"What the heck! What did I just see? Did a black shadow just fall into the pit?"
"You didn't misread, I saw it too. Could it be that black panther?"
"Impossible, absolutely impossible. Black panthers are quite intelligent. With such a big pit right here, it wouldn't just fall in."
On the live stream, the bullet comments were abuzz with discussion, many speculating about the black panther's intelligence.
Even if it hadn't encountered humans before, it should have some sense of its environment in the rainforest, right?
It definitely couldn't be the black panther!
Many viewers insisted, defending the black panther in the comments.
Lele looked at the comments and after a long silence, finally said,
"But, what if, there's a possibility that the black panther wasn't looking where it was going?"
"After all, this should be its territory. Would you specifically look for a pit in your own home?"
Her words left the others speechless.
The bullet comments were filled with a string of '......'
Seeing the black panther appear, in the hospital room, Da Mahou's assistant Qiao An instantly patted the person on the hospital bed.
"Brother, look, is that the black panther that scared you out of the cave?"
"Ouch! Where are you hitting me! It hurts so much!"
Da Mahou felt his backside had suffered multiple injuries.
The doctor had said applying medicine would be enough, but now it was probably beyond just applying medicine.
How could this person randomly hit his precious backside?
He wondered if this assistant was sent to take care of him or to murder him.
Da Mahou gritted his teeth and glared at the assistant whose gaze was still fixed on the phone.
"If you're asking me, then bring the phone over for me to see!"
"Oh right, I forgot you can't move right now."
Qiao An gave an innocent smile and, before Da Mahou could explode, handed him the phone.
The screen showed the half-meter deep pit dug by Jiang Fan. Because the camera couldn't capture that far, only the large pit was visible.
Da Mahou felt that Qiao An was playing a trick on him.
Before he could say anything, he saw the camera switch angles.
A camera mounted above clearly captured the scene in the pit.
The pure black mass was still rolling in the pit.
It was trying to climb out, but it seemed its leg was injured, and it wasn't successful.
It kept climbing and kept failing.
But from the camera's perspective, the black panther just looked pitiful.
Da Mahou immediately recognized it as the black panther – the culprit – that had startled him earlier, leading to his eventual failure!
Seeing an old enemy, their eyes blazed with fury.
Da Mahou was so angry his eyes turned red.
"Damn it, if it wasn't for this black panther occupying our cave, how could Tuantuan and I have come out to shelter from the rain."
"And Tuantuan pulled me along for a long distance, causing me, I..."
He was so angry he could barely speak.
Seeing his state, Qiao An quickly took back the phone and, looking at the black panther still struggling in the pit, comforted him.
"It's okay, Brother. At least Brother Jiang got revenge for you. He just finished digging the pit, and the black panther fell right in."
"???"
Da Mahou, who was still fuming, was completely bewildered by Qiao An's words.
What happened? Why dig a pit? And why did the black panther fall in?
"Don't hold the phone up so high, I want to see too!"
"Sure, Brother."
The two of them watched the live stream together.
...
Looking at the scene on the screen, the viewers had to admit.
The silly black panther had fallen into the pit!
They were stunned by what they saw.
But even more surprised was Zhou Niannian, who had never seen a black panther before.
Hearing the commotion behind her, she turned around curiously and saw dust flying from the pit Jiang Fan had just dug.
"What happened?"
Putting down the wild boar meat she was halfway through washing, Zhou Niannian stood up and looked towards the pit.
She met the eyes of the dark creature in the pit.
Its emerald green beastly eyes made her freeze for a moment, unable to react.
This didn't look human.
It was a... beast.
And a fierce one at that.
After a pause of two or three seconds.
Her slow brain finally started working, and she finally realized.
With a short yelp, Zhou Niannian stumbled backward, her foot catching on a rock, and she almost fell.
But Jiang Fan grabbed her collar and pulled her up.
As soon as she was steady, Zhou Niannian, not paying attention to Jiang Fan's technique, stammered,
"There, in the pit you dug, there's, there's something!"
"Black, with big eyes."
"It might be a wild beast..."
She spoke several fragmented sentences.
Jiang Fan's first thought was of the black panther he'd encountered before, and he nodded in understanding.
Still holding Zhou Niannian's collar, he pulled her behind him and instructed,
"Stay here, I'll go take a look."
"Be careful!"
Zhou Niannian didn't dare to go closer, hesitating, biting her lower lip, and intently watching Jiang Fan's actions.
She had never imagined that there would be animals like black panthers in this place; they looked frightening at first glance.
Even now, her heart was beating uncontrollably, her breathing becoming rapid.
The rainforest couldn't possibly be without large prey; they had just been lucky not to encounter any in the past few days.
Zhou Niannian now realized she had never considered what to do if she encountered a large wild beast.
Run? Or fight?
She was just a streamer, participating in this program due to popularity and certain reasons, but without professional help or close protection.
If she hadn't been paired with Jiang Fan, she might have been among the first to be eliminated.
Thinking of this, looking at Jiang Fan's retreating back, Zhou Niannian let out a sigh of relief for some reason, trying her best not to be too nervous.
It was just a black beast; if it was Jiang Fan, he should be able to handle it...
As she thought this, her tense heart relaxed.
Seeing Jiang Fan lift the beast out, just like he had grabbed her collar, Zhou Niannian's eyes widened.
She then realized what Jiang Fan had done to her just now.
"So I've been relegated to the same treatment as a wild beast?"
She couldn't help but quip, looking at the black panther being held up, its entire body curled up.
Zhou Niannian's dangling heart finally settled completely. She tentatively stepped closer and discovered that red liquid was dripping from the black panther's right hind leg.
Looking further up, at the wound, a branch had pierced its flesh, looking painful.
Even though it was being held, the black panther was struggling, wriggling, wanting Jiang Fan to put it down.
Perhaps because of the pain?
She thought, feeling a bit sorry for the black panther, looking at it with pity.
"It seems to be injured."
"Yes."
"Can you save it? It looks so pitiful."
As soon as Zhou Niannian said this, the black panther seemed to understand her words, baring its sharp fangs at her.
"Roar—"