Chapter 4: Beware of the Bear!

After Ning Zexi unleashed a torrent of biting remarks, the hostile barrage of comments in the livestream chat noticeably dwindled.

Although Xu Ying hadn't seen the comments in Ning Zexi's livestream, she guessed that his recent outburst was to defend her and blinked thoughtfully.

It seemed this young man was just inexperienced and impulsive by nature, but not inherently bad.

Out of kindness, Xu Ying offered a helpful tip: "If you head northwest for another forty kilometers, you'll be out of the sandstorm's reach."

While saying this, she secured the cargo box, swung onto her motorcycle, and tilted her head toward Ning Zexi. "Less than two hours left, forty kilometers to go. You, as a hiking streamer, should be able to manage that, right?"

"Good luck! I'm heading out first."

Ning Zexi quickly reached out to stop her. "Sis, beauty, ma’am!"

"This barren desert and the approaching sandstorm—it's dangerous no matter how you look at it!"

"You’re the head of a rescue station; can you really bear to watch people suffer in the desert?"

Ning Zexi looked at Xu Ying with sparkling eyes.

Though he could leave on his own, following this young station chief would surely stir up conversation and traffic in the livestream, boosting his earnings. Maybe then the afforestation fund would finally be secured!

Xu Ying coldly declined. "Sorry, I rescue small animals, not useless humans."

Ning Zexi pointed upward with both hands. "I promise I won’t be a burden. Please, just give me a ride! Look, your backseat’s empty! And I’m not riding for free!"

He hurried behind some rocks, pulling out from his backpack some ham sausages, chocolate, and energy drinks, presenting them to Xu Ying with both hands.

He saluted. "Chief, thank you for your hard work! Salute!"

Xu Ying eyed the snacks in his hands. Was this how he was testing her?

Her stomach growled involuntarily.

She hadn't eaten in a day and a night. Although she had just eaten some sand fruit, after so much exertion, it was nearly all used up. It was hard not to be tempted!

After a moment of silence, Xu Ying took the ham sausage and chocolate.

Ning Zexi was stunned as the snacks disappeared in the blink of an eye.

He sheepishly handed her a tissue.

Xu Ying took it and wiped her mouth. "Hop on."

Ning Zexi climbed aboard in a flash.

Xu Ying started the engine, and the two sped away.

Along the bumpy road, Ning Zexi felt like he might vomit, but he maintained a gentlemanly distance from Xu Ying and kept the desert livestream going.

“Folks, the wind’s so strong, I’m about to be blown into a fool!”

“Chief, your driving skills are insane! Don’t you get dizzy?”

Xu Ying listened to Ning Zexi babbling and said helplessly, “Why don’t you turn off the livestream?”

“Chief, I’m streaming properly, won’t cause you any trouble!”

“And it’s raising awareness about desert workers across the web. See? My livestream’s already trending!”

Xu Ying glanced at the rugged road ahead. “No, I’m just afraid you’ll embarrass yourself with everyone watching.”

“Embarrass myself? How?”

Ning Zexi was still confused. The next moment, Xu Ying floored the accelerator, and the motorcycle plunged down a sand dune, then charged up steep slopes one after another. Ning Zexi felt like both he and the bike were about to take flight.

“Ahhhhh—”

“Goodbye, Mom!!!”

Ning Zexi’s terrified screams echoed across the desert.

...

An hour later, the system reminded Xu Ying sternly: [You have successfully led the fennec fox cubs out of the sandstorm zone.]

[Mission complete. Rewards have been credited to the host’s account.]

[Congratulations! You have unlocked a new beast language skill, available to activate anytime.]

Despite the system’s notification, Xu Ying didn’t relax. The motorcycle’s fuel gauge was below the red line—out of gas!

The map showed 150 kilometers remaining to Rescue Station 028.

Her vision darkened. Would she have to walk the entire way?

She turned to Ning Zexi on the back seat. “We’re out of fuel. Let’s stop and figure out how to cover the next 150 kilometers.”

“Okay, okay, stop quickly!”

Ning Zexi, dizzy from the bumpy ride, felt like he’d been saved.

After the motorcycle halted, he collapsed off the back and immediately ran aside to vomit violently.

Ning Zexi’s livestream viewers, having just heard his screams, now gloated.

“Such a young female rescuer driving so fiercely and not getting sick. The streamer is just too weak!”

“Chief Xu’s motorcycle skills are amazing—leaning into turns, charging up slopes, so cool!”

“Yes, Chief Xu is so petite, yet she handles that big motorcycle like it’s a toy. The contrast is amazing.”

“Not sure why, but Chief Xu just looks more reliable and boyfriend-like than Ning Zexi when she stands there.”

Xu Ying watched Ning Zexi clutch his chest like a fragile beauty after vomiting and shook her head. With that constitution, how was he planning to hike the desert?

She took the fennec fox cubs out of the cargo box for some fresh air.

The cubs breathed deeply, and the proud alpha fox suddenly twitched his nose hard, as if sniffing something.

Xu Ying noticed and asked, “Big treasure, what’s wrong? Something off?”

[There’s a strange scent nearby, like other animals’ smell.]

No sooner had the alpha fox spoken than a sharp, piercing roar came from Ning Zexi’s direction.

“Damn! Bears!”

“In the desert? Bears?”

Xu Ying looked up in surprise to see three bears less than a hundred meters away.

Her vision blackened again.

Wasn’t this the same pack of Gobi bears that had attacked the original owner and colleagues?

Enemies always cross paths!

Xu Ying reconsidered and felt something was off.

The bears’ fur was bristling, showing extreme agitation and aggression.

Gobi bears are usually gentle, only aggressive when protecting cubs or territory.

Their presence here, far from their territory in a no-man’s land, suggested they had followed her scent.

Xu Ying remembered the new beast language skill reward from the system that she hadn’t redeemed yet. She hastily called it up in her mind.

“System, I want to activate the new beast language skill to communicate with these bears nearby.”

The system responded promptly: [Beast language skill ‘Bear Tongue’ activated! Communicate with the bears peacefully!]

The Gobi bears charged forward, roaring fiercely, their appearance terrifying.

Ning Zexi dashed over to Xu Ying, grabbing her sleeve. “Chief, bears! Run!”

“Little foxes, move quickly!”

But Xu Ying shook her head. She had no energy to run, and running was pointless now.

“Looks like a misunderstanding. I’ll try to communicate.”

Ning Zexi’s livestream viewers exploded in panic upon seeing the bear pack approaching and Xu Ying standing her ground, saying she wanted to talk to them.

“Chief Xu, why aren’t you running? Run! I’m freaking out—I was just praising you!”

“These bears look so furious and dangerous, and you’re just standing there talking about communicating? Do you think you’re some cartoon character? Too naive!”

“I told the streamer from the start that this young female university student got the chief position through connections and knows nothing. The streamer ignored me and snapped back! Does her face hurt now?”

“Where’s the weapon? Even if you can’t run, shouldn’t a rescuer have bear spray or something to scare them off?”

Those who had just praised Xu Ying fell silent.

They couldn’t understand why Xu Ying wasn’t running, hiding, or even pulling out a weapon, but instead chose to stand her ground and try to talk to the furious bears.

It was utterly absurd!