Chapter 116: The Woman in the Desert

A person's lifetime has about as much chance of encountering a mirage as being crushed by a mud truck and transported to another world.

So when the beautiful mirage appeared in the livestream, the number of viewers who entered early in the morning skyrocketed, and by the time the phenomenon vanished, the viewer count had stabilized at over 100, 00.

Cheng Xing is a fitness aerobics streamer; since Liu Genghong made fitness aerobics livestreams popular, streamers like her—with good physiques and attractive looks—have seen their popularity soar. Though she can't compare to some top streamers, her morning broadcasts usually maintain around two thousand viewers.

That kind of viewership brings in a substantial daily income.

But today, for some reason, viewers kept coming and going after she went live, never rising above five hundred.

During a break, she checked her fan group and learned everyone had gone to the number-one outdoor streamer right now.

She knew who that was, but had never entered their stream—after all, the top outdoor streamer had nothing in common with a small-time streamer like her.

But since her viewership wouldn't budge today, she clicked in out of curiosity.

Once inside, she couldn't leave. Even after her assistant urged her several times, she didn't respond—until the mirage faded, leaving her feeling hollow as she resumed her workout.

But anyone with eyes could tell she was distracted.

After the stream ended, she asked her assistant: "Do you think I should learn from Qin Ye and stream outdoors too?"

As soon as she spoke, she saw her assistant's unmistakable look of disdain.

If the assistant were anyone else, she'd fire her—how dare you look down on your Star Sister? But the problem was, the assistant was her sister.

"Just stick to selling your body. Don't get any wild ideas."

The assistant warned.

…

After confirming the direction, Qin Yun tossed his backpack over his shoulder, took hold of the bharal by the rope, and set off again.

After walking two steps, he slapped his forehead, remembering something.

"Friends, I forgot my opening line."

The online viewers laughed.

"Skip your dry, lifeless opening line."

"You're Temporary Worker Qin Ye—everyone knows that."

"Just keep walking. Why bother with an opening line?"

"Let me say it for you: Hello everyone, I'm Qin Ye, a temporary wilderness survival enthusiast, hahaha."

Reading these comments, Qin Yun felt the viewers' affection—they were loyal fans, his source of traffic.

"Hahaha, no way—I can't skip my daily opening line; it'd feel incomplete." Qin Yun shook his head, "Hello everyone, I'm Qin Yun, a temporary wilderness survival enthusiast. I'm currently in the uninhabited zone of the Qaidam Desert. Over the past few days, I've survived snake attacks, wolf pack ambushes, dehydration, food shortages, sandstorm threats, the deadly venom of the desert black-clawed spider, rescued this bharal from a jackal's jaws, and last night endured an attack by a desert lynx. This morning, I even saw a breathtaking mirage."

"Today is November 12th, my fourth day in the desert. Everywhere around me is yellow sand, giant rocks, Gobi, and badlands, crawling with poisonous insects and scarce water. I'll head northeast in search of survival."

"Wait, something happened last night too?"

"Holy shit, you had a side stream? I waited all yesterday!"

"Lynx attack? What the hell?"

"Tell us more."

Seeing so many viewers eagerly asking about last night, Qin Yun didn't hide anything.

"I didn't want to skip streaming—I just didn't have time. If I'd started streaming, the bharal might've been killed by the lynx. It happened too suddenly."

He then recounted what had happened last night, and the viewers all expressed regret.

As he walked and spoke, the man and the bharal, viewed from afar, carried a unique beauty—a raw, rugged charm.

After walking about half an hour, a long ravine suddenly appeared ahead.

He maneuvered his drone left and right and discovered the ravine stretched five kilometers. If he were alone, he'd just climb over—but with the bharal, it was inconvenient.

"Looks like I'll have to detour. Brothers, should I go left or right?"

"Left for men, right for women—go left."

"Fuck, male-female love happens from behind."

"Shit, male thief, female prostitute—just fly over."

"Fucking hell."

"Dress as a woman…"

Looking at the off-topic comments, Qin Yun groaned: "Are all my friends truck drivers? Slow down your speed—you'll get my stream banned."

Then he patted the bharal's head: "Which way should we go?"

Whether the bharal understood or not, after Qin Yun spoke, it walked to the right.

"Alright, the bharal has decided. We'll follow him—for now. If we hit danger, I'll be the first to kill him."

"Oh? Qin Ye's getting tough? @RelevantDepartment, someone here says he'll slaughter a Class II protected animal. Aren't you going to do something?"

"Qin Ye's a real man—speaks with conviction! @RelevantDepartment"

"Impressive. Qin Ye is my idol. @RelevantDepartment"

"Fuck—!" Qin Ye blurted out, seeing these replies, "Enough already! I was just joking!"

Seeing Qin Yun back down, the viewers burst into laughter.

As they walked along the ravine, Qin Yun suddenly stopped, crouched down, and directed his drone to zoom in.

The viewers immediately saw several black-and-white dried stains on the ground.

"Guess what this is?"

"Dirt. What else could it be?"

"Probably dried feces?"

Qin Yun smiled: "It's feces. I'd guess it's from a bird."

He stood up and looked at the barren landscape: "The Qaidam Desert isn't as extreme as the Taklamakan. It has wetlands, Gobi, yardangs, sand dunes—all kinds of habitats, rich in biodiversity. We haven't seen much life so far because I'm in the most extreme zone of the Qaidam Desert."

Qin Yun gestured with his hand: "Even so, special birds still nest here—like desert sparrows and desert wheatears."

Saying that, he continued walking.

Two or three kilometers passed quickly; the ravine's end came into view. The man and the bharal circled around it and resumed their course.

After another half hour, a towering loess formation appeared ahead. Unlike any he'd seen before, it was unusually hard, and its surface was pockmarked with craters—as if struck by something—forming a natural windbreak.

Pointing at the loess formation, Qin Yun said: "I'll climb up and see what's on top."

He took off his backpack and tied the bharal to a nearby rock.

He found handholds on the rock face, pushed lightly, and ascended effortlessly—within a few breaths, he scaled the four- to five-meter-high formation.

At that moment, the drone arrived overhead. Qin Yun's smile nearly split his face.

"Brothers, we've got a feast for lunch—this loess formation is a desert sparrow nest. Look, eggs—four or five of them."

He flipped over onto the top of the formation, reached out, and plucked an egg from the nest.

Desert sparrow eggs were tiny—only about one-third the size of a regular chicken egg.

"666, Qin Ye's going to eat meat again."

"Can you even eat desert sparrow eggs? Isn't that illegal?"

"@RelevantDepartment, come quick!"

"@RelevantDepartment: A few sparrow eggs won't count as a violation."

"@RelevantDepartment says Qin Ye can eat them."

Qin Yun glanced at the comments and sighed: "What the hell are you guys making up? These are desert sparrows—not the sparrows we know. They're not on the national protected list. No problem."

He gently squeezed the egg, popped it into his mouth—the shell cracked, and golden yolk slid down his throat.

After swallowing the yolk, he tossed the shell aside and grinned: "Tastes good. But I don't recommend you do this—it carries infection risk. My body's strong, so it's fine for me."

He took three more eggs, leaving only one in the nest.

Then he checked other loess formations. Lucky—he found another nest, with three eggs. He took two.

Now he had five eggs in hand.

"Haha, good luck—the desert sparrows aren't even in the nests. Even if they were, they couldn't stop me."

Watching Qin Yun's smug grin, viewers expressed their disdain.

"Egg-eating man."

"Can't stop you? Even wolves couldn't stop you—let alone little birds."

"Where Qin Ye goes, nothing survives. One word: fuck."

Qin Yun paid no attention to the comments.

Compared to wolf meat, these eggs were a delicacy. Let them mock him.

After walking another two hours, nearing 11: 0 a. ., he climbed over a loess ridge blocking his path. The ridge rose over a hundred meters high and stretched ten kilometers wide—a massive barrier.

At the summit, he gazed far ahead—endless yellow, barely a trace of green. Then, far off… Holy shit, what's that?

Qin Yun's eyes widened. He immediately steered his drone toward it.

"Friends, look what I found!"

The viewers' interest sparked.

As the drone drew closer, everyone saw clearly.

"Holy shit, a person?"

"There's a person out here?"

"Another wilderness survivalist like Qin Ye?"

"Survival my ass—he's dead. Qin Ye, get the drone closer—see if he's still alive."

"The silhouette looks like a woman. Get closer, Qin Ye."

The auxiliary drone swiftly approached, hovering above the figure. Through the camera feed, Qin Yun saw it was indeed a woman—and unconscious. Her clothing was thick, clearly designed for extreme warmth.

But beneath the golden hair, one side of her face was obscured.

And apart from her clothing, her body was completely bare—she didn't look like a tourist. Moreover, there was a deep bloodstain on the small of her back.

"I need to go over and check. Even though I can't yet tell if she's alive or dead, since I've seen her, I can't ignore it."

Saying this, he tied the bharal to a nearby protruding stone spike and swiftly slid down the rocky slope.

A few minutes later, he appeared beside the woman.

He crouched down, ready to lift her hair aside—but in the next instant, a sudden chill crept up his spine. Qin Yun didn't hesitate; he sidestepped instantly.

A dagger had stabbed toward his abdomen without warning.

This scene, captured by the drone's camera, left netizens stunned, followed by a flood of comments.

"Holy shit, it's a foreigner."

"Qin Ye dodged that? Fuck, slap that damn foreigner."

"Damn, if Qin Ye hadn't dodged, he'd be dead."

"Not of our kind—Qin Ye, fuck her."

Qin Yun sidestepped, then instantly shot out his left hand, gripping the attacker's wrist. With a slight twist, the dagger clattered to the ground.

"Ah…"

Overcome with pain, the woman rolled her eyes and fainted instantly.

Qin Yun flipped her over and finally saw her face. Before he could speak, the netizens spoke first.

"Cough cough, I think this foreign friend might have sensed something approaching and mistook it for a desert beast—never expected it to be a person."

"Shut the fuck up, guy upstairs. Let me say it: Qin Ye, drag her back. Don't waste such a gorgeous foreigner—stream her tonight."

"Whoa, golden hair, blue eyes—what a beauty! Perfectly aligned with Chinese aesthetics. Look at that face—damn."

"You guys, disgusting men."

To be fair, she was indeed a very attractive foreigner. Studying her facial features, Qin Yun formed a judgment.

After a moment's thought, he decided. He pulled out a strip of umbrella cloth and bound her hands behind her back, then began searching her.

But to his disappointment, apart from the dagger in her hand, there was nothing else.

"Qin Ye is using 'searching her body' as an excuse to grope a foreign friend—I strongly condemn this. Step aside, let me do it."

"Qin Ye, what's her build like?"

"Haha, judging by Qin Ye's expressionless face, he's probably laughing his ass off inside."

"By the way, is Qin Ye single?"

"How old is Qin Ye? It's about time he thought about settling down."