Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness-Chapter 886 - 882: Driftwood on the River

The moist sand was slowly pushed aside by the advancing wooden raft, leaving an obvious trace on the riverbank.

The dark green river water, mixed with a good amount of sediment, turned slightly yellowish, and the waves on both sides kept spreading further away, seemingly transmitting a signal to the sovereign of the river.

Harley sat on the shore, slightly opening his mouth to breathe, cautiously surveying his surroundings though his own appearance made him seem rather dumb.

Out of the corner of his eye, Bi Fang noticed something moving in the grass next to him.

A few stalks of grass, over two meters tall, gently swayed. Those not paying attention might have thought it was just a breeze, but a look at other areas would tell you that only one area shaking heavily was quite discordant.

He guessed that the likeliest thing hiding there was a crocodile.

As a poikilothermic animal, a crocodile could maintain its body temperature in line with its environment, and its metabolic level also continually changed.

The advantage of this is not needing to use internal energy substances to maintain body temperature. Maintaining a body temperature above thirty degrees is a significant energy expense for normal animals. The same piece of meat could sustain a poikilothermic animal for a longer activity period, which means poikilothermics have a much slower energy consumption rate and ultimately eat less.

Eating less is an incredible advantage in the harshness of nature, meaning less needed prey, less likely to starve, needing less prey means fewer hunting occasions, less likely to be killed.

Consider the Nile Crocodile, which only eats a couple of times a year; its prey includes either wildebeests or zebras, none of which are easy targets. A kick from them could seriously hurt a crocodile.

The proverb goes: one who often walks by the river cannot keep his paws dry.

The less you wander, the longer you live.

However, being poikilothermic also has its downsides; otherwise, most of the creatures at the top of the food chain would be homeothermic.

If it gets too cold, the metabolic level in a poikilothermic animal drops too low, making its movements quite sluggish and clumsy, dramatically decreasing its chances of catching prey.

Among poikilothermic animals, the ones topping the list that people commonly recognize are usually only crocodiles and pythons, both opportunists. They stay put in a little area where they can't catch prey unless it comes right up to them.

Therefore, in anticipation of the upcoming, semiannual self-service feast, as long as there's sunlight, crocodiles will climb ashore to bask in the sun, storing energy like solar panels to charge up for their next actions.

Bi Fang looked around, noticing that apart from some ripples near the raft, there were no other disturbances in the water, indicating that the crocodile hadn't entered it.

The audience, seeing this, grew particularly tense, possibly because Bi Fang's consistent words and actions had left a deep impression on them, branding this sizable river in their eyes with a label of extreme danger.

[Already panicking]

[I feel so unsafe]

[Won't the crocodile attack the people on the raft, and there's not even a barrier, will the raft fall apart if it comes directly onto it]

[I, an elderly, can't stand to watch this]

"We still need to cross the river fast."

After pushing the raft into the water, Bi Fang stepped onto it to test its buoyancy and structure.

The river, over fifty meters wide and teeming with crocodiles, demanded a sturdy raft; anything less would be tantamount to joking with one's own life.

After ensuring everything was safe, Bi Fang picked up a pole and called over to Harley, who was sitting on the ground, ready to cross the river.

The several exposed river islands in the current indicated that the river wasn't very deep and the flow wasn't fast. Compared to an oar, a pole was actually a better choice.

"Poles can only be used in shallow waters, but they are the most adaptable method of handling boats under special conditions, easily overcoming narrow waters and aquatic plants."

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"That's why domestic wooden boats usually use poles in combination with other propulsion methods. In busy Jiangnan shipping areas, oars are seldom used because they have too many limitations and must be used on open waters, which is impractical on narrow waters. For example, fishermen near lakes use oars more frequently, but there shouldn't be too much aquatic plant life, as getting tangled up makes them difficult to use."

Of course, Bi Fang had also prepared an oar.

There were no bamboo or straight, slender plant stems nearby, so Bi Fang had to make a temporary pole by connecting branches and securing them with special knots.

Compared to bamboo poles, such a makeshift pole was heavy and structurally unsound, essentially failing quality standards and meant for one-time use only.

Because of this, extra caution was necessary; a breakage could cause significant trouble, so Bi Fang had preemptively prepared an additional rowing oar.

Responding to the summon, Harley lowered his head, cautiously peered at the somewhat murky lake surface, extended a paw to test the water, and then swiftly retracted it, looking hesitant and indecisive.

Bi Fang consistently monitored the underwater environment to ensure no sudden attacks occurred; he didn't rush Harley, allowing him to assess the surroundings on his own.

Such behavior, fearful and hesitant in the face of an unfamiliar environment, is very normal and even a good habit in nature. Bi Fang wouldn't interfere with Harley's actions, as it might impact his natural behaviors in the future.

If pushed and rushed, once or twice might be no big deal, but over time, it could easily strip Harley of these good habits.

"[It's a bit like raising a small child (dog's head)]"

"[I think Harley is really smart]"

"[When can everyone have one of these things?]"

"[It's still too dangerous]"

After pacing back and forth on the shore for about three minutes, Harley finally made up his mind and carefully jumped onto the raft.

Under the influence of gravity and inertia, the raft wobbled slightly, frightening Harley into immediately lowering his center of gravity and embedding his claws firmly into the wood until the raft stabilized again, only then slowly standing up and cautiously beginning to move.

Seeing this, Bi Fang continued to wait for a while, gently guiding Harley back from the edge of the raft each time he drew too close. Once Harley stopped approaching the edge easily, Bi Fang inserted the pole into the river bed and used it to push the entire raft forward.

"In shallow areas, we can control the raft with two long poles. If inexperienced, it's best for two people to cooperate—one in the front corner and another diagonally in the back. Even without any experience with poles, this method can quickly get the entire boat moving while ensuring some degree of stability."

"If it's just one person, using a pole is quite challenging, as it really requires the coordination of the entire body. Without sufficient skill, one can easily become exhausted, and a slight lack of attention might cause the boat to spin in place."

As Bi Fang spoke, he kept moving, pushing the long pole and gradually heading towards the opposite bank of the river.

Compared to the noise when they first entered the water, this action now undoubtedly attracted more attention from the crocodiles; just six or seven meters out, the spectators noticed many "dead logs" appearing nearby.