a comment—even just a punctuation mark will get you a red envelope~ [Polar bear information sourced from the internet.]