Chapter 56: Alone Against Two Wolves

"Aow——w——!"

A howl of a wolf instantly sent the livestream chat into a frenzy; everyone grew excited.

Tension, excitement—every kind of emotion poured out through the text.

Qin Yun narrowed his eyes slightly, swallowed the rabbit meat in his mouth, and said in a low voice, "Did you hear that? A wolf's howl. Good luck—there are no other howls rising and falling around it, which means this is a lone wolf."

"Good luck? Has the streamer lost his mind?"

"It's over, it's over, the streamer's scared silly."

"That's a wolf, not a dog, buddy. Xia Xingxing."

Qin Yun took another bite of rabbit meat, glanced at the comments, and smiled. "A lone wolf—there are only two possibilities. One, a former wolf king was defeated by a new wolf king, so it left the pack. Two, it was injured and couldn't keep up, so the pack abandoned it. Either way, it's actually good news for me—at least I won't have to face a whole pack."

Watching Qin Yun's utterly calm manner, which didn't seem put on, the audience was visibly astonished.

"The streamer is really calm. If it were me, I'd have peed myself."

"Streamer, did it come following the smell?"

Qin Yun didn't leave the cave to investigate; he kept gnawing on the rabbit meat. "No rush, we're safe. Have you forgotten where we are? A cave this open for so long—the giant python's shed skin lying here isn't just for show. Even if you lent that wolf ten guts, it still wouldn't dare barge in."

"Even if it followed the blood scent, the moment it picks up the aura inside here, it'll turn tail and run."

Qin Yun ate bite after bite, took a sip of water when thirsty, and before long an entire plump rabbit had filled his belly.

And in that short span, wolf howls rose one after another; judging by the volume, they were clearly drawing closer.

"Something's off about this wolf. A normal wolf out hunting would never keep howling like that—it does nothing but alert the prey, the only use is intimidation."

Qin Yun added two more sticks of firewood, then powered the secondary camera back on. Once it linked to the main unit, he sent the drone flying out.

The wilderness was pitch black. In night-vision mode, the world was only black and white. Soon, he spotted his target through the drone—over two hundred meters from the cave, a lone wolf limping along.

"Scared me half to death—this wolf's eyes are glowing, just looking at them gives me the creeps."

"Upstairs, it's night-vision mode, of course the eyes look like that. But this wolf is pretty big, way bigger than an ordinary wolfhound."

"It really is injured—the streamer called it."

Qin Yun sized up the lone wolf's build and said, "This lone wolf is most likely a loser in the wolf-king contest—should be the old wolf king. If it were the challenger, it would never have survived."

"How does the streamer know?"

"How could you possibly tell that?"

Qin Yun explained, "In a wolf-king contest, if the challenger initiates the challenge and fails, the pack will almost certainly tear it apart. But it's different for the old wolf king—even if defeated, there's a good chance it gets to leave."

As his words fell, his expression suddenly changed. He immediately steered the drone to scout behind the lone wolf and instantly spotted two more wolf shadows.

"Friends, looks like I guessed wrong. This lone wolf isn't coming for me—it's fleeing for its life. The new wolf king plays dirty; it sent two wolves to hunt down the old wolf king. The old wolf king knows that, badly wounded as it is, it absolutely can't survive, so it has to find somewhere that can shelter it. This cave with the snake shed is its target."

After speaking, Qin Yun stood up, took his stone knife, grabbed his bow and arrows, and headed outside.

"Holy crap, streamer, what are you doing?"

"The streamer's gone mad, doesn't value his life. With three wolves in front and behind, once it draws the pack, death is certain."

Qin Yun said calmly, "This cave is a good spot. I absolutely can't give it up—otherwise, out here in the freezing cold of night, I'll easily fall ill. So the only option is to drive these three wolves off."

He said it lightly, but the livestream audience was dumbfounded. Good lord, brother, you're really going through with it—truly unafraid of death, huh.

But it was precisely that calm composure of his that triggered wave after wave of gifts.

He emerged from the cave but didn't send the drone out right away; for now he still needed the drone's feed to track those three wolves.

After jogging forward a short distance, he quickly scrambled up a big tree, leaned against a branch, and loosely nocked an arrow on the bowstring.

"Honestly, if I just hid inside the cave, normally there shouldn't be a problem. But this lone wolf, desperate to survive, has thrown all caution to the wind. If it gets into the cave and clashes with me, and the pack finds out, the pack will surely learn how dangerous this cave is. So, to keep the cave, I absolutely cannot let this lone wolf inside. The best option is to take it out with an arrow one step ahead."

As Qin Yun spoke, his tone was utterly calm, as if he were describing something ordinary.

But to the livestream viewers, it sounded incredibly cool.

"The streamer is so cool, kill it!"

"I want to see the streamer take down the wolf in one shot—I've already got my screen recorder ready."

Qin Yun checked the secondary camera's view and realized that, at the lone wolf's pace, the two wolves chasing behind most likely couldn't catch up. If the lone wolf burst into the cave, the consequences would be unthinkable.

He frowned, suddenly climbed down from the tree, and charged straight toward the lone wolf's direction.

About a hundred meters from the cave, he picked a big tree, scrambled up it with a couple of quick scrabbling sounds, then nocked his bow and lay in ambush.

At this moment, dozens of meters behind the massive lone wolf, two slightly smaller gray wolves weren't rushing in for the kill but following unhurriedly. They looked like the aggressors, but in truth they were the ones being driven.

Though the old wolf king had been defeated, its lingering prestige still held, which frightened the two gray wolves and bought the old wolf king considerable time.

Over that short few hundred meters, the livestream viewers watched the old wolf king stumbling along. Though its wounds weren't visible, the faltering gait alone made it clear the old wolf king was seriously hurt.

Just then, however, Qin Yun suddenly sensed something was off. He studied the drone feed carefully, and indeed it matched his guess exactly.

"Friends, I have to change my target—this is actually a pregnant she-wolf. I was puzzled at first; I didn't expect it really was a she-wolf, not a male. That's extremely rare in a wolf pack. You know, she-wolves are usually much smaller than males, but this one is an exception."

Qin Yun lowered his bow, somewhat helpless.

A pregnant creature, no matter what kind of being, deserves natural protection—wolves are no exception. He couldn't bring himself to shoot and kill this wolf at a time like this.

"A pregnant she-wolf? That tragic? Then what does the streamer do? He can't just face those two wolves, right?"

"I actually think, compared to the danger to himself, it's better to kill the she-wolf. Once she's dead, those two wolves will definitely flee."

Qin Yun glanced at the comments, didn't reject the idea, but said, "I still have strength to spare, so I'm going to give it a try."

With that, his expression grew extremely serious. He sent the drone aloft, locked on from afar through the air, then slid straight down from the tree.

Then he charged straight toward where the three wolves were, running as he spoke: "A wolf's sense of smell is extraordinarily keen—a hundred times that of a human. Setting aside the wounded lone wolf, the two wolves chasing behind it have definitely already caught my scent. So since I can't shoot the old wolf king, I might as well face them head-on."

"Holy crap, the streamer is really brave. I kinda don't dare to watch."

"666, streamer, who gave you that courage—Liang Jingru?"

"Way too fierce. If it were me, my legs would be jelly."

"Aow——w——"

Perhaps sensing Qin Yun's movement, the old wolf king let out a roar—but no matter how you heard it, there was a note of despair in that sound.

Very soon, Qin Yun's figure appeared in the old Wolf King's line of sight. She instantly dropped to the ground, bared her fangs, and glared viciously at this uninvited guest. A low growl clearly carried into the livestream.

This time Qin Yun clearly saw that this Wolf King was indeed a she-wolf. A she-wolf of such a large build was truly rare — it was probably a genetic mutation.

However, the sag of her belly made the old Wolf King stagger terribly with every step. No wonder a new Wolf King had come to challenge her — truly shameless and unsportsmanlike.

Afterwards, she even sent her subordinates to hunt down the old Wolf King — even more shameless.

Qin Yun dodged to the side, not charging straight at the old Wolf King, afraid of causing a misunderstanding. Instead, he circled around to one flank, then suddenly accelerated and let out a fierce roar at the two gray wolves in the distance.

"Aooo—!"

Those two gray wolves had already been on guard. Suddenly hearing a roar unlike any animal's, they were startled at once and immediately assumed pouncing postures, fangs bared, eyes extremely vicious.

Qin Yun paid no heed. As he closed in, when the distance reached about twenty meters, he drew his bow without the slightest hesitation. With a 'whoosh', an arrow sliced through the darkness, shooting straight toward the left gray wolf's eye.

An animal's reflexes far surpass a human's. Facing this sudden arrow, the gray wolf that sensed the danger swiftly retreated, then immediately lunged at Qin Yun. At the same time, the gray wolf on the right also bared its fangs and pounced at him.

One in front, one behind — almost simultaneously.

On camera, in the black-and-white frame, two gray wolf figures in front and a human figure behind were rapidly closing in. The tension of this shot was stretched to the absolute limit, moving countless viewers.

Against the wild boar, Qin Yun had fled in a sorry state, but these mere two gray wolves — only slightly larger than wolfhounds — posed him absolutely no psychological pressure.

At the instant of closing in, his left foot stomped hard on the ground and kicked upward. In a flash, dust and leaves flew into the air, obscuring the two gray wolves' vision. At the same time, Qin Yun's right hand gripped the arrow and thrust forward sharply. A 'thwack' was heard — with his full force, this wooden arrow drove straight into the gray wolf's throat.

Before the gray wolf could let out a wail, Qin Yun shifted his stance and paused, leaning his whole body back. Dodging the right gray wolf's pounce, his right leg kicked viciously into the wolf's kidney.

As the saying goes, "copper head, iron tail, tofu waist" — that describes the traits of canines, and wolves are no exception.

With this kick, the gray wolf immediately let out an "ow-ow—" and its body flew out like a torn sack, slamming heavily into a large tree.

This whole sequence was swift as a rabbit's leap and a magpie's rise. The livestream viewers barely saw Qin Yun and the two gray wolves make contact before victory and defeat had already been decided.

The gray wolf on the left lay on the ground, twitching ceaselessly. The gray wolf in the distance was pinned against the tree, not making the slightest sound.

"Holy shit… what did I just see?"

"Streamer… streamer, that's way too cool…"

"Mighty! Streamer for me — Mighty Qin!"

"Qin is badass, that move was way too cool, decided the fight in one second."

"Badass, Qin is badass."

"Owooo— owoo—"

Just then, a whimpering, wailing kind of howl came from behind Qin Yun. He turned to look and saw that the old Wolf King had actually followed him too. Seeing the two gray wolves fall, she slowly prostrated herself on the ground.

Qin Yun was stunned. What this meant — how could he not know? This old Wolf King had actually chosen to submit to him.

But he paid no heed, swiftly picked up the two wolf corpses and threw them as far as possible. When he finished dealing with them, four wolf canine teeth had been added to his pocket. He came back and found that this lone wolf had actually fainted.

He brought the drone down, aimed it at the unconscious lone wolf, and said: "Friends, this she-wolf is indeed pregnant, but it looks like she's lost too much blood and fainted. What do you think — should I save her or not?"

"I think we'd better not save her, it's too dangerous."

"What's there to be afraid of? Qin is that badass."

"Save her — maybe Qin can raise a few wolf cubs, hahaha."

Qin Yun shook his head, puzzled: "Why do you all keep calling me 'Qin Ye'?"

"Hahaha, the streamer is that badass, he totally deserves the title 'Qin Ye'."

"Mighty Qin Ye."

Qin Yun looked at the explanations flooding the comment section, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

He turned his gaze back to the she-wolf, thought briefly: "I'll save her on a trial basis, but I can only treat her wounds a little — the rest is beyond my control."

As for bringing this she-wolf back to the cave, Qin Yun hadn't even considered it. If she were eaten in the middle of the night, that was entirely possible — he wasn't brain-dead.