dkrc Chapter 69 Cold Wave Arrives, Dried Meat Spoils!
Chapter 69 Cold Wave Arrives, Dried Meat Spoils!
As the sixth check-up day arrived, Yuan Linghan, undergoing his routine physical examination, showed excellent health in all indicators. Even his weight remained at an optimal level, earning the utmost admiration from the staff responsible for the examination.
Upon hearing that there are still four contestants persevering, Yuan Linghan remarked, "It seems the championship race this season is more intense than I anticipated. I hope I can continue for the next forty days until the very end."
Dim laughed and explained, "Yuan, you're currently the undisputed champion seed. Many viewers predict you're very likely to win this season's championship. But you know, the wilderness is full of surprises and uncertainties."
"Thanks for the reminder! We need to be even more cautious towards the end, right?"
"Yes! You have this understanding, and I believe you can definitely persevere to the end."
Compared to the other three contestants, they all obtained food supplies through hunting after winter arrived in Black Bear Bay. However, their harvest still couldn't compare to Yuan Linghan's, and they all experienced health problems.
While not fatal, without timely adjustments, they will struggle to cope with the remaining three tests. The three remaining contestants have already persevered for two months; with forty days left, who wants to be the one eliminated?
After all, if you can persevere to the end, the million-dollar prize is within your grasp. Isn't the purpose of enduring hardship and freezing temperatures in the wilderness the hefty million-dollar prize? The problem is, the remaining forty days are still fraught with countless unknowns and dangers!
To the surprise of the remaining four, just three days after the sixth inspection day, they simultaneously received an advance warning from the production team: a cold wave was expected to hit the Black Bear Bay area within the next 24 hours.
Affected by this cold wave, Black Bear Bay, which is already extremely cold, will experience another significant drop in temperature. The temperature may even drop by another ten degrees Celsius.
The other three contestants were stunned when the announcement was made!
"Shit! If the temperature drops another ten degrees, the outdoor temperature will probably drop below minus thirty degrees."
"God, I thought it was cold enough already, but it's going to get even colder. Looks like I'm in trouble."
Regardless of the curses from the other contestants, Yuan Linghan, upon receiving the message, silently carried the air-dried bear skin into the shelter, preparing to perform a simple tanning process. As long as the fireplace remained lit, the shelter's temperature could still be maintained at around ten degrees Celsius.
If he wanted to engage in outdoor activities, Yuan Linghan felt that if he wore a bearskin, he wouldn't have to worry about getting frostbite even if the outdoor temperature dropped to minus forty degrees Celsius. He had already tanned the extra rabbit skins and made them into fur rugs to put on the kang (a heated brick bed).
At night, with a sleeping bag and a cotton coat, and as long as the fireplace is warm, Yuan Linghan doesn't need to worry about waking up from the cold. The real concern is that the warm clothing she carries might not be effective enough when outdoors.
On the very afternoon the production team notified them, a biting wind swept through the jungle once more. Even looking up, one could see the sky quickly turn overcast. And when it was completely dark, rain began to fall.
Watching the raindrops freeze instantly, Yuan Linghan remarked with a touch of melancholy, "Is this the prelude to a cold wave, a freezing rain first? I hope this cold wave won't last too long, otherwise the wild animals in the jungle will have a hard time too!"
When the video was later released, many viewers commented in disbelief, "Shit! He doesn't care about whether he can survive, but he's worried about those wild animals. Is he afraid the cold wave will freeze them all to death?"
"Wow, compared to the shelters built by the other contestants, his shelter seems to be immune to the cold wave!"
"With the cold wave approaching, it seems that one of the remaining four contestants will have to withdraw."
Yuan Linghan, being in the wilderness, naturally had no way of caring about the comments or criticisms that followed the broadcast of these videos. However, after the cold wave passed, when he went on his hunting patrol again, Yuan Linghan saw many wild animals that had frozen to death.
This shows that the sudden cold wave is a test for the athletes, and also a life-or-death test for the animals that live here!
After finishing the carefully prepared dinner, and listening to the howling wind outside the shelter, Yuan Linghan did not open the door. To ensure the indoor temperature, a lot of dry firewood that had been prepared in advance was piled up next to the fireplace.
Every so often, Yuan Linghan would add dry firewood. The steady stream of heat began to spread from the fireplace throughout the shelter. Compared to the outside temperature, the inside was indeed warm and cozy!
Yuan Linghan went to rest on the kang (a heated brick bed) on time as usual, completely ignoring the situation outside. The other three contestants, however, all seemed somewhat nervous. They used the collected moss to occasionally fill the gaps that let in drafts.
The makeshift fireplace they had also built was kept burning. Before, they felt they could sleep soundly next to it. But now, with the outside temperature plummeting, they dared not drift off to sleep and could only keep their eyes open, adding firewood intermittently.
If the fireplace goes out, they worry they'll be woken up by the cold in the middle of the night or even freeze to death!
One of the hunters who caught a black bear didn't care that the bear skin wasn't tanned; he still wrapped the smelly bear skin around his body. Although the smell was unpleasant, his body temperature rose rapidly after he put on the bear skin.
"Oh my god, I finally feel alive again. Without the fireplace and this bearskin, I was really worried I'd freeze to death tonight. I'd heard that the lowest temperature here in Black Bear Bay could reach minus forty degrees Celsius, but I'd never experienced it before!"
The contestants who dared not turn off the fireplace could only sit and lean against it, occasionally talking to themselves in front of the camera. Fortunately, after more than sixty days, they had adapted to the situation and were just looking forward to the hundredth day.
However, to the surprise of the other three contestants, the cold wave continued to rage the next day. To avoid the cold wave from entering the shelter, the three contestants had no choice but to take care of their personal hygiene in the shelter.
In such low temperatures, they dared not go outside to relieve themselves. On the other hand, Yuan Linghan, who woke up on time the next day as well, went outside wearing a bearskin, seemingly unafraid of the cold.
After using the toilet next to the woodshed, he carried a lot of firewood back to his warm shelter. When he got to the outdoor freezer, he found it was frozen solid, so he had no choice but to bring an axe.
Knocking away the hard ice, Yuan Linghan said with a hint of helplessness, "I really didn't expect that my natural freezer would almost be impossible to open during this cold wave. Although it shelters all the food, I still want to eat some fresh meat!"
After spending considerable time, Yuan Linghan finally opened the outdoor freezer used for storing fresh meat. He took out two fish, a large piece of meat, and a bone. Before entering the shelter, he hung one of the fish and the piece of meat outside the door.
Then, smiling, she said, "This fish and this piece of meat are ingredients I'm using to cook dinner; they're temporarily placed outside. For lunch, with this bear bone with meat on it and this fish, it should be enough for me to have a delicious and satisfying meal."
While Yuan Linghan was cooking lunch in the shelter, one of the other three contestants looked at the stored dried meat and suddenly exclaimed, "Oh my God, how did this dried meat go bad?"
Upon discovering mold growing on his stored jerky, this self-assured individual, who thought he had plenty of food, instantly panicked. When he emptied out the rest of his jerky, he found that the jerky at the bottom was even more severely spoiled.
The risks of eating this moldy food are self-evident. But even without the dried meat, he would find it difficult to continue surviving on the limited quantities of other frozen meat. After all, how could he dare to go hunting in such extreme cold?