Chapter 294

Dahu's wounds were dense and numerous, his entire body covered in bite marks and claw marks.

Each of these marks carried pathogens from the hyena's body; even though Dahu, as a wild animal, naturally possessed sufficient resistance and immunity, he certainly couldn't risk betting that Dahu wouldn't become infected. Wild animals are strong, yet also incredibly fragile.

Beneath the acacia tree, Dahu occasionally twitched, yet allowed Qin Yun to tend to his wounds.

Using a dagger, he scraped out the hyena's debris from the hind leg, rinsed it with clean water, and only after ensuring no foreign matter was visible to the naked eye did he finally exhale.

"I hope this doesn't affect Dahu's mobility in the future."

Dahu was completely listless, his head resting on his front legs, his mane hanging limp—anyone could see his spirit was utterly depleted.

Viewers in the livestream watched this scene and all prayed for Dahu.

"When Brother Qin treated the wounds, I counted—Dahu had at least thirty wounds."

"Terrifying—several were deep enough to expose bone; if it were a human, they'd be permanently crippled, yet Dahu can still move freely."

"Lions may be called kings of the savanna, but they actually hold little advantage there—too many animals can threaten them."

"Lions are social animals; a lone lion has no advantage whatsoever. On the savanna, only the few giant beasts truly roam alone without fear of any threat."

Qin Yun looked at the screen and smiled: "Lions are called kings of the savanna because they have no natural predators, because they hunt cooperatively in groups with stable social structures, and because their cubs have relatively higher survival rates—this lets lions maintain their dominance."

"A single lion truly has no advantage at all. On the savanna, carnivores almost always hunt in groups; solitary attacks don't work."

"No matter how strong your individual combat power, you can't match the strength of an elephant or a rhino."

After speaking, Qin Yun prepared to find a place to rest for the night. Although there were still several hours before dark, given Da Huang's condition, there was no need to continue pushing forward.

Not long after, he found a small granite hill hidden beneath two myrrh trees; the hill was massive, with a vertical height of at least eight meters, yet it had no natural crevices—it was one solid, unbroken slab of granite.

He used the leeward side of the rock to gather branches and construct a simple shelter, then reinforced its perimeter by piling up stones.

He took out the few remaining pieces of warthog meat from his pack and tossed them directly to Dahu; as for himself, he prepared to go hunting.

"This season is migration season, and this area isn't far from the Grumeti River—just a day or two's journey. Following the migration herd, there must be plenty of prey suitable for me."

After saying this to the camera, Qin Yun soothed Dahu and set off.

After walking about two kilometers, Qin Yun crouched before a patch of trampled dogtail grass; under the August sun, the grass blades were dry and yellow, and two slender hoof prints were clearly embedded in the loam.

The hoof prints had sharp toes, clustered together, with a depth of less than two fingers.

"Blackbuck, female, under 60 kg, passed within half an hour."

Qin Yun muttered to himself; as a legendary wilderness hunter, his eyes were terrifyingly sharp—he could easily distinguish all kinds of traces, trace their origins, and make precise judgments.

"Thomson's gazelle hoof prints are smaller, with no scratch marks at the tail; Grant's gazelle hoof prints are wider and deeper, but blackbuck hoof prints—because they live year-round at the boundary between riverine forest and savanna—even in the dry season, their toe tips still carry trace amounts of moist clay from the riverbank."

He pinched a bit of soil between his fingers, brought it to his nose, and memorized the scent. Immediately, Qin Yun followed the scent and hoof prints, weaving through low acacia thickets, heading toward his prey.

After walking a short distance, he pointed to several stripped acacia leaves: "Look—edges are neat; this is the mark of blackbuck incisors. And here—this pile of dung—definitely blackbuck."

He pried open the dung with a stick and plunged his finger directly into it.

Seeing this, the livestream viewers all displayed a (￣Д￣;) expression.

"Damn, Brother Qin, are you Arare?"

"666, your fingers are done for."

"Awesome, sticking your hand in shit—no wonder you're Brother Qin."

"Unbelievable, Qin, you're too wild."

"Terrifyingly powerful—who can stand against you?"

Qin Yun felt the internal temperature of the dung: "Still a trace of warmth—no more than fifteen minutes ago. Given the blackbuck's range, I'll find them soon, no doubt."

Saying this, he lowered his body, nearly hugging the ground, inching forward.

After advancing a few hundred meters, he suddenly stopped. His ears twitched slightly—beyond the faint rustling of grass, there was a distinct "shush-shush" sound: the unmistakable noise of animals chewing grass.

He looked up and saw three blackbuck, sixty meters ahead, grazing with their heads lowered beside a rock.

These blackbuck were medium-sized and all female. They fed on the ground grass, their coats glossy, their flesh tender.

Tender flesh?

Qin Yun wiped his drool: "If I had a bow, hunting would be much easier. But now, I can only hunt bare-handed. Brothers and sisters, Wish me success."

Saying this, he took off his drone, placed it on the ground, and aimed it forward to ensure viewers could see the hunt.

After this, he crawled on the ground, adjusted his posture, and slowly crept toward the blackbuck.

Luck favored him—he faced the blackbuck's rear ends, and the wind blew from them toward him, so he didn't have to worry about them suddenly catching his scent. Blackbuck have extremely sensitive noses; downwind, they can detect human scent easily at forty to fifty meters.

Soon, Qin Yun approached within thirty meters of the blackbuck and stopped.

Closer than that, he couldn't guarantee he wouldn't be spotted.

In terms of senses, humans are vastly inferior to animals—compared to them, humans are practically idiots. Humans have put all their stat points into intelligence; animals have put all theirs into their bodies.

Clutching the dagger tightly, Qin Yun prepared to throw.

But he didn't act immediately—he waited for the right moment.

Time ticked by; viewers in the livestream watched, breath held.

The opportunity came the instant the blackbuck turned and lowered its head to nibble on alfalfa—the one Qin Yun targeted bent its neck, shifted its center of gravity, and became utterly absorbed in the taste of its food.

Qin Yun's eyes flashed with cold light; without hesitation, his dagger vanished from his hand.

At thirty meters, the force launched it across the distance in an instant—target: the neck.

"Plos!"

On camera, his dagger pierced the blackbuck's neck cleanly; the searing pain and shock made it leap up in panic and bolt away.

Its movement terrified the other two blackbuck, who fled without hesitation.

Qin Yun didn't hesitate—he pushed off with his legs and shot forward like lightning, lunging at the wounded blackbuck.

At first, the blackbuck moved incredibly fast, escaping over ten meters in an instant—but then the wound in its neck took effect. It stumbled, then rolled headfirst forward.

Seeing this, Qin Yun rejoiced.

In one swift step, he lunged to the blackbuck's side, his right hand gripping its neck precisely, his left hand snatching the dagger and dragging it along the throat.

"Puff!"—a sharp, crisp sound rang out; the black gazelle convulsed, its struggling strength instantly weakening.

Qin Yun did not immediately release his grip; he maintained the pressing posture until the black gazelle lost all strength, then slowly let go. He patted the gazelle's body, gave a "Yay!" gesture toward the drone on the grass, and then grabbed one of its front hooves, dragging it back to the drone.

"Hahaha, went smoothly—today we've got a good meal!"

Back at the shelter, Da Huang lay quietly beside it, visibly weak to the naked eye.

"Mealtime, mealtime—Da Huang, it's time to eat!"

Qin Yun began processing the black gazelle's corpse. In less than half an hour, like a master butcher disassembling an ox, he dismantled the entire sixty-kilogram gazelle. Da Huang waited quietly beside him, showing no sign of excessive hunger.

"The heart, liver, kidneys, spleen—all still warm, high-quality protein. Da Huang is covered in wounds; this is exactly what it needs to recover."

Qin Yun placed these organs before Da Huang, then patted its head: "Eat."

Da Huang rubbed against his hand, snatched up the heart in one bite, and swallowed it without even chewing twice.