Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness

Sleep schedule messed up, just marking my presence to keep the streak.

Before 3 a.m., refresh this chapter, no need to spend extra money.

-

Mists of water vapor spread over the vast savannah, scattering the pitch-black night into a hazy blur.

Not a single star could be seen in the sky, and the night, once visible, had become pitch-black.

Bi Fang woke up from his sleep, his body breaking out in goosebumps from the cold.

It was now autumn, and with the nighttime downpour, the temperature had dropped quite a bit, even bringing a chill.

An apparent sense of heat loss must have also reached Harley, who groggily opened his eyes, then stood up, pressed close to Bi Fang, and lay down again.

Only Jerry, nestled in the backpack, had his natural warm bed and didn't feel a thing.

What time is it now?

Bi Fang touched his head, feeling extremely sleepy, meaning his sleep was far from enough, besides, he had no inkling it would rain before he fell asleep.

With Bi Fang's current abilities, except for a few very special weather conditions, he could generally predict the weather accurately more than three hours in advance, with a success rate over eighty percent.

Even though three hours might not seem long, it is quite an impressive figure.

The atmosphere is a complicated system.

Predicting rain, how much it will fall, and when, by observing clouds' thickness and color changes.

There's also barometric pressure, humidity, and wind speed changes—none of this is child's play.

Even with modern scientific methods, using supercomputers to deduce atmospheric patterns with mathematical methods from data such as humidity, temperature, barometric pressure, wind speed, and direction measured by ground stations, radars, and satellites.

Analyzing the impact of different cloud levels, forecasting experts using meteorology, dynamics, thermodynamics, and other data for comprehensive analysis, even then, the accuracy for short-term weather trends for 1-6 hours is only about 85%.

Observations of Earth's systems by humans are still incomplete, many technical challenges remain unsolved, contributing to that 15% "inaccuracy".

This shows how impressive Bi Fang's abilities are, as well as the complexity of atmospheric systems.

And three hours is more than enough time for someone to do many things.

A decent shelter can be built, or a safe spot found.

People in the wilderness usually go to sleep early, often resting within three hours after sunset—by all indications, it should be after midnight, probably around two in the morning.

The only thing fortunate was that Bi Fang's shelter was waterproof!

The wet season was due to arrive in the next couple of days, and as a professional survival expert, Bi Fang certainly wouldn't make such a rookie mistake.

That is why Bi Fang insisted on building a shelter two nights in a row—otherwise, in other places where it wasn't very cold, he could just dig a hole and cover it with a few leaves to spend the night.

The sky at night occasionally brightened with the flash of branched lightning, illuminating the dark curtain of night.

The fire pit outside the shelter was doused by heavy rain long ago, and occasional wisps of blue smoke indicated that Bi Fang had woken up virtually as soon as the rain began.

The rain quickly escalated, the large cold drops hitting his arm, causing a stinging pain.

The cold stimulus completely woke him up, pushing sleep away as he restarted the live stream, readying to inform his viewers of the incoming rain.

Whether in terms of the time or the amount, this rain signaled the arrival of the wet season for the northern hemisphere's savannas and the rebirth of life.

For this reason, Bi Fang felt it was worth informing his viewers via live stream.

Fans from around the world who were still awake excitedly opened the live stream.

[Why has he started streaming again?]

[Did something happen?]

[Ah, such a cute cheetah, I want to pet it]

[What's that sound? It's so dark, seems like the sound of rain]

"Yes, it's raining."

Bi Fang aimed the drone's lens towards the sky outside his shelter—in the pure black, rain droplets could be seen falling from the sky, eventually forming droplets on the lens, similar to rain on a car's windshield when driving through a storm.

From this perspective, it felt like the whole world revolved around oneself.

After observing for a while, Bi Fang retracted the drone, wiping the lens briefly.

"Many travelers ask when is the best time to visit Africa, but there's no standard answer to this question. What matters is what you want to get from your trip, what you want to see."

"Generally, the dry season is the best time for tourism, especially for tourists. During the dry season, animals have to gather around scarce water supplies, so you can easily spot them. You can witness them grouping together, interacting, hunting."

"And the dry season roads are easier to travel, while during the wet season, roads can be interrupted by rainwater, becoming impassable."

"But the wet season also has very distinct characteristics. Since it's on the equator, the 'winter' here isn't cold. As long as there's water, there will inevitably be an abundance of new life."

"Thus, Africa's wet season is brimming with life, flowers blooming vigorously, and dry-season withered shrubs sprouting anew."

"Additionally, the wet season is the best time of the year for bird-watching. One of the best aspects is that this wet season is not exactly like the constant wet of the rainforests—it's not always rainy and cloudy. There's usually rain in the mornings and evenings, with bright sunshine at noon. That's why I usually refer to it as the 'wet season' rather than the 'rainy season.'"

"For those on a tight budget, the wet season is a good choice because this is typically the most affordable time of year for travel."

Bi Fang's words sounded like a monologue, but paired with the environment, it created a feeling of extreme tranquility.

It was as if the audience was transported to the wilderness with him, listening to the raindrops hit the leaves outside the shelter, then trickle down to the tips, moistening the parched soil, and eventually absorbed by seeds blown in from who knows where.

Before long, this patch of barren land would burst with life, as numerous plants push through the soil.

This tranquility of nature was not an illusion.

Animals get wet and can easily fall ill, so no creature would be active at this time. Insects wouldn't chirp, nature was quiet, and felt safe, with no fear of dangerous animals suddenly emerging.

Perhaps due to the excessive comfort, Bi Fang didn't speak for tens of minutes in this environment, yet the number of viewers in the live stream kept rising, with few leaving.

It wasn't until someone pointed it out.

[Wait, isn't the great animal migration about to start?]

[That's right, didn't Master Fang say they would return?]

[Shoot, are we going to see wildebeests?]

Bi Fang nodded, "That's right, the arrival of the wet season also heralds the return of the animals, and soon we'll be able to see herds of them running across the savannah. Maybe as early as tomorrow we'll catch sight of some of the vanguard forces."

Animals don't have weather forecasts to consult; their decisions to migrate or not are largely based on a "feeling" passed down through generations.

When it feels like the wet season is about to begin, they return.

Speaking of timing, it's rarely off by much, and some of the vanguard forces even make their way back before the wet season starts.

"Alright, I only started this live stream on a whim, mainly because this rain is quite meaningful and symbolizes a change, and it's still too early. I plan to catch up on some sleep, so let's call it here."

This evening shower was just an interlude. After finishing the stream, Bi Fang was ready to go offline once more, but the audience strongly objected.

"Don't go, Master Fang, just leave it on."

"Yeah, yeah, the sound of the rain is so nice to listen to, perfect as white noise."

"Indeed, just listening to this sound feels so darn comfortable."

Who can resist listening to the rain amidst nature?

Especially when you don't have to tread on muddy ground or rush around doing things, just quietly staying at home and listening.

Considering this, Bi Fang had to admit he was convinced by everyone and decided not to insist on shutting down the live stream. He kept the drone flying and adjusted it to a suitable angle.

Half of the screen showed the roof of the shelter and half the profound sky, with the unseen but audible drizzle in between, the fire pit that had gone out in the distance, several pieces of blackened wood leaning against each other, and at the bottom right of the frame, you could see a beige backpack and half of Harley's head.

"Awesome!"

"Great composition there."

"Feels so good."

...

The next morning, perhaps because he had indulged in some extra sleep, Bi Fang found he had overslept. The sun had already risen, and the surroundings had brightened considerably. The rain had long since stopped, but a thick fog had risen from the Earth.

The dense fog spread across the savannah, which made Bi Fang abandon any immediate thoughts of setting out. He decided to wait until the fog lifted or dispersed a bit before beginning his journey.

It wouldn't take too long, with the sun climbing higher, things should clear up by nine or ten.

But first, breakfast needed to be sorted out.

After a simple wash-up and attending to sanitation, Bi Fang gave Harley a good dusting and woke him up.

The audience in the live stream room entered one after another, and after Bi Fang greeted them, he started his work for the day.

He grabbed his backpack, pulled out the still-sleeping, floppy-bodied Jerry, and took out the last ostrich egg. Then he gathered up the dead branches and leaves underneath Harley to rekindle the fire.

The downpour had soaked all the nearby plants, making it hard to find easily ignitable twigs, so it made sense to just use the ones from inside the shelter. After all, he was going to leave today, and these things couldn't be taken along.

For his last ostrich egg, Bi Fang no longer chose to eat it roasted but decided to try frying it for a change in taste.

The heavy rain had completely refreshed the air, and Bi Fang found a rock slab nearby that had been washed clean by the rainwater. After giving it a quick rinse, he set it on the fire.

Once the entire slab was seething with heat, he cracked the ostrich egg and poured out the contents.

Thanks to the high temperature, the egg white didn't stick to the rock at all, and with a nudge from a stick, it flipped over smoothly.

Bi Fang also took the opportunity to share a bit of scientific knowledge.

"The 'Leidenfrost Effect' was first discovered in 1732 by a Dutch botanist named Herman, who noted this phenomenon."

"Later, in 1756, a German doctor named Leidenfrost delved deeper into the issue. Consequently, the effect was named the 'Leidenfrost Effect'."

"Essentially, the effect is about a liquid that has a boiling point, like water, which normally boils at 100 degrees under standard atmospheric pressure. If this liquid comes into contact with an object whose temperature is far above the boiling point, say 400 degrees, the initial contact will cause the liquid to boil rapidly, but the boiling will then quickly halt."

"This is because that part of the liquid turns into steam due to the instantaneous high heat, and the steam forms an insulating layer between the rest of the liquid and the hot object, providing an excellent thermal barrier."

"That's why if you heat a regular iron pan and then crack a raw egg into it after dry heating, the egg won't stick to the pan."

Having said that, Bi Fang flipped the ostrich egg over.

[Another little detail]

[I'd call Master Fang the 'King of Understanding' of the new age (dog's head)]

[No wonder my eggs always stick to the pan]

[A cooking tip indeed]

Under the high heat, proteins quickly coagulated, turning the clear egg whites into a milky white with a faintly gold luster, and a light fishy smell dispersed, quickly vanishing.

Watching this different method stirred Bi Fang's appetite after two days of roasted eggs, but before he could indulge, he didn't forget his two companions.

Bi Fang took the ostrich egg from the rock with a stick and placed it in front of Harley. For the cheetah, this was a novel delicacy it had never tasted before. It sniffed at it for a long time before daring to take a bite, eating it slowly.

"This one's for you."

Bi Fang tore a piece off and handed it to Jerry, who had emerged from the backpack, attracted by the smell.

After distributing their shares, it was finally Bi Fang's turn.

"What a pity there's no salt, it feels like something's missing."

After finishing breakfast, Bi Fang was left wanting more.

Salt is the foremost flavor enhancer; the difference with and without it is truly remarkable.

"I'll try to find some mineral salt, or perhaps I'll have to rely on hunting game."

Eggs lacked any flavor, but meat is different, containing salts that animals accumulate from nature. Though the taste is very mild to humans, it's better than nothing.

I must secure some meat.

With resolve, Bi Fang began to pack up the camp, dismantling the shelter, taking the wooden spears, then filling the fire pit and clearing the surrounding traces. By the time he'd finished, the fog had also dissipated quite a bit, at least enough to not lose direction easily. Bi Fang then continued on the road with Harley.

It had rained last night, making the surroundings very muddy, and after just a few steps, their shoes were caked in mud.

The soles left deep imprints in the wet earth, exuding a bit of muddy water that spun around, ensnaring any unlucky insects that fell in, struggling incessantly.

In the city, this would have been an annoyance at the least, with the shoes getting dirty for no reason. But out in the wild, Bi Fang didn't mind. He crouched down, looking at the tracks in the grass and smiled.

"Before, the ground was too hard to leave footprints, especially for the smaller animals, but now it's a different story; they can't escape."

Between several dried weeds, the small footprints exposed the recent passings of the animals clearly.