Chapter 349: Tens of Thousands of Baby Sea Turtles About to Hatch!

"Temple Master Ning, welcome to North Island!" the leading official said, reaching out to shake Ning Fei's hand politely.

"I'm the director of North Island, and also the head of the sea turtle Protection Station. My name is Li He."

Ning Fei shook his hand with a polite smile and asked, "Hello. May I ask what this grand reception is all about?"

"It's like this. North Island is currently developing its tourism sector, and more and more visitors are coming to see the island. We want to show you the very best of North Island, so everyone can see the rich tourism programs we have to offer," Li He explained with a smile.

Hearing this, Ning Fei finally understood.

Watching the stream, the viewers chimed in with amusement:

"This director really put some thought into it."

"Yeah, Temple Master Ning is a walking billboard right now. Everyone wants to go wherever he goes."

"But regular people can't even get to most of the places Temple Master Ning visits."

"True enough."

At that moment, Ning Fei spoke up.

"Director Li, I only came up here to see the sea turtles. If you were planning to take me on a scenic tour of the island, I'm afraid I have to apologize."

Ning Fei was never one to let others dictate his actions.

In truth, that was exactly what Li He had in mind: give Ning Fei the highest tier of VIP treatment, then invite him to tour the island's major scenic spots to drum up some publicity.

Who could have known Ning Fei would shut him down with a single sentence?

Li He's plan had been a bit too optimistic. These days, tourism programs had to spend a fortune just to hire a major travel influencer for promotion.

For a streamer of Ning Fei's caliber, a truly commercial tour and advertising campaign would easily cost tens of millions in sponsorship fees.

However, Ning Fei really had just come to see the sea turtles, so he didn't care much about all that.

The group then followed Ning Fei as he walked into the sea turtle Protection Station.

They clustered around him, keeping him in the center.

Walking by his side, Li He constantly introduced the details of the Protection Station.

The entire scene looked exactly like a high-ranking official out on an inspection tour.

Ning Fei felt rather helpless.

"Director Li, please don't all follow me around. Just having one guide accompany me is enough. I'm not used to this," Ning Fei said bluntly.

Li He froze for a moment at Ning Fei's words, but quickly called over the prettiest young woman at the Protection Station to accompany him on his tour.

With the heavy bureaucratic atmosphere gone, Ning Fei instantly felt much more comfortable.

It didn't take long for Ning Fei and the young woman to reach the edge of the beach.

Ning Fei turned to the viewers in the live stream and said, "Look at the sand here, everyone. It's completely white."

"This kind of sand is different from what we usually see. It has a much higher calcium content, which makes it more suitable for sea turtles to grow in."

"Now look at these rows of small pits. If I'm not mistaken, these were all left behind by returning sea turtles when they came ashore to lay their eggs."

Ning Fei looked up. There were countless traces like these scattered across the white beach, looking exceptionally beautiful.

The young woman beside him was named Lin Cui, a guide for the sea turtle Protection Station.

As a guide, she was normally articulate and poised, but standing next to Ning Fei—and knowing that millions of people were currently watching this live stream—left her incredibly nervous. She didn't know what to say.

"Yes, Temple Master Ning, these were all left by the sea turtles."

Following Ning Fei's lead, Lin Cui gradually found her usual rhythm as a guide.

"Look over there. Those are the houses prepared for the sea turtles," Lin Cui said, pointing to a row of buildings nearby.

Ning Fei looked over with keen interest, and the drone's camera immediately turned to follow his gaze.

"That area has a facility for hatching sea turtles, as well as a specialized medical clinic to rescue and treat them."

"Besides protecting the sea turtles, the staff here also work to preserve the coral reefs in the surrounding waters and maintain the greenery around the Protection Station."

Lin Cui grew more confident the more she spoke. She felt a deep sense of pride as she introduced the sea turtle Protection Station to everyone.

Ning Fei nodded and added, "Yeah, this place really is wonderful."

"Sea turtles are practically living fossils. They trace their origins all the way back to the age of the dinosaurs."

"Unfortunately, they were driven to the brink of extinction recently due to human interference."

"It's precisely because of places like this that the sea turtle population is gradually recovering."

As they talked, Lin Cui led Ning Fei into the shelters where the sea turtles laid their eggs.

Stepping inside, Ning Fei saw that the interior was surrounded by all sorts of lush green plants, creating an excellent environment.

Several signs were posted nearby, listing the number of sea turtles the Protection Station had hatched each year since its establishment.

The numbers were climbing year after year.

Seeing those statistics brought a smile to Ning Fei's face.

It felt genuinely good to see living creatures being saved.

"Temple Master Ning, your timing really couldn't be better."

"The latest clutch of baby turtles is scheduled to hatch right around dusk today. That's only a little over three hours away," Lin Cui said with a bright smile.

Ning Fei was thrilled to hear this.

Talk about perfect timing.

He hadn't expected to catch the hatching of the baby turtles today of all days.

He absolutely couldn't miss a scene like this.

"Really? About how many baby turtles are there?" Ning Fei asked.

"For this batch, we're expecting roughly 200,000 baby turtles to break out of their shells," Lin Cui explained.

Ning Fei wasn't surprised by the number.

But the live stream chat absolutely exploded.

"How many did that guide just say? 200,000?"

"Is that for real? Are there really that many turtles being born?"

"If there are that many turtles, why do they even need protecting?"

"Good lord, over 200,000 turtles? That's way too exaggerated."

Amidst the flurry of discussion, Ning Fei glanced at the bullet comments and realized no one believed Lin Cui.

So, Ning Fei explained to his viewers, "Two hundred thousand isn't actually a large number when it comes to sea turtles."

"A single female sea turtle lays eggs two to three times a year, producing ninety to a hundred and sixty ping-pong-ball-sized eggs each time."

"If a little over a thousand turtles return to nest at the same time, it can easily reach this scale."

"North Island has the largest sea turtle nesting area. At its absolute peak, the number of baby turtles reached 20 million."

Hearing Ning Fei's explanation, the chat gradually quieted down.

However, they still found it incredible.

"If they can lay so many eggs at once, why are they on the verge of extinction?"

That question flashed irrepressibly through everyone's minds.

At that moment, Ning Fei pointed toward the sea and said, "Look over at the shoreline, everyone."

As the drone's camera turned, the viewers finally noticed that a massive flock of seabirds had gathered at the beach at some point. There were seagulls and night herons, and an endless stream of even more birds was flying in from behind.

Set against that image, Ning Fei's voice rang out again:

"In the wild, the survival rate for a baby sea turtle is less than one in a thousand."

"The seabirds all know exactly when the turtles will hatch. They wait by the shore right at this moment to partake in a massive feast."

"For the baby turtles, the very first hurdle of their birth is a life-or-death crisis. Out of a thousand turtles, only one will survive."

"But for the seabirds, this is a feast that only comes around a few times a year."

"That is the nature of the wild."

Ning Fei's explanation gave this turtle hatching event a profound sense of significance.

Staring at the dense flock of seabirds lining the shore, the viewers couldn't help but worry for the baby turtles.

Faced with so many predators, could the baby turtles really survive?

Just then, Lin Cui chimed in.

"That's exactly right. When the turtles hatch, our Protection Station staff will go out and drive the birds away. However, there are just too many of them, so the results are barely satisfactory."

"This does count as human interference in natural laws, but it's all to protect the sea turtles and preserve the ecosystem."

"Sometimes, our intervention can lead to positive results."

Lin Cui was right.

The sea turtles were critically endangered. They needed protection and couldn't simply be left to fend for themselves.

Once their population gradually recovered and the ecological chain formed a complete, balanced loop, nature could be allowed to take its course again.

As time ticked by, more and more seabirds gathered.

Three or four staff members from the Protection Station had already arrived at the beach, getting ready to drive them away.

Under their protection, perhaps only one or two hundred baby turtles would be spared from the birds' attacks and successfully make it to the sea.

The number wasn't large, but for those two hundred turtles, it was everything.

Ning Fei waited off to the side, his gaze fixed on the stretch of beach where the turtle eggs were buried.

The viewers were staring intently, fraught with tension.

The sun gradually sank lower, and the air slowly cooled.

Right at that moment, a patch of sand shifted slightly.