Chapter 119: One Night Without Sleep

After applying medicine to Laura's wounds, Qin Yun also briefly bandaged his own arm wounds, coating them with crushed tumao grass to prevent infection.

By the time he finished, the sky had turned completely dark.

The desert, the steppe, flickering flames—those few figures seemed to be the entire world.

Looking back at the windbreak shelter, where Laura lay unconscious on a wolf pelt, Qin Yun added a few more logs to the fire.

He gripped his canteen, filled with hot water; in this freezing cold, even a small sip felt like a warm current flowing through his body.

"I hope the tumao grass works on Laura—otherwise, it's truly dangerous."

Laura had already developed a high fever due to infection and inflammation from her wounds, triggering her immune system; add to that the terror from the wolf pack, and her condition was obvious.

In a hospital, they'd have given her antibiotics immediately.

"Brother Qin, you've done all you could. Whatever happens, it's not your fault—you have no guilt."

"Yeah, if it weren't for Brother Qin, Laura would've been dead already."

"Have you noticed? Since Brother Qin dropped in here, not a single day has gone smoothly. I'm not talking about food or water—I mean something unexpected happens every single day."

"Haha, now that you mention it, yeah—either chased by wolves, stung by spiders, caught in sandstorms, now we run into a living person in this hellhole. Brother Qin's luck is insane."

Qin Yun shook his head, smiling wryly: "Guess I'll have to visit Mount Putuo when I get home."

"Whoosh—"

The wind blew, making the fire flicker; Qin Yun instinctively pulled his neck in.

The cold wind at this temperature was like knives—cutting into the skin, chilling to the bone.

"If I didn't know Brother Qin's place was minus fifteen degrees, I'd think this experience sounds pretty great."

"Besides the harsh environment, there's also the psychological loneliness—the endless cold, emptiness, amplifying the sense of isolation."

"But Brother Qin has us with him—he shouldn't feel lonely."

Qin Yun saw these comments and chuckled: "Actually, I don't feel lonely at all. I'm not truly stranded here. Besides, with my mental resilience, how could I possibly feel lonely?"

After chatting for another half-hour, seeing the time approaching nine, Qin Yun prepared to end the stream.

"Brother Qin, stay a little longer!"

"You're signing off again? Don't you know how hard it is to earn money and how awful it is to eat shit? You're ignoring all these gold patrons to go… damn, I forgot—Brother Qin's got a blonde, long-legged beauty right there. Holy shit, I'm jealous."

"You're right—I almost forgot. Laura's looks alone are at least a nine out of ten, and her aura's extraordinary. She's probably some rich family's daughter overseas."

"When you say rich family, you mean a karaoke bar or a dance hall?"

"..."

The jokes in the comments didn't make Qin Yun extend his stream by a second—he gave his closing remarks, waved, and clicked to end the broadcast.

After removing the drone's battery and placing it in the charging compartment, Qin Yun reached out and touched Laura's forehead—it was still burning hot, showing no sign of change.

Laura's breathing was heavy, her cheeks unnaturally flushed.

Without hesitation, Qin Yun returned to the fire, poured half the water from the last umbrella cloth into a pot, and began boiling it. When it boiled, he used the umbrella cloth as a towel to wipe Laura's forehead, behind her ears, her neck, and other areas.

Every ten minutes or so, he repeated this. But despite his efforts, Laura showed no improvement—her temperature remained stubbornly high.

"This won't do."

Looking at Laura, Qin Yun murmured.

After a moment's thought, he reached out, pulled back the wolf pelt and umbrella cloth, and unzipped Laura's jacket.

"Forgive me!"

He unzipped the outer layer, then pulled down the inner collar, ignoring the fullness of her chest, and repeated his earlier actions—this time adding her armpits and groin.

After over an hour of this, Laura, still unconscious, suddenly muttered: "Wasser, Wasser, ich brauche Wasser!"

Qin Yun immediately grabbed the canteen, slightly propped up Laura's head, and tilted the spout toward her mouth, slowly raising the angle.

Sensing the water entering her mouth, Laura instinctively drank—she nearly emptied the entire canteen.

Qin Yun wasn't bothered; he gently laid her back down, covered her with the wolf pelt, and leaned aside to rest.

Throughout the night, he kept getting up to wipe her down, continuing the physical cooling.

Whether it was the herbal medicine taking effect or Qin Yun's persistent physical cooling, around two a. ., Laura's temperature began to slowly drop.

She opened her eyes from unconsciousness, and her first sensation was—this stinks!

How could it not stink? The wolf pelt hadn't been cleaned at all—the fishy, musky odor was strong enough to make anyone cover their nose.

Her next glance fell on Qin Yun, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, fast asleep. Then she noticed her clothes were unzipped, and her armpits and lower abdomen were damp.

In an instant, she understood what had happened.

"Awake? How do you feel? Better?"

Qin Yun had already opened his eyes—he met her gaze as she looked up.

Laura smiled wearily, her eyes filled with gratitude: "Qin, thank you. If not for you, I'd be dead."

"Of course. Meeting me means your fate wasn't meant to end. In China, there's an old saying: misfortune carries fortune within it. Another says: survive a great disaster, and you'll have good fortune ahead."

"Chinese language is so profound. Qin, did you drive off those wolves today?"

Qin Yun tilted his chin: "They're lying outside. When you find food, either they die or we die. So naturally, they've returned to the desert."

Laura opened her mouth, stunned.

"Qin… you mean you killed those wolves?"

Qin Yun nodded, gesturing with his hands: "You've heard of Chinese kung fu, right? It might not be great on a competition stage, but when it comes to killing, it's top-tier combat technique. Just a few wolf pups—nothing worth mentioning."

"You're… incredible."

Laura was utterly awed. This man who saved her was the most powerful man she'd ever encountered.

Though little else was clear yet, what she saw now radiated undeniable charm.

Compared to the so-called elites she'd met in Germany, one word instantly flashed in her mind: Alles Äußeres, kein Inneres. (Only outward appearance, no inner substance.)

No—even by German standards, this man was stunningly handsome.

Tall, strong, powerful!

"Do you feel better now?"

Laura said: "Still a bit dizzy, but the fever's slowly fading—I feel much better. And I'm damp and cold."

Hearing this, Qin Yun immediately rose and stepped out of the windbreak shelter.

The fire had never gone out all night; he soaked a towel in hot water and handed it to Laura.

"Conditions are rough—you can't change clothes, but use this to wipe off sweat so you don't get a chill."

Laura nodded, took the towel, then frowned.

A blush crept onto her face: "Qin, could you help me wipe? I don't have the strength."

Qin Yun raised an eyebrow and smiled: "You're being awfully generous—I'm a man, you know."

Laura bit her lip: "You've already seen everything. It's fine—you're my savior."

Qin Yun dropped the teasing, took the towel, and didn't hesitate.

He had Laura sit upright and began wiping from her back, moving forward to her chest—skipping the intimate areas.

He wasn't a thug—he wouldn't actually assault her.

After wiping her dry, Laura felt much more comfortable. But due to the temperature drop, she kept sweating—Qin Yun had to help her three times before her condition stabilized.

But after heavy sweating came extreme thirst.

Qin Yun simply boiled the last five hundred milliliters of water and poured it into the canteen.

"That's all we have left—drink sparingly."

Laura took a small sip, letting her mouth fully moisten before swallowing.

Watching Laura close her eyes again, Qin Yun had no intention of sleeping—sunrise was only hours away. He pulled a wolf pelt over himself and leaned back, closing his eyes to rest.

…

The next morning at eight, countless fans were already waiting on Qin Yun's homepage.

Then they suddenly noticed a new video on his page, its thumbnail title clearly reading: This Stop, Summit of Yaomei Peak (Part One).

Clicking it, they saw two creators listed—Qin Yun, and, shockingly, TikTok's official account.

"Holy shit, guys, Brother Qin delayed his Yaomei Peak summit video—turns out the officials spotted him."

"Quick, check Brother Qin's homepage—he's uploaded his Yaomei Peak summit video."

"I watched, already watched—just one episode? Damn, how many episodes total? One episode for who?"

"The quality, the shots, the soundtrack—perfect."

"Beautiful. No live interaction, but the edited beauty beats live streaming."

"Most importantly, the BGM—add the music, and so many scenes become intensely satisfying, thrilling."

Qin Yun installed the battery, opened the drone's screen, and quickly spotted the co-created content on his homepage.

He checked the backend—sure enough, he had new private messages from Su Huan and TikTok's official team: the Yaomei Peak footage had been edited into ten episodes, two released daily, over five days.

As soon as he opened his livestream, within minutes, viewers hit fifty thousand plus—unbelievable growth.

"Good morning, everyone."

Qin Yun greeted them, watching the screen.

"Good morning, Brother Qin."

"Brother Qin looks like he didn't sleep all night."

"With a beautiful woman beside you, I wouldn't sleep either."

"Cough…," Qin Yun sighed, "Hello everyone, I'm Qin Yun, a temporary wilderness survival enthusiast. Currently…"

After reciting his unchanged opening lines, he casually mentioned the co-created content:

"As you've seen, I collaborated with TikTok—edited my Yaomei Peak livestream footage into ten episodes, two released daily, morning and evening, over five days. If you're interested, check them out—they offer a completely different feel from live streaming."

"Support Brother Qin."

Already liked, collected, and shared.

Qin Ye 666.

Indeed, as Qin Ye said, it's not like a live stream—it's more like a variety show.

In my opinion, Qin Ye's drone should be updated by DJI—add a BGM function that can switch background music in real time based on the situation; that would be impressive.

Qin Yun smiled: "Actually, that's not a bad idea. If the BGM could switch automatically depending on the situation, the live stream might become even more exciting."

Since there was no water left, Qin Yun heated the last three hundred milliliters in his canteen and roasted a piece of wolf meat.

Four more desert wolves were added yesterday, so food is no longer an issue. But survival success still requires at least another day and a half—the water problem must still be solved.

After the meat was roasted, Qin Yun woke up Laura.

After a night's rest, Laura was still somewhat weak, but her fever had completely broken; her overall energy and spirit were far better than yesterday.

After reapplying medicine to Laura, the two ate breakfast and prepared to set off.

"We don't have much water left, so we must find a water source before we can move on."

"Mm, I'll follow your lead."