Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness - Chapter 141: Reward!
His head felt heavy and foggy, Bi Fang decided to take a nap first.
After turning off the live stream, he dug a shallow pit in the sand underneath him and promptly fell asleep.
The camel sat beside him, continuing to cud its food, mouth moving oddly from side to side.
After an indeterminate amount of time, Bi Fang, who had been sleeping, felt something odd moving at his back, which jolted his fragile spirit awake in an instant.
Upon waking, Bi Fang nearly collapsed.
He pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling as if a blood vessel in his head was throbbing violently.
His occipital region felt as though it had been struck with a wooden stick, and Bi Fang fought against the urge to throw up, the discomfort overwhelming him.
The cold had gotten worse!
Bi Fang’s heart sank for a moment, but then he turned to see the camel and calmed down.
He wasn’t alone.
The sun had not set much, barely two hours had passed.
Bi Fang habitually patted the camel’s head, not thinking it had nuzzled him because it had nothing better to do. His voice was hoarse as he asked,
“What’s wrong?”
The camel silently stood up and fixed its stance in one direction, motionless.
Facing the fierce sun, Bi Fang also got to his feet and peering ahead, he could make out several streaks of dust rising like surging earthen dragons, moving at a great speed.
It was… cars!
Someone was passing by!
Bi Fang hurriedly turned on the live stream, and viewers from across the country, having been notified, quickly filled the stream, with over a hundred thousand fans joining the live room in no time.
[Eh, isn’t it just two o’clock? Why start the broadcast so early? This is the first time being so early.]
[Are we continuing the journey?]
[Didn’t you say we couldn’t continue til four or five o’clock?]
“It’s not me who wants to continue the journey, look over there.”
Bi Fang operated the drone, directing the lens towards those dust streaks in the distance.
The image automatically zoomed in, magnifying the dust clouds like binoculars and capturing them in clear detail.
Beneath the dust, wheels were rolling.
Jeeps!
A full four of them!
“Hey! Old Gu, take a look at this, are these our four cars?”
On the jeeps, Song Vanning also witnessed this scene, frantically shaking Gu Qingyuan’s shoulders.
He couldn’t believe the coincidence!
Gu Qingyuan was startled, then looked around and instantly saw the giant rock a kilometer away, identical to the one in the live room!
He quickly alerted the driver: “Quick, quick, quick, turn to the left, go left!”
The driver yanked the steering wheel and floored the accelerator, heading straight for Bi Fang’s location.
All four jeeps turned sharply and headed for the giant rock.
On one of the cars, Gu Qingyuan was sending comments, while Song Vanning had already opened the sunroof and was waving at Bi Fang from afar.
“Hey! It’s us! Bi Fang, it’s us! I’m Song Vanning!”
[I’m Gu Qingyuan! Bi Fang, the convoy you see is us!]
[It’s Professor Gu and the others!]
[Isn’t this too much of a coincidence? Have we successfully survived?]
[Normal, they are here to find Master Fang, and Master Fang is out surviving. With opposing directions, it’s not surprising they’d encounter each other.]
[That’s great, it feels like this is the toughest survival challenge yet!]
[Not only the toughest, but also the most unbelievable one. Prehistoric creatures, Millennium Caravan, Underground Cave, I jumped the firewall yesterday, and I even saw Master Fang’s videos on YouTube!]
[It’s got international reach now?]
[Obviously, the number of comments from overseas is over ten thousand! Even the Washington News and The Sun have articles on the prehistoric creatures; it’s blowing up!]
[A buddy of mine from Ugly Country also asked if it was real, and he asked me to send him Master Fang’s previous videos. In the end, he gave me One Hundred Ugly Gold to help donate to Master Fang.]
“It has spread overseas?”
Bi Fang was surprised by these comments, not expecting that he had already become famous abroad, to the point where people were asking others to donate on their behalf.
Then he got even more excited. What fun was there in earning money from his own people?
If he was going to earn, he wanted to earn from foreigners—generate foreign exchange for the country!
Just as he was lost in thought, the four off-road vehicles had already rushed over.
Seeing this formation, the camel snorted loudly, a little frightened. Bi Fang quickly soothed the startled camel.
“Haha, finally got to meet you, eh.”
The moment the cars stopped, two old men got out, one of them with glasses embraced Bi Fang as soon as he approached, extremely excited.
“Are you two Professor Gu and Professor Song?” Bi Fang said with a smile.
“Yes, that’s me! And this is Old Song!” Gu Qingyuan said excitedly as he shook Bi Fang’s hand, introducing Song Vanning while constantly gazing behind Bi Fang and expressing concern.
“You’ve really worked hard. Why is your voice so hoarse? Do you have a cold? Oh, and you’re injured too. Let’s get that wrapped up first; we have a First Aid kit in the car.”
Seeing this, Bi Fang chuckled and stepped aside, “I see you’re a bit more interested in Tiktaalik, aren’t you?”
Caught in a slightly awkward moment, Gu Qingyuan realized he was a bit too impatient and scratched his graying hair, “Sorry, I just couldn’t control my excitement.”
“It’s alright, I understand.”
Bi Fang didn’t mind, their curiosity about the unknown creature was just like his love for Nature, “You better go see if it really is a prehistoric creature; don’t make a mistake. Plus, I’m quite curious too.”
Upon hearing this, Gu Qingyuan couldn’t hold back any longer. He stepped forward, pulled the coat off the creature’s head, and together with two other researchers, they carefully lifted the creature to the ground and examined it closely.
The other researchers gathered around, exchanging thoughts interspersed with a great deal of technical jargon.
“No doubt about it, it looks almost identical to the fossils when judged from the skeleton, and its skull is as big as its pelvis—it could swallow an adult’s head in one bite.”
“It’s a lobe-finned fish, the third kind found outside the only two known species in the world today! And it appeared in our country! We’re so lucky!”
“I still think it looks more like a quadruped. Look at its limbs, apart from lacking claws, it’s almost the same as a Crocodile.”
“Let’s measure its length, shall we? Didn’t someone bring a tape measure?” “Right, quickly, let’s measure it!”
Soon, someone brought over a tape measure and straightened out the creature’s body. After measuring from head to tail, they reported a figure, “Three meters and two centimeters exactly!”
This piece of data completely stunned everyone present.
[Damn, I’ve never seen a fish this big in my life!]
[Awesome, it’s over three meters long!]
[No wonder it’s so bold to even bite people.]
[Aren’t Yangtze Crocodiles only about two meters?]
[Crocodiles in China are generally not that big, three meters is rare, that’s normal.]
“It’s that big! If it were up to us to catch it, we definitely wouldn’t have had it so easy. We owe a lot to Mr. Bi.” The other team members also got out of the car and shook Bi Fang’s hand in thanks.
Hearing everyone say this, the fans also felt happy for Bi Fang, as if he had received official recognition and all the efforts along the way were not in vain.
After the confirmation, Gu Qingyuan approached Bi Fang to thank him again, and Bi Fang quickly reached out to help him up, but Gu Qingyuan stepped back to avoid his gesture and said earnestly.
“These days, discovering a new large animal is nearly impossible, not to mention one that is also a significant Living Fossil in biology. And I’ve seen that the Underground Cave is home to many more unknown creatures; it’s truly a discovery of the century, all thanks to Mr. Bi’s contributions.”
“We will do our best to name the new species according to your wishes!”
Gu Qingyuan had been teaching for a lifetime and spoke with clarity and authority, yet the audience felt as if they had misheard, taking a good while to process it.
My goodness, did the old man just say let Master Fang name a species?
The live stream audience exploded with excitement. What an honor this was!
From now on, whenever anyone sees this species, won’t they naturally think of Master Fang, the discoverer?
[If a species could be named after me, that would make my life!]
[Just an ordinary person can forget about it, but Old Fang is going to go down in history now!]
[Isn’t this too awesome? When I visit this animal in the future, can I say it’s a Master Fang beast?]
Bi Fang was pleased until he saw the last comment and his face fell.
“You guys are overthinking it. Naming a new species doesn’t have to include the discoverer’s name. I can make up one myself!”
[Ah, that’s no fun. Just use your name, at least we’ll all recognize it then, you’ll be forever famous (sly)]
[Yeah, use your name for the naming. It’s decided then, you’re the one, Bi Fang beast! Quick, use water spray!]
Bi Fang, not wanting to acknowledge the absurdity from the Shuiyou, turned around and saw Gu Qingyuan seemed to want to say something more, giving him a meaningful look while surreptitiously glancing at the drone.
Bi Fang took the hint, willing the drone to fly away.
Gu Qingyuan pointed to the sky and whispered, “There’s more, the higher-ups are very happy about this. The Living Fossil, the discovery of the huge Underground Cave and the Millennium Caravan, it’s all very positive news. The process for your reward is already underway, and I heard they’re considering a promotion for you!”
“A promotion?” Bi Fang’s eyes widened in disbelief, “Just for this discovery?”
“I’m not sure about the details, it seems pretty complicated,” Gu Qingyuan shook his head, “I heard it’s coming from the propaganda department. They think you have a good image. On one hand, you’ve made significant contributions, saving people last time, this time making a great discovery, which might even help the economic development of a region. Plus, since you’re special forces, they have some thoughts about you…”
Bi Fang understood.
He was too outstanding, catching the eye of the big shots.
On the surface, he remained calm, but inside, he was already overjoyed. This was great news!
Big news!
A promotion, it sounded very impressive!
Who would dare to trouble him then?
Shark’s Wang Weifeng would probably come apologizing the very next day!
“That’s all I have to say,” Gu Qingyuan stopped there, unable to guarantee the accuracy of the message, as it was only a reference at best.
Later, he looked at Bi Fang, who was covered in wounds, and feeling guilty for being the cause of his condition, he said, “You should come with us later. We’ve cleared a vehicle for you, and someone will take you to Qinghai Province Hospital for treatment…”
But unexpectedly, Bi Fang interrupted Gu Qingyuan.
“No, I refuse..”