Chapter 296

At this moment, time neared evening, and the sunset was beautiful.

Beyond the Grumeti River, there were not only animals, but also humans.

After circling the Grumeti River, Qin Yun walked a short distance and spotted signs of humans: several SUVs, a dozen white tourists raising cameras and excitedly photographing animals in the distance, while a black guide with a rifle scanned the surroundings with wary eyes.

When they saw a man and a lion appear in their field of view, the gun barrels immediately lifted slightly, their gazes scrutinizing him.

And some of the tourists had also noticed him.

One young man suddenly screamed: "OMG, Qin, it's Qin, OMG, fuck!"

Hearing his voice, the others instantly turned their heads; most were young, only one or two elderly. Seeing a man and a lion appear over a hundred meters away, they immediately recognized his identity.

To date, Qin Yun's live broadcast in the African savanna has lasted exactly ten days, and its popularity, both domestically and internationally, has become a full-blown phenomenon.

Anyone who enjoys live streams or follows wilderness survival knows Qin Yun is currently broadcasting in the African savanna, and knows he has an adult male lion beside him.

At this very moment, seeing him, how could they not know it was Qin Yun!

Watching these people wave at him, Qin Yun calmly waved back and said into the camera: "There's signal here, but only in this area—beyond this, there's absolutely no signal."

"Qin, can we take a photo with you?"

A tourist called out from afar.

Qin Yun did not agree; he shouted in English: "Sorry, I have to keep moving."

After saying this, he pointed at the lion beside him, glanced at the Black guide, and added, "Besides, for safety reasons, your guides and security personnel wouldn't let me get close either."

The tourist immediately asked the guide, and as expected, the black guide flatly refused.

Although the lion appeared tame, wild animals in the savanna are full of instinct—any moment of carelessness could lead to tragedy; he still had to work to support his family and could not afford to lose his job.

Seeing they could not persuade the guide or security personnel, the tourists were disappointed, helplessly watching Qin Yun disappear from their sight as he continued northward.

Once the Grumeti River, the tourists, and the large herds of wildlife were completely out of sight, Qin Yun saw a range of hills covered in sparse woodland—still acacia trees.

Under the camera, the hills had an extremely gentle slope; besides acacia trees, tall grasses were abundant. Qin Yun selected a sheltered depression on the slope, built an A-frame shelter, and prepared to spend the night there.

"Because of humans, the carnivores in this area keep their distance—they're extremely sensitive to the smell of gunpowder and know it's a weapon that can easily take their lives. So carnivores here rarely attack humans, unless it's someone alone like me."

Hearing Qin Yun say this, the viewers fell silent.

One night passed without incident; the next day, Qin Yun continued forward with Dahuang.

After walking about twenty kilometers, the once lush trees and vegetation suddenly turned charred brown; sparse acacias stood crooked and twisted, their bark gray and cracked, and several riverbeds lay completely dry and barren.

The ground began to show cracked, turtle-shell patterns; the horror of the dry season surged back into view, and even the air seemed to grow restless.

Even from such a distance, Qin Yun could feel vibrations through the ground—the resonance of the migrating herds trampling across the earth. Though his destination lay along the same path as the migrating herds, he still avoided the main group as much as possible.

The danger of traveling alone was far less than traveling with the herd.

Individual zebras, wildebeests, and gazelles posed little threat, but when their numbers swelled, everything changed—if he got too close and the herd suddenly changed direction, he would be crushed into pulp without effort.

"Holy shit, what's this? Isn't this extinct?"

When Qin Yun's gaze fell upon a small tree with a twisted trunk, his eyes nearly popped out.

Hearing Qin Yun's shock, netizens flooded with curiosity.

"What's that?"

"If it shocks Qin Ye, I'm instantly interested."

"It's just a tree—Qin Ye's overreacting again."

Qin Yun quickly approached; the tree's trunk twisted and coiled, its ridges protruding, grooves deep, resembling a coiled dragon.

He examined it closely and confirmed his thoughts immediately.

"Damn, this is a Dragonbone Jin Hehuan—and it's a thousand years old. This is insane; I remember this species was declared extinct, yet it still exists out here."

Qin Yun marveled.

"Look—the Dragonbone Jin Hehuan has a tiny canopy, unlike ordinary acacias that spread freely; it only clusters tightly into a compact little umbrella at the top. And its leaves are ink-blue, extremely hard like iron, with edges sharp as blades."

He caressed the Dragonbone Jin Hehuan, reluctant to let go.

"A thousand years? Really?"

"Where in the savanna could there be a thousand-year tree? Qin Ye must be mistaken."

Qin Yun shook his head: "No mistake—I trust my expertise. This is a thousand-year Dragonbone Jin Hehuan. I'll prove it to you."

Saying this, he plucked a single iron leaf and used it to cut at his water bottle.

"Sssssss—!"

The metal bottle emitted a piercing sound; Qin Yun held it up to the camera, and viewers immediately saw a deep scratch on its surface.

"Holy shit, the leaf made that cut? How hard is it?"

"666, awesome."

"The world is vast—anything is possible."

"Unbelievable!"

"Damn, seriously."

Qin Yun tucked the leaf away, thought for a moment, then plucked a few more.

"This is a treasure, priceless. I don't know how many remain in the Serengeti, but since it's rumored extinct, there must be very few—I hope the Tanzanian authorities will protect it."

After saying this, he took several selfies with the thousand-year Dragonbone Jin Hehuan.

Seeing Qin Yun treat it with such reverence, the viewers finally took it seriously.

After taking photos, Qin Yun walked for over an hour; near eleven o'clock, he suddenly heard the sound of rushing water. Following the sound, he crept cautiously forward, and soon spotted a river ten meters wide.

He lay down; the drone's lens zoomed in, revealing numerous animals drinking at the bank—no carnivores in sight.

But that wasn't his focus.

As the drone's lens pushed forward, viewers in the livestream soon saw massive shapes within the river.

"Holy shit—it's hippos."

"Hippos, elephants, rhinos — the largest beasts in Africa, and Lord Qin has run into all of them."

"Didn't we run into a hippo last time?"

"Last time Lord Qin said hippos have terrible tempers, a crazy sense of territory, and are fiercer than the Five Beasts."

Qin Yun looked at the picture on the display screen and said softly, "This stretch of river has over a dozen hippos. They're the largest land mammals after elephants, and they're vicious-tempered. Don't be fooled by those herbivores drinking water peacefully now — once any carnivore comes close, they'll definitely attack."

"If I go down there, I'll probably be treated as an intruder too."

"Just recently, a tragedy happened in Tanzania. Some tourist got out of the vehicle on his own and accidentally rolled into the river — and wouldn't you know it, that river was the territory of several hippos. He was bitten to pieces on the spot. Horrible way to die."

"Of course!" Qin Yun liked to throw in a twist when he spoke these days. "That's other people. I, Qin, am not actually afraid of hippos, but there's no need to provoke them either."

After slowly backing up a few steps, Qin Yun stood up, patted Da Huang, changed direction, and planned to go around this river.

However, less than half an hour later, the man and the lion stopped.

Da Huang's mane stood on end, a low growl rumbled from his throat, and he stared fixedly ahead.

And there, a small lion pride was walking toward them — one male lion, three lionesses, and two cubs.

Clearly, they had also spotted Qin Yun and Da Huang.

Both sides stopped, each letting out threatening, warning sounds.

Qin Yun narrowed his eyes and said lightly, "I hope this pride doesn't attack me, or else these few lionesses and cubs are going to lose their lion king."