Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness

In the hotel’s rest lounge, Richard and the others watched the footage on their computer, all letting out a sigh of relief before breaking out into cheers.

They had fooled everyone.

The first step had been successful!

Mandy and Keke high-fived in celebration.

One evening was far from enough to install all the cameras, but last night’s success had given everyone a glimmer of hope.

Even though they were all confined to the hotel, there was still a way to break through the blockade and make everything public.

Mandy asked, "What about those people? Are they still watching us?"

Richard shook his head, "They left, gone by six in the morning. They tail us during the day and trap us in the hotel at night, forbidding us to go anywhere."

The local societies and residents thought they could cut off Richard and the others’ filming route, but in reality, that was utterly impossible.

They never learned a saying.

"Make ostensible plans,

but accomplish your goals by stealth."

"Has Bi Fang started the live broadcast yet?"

"Not yet, it’s only seven now, it starts at eight. But we were busy until after two last night, he probably won’t return to the forest until four."

Keke reflected on last night’s events and made an estimate.

In reality, it wasn’t that late. If Bi Fang could find his way back to the city from deep in the mountains, he could certainly do the same from a semi-town, semi-forest area. He had returned at around three-thirty and was now still fast asleep.

By eight, the Hunters participating in the hunting season had all started their broadcasts one after another, ready and waiting.

Only Bi Fang had yet to send any news.

A large group of viewers in front of their screens were baffled.

[What’s going on, it’s half past eight and still no broadcast?]

[Sleeping in?]

[You might sleep in, but I absolutely don’t believe Old Fang would.]

[Did something happen?]

Given Bi Fang’s consistent habit of broadcasting early and his reliable reputation, many viewers couldn’t help but worry.

With so many black bears in the Japanese forests, could something have happened last night?

With that concern in mind, the viewers didn’t see Bi Fang’s belated apology for oversleeping until nine in the morning.

Bi Fang knocked on his neck and took a few deep breaths to energize himself.

Six hours of sleep wasn’t little, but it had been a long time since Bi Fang had stayed up late. He had unexpectedly overslept and his head still felt swollen.

Fortunately, the discomfort was temporary. After a few deep breaths, Bi Fang quickly recovered.

[Damn, Old Fang, what’s up with you, why so late today?]

[Were you secretly up to no good without us knowing?]

"No particular reason, just overslept," Bi Fang said, touching the back of his head and laughing.

[Waited for nothing for an hour]

[Hey, just say so earlier and I wouldn’t have gotten up so early]

"Sorry, sorry, it won’t happen again. I’ll definitely start the broadcast before eight-thirty next time," Bi Fang apologized to his viewers.

Last night was an accident, and the fact that Richard and the others were blocked in the hotel was unexpected by everyone. They were sure they would finish earlier tonight.

They would start at ten and should be able to return by two.

"Waking up late means I have to work even harder. Has anyone hunted a black bear this morning?"

[Yes!]

"Hmm?"

Bi Fang, who was stretching, suddenly froze and asked skeptically, "Really?"

Then a flurry of comments confirmed there had indeed been a bear hunt between eight and nine?

[Not between eight and nine, but more like between four and five in the morning, I think.]

[Right, it was in the early hours, and it was livestreamed, but it seems not many people watched it.]

[It was a trio of hunters from the Ugly Country.]

Through the fragmented comments, Bi Fang pieced together the whole event.

A trio of Eager Country hunters had perhaps formed a strong team because they came from the same country, or they had known each other in advance.

On the very first day, they had luckily located a black bear’s trail.

So they decided to play defense and created several large traps, including a pitfall with spikes.

They had originally planned to lure the bear the next day and had ended the live broadcast, but unexpectedly, the bear approached on its own.

Luckily, they kept watch at night and had set up an alarm line. In a panic, everyone started the live broadcast, ready to hunt the bear.

Fortunately, they were well-prepared, and all three were experienced hunters. They didn’t panic but methodically lured the bear into the trap they had prepared.

This one-and-a-half-meter-long black bear was knocked senseless by a massive log, fell into the pit, and was impaled by spears at the bottom, dying instantly on the spot.

The entire process involved only some scrapes and didn’t result in too many unforeseen incidents.

The trio from Ugly Country was also the first group to hunt a Black Bear, which measured one and a half meters in length. Unfortunately, it had been turned into a porcupine with considerable damage, scoring a total of nine points, averaging 2.4 points per person.

Although it wasn’t much, at least the three of them were the first to achieve something and were very happy. After the helicopter hauled away the carcass of the Black Bear, they didn’t return to town and didn’t even deal with the bloodstains. Instead, they set up more traps, waiting for Black Bears to come to them.

As a group of three, it meant that within one cycle, they needed to hunt at least three Black Bears to match up with individuals hunting alone. However, the benefit was clear, with more people came greater strength, and they could also restrain the ferocious Black Bears together.

Armed with a spear and keeping a distance of five to six meters, although the Black Bear was extremely powerful, it was not as agile as felines. As long as they judged the situation the right, two people could restrain an injured Black Bear without much problem.

The only regret was that the timing of capturing the Black Bear was not very convenient. It was in the early morning, after the live broadcast had been paused, and without prior notification, only a few spectators, including the duty staff, witnessed it.

Bi Fang felt a great sense of crisis when he learned that someone had captured a Black Bear the next morning.

Even though he was there to coast, he couldn’t overdo his act.

"Time to make an effort!"

Noon.

True to its name, Forbidden Zone Hunter, just one glance from Bi Fang could easily reveal any traces left by animals in their environment.

Rabbits, pheasants, snakes, mice, foxes, birds, wild dogs, and... bears!

The scraped fur, the broken branches by rubbing, and the smashed fruits beneath those massive footprints.

Bi Fang knelt on one knee and placed his palm nearby the deep paw print. As an adult male standing one meter eighty-five tall, and with frequent grasping, his hands were rough, bony, and quite large.

But in front of this footprint, it looked delicate like a girl’s hand.

The audience didn’t expect Bi Fang to find the trace so quickly, in just two hours, he had located fresh marks.

"See how big this footprint is? One slap could shatter my head. In ancient times, people often revered bears for their strength and fierceness, and many indigenous tribes adopted the bear as their totem," he said.

"Even now, in many areas, bears are referred to as ’Man Bears,’ comparing bears to men, not because they look very similar to humans, but because a bear’s paws and human hands and feet are very similar. Also, bears can walk upright, so they are called Man Bears."

"Among all large carnivorous beasts, only bears and humans have five toes on their hands and feet, and when they walk, their entire heel touches the ground."

"Those who have seen bear paw prints in zoos definitely know that the way a bear’s front and hind paws touch the ground is completely different. Only the front part of the bear’s front paws touches the ground, while the entire heel and paw of its hind paws touch down. That is why it’s called plantigrade walking, and bear’s hind paw prints are almost identical to human footprints."

"On the other hand, felines and canines walk digitigrade style, walking on two toe joints, with only the front part touching the ground."

[Wait, what about tigers? I remember Old Fang saying last time that tigers have five fingers, right?]

[Eh, did I remember it wrong?]

Bi Fang grinned and said, "Didn’t pay attention in class, eh? Was it last time when we encountered Water Monitors? I remember that I clearly stated that having five claws can rule out felines and canines, right?"]

[Ah, it seems that way...]

[Oh no, my memory’s getting mixed up.]

[Teacher Fang, I admit my mistake, let me join you in the ’sin-bin.’]

[You’re not making sense.]

"Large feline predators, such as tigers, for example, have five toes on their front feet. The four front toes form a semi-crescent, while there’s another toe at the back, entirely different from the five fingers of bears and humans. As I just mentioned, felines only walk with the front half, so the hind toe hardly ever leaves a print."

"And they have only four toes on each hind foot, arranged in a straight line on the tiger’s paws," Bi Fang briefly explained why felines generally have four paw prints.

"Moreover, like dogs and unlike felines, bears cannot retract their claws, and that’s one of the biggest differences from felines."

Removing the spear and Dart from his back, Bi Fang’s steps became cautious and vigilant.

"From now on, we have to be extra careful. The Black Bear might be nearby."

With paw prints and scent, tracking became vastly straightforward for Bi Fang, and he quickly set off on the trail.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Hunters were reaping their rewards, and some had even started to tackle Black Bears!

At the same time, Bi Fang also made a new discovery.

A steaming pile of dung!

Bi Fang knelt down and said, "Black Bears are omnivores and their diet covers a wide range, from prey meat, grass, berries, nuts, fruits, fish, to beetles and more."

"The diameter of an adult Black Bear’s dung is around three to five centimeters, often containing undigested or half-digested food."

"Now it’s summer, the time when berry plants are fruiting, and Black Bears will consume a large amount of these fruits, sometimes up to more than ten thousand berries a day. Consequently, their dung is usually loose without a fixed shape and mixed with plant seeds."

Bi Fang pointed to the dung on the ground, and indeed it was as he described, not in one long piece but segmented, with many granular substances visible. These granules were what prevented the dung from forming a shape.

[Damn, I can’t believe I’m seriously watching this?]

[My mom’s asking why I’m watching poop.]

"Sorry, is this a bit too much for you?"

[Whimper, you finally noticed.]

[I don’t want to watch this.]

[I’m happy to learn something new, but there’s a weird smell to it.]

Bi Fang placed his hand three inches above the dung, with his breathing subtly restrained.

"It’s still warm, it must have been just dropped, it might be nearby... no, it’s right here!"

As soon as the words fell, a rumbling sound came from the nearby woods, and a large number of leaves began to shake and fall.

The ground trembled, and fallen leaves drifted down.

A massive creature burst out of the underbrush.

Black Bear!!!