Chapter 5 The Wilderness of Lurking Crisis 4

[Swollen all over…sounds terribly painful.]

[Lost within ten minutes of leaving the group? Just like that?]

[Everyone agreed to bring enough equipment, and you only brought a bag (funny).]

[I'm dying, it's just like agreeing with friends to prepare ingredients for hotpot, and only bringing a pair of chopsticks.]

[Startled into gifting the host a membership card*1—looks like the host is the real deal!]

[iMuji gifts the host fishballs*200—still, safety first.]

There were a few bullet screen comments, dozens of viewers, and hundreds of degrees of heat!

Bi Fang appeared calm on the surface, but his heart was surging.

The real number of viewers must have already exceeded thirty by now, and it's been less than an hour, it looks like the mission requirement is just around the corner!

"Thank you, thank you iMuji for your concern, but don't be skeptical, folks."

Bi Fang faced the drone, pretending to read the comments on it, playing his part to the hilt. Although he could have the bullet screen comments displayed directly in his line of sight, he couldn't show it.

As far as he knew, this world hadn't yet developed equipment at the system's level.

"Even experienced climbers will plan their route before a climb. If they change the route on the fly, along with poor time management, they are very likely to get lost, which can be dangerous."

"And once you are lost and trapped, you need to stay calm, call for help, and after making contact, wait patiently in the same place or somewhere with clear signs. You must not attempt to rescue yourself blindly, hoping for the best."

[What if there's no signal?]

[Yeah, after all, this is the Primeval Forest.]

[Speaking of which, how come the host's drone has a signal? It feels so powerful, the signal is strong, and the picture quality seems better than Blu-ray.]

"Everyone stop guessing. This drone is custom-made for a hefty price, even better than some military ones," Bi Fang casually explained.

Bi Fang then rested his chin on his hands and chuckled: "If there's no signal... wouldn't that be the reason you all watch my live stream?"

[666, got shown up by the host.]

[What logical reasoning, Yazier.]

[Just joined. What does this host do? Can someone with clout explain?]

Among a bunch of joking bullet screen comments, one with a different tone slipped in, but before Bi Fang could explain, the enthusiastic audience had already explained everything.

Having fans is just awesome!

"Welcome new viewers, but, as the saying goes, it's best to prevent problems before they arise. If there really are people wanting to venture into the wild, they should consider getting an emergency GPS beacon, which has satellite positioning. Unless you run off to the Mariana Trench, you'll have a signal."

After joking with the viewers, Bi Fang noticed a steep slope ahead, overgrown with bushes, and he prepared to find a suitable stick to use as a walking stick.

The forest is different from the rainforest; if it's not raining, the ground is mostly dry. The main challenges in traveling are the low shrubs, and the venomous creatures hidden under the weeds and dead leaves.

For this reason, a suitable stick can save a lot of unnecessary trouble. It's not only energy-saving, but it also helps to scare away snakes and insects and to make sure of the footing.

Scanning the surroundings, Bi Fang easily found a reasonably straight stick and continued on his way. But after not walking far, he suddenly stopped, like a robot that had lost power.

Just now... something seemed off.

Bi Fang tried to recall the patch of grass where he had picked up the stick. After mentally picturing the look of the grass, his pupils instantly shrank, and he quickly hurried back.

[Huh? Why is he going back?]

[Something's up (shh)]

[Definitely found something~!]

[What happened?]

Yes, something big had happened.

Bi Fang reached the grass patch he had been at before, crouched down, and stared intently at a small clump of grass as if there were some man-eating beast there.

He had never expected to encounter such an incident just upon entering the forest; not even novels would dare to be so coincidental!

He had nearly ignored it!

Not far away was a clump of grass that was a distinctly different color from the surrounding environment, darker yellow, as if it were about to wither.

It was scat!

Some wild animal had excreted here!

Almost in an instant, Bi Fang, with his top-level wilderness skills, analyzed everything. He had been too careless not to notice earlier!

He thought he could rest easy with his system-acquired skills, but reality had taught him a harsh lesson. If it weren't for the subconscious warning, he wouldn't have noticed at all!

Being alone in the wilderness and yet so lacking in vigilance!

Bi Fang cursed himself internally, then immediately lay down on the ground, his nose close to the spot, and sniffed lightly, a strong ammonia smell wafted.

Indeed!

"There has been a wild animal around here!"

Boom! The viewers in the live stream exploded into a frenzy upon hearing these words.

[There's a wild animal? What is it? Can you eat it?]

[How does the host know?]

"[Whoa, isn't that very dangerous?]"

"[The host is so handsome!]"

"[Infatuated one, scram, this is a stream of true skills]"

"Everyone, take a look at these weeds. The style is clearly different from the other weeds. All the other grasses are green, so why is this one yellow and wilted?"

Before the audience could answer, Bi Fang gave the answer, "It's a burn from young plants, these are symptoms only found in burns!"

"There are no pesticides in the primeval forest, so the only possibility for sudden plant burns is being urinated on. The large amounts of inorganic salts in urine cause a change in osmotic pressure, making the soil solution's concentration higher than that of the root hair cells' fluid. Thus, the root hair cells can't absorb water and instead lose water, causing the plants to wilt!"

"[Darn, it's just pee, I got nervous over nothing!]"

"[Art Style: Feels offended]"

"[It's getting smelly already.]"

"[This urine frost is almost sticking to my face, take it away for me!]"

"[It's just some urine, right? There are so many animals in the forest, isn't that normal?]"

"[You can't talk like that. Better safe than sorry, what if it's from some fierce beast?]"

"The only good news now is that the ammonia smell on these grasses is strong, indicating that the wild animal urinated some time ago, likely over an hour, so we're relatively safe, but we still can't stay for long!"

Burned plants need over a day to show symptoms, indicating that this wild animal frequently excretes here. This isn't the first time it has urinated here. It's likely a habitual behavior for marking territory.

Bi Fang stood up, picked up a long branch, and started clearing the nearby weed bushes while paying attention to the surroundings.

The originally beautiful forest became fraught with danger, as if a ferocious beast could charge out at any moment!

"Judging from the amount of urine, this animal is not small. It's at least bigger than a common wild dog or a deer. But to make a clearer judgment, we need to check if there's any of its feces nearby."

"[Darn, Master Fang is ruthless!]"

"[Looking for poop, are you serious?]"

"[Didn't expect this to be a live stream with such heavy taste!]"

"[Go eat shit.]"

Bi Fang focused on clearing the weeds, and finally found a few dark brown elongated objects beside a shrub less than three meters away.

He didn't mind the dirt, directly picked them up, crumbled them, and even sniffed at them, frowning, "Yes, it's feces!"

Heavens!

What is this operation?

Many viewers were stunned, completely shocked by the scene.

"[Don't come closer!]"

"[Old Eight's secret recipe hamburger, tastes amazing]"

"[There you go, brothers, just do it!]"

But Bi Fang ignored the audience's intense reaction, continued to knead, and then spread the crumbs in the palm of his hand.

After thoroughly identifying it, Bi Fang sighed deeply, "Guys, it seems our luck isn't good."

"[What's wrong? Is there poison in the feces?]"

"[The one upstairs is toxic...]"

"[What happened again? Stop startling me, my blood pressure is going up.]"

"[What animal's feces are they?]"

Looking at the feces in his hand, Bi Fang said with a grave tone, "This feces is from a wolf. We may already be in its territory!"

"[Scared me to death, it's just a wolf, I thought the host was going to eat it.]"

"[Are you serious upstairs...]"

"[Crap, there it is, a wolf!]"

"[Should we retreat?]"

"[You kidding? Brother Fang looks like an old hunter, scared?]"

"[That's right, what's there to be afraid of? Today the host will perform 'Master Fang Fights the Wolf'!]"

Bi Fang's face twitched. The online friends really thought highly of him. He could handle a lone wolf using his system skills, but if there was a pack, he'd have no doubt he would die. He wasn't willing to take such a gamble.

"Whether it's a lone wolf or a pack, these urines and feces could likely be their territorial markers. If that's the case, then we've already stepped into their territory. We must leave quickly."

"[That's right, safety first, live streaming second.]"

"[I can't help but support that.]"

"[Go go go! The Wild Wolf Great Escape!]"

"[Wilderness Trouble #1, Beast Attack!]"

Tossing the feces aside, Bi Fang picked up the branch and advanced deeper into the forest.

From a distance, the serene forest was no longer grand and beautiful but had become a terrifying and gloomy hazard...