Chapter 291: Rescue Plan

It’s the Elephant Quagmire.

Qin Yun’s expression turned grave as he looked at the main screen, which now displayed the feed from the auxiliary camera.

In the footage, the massive female elephant had sunk deep into the mire—three of her thick legs completely buried beneath the mud, which clung to her broad belly, leaving only her back, neck, and enormous head exposed.

Her huge body tilted slightly, her thick skin coated in cold, wet black sludge, every fold packed with mud; each time she struggled to move, the mire beneath her bubbled and surged, pulling her deeper.

Beside her, the calf had sunk much less—its small body mostly submerged, its frail limbs firmly suctioned by the mud, immobile. Its tiny head shook constantly, agitated and anxious, emitting whimpers.

The mud was slowly, silently rising. Without rescue, these two elephants would inevitably die here, in despair, in this swamp.

“Sss… It’s a swamp.”

“It’s swallowed both elephants—what do we do now?”

“Does Qin Ye have a plan?”

“Damn it, what plan? This is an elephant we’re talking about.”

Qin Yun frowned and moved to the other side.

“This calf is about two years old, weighing around a thousand jin. If we pull it with force, we risk snapping its limb bones.”

Hearing this, netizens shook their heads in dismay.

“Isn’t that TANAPA organization in Tanzania watching the livestream?”

“Yeah, are they just going to watch these two elephants drown?”

Qin Yun shook his head: “There’s no time. At this sinking rate, in another hour, the mother’s entire body will be submerged—only her trunk will remain above.”

He paused to think, then turned toward the drone.

“An adult female weighs over four tons. I’m alone, with no machinery. Rescue is extremely difficult—but I can’t just watch them die in despair.”

After speaking, he patted Dahuang, telling him to leave the jungle and roam freely, while he returned to the open woodland to cut branches of the flat-topped acacia with his dagger.

After cutting three tree trunks over twenty centimeters in diameter, Qin Yun laid them horizontally along the swamp’s edge.

“This creates a load-bearing support to prevent the bank from collapsing.”

Qin Yun finished speaking and turned to the elephants, soothing them with his voice. The mother clearly understood he was trying to save them—her despair had lessened. The calf, however, still whimpered in fear, and the mother could only continuously comfort it with her trunk.

“The calf is lighter and less risky—we save it first.”

He searched the sparse woodland, cut over a dozen vines, then quickly twisted them into several ropes as thick as an arm.

Next, he lay flat on the tree trunks he’d laid out earlier and slowly crawled toward the calf.

“Holy shit, what’s Qin Ye doing?”

“Will he get stuck and die too?”

“Qin Ye’s got balls of steel. An elephant’s life isn’t worth risking yours—don’t be so reckless.”

Qin Yun’s body slowly sank into the swamp mud; instantly, a powerful suction gripped him, drawing his entire body into the mire—but because he crawled low, the surface tension kept him from sinking further.

“Don’t worry—even if I get fully submerged, I’ve got ways to free myself.”

Qin Yun’s calm voice reassured the livestream viewers.

The calf was about four to five meters from shore. Qin Yun inched forward, growing closer—but the calf grew more agitated, as if Qin Yun meant it harm. The mother constantly soothed it with her trunk, preventing it from panicking further.

But the fear in its cries was unmistakable.

Qin Yun’s hand gently touched the calf’s back, stroking it softly until it calmed, then he began.

“As the mud envelops the body, there’s no vacuum between it and the skin—so the suction is extreme. That’s why pulling it out is nearly impossible. Before we move it, I need to slit a gap between the mud and the skin, releasing the vacuum suction. The calf must stay perfectly still—any movement will let the mud re-adhere.”

Speaking, Qin Yun gripped his dagger and sank his hands into the mud, feeling for the calf’s left hind leg, then carefully began cutting, avoiding any sudden motion that might injure it.

As he cleared the mud, he spoke calmly, explaining.

“I’m confident I can get the calf out. The mother is the real problem—she’s too heavy, and most of her body is buried. But luckily, one leg is still outside. If she were like the calf, I’d have no chance.”

While speaking, he cleared the mud from the calf’s two hind legs. Though fresh mud immediately rushed back in, this area still needed time to stabilize.

He carefully wrapped several thin vines around the calf’s legs in loops, confirmed they were secure, then slowly crawled to the front to work on its forelegs.

Face to face with the calf, it seemed to realize Qin Yun was helping—it even rubbed its trunk against his face.

“Hahaha, this calf is so cute.”

“Qin Ye’s officially an animal lover.”

“Spotted hyena: Are you being polite?”

After cleaning the forelimbs, he wrapped them with the same vines, then threaded the original two ropes under the calf’s armpits, securing them around its chest and back, tying firm knots. Then Qin Yun shifted his body and pulled the ropes toward shore.

When he reached the tree trunk and climbed ashore, his chest was caked in mud.

“Alright, next step: build a lever, then slowly pull the ropes to drag the calf out of the mud. This requires patience—no sudden force. The swamp has buoyancy; as long as it doesn’t thrash wildly, it’s hard to drown even if you’re stuck.”

The lever’s principle was simple—Qin Yun completed it effortlessly with his skills.

Then he stood on the shore, both hands gripping the ropes, slowly engaging his waist and back to pull backward at a steady, slow pace.

On camera, the mud was gradually pushed aside and peeled away—slow, but effective.

“666, Qin Ye’s got this strength and he’s not even hauling bricks?”

“Even hauling bricks, Qin Ye’d be the Brick King.”

“He’d bankrupt any foreman.”

“Insane. A calf weighs over a thousand jin—even with buoyancy and leverage, this takes at least a thousand jin of force. In ancient times, he’d be a peerless warrior.”

Qin Yun didn’t know his exact strength, but a thousand jin was conservative. With all his skills enhanced, his physical condition had long surpassed ordinary humans.

Calling him a superhero wasn’t an exaggeration.

If only his body weren’t still human—still fragile in defense—he’d truly be a superhero.

As he pulled, the calf slowly emerged from the mud. When all four limbs were free, the livestream erupted in cheers.

But Qin Yun didn’t relax—he gently shifted his force, making the calf lie on its side, then continued pulling.

When the thousand-jin calf was finally dragged fully ashore, Qin Yun exhaled a long, deep breath.

“Impressive. Now for the mother.”

“The mother’s in trouble—four or five tons. The current method won’t work.”

“Yeah, it’s all up to Qin Ye now.”

Qin Yun walked to the calf’s side. The calf was clearly exhausted, coated in black mud, gasping heavily.

He uncapped a mineral water bottle, poured some into the calf’s mouth, then patted its body: “We’ve got to save your mom.”

He turned to look at the mother in the swamp.

“The method that worked for the calf won’t work here—first, I don’t have that kind of strength. Second, I really don’t have that kind of strength.”

Qin Yun shrugged: “So the only way the mother can escape is if she saves herself. Otherwise, a four- or five-ton object? Even if I died trying, I couldn’t move it.”

As he finished speaking, a roar echoed from outside.

“Aaaoo—!”

Qin Yun’s expression changed—Dahuang’s voice carried warning and fury.

Then a series of spotted hyena calls erupted in succession.

“Shit—spotted hyenas are coming.”