Otaku Translation: Honey Badger's Streaming Life C39

Please support the translation by reading the translation and commenting on otakutl official site.

Thank you.

Everyone from Otaku Translation

Unfortunately, in the short term, no one seemed to care about the elephants. After all, there’s a big difference between watching videos and being face-to-face with wildlife in the wild. Most people had at least seen Animal World as kids—heck, they’d witnessed even more dramatic scenes than just an elephant herd.

One could say that the footage this streamer was currently filming didn’t hold a candle to the allure of a certain honey badger riding on a leopard.

“Streamer, tell us how you survived these past three days.”

“Have you contacted the embassy yet?”

“What do I need to travel to South Africa?”

“Where’s Buzz-Cut Bro?”

“Professional visa services, contact number XXXXXX.”

“You little brat, hurry up and come home!”

“Third Brother Gu’s getting cocky, huh?”

“Hello, Gu Lang, this is an officer from Hangzhou Public Security Bureau. Please call this number immediately: XXXXXX.”

“Oh dang, even the police are here!”

“Hello, Officer!”

“…”

As Gu Lang stared at the endless barrage of colorful comments scrolling across the screen, his face darkened like the bottom of a pot. The words he had been about to say got stuck in his throat, leaving him seething with frustration.

What the hell was all this nonsense?

There were people advertising fake IDs, others just spectating for entertainment, some telling him to go home—and even someone pretending to be a cop! Not a single person cared about the elephants. Was the next step going to involve someone posting his bank account details and claiming it had been frozen?

Just then, another comment floated across the screen, completely shattering Gu Lang’s already fragile composure.

“Little Lang, I’m your grandma.”

“I’m your grandma!” Gu Lang growled into the microphone, his face pitch-black with anger. “I’m warning you all. Joking around with me is one thing, but if you drag my family into this, don’t blame me for losing my temper!”

……

In Hangzhou, the police officer who had typed the message exchanged glances with the elderly woman sitting beside him. Both felt a mix of helplessness and amusement. This young man’s guard was way too high.

“Oh dear, what should we do now?” The old woman slapped her thigh and turned to her daughter. “Did you manage to get through to Little Lang?”

“It keeps saying the phone is off. Mom, maybe we should…”

“No! Keep trying! I refuse to believe he’ll keep his phone off forever!” The grandmother cut her off decisively.

Behind her, the middle-aged woman sighed, swallowing the rest of her words. She glanced at the man standing nearby, staring blankly at the live stream. Sensing her gaze, the man stiffened slightly before slinking off to make another call.

Meanwhile, Zhang Jianming, who had arrived at the Karatu military camp, received a call from the embassy. He borrowed a military laptop from the camp commander and opened a website. After buffering for about five minutes and closing countless ads, he finally heard Gu Lang’s choppy voice coming through the live stream.

“Can this laptop… umm… connect to a personal hot-spot?” Zhang Jianming glanced at the nearby 4G tower outside the camp and reluctantly pulled out his phone.

“No!” The First Lieutenant in full camouflage shrugged apologetically. “Zhang, this is a military computer. It can only connect to our country’s satellites!”

“…Fine.” Zhang Jianming put away his phone and typed a message in the chat: “Hello, Gu Lang. This is Rescue Team Leader Zhang Jianming. Please report your coordinates.”

The First Lieutenant leaned over to look at the screen. “This terrain looks familiar…”

At that moment, Gu Lang’s voice came through, tinged with seriousness. “Last night, I encountered poachers!”

Zhang Jianming froze, his brow furrowing deeply.

“Oh? What’s he saying?” The First Lieutenant looked curiously at Zhang Jianming’s suddenly grave expression. “Your language is so hard to understand.”

By now, Gu Lang had turned off the chat function. Whether it was the messages from the Hangzhou police or Zhang Jianming’s later attempts to reach him, everything was blocked in the background. The more he read, the angrier he became.

And then there was Wang Ping, who had climbed onto his shoulder without warning. Though just an animal and unable to read, Gu Lang still felt utterly humiliated. He couldn’t let some honey badger mock him, could he?

“Huh? Why are there no chat messages?” Wang Ping, newly perched on Gu Lang’s shoulder, peered curiously at the now-clean screen. Having rarely watched live streams before, Wang Ping didn’t fully grasp how they worked and didn’t think much of it.

After checking the viewer count, Wang Ping relaxed slightly.

“Hmm, not very impressive… less than 100,000 viewers. Can’t compare to those internet celebrities with millions of fans. No wonder there aren’t any chat messages.”

Thinking back to the pretty streamers he’d seen before, Wang Ping felt reassured. Even those popular streamers weren’t able to achieve universal fame despite their massive followings, so surely being secretly filmed by a low-tier streamer wouldn’t cause any trouble for him.

What Wang Ping failed to realize was that online trends often diverged wildly from reality. Beyond the promotions driven by profit motives, there was also something called “meme culture.” By now, clips of him riding Rosette across the savanna had already been turned into animated GIFs, spreading rapidly across social media platforms and becoming a viral meme sensation.

Unaware of this, Gu Lang adjusted his squatting position instinctively to prevent Wang Ping from falling off his shoulder. Meanwhile, Rosette, who had been dragged behind earlier to stay out of sight, finally gave in to curiosity. Crouching low, she crept toward the edge of the forest and peeked out from behind a patch of grass.

Gu Lang glanced at Wang Ping, hesitating to speak. He was calculating the odds of stopping Rosette without provoking an attack when suddenly, Rosette’s body trembled. Startled by something, she quickly retreated, leaping back to crouch beside Wang Ping behind Gu Lang.

Rosette’s mind was likely reeling.

Curiosity really could kill the cat—or in this case, the leopard. So many elephants gathered together? Better not mess with them!

Gu Lang: “….”

He realized he had overthought things. Creatures at the top of the food chain weren’t dumb after all.

Clearing his throat, Gu Lang pointed the tablet’s rear camera at the elephant herd, pushing aside distracting thoughts as he began recounting the events.

“Last night, I encountered poachers!” Speaking in a deep, authoritative tone reminiscent of news anchors, Gu Lang continued, “It was the first time I’d ever heard gunshots in real life. They were firing just across the river from where I’d set up camp. I had just recovered from a fever and had no idea what was happening, nor did I dare investigate…”

As Gu Lang narrated, a chilling tale of jungle tragedy unfolded before everyone’s eyes—a mix of fact and speculation.

“Now, I don’t dare approach the herd; otherwise, I might be torn apart by the enraged elephants. But from here, you can see that in the center of the circle formed by the herd lies the attacked elephant, its tusks already removed.”

Fully immersed in his storytelling, Gu Lang momentarily forgot that right beside him lay a predator he had always feared.

From behind, the scene was surreal yet oddly harmonious: a lone figure crouched on the grassy ground, a honey badger perched on his shoulder, its tail hanging down, while a leopard rested at his feet.

“Before this, I always thought such incidents were far removed from my life—and I imagine most of you did too. But now, tragedy has unfolded right before my eyes. The brutal truth makes it impossible for me to pretend nothing happened. So today, I want to appeal to everyone…”

Gu Lang’s voice grew softer.

It wasn’t because he was overwhelmed by emotion but because, within the frame of the tablet’s rear camera, the herd suddenly began dispersing. A massive male elephant, towering over three meters tall, was making its way toward the forest.

Please vote for this novel at

https://www.novelupdates.com/series/honey-badgers-streaming-life/

If you would like to support this translation, you may choose any one of the options below.

Tier 1: 6 Advance chapters

Access fee $3.00 Monthly