Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness

In the forest, Bosen turned from behind a huge fir tree and, as soon as he appeared, he noticed a pair of bright eyes staring straight at him, causing the hair on his body to involuntarily stand on end.

The feeling of being watched was so obvious that Bosen’s body instinctively reacted.

It was like writing math equations on the blackboard, you can’t see, but you can definitely feel the entire class watching you, dozens of pairs of eyes staring at your back, slightly warming.

Obviously, Bi Fang had already spotted Bosen hidden behind the fir tree and was even somewhat vigilant.

Perhaps it was because of a hunter’s weather-beaten nature, fifty-two-year-old Bosen’s face was full of wrinkles, with a big nose and a chin that wore a mournful tuft of gray and white beard, making him look very old.

But on closer inspection, it wasn’t hard to see that his back was straight as an arrow, and the eyes hidden beneath thick eyebrows and eyelids were sharp like those of a hawk, his hands were knobby, but very broad and covered with thick calluses.

Especially the base of the thumbs and the pads of the fingers, where the calluses had turned brownish yellow, some of them had even dried and cracked open, revealing the whitish, about-to-peel stratum corneum.

Always cocking a crossbow or... always shooting a gun?

Bi Fang reminded himself in his mind.

The grip of a crossbow also has a handle, but nearly no recoil—yet long-term holding and friction could also result in thick calluses.

Either this old man was a master crossbowman, or he was someone who frequently held a gun.

An experienced and frighteningly formidable old hunter.

The profession of a hunter, unlike a warrior, does not grow weaker with the passing of time and the loss of a strong body, on the contrary.

An elderly hunter of fifty could even be significantly stronger than a twenty-year-old young hunter.

Bosen was in turn sizing up Bi Fang between the trees.

Young.

This first impression was so strong and distinctive it was as though it had been plastered on Bosen’s forehead, as if someone was gripping his collar and telling him that this guy was only this old but could stand on equal footing with you, and had even risen to fame in the world, a renowned explorer, an adventurer.

The second overpowering perception was wildness, Bosen felt as if he was looking at a wild American Lion in the jungle that he had just trespassed into its territory and was about to face a fatal attack.

And those muscles, they could compete in a bodybuilding contest, almost like a tiger’s.

Under a prestigious name lives a worthy person.

If Bosen knew Chinese, this was undoubtedly the thought that would be crossing his mind at that moment.

Sometimes, through a screen, many perceptions can be inaccurate, only face-to-face, looking directly at each other, can one understand what a person is really like.

Seeing Bi Fang gripping his spear tightly, Bosen voluntarily put down the large crossbow that was on his shoulder, not holding the handle but the body of the crossbow, signaling that he had no ill intentions.

"Such acute observational skills, youngsters nowadays are getting more and more impressive, when I was twenty-five, I was still working on a farm for someone else."

Bosen repeated the words he had just said, slowly approaching Bi Fang.

Bi Fang, who had been crouching on the ground, stood up with the help of his spear, and also put away his hostility, which was a completely subconscious reaction.

Anyone you meet in the forest calls for caution, it’s a professional hunter’s instinct.

"Hello," Bi Fang nodded, as a form of greeting.

Bosen smiled, pointing at the three drones above Bi Fang’s head, then gestured towards his own rear: "No need to be so cautious."

Two tigers cannot share the same mountain, the relationship between the strong and the strong is generally one of competition.

Therefore, Bi Fang did not act too cordially.

Bosen untied a half-drained rabbit from his waist and threw it in front of Bi Fang, "Caught it last night, thought it might attract the Black Bear. I was planning it for today’s lunch, but since I ran into you, I’ll give it to you as a welcome gift."

There were hardly any wounds on the rabbit in front of him, just two red marks on its chest, one in the front and one in the back, which made it clear when combined with the object in Bosen’s hand that it had been pierced by an arrow.

Bi Fang was stunned, clearly not expecting the other to come up with such a move.

Bosen smiled, "Take it, and to tell the truth, I should thank you. If it weren’t for your emergence, I don’t think the Japanese Government would have organized something like this, let alone given me the chance to compete for prize money."

These words from Bosen were heartfelt.

Before Bi Fang’s livestream emerged from nowhere, no one could have imagined that something as inconspicuous as ’Wilderness Survivalist’ could make such a big splash.

With people’s lives becoming stable and affluent, such unique and curiosity-piquing performances attracted many viewers and brought fame and profit to many hunters who had previously remained obscure.

As a typical example, Mugalen gained not just a hefty sum of prize money from his participation in the Discovery Channel’s program, but also invisible assets like fame and status.

While many hunters were drawn to the hunting season in Japan, many believed that even without monetary rewards, there would still be plenty who would participate.

But from the viewers’ perspective, the existence of prize money was essential. It allowed them, as a third party, to feel the fierce atmosphere driven by financial incentives.

The distribution of prize money was straightforward; one point equaled one hundred thousand Yen.

Converted, that’s about five thousand Huaxia currency.

Five thousand per point, ten points meant fifty thousand; killing a Black Bear of normal size, one could receive a cash prize of fifty thousand after hunting it.

Of course, the value of a Black Bear is much more than this – bear gallbladders, bear meat, bear paws, bear skins, and bear bones could all be sold for a total value that is definitely over fifty thousand.

However, considering the issue of personal selling qualifications and channels, as well as the government’s rapid recovery, getting fifty thousand without having to worry about transport or dissection was not too low.

Bi Fang now had 10.2 points, meaning he had already earned one hundred and two thousand Yen.

"Are you lacking money?" Bi Fang picked up the rabbit from the ground and did not refuse it, instead, he struck up a casual conversation with Bosen.

Instinctively, Bi Fang found the old man in front of him interesting.

Bosen sighed, "Yes, you’ll understand when you reach my age. Ordinary people find it very difficult to adequately prepare for old age, whether it’s financially or health-wise."

"When I was young, I had quite arty imaginings, thinking I’ll regret not accomplishing many dreams when I’m old. But believe me, that won’t trouble you. What will trouble you are the medical bills, retirement accounts, pains all over your body, and your vision of the world growing dimmer every day."

As humans expanded, animals found it increasingly hard to survive.

Many conservation areas were established, and one after another, species were added to the protection list, with limited hunting allowed by schedule, period, and quota.

Traditional hunters found it very difficult to maintain their livelihood under such circumstances; anything of value was protected and only a tiny number of animals, such as wild boars, hares, and pheasants, became the main source of income for hunters.

These animals had only one thing of value—their meat, which could perhaps keep one fed and warm.

But once faced with children’s education fees, high housing costs, and other expenses, it undoubtedly became quite difficult to make ends meet.

Traditional hunters are vanishing.

The truly active and skilled ones are either those who have inherited the trade or are relics of the previous century like Bosen, or... poachers.

If it weren’t for Bi Fang revitalizing this field, it might be even more desolate.

[Fuck, damn it, I’m getting emotional.]

[I watch live broadcasts to entertain myself, not to face reality, boo hoo hoo.]

[I’ll give you 4000 bucks to decrease your lifespan by a month, would you take it?]

[What kind of shitty question is that? No one would want that, who would agree? Nobody, that’s who. 4000 is too little, it’s not worth it.]

[How much is your salary a month now?]

[...4000?]

The audience in the live broadcast couldn’t help but sigh when they saw an aged Bosen express such sentiments.

[Did your initial wish come true? Or is it just time to pay respects now? As the years dry up ideals, I can no longer find the real me.]

[I envy Old Fang for being able to adventure everywhere and achieve financial freedom. That’s the life I’ve been dreaming of.]

[I’ve been watching Old Fang’s videos too much recently and thought about taking my family on a Sichuan-Tibet Road self-driving tour, only to find out after doing some research that fuck me, just the fuel cost is gonna be nearly ten thousand. I almost spat blood.]

[Don’t even mention it, fuel prices went up again.]

"So I really thank you, at least now, I have nearly ten thousand I can take."

"Alright, I get chatty when I’m old, I can’t help but talk when I meet someone. Let’s call it a day, I’m currently second place after all. Go for it, young man." Bosen winked playfully at Bi Fang, picked up the big crossbow beside him, and without looking back, walked into the forest.

Bi Fang watched Bosen walk away, then looked up at the drone.

He always felt something was off.

He picked up the rabbit in his hand. After being exposed to the sun and bled out, this half-rabbit had shriveled and seemed to have little meat left.

Bosen showed a lot of goodwill toward Bi Fang.

But Bi Fang felt things were not that simple; the other party... seemed to harbor animosity toward him?

Nevertheless, under the camera, Bosen was very good at hiding it, even giving off the impression of a cheerful and optimistic old hunter with a strong sense of the sun setting.

Maybe it was just his own misperception.

Unless it was a life-threatening danger, the instincts Beastly Instinct gave Bi Fang were not necessarily accurate. Maybe it was just the animosity born from competitive relations; it didn’t explain much.

Besides, there was the drone.

If an enemy comes, meet them head on; if a flood comes, counter it with earth.

Putting aside his uneasiness, Bi Fang didn’t waste this half-rabbit. As Bosen said, it could actually be used to attract a black bear.

However, finding a black bear clearly was not that easy. Before finding a black bear, Bi Fang instead came across a sika deer. Perhaps due to the lack of natural predators, the deer did not exhibit much alertness and didn’t notice Bi Fang even when he got within thirty-five meters.

Bi Fang tiptoed, moving with a Fox Step, and even managed to chat with his audience while doing so.

"For the island nation of Japan, there’s hardly a place for sika deer in their homeland anymore. Animals like tigers have been extinct since prehistoric times, and after the Japanese Government hunted the Japanese dwarf and Honshu wolves to extinction, bears are the only creatures left in Japan that can be called mighty predators."

"Both brown bears and black bears can hunt sika deer, but they aren’t strictly carnivorous, and they don’t hunt sika deer often. Bears also hibernate during winter, so they have a shorter timeframe to prey on sika deer."

"Relatively speaking, these large, fierce animals are quite clumsy, making it difficult for them to catch the agile Sika Deer. The number of Sika Deer they can kill is not that high."

For multiple reasons, the native Sika Deer of Japan have completely lost their natural predators and are growing almost savagely—it’s like the scene from elementary school textbooks where, without wolves, the deer ate up the forest.

The Japanese Wolf Association even suggested that Japan could import wolves from other countries to help control the Sika Deer population from a biosphere perspective and reduce the damage caused by their overpopulation.

However, the public felt that comparing wolves to Sika Deer, introducing wolves was more dangerous since Sika Deer are typically docile animals.

Occasionally, they can even bring in tourism revenue for the locals, so from this point of view, it’s better not to introduce them.

As for letting hunters hunt, that’s nothing more than a pipe dream, as previously mentioned, due to various reasons, traditional hunters are dwindling, almost to the point of extinction.

In recent years, Japan’s serious aging population problem has reduced the number of registered hunters from 500,000 to the current 100,000, of which over 60% are elderly with limited mobility, and there are more than 1,200 women.

The actual number of able-bodied young hunters is only about 10,000, which means each person would have to catch 300 deer!

Even catching one a day would take a whole year!

It is said that by the year 2025, the number may surge to 5 million, by then each hunter will have to deal with 500 deer, not even one person with an AK could finish them all.

The decreasing number of hunters each year is no threat to the rapidly increasing Sika Deer population, unable to curb the deer numbers’ upward trend.

Surprise echoed throughout the Japanese government’s official live broadcast room.

Jingxiang, who heard Bi Fang speak, was very surprised, "Has the Sika Deer population really grown to this extent?"

No one expected that such a seemingly cute animal could cause so much trouble for everyone.

The commentator Xiao Fu nodded in agreement, "The Japanese Government has decided to introduce a ’Wildlife Hunting Course’ in schools from next year, which involves teaching related laws and hunting knowledge through the school system to help students obtain trapping and shotgun hunting permits, increasing the number of domestic hunters."

Black Bears still have a quota, but the Japanese Government is encouraging an open season on Sika Deer.

Bi Fang had already seen many Sika Deer in the woods, but he never felt like catching them because deer are indeed not easy to catch.

Not only are they incredibly fast, exceeding speeds of 90 kilometers per hour, but their field of vision is wide as well, making the success rate of catching them extremely low. Bi Fang tried once the day before yesterday, but sadly, it ended in failure.

This did break the audience’s perception that Bi Fang had a 100% success rate in hunting, but it’s quite normal; even in nature, the hunting success rate of tigers is only 30%, and among the feline family, the highest is the Black-footed Cat at 60%.

Conversely, the African Hyena has the highest success rate at 85%, but even that’s not 100%.

But the alertness of the deer he encountered today was so poor.

What a golden opportunity.

Bi Fang squatted in the bushes, rubbing his hands together with excitement.

"Normally, deer look up to survey their surroundings almost every time they take a bite. Look at this one, it has only lifted its head twice in ten minutes, which clearly indicates very poor vigilance. Let’s try and see if we can catch it. If we do, we’ll have venison for lunch today."

"However, the wind direction is not quite right; it’s neither downwind nor upwind. Sika Deer have a very sensitive sense of smell, so I need to be careful, especially since I’ve been running all day and my body odor is quite strong."

Bi Fang tore open a small cloth bag filled with powdered wood ash, which is charcoal ash.

He applied all the charcoal ash to his face and crushed some local plants, smearing their juice on his body to better conceal his scent.

"If conditions allowed, actually rolling in thin mud would be best, but we don’t have that opportunity now. All right, now let’s see if we can get a little closer."

Having said that, Bi Fang stopped talking to the audience, because with the hearing of the Sika Deer, getting any closer would risk being exposed.