Chapter 284: The Expedition Team

Upon hearing this sudden voice, not just Hassan, but Mboma, Amina, and the others were all stunned.

There really… really is someone?

Tanzania's official language is Swahili, but they were all university intellectuals and naturally spoke English. Hassan, as the guide, wasn't fluent, but he could understand.

To suddenly hear English now, how could anyone not be shocked?

He tightened his grip on the firearm and looked toward Mboma.

Mboma quickly had Amina confirm via radio, and the result they received was… true.

The newcomer was indeed here to rescue them, and had been contacted proactively by TAWIRI.

In the darkness, a figure slowly walked out from within—wait, what was he holding?

After Hassan saw clearly, he was instantly chilled to the bone and stepped back hastily.

Not just Hassan—once Mboma and the others saw the leopard in Qin Yun's hands, their faces changed, their hearts seized with terror, as if the fear of being attacked by the leopard had surged back.

"Boom—!"

Qin Yun threw the leopard onto the ground and looked at the group: "Who is Professor Mboma?"

Mboma's shoulder had already been bandaged, but the nerve-tearing pain made his face twitch intermittently. Hearing this stranger's words, he immediately stepped forward.

"I am. Are you Mr. Qin?"

Qin Yun nodded: "Elias contacted me, said you were attacked, and asked me to rescue you. Are you all alright?"

After confirming the man's identity, Mboma couldn't help but exhale in relief.

"Amina, Hassan, and Karen are fine. Myself and Joseph are injured. Salim…"

Speaking of Salim, the old professor's eyes turned red—he was his own student, and he'd watched helplessly as the Nile crocodile dragged him away. After so long, he was likely already digested.

"Salim is still alive, but severely injured. I've placed him in the back seat of the car—he must be taken to the hospital immediately."

At these words, everyone froze.

"Salim's still alive?" Karen asked, voice trembling with disbelief.

"N-no… impossible. That was a Nile crocodile." Joseph's lips trembled.

Mboma stepped forward: "Qin… Mr. Qin, are you telling the truth?"

Qin Yun nodded: "Yes, he's still alive—but barely. If he doesn't receive treatment soon, he'll die."

"Quick… take me to see him."

Mboma forgot his pain, his expression brightening—the exhaustion from before vanished at this news.

Put bluntly, whether someone died or not would mean entirely different outcomes for him as team leader.

Qin Yun said nothing, leading them to the car, letting them see Salim unconscious. But when they saw Salim's wounds—the caved-in ribs and the gaping wounds—everyone burst into tears, babbling nonstop in Swahili.

Qin Yun didn't understand Swahili.

When the group calmed down, Qin Yun asked: "Professor Mboma, when will rescue arrive?"

He couldn't wait here forever.

Mboma said: "TAWIRI said they've contacted a rescue helicopter, but it hasn't been dispatched yet—the process is too slow."

Qin Yun was speechless. It seemed that abroad, things weren't any different.

Night flights by helicopter were rare anyway—from pilot readiness to navigation, the whole process couldn't be rushed.

Mboma and the others were uneasy leaving Salim in the car, so they carried him back to camp. With the leopard threat gone, everyone's tension eased quickly.

Soon after, those injured—Mboma, Joseph, Hassan—went to their tents to sleep. Karen held out a little longer, then returned to sleep too. Only Amina still had some energy left.

She studied the handsome Chinese man curiously: "Qin, are you also doing research in Serengeti?"

"Research?" Qin Yun shook his head. "I'm a livestreamer. I'm broadcasting right now."

He pointed to the drone on his head.

Amina grew even more curious—she'd never seen anyone livestreaming in Serengeti before. Her work was always busy, and she rarely scrolled TikTok or similar short-video apps, so she naturally didn't recognize Qin Yun.

Qin Yun didn't expect everyone in the world to know him.

They chatted casually, but forgot about the two unconscious leopards.

Until one of them drowsily lifted its head—Qin Yun suddenly remembered. He hurried over, pinched its neck again to knock it out, then smiled awkwardly at Amina: "I'll go deal with them."

Saying that, he picked up both leopards and turned away.

After walking several hundred meters, Qin Yun casually tossed the leopards onto the ground, then turned back toward camp.

Whether they'd attack the camp again? If leopards were this stupid, they'd have gone extinct long ago.

Qin Yun wasn't worried at all.

Back at camp, Qin Yun prepared to end the livestream.

Rescue someone thoroughly, see it through to the end—since he'd come this far, he'd see these people safely evacuated by helicopter.

"Amina, go rest. I'll keep watch."

Amina felt a little embarrassed, but she was truly exhausted.

She stood up, about to thank him—then her eyes widened, nearly screaming.

"Qin… Qin… behind… behind…"

Seeing Amina's incoherent panic, Qin Yun turned—and the livestream audience saw it too: a lion had entered, strolling in slowly, calmly, as if taking a leisurely walk into camp.

"Big Yellow, what are you doing here?"

Qin Yun was speechless.

"Roar—!"

The lion let out a low growl, ignored Amina entirely, and walked straight over to sit beside Qin Yun.

"I… I… you… lion… Qin… lion…"

Amina was so scared she nearly wet herself—this was the king of the savanna, a lion, and a fully grown male lion at that.

Qin Yun hurriedly said, "Don't be scared, don't be scared, it won't bite."

"Hahaha, Mr. Qin, you sure know how to comfort people."

"Big sis Amina, my soul nearly flew out of my body."

"Oh my god."

"23333, dying of laughter."

Seeing Qin Yun patting the lion's head, and the lion showing no reaction at all, even affectionately nuzzling back with its head, Amina's legs went weak and she plopped back down on her bottom.

"Qin… Qin, wh-what's going on?"

Qin Yun laughed and said, "It's actually very simple. This lion was attacked by spotted hyenas, I happened to pass by and saved it, and then it latched onto me. No matter how I tried to drive it away, it wouldn't leave."

Amina swallowed, her IQ retaking the high ground: "Maybe, maybe it's because of your rescue that it developed trust and attachment. But this state won't last forever—however, in the short term it will remain loyal."

Qin Yun naturally also knew that lions have no concept of gratitude. The reason for this kind of dependence should be something like a conditioned reflex and emotional bonding. Once this sense of attachment gradually fades, it will naturally recover on its own.

Just as Amina said, in the short term the lion would maintain a loyalty toward him similar to that of a dog.

Of course there are exceptions—according to records, there have been lions rescued by humans that, even after several years, still remembered the person who had saved them.

The sleepiness Amina had finally managed to summon vanished without a trace the moment Big Yellow appeared.

She couldn't imagine an adult male lion right where she slept—it just felt too unsafe. Even though Qin Yun said not to worry, how could she not worry? Beasts were beasts after all; if one suddenly went mad, she wouldn't even know how she died.

As for Qin Yun having captured two leopards, although that was also shocking, leopards ultimately couldn't compare to lions.

……

The next morning, when Mboma, Hassan and the others came out and saw the person and the lion outside, they got quite a fright as well.

It took Qin Yun quite an explanation to put them at ease, but every one of them still kept a wide distance from the lion.

At around eight o'clock, the rescue helicopter finally appeared.

"Professor Mboma, aren't you leaving?"

Mboma shook his head: "The mission isn't finished yet, no rush."

Hassan, Joseph and Salim were all taken away by the helicopter, leaving only Mboma, Amina and Karen. Karen clearly wanted to leave too, but for the sake of her degree, she could only stay.

Seeing this, Qin Yun didn't try to stop them either.

Once the helicopter left, he prepared to say goodbye.

"Professor Mboma, Miss Amina, Miss Karen, take care then, I'm off."

Mboma nodded and solemnly thanked him: "Mr. Qin, thank you very much, I won't forget your kindness."

Amina and Karen also expressed their gratitude in turn.

Qin Yun waved his hand and headed back the way he came with Big Yellow.

On the road, when he saw the time was about right, he turned on the drone and started the livestream.

"Good morning everyone, I've already said goodbye to the research team. Now I'm heading back to that cave, ready to continue our journey."

"After five days of trekking, I've covered roughly 140 kilometers. My current position is in the central Serengeti, Seronera. Next I'll travel from Seronera to the Serengeti's western corridor, the Grumeti River. The whole trip is about 150 kilometers, and my initial plan is also five days."

"Hope everything goes smoothly!"

………………

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