Chapter 277: Hyenas Surround the Cheetah, Qin Yun Behind

No words were spoken that night; Qin Yun woke at around seven the next morning.

The dry shelter was comfortable to sleep in; though he got up a few times to add firewood, overall it was much better than the previous night.

With the last baobab fruit and honey, Qin Yun had a fairly decent breakfast, then prepared to set off.

When he went live, countless viewers flooded in at once, and the stream’s popularity surged to number one instantly. Some Douyin streamers slapped their foreheads—they knew Qin Yun had gone live; who else could possibly affect so many livestreams?

Though Douyin’s scale was enormous, Qin Yun’s single livestream alone commanded tens of millions of viewers; broken down further, every livestream was inevitably affected to some degree.

Aside from a few livestreams focused on silver-economy content, most streams saw a visibly sharp drop in viewership.

One streamer sighed: “Fuck, we’ve got to endure this for another twenty-plus days.”

“Hello everyone, I’m Qin Yun. I’m currently in the Serengeti Plains of Africa. Today is my third day live, and it’s eight o’clock local time.”

“On day one, I arrived at Ndutu Lake. From there, I was lucky enough to find a baobab tree and encountered a young male lion, witnessing a battle between the lion and spotted hyenas. At the critical moment, I couldn’t bear to see the lion die in the hyenas’ jaws—I interfered recklessly, disrupting this natural selection.”

“After that wild encounter, on day two I was lucky enough to find African honeybees. Following them, I located their hive and successfully obtained my ‘liquid gold.’”

Qin Yun patted the several containers hanging from his body and laughed: “With this liquid gold, I don’t have to worry much about malnutrition—energetically, this honey equals half a month’s rations. It’s also a natural medicine: antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, treats diarrhea, detoxifies. I can even use it to roast meat or preserve food—it’s incredibly useful.”

After his opening remarks, Qin Yun extinguished the surrounding fire and set off again.

“This time difference is annoying—I stayed up late watching yesterday, and now I’m still sleepy, especially with summer here.”

“Yeah, I’m exhausted.”

“Ayun, you’ve got so much energy—I’m jealous.”

“I’m stuck in a cubicle working like a beast, while Ayun roams the grasslands freely—how can human differences be so vast?”

“Don’t even talk about it—I almost cried. My boss yelled at me for dozing off just now. Fucking capitalist dogs.”

“We’re all born from the same parents—why am I so miserable?”

Qin Yun looked at these comments and laughed: “We’re all screws in society’s machine—no one needs to envy another. If you’re willing, nothing can stop you.”

“Easy to say—but how many people are like you?”

“Yeah, ‘escaping suffering’ sounds simple, but every one of us is forced by survival. Lose this job, and who knows if the next one even exists?”

“I’ve been unemployed for three years. Let me share a little-known fact: our country’s greatest welfare is that no one starves to death—you’re allowed to lie down.”

Qin Yun looked ahead—the sun shone brightly, the weather clear.

But for the grassland, this was just another ordinary day in the dry season.

“If you envy my life, maybe next time I’ll randomly select a few lucky viewers to join me in surviving the wilderness.”

Qin Yun had said this offhandedly, as a joke.

But to the countless viewers in the livestream, it instantly sparked interest.

“That’s a great idea—weren’t TV stations once bringing stars like De and Bei into the wild for survival shows?”

“Heh, do you call that survival?”

“I’m from the TV station—I’ll show you how it’s done.”

“I’m the first to support Ayun’s idea—but the survival location can’t be too harsh; we’re all ordinary people, can’t handle extreme conditions.”

“Yeah, yeah—forests or deserted islands would be manageable.”

Netizens grew more excited, ideas pouring out one after another.

Qin Yun watched this scene, smiled, and considered internally—this idea wasn’t impossible to implement. But if he did, safety had to be the absolute priority—no room for error whatsoever. If anything went wrong, his entire career could be ruined.

Walking into the sunlight for about an hour and a half, around 9:30, Qin Yun suddenly spotted four or five small silver-gray shapes amid tall grass. He halted, his eyes brightening.

“Everyone, look—what’s this?”

Viewers in the livestream immediately peered—through the drone’s zoom, the small creatures slowly came into view within the grass.

“Damn, kittens?”

“Wow, what is this? So cute.”

“So fluffy—is it a wild cat or something?”

“They look a bit like yesterday’s honey badgers.”

Qin Yun smiled: “These are cheetah cubs. Furry, they look like little hedgehogs.”

As he moved closer, the five cubs in the grass finally showed signs of unease.

“Ji ji… ji ji…” sounds kept coming, soft as kitten mews.

“So adorable.”

“I want to raise one.”

“Ayun, take a few back.”

“Cute!”

Qin Yun scanned around but saw no trace of the mother cheetah—she could be anywhere. But since the cubs were here, she couldn’t be far; otherwise, she couldn’t rescue them in time if danger came.

He opened his containers and poured some honey on the ground. Instantly, the cubs, like cats drawn to fish, rushed over and began frantically licking the honey.

Even when Qin Yun gently patted their heads, they paid no attention—completely absorbed in the sweetness.

He stood, stepped over the cubs, and continued forward.

“They’re cute, but once they grow up, they won’t be. I’ll keep moving.”

He walked for another ten minutes, then saw a cheetah holding a blackbuck, surrounded by three spotted hyenas.

“Shit, there are way too many spotted hyenas on this grassland.”

“Damn, this cheetah’s done for.”

“Ayun said cheetahs are super fast—why doesn’t it just run? Those hyenas can’t catch it.”

Qin Yun watched from afar, calmly saying: “This cheetah is almost certainly the mother of those cubs. She could escape easily—but the cubs’ scent is clear to these hyenas. If she flees, the cubs are dead.”

“So unless it’s certain death, she’ll stall. If she can’t win, she’ll abandon the prey and flee—then return to carry off the cubs. How many she can take with her? Unclear.”

Qin Yun’s tone was calm, yet cruel—and this was the most bloody, yet normal, side of the grassland.

Compared to hyenas, cheetahs are much smaller; even one-on-one, they’re outmatched, let alone against three.

Finally, amid the hyenas’ roars, the cheetah dropped the blackbuck, leapt sharply, and vanished from the hyenas’ encirclement in an instant—so fast, she disappeared in a blink, heading precisely toward the cubs’ location.

Qin Yun stayed hidden in the grass, not rising.

As soon as the cheetah left, the three hyenas pounced on the blackbuck and began tearing it apart violently. In no time, the sizable antelope was torn to pieces by the three hyenas.

Seeing this, Qin Yun turned and walked away.

“I need to go back and check if the cheetah mom took all the cubs. If any were left behind, I might lend a hand. Mainly, I’m a looks guy—those little cheetahs are so cute; I can’t bear to see them die in the jaws of those ugly hyenas.”

“Spotted hyenas: Are you being polite?”

“Thanks a lot—we’re just ugly, that’s why no one likes us.”

“Hahaha, Ayun is so pragmatic.”

Soon, Qin Yun returned to where he’d found the cubs—and discovered only two remained; the other three were gone. From the flattened grass, Qin Yun confirmed his suspicion: the mother cheetah had indeed made her choice.

The two remaining cubs cried “ji ji,” trembling with fear—especially at Qin Yun’s presence.

Qin Yun didn’t hesitate—he scooped up the two cubs, tucked them into his arms, and immediately changed direction, planning to detour around any area where hyenas might appear. He wasn’t afraid himself, but hyenas never came singly—they often appeared in groups of forty or fifty. If that happened, even his strength wouldn’t save him.

Watching Qin Yun carry off the cheetah cubs, viewers in the livestream were green with envy.

After hiking over half an hour, Qin Yun realized—he was surrounded. Ahead were the three hyenas; behind him stood the cheetah mother. Both stared at him with hostile eyes.

The hyenas saw him as a thief of food and a rival predator; the cheetah saw him as a child-snatching villain.

In short—he was the villain now.

“Hahaha, Ayun went too far.”

“Front and back attack—Ayun’s having the time of his life.”

“Damn, he’s even driving this situation—what a mess.”

…

Give me some push notifications, electricity, and tips—I’m struggling to breathe!