Chapter 107: The First Night in Qaidam

'Howl—wuuu—!'

The desert wolf's howl was different from the ones he encountered in the Daxing'anling, more desolate.

And this time, howls rose in succession, one after another. Qin Yun carefully distinguished them; just from the sounds, there were already five desert wolves.

'What should Brother Qin do?'

'Fight the wolves barehanded?'

'Animals fear fire. Brother Qin just needs to take a torch outside and walk around a bit.'

'Don't joke—these are wolves, they're smart.'

Qin Yun launched the secondary drone and observed its feed through the main unit.

After a short while, he stopped the drone and pointed to a spot on the screen: 'See that rock? It's extremely loose—any slight external impact will cause it to collapse.'

After saying that, he lifted the cloth of the umbrella, took up his bow and arrows, and walked out.

The rock was about fifty to sixty meters from his position. Qin Yun slowly raised his bow, adjusted the angle, and suddenly released the arrow toward the sky.

'Shhh—!'

The arrow shot upward, arced through the high air, then landed on the ground to the right of the rock. 'Puh.' It hit nothing.

Qin Yun wasn't surprised; he shook his head, roughly gauging the bow's margin of error, then nocked another arrow and fired again.

This arrow swiftly pierced the air and landed precisely on the target mound.

As expected, the arrow's force became the final straw that toppled the rock. Through the drone's lens, everyone clearly saw the rock tremble, then crash sideways in a thunderous collapse.

'Boom—!'

The massive rock hit the ground with a deafening crash.

'What's Brother Qin doing?'

'Wasted two arrows after all that effort?'

'Don't get it. Don't get it.'

Qin Yun, listening to the loud noise, said: 'Desert wolves are extremely cautious creatures. They fear loud noises and unknown threats. The thunderous collapse of the rock serves as a warning and a deterrent—they'll think a powerful being is here, one not to be trifled with.'

As soon as he finished speaking, the previously howling wolves fell silent, leaving only the howling wind.

'666, Brother Qin is truly 6.'

'Psychological warfare—Brother Qin is truly a being of wisdom.'

'Amazing!'

The crisis was temporarily resolved. Meanwhile, the sun had long since set. He rotated the camera, and the magnificent starry sky instantly filled the screen, drawing countless exclamations of awe.

'Brothers, it's night now. I estimate the temperature is around minus eight degrees. I'm only wearing a base layer and a windbreaker—I'm starting to struggle.'

He retrieved both drones and quickly retreated into the shelter. The warmth of the bonfire immediately made him feel much better.

Leaning against the earthen wall, he unfastened his water bottle. The bottle had originally held five hundred milliliters; now it held roughly four hundred. He took a small sip, moistening his throat and lips, then immediately capped it and stopped drinking.

'Until I find a new water source, I must ration it carefully. A normal human can survive seven days without food, but without water, not even three days. In the Qaidam Desert, not even one day is safe. So tomorrow, my core mission is to find water.'

The firelight flickered across Qin Yun's face. He occasionally tossed another log onto the flames.

'Many think deserts have no water—but they're wrong. As I mentioned earlier, in the Ebo Liang area, there are seasonal sulfur lakes and alkaline water pools. With the right methods, drinkable water can still be found.'

At that moment, a faint 'shush-shush' sound came from outside the shelter, accompanied by the rolling of pebbles, growing closer.

Qin Yun's eyes instantly sharpened. He sat up sharply, his left hand instinctively gripping the bow beside him, his right hand nocking an arrow in one fluid motion. The bowstring pulled taut, the arrow tip aimed directly at the shelter's entrance. Every muscle tensed—he entered a state of high alert.

He glanced at the secondary drone beside him, thinking: I should've kept the drone on patrol outside.

'Something else?'

'What luck does Brother Qin have?'

'Could the wolves have realized you were bluffing and come back?'

'Damn, I see a shadow! Brother Qin, shoot!'

The viewers saw it—Qin Yun saw it too. In the firelight, a twisted shadow appeared at the shelter's entrance, small and agile.

Qin Yun didn't shoot immediately. He held his breath, carefully observing the shadow's movements.

His mind rapidly sifted through knowledge, quickly identifying the creature, and he exhaled in relief.

'Brothers, don't worry—it's a desert fox. A small predator of Qaidam, cunning by nature, nocturnal, feeding mainly on rodents and insects. It poses no direct threat to humans. But it will eye my food and water.'

Qin Yun spoke in a low voice, his words clearly transmitted through the microphone: 'It's only testing now—no aggression. I don't need to harm it.'

No sooner had he finished than the shadow darted past the shelter's entrance, revealing its true form—a small fox with grayish-yellow fur, black-tipped ears, its eyes wide as if startled by Qin Yun.

After all, Qin Yun's size was vastly enormous compared to it.

Seeing Qin Yun motionless, its wary gaze softened slightly. Then it looked toward Qin Yun's water bottle and let out a soft 'wuuu' sound.

Qin Yun lowered his bow and said: 'Desert foxes have extremely keen senses of smell. It can smell the water in my bottle. Of course, I won't give it any water—so…'

With that, Qin Yun suddenly stood up.

The motion startled the desert fox. Without hesitation, it leapt backward, out of the shelter, then fled at top speed.

'Brother Qin has no humanity.'

'Haha, Brother Qin, give it water today, tomorrow it might turn into a beautiful woman to repay you.'

'Too bad—I wanted to see Brother Qin fight.'

'Foxes are so cute. Brother Qin is so rough.'

Reading these comments, Qin Yun couldn't help but laugh and sigh. He shook his head: 'Wolves in front, foxes behind—this is good news for me.'

'Brother Qin's lost his mind. How is this good news?'

'Brother Qin must've gotten heatstroke—in minus ten-degree weather.'

'If this is good news, then there's no such thing as bad news.'

Qin Yun continued: 'In the wild, animal tracks often provide clues. The presence of desert wolves and desert foxes suggests nearby water sources—they need to drink too.'

"666, really is."

"Makes sense."

"Qin Ye is truly professional."

Qin Yun laughed heartily: "Surviving in the wild isn't about fighting nature—it's about living in harmony with it. Respect every living thing; they might all become your hope for survival."

The fire still burned, warmth enveloping Qin Yun as he began processing the viper.

He removed the head, scooped out the internal organs, ensured it was non-toxic, then threaded it onto a thin branch and hung it over the fire. Soon, the smell of roasted meat drifted out.

He wrinkled his nose and sighed: "Nothing here at all—even dry-roasting smells fishy. You can imagine how awful it must taste. But for my strength, I have to eat it."

After saying that, he turned the roasted pit viper in front of the camera.

Watching the sizzling, oily meat, viewers thought it couldn't be that bad—but the moment Qin Yun took a bite, a strong fishy, musky odor flooded his mouth.

He grimaced as he chewed, and the livestream viewers burst into laughter.

"Haha, never seen Qin Ye look like this before—when you ate insects, you didn't make this face."

"Is it really that bad? Roasted food shouldn't be that terrible."

"I'm a chef—I know. This venomous snake eats rats, lizards, insects all its life. Qin Ye's conditions are limited; he couldn't clean it thoroughly, so the fishy, musky stench is inevitable. Plus, desert vipers have barely any meat. Dry-roasting dries it out fast—it'll feel like chewing bark."

Seeing this comment, Qin Yun nodded in strong agreement: "Exactly. The meat's especially tough, especially old. It's definitely not tasty. But most of all, this fishy, musky smell is just too authentic."

After eating the snake meat, Qin Yun's dinner was done. He drank about fifty milliliters of water, took out several pieces of tarp from his backpack, laid one on the ground, covered himself with another, then curled up beside the fire, ready to end the stream and sleep.

"In the Qaidam night, the greatest enemy isn't wild beasts—it's hypothermia. In the early stages, the body goes numb in the limbs and consciousness blurs; later, it leads to coma and death. Even with a fire, you must take precautions to retain heat. Curling up reduces heat loss. These tarps are excellent insulators."

"Alright, it's getting late. I must rest soon. Friends, I'm signing off—no more talk. Tomorrow at seven a. m. sharp, we'll meet again, don't miss…"

Before he could finish saying "miss," a rapid "thump-thump-thump" suddenly echoed, accompanied by trembling of the surrounding earthen walls. Qin Yun shot to his feet, snatched up his bow, and stared sharply toward the shelter's entrance.

At that moment, the fire flared violently, and loose stones kept falling from the earthen walls.

"Holy shit, what now?"

"Qin Ye's day's been one rollercoaster after another—is this an earthquake?"

"Good heavens, we've barely started and already so many dangers—I'd be dead by now."

"It's over, this is definitely an earthquake. Qin Ye, run! The shelter's gonna collapse!"

Qin Yun quickly assessed the situation—he realized the shaking wasn't coming from underground, but from the yardang earthen mound above him.

His expression changed. He swiftly began packing, speaking rapidly as he worked: "It's a yardang collapse. Constant strong winds have eroded the loose sedimentary rock, loosening the rocks on top. I thought this spot was stable, but an accident still happened."

His voice was urgent but calm. He stuffed the backup camera, tarps, and water bottle into his backpack, grabbed his bow, snatched a torch, and spun around to sprint out.

"Boom—!"

The instant he burst out of the shelter, a deafening crash erupted. He didn't dare look back. His legs pushed to their limit, speed at maximum—he ran a full hundred meters before stopping.

He turned to look: the entire roof of the shelter had collapsed. Rocks flew everywhere, dust swirled thickly—the original shelter was now completely buried.

Qin Yun broke into cold sweat. Fuck, that was too close. One step slower and he'd be buried alive.

Fuck!

Not just him—the livestream viewers were also terrified, comments flooding the screen.

"Scared the hell out of me—I thought Qin Ye was gonna get buried alive."

"Qin Ye reacted too fast. One second slower and he'd be dead."

"My god, is this what the Qaidam's danger looks like? So terrifying."

"What now? Shelter's gone, fire's gone, and it's still freezing."

Qin Yun stood at a distance, staring at the buried shelter, his expression grave.

The midnight wind whipped against him, making him shiver instinctively. The temperature had dropped to minus fifteen degrees. He was dressed far too lightly.

"Brothers, don't panic," Qin Yun said to the drone camera. "We must find a new spot to build a temporary shelter. Otherwise, I won't survive tonight at this temperature."

After saying that, he took a deep breath, suppressed the turmoil in his heart, and with bow and arrows in hand, charged into the darkness to begin searching for a new shelter location.