Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness

Across the endless expanse of the lake, Bi Fang confirmed the final direction and rolled up the map with one hand.

Étienne reached out to touch the goose, knowing it would be his last day with it.

They had brought eighteen healthy geese over, but how many would return tomorrow?

“Amu, you’re the naughtiest. The storm really scared me to death; from now on, you must train hard and not fall behind. Being a drag is bound to make you disliked.”

“Aga, take good care of your little brother. Though he’s clumsy, don’t bully him, for you two are the closest brothers.”

“Dist, you’re the smartest among them. Make sure to take care of everyone and not discriminate against Aga and Amu.”

“Doug, you’re the weakest, make sure to eat well, and you must flee quickly if you encounter danger…”

After saying his goodbyes, Étienne felt a sense of loss: “Can our plan succeed? Was Director Legoff telling the truth?”

“It will succeed.”

Bi Fang placed his hand on Étienne’s shoulder with a certainty never felt before, ready to stake his life on the plan’s completion and success.

He was even confident that this plan was better and more flawless than those in the original world.

The pioneers of the original world didn’t have Bi Fang’s help and couldn’t select the real wilderness migration routes, needing to constantly resupply in cities along the way.

Bi Fang and Étienne had done their best.

The eighteen geese would return to the Arctic, breed with other flocks, and bring more goslings back each year, eventually freeing themselves from the crisis facing their species.

“Birds, from now on, you must fly on your own.”

Bi Fang moved past Étienne, reached out to shut off the engine, and, using the wind, the plane glided alongside the geese.

It wasn’t a malfunction; it was simply to savor the moment.

The vast wind blew beneath them, carrying moisture and warmth, as Bi Fang looked towards the north and then the south.

Heaven and earth.

Humans and birds.

On the beach, colorful campsites rose high, as people couldn’t wait to witness the final moment of the geese landing.

They propped up sun umbrellas, basking in the sunlight.

Vendors pushed their mobile freezers, hawking their cold drinks.

Men wearing sun hats walked on the beach, carrying wooden boxes filled with various sunscreens, offering samples to any well-figured girls they encountered.

Journalists drove in early, ready with their “long guns and short cannons.”

Matthew blended into the crowd, looking at the dense heads of people and feeling something amiss, as if something had changed.

“Uncle, are you a journalist too?”

Peter strolled on the grass and saw Matthew standing alone in the forest.

“Yeah.”

“Then why don’t you go to the beach? Wouldn’t it be clearer there?”

Matthew paused, then counter-asked Peter, “What about you? Why aren’t you going?”

Peter spread his hands helplessly: “Too many people.”

Matthew suddenly froze, finally understanding why he had silently chosen to stand here.

Indeed, the boy was right.

There were too many people.

It was supposed to be a migration far from humans, so why had it turned into this?

“The wind’s too strong, I can’t hear clearly. What? Thirty-five minutes, five minutes? Roger!”

On the beach, the leader received the message and hastened to the shore, shouting, “Five more minutes, they’ll arrive in five minutes!”

The crowd stirred, and those holding placards quickly stood up, ready with their welcome banners.

A man beside the leader quickly stood up and ran to greet Elvan, “Hello.”

“Hello.” Elvan stood up in response, as the plane would pass over a large lake, he had set off early in the morning and waited in advance at the destination.

The man hurriedly asked, “Where will the plane land?”

Elvan looked up and pointed to a spot on the beach, “Over there, where it says ‘Bi Fang and Étienne are heroes,’ with the heart next to it.”

“Okay, I’ll make sure the camera captures it, thank you.” The man expressed his gratitude and then began to direct the cameraman, “Jim, a little further back, a little further back!”

Five minutes later, a shadow appeared at the edge of the sky, then grew larger and more distinct.

The people on the beach began to cheer, waving their signs and screaming in anticipation of the heroes landing on the lake surface.

Bi Fang was startled by the pitch-black beach; he thought there would be a welcoming party of maybe a hundred or two at the destination, but how many were there now?

A couple of thousand?

No, even more.

The geese next to the airplane began to cry out in alarm.

Finally realizing something was amiss, Elvan on the beach stopped Lenin, who wanted to go forward, and looked behind, “Let’s go, we’re leaving.”

“Where to?”

“Just follow me!”

Bi Fang on the plane saw Elvan and also stopped Étienne, “Don’t get off yet, fly a few more circles.”

Étienne, not understanding why, did as he was told.

The crowd on the beach cheered even louder, thinking Bi Fang was performing some kind of stunt, their voices swelling more and more.

Not until Elvan had run far enough did Bi Fang point towards the distance, “Quick, keep up with your dad!”

“Okay!”

The airplane roared as it flew over the heads of the people below.

The leader looked at the rapidly disappearing airplane, stunned, “Why is he flying over there?”

The crowd, caught off-guard by the disappearance of the airplane, let their signs fall to the ground.

Matthew raised his camera with a smile and pressed the shutter towards the geese in the sky.

[Damn, that’s so wicked!]

[So cunning!]

[This is the migration I had in mind, too many people spoil it!]

[True salvation has always been the effort of a few, Old Fang, I wasn’t wrong about you, a man who doesn’t bow to popularity!]

[A bit cool, indeed.]

“Hurry!”

Elvan called out to Lenin.

Lenin, panting heavily, felt as if all his body fat was burning, but he kept running.

The two of them walked further and further until they reached a deserted small lake.

The airplane turned off its engines and spiraled down, the geese swam into the marsh as if diving into the sea.

Elvan walked into the water, watching Bi Fang and Étienne come down from the plane.

The four looked at each other, first with smiles, and then burst into loud laughter.

…

Lenin piloted the airplane away, Bi Fang and Étienne stepped out of the cabin, looking at the geese moving in the wetlands, their eyes full of satisfaction.

In the live streaming room, the viewers also realized that the final moment of farewell was coming, both for humans and geese, and for them and the geese.

Bi Fang put his arm around Étienne’s shoulder, “Let’s go, from now on they’ll have to rely on themselves, you’ve known this day would come, haven’t you?”

Bi Fang was just as reluctant to leave; this was the most unique adventure he had ever been on, filled with not just tension and excitement, but also great satisfaction and a cleansing of the soul.

The beginning of the journey might not have been quite right, and he had violated many things, even taking the risk of bringing along a fifteen-year-old boy. But it was precisely because it was Étienne that they could succeed.

The adult world is always full of rules, just as Elvan would have encountered obstacles from Director Legoff and given up, yet a teenager’s binary world is more pure. This might just be a teenager’s “second-year syndrome,” but Elvan envied this purity.

Étienne wiped away his tears and smiled, “Yeah, we’re doing the right thing.”

“Exactly, the right thing,” said Elvan, putting on his coat, “Let’s go, we should go have a genuine French meal, Bi Fang, you’ve been here for so long and I haven’t properly hosted you yet.”

“Then I’m going to have a feast.”