Chapter 159: Brushing Past (Please Follow for More)

"Gunfire?"

Qin Yun's eyes flickered; he wondered if he'd misheard—where in this desolate place could there be gunfire? Perhaps it was just natural sound.

He didn't dwell on it, crossed the Songxi Daban, and kept walking forward.

"After crossing the Songxi Daban, we're only 25 kilometers from Songxi Village—walk three or four hours and we'll be there."

Qin Yun spoke, then suddenly noticed the once brilliant blue sky had subtly lost its purity, and the wind around him had grown stronger.

He put his goggles and face mask back on and slightly increased his pace.

"Guys, the wind's picking up—I wonder if it'll snow? Honestly, I'm kinda looking forward to it—snow means ice and packed drifts, and then I can finally use my snowboard again."

But if it actually snowed, the danger would be far greater than it is now.

At this moment, his two drones—the auxiliary one stayed far behind, while the main one hovered to one side, facing him directly. The livestream's AI editor occasionally switched to wide aerial shots.

Walking while chatting, interacting with the comment section, he felt no loneliness at all—today was a leisurely, almost carefree hike compared to yesterday's danger and urgency.

"Moo-oo—Moo-oo—"

Qin Yun's ears twitched; he thought he'd heard something—the sound seemed carried by the wind.

He stopped to listen for a moment, but the noise vanished again.

"Did Qin Ye hear something?"

"Could it be wolves again? I'd love to see Qin Ye fight a wolf!"

"Nah, forget it—wolves are just a snack to Qin Ye. I want to see something more dangerous."

"You guys just wish Qin Ye well—what other dangerous animals even exist up here on the plateau?"

Qin Yun shook his head: "I thought I heard something, but when I listened closely, it was gone. Maybe I imagined it."

Saying that, he continued walking.

But after walking a few hundred meters, the earlier sound came again, carried by the wind.

"Moo-oo—Moo-oo—"

This time, he was certain—he hadn't misheard. There was definitely an animal's cry, and it was a Tibetan antelope. "Guys, there's definitely a sound—and it sounds pained. It might be injured."

After speaking, Qin Yun listened carefully, identified the direction, then left the national highway and headed toward the wilderness.

This area was full of rocks, mostly irregular in shape—some as small as millstones, others as tall as a man. Their surfaces, eroded by freezing winds, were rough and covered in uneven grooves.

"Moo-oo—Moo-oo—"

This time, not only Qin Yun, but everyone in the livestream heard it.

"There really is a sound! Qin Ye's ears are incredible—but what is it?"

"How did Qin Ye tell the cry sounded pained? Man, I couldn't hear that at all."

"Heh, if you could hear that, you could go wilderness survival too."

Qin Yun quickened his pace, soon moving dozens of meters ahead, and behind a rock spotted a Tibetan antelope collapsed on its side, convulsing.

It was an adult Tibetan antelope, well-fed and robust—but now, a clear wound gaped beneath its left haunch. Though merely a graze, a large chunk of flesh was gone, and blood still seeped out.

No wonder its cries were so agonizing.

The Tibetan antelope suddenly saw a massive creature appear before it and screamed even more desperately, as if terrified Qin Yun would harm it.

It kept crying "Moo-oo—Moo-oo—" without pause.

As an animal behavior expert, Qin Yun had his own methods for interacting with animals.

He simply slowed his steps and breathing, emitting a few unique sounds—immediately, the livestream viewers noticed the antelope fell silent and no longer recoiled from his approach.

"Holy crap, Qin Ye's got tricks like this too?"

"666, damn, Qin Ye really knows everything."

"Yeah, he's good at everything."

Qin Yun approached the antelope, examined its wound—it was severe, completely impairing movement. Blood still oozed, and prolonged blood loss had left the animal extremely weak.

"Tibetan antelopes are a Class One protected species in China—if I do nothing, it'll almost certainly be tracked down by Tibetan wolves drawn by the blood, and it'll die."

As he spoke, Qin Yun pondered how to handle this.

But after thinking it over, none of the options seemed viable.

Facing the camera, Qin Yun sighed helplessly: "This wound needs proper treatment to heal, but there's nothing here—I can't do anything. Even though Songxi Village is only twenty kilometers away, by the time villagers get here, I'm sure this antelope will already be dragged off by wolves."

"So what should Qin Ye do?"

"Yeah, you're not gonna carry it, are you?"

"This antelope looks so hefty—must weigh over a hundred jin."

"A hundred jin? That's nothing to Qin Ye."

Qin Yun naturally saw the comments—he smiled wryly: "This antelope does weigh around a hundred jin, but that's nothing to me. The problem is, walking to Songxi Village takes too long—it's not human, and if I carry it too long, it'll definitely struggle."

He shook his head: "Forget it—I'll stop the bleeding first, then see if it can walk on its own. If it can, I won't mind leading it to Songxi Village so the villagers can save it..."

Before Qin Yun finished speaking, a sudden chill shot up his spine—he didn't hesitate, instantly dodging sideways and diving behind the rock.

"Bang—!"

A deafening crack echoed; rocks shattered, bullets grazed his body. This terrifying moment was broadcast live by the drone's camera, leaving the livestream viewers utterly stunned.

After the shock came a flood of rapidly refreshing comments.

"What the hell just happened?"

"Gunfire? Someone's shooting Qin Ye?"

"Damn, how bold can you get? Shooting in broad daylight?"

"Wait—why is there a gun? Gun control in China is super strict."

Qin Yun quickly retracted his drones, refusing to expose them outside—he couldn't afford to lose them to gunfire; he'd have no one to cry to.

"Moo-oo—Moo-oo—"

The gunfire also startled the Tibetan antelope, making its struggles and convulsions even more violent.

Qin Yun's gaze turned cold; there was no doubt—he had encountered poachers. But these poachers dared to attack him? Were they insane? Although poaching meant life in prison, murder carried an immediate death sentence.

From such decisive gunfire, it was clear the hidden bandit on the other side was no novice.

Behind a rock far away, Scar fired one shot—and missed. Furious, he cursed twice.

"Fuck, he's quick."

He hadn't expected to see a tourist in this hellish weather. The Xinjiang-Tibet route in winter was a dead zone—no one ever came. Was this guy mentally ill?

He hadn't planned to do anything, but since the antelope had been spotted, he might as well go all the way—it wasn't his first time.

Maybe this tourist had plenty of cash; tourists always loved carrying large sums of cash.

He fired one shot—the other reacted impossibly fast. Before he could even squeeze the trigger, the man had already vanished.

"Zzzz… Scar… Scar, what's up? Find another prey?"

Scar picked up the radio and chuckled: "Old Ghost, guess what I found?"

"Cut the crap, spit it out."

"A tourist. Hahaha. In this freezing hell of weather, a tourist actually showed up."

Old Ghost: "…………"

"You're sure?"

"Of course I'm sure—I saw him clearly. Just missed the shot. Don't come yet. I'll deal with him first, then tell you."

"Alright. Watch yourself."

Scar peered through the scope; his rifle was locked onto the rock. If the man dared to show his head, Scar was certain he could kill him with one shot.

Thinking of the man's head exploding, Scar's blood boiled.

Hunting animals was nothing compared to hunting humans.

Qin Yun leaned against the rock, his eyes icy. Just a moment ago, he'd been seconds from death—if not for his strong sixth sense and instant reaction to that life-or-death threat, the outcome would've been unthinkable.

But he didn't act rashly. Instead, he watched the monitor: "Big Brother Meng, Big Brother Meng, are you watching the livestream?"

The livestream didn't respond—Meng Hai clearly wasn't in front of it.

The signal at Spring Water Lake was spotty; it wasn't suitable for livestreaming at all.

After thinking, he spoke to the livestream: "Su Huan, call the police immediately—contact Ritou County Public Security Bureau. Have them reach out to the Spring Water Lake checkpoint—they should have a line to connect."

Su Huan was terrified; the scene had shocked her, and her face was still pale.

She quickly replied: "Okay, I'll call right away."

Qin Yun nodded, hesitated, then said: "This won't work. Though I'm skilled in hand-to-hand combat, the opponent has firearms—and they're powerful. If I'm hit, I'll instantly lose the ability to resist."

He touched his secondary drone: "I'll have to sacrifice this secondary drone—just enough to scout the situation. Otherwise, my position is too disadvantageous."

"What's Qin Ye planning? Don't do anything reckless!"

"Yeah, Qin Ye, don't move! If you show your head, you're dead."

"Calm down—this guy in the livestream is Qin Ye. We trust him."

"Damn, that's a gun! Qin Ye's just flesh and blood—he'll die if hit."

Qin Yun took a deep breath, then suddenly waved his hand. The secondary drone shot into the air, and his gaze locked onto the monitor.

On the drone's camera feed, the view rose higher—within three or four seconds, it soared over thirty meters, revealing a Tibetan man crouched a hundred meters away.

Then—

"Bang—!"

Before the lens could zoom in, a bullet struck the drone's body precisely.

"Crack!" The drone exploded midair without surprise; the signal instantly switched back to the main unit.

"Holy shit, you scared the hell out of me."

"I nearly died."

"Damn it, that bastard—catch him!"

At the Spring Water Lake checkpoint, the operator who received the call immediately contacted Meng Hai.

Meng Hai froze for a moment, then sprinted toward Jiang Ping's office.

"Chief! Chief! Something's happened!"

Jiang Ping looked at Meng Hai's panicked face and raised an eyebrow: "What's wrong?"

"Poachers attacked Qin Yun." Meng Hai spoke as he pulled out his phone and opened Qin Yun's livestream. The signal was weak, but luck favored them—they connected immediately.

Then…

"Bang!" The camera cut to Qin Yun's face.

"This guy's a good shot. But I've roughly pinpointed his position. I hope he doesn't fall into my hands."

Jiang Ping and Meng Hai exchanged glances.

"Holy shit—dispatch immediately! Ask Little Brother Qin for his location! Hurry! These are definitely desperate men—maybe even the poaching gang we've been chasing."

"I'll post a comment right now."

Meng Hai's expression grave, he immediately replied in the comments: "Qin Ye, this is Meng Hai. Don't move. We've dispatched forces. Absolutely don't act rashly. Also, report your current location."

"Great! They finally saw it at Spring Water Lake!"

"With police on the way, Qin Ye is safe."

"Qin Ye, hold tight. Don't be reckless."

Qin Yun was not an impulsive man, nor was he vengeful—but he'd nearly been shot dead.

In the past, he might have gritted his teeth and swallowed it. But now—he possessed mastery of combat skills. How could he let this slide?

He nodded toward the camera: "Understood, Big Brother Meng. I'm 3 kilometers down from Songxi Daban."

After saying that, he flipped the drone onto the ground, grabbed a rock beside him, and before throwing it, he said calmly, "The opponent's firearm is modified—although its power is considerable, it can't fire in rapid succession, so..."

Before he finished speaking, he flicked his wrist and hurled the stone, sending it flying.

"Bang—!"

Qin Yun rolled and darted out from behind the rock in an instant.

Seeing this, the livestream chat fell completely silent.