Chapter 61: Discovered a River

Early the next morning, Qin Yun checked his follower count and found it had surpassed 700,000, racing toward a million.

During yesterday's livestream, viewership had stabilized at twenty thousand—a truly impressive number. Many big streamers with millions of followers don't even get that many.

"It seems Douyin's current trend is still livestreaming. Posting videos alone makes it genuinely hard to rapidly gain followers—you need perfect timing, favorable conditions, and human support. I've only livestreamed for three or four days, yet gained fifty thousand followers. If I do this a few more times, tens of millions might not be out of reach."

Qin Yun stroked his chin, thought for a moment, then opened his livestream.

Soon, viewer count surged "kuang kuang," reaching over a thousand in under a few minutes.

"Good morning, Brother Qin."

"Brother Qin's rock-climbing video is insane—absolute god among gods."

"Good morning, Brother Qin."

"The streamer looks energetic."

Qin Yun smiled and said: "Good morning, everyone. I'm Qin Yun, currently a temporary wilderness survivor, aiming to find signs of human presence within five days—Survival succeeded. Today is day four."

"Yesterday was dangerous but ultimately uneventful—I made it through safely, found a shelter, ate a hearty dinner, and slept without disturbance. I feel revitalized; even two wolves couldn't stop me."

"Now, I need to handle my personal hygiene—I haven't bathed in four days. You can't smell it, but I'm about to throw up."

Saying this, Qin Yun walked to the stream and began undressing; soon he wore only his underwear. But to avoid disrupting the livestream, he exposed only his upper body to the camera.

Even so, viewers erupted in howls.

"Damn, you just stripped outta nowhere—no warning at all, totally caught me off guard."

"Streamer's finally starting to edge—it's making me cry."

"Wilderness streamer Brother Qin, desperate for views, resorts to pornography."

"Streamer's physique is amazing—perfect muscle definition."

"I'm drooling. I think I'm wet."

"Damn, look at Brother Qin's abs—then look at my belly fat—I got so mad I ate three bowls of noodles."

"Is Douyin this open now? Bare skin is allowed?"

"It's not like he's showing his lower half—exposing the upper body's nothing. Look at those edge-streamers—they'd split their ass cheeks open for you."

"The guy above is too crude, but he's right—I'm an edge-streamer. If the platform didn't ban it, I'd go naked. Come to my livestream."

"Don't believe the guy above—I checked. He's a dirty-footed big guy."

Qin Yun scrubbed his body with cold water while watching comments. He chuckled: "Don't go wild and get the moderators here—if my stream gets banned, I'm not responsible. But just in case, I'll keep reducing risks."

The livestream angle shifted upward to just above his chest, hiding even his abs.

Some female viewers expressed disappointment.

Qin Yun quickly washed himself, dressed swiftly, then brushed his teeth, washed his face, and shampooed his hair.

The stone pot from yesterday was empty, so naturally there was no breakfast—he could only pick wild berries and herbs on the spot to satisfy his hunger.

He packed his gear and prepared to continue walking.

"According to my estimate, I'm not far from Inner Mongolia—but whether that's true, I don't know. I'll just keep heading north. Alright, let's go."

Honestly, Qin Yun couldn't be sure he'd find human traces within five days, but it didn't matter—as long as he didn't encounter dangerous large predators, he felt more than capable. Besides, in the wilderness he felt a sense of freedom he genuinely enjoyed.

After walking over four more hours, nearing noon, Qin Yun's eyes lit up and he broke into a sprint.

"Ooh, streamer found another treasure? Look at that little expression."

"Today's been calm—bad review."

"Streamer's been eating a few wild berries since morning—probably digested yesterday's pheasant already."

Qin Yun reached the small trees and laughed: "Look what I found! I've been wondering why I hadn't seen it in three or four days—turns out it's only here now."

"Laugh all you want, just spit it out already!"

"Tell us! Tell us!"

Qin Yun plucked a nut, tore open the leaves, revealing the fruit inside: "This is a hazelnut tree. Its fruit—hazelnuts—you've all heard of them. They're one of the world's four major nuts."

"Hazelnuts? Holy shit, these are hazelnuts?"

"Actually, they do look like hazelnuts—but wild ones. Probably taste awful."

"And judging by these trees, they're probably not ripe yet."

"Who cares if they're ripe? Doesn't this mean the streamer's full now?"

Seeing this comment, Qin Yun froze in stunned silence.

"Bro, you're happy I'm starving?"

"Hahaha, Brother Qin's expression is adorable."

"I just wanted to see the streamer eat bugs. Now that he's got nuts, he won't eat bugs anymore."

Qin Yun sighed: "What kind of people are you? Can't you just wish me well?"

He peeled off the outer green husk, crushed the hard shell with his fingers, popped the white kernel into his mouth, and crunched it loudly—"ka-chi, ka-chi."

As he ate, he gave a satisfied thumbs-up: "Excellent—sweet, crisp, and delicious. Fully ripe."

Standing beneath the tree, he became a squirrel, plucking one nut and eating it immediately, continuing for over twenty minutes before stopping.

But he didn't leave the remaining hazelnuts—he stuffed a whole pile into his backpack.

"Uh…" He burped, savoring the lingering flavor. "Heh, with these nuts, even if I don't hunt for food these two days, I won't starve. Hazelnuts are highly nutritious and taste great."

After packing everything, he continued forward.

"So far, I've followed the stream's path. But after walking so long, it hasn't widened at all—still, no need to rush. Water flows downhill, so this stream must lead to a river. I just need to keep walking."

"Honestly, watching my livestream makes wilderness survival seem easy—but when you're alone, your greatest enemy isn't external threats, but loneliness. I act unfazed mainly because you're all here with me. With someone to talk to, I never feel lonely."

"But if you're alone in the wild for long without conversation, overcoming negative emotions from hormonal shifts becomes critical. I'm sure everyone's read Robinson Crusoe—without Friday, would Robinson have survived? After all, humans are fundamentally social creatures."

After another two hours of walking, Qin Yun's ears twitched slightly. He spoke to the drone: "Friends, I think I hear running water. Maybe we can adjust our approach from here on."

He walked quickly toward the sound. After about ten minutes, a widening river appeared in his view—the front section was one man wide, then gradually expanded to two men wide. He pressed forward; the channel grew wider, the current faster.

Looking at the river, Qin Yun rubbed his chin, his expression thoughtful.

He glanced around again and said, "I need to keep moving forward. If it's suitable, we can take the water route—after all, traveling through mountains and forests is certainly slower than water, but water routes carry a huge risk: we might encounter cliffs with extreme elevation drops. Put simply, I suspect this river ends in a waterfall."

"Oh oh, Qin Ye, are you going to take the water route by swimming?"

"Indeed, traveling by water is much faster than through the mountains and forests."

"But if we find signs of humans today, won't the livestream just end completely? No way…"

"Host, just stick to the mountain path—I don't mind."

Qin Yun walked a little further ahead, then left the river behind.

"If we're going to take the water route, we first need to build a raft. Swimming alone is definitely impossible."

"In the Greater Khingan Range, wood lies everywhere on the ground, but these dead logs must be assessed for suitability. The best would be larch, but without tools, I can't use it. So I'll settle for the next best option: this birch wood."

"Look at the thickness and length—I don't even need to process them. I can use them as-is. I just need to find two or three of the right size, then bind them together with vines."

"After all, my goal isn't to play around—I just need them to carry me downstream. No need for anything fancy, just functional."

Then Qin Yun selected three birch logs from among the trees, dragged them to the riverbank, lined them up side by side, and found three slightly thinner branches to lay across them, divided into three sections.

"My country has countless types of knots—if you're interested, look them up. Here, I'm using the cross-lash method. Very simple, and very secure."

He wove the vines back and forth; in no time, one end of the raft was secured.

"666, learned something new again."

"Qin Ye's tutorial? Absolutely unbeatable."

"Respect for the host's knowledge—you know everything."

"Cool—sending the host a like."

Qin Yun looked at the comments, then used the same method to secure the other two cross-branches. But that wasn't enough—he still had to wrap the three bottom birch logs together, so they wouldn't come apart if jolted by the current.

He clapped his hands and smiled at the raft on the ground. "Done. Now I'll test whether this raft can float. I don't ask for much—just enough to carry me."

Saying that, he grabbed one end of the raft and dragged it toward the river.

When the raft fully entered the water, he picked up a stick, leapt lightly, and stood directly atop the raft. Fortunately, the current here wasn't strong; he swayed slightly at first, then stabilized his balance.

He carefully observed the raft's condition and saw it sank only slightly before stopping—his relief settled in.

But he didn't act immediately. He waited a while. When several minutes passed and the raft still floated on the surface, he smiled with delight and waved at the camera.

"Friends, success! I've decided to name it—Titanic."

"Puh—Host, that name's unlucky."

"Host's getting arrogant. I'd suggest naming it 'Sinking Qin.'"

"Wish Qin Ye hits Bingshan."

Qin Yun pushed the stick slightly beneath the water—the raft immediately began moving, drifting slowly along the river's flow.

"Departure, Titanic."