CHAPTER 63: CHAPTER 15: THE BUSH BROTHERS

The meeting ended quickly.

But the results of the meeting were extremely fruitful.

Under Chen Wen’s planning, the men’s group was temporarily divided into three small teams.

The internal affairs team responsible for the camp, led by Gan Tieshan (the carpenter), with members Wang Zhi (survival enthusiast), Lu Heng (the second-generation rich), and Du Feng (the cook).

The external team responsible for food, led by Bai Yachuan (the fisherman), with members Lv Guocheng (the fishing guy) and Zhang Hu (the farmer).

And the newly formed exploration team, led by Chen Wen, with members Yan Bian (the tour guide) and Zhuo Hongnian (the university student).

After the division of tasks, the three team leaders also clarified the tasks for tomorrow.

The internal affairs team would maintain the camp and continue building beds.

The external team would head to the coral reef to catch seafood and send people to fetch water.

While the exploration team, where Chen Wen was, would be responsible for exploring northward on the island.

The livestock released by the program team was over there.

The men’s group had clear roles, and their morale was high.

...

A new day arrived quickly.

The fourteenth day of survival.

The men’s group got up early.

Du Feng had prepared breakfast early, and also prepared dry food for the exploration team—grilled fish and water in plastic bottles.

Chen Wen’s intention was very clear: today, they would spend the entire day searching for these livestock.

They wouldn’t come back at noon.

After securing their first-person perspective cameras, the three distributed weapons and positions.

Chen Wen cleared the path with a knife, Zhuo Hongnian carried the crossbow and arrows in the middle, and Yan Bian held a spear taking up the rear.

After saying goodbye to the others, the three plunged into the lush forest.

...

Exploring the rainforest is no easy task.

The vegetation in the rainforest grows wild, and it’s difficult to set foot in many places.

Especially in the center of the island.

The vegetation here is even denser.

Chen Wen held a knife in his left hand and a stick he picked up in his right.

While hitting the bushes with the stick, he cut down branches blocking his way with the knife.

Zhuo Hongnian and Yan Bian followed slowly along the path opened by Chen Wen.

Of course, the two weren’t just idle.

Yan Bian occasionally left the group to check those suspicious traces.

Zhuo Hongnian identified the vegetation along the way, trying to find useful plants.

"Wait a minute."

Just as Chen Wen cut down a young tree, Yan Bian called out to stop.

Chen Wen turned his head to see Yan Bian squatting by some bushes they had just passed, using his hand to move the branches and leaves.

"What’s up?"

Zhuo Hongnian turned around and asked as he walked to Yan Bian’s side.

"These here... seem to have been nibbled by sheep."

Yan Bian said, revealing the branches and leaves of the bush for Chen Wen and Zhuo Hongnian to take a closer look.

Chen Wen scratched his head, a bit embarrassed: "Uh, I can’t tell, Mr. Yan, how did you determine that?"

Neither as a fisherman nor in his past life had Chen Wen ever dealt with sheep.

Let alone traces of them nibbling.

Zhuo Hongnian was equally puzzled, being a true city kid.

Seeing both of them confused, Yan Bian’s tour guide instincts kicked in.

"You two are still young,"

Yan Bian pointed out the location of the leaves and explained, "First, look at the height. Many animals can only eat at a height based on their size. These leaves are about fifty centimeters high; chickens definitely can’t reach them, pigs can barely manage, but sheep can."

"Secondly, look at the area eaten; these are all tender leaves and new buds, with plenty of moisture, which sheep love."

"Lastly, look at the bite marks. For leaves, sheep use their lips and tongue along with their teeth to tear off the leaves, so the edges of the leaves are often torn."

Following Yan Bian’s explanation, Chen Wen did indeed notice the subtle marks on the leaves.

"Awesome!"

Chen Wen sincerely admired, "Mr. Yan, are you an expert on sheep?"

"Not at all, I’m just an ordinary tour guide,"

Yan Bian said with satisfaction.

What he didn’t tell Chen Wen was that a year ago, while guiding a show, he had taken people into the mountains to find wild goats.

So he was well-versed in identifying signs left by sheep.

Just as Yan Bian was about to continue speaking,

Zhuo Hongnian curiously pointed to some black pellets not far away and asked, "What are those?"

Chen Wen hesitated for a moment and pretended to be surprised: "Oh! Those are wild jujubes!"

Wild jujubes?

Yan Bian glanced over, trying hard not to laugh.

Those were obviously sheep droppings!

"Jujubes? Why are they black?"

Zhuo Hongnian was a bit skeptical.

"Silly boy, once they’re fully ripe, of course they’re black."

Chen Wen said, throwing a glance at Yan Bian.

Yan Bian caught on and played along, "Don’t be fooled by their black color; they taste really sweet!"

Zhuo Hongnian, convinced by the duo, quickly let down his guard and prepared to pick one up to taste.

Fortunately, Chen Wen stopped him, preventing a potential mishap.

Watching this scene, the online viewers couldn’t help but laugh.

[Oh, poor kid, being tricked by two master pranksters]

[These three look more like brothers on a trip rather than in a survival situation]

[The men’s group has way too many props, how can there be sheep on the island?]

[Come on, if the women’s group can have wild glucose, why can’t we have wild sheep?]

[Just for laughs, did you think this was hardcore survival?]

...

Ignoring Zhuo Hongnian’s resentful gaze,

thanks to Yan Bian’s excellent tracking skills, he soon found very fresh traces.

"This seems to have just been nibbled; the cut on the leaves is still wet. It’s probably just ahead, within tens of meters."

Yan Bian whispered, motioning for the other two to crouch down.

Zhuo Hongnian, also whispering, asked, "This sheep, how do we deal with it? Shoot it with the crossbow?"

"Who knows how to use a crossbow?"

Chen Wen asked in return.

Both shook their heads.

"So we just chase after it?"

Zhuo Hongnian continued suggesting.

Yan Bian rolled his eyes, "In this terrain, do you think you can run?"

Zhuo Hongnian awkwardly shook his head.

At this point, Yan Bian looked at Chen Wen: "How about you? Can you try to catch up with it? I remember you ran quite fast before."

Chen Wen shook his head.

In his current skillset, he had "Swift" and "Leaping Start" related to speed.

His burst speed wasn’t slow, even faster than before.

But it wasn’t sustainable.

He was still far from regaining his previous sustained speed.

After all, those golden skills provided boosts specialized for rainforest terrain.

Upon hearing this, Yan Bian was a bit disappointed.

But Chen Wen quickly added, "We can try encircling it from three sides and see if we can pin it down."

"Sounds good, let’s do it!"

With a rough plan, the three continued stealthily forward.

Before long, a white sheep appeared in their view.

The very common kind.

At the sight of it, Chen Wen immediately thought of mutton skewers.

"How should we do this?"

Chen Wen whispered.

Yan Bian hesitated, watching the sheep as it continued to graze on the vegetation.

He responded quietly, "Let’s circle around; the two of us will try to circle to its front diagonally, while Zhuo waits here."

"Once we’re in position, I’ll whistle, and the three of us rush out together!"

"Remember to shout loudly to scare the sheep, make it panic, and no matter which way it runs, we can pin it down!"

"How do you all feel about this plan?"

Zhuo Hongnian nodded, imagining the characters Galen, Prince, Zhao Xin in his mind.

The three brothers were going to cosplay as the bush trio today!

"Any problems?"

"Don’t worry!"

"Mutton skewers are on tonight’s menu!"

"Good, then let’s go!"