Wilderness Survival with Druid System

Chapter 105: Chapter 16: Druid

Listening to Xiao Yong’s voice, Chen Wen felt a bit incredulous.

”No, why?”

Chen Wen couldn’t help but say, ”I’m damaging the ecological balance? Don’t be ridiculous, Mr. Xiao, you’re watching too, how did I break it?”

Chen Wen’s voice drew everyone’s attention.

Lv Guocheng quickly signaled everyone to turn off their microphones.

On the other end of the line.

Xiao Yong clicked his tongue, ”I’ll read their reasons; you can think about it yourself.”

After speaking, there was a brief silence on Xiao Yong’s end.

But with the sound of pages flipping, Xiao Yong’s voice came through clearly again.

”First, feeding animals; you’ve brought conches to feed an octopus.”

”Second, disrupting predators; you’ve helped an octopus evade a moray eel’s attack, not just once.”

”Third, setting up long-term stays in wildlife habitats without disguise; there’s more of this.”

”There are more reasons, but most are pretty far-fetched, so I won’t read them.”

Chen Wen didn’t respond.

The actions Xiao Yong mentioned were indeed true, and he had no grounds for argument.

But Chen Wen questioned based on previous survival concerns, ”It’s just an octopus; even if I caught it to eat, it wouldn’t destroy the ecological balance, right?”

”What’s more, before this, we caught moray eels and titan triggerfish. Compared to the octopus, wouldn’t killing them be more of an ecological disruption? Why not mention those earlier, but focus on the octopus now?”

Chen Wen’s inquiry made Xiao Yong pause for a moment.

After organizing his thoughts, he continued, ”According to them, this is a live stream, and people abroad can watch clips on video sites. Your every move can influence many viewers’ choices.”

”Interfering with one octopus isn’t much, but if your actions influence more people to interfere with octopuses, it’s a damage to the entire octopus community.”

”As for the previous killings, honestly, those who have the opportunity and ability to kill moray eels and titan triggerfish are fishermen, and these organizations won’t ban fishing because of this.”

Chen Wen laughed in exasperation, ”Ah, I get it now. They can’t control or dare not control the big ones, but they’re not bothered or too lazy to deal with smaller targets. Yet we’re not too big nor too small, and we continue live streaming, so we’re the target, right?”

”That’s about right.”

Xiao Yong also sounded frustrated, ”Among these organizations, there are genuinely those who want you to be mindful of your impact, but only a couple, and they speak more tactfully, just giving suggestions. Most just want a guidance fee, simply put, it’s extortion. The program team and I personally support you, and we don’t plan to entertain them.”

”But domestically, the online sentiment isn’t friendly to us. Our audience is debating whether or not people should intervene with natural creatures, and the majority don’t support intervention. The program team has received too many reports these past few days, and we suspect someone’s stirring things up.”

”We also hope you can continue observing and interacting with the octopus. The more interaction, the more traction we get, you understand?”

”But to secure the program, we hope you can refrain from diving for the next couple of days, just rest at the camp until the situation calms down.”

Chen Wen was silent.

Xiao Yong was clear, the program team supported him.

But with the show almost ending, their support seemed futile.

”I’ll think about it.”

Chen Wen hung up the phone, feeling a bit frustrated and confused.

Du Feng’s words made him aware of the urgency; the octopus was about to die.

Whether for the sake of the entry or for this friend.

Chen Wen had to continue diving to find the octopus.

Stopping it was another matter, but he must accompany it on this final journey.

However, the program team’s news cut off any hope Chen Wen had of diving.

Going into the water now, and if the show gets reported and banned.

They would also be forcibly taken away.

By then, the journey ends, the entry is lost, and he wouldn’t see the octopus again.

”Damn it!”

Chen Wen cursed.

Not even knowing who he was cursing at.

In the camp, others wanted to comfort him but didn’t know what to say.

Finally, Chen Wen looked up and said with some difficulty, ”Everyone, just carry on with what you’re doing, continue the live streaming. I’m fine, I’ll just rest at the camp this morning.”

Everyone nodded, silently turned on the audio equipment, and left the camp.

Soon, the camp was left with only Chen Wen, and Lv Guocheng, whose backache forced him to rest.

Chen Wen lay in the dome hut, silently contemplating these matters.

Logically, this Druid thing always had the label of an animal friend.

But before, when he was hunting to gather entries, no one said anything.

Just as he began fitting the Druid identity, extracting entries through taming and befriending.

Suddenly, people jumped out accusing him of interfering with survival and destroying nature.

What does that count as?

Has the Druid become a profession that violates nature’s rules?

What a joke!

While Chen Wen was feeling gloomy, Lv Guocheng approached.

”Wanna talk?”

Lv Guocheng smiled and said, ”Seeing you with so much resentment, I’m afraid you’ll bottle it in if you don’t vent a bit.”

Chen Wen sat up and sighed, ”It’s not so much resentment as it is confusion. Mr. Lv, do you know what a Druid is?”

”I do; I even have a friend who believes in Druidism.”

Lv Guocheng nodded slightly, ”Nowadays, there are many Druid depictions in movies, often portrayed as animal wizards.”

”Yes, like in the movies.”

Chen Wen continued, ”I quite like these types of movies, and the way Druids relate to animals.”

”But, when I used to hunt, everyone said it was good, and the audience loved it. But now when I interact with animals this way, they say I’m damaging the ecological balance. Don’t you think it’s a bit absurd? Hunting protects the ecological balance, while making friends damages it; it’s hard to maintain.”

Lv Guocheng laughed, ”You little rascal, is this what’s been bothering you?”

”Yeah, what else could it be?”

Chen Wen also laughed, ”It’s not like I’m the type to sulk because others tell me what not to do. I’m just a bit... confused. Is the Druid good or bad?”

Lv Guocheng nodded and said, ”Being confused is normal. You’re still young, even though you’re more mature than your peers, you still lack some experiences.”

Chen Wen didn’t respond.

He was afraid that sharing his experiences would shock Lv Guocheng.

Lv Guocheng continued, ”Actually, your thought process is very typical of trying to evaluate yourself from an outsider’s perspective.”

”Humans are inherently a part of nature. We live in nature, from each breath to establishing a nation, we’re in nature. So there’s no absolute right or wrong, or intervention or non-intervention.”

”When you hunt, it’s survival of the fittest; the nutrients you’re meant to get, you should get. When you make friends, it’s mutualism; there are plenty of mutualistic animals in nature. Take clownfish and anemones, they didn’t start living together initially, did they? Wasn’t it a later mutualistic relationship?”

”So, there’s no need to stress over right or wrong, intervention or non-intervention. Haven’t humans intervened enough in nature? Aren’t hybrid cats and dogs the result of human intervention? If you really trace responsibility, biology students should carry half the blame.”

Chen Wen laughed, ”So the problem isn’t me?”

”No, the problem is exactly with you.”

Lv Guocheng also laughed, ”Your actions aren’t the problem, but your choice of venue is.”

Venue...

Chen Wen rubbed his chin in realization.

”Druids are mystical figures residing in forests. There, they have no external distractions, free to do as they please. But you...”

Lv Guocheng pointed to the camera above.

Chen Wen understood.

The camera overhead marked the difference between him and a Druid.

It was also the reason for receiving different evaluations for the same actions.