Chapter 17 Tracing and Distinguishing Tracks

Just as Lu Junming dreamed of promotion and a salary raise, Bi Fang on the other side was not idle, making some unexpected discoveries as he moved along the creek.

Bi Fang pushed aside a clump of weeds with the stick in his hand and discovered small footprints on the ground, exclaiming excitedly.

"Hey! Look what we've found?"

[What?]

[Feels like an animal passed by here?]

[What is it, a mouse?]

In the weedy area that Bi Fang had cleared with the stick, there were small brown granules piled together, and a series of footprints leading deep into the forest, it was clear that some animal had been there not long ago, and more than once.

The mud by the creek was softer, and the animal tracks were very distinct and would not disappear for a long time.

If it were some other creature, Bi Fang might not have been so excited.

But...

"These are rabbit tracks!"

Bi Fang was thrilled, if he was lucky, he might even get to eat meat today!

He squatted on the ground, with the corner of his eye scanning the surroundings for movement in the forest, pressing down the weeds with the stick in his hand to give viewers a clearer view, while picking up some of the brown granules with his fingers.

These granules were round and very small, with a diameter of about eight millimeters, and they easily crumbled into pieces when he pinched them.

[Here we go again, Master Fang, the old poop expert!]

[I've never seen such a heavy-taste livestream]

[Feels like it's a rat?]

[Your rat's footprints are that big?]

[Brother, you must be from the north, you've never seen the rats from the south, have you?]

"No, it's not that."

Bi Fang shook his head and pointed at the footprints and droppings on the ground, saying, "Whether it's the shape or the size, these are definitely not from a rodent, this is for sure rabbit droppings!"

"Firstly, a rat's toes are clearly forked and they have five of them, but rabbits only have four fingers, and they do not fork; secondly, look at the droppings."

"Look, the surface of the dung is rough, indicating it's not from ruminants like deer, and the shape is rounder, if it were from a rodent, their shape would be oval or elongated!"

[My useless knowledge has increased again!]

[Rabbit: I had no idea I'd still be caught, since that's the case ... tell me, what exactly gave away my trail? What ... what? It's the poop I left? How outrageous!]

[Rabbit thief and the Terrifying Upright Ape!]

[Great, if you're not on the monthly ticket rankings, I'm not watching, I'll subscribe to everything once it's up! Write quickly.]

[Ah, creating the document now, remember to vote a lot.]

[Go ahead, don't worry!]

Bi Fang: "..."

Indeed, such joyful foolishness among the netizens.

[But aren't rabbits hard to catch? I've seen wild rabbits in the mountains before; those guys are lightning fast! You can't even see the tail lights.]

[Really? I feel like my rabbit can barely run ...]

[Can a domestic one be the same as a wild one? Besides, is that a rabbit you have? Yours is clearly a pig!]

Indeed.

Seeing the barrage of comments, Bi Fang had to admit, wild rabbits were indeed hard to catch, not only were they naturally cautious, with keen hearing and vision, but they also ran fast and hid well.

Despite the numerous predators, few animals could catch them; it was almost impossible without a trap.

Bi Fang couldn't afford to waste a lot of time on this, as the System required him to survive within seven days. A day or two wouldn't be nearly enough to see any yield from the traps he made.

But such animals had a fatal weakness!

"Wild rabbits have a quirk where they love to take the same old paths. As long as they're not disturbed or frightened, they will go in and out of their burrows through the same route every day, and over time, they'll wear a faintly distinguishable trail in the grass. Moreover, since they are nocturnal, we can now follow the traces they've left behind and essentially find their burrow!"

[Rabbit: My fate is sealed!]

[Think you can escape when Master Fang has set his sights on you?]

[Charge!]

[Is it even possible to raid their homes?]

[985. Journey Pot has gifted the host 10 shark fins]

[Comment message: Gifting the host 10 food tickets—Is this what they call hunting?]

Having explained this, Bi Fang picked up a stick and followed the tracks, and if all went well, perhaps in an hour or two, he'd be able to eat rabbit meat!

Who had ever seen such a thing as hunting in the deep forests for the notoriously cunning wild rabbit?

Young people who had lived easy lives in the city were all drawn in, watching Bi Fang tracking and identifying traces in the eerie forest, they felt the tension and excitement, calling their friends over to watch, with the viewer count rising almost continually!

Effortlessly, they broke through the two hundred viewer mark!

"Wild rabbits like to live in mixed forests near water sources. The soil in such areas is generally soft, making their footprints easy to spot. Moreover, when foraging in the wild, rabbits nibble here and there, which is another easy point of identification."

"Moreover, in the forest there are usually higher mounds of earth, and ninety percent of the time they have rabbit tracks, because rabbits like to walk on elevated areas for a better view to spot predators!"

Leaning on the walking stick, Bi Fang easily found the trail through the dense weeds. Just a bit further away, one could see a sparser line, which is the trail where the rabbit had passed.

Following bits and pieces of clues, Bi Fang tracked his way.

Time slowly passed, and soon it was past noon.

The temperature in the forest was rising rapidly, and combined with the constant activity, Bi Fang could only unzip his jacket, but his forehead was still layered with sweat.

Yet the rabbit's burrow was still nowhere in sight.

If he couldn't find it, it would mean a great waste of time and energy, which could be a fatal blow to Bi Fang, who had not eaten for a long time!

In fact, this was a gamble, and even the most experienced hunters would not dare say that they could definitely catch a wild rabbit.

But faced with several hundred viewers, Bi Fang dared to bet, he even had to!

Boldly enterprising and full of adventurous spirit, he was a born Explorer.

This was how the old professor from the CWCA Adventure Team had once described him.

Seconds and minutes ticked by.

The viewers in the live stream became more and more numerous, but the recognizable tracks in the forest grew fewer and fewer.

"It seems we're getting close."

Bi Fang took a breath, trying to steady his breathing, "As the saying goes, 'A rabbit doesn't eat the grass by its own burrow.' This is because it needs enough grass to conceal its nest, and wild rabbits don't dig holes, they only nest in pre-existing pits. Now, we need to keep an eye out for such pits!"

[That's not right, what about the idiom, 'A sly rabbit has three burrows'?]

[Yeah, I'm puzzled]

Many viewers were confused. If rabbits don't dig holes, is the saying about the sly rabbit having three burrows false?

"The idiom, 'A sly rabbit has three burrows,' actually refers to burrowing rabbits, which are quite different from the wild rabbits I'm talking about. Burrowing rabbits live in groups, while wild rabbits are solitary. Burrowing rabbits generally live in grasslands, while wild rabbits live in forests."

"Burrowing rabbits have a narrow range of activity centered around their burrows, whereas the range of activity for wild rabbits is much broader than that of burrowing rabbits. And we're looking for a wild rabbit, which is why we've come such a long way," Bi Fang explained and then wiped his sweat.

At that moment.

An earth mound in front, bald on the top and overgrown with weeds underneath, caught his attention.