Chapter 81: Wilderness Survival Time!

Xiao Fen reacted swiftly and dodged, followed immediately by the whistling sound of Fang Si Ting’s fist slicing through the air near his ear.

He raised both hands to block, retreating rapidly underfoot to create distance. From the corner of his eye, however, he spotted a figure drifting up behind him. Vice Squad Officers from the Action Team surrounded him completely, and one threw a punch, preparing a sneak attack.

Xiao Fen dodged nimbly and countered with a punch of his own, sending the vice squad officer tumbling to the ground. He then proactively closed in on Fang Si Ting, throwing punches left and right.

Fang Si Ting retreated repeatedly, blocking and countering with his hands. Suddenly, pain exploded in his jaw as his entire head was struck by a massive force. He staggered back several steps, staring at his opponent in surprise.

After climbing mountains in the wilderness for a full day and two nights, he still possessed such agile reflexes?

Earlier, Fang Si Ting had thought he could barely win in terms of stamina and physical strength. Unknowingly, he had fallen behind.

Xiao Fen shook out his right hand—the one that had struck the jaw—surprise mixing with a wry smile.

It was all thanks to the good food and rest he’d enjoyed lately; his body speed and strength had finally caught up somewhat.

He extended his index finger and hooked it provocatively. “Tell me, who’s the Skinny Dog now? Who’s the defeated underling? Who’s the one who should be scrubbing toilets?”

He wasn’t soft at all when flipping through old accounts.

“Mr. Black Cat, have you been pampering yourself too much lately? Your physical condition seems to have declined.”

Seriously, now that he had gotten stronger, he still had to step on him and call him lazy.

Fang Si Ting refused to believe it and charged forward aggressively once more. The two traded blows back and forth for quite a while until, at the cost of taking a punch to the lower abdomen, he finally slammed his opponent to the ground.

Xiao Fen spun his legs in a whirl, executed a carp flip, and immediately sprang to his feet. With a feint, he swiftly snatched the backpack.

He yanked open the zipper and hurriedly shoved a big mouthful of rice ball into his mouth.

He hadn’t eaten for most of the day.

While he wasn’t paying attention, Fang Si Ting grabbed the backpack back. Xiao Fen reacted quickly, yanking the strap. Neither let go as they kicked at each other’s knees and groin.

“We shared a bed just a couple days ago, sleeping side by side. Is that bond gone just like that? Can’t you let me win? Don’t you have any traditional virtues?”

“What do you have to do with traditional virtues?”

Husbands and wives were birds of the same feather; when disaster struck, they could still fly off separately.

“I’m your dad!” Xiao Fen said. “Don’t you know about respecting the elderly and caring for the young?”

It was fine if he didn’t say it, but once he did, Fang Si Ting’s kicks grew even fiercer. “I still haven’t settled the score with you for kicking me off the bed in the middle of the night.”

Who was supposed to yield now?

“When did that happen? Don’t falsely accuse me.” How was he unaware?

“The night before last.” Fang Si Ting yanked hard, pulling Xiao Fen’s face close. “Pull up your pants and then deny it?”

Xiao Fen flushed with annoyance. “Don’t make it sound so ambiguous. When were we ever in that kind of relationship?”

He tugged the backpack forcefully toward himself. Both shoulder straps snapped, and the bag tumbled down the slope, spilling food and gear along the way.

Xiao Fen hurriedly dropped the straps and slid down the slope like a cute tiger descending the mountain, kicking up a pile of dead leaves. He rolled once on the ground, grabbed two loaves of bread, and barely dodged Fang Si Ting’s pursuing attack.

“You don’t play fair. I was already letting you win, and you couldn’t wait until I finished eating?” Xiao Fen stuffed a piece of bread into his mouth viciously.

“You know whether I let you or not.”

He hadn’t held back at all; his wrist had nearly fractured.

Fang Si Ting pulled out the handcuffs. “Come here. Once your hands are cuffed, you can eat your fill on the way.”

He didn’t necessarily have to beat him outright; cuffing Xiao Fen’s hands meant capturing him.

“That’d be too inconvenient.” Xiao Fen chuckled. He had no such intention.

Dozens of vice squad officers closed in. When two or three couldn’t handle him, they retreated to the side, replaced by another three or four. It was clearly a plan to wear him down with wheel tactics.

Fang Si Ting was going further and further down the path of not playing fair.

Who knew where he’d learned it from.

Seeing things turn sour, Xiao Fen snatched Ling Xiang’s salt bottle from the ground and bolted into the depths of the jungle, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

“Boss, what now?”

“Keep blocking the roads into Guiwu Forest,” Fang Si Ting said. He reached for a handkerchief to wipe his hands before realizing he wasn’t in a suit. After a moment, he found it wasn’t so bad and ignored it. “Advance westward in a carpet search.”

————

Xiao Fen rested for the night, bread tucked away. Though he had a hunch Fang Si Ting knew his plan, he still stubbornly scouted eastward toward the forest, only to run straight into a barrage of anesthesia guns and blank cartridges. He barely escaped.

【Oh ho, can’t suppress him with brute force, so now it’s tech gear.】

【They only use anesthesia guns on large wild beasts. Yama King Fang, that dog, really doesn’t see Fen Treasure as human, huh?】

【You can tell Yama King Fang has stayed single all these years for a reason. He goes all out with lethal hands.】

【Hopeless straight guy.】

【Let’s see how he handles this later.】

【Kicked off the bed? Deserved it. Doesn’t he know to reflect properly?】

【No need to reflect now. Looks like he won’t even get near the bed next time.】

The live stream chat erupted in a barrage of curses. Gradually, they were drawn back by Xiao Fen’s mutterings to the flying camera.

“Looks like I can only break through in another direction now.”

“The path here’s really tough. The woods are way denser than over there. Ground’s got high moisture content—feels like stepping in shit.”

“Little Fire Seeds, check this out.” Xiao Fen lifted the back of his hand, where a black, wriggling thing clung. “Dry leech cutie.”

【Aaaah, I’m dead.】

【Hate these things the most. Gonna step out and come back later.】

【Evidence that Brother Fen’s driven to nonsense by Yama King Fang. This thing is never cute—take it away aaaah.】

Xiao Fen plucked out the dry leech and cleaned the wound. “These things secrete an anticoagulant enzyme when burrowing into skin, preventing the wound from healing, and they carry tons of bacteria. I need to find something…”

He spotted a wild peony on the ground, plucked some leaves, chewed them, and applied them to the wound. It stopped bleeding in no time.

“Good thing it’s autumn—I’ve eaten plenty.” Xiao Fen picked some wild peony fruits and popped them in his mouth. “A bit sour, but tastes good.”

As he spoke, his tongue turned blackish-purple, like he’d been poisoned. The live stream viewers fretted.

【Do you even know what’s edible? Don’t poison yourself.】

【So worrying.】

He spotted a pine tree next and gathered plenty of resin. Without a lighter or anything to start a fire, he still needed warmth.

“There was also a wild boar corpse with only the head left, gnawed on.” Xiao Fen sniffed it. “Died just a few hours ago—still fresh. One bite’s one bite. Tonight’s dinner is it.”

Foreign viewers in the live stream finally got excited.

【Is Brother Fen starting wilderness survival now?】

【He has to, after Yama King Fang outgeared him.】

【No wonder he grabbed the salt at the last second.】

【Gotta say, it’s pretty tragic. Solved the spy, got a full backpack of supplies, now all gone—not to mention the snacks he lost.】

Xiao Fen chattered to the camera while picking up anything that caught his eye. Even if he didn’t know what it was for, he stuffed it in his pocket, his eyes lighting up with delight like he’d found treasure.

【Why do I feel like Brother Fen isn’t worried about surviving at all? He’s even happier than yesterday.】

【In games, do you like starting with full gear or scavenging materials along the way to craft your own? For wilderness survival players, the latter’s more fun.】

【Only Brother Fen could treat this like a game.】

After another ten-plus minutes, a waterfall appeared ahead, cascading fiercely from the rock wall on the left. It formed a pool about ten meters below, flowing into a larger lake.

The path ahead was blocked by the waterfall in the middle—too far for a running jump.

【Gotta go around.】

Xiao Fen drank from the rock wall by the waterfall, washed his head and face, then looked around. His eyes lit up as he yanked a vine from a nearby tree.

“See this? Fresh white vine is super tough.” He tugged hard; it didn’t snap. “It can bear my weight. If you’re in the wild with no rope, you can use this… I need more. This area’s got potential; might come in handy later.”

【Brother Fen’s at it again, freeloading from nature.】

【Thanks to Mother Nature’s gifts.】

Xiao Fen drew the knife from his pants and chopped the vines one by one. The outer shell was tough, so he rubbed them against the tree to soften them, then tied one securely to a tree branch.

He tugged—it held firm.

First, he bound the boar head with vine and tossed it across. It was his dinner; he hadn’t forgotten.

Then he tied the vine around himself, went to the cliff edge by the waterfall, and swung hard toward the opposite shore.

But inertia swung him back.

He kicked off with his foot, putting more force into it. A nearby monkey screeched, distracting him. He hesitated, missing the opposite shore.

One monkey held a half-eaten wild fruit, perched on a tree by the opposite waterfall, its head and gaze swaying left and right with his swings.

Two more monkeys soon joined, squatting nearby to watch. Three heads bobbed side to side in sync.

Xiao Fen: “…”

The live stream chat exploded in laughter.

This time, he swung hard. As he neared the opposite cliff, he let go of the vine with both hands.

The chat went wild with screams, cold sweat breaking out.

The three monkeys covered their eyes in fright.

Xiao Fen gripped the cliff wall firmly, kicked off a protruding rock, and flipped effortlessly onto the shore.

Viewers wiped their sweat.

Once he landed, the three monkeys fled. The half-eaten wild fruits rolled to his feet.

Xiao Fen carried the boar head and white vine onward until evening, when he settled in an easily defensible spot.

The Pursuit Team would have to detour around the waterfall—even if they caught up, it’d take time.

He dug up a pile of dry bamboo flowers, used vine and sticks for friction fire-starting, added fine bamboo flowers and thistle down, and flames shot up. He tossed in pine resin, and the fire blazed even brighter.

He cleaned the boar head thoroughly, stuffed it with various mushrooms, surrounded it with wild chestnuts and pine nuts, and buried it all in the fire pit.

With some daylight left, he chopped several bamboos. He hollowed one at the middle joint, split another into bamboo splints, and wove them crosswise into a long, narrow basket shape, fitting it over one end of the hollow bamboo tube. Fish swimming in would be trapped.

He placed it in a swift section of the stream, securing it with rocks.

“Alright, now it’s up to the blind fish to swim right into the trap.”

【No way, Brother Fen knows how to fish too?】

【These wilderness skills are weirdly reassuring. When’s a dedicated wild survival stream?】

【I’d forgotten he only has three knives on him. Is this what a maxed-out skill human looks like? Handles this like he’s running a farm stay.】

【Fen Treasure was born in the countryside, super duper poor place. Barely went to school, didn’t even do kindergarten.】 Old fans said.

【He was too embarrassed to mention it in streams, and we felt ashamed too. Now it just highlights our Fen Treasure’s genius.】

【No wonder he’s so skilled, great reflexes and stamina—from training since childhood.】

【That rags-to-riches story moved me. Because I stan him, I got from village to city key high school.】

【Speaking of streams, didn’t Fen Treasure interact with Boss Lu before?】