Chapter 315

“Roar! Roar!”

That Arctic ground squirrel was merely a small detour on their journey.

Afterward, Xiao Yi and his group continued toward the original den of Xiong Zai.

Only the beaten lynx seemed unenthusiastic about the journey ahead, but both bears were now somewhat excited.

At this moment, Xiao Yi paid no attention to the three creatures’ behavior; instead, he began scanning his surroundings.

Since arriving in this wilderness, this was the first time Xiao Yi viewed his environment with such a relaxed, quiet, even detached mindset.

Undeniably, viewing the same scenery with a different mindset brought Xiao Yi entirely different feedback.

Soon after, both bears finally slowed to a stop, and a cave with its outer rim charred black appeared directly before Xiao Yi’s eyes.

Seeing this, Xiao Yi couldn’t help but smile—this cave’s scorch marks were his own doing from long ago.

“Roar! Roar!”

Both bears eagerly sprinted toward the cave, and Xiao Yi also stepped down from the sled to go take a look.

Undeniably, Xiong Zai’s den was far more spacious than Hei Hei’s, and its ventilation was exceptionally good.

Still, though Xiong Zai’s den overall looked quite nice, a sunken, uneven corner in one area did mar its overall beauty.

Of course, that uneven spot was Xiao Yi’s doing—but seeing it, he felt no embarrassment.

After all, Xiong Zai had eaten his food for so long without feeling any shame.

In fact, if Xiao Yi hadn’t built the stove-and-log cabin, he could have easily lived well in this very den.

But then he would truly have become the man who stole a bear’s den.

Yet what puzzled Xiao Yi was that, despite how good this den was, no other large animal had taken it over during this time.

After all, Xiong Zai had followed him for dozens of days; the black bear’s scent inside the den had long since vanished completely.

But Xiao Yi said nothing more—he walked over and patted the heads of both bears.

“Alright, you’ve made it home. I’m leaving now. You two bastards may be a bit slow sometimes, but you’re also pretty lovable and useful. These wolves are left for you as winter food—eat up and hibernate!”

Xiao Yi spoke with great nonchalance, though it was untrue to say he felt no attachment at all—he’d spent too much time with these two bears.

But Xiao Yi had already experienced the sorrow of Huang Mao’s departure once before.

And personally, Xiao Yi hated this kind of parting, this kind of sadness.

So this time, he made every effort to appear even more nonchalant.

“Roar! Roar!”

Upon hearing Xiao Yi’s words, the two bears didn’t really understand—they felt confused.

Yet somehow, both bears felt a hollow emptiness in their hearts.

As for Xiao Yi, he patted Xiong Zai’s head, then Hei Dan’s head, and finally turned and left the bear den.

But as soon as Xiao Yi spoke those words, his livestream exploded.

“What’s going on with Xiao Shen today? Is he not only sending off Hei Hei, but also Xiong Zai and Hei Dan?”

“Damn it, my heart just shattered! Xiao Shen, can you not do this?”

“Me too—I loved these two bears most in your livestream. Are you really sending them both away today?”

“You’re leaving the show in just ten days—can’t you let Hei Dan and Xiong Zai stay with you for ten more days?”

“Without Hei Dan and Xiong Zai, what’s left in your livestream? Goodbye then!”

“I knew Xiao Shen would send off Hei Dan and Xiong Zai, but this is too sudden—I can’t accept it.”

“Xiao Shen, can’t you think about this again? Hei Dan and Xiong Zai aren’t a burden.”

“Xiao Shen, if you send off Hei Dan and Xiong Zai now, I’m unsubscribing right away.”

“At least leave one bear! Let Hei Dan follow you!”

“Why not Xiong Zai? After all, he’s the black bear who’s accompanied Xiao Shen the longest.”

“Hei Dan is the most loyal—if Xiao Shen still wants to take one black bear on his journey, he should choose Hei Dan.”

“I want Xiong Zai…”

…

…

At this moment, Xiao Yi’s livestream was filled with all kinds of comments, but the main topic was still the viewers’ reluctance to let go of Xiong Zai and Hei Dan.

Many even chose to leave Xiao Yi’s livestream—in just three minutes, his viewer count dropped by one million.

These departing viewers were clearly expressing their dissatisfaction, though Xiao Yi might not yet know it.

Xiao Yi’s livestream had experienced this before—after all, this was the second time Xiao Yi had sent off Hei Hei.

The first time he sent off Hei Hei, the livestream had seen the exact same scene: a flood of viewers left, pressuring the production team and Xiao Yi to bring Hei Hei back.

Unfortunately, the pressure didn’t change Xiao Yi’s mind—it was other factors that later led to Hei Hei’s return.

But clearly, this parting was different from Hei Hei’s last departure—this time, there was no hope of return, since Xiao Yi’s departure from this wilderness was imminent.

This parting might well be the final farewell—the viewers would never see these two bears again.

Of course, many had long anticipated this moment.

After all, Xiao Yi himself had mentioned it—but no one expected it to happen today.

Meanwhile, back at the base control room, Li Yong could only offer a bitter smile.

In Li Yong’s heart, he too hoped Xiao Yi would let the two bears accompany him until the end of the show.

After all, the production team had conducted surveys showing the two bears were extraordinarily popular online.

Of course, Li Yong had privately raised this matter with Xiao Yi.

But when he did, Xiao Yi flatly refused.

In the end, between ratings and ensuring the two bears could live safely, Xiao Yi chose the latter.

Xiao Yi was sometimes quite contradictory.

If you say he’s not heartless, his actions sometimes seemed brutally cold.

But if you say he’s heartless, he could also be deeply loyal—just as he was now toward the two bears.

Because Xiao Yi himself didn’t know where his journey would take him next.

So if he took the two bears with him, once his show ended and he left this wilderness, they might be forced to fight for survival again in an unfamiliar land.

And in this wilderness, areas with sufficient food almost always had large predators lurking.

For two unfamiliar bears to survive there, combat—and even death—would be inevitable.

By leaving the two bears here, at least they wouldn’t have to find a new territory.

Moreover, food in this territory wasn’t scarce, and the nearby northern wolf pack had already been crippled by Xiao Yi and his group.

This was, in short, a rare survival ground for large predators—the two bears would be far safer here than if they followed him away.