MTLNOVEL Chapter 870: Reserve a Spot
I'll reserve a spot and revise it before 4 AM.
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Cheetah Harley's first successful hunt goes without mention for now, though it was a pleasant surprise, it was not enough to shock anyone.
After all, this was the graceful, swift, and efficient cheetah everyone remembered, not the one constantly digging with its back to Bi Fang.
Just as a top student scoring first in their grade was no surprise anymore, failing to do so would instead turn heads, the cheetah had simply returned to its rightful place.
But when Bi Fang pierced through a two-hundred-pound medium-sized Turn-horned Antelope with a single thrust, everyone in front of the screen was left completely dumbfounded.
Piercing prey with a spear was not the first time for Bi Fang.
In fact, since his second live broadcast, he had already achieved the feat of throwing a Dart through a wild wolf.
But that was with a Dart, which utilized a simple mechanical structure, and now he had achieved such a stunning result with a simple Spear!
The Dart was a frequent weapon in Bi Fang's live streams, belonging to the heavy-hitter category, at least having the mechanics of leverage to amplify the force and effect of a throw.
Making it was quite complicated, requiring a lot of whittling with a knife to create a good launcher, with careful considerations needed for the aim's alignment and fulcrum. Not just anyone could handle it.
But now, they were faced with a plain Spear, a wooden Spear without any mechanical contraptions inside!
The simpler it was, the more sensational it became.
Because anyone could make a wooden spear; find a long and straight stick, whittle it down with a knife, maybe heat it with fire to harden the tip.
Not like the Dart, which not everyone could learn, nor successfully make or wield if they did.
But who could achieve the feat of piercing through a two-hundred-kilogram behemoth with a single throw?
Previously with the Dart, at least there was the false comfort of thinking, "I just can't make the tool, but if I tried I might not be weak," but now, this visible gap in human ability brought a stronger sense of defeat.
Similarly, it also highlighted Bi Fang's indisputable prowess.
Indeed, world champions could throw javelins a terrifying hundred meters, but those were industrially made to balanced standards and aimed only for distance, not precision.
A spear throw from over twenty meters striking a moving target with such deadly accuracy and power, killing instantly, was not something audience members had seen often.
[Master Fang... are you even human?]
[Dominating within twenty meters for sure]
[So brutal, so fierce, a total badass]
[The speed of that spear, I didn't even see how it was thrown at half speed, it just whooshed and the antelope was down.]
[An explosive revelation, casually making a wooden spear to reign supreme on the savannah?]
[I was wondering why Master Fang hasn't been making Darts lately, this is still the African Savannah, seems like he actually never needed them]
[Master Fang: I was just being considerate before, demonstrating techniques with some mechanical structures, but now I'm laying my cards on the table, no more pretense, I can wreak havoc with any ol' stick]
[Lord Mu gifts the protagonist a Spaceship*1—King of the Hunt!]
[What's with Lord Mu, going bankrupt, being stingy?]
[Lord Mu gifts the protagonist a Spaceship*66—Just added money to the account.]
[6666]
[Brother Fu V50]
[Speaking of which, he's killed two in one go, isn't that too much to eat now?]
"Shouldn't it be three?"
Bi Fang looked around and realized that the young Turn-horned Antelope, which had just been born, was nowhere to be seen; he was somewhat puzzled, "Did you guys see the little antelope just now?"
[Don't remember]
[Wait, I'll check the replay]
[Seems like it ran away]
[Wait, damn, it got eaten by a fish!]
[Damn, I saw it too, it was a fish, a big one in the river!]
[A Crocodile? Why didn't I see it]
[Not a crocodile, just a fish, not sure what kind, looked a bit like a catfish, really big mouth]
[Yes, I'm watching the replay, the little one panicked and jumped into the river, was about to climb out when suddenly this big fish surged forward and dragged it back, and then it was gone]
"Eaten by a fish?"
Bi Fang looked astounded; his focus had been on the Turn-horned Antelope and the hunting situation of the nearby Cheetah, he indeed hadn't paid much mind.
He had thought that the young antelope he had targeted had fled with the herd, but now it seemed, according to the live stream's comments, it had been eaten by a fish?
Unable to replay the footage like his viewers, Bi Fang walked to the riverbank, studying the calm waters. The river was quite murky and barely flowed, with a very smooth surface.
It was a clear and sunny day, yet not a single crocodile was out sunning itself, suggesting there were no crocodiles in the river—probably other creatures were responsible.
Maybe it was a large catfish as the viewers suggested, but it wasn't certain.
"In Africa's freshwater, besides crocodiles, there are plenty of fierce creatures, like the African Tigerfish or African Giant Catfish—it could be any of them; they often ambush small animals by the shore."
Bi Fang scanned the water surface for a long while, not observing anything noteworthy; he lacked x-ray vision and was just curious.
Taking this opportunity, he also educated his audience about many common dangers in African rivers.
"When you encounter rivers and pools in Africa, don't let your guard down, thinking you can replenish fresh water. There are many dangers lurking in these rivers. Let's not even mention crocodiles, which everyone understands, but take, for example, the African Tigerfish I just mentioned—with its full set of sharp teeth, it can grow up to one and a half meters in length and even hunt in pairs. It's not to be underestimated."
"Besides these big guys, there are also a lot of small creatures that are invisible to the eye, such as the Onchocerca volvulus, a well-known parasite."
"In the year 2015, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine drew all the domestic audience's attention to Professor TYY's artemisinin, and many overlooked the fact that the Nobel Prize that year wasn't awarded to just Professor TYY; there were three laureates."
"The other two laureates were Satoshi Ōmura from Japan and William C. Campbell from Ireland, and these two scientists were awarded for the same achievement—the discovery of an effective treatment for parasitic infections. They collaborated to isolate a novel bacterium, called Ivermectin, which significantly reduced the incidence of Onchocerca volvulus infections."
"Onchocerca volvulus is a parasite that lives under human skin and can cause serious eye damage and even blindness. When it affects the eyes, patients may show symptoms such as inflammation, discharge, immobility of the eyeball, and even visible adult worms wriggling just beneath the surface of the eye."
"This parasite is transmitted through the bite of blackflies, which breed in fast-flowing streams. The dark brown or black blood-sucking flies serve as the intermediate host for Onchocerca volvulus, making residents living near rivers more susceptible to this parasite. Hence, the disease caused by this worm is often referred to as River Blindness."
Upon hearing this, many viewers shuddered, feeling as if their own eyes were itching and couldn't resist the urge to rub them.
The calm and murky water surface added a thick layer of mysterious terror to the African Savanna.
[It made my heart skip a beat]
[Is it really that scary?]
[Damn, that's so dangerous. Home is safe after all. It's true what they say, don't venture into the wilderness if it's not necessary]
"Hahaha, the wild isn't that scary. You just need to be a little more cautious. But I'd still advise everyone not to enter the water in the wild lightly, as you never know if there are any strange big monsters or little critters inside that could cause terrible consequences to your body."
After a brief admonition, Bi Fang glanced twice at the water surface, but in the end, he still didn't find anything and turned to collect the spoils of this hunt.
It is not uncommon for the young of terrestrial animals to be eaten by aquatic creatures.
Bi Fang quickly approached the Turn-horned Antelope he had hunted, only to find a large hole in its body, through which he could faintly see the dark red viscera. The spear that had pierced it lay on the ground nearby.
Even with its body impaled, the Turn-horned Antelope hadn't died immediately but had struggled to run a distance further.
The wooden spear had passed through its body and stuck in the ground, which showed the force of Bi Fang's thrust had been substantial.
As it ran forward, the ground created some resistance and, lubricated by blood, the smooth spear fell out of the Turn-horned Antelope's body, coated in red blood.
"We must quickly collect the spoils and take them away; otherwise, it's not safe on the African Savanna. At any moment, we might encounter other predators."
Bi Fang pulled out his dagger, and instead of bleeding the animal first, he cut open its abdomen. In an instant, a mass of viscera, covered in slime and blood, slipped out. Among the many intestines, Bi Fang accurately located the stomach.
A strong stench rapidly pervaded the air, almost making one vomit, but Bi Fang endured it with more pressing matters awaiting him.
"Obtaining the necessary salt from the blood is a common practice among carnivores. Compared to other body parts, the blood contains a slightly higher concentration of salt. I'm going to collect the blood from these two animals as a salt supplement, and for that, we need containers—namely, their stomachs."
"The stomachs are flexible, well-sealed, and don't easily release odors, making them ideal containers. I've always used them this way, only before I was carrying water, and now, blood."
Having finished with one, Bi Fang moved to the other animal, which had been bitten in the throat by Harley and was no longer convulsing.
Using the same method, he quickly found what he needed, then cleaned up by the river. After another rinse with his own clean water, he had two clean containers.
Feeling along the animal's neck, Bi Fang found the artery's location and made a cut. At the same time, he held the stomach underneath to catch the blood, watching as it gushed out and poured into the stomach.
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Bi Fang soon collected two heavy bags of blood.
Tying a knot, the next step was to collect meat and some useful parts.
Next to him, Harley gnawed directly at the prey that had been gutted, also knowing where the best taste was, going straight for the liver, and Bi Fang did not stop him.
"We can't take the game with us; it's too heavy, and the smell of blood is too strong. We can only choose the places with the best cost-performance ratio—liver, fatty meat, tenderloin, and the like."
In the wilderness, there is no talk of waste, as many animals go hungry.
"Right, and the fur and brain matter, it still gets a bit cold at night. If we had two furs, that would be even better, greatly improving comfort and insulation."
The body structure of mammals is almost all the same, and when it comes to butchering these animals, Bi Fang's skill was almost at the level of an expert chef, the whole process smooth and pleasing to the eye.
Now, he didn't even need to hang the game. With a stab of his dagger, the skin separated easily from the flesh.
The spine muscles clearly separated, cutting out two long strips of tenderloin, bright red and soft.
Although tenderloin does not have much fat, even arguably the least, from a cost-efficiency standpoint it wasn't really worth it. The same weight of tenderloin does not provide more energy than the meat from other parts, but you can't beat how delicious it is!
Wild animals have well-developed muscles, and if not stewed, the meat is often too tough, with tenderloin being somewhat softer in comparison, a small consolation, and a rare delicacy in the wilderness.
By the time the meat had all been cut and two large pelts rolled up, Harley, too, had finished eating, his beard still dripping with blood.
Bi Fang quickly left the scene with him, and not long after they left, a few coyotes arrived at the side of the two gutted turn-horned antelopes, feasting happily, but before they could eat much, a group of fiercer spotted hyenas arrived.
The spotted hyenas ruthlessly drove away the small wolves and took possession of the two fresh kills, tearing into them with relish.
The last to arrive, the savannah monitors, could only watch from afar as the spotted hyenas ate their fill before sneaking up to squabble with the coyotes returning to scavenge the leftovers.
By evening, flies had already settled on the stinking corpses, a large number of ants and reptiles moved underneath, and vultures that had been waiting for a while flapped their wings and landed, picking out the easy-to-tear rotting flesh to enjoy their evening meal.
Perhaps in three days, there would only be two piles of white bones left here.
The campfire burned brightly, and two large turn-horned antelope furs were stretched over a square frame, smeared with brain matter and warm water, set on the ground, slowly being smoked.
A skewer of tenderloin was threaded onto a smooth stick stripped of bark, sizzling and smoking under the flames, emitting an irresistible aroma.
The wooden bowl nearby had just been taken off, waiting to cool down, the fresh water inside still bubbling and casting steamy waves of heat.
The newly made wooden spears were evenly thick and neatly arranged on one side.
Stones were stacked in a circle, an adequately sized pit was dug out, and the hut was constructed to form a complete roof with thick leaves spread underneath.
The backpack lay on the ground, pressing down several tender shoots.
The wet season had only started a few days ago, and the originally yellow African Savanna was already sprouting tender shoots.
Another beautiful day.
With everything packed away, Bi Fang sat by the campfire, enjoying tonight's dinner.
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