Chapter 24

Lu Aotian found the method provided by the program team too clumsy and didn’t even bother tying a bamboo worm to the bamboo pole.

Luring the free-range chicken over a two-hundred-meter distance near the trap using a method akin to baiting a donkey with a carrot?

Not to mention how difficult it was for a child to precisely control a long bamboo pole at that distance. These free-range chickens were almost identical to wild mountain chickens. Even a rooster weighed only about two or three jin, and their alertness and agility far surpassed ordinary domestic chickens. Luring them over two hundred meters introduced far too many variables.

One could only say that the biggest advantage of this method was creating distance between the chicken and the child, preventing accidental injury to the child while using the bamboo worm to attract the chicken.

So, from the moment Lu Aotian touched the nylon rope used to tie the bamboo worm to the front of the bamboo pole, his plan was simple: directly pin the chicken down, tie it up with the rope, and drag it into the trap.

Given the recovery of his limb control over the past days, although catching a chicken bare-handed was still out of the question, he could manage a body-press pounce when the chicken lowered its head to peck and eat.

However, the entire plan died the instant Lu Aotian saw his target free-range chicken.

Was this free-range chicken not a pile of chicken droppings made sentient?

There was still a small patch of bamboo forest between Lu Aotian and the chicken, but the wind blew from afar, bringing a full blast of dung odor. Pinching his nose, he was about to vomit.

As for the chicken itself, one couldn’t look closely. It looked like it had just crawled out of a manure pit. A body pounce? He’d rather die than pounce.

Lu Aotian’s brows were practically tied in a dead knot. Even if he used the dumbest method to lure the chicken, the bamboo pole couldn’t block the stench!

On the other side, Ji Nuo, sitting in his booth, also felt things looked grim seeing this scene. The production team, particularly wickedly, even put a close-up on the chicken.

On its originally somewhat colorful and pretty feathers were smeared numerous semi-solid substances in shades of gray-brown and white. Combined with Little Friend Lu Ao’ao pinching his nose from afar, Ji Nuo also guessed it was chicken droppings.

Seeing the child frozen in place, Ji Nuo opened the walkie-talkie to reassure him, “Ao’ao, just do your best, it’s okay if you can’t catch it.”

Ji Nuo knew how much trouble this child had with dirty things. Usually, if something with dirt or mud got on his hands, he’d immediately ask for help washing it off. Even a child without mysophobia couldn’t stand a chicken covered in a layer of chicken droppings.

He truly didn’t care about winning or losing this competition. Even if they lost, the money they had left was still enough for the three of them to eat and stay well tonight. No need to force the child into a difficult situation.

Amidst his rapid mental calculations, Lu Aotian heard this and immediately activated his passive skill, instantly switching to dagger eyes to retort, “Mere chicken dung, how could it stop me, Lu Ao— yue——”

A sudden gust of wind increased the concentration of poop around him. Lu Aotian inadvertently inhaled a little. It was truly super stinky!

The danmaku instantly flooded with “hahaha.” Ji Nuo and Han Cheng, watching from inside the small wooden hut, also couldn’t help laughing at the sight.

This made Lu Aotian even angrier. How dare that stinky little brother and useless celebrity laugh at him!

Pinching his nose tightly, he darkened his face and commanded, “I’m turning off the walkie-talkie! Don’t disturb me!”

Having said that, he huffily switched off the walkie-talkie power. His pair of beautiful, rounded peach blossom eyes sharpened with murderous intent, glaring at the target chicken like razor blades.

The danmaku was filled with people charmed by the little dumpling’s gap moe:

[Hahahaha, Ao’ao is so miserable, I love it so much! This kind of kid would be kissed bald in our family!]

[Bamboo Forest Killer – Central Plains, One Dot of Ao, is online!]

[Am I the only one running two devices simultaneously to watch the Parental Romance in the hut? That look Ji Nuo and Han Cheng exchanged after Ao’ao hung up on Ji Nuo was at least ten pluses on the sweetness scale!]

[Friend up front with the ID ‘Ao’ao’s #1 Online Mom,’ doesn’t your heart ache? The cub is facing a poopy chicken, and you’re shipping the two dads’ romance? Too much! (Take me with you, thanks]

Under the live broadcast lens, Lu Aotian didn’t ponder for too long.

The chicken was too dirty. Lu Aotian had to change his strategy. Luring the chicken to the production team’s prepared trap was still unacceptable. Walking slowly for two hundred meters, even without any mishaps, he’d be half-dead from the stench.

After hanging up on Ji Nuo, Lu Aotian quickly moved a large rock nearby and began building a trap right there in the bamboo forest, which offered excellent concealment.

The tools provided by the program were limited; he couldn’t make a fully automatic trap. He could only use the rock as a trigger and operate it remotely.

Lu Aotian first separated the nylon rope provided into six strands. He took three and joined them into one long rope, then tied a noose on one end.

Next, he selected a thin bamboo stalk with excellent flexibility that wasn’t too tall. Using his own body weight, he pulled the bamboo down bit by bit. The noose tightened under force, locking onto the tip of the bamboo. Then he anchored the rope body with stones.

He tied the same type of slipknot—one that instantly locked under force—on the other end of the rope. He widened the noose as much as possible, laid it on the ground and covered it with bamboo leaves, then placed several bamboo worms within the trap’s range.

Then he took two more strands, connected them, tied one end to the big rock. This way, once the chicken was lured over, he just had to pull the rock away. The bamboo would snap back, instantly tightening the noose around the chicken’s leg.

The live stream audience watched, dumbfounded. They initially thought Little Friend Ao’ao had just brought the rock over to use as a stool.

Haters popped up, claiming Lu Aotian lacked competitive spirit and gave up at the first sign of difficulty. But they were immediately blasted away by the doting mom fans happily adoring their cub. Amidst the back-and-forth of loving, heartbroken laughter at the cub, even the mom fans soon couldn’t understand what they were seeing…

[Is this kid… making a trap?]

[As an outdoor enthusiast, yes, that slipknot setup is a common hunting technique.]

[OMG! My precious, what on earth did you grow up eating? What other surprises does your Mama not know about??]

[I can’t understand this? Why is Ao’ao building his own trap? Can’t he just lure the chicken into the one the program provided?]

[I’ve been watching Ao’ao and Ruirui together. On Ruirui’s side, the free-range chicken already ate two worms, but the stupid chicken didn’t listen at all and got farther away while being lured. I gotta say, my good eldest son is smart, seeing through the program’s flawed plan and building his own trap to shorten the distance /thumbs up]

[Is this reasonable? What four-year-old kid can tie hunting slipknots like this???]

[My cub is awesome!!]

The trap Lu Aotian designed was less than ten meters from the free-range chicken. No need to worry about endless mishaps on the long journey. Once he caught the chicken, the first thing he’d do was give it a dirt bath using the dry leaves and soil on the ground, then drag it into the production team’s trap.

After preparing the trap, Lu Aotian placed several bamboo worms on the path to lure the chicken. He also tied the production team’s bamboo pole, attached a worm bait, and, pinching his nose, walked towards the free-range chicken.

The closer Lu Aotian got, the stronger the smell. The little dumpling’s delicate features scrunched into a knot, a truly meme-worthy expression. The live stream viewers instantly screenshotted it, creating a “super stinky” reaction emoji.

Probably because Lu Aotian was so small, the Chicken King felt it had a fighting chance and didn’t immediately run away. Seeing Lu Aotian approach, it puffed up the feathers on its neck and let out harsh, raspy clucking sounds.

Lu Aotian tossed a bamboo worm near the Chicken King’s feet. It was highly alert. Only when Lu Aotian made no further move did it scratch its claws, assuming a defensive posture, lower its head to peck up the worm, and eat it in two bites.

The bamboo forest delicacy, 150 yuan per jin, did make the Chicken King lower its guard slightly. Lu Aotian flicked the bamboo pole over, and the Chicken King immediately locked onto the bamboo worm tied to the end of the line.

When Lu Aotian jiggled the line, the chicken showed no signs of fleeing and even tried to bite the bait. Seeing the chicken was hooked, Lu Aotian began slowly retreating, trying to get this over with as fast as possible.

The reason was simple: every second spent in the same space as this chicken covered in dung was his absolute limit of endurance.

The Chicken King followed for a short distance before getting distracted by the bamboo worms on the ground. Lu Aotian accompanied it as it slowly moved into the trap zone, almost exhausting a lifetime’s worth of patience. The Chicken King finally reached the vicinity of the trap’s noose.

The more critical the moment, the more tense people became. But the tense ones weren’t Lu Aotian; they were the live stream viewers:

[Friendly reminder, viewers in the live stream can breathe.]

[Aaaaaah, I’m so nervous, is it about to enter the loop?]

[Almost, I remember it’s by that Y-shaped bamboo branch. Once the chicken finishes this worm and takes a step forward, it’s time to pull the rope.]

The Chicken King tilted its head back, swallowed another fat bamboo worm, and stepped forward into the trap. Lu Aotian had already stealthily grasped the rope, ready to pull.

Suddenly, a piece of gravel flew out from the bamboo forest behind him, striking the Chicken King and startling it mid-meal. The Chicken King flapped its wings, about to fly away. Lu Aotian could only trigger the trap early, trying to trip it up.

In a split second, accompanied by a shrill, terrified wail: “AAAAHHH A SNAKE!!!”

A Little Fatty burst out from hiding, immediately tripping over his own feet and crashing directly onto the Chicken King. The Chicken King, which had only just snagged its toe and was spreading its wings to fly, was pinned down completely by Little Fatty’s weight.

From the corner of his eye, Lu Aotian caught sight of an emerald green figure. Without any hesitation, he first secured the chicken’s leg, then turned back and stepped on the small green snake, less than half a meter long.

Little Fatty, covered in chicken droppings, didn’t care. He wailed hysterically, shaking his leg, “My leg hurts! It bit me! Help! Daddy! Grandma! Wah——”

The audience in both live streams was equally stunned. Compared to Ao’ao’s stream viewers, who were utterly confused, Little Fatty’s stream viewers knew exactly what had happened.

Little Fatty’s assigned chicken had beautiful, glossy feathers. He flicked the bamboo pole twice, but the chicken wasn’t interested. In a fit of anger, Little Fatty started whipping the chicken with the pole.

Free-range chickens can fly. Although their flight distance was short, combining flight and running, it quickly vanished.

Having lost his own chicken, Little Fatty turned and headed to Ao’ao’s area. His goal was clear: to lure Lu Aotian’s chicken into his own trap. Killing two birds with one stone, he’d make sure Lu Aotian couldn’t catch a chicken at all.

He arrived just as Lu Aotian was concentrating intently on luring the Chicken King. Without a second thought, he threw a stone to scare the chicken away. Unexpectedly, the situation changed drastically—his calf was suddenly bitten by a snake.

After viewers hopped between streams and pieced together the story, they all voiced their opinions:

[Gotta say, that kid really deserved it. How can there be such an annoying brat?]

[Getting bitten once might teach him a lesson. Nature tames brats.]

[Holy crap, could that snake be a Bamboo Viper?!]

[Can you not make snide remarks? Who wasn’t bratty as a kid? He’s just a child. If he really died from this, wouldn’t your conscience hurt?]

[Bamboo Viper???]

[Fck, Ao’ao, don’t grab it!!!]

The danmaku, which had been arguing moments ago, instantly ceased the fighting when Lu Aotian pinched the snake’s head and picked up the little green snake. All that was left were screams.

Lu Aotian glanced at the little black bean eyes of the emerald snake. Ignoring the screaming Little Fatty on the ground, he grabbed the snake in one hand and dragged the chicken with the other, heading towards his trap.

The Chicken King, which hadn’t lost an ounce of fighting spirit despite being covered in dung, was completely KO’d by Little Fatty’s solid crash. It now lay limp, letting Lu Aotian drag it along.

As for the little snake in his hand, pinned by its head, it still struggled, trying to wrap its tail around Lu Aotian’s forearm.

The danmaku narrative immediately shifted, criticizing Lu Aotian for not saving someone in danger:

[Now this is the real brat! He even dares to grab a Bamboo Viper?]

[Seriously? Didn’t even help Linlin press the emergency button? That’s practically murder!]

[Are you sure it’s a Bamboo Viper? I feel like this snake is a bit dumb, its tail has been wriggling for ages and it still hasn’t managed to hold on…]

Little Fatty, terrified and in pain, couldn’t even think of pressing the alarm button. Fortunately, Xu Chengyi had been monitoring his son’s movements from his booth and immediately notified the program team to rescue him.

Nearby staff and safety personnel rushed over. They grabbed Little Fatty’s wound and squeezed hard to force out blood. Squeezed painfully, Little Fatty howled even louder.

At the same time, Lu Aotian jogged all the way, throwing the still incredibly smelly Chicken King into the trap provided by the production team.

The staff members, worried the snake in his hand was really a Bamboo Viper—even if not an adult one—didn’t dare approach easily.

By the time they had taken protective measures, donned gloves, and approached with a large bag, Ji Nuo and Han Cheng also rushed over.

“Ao’ao, put the snake down,” Ji Nuo said, a bit anxiously.

Seeing Ji Nuo and Han Cheng, Lu Aotian immediately puffed out his little chest. Using the hand holding the snake, he gestured towards the trap pit, first telling the staff, “I completed the task. Record it for me.”

The staff were scared into repeatedly backing away. Lu Aotian, unconcerned, then brought the snake right in front of Han Cheng’s eyes.

Originally intending to scare him, he hadn’t expected Han Cheng not to flinch. His narrow black eyes just swept lightly over it.

Lu Aotian pouted in disappointment before revealing the snake’s head position to the two. “Oval head, black eyes, not venomous.”

Not only was it non-venomous, but its tail had also been injured by Little Fatty stepping on it. Its eyes didn’t look fierce at all; instead, it appeared weak, pitiful, and helpless.

A locally hired temporary worker was called over. After looking it over for a moment, he nodded and said, “Bamboo Vipers have triangular heads. This is a non-venomous Green Keelback Snake.”

Green Keelback Snakes were famously gentle and beautiful, their whole body emerald green like imperial jade, with black bean eyes that looked adorably silly. Most were very timid and would flee faster than anyone upon seeing a person.

Lu Aotian guessed this one had come out to eat bamboo worms. Stepped on and hurt by Little Fatty, it had mustered the courage to bite him. The wound didn’t even need checking; it was probably just a minor scratch. What harm could a little snake that ate earthworms and insect larvae do?

The staff finally relaxed, immediately calling the staff member responsible for Xu Xiaolin, telling them no need to rush for antivenom.

However, even if non-venomous, most people’s fear of snakes was ingrained in their DNA. Seeing Lu Aotian casually stuff the little snake into the large bamboo joint box, they collectively gasped. Someone even gave him a thumbs up. “Little Friend Ao’ao is so brave!”

Lu Aotian thought inwardly: That’s it?

But he still raised his little chin even higher. With a twist of his little body, he flicked the hem of his shirt and turned away with a swagger.

Then he glanced at the Little Genius Smartwatch on his wrist and looked up at Ji Nuo with utmost coolness and swagger. “It’s almost twelve. Time to eat, right?”

Ji Nuo’s eye twitched. Knowing it was truly non-venomous, he didn’t object. “Mm. Are you going to keep it?”

Lu Aotian had no such intention, but keeping it might be useful. At the question, a shrewd glint flashed in his eyes. Glancing at the two, the corner of his mouth hooked up quite deviously. “I have my own plans.”