Chapter 295: Grumeti River

Seeing Da Huang start to eat, Qin Yun began building a fire.

"This is the gluteus maximus of the blackbuck—the fattest meat, with even fat distribution, perfect for storage; I plan to preserve it as rations. Today we'll eat the rib and chest meat and the spinal loin—these cuts are tenderest, best for immediate consumption, not for keeping."

Saying this, he sliced another strip of shoulder meat from the front leg and placed it before Da Huang.

"Qin Ye, how much does a lion eat in one meal?"

"A lion that big? This one blackbuck isn't enough to feed him."

"Even if I tried to raise one, I couldn't afford it—I can't even feed myself, this useless lump."

Seeing the comments, Qin Yun grilled the loin while saying: "An adult male lion needs about eight kilograms of fresh meat daily, but can eat over twenty kilograms in one sitting, then go three to five days without hunting."

After speaking, he pointed at the blackbuck meat and shook his head: "A sixty-kilogram blackbuck yields only about half its weight in net meat. After accounting for my share and rations for the next two days, there's barely enough for Da Huang's single meal."

"Da Huang did a great job this time—I won't be stingy. I'll let him eat his fill. Besides, he's injured; he needs proper nutrition."

The loin meat grilled quickly, and soon the air filled with aroma.

Qin Yun didn't care about the heat—he swallowed it in three quick bites. Thus, on this vast, endless grassland, a human and a lion shared the blackbuck, the scene remarkably harmonious.

"Damn, even a lion raised from puppyhood isn't as docile as Da Huang?"

"Impossible. Lions are wild by nature."

"Then what's going on with Qin Ye? Da Huang was just encountered a few days ago."

"Could Da Huang see Qin Yun as the alpha? Wait, no—the lion king."

"Possible."

"The grassland follows survival of the fittest. Qin Ye is strong enough—Da Huang has seen it, and knows his place."

Not only were netizens puzzled; Qin Yun himself felt surprised.

Mainly because Da Huang behaved too intelligently. Even if Qin Yun had intimidated him with force, the beast's demeanor didn't resemble a submissive wild animal. That kind of interactive, command-understanding intelligence wasn't something an ordinary lion could achieve.

But he could only attribute it to a genetic mutation in Da Huang.

Isn't that a good thing!

One devoured the meat with blood dripping, brimming with primal flavor; the other gorged with grease dripping from his mouth, like a glutton. This simple scene—from Qin Yun butchering the blackbuck onward—never stopped flooding the livestream with gifts. Roughly estimated, in just one hour, Qin Yun's share from gifts alone reached over a million.

This ability to draw in money made every self-media blogger's eyes turn green.

Everyone wanted to be Qin Ye, but there was only one Qin Ye. To reach Qin Yun's level, it seemed nearly impossible.

"Since I started following Qin Ye last year, I did a quick tally of his skill list—it's terrifyingly extensive."

"No need to tally—I can list them off easily. This isn't something an ordinary person could do."

"Maybe he's just a genius. As Professor Qian said, there are fifteen-year-olds who still don't know calculus. I'm twenty-three, about to graduate college, and still don't."

"Hahaha, sometimes the gap between people is bigger than the gap between a person and a dog."

"True, but Qin Ye is just insane. Most people use all their energy just learning one language, yet he masters at least five languages, plus plays countless instruments. I asked around—his musical skill is extremely high. Not to mention, his body is inhuman—damn..."

"Stop. If you keep going, Qin Ye will seem like a different species."

Qin Yun stared at the comment section, a vein throbbing on his temple.

"Come on, you guys are overdoing it. I've lived thirty years, read books daily, do push-ups, know a few languages and instruments, and happen to be in decent shape—what's so special? I know a friend who's even better than me."

Hearing this, netizens perked up—someone better than Qin Ye? They had to know.

"Who? Tell us fast."

"Curious—is there someone even stronger than you?"

"I know there's always someone greater, but you're not even human."

Qin Yun swallowed the meat in his mouth and said seriously: "Three years ago, my friend was a cubicle drone. Then he decided to change—he did exactly one hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, one hundred squats, and ran ten kilometers every day, ate regular meals, never used air conditioning in summer or winter, honing his willpower. Now, three years later, he can punch me to death with one hit."

"Pfft... damn, I was actually listening."

"Holy shit, that sounds familiar."

"Qin Ye, is your friend named Saitama?"

"I thought so—he doesn't just kill you with one punch, he could blow up the moon."

"Damn, that's insane."

Qin Yun burst into laughter, his spirits soaring.

As they chatted and joked, night gradually fell. With Da Huang around, he didn't worry about nocturnal predators. The only real threat was hyenas—dead enemies—but after the afternoon's massacre, the scent of hyena corpses nearby would surely scare off the pack.

Beyond that, Qin Yun had no reason to fear any other animal daring to attack them.

Still, to be safe, he lit several fires around the rocks. Though fires could attract predators at night—like leopards, who weren't afraid of fire at all.

After finishing all preparations, Qin Yun leaned against the rock, Da Huang lying beside him, idly chatting with livestream fans.

…

After climbing the final ridge, Qin Yun stopped.

One man and one lion stood atop a river terrace several meters above the waterline, and before them, the entire Grumeti River valley lay bare and visible.

In August's dry season, this was the lifeline bottleneck—of the Serengeti's western corridor.

The once monotonous, withered yellow grassland here transformed utterly.

Murky water wound across, narrow in width but bottomless; from time to time, Nile crocodiles surfaced like black reefs, their eyes terrifying to behold.

The acacias and shrubs along both banks were lush and green, a stark contrast to the scorched wasteland they'd crossed—here, life teemed.

But all that was minor. What truly stunned Qin Yun was the overwhelming "beast tide."

Along the way, he'd seen herds of wildebeest, zebras, gazelles—but this sight stretched from the riverbank to the distant horizon, countless wildebeest, zebras, gazelles, and blackbuck packed so tightly they formed an unbroken sea, stretching beyond sight.

Roars, trampling, churning water—all merged into a thunderous roar, as if the heavens and earth trembled.

"Damn, if the Grumeti River looks like this, what's the Mara River like?"

"Life. This is life."

"Amazing!"

"Shocking, truly shocking."

Herds upon herds of wildebeests charged recklessly into the water; on the banks, hyenas wandered in small groups, searching for injured, isolated, old, or weak prey; Hu Lang huddled in the shrubbery, waiting to scavenge; a pride of lions lay lazily, their thick manes stirring slightly in the wind; high above, flocks of vultures darkened the sky, circling as they waited for death to appear on the ground.

"Truly shocking," Qin Yun exhaled a puff of stale air. "No gentle scenery here—only the most primal, brutal, and grandest cycle of the wild. The path to life is here, the path to death is here—it's literally a meat grinder."

In just that short while, countless wildebeests, zebras, and gazelles had lost their lives—dragged away by Nile crocodiles or torn apart by hyenas—but none of this could stop the migration herd from crossing the river.

"Qin Ye, since this is a river, will they stay here?"

Qin Yun shook his head: "No. Except for a few that remain, the rest will most certainly continue northward, straight toward the Mara River, eventually entering Kenya's Maasai Mara Grassland, because this place cannot sustain so many. The Grumeti River is the first life-or-death barrier of the migration, while the Mara River is the second—and the most perilous—thus it's called the Passage to Heaven."

As he spoke, his gaze fell upon the lion pride on the riverbank. The male lion's eyes had already swept over them, spotting him and Dahuang—but since they were on opposite banks, there was no cause for concern.

"Friends, after five days of trekking, I've finally reached the Western Corridor. From here, I'll set out along the Grumeti River toward the Mara River border. The entire journey is no farther than the previous two segments—I estimate it'll still take about four or five days."

"Don't be fooled by all this lush greenery and vibrant life—just twenty or so kilometers northeast, you'll hit another hundred kilometers of barren, yellowish savanna."

………………

Brothers, see the update button below? Could you please click it for me? Thank you!