I'm herding sheep for the country, and a snow leopard brings its cubs to eat at the buffet.

Chapter 18 The Director's Plan!

Seeing Gu Gao's thoroughly "foot-soaking old man" demeanor, Lin Ye's lips twitched, and he was so angry that he laughed.

"You're a snow leopard! You're a cold-resistant animal! Aren't you afraid of boiling yourself into a pot of leopard soup by soaking in a 40-degree Celsius hot spring?!"

The live stream chat was instantly flooded with comments about Gu Gao's extremely unexpected and endearing personality:

["Hahahaha! Help! The way Gu Gao is soaking his feet is exactly the same as how my grandpa soaks his feet at the public bathhouse!"]

[“Lonely and Arrogant: I was a god of war just now hunting wild boars, and now I’m a king soaking in the hot springs! This is called a balance between work and rest!”]

"Hey, get that old geezer a VIP foot massage therapist, number 98! And bring him a pot of the finest goji berry tea!"

"Look at its blissful expression! I'm just a working-class person, and I'm actually starting to feel jealous of a leopard even through the screen! It's been so long since I've taken a bath!"

[Wild boar (shedding tears of regret): That used to be my bathtub…]

Lin Ye ignored Gu Gao, who was immersed in the pleasure of soaking his feet. He stood up, looked around at this auspicious place, and began to sketch out an extremely magnificent infrastructure blueprint in his mind.

"Brothers, this hot spring has come at just the right time."

Lin Ye pointed to the surrounding terrain, which was hidden by dense bushes and boulders:

"Look at the terrain here, the location is extremely secluded, a natural haven. It's only a little over an hour's walk from our observation post, consider it a workout."

"The most amazing thing is that it's nestled against a snow-capped mountain and faces a shallow valley. Tomorrow, I'll bring people to completely clear out this wild boar's den, pave the bottom with the bluestone slabs from the riverbank, and expand this hot spring pool into a standard open-air bath!"

"Not only that, I also want to build an extremely rustic Nordic-style log cabin next to this hot spring, using fir wood unique to the Qilian Mountains!"

"In winter, when the snow falls heavily, the mountains and fields are covered in a blanket of white. We'll sit in this wooden cabin, lighting the fireplace and roasting lamb chops. Then we'll push open the door and jump straight into this mineral hot spring, which is over 40 degrees Celsius and steaming, so we can soak while enjoying the snow, and maybe even watch Grandpa Gu Gao catching mice nearby!"

"In the summer, we come here to soak our feet, escape the heat, and eat some wild fruits from the mountains. This is what life is all about! This is the ultimate romance of Northwest China!"

Lin Ye's description is extremely vivid.

Those urban office workers who spend their days crammed into sardine-can-like subways, eating takeout, and frantically coding in front of computer screens completely broke down upon hearing this description!

"Stop talking, Brother Lin! Please stop! My tears are already streaming down my face!"

"After hearing the anchor's plan, I slapped my boss! I can't work another day like this! I'm going to build a log cabin in the Qilian Mountains!"

"This is the retirement life I've always dreamed of! Enjoying the snow and soaking in hot springs in winter, it's simply heavenly!"

"Brother Lin, once your hot spring is finished, will it be open? Can I pay five thousand yuan to soak in it for one night?"

"We'll talk about this later!"

Lin Ye immediately took action.

He piloted the drone, flying it around the low mountain valley, and used the system's built-in mapping function to thoroughly survey the surrounding terrain.

Then, he took out his phone and marked the GPS coordinates here with an extremely precise star.

To prevent wild animals with poor eyesight (such as the clear-eyed but foolish roe deer or marmots) from accidentally falling into the pool and getting scalded while drinking water in the middle of the night, Lin Ye also moved dozens of large stones around the area and quickly built a simple semi-circular protective fence.

"Alright, mission accomplished! Today has been a great harvest. Not only did we find top-quality old Qianghuo (a type of medicinal herb), but we also stumbled upon a heavenly hot spring for free."

Lin Ye dusted off his hands and, with great effort, dragged up the lone dog that was still lingering by the hot spring and refusing to leave.

"Get up, old man, time for your foot bath! If you keep soaking like that, you'll go bald! Go home and have a big meal!"

"Awoo... (What's the rush? I haven't had my fill of soaking yet! I have to come again tomorrow!)" Gu Gao reluctantly shook his wet paws and followed Lin Ye back, looking back every few steps.

As they were leaving, the Tibetan fox "Director," who was at the front of the group, unusually turned around and glanced at the steaming hot spring pool.

On its iconic, large face, it displayed a capitalist smile that seemed to say, "I've got you all figured out," and even used its claws to make a very subtle scratch on the tree trunk next to it, clearly treating this hunting ground as its private property.

On the way back, it was getting dark.

The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the snow-capped peaks of the Qilian Mountains a magnificent orange-red. Lin Ye, carrying a heavy load of top-quality Qianghuo (a type of medicinal herb), pondered how to spend this windfall, his steps extremely light.

Just as they crossed the last hill and were about to see the familiar paved road leading to the ecological observation station.

The Tibetan fox, who had been walking ahead as if equipped with an automatic navigation system, suddenly stopped abruptly!

Its ears, which were originally drooping slightly, suddenly stood up straight!

The director didn't look in the direction of home; instead, he abruptly turned his large, square face ninety degrees.

He stared intently at the depths of the extremely dense primeval fir forest on the left, where even sunlight could hardly penetrate.

"Hiss—hiss—"

The director's extremely sharp black nose.

It was violently heaving in the air at an astonishing frequency.

Listen to the voices of all things.

Lin Ye did not hear the director's usual extremely irritable or calculating inner monologue.

Instead, a very rare voice, tinged with doubt and extreme vigilance, echoed in his mind:

"Strange...this smell..."

"It's not a rabbit, not a snowcock, not even any of the common creatures found on this grassland..."

"There's a strange smell... extremely dangerous, yet with a faint hint of blood!"

Just as the director wrinkled his nose, the Snow Mountain King Gu Gao, who had been following behind Lin Ye, seemed to sense something.

This usually extremely lazy big cat suddenly tensed all its muscles, a chilling glint of a top predator flashed in its deep blue eyes, and a low, menacing purr came from its throat.

Lin Ye stopped abruptly, his right hand instinctively reaching for the double-barreled shotgun on his back, his eyes instantly becoming extremely sharp.

This is what makes the snow leopard, at the top of the food chain, and the extremely cunning Tibetan fox both show this alarmed reaction.

In that deep, secluded fir forest...

What exactly is being hidden?!

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