CHAPTER 32: CHAPTER 32: ENCOUNTER WITH THE BLACK PANTHER!

Chen Wen’s side.

Following the marks he had left before.

Chen Wen quickly retraced his steps and arrived beside the stream.

The uneventful journey slightly eased Chen Wen’s vigilance.

He left the suitcase on the shore.

Then jumped into the stream himself.

The stream was quite cool, and Chen Wen let out a comfortable sigh.

If there were a deeper place, swimming a circle would be truly comfortable!

Thinking this, Chen Wen splashed the stream water, washing his face and exposed skin.

After three or four days since landing on the island, continuously sweating, even making mud stick to his body.

Even after a trip to the sea, there was still a stench on him.

This made Chen Wen somewhat unbearable.

Washing the skin clean, rinsing his hair with the cool stream water.

Chen Wen even felt his spirits improved quite a bit.

His slightly muddled head was also entirely refreshed.

"No wonder everyone loves taking a bath, this stuff is just so comforting!"

Seeing no dangers around, Chen Wen directly took off his clothes and sat in the stream, intending to take a bath.

While bathing, it remained quiet around.

Besides the rustling of leaves in the wind, the gurgling of flowing water, and the unknown chirping of birds.

There were no other sounds.

"Cicadas chirp, making the forest seem quieter; bird calls, rendering the mountain more secluded, indeed the ancients didn’t deceive me!"

Feeling the serene side of the rainforest.

Chen Wen’s face carried an expression of enjoyment, as if leaving all troubles behind.

If Chen Wen were a game character, a caption would definitely appear above his head.

[Your spirit is restored, your resolve strengthened]

The mountains, water, and trees brought Chen Wen a moment of tranquility.

But keeping this tranquility wasn’t going to be easy.

As time passed, the birds that had been chirping gradually disappeared.

The wind grew stronger, turning the rustling into louder noise.

The sky darkened, and the air felt more oppressive.

It seemed like it was going to rain again.

Seeing this, Chen Wen reluctantly ended his bath.

He needed to quickly collect fresh water and return to the shelter.

Putting on his clothes, Chen Wen dragged the suitcase to the shore and took out the plastic bottles from inside.

Washing the bottles with the stream water, then filling them.

Looking at the bright stream water, Chen Wen began to anticipate a cup of hot tea.

Once back, boiling some water and brewing some goji berries would surely be a treat!

Chen Wen thought with delight.

But right then.

Snap!

An extremely discordant sound startled Chen Wen.

It was the sound of a branch breaking!

[Perception (Green): Your Perception Ability has improved]

The attribute became effective, making Chen Wen vigilant.

Originating from the southwest!

Chen Wen located the sound and gripped the short spear in his hand.

At the same time, his left hand reversed the grip on the Swiss army knife.

With his weapons ready, Chen Wen slowly lifted his head, looking towards the southwest.

But...

"There’s nothing?"

Chen Wen looked speechlessly at the southwest shrubs and undergrowth.

This time, not only was there no sense of threat, but the southwestern shrubbery was also extremely quiet.

Did I hear wrong?

Chen Wen cursed the unreliable Jinxiu Lobster, silently deciding to definitely catch it the next time he ventures out to sea.

Putting down the short spear, Chen Wen continued to collect water.

Seeing the last bottle about to fill up.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chen Wen suddenly noticed a dark, slippery mass on the southern bank of the stream.

"What is this? A debate?"

After sealing the bottle, Chen Wen came up to the mass.

"It really is poop! This must belong to that black thing, right?"

Chen Wen broke off a green plant growing on the bank and used its hard root to poke at the dung.

It’s quite hard, seems to have been here for some time.

There appears to be fur on it, is this... chicken feathers?

Chen Wen was a bit surprised.

Could there really be chickens on this deserted island?

How rare!

Chen Wen continued to inspect the dung, trying to find more information.

Subsequently, he discovered many white bone fragments in the dung.

Likely chicken bones, it seems that the black creature is indeed a medium-sized carnivore, capable of easily hunting small animals like chickens.

"What kind of animal could this be? Judging by the dung, to be honest, it doesn’t seem like a dog."

Having raised dogs, Chen Wen knew the characteristics of dog feces.

And this stuff was quite different from dog feces.

On one hand, this pile of feces is much smaller than dog feces.

According to the size of the black object Chen Wen observed, if it were a dog, the feces would be larger.

Of course, we can’t rule out the difference between wild dogs and domestic dogs.

On the other hand, there’s the smell.

In Chen Wen’s hometown, they’d curse using the term "stinky dog poop."

Feces are certainly stinky, but dog feces are especially stinky!

The smell of this pile of feces is evidently not as strong as dog feces.

Of course, this is just Chen Wen’s personal judgment, not to be taken as fact.

"A medium-sized carnivorous animal, not a dog... then what is it?"

Chen Wen frowned, deep in thought.

And just as he looked up, the answer appeared right before his eyes!

Outside the bushes, on the riverbank.

About ten meters away, up the slope from Chen Wen.

A peculiar creature was slowly approaching.

Black fur, yellow-brown pupils, a streamlined body, and yellowish but dagger-like canines.

Mysterious, elegant, beautiful, dangerous!

These four words couldn’t be more fitting to describe it!

It was a Black Panther!

Looking at the pitch-black panther, Chen Wen felt his heart skip a beat.

Damn it!

What is this?!

How is this thing on the deserted island?!

How did it get here?

Did someone use a helicopter to transport it here?!

Crazy!

Chen Wen was flustered, and also frightened.

He had thought of many creatures, but not a panther.

This panther alone had a body length of about 1.3 or 1.4 meters and looked very robust!

Among the panther family, this Black Panther is definitely a giant!

What to do!

The moment he saw the Black Panther, Chen Wen temporarily lost the ability to think.

Modern people’s thinking told Chen Wen: Run!

It’ll be very painful to fight it!

Very dangerous!

But Chen Wen forcibly overcame his fear, straightened his back, and stood in the stream.

He knew that running now would only trigger the creature’s ferocity and cruelty!

Moreover, turning your back on an animal often triggers their hunting instincts!

In his past life, Chen Wen watched videos recorded by visitors at zoos.

Sometimes they would deliberately sit with their backs to the animals to rest, and even through glass, animals would attack, only to crash into the glass.

This is the predatory instinct ingrained in carnivorous animals’ genes!

It can’t be changed!

Therefore, Chen Wen chose to stand still, raising his short spear.

"Back off!"

Chen Wen shouted loudly, even though his back was already drenched in cold sweat.

Yet Chen Wen still chose to muster his courage and face the enemy directly.

The Black Panther was not intimidated by Chen Wen.

After successfully ambushing Du Feng’s men’s group, its fear of humans had greatly diminished.

Now the Black Panther regarded Chen Wen as prey.

And the posturing of the prey, in human terms, was laughable.

"Back off! Roar!"

Seeing that the Black Panther remained unmoved, still constantly eyeing him up and down,

he called out again, even mimicking an animal’s roar.

But the Black Panther didn’t buy it.

It slowly raised its paw, inching closer.

...

Men’s group camp.

After receiving a rabies vaccine injection, Du Feng lay on the ground resting.

Zhuo Hongnian, who was also resting, curiously looked at Du Feng’s wound: "Mr. Du, was your wound bitten? Is this one scratched?"

Du Feng nodded: "Yeah, the Black Panther’s claws are formidable, and its teeth are razor-sharp. I feel it wasn’t bred in a zoo at all; instead, it felt like a truly wild animal!"

"Wow, I can’t imagine if I stood in front of that Black Panther, I probably would’ve been so scared my knees would go weak."

Zhuo Hongnian shook his head, thankful he had retreated with an injury earlier.

Du Feng sighed: "Just about, I was terrified at the time, too. For those of us who’ve hardly seen wild beasts, seeing such a thing for the first time, not being scared to wet yourself is pretty decent psychological resilience."

Netizens were filled with emotion hearing their conversation.

[Did you hear that? From now on, don’t pretend to be brave, the truth proves humans can’t muster the courage when facing wild beasts!]

[You’re being too absolute, there are indeed situations where humans directly counterattack when facing wild beasts]

[That’s mostly foreigners; they live in rough, hostile places, so they’re prepared]

[No mistake, in our place, our ancestors have nearly eliminated ferocious beasts, top-level safety]

[Still too absolute, we also have instances of countering wild beasts here, just because you haven’t seen it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, brother]

[Regardless, we modern people live too comfortably, many can’t even handle cats and dogs, let alone wild beasts]

[No mistake in that, anyone who’s watched Pan Hong’s videos knows many people can’t even control small corgis or Shiba Inus]

[In a life-and-death duel, humans would win, mainly because people are too smart and afraid of getting hurt]