Chapter 116

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

So when the beauty of the mirage appeared in the livestream, the number of viewers who entered the stream early in the morning surged rapidly, and by the time the anomaly vanished, the viewer count had stabilized at over 100,000.

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 consistently draw around two thousand viewers.

That number 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.

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

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

Once inside, she couldn't leave—even after her assistant urged her multiple times, she didn't respond until the mirage vanished, leaving her feeling hollow as she resumed her aerobics.

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 go outdoor streaming?"

As soon as she spoke, she saw her assistant's unhidden sneer.

If the assistant were anyone else, she'd fire her—how dare you look down on Sister Xing? 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 lead rope, and set off again.

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

"Friends, I forgot to give my opening line."

The netizens in the livestream chuckled.

"Skip your dry, lifeless opening line."

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

"Just keep moving. 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 netizens' affection—they were loyal fans, the source of his traffic.

"Hahaha, no way—I can't skip my daily opening line, or something's missing." 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 endured snake attacks, wolf pack ambushes, dehydration, food shortages, sandstorm threats, the deadly venom of the Sand-Striped Black Claw Spider, rescued this bharal from a jackal's jaws, and last night was attacked 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 are 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?"

"Damn, you held back a side story—you didn't stream? I waited all yesterday."

"Lynx attack? What the hell?"

"Tell us more."

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

"I didn't avoid streaming because I didn't want to—I just couldn't. If I'd started streaming, this bharal might've been killed by the lynx. It happened too suddenly."

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

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

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

He maneuvered his drone to fly left and right, discovering the ravine stretched five kilometers. If he were alone, he could climb over it—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."

"Dressing as a woman…"

Looking at the off-topic comments, Qin Yun groaned: "Are all my friends truck drivers? Slow down with the speed—watch out, the livestream might get shut down."

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

Whether the bharal understood or not, after he spoke, it walked toward the right.

"Alright, the bharal made his choice—we'll follow him for now. If we run into danger, I'll slaughter him first."

"Oh? Qin Ye's getting tough? @RelevantAuthorities, someone here says he's going to kill a Class II protected animal—aren't you going to do something?"

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

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

"Fuck—!" Qin Ye blurted out a curse, "Enough already! I was just joking!"

Seeing Qin Ye back down, the netizens burst into laughter.

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

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

"Guess what this is?"

"Dirt, what else?"

"Probably dried feces?"

Qin Yun smiled: "It's feces. If I'm right, it's from a bird."

He stood up, surveying the barren landscape: "The Qaidam Desert isn't as extreme as the Taklamakan. It has wetlands, Gobi, yardangs, sand dunes—diverse habitats with rich biodiversity. We've seen so little life so far because I've chosen the most extreme region of the Qaidam Desert."

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

After saying that, he continued walking forward.

The two or three kilometers passed quickly, and the end of the ravine came into view. The man and the sheep rounded the ravine and corrected their direction once more.

After walking for roughly another half hour, a stretch of towering earth forest appeared ahead. These earth pillars were a bit different from the ones he had encountered before — quite hard. Moreover, the tops of the pillars looked as if something had smashed into them, each one bearing a clear crater, forming a natural windbreak.

Pointing at the earth pillars, Qin Yun said, "I'll climb up and take a look. I have no idea what's up there."

After saying that, he took off his backpack and tied the argali sheep to a rock nearby.

His hands searched the rock face for a foothold. With a light push of strength, his whole body moved nimbly. In just a few breaths' worth of effort, the four- or five-meter-tall earth pillar was easily scaled by him.

At that moment, the drone also happened to fly over, and the smile on Qin Yun's face was almost impossible to suppress.

"Brothers, we're in for a treat at noon. This earth pillar actually has a desert sparrow's nest on top. Look — bird eggs, a good four or five of them."

Saying so, he flipped himself up onto the top of the earth pillar and reached out to take an egg in his hand.

Desert sparrow eggs are very small, only about a third the size of a normal chicken egg.

"666, Master Qin's about to have meat again."

"Can you even eat desert sparrow eggs? Wouldn't that break the law?"

"The relevant authorities, please come out."

"Relevant authorities: a small number of sparrow eggs is fine."

"The relevant authorities have spoken — go ahead and eat, Master Qin."

Qin Yun glanced at the comment section and said, exasperated, "What are you all making up on your own? This is a desert sparrow, not the sparrows we know. It isn't on the national protected list, so it's fine — no need to worry."

After saying that, he gave it a gentle squeeze and popped it into his mouth. The shell cracked, and the golden yolk slid into his mouth.

Swallowing the egg, Qin Yun tossed the shell aside and laughed, "Not bad. But I don't recommend everyone doing this — there's still a risk of infection. My constitution is just that strong, so it's no issue for me."

Saying so, he took three more eggs, leaving only one in the nest.

Then he went to check the other earth pillars. His luck held — he really did find another nest, but it only had three eggs, and he took two of them.

Just like that, he had five more bird eggs in his hand.

"Haha, lucky me. These desert sparrows aren't in the nest right now, but even if they were, they couldn't stop me."

Watching Qin Yun's smug face, the netizens unanimously expressed contempt.

"The man who eats eggs."

"Yeah, they can't stop you — even wolves can't stop you, let alone little birds."

"When Master Qin shows up, not a blade of grass survives. One word: just do it."

Qin Yun read these comments and didn't care in the slightest.

Compared to wolf meat, these bird eggs were truly delicious. Let them mock — let them mock all they want.

After walking for another two hours, nearing half past eleven, he climbed over an earth ridge that stretched across his path. This ridge was over a hundred meters tall but a full ten kilometers wide — like a barrier.

Reaching the ridge top, he gazed into the distance. Yellow stretched everywhere; he could barely see a single touch of green — only something in the distance… Holy shit, what is that?

Qin Yun's eyes went wide. He quickly steered the drone over.

"Friends, look what I've found."

The netizens, hearing him say that, were intrigued.

And as the drone drew closer, everyone saw it clearly.

"Holy shit, a person?"

"There's actually someone in this godforsaken place?"

"Another wilderness survivor like Master Qin?"

"Survivor my ass — they're dead. Master Qin, get the drone closer, see if they're still alive."

"From the silhouette it looks like a woman. Master Qin, get closer."

The secondary drone quickly approached, and soon it was hovering above the figure. Through the drone's camera, Qin Yun saw on his display that it really was a woman — and an unconscious one at that. She was dressed in thick clothing that clearly provided excellent warmth.

But with her long golden hair draped over one side, he couldn't make out half her face.

And apart from her clothing, she had absolutely nothing on her. She didn't look like a tourist either. Moreover, there was a deep bloodstain at the small of her back.

"I have to go check. Even though I can't tell yet whether she's alive or dead, since I've seen her, I can't just ignore it."

After saying that, he tied the argali sheep to a protruding stone spike nearby and quickly slid down the rocky slope.

A few minutes later, he appeared beside the woman.

He crouched down, about to lift the woman's hair, but the next instant, a cold chill suddenly rose from his back. Qin Yun dodged to the side without the slightest hesitation.

A dagger had, at some unknown moment, stabbed viciously toward his belly.

This scene, caught by the drone's camera, left the netizens staring in stunned silence, after which a flood of comments filled the screen.

"Holy shit, it's a foreigner."

"Master Qin dodged that too — damn, give that ghost-foreigner a slap."

"Holy fuck, if he hadn't dodged, wouldn't Master Qin be done for?"

"Not one of us — Master Qin, do her."

Qin Yun sidestepped the attack, then in an instant shot out his left hand and clamped down on the opponent's wrist. With a slight exertion of force, the dagger in her hand clattered to the ground.

"Ah…"

The pain caused her eyes to roll back, and she passed out on the spot.

Qin Yun flipped the person over and finally got a clear look at her face. Before Qin Yun could comment, the netizens spoke up first.

"Ahem, ahem. I think this foreign friend probably sensed something approaching and mistook it for a desert beast — who would've expected it to be a person."

"Cut the crap, upstairs. Let me have a go — Master Qin, drag her back. Such a pretty foreigner, don't waste her. Stream it tonight."

"Wow, blonde hair and blue eyes — a beauty, and she really fits Chinese aesthetics. That face, tsk tsk."

"You disgusting men — gross."

Not to mention, he was indeed a foreigner with an exceptionally fine appearance; based on his facial features, he made a judgment in his mind.

After a brief thought, he came up with an idea, pulled out a strip of umbrella cloth, and tied the woman's hands behind her back, then began searching her person.

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

"Brother Qin is using the excuse of a body search to openly molest a foreign friend—I strongly condemn this. Step aside, let me handle it."

"Brother Qin, how's her figure?"

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

"By the way, is Brother Qin single?"

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