Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
[The heck?! It’s actually a scarecrow?!]
[I was so scared! What sick person puts clothes on a scarecrow in wild forests?!]
[Most importantly, it’s women’s clothing?!]
It turned out that the silhouettes were all scarecrows made from dried straw and sticks tied together, each being over two meters tall with colored robes draped over them.
Right now, over sixty people had gathered in the livestream channel, all of whom were drawn by the title and the nervous atmosphere just now.
“I told you all along that those weren’t humans, and you guys retorted that I was trying to spook you. I’ve often stumbled upon such clothed scarecrows whenever I captured wildlife photography, most of which were placed by the forestry department to scare off birds.”
“The purpose is to prevent them from destroying economical crops. Since most birds are exceedingly sensitive toward red and other bright colors, they would think that these were humans or their natural enemies, and they would be too scared to get closer. That is why these scarecrows are dressed in various colors.”
Wang Kui then touched the bushes behind the scarecrows that were filled with fruits, picking one and holding it in front of his camera lens.
“The scarecrows must have been protecting these. These are seaberries, a bush that grows from leaves and is resistant to drought or desert storms. It’s planted on a wide scale in the northwestern region.”
“Since the Jixi Province is located in loess highlands and is under serious threat of desertification, it needs such plants to protect the water and soil. Moreover, its fruits are edible and contain high amounts of Vitamin C.”
“That being said, it’s only July now. The seaberries usually mature in September, and they will become orange-yellow. You can also make juice from it…”
Wang Kui held up the green fruit and took a bite of it before quickly gulping, “Gasp! Hah! It really is sour!”
[Eating it raw?! Impressive!]
[Quite knowledgeable of you. Subscribed!]
[User ‘Orange Yet Blue’ has gifted Fishballs x100!—You people only have level one in knowledge while our streamer is level five! He truly is on a different level!]
[User ‘You Can Instakill Me with Seventeen Cards’ has gifted Bank Card x1!—you can tell that he is a veteran at a single glance!]
“Thanks for everyone’s support. My equipment screen is too small, and the wild environment is complex, so I would have to focus most of the time. As such, I won’t be able to respond to everyone—dear viewers, please help me thank or respond to some live comments or gifts I did not see.”
“As for eating the raw fruit, there’s no need to worry. These forests are not sprayed with pesticides and the fruit is not poisonous, so it can still provide some extent of crude protein, fat, and fiber even if it is raw.”
“If you are lost out in the wild and can bear with the sourness, you could eat some of this raw to recharge your energy. I’m not hungry at the moment though, and looking for the water source is more important!”
Hence, Wang Kui continued up the mountain.
His trending rate was already more than four thousand now, with over eighty people presently watching his feed, and over a hundred subscriptions.
It was mainly thanks to his well-put title.
Of course, there was no shortage of doubters and trollers, though they would never win against the bounty notice and hunting permit he was holding.
“Phew. I’ve finally reached the mountaintop, and I’ll be behind the mountain once I’ve crossed over. It’s now eighteen minutes to four, and we’ve been walking for over two hours, which is neither too quick nor too slow!”
“The downward slope ahead is not a good path since it is filled with bushes like ground ferns and astragalus, which has lots of hard branches and makes it easy to cross. Having a machete during such a time would have been ideal.”
“One would just have to chop off obstructing branches and save the trouble of walking around it or crawling through it, saving your stamina. Since I don’t have a machete, I’ll have to use a thick branch to open my path, which doubles as a walking cane as well.”
Just like how people were always within reach in the city, dried branches were everywhere in the mountains.
Wang Kui simply found himself a thick branch snapped off beneath the tree crown.
However, just as he bent over to pick it up…
Wang Kui suddenly froze!
[What’s going on? Am I lagging?]
[Yes, you are lagging!]
Wang Kui groaned.
He had paused because he had found half-yellowed green leaves on a tuft of grass near the branch.
Following the yellow trail, he found that the soil hue was also lighter than the hue beside it, forming a vaguely oval shape as if it had been watered.
It could be a puddle of liquid too…
Pee!
Wang Hou stuck out his nose and fanned the odor with his hands. His maroon eyes promptly dilated at that—it really was pee!
“There’s animal activity nearby!”
The live commentors were instantly interested.
[You’ve found some traces, Old Kui?]
[The streamer looked a little handsome when he was being serious just now… I love you! Do you have a girlfriend?]
[Bring me along! Let’s earn money together!]
[Oh, this is killing me… this streamer is really a little handsome!]
Wang Kui ignored the comments onscreen and simply held the leaf in front of his camera lens. “Notice the edge of these leaves and the difference in color between the soil here and the soil around it? It’s clear signs of urine.”
“Like this leaf in front of the camera, the grayed layer of soil are chemical substances remaining after the water in the urine has evaporated. I’ve also caught the unusual scent just now.”
[Is that pee?! What the hell, take it away!]
[This is quite the smelly livestream!]
[You’re a cunning one, Old Kui! That pee almost reached my face!]
Meanwhile, Wang Kui was still repeatedly fanning the scent toward himself. “There’s the smell of ammonia. It’s the scent of long dried-up urine infected by bacteria. It’s not fresh two-hour urine, though it is not a day-long either.”
He stood up, lowered the camera, and picked up the tree branch that was almost two meters long. Then, he tore off the smaller branches from it while checking for any movement around with the corner of his eyes.
[Hahaha! The streamer has gotten hooked!]
[Epic lung overflow?]
[I’ve just arrived, but this streamer definitely doesn’t look like a newbie. He knows his pee—he’s quite experienced!]
Wang Kui said nothing.
He focused as he snapped off the smaller branches, like a veteran soldier calibrating the various parts of his rifle.
The robust muscles on the back of his hand would tighten from time to time.
It was nervous excitement!
“From the range of the urination, there had been quite a lot of pee, meaning that the animal was not a small one. One should note here that most mammals use pee to scent-mark their territory.”
“In other words… we are within the area range of where the animal roams!”
Crack!
Just as he spoke, Wang Kui snapped off the front tip of the branch, which was rather soft.
A dried branch had now become a staff!
[User ‘Tier Eight Hurricane 00’ has gifted Bank Card x1!—you’re so handsome, Old Kui!]
[Woah! There really are wild beasts?! Be careful!]
[Although the streamer is quite handsome, I want to ask… what if there is urine on the branch too?]
[Pfft… hahahahaha…]
Looking at the comments shown on his watch, Wang Kui’s scowl faded at once.
“No way…”