Chapter 286

Boom!

A gunshot rang out, startling Qin Yun and the livestream audience into a uproar.

"Fuck, poachers?"

"Definitely poachers—how brazen are they?"

"666, poaching right under Brother Qin's nose? You're literally poking a tiger's ass—don't you know Brother Qin is an animal friend?"

"Brother Qin, be careful."

Qin Yun stared toward the direction of the gunshot and didn't move. Guns and a gang were enough to make him avoid them entirely. Besides, these people hadn't wronged him, unlike back on the Xin-Zang route.

"These people are armed. In the Serengeti National Park, firearms are strictly prohibited except under special permit. We're in Seronera, the core zone of the Serengeti National Park—here, total permanent hunting bans have been in place for sixty to seventy years."

"So, barring any surprise, their identity is basically clear."

Qin Yun paused, then added.

"But in the Grumeti River area I'm heading to, legal hunting is permitted—though the fees are exorbitant, far beyond what ordinary people can afford. Only elderly male individuals may be hunted; killing females or cubs is strictly forbidden, and some endangered species are completely off-limits."

"Of course, these bans are vague—basically, everyone turns a blind eye."

Hearing this, netizens suddenly grew interested, especially those from China.

In China, since the new century, hunting has been virtually eradicated—nearly all animals are under national protection, with enforcement so strict foreigners can't even imagine it.

"Brother Qin, how much does one hunt cost?"

"Yeah, I'm curious now—can you hunt lions and elephants?"

"Do they charge by the kilo?"

"Hahaha, upstairs is insane!"

Qin Yun looked at the comments and explained: "First, you need a hunting permit—ordinary people can't get one. Only with a permit can you enter the hunting zone. Second, there's a per-animal fee. As far as I know, an elderly male lion costs around fifty thousand U. S. dollars; an elephant, one hundred thousand."

The audience sucked in a breath.

"Fuck, that expensive? Who the hell does that?"

"Classic rich people's game—I'd have to sell myself just to fire one shot."

"It was never meant for ordinary people."

"Insane—just going in would bankrupt you."

Qin Yun smiled: "These hunting fees fund anti-poaching patrols and support the local Maasai tribes, reducing tribal poaching."

At this, everyone was stunned silent.

"Does that mean these guys aren't from here—they came from the Grumeti River side and just crossed the border beyond the legal hunting zone?"

Someone guessed Qin Yun's meaning—he nodded.

"Cross-border hunting is a vague violation. Even though Grumeti River is at least a hundred and fifty kilometers away, they can easily deny crossing the border—for these rich bastards, it's just a fine."

As he spoke, another gunshot rang out.

Qin Yun still didn't want to get involved—but after that shot, a familiar roar echoed from the other side.

"Aow—Roar—!"

Qin Yun's eyes widened, his mouth opened slightly, and shock flashed across his face.

"That… is Da Huang?"

"How did he get over there?"

The livestream audience went wild.

"Woo woo… Did we just run into Brother Qin's mount?"

"Daring to attack Brother Qin's mount? These guys are done for."

"Even if you're beating a dog, you still respect the owner—these guys are audacious beyond belief."

"Da Huang: How dare you! Do you know who my master is? You shoot at me? You don't want to live!"

Qin Yun sighed helplessly—he didn't want to interfere, but Da Huang had somehow gotten caught right in the middle. Now things were complicated.

Still, he couldn't let Da Huang face danger alone.

Without hesitation, Qin Yun dashed past the acacia tree, sprinting fast toward the southeast—the direction of the sound.

"I hope it's just an accident—they don't actually mean to hunt Da Huang."

Qin Yun said this into the camera, his speed astonishing.

Bang—!

Roar—!

Gunshots and lion roars erupted one after another.

After ten minutes, he reached the slope, threw himself flat, and peered forward.

Ahead lay a sparse woodland: scattered acacia trees, sausage trees, and fig trees dotted the landscape, with wide open grasslands between them. Beneath one acacia tree, three SUVs were parked on one side; five armed figures stood scattered around.

Of the five, only one held a rifle, firing at something dozens of meters away.

Golden short grass swayed there—Da Huang's figure flickered in and out of view.

"It's a. 375 H&H Magnum."

Though over a hundred meters away, Qin Yun instantly recognized the weapons in their hands.

"This rifle is the top choice for hunting—versatile, lethal against antelope, zebra, lion, leopard, even buffalo."

"Brother Qin, you really know everything."

"I told you—'Qin Encyclopedia' isn't a nickname for nothing."

"That's just thorough preparation."

Qin Yun ignored the comments and whispered on: "But it won't work for elephants—the. 375 caliber is barely adequate. You need a. 416 caliber, like the Magnum Rem. 416—extreme penetration, no matter how thick the hide, one shot punches clean through."

"Brother Qin, no need for the lecture—your mount's about to die."

"Big Yellow: Woooo woo woo woo, ending up with an owner like this, must be a sin committed in a past life."

Qin Yun's face was covered in black lines, speechless: "I'm unarmed, I wouldn't dare try to stop them."

But even as he said that, he pressed two fingers under his tongue and blew sharply.

"Pee—!"

A clear, melodious sound immediately rang out from his mouth, directly drawing the attention of those hunters. At the same time, Big Yellow heard Qin Yun's call, swiftly changed direction, and began running toward Qin Yun's side via a detour from the other flank.

"Fuck, it ran, chase it!"

"Don't chase, someone's here."

"Put the guns away, might be a patrol squad."

Qin Yun watched that side. Those people quickly holstered their firearms, then one by one all got into the vehicles, waiting in place for something.

On Big Yellow's end, it quickly circled around and appeared from behind Qin Yun. Qin Yun patted its head, took a few steps back, then swiftly left with Big Yellow.

For now, he didn't want to come face-to-face with this group.

The main reason was that he didn't want to place himself in danger—against firearms, he was still a squishy; one shot would be enough to finish him off.

But just because he didn't want to, didn't mean others didn't.

He hadn't walked long before the roar of car engines came from behind. Before long, three vehicles appeared in his line of sight. And at this moment, there was almost nothing around him in any direction that could provide cover; even if he wanted to leave, he couldn't shake the cars for a while.

Seeing this, he simply stopped.

Soon, three off-road vehicles passed him and stopped up ahead, then several figures holding guns jumped down from the vehicles.

Three white, two black—besides the two Tanzanian locals, the three white men all looked young, no older than thirty-five.

Soren Douglas looked at Qin Yun with curiosity, his heart filled with astonishment. To actually see a person walking alone like this in the Serengeti—and most importantly, the lion they had been hunting earlier actually belonged to the other party; judging by how obedient this lion looked, there was no doubt about it.

"Chinese? Japanese?"

Soren opened his mouth to ask.

Qin Yun glanced at him. The other party was probably the leader; the other two white men seemed to take him as their head, while the two black men likely served more as guides.

"Chinese!"

"Sorry!" Soren offered an apology, pointed at Big Yellow baring its fangs beside Qin Yun, and said, "I didn't know this lion was raised by you. We almost accidentally hurt it. I apologize to you."

Qin Yun waved his hand, expressionless. Though he looked calm on the surface, in truth he was ready to act at any moment.

"Ignorance is no crime, but gentlemen, this is Seronera—hunting is strictly prohibited here. Did you come from the Grumeti River?"

A hint of surprise surfaced on Soren's face: "This is Seronera? I thought we were still near the Grumeti River."

As he spoke, he looked toward the two Tanzanians, as if blaming them.

One of the Tanzanians shook his head: "I also thought we were still near the Grumeti River."

Seeing them play dumb, Qin Yun knew full well that such a thing couldn't be openly admitted—who knew what identity he had.

Qin Yun didn't expose them either, and pointed toward the northeast: "Drive about a hundred-plus kilometers in that direction, and you'll reach the Grumeti River."

Soren laughed it off: "May I know what to call you, sir? Are you traveling in the Serengeti?" As he spoke, he glanced at the drone flying beside Qin Yun, guessing at Qin Yun's identity in his heart.