King of the Wilderness

Just on the second day after arriving, Lin Yu’an had already made a preliminary stand on this ice-sealed land.

For protein, there were mussels from the coast; for carbohydrates, there were broadleaf cattail roots by the lakeside; for vitamins, there were rock cranberries, Labrador tea, and spruce needles.

But his challenges had only just begun!

Today’s tasks were highly accomplished, and as the sky completely darkened, he could only wait for tomorrow morning’s low tide to continue exploring the sea!

On the morning of the third day, he first went to check the lasso traps, but today’s luck was a bit off, gaining nothing, and the traps had not been triggered.

As the day’s low tide approached, Lin Yu’an set out once again.

This time, he was not content with the small harvest from the first day, so he donned his backpack.

He set off along the coastline towards a further, more rugged, massive black rocky promontory extending into the sea.

Pointing at his GoPro on his chest, he carefully walked across the tidal flats revealed by the receding tide, explaining, ”Typically, the more complex the terrain and the more turbulent the waters, the greater the variety and quantity of marine life.”

”This is because the flowing water brings them richer food and oxygen.”

He quickly verified his judgment; here, not only were there more mussels than yesterday, but they were also generally larger.

Aside from mussels, he made new discoveries.

On the side of a giant rock, in areas well-protected by seawater, he discovered some tightly clinging conical shellfish.

”Limpets,” he directed the camera at these small creatures.

”These adhere very tightly; you need to use a knife to quickly and forcefully pry between its shell and the rock.”

He took out the Damascus Hunting Knife, precisely inserting the sharp blade into the small gap between the limpet and the rock, then with a twist of his wrist, with a crisp ”pop,” a limpet slightly larger than a coin fell off.

He used the knife tip to pry out the orange-yellow, abalone-like muscle inside, rinsed it in seawater, wiped away the sand, and placed it directly in his mouth.

A rush of extremely rich, chewy sweetness mixed with the salty flavor of the seawater instantly filled his mouth.

”A wonderful source of protein, tastes much like raw scallop, and is the most efficient energy supplement.”

In another deeper rock crevice filled with dark green seaweed, he found a few decently sized sea snails.

He broke off a slender, tough willow branch from the shore, sharpened one end, gently probed it into the crevice, and precisely pierced the muscle the snail uses to move.

The snail, feeling pain, released its suction immediately, and with a light hook, a complete sea snail was brought out!

Within a short two-hour golden window, he gathered nearly twenty kilograms of large mussels, dozens of limpets, and a small handful of sea snails.

After collecting a large quantity of shellfish, long-term preservation became a new issue.

Lin Yu’an chose not to cook them all at once; he decided to build himself a ”live seafood holding pool” for more mussels.

He had to hurry while the coastline was not yet sealed with ice to store a large amount of mussels.

Carrying his heavy harvest, he carefully searched near the coastline by his shelter and finally found a perfect location.

A large tide pool naturally formed by three massive rocks, approximately three to four square meters, with a relatively flat bottom.

Pointing at this tide pool, he explained his plan to the camera in detail, ”Look here, this pool gets completely submerged by fresh seawater during high tide.”

”But during low tide, the terrain allows the pool bottom to maintain a water depth of nearly half a meter. This is a perfect natural holding pool.”

He pointed to the wide opening towards the sea, ”However, it has one fatal flaw.”

”This gap is too wide; at low tide, the water current here forms a rapid stream, enough to sweep all my stored stock back into the sea! So, we need to make some modifications.”

He set down his backpack and started another project.

He carried over some medium-sized stones of various shapes from a higher point on the shore, paving the largest, most stable base stones first at the gap, deeply embedding them in the gravel.

Then he interlocked smaller stones tightly on top, like a wall.

He focused meticulously, constantly adjusting the stone positions to find the best interlocking angles, filling all large gaps with smaller pebbles and beach gravel.

Finally, a sturdy, simple stone dam was formed, with small gaps at the bottom for sea water circulation while effectively preventing shellfish from escaping.

”This stone dam ensures that during low tide, the pool doesn’t dry up completely, maintaining a safe water depth.”

”It also prevents the stock we place here from being washed away by the current.”

Having done all this, he threw most of the live mussels and sea snails collected today into the naturally modified tide pool.

He watched as they found new footholds at the pool’s bottom and began to move slowly, a satisfied smile spreading across his face and an unprecedented sense of solidity welling up inside.

”My seafood bank has officially opened today!”

”Every day with the rising tide, fresh seawater brings them oxygen and microorganisms. Every day with the receding tide, they stay safely here, waiting for me to collect them.”

”Now, the food issue is basically resolved.”

”This means I can free my most precious daily energy from foraging and invest it in the more important task of shelter construction.”

”But before that, I still want to walk along the coastline and see if this generous ocean has prepared any other surprises for me.”

Lin Yu’an continued to explore southward along the coastline, wanting to fully survey all exploitable resources on this rocky coastline before reaching the distant spruce Forest.

The coastline here was full of a primitive and rugged beauty.

Huge black reefs, sculpted by the sea waves for who knows how many years, stood like silent giants guarding this land.

The sea breeze blew, carrying a salty and damp scent, and Lin Yu’an felt especially relaxed due to the resolution of the ”food problem.”

He walked slowly, carefully examining everything near the tide line.

Just as he rounded a piece of sea-eroded rock, a deep blue color that clashed with the surroundings suddenly caught his eye.

That color was entangled among a pile of washed-up, bleached driftwood. It stood out starkly among the dark brown seaweed.

”Hm?” Lin Yu’an’s curiosity was piqued.

He quickly stepped forward, squatted down, and used his hands to clear away the clutter of ocean debris.

As the driftwood and seaweed were moved aside, the true appearance of that blue color was revealed — a thick rope!

Its color had changed from bright blue to deep navy due to prolonged soaking and sun exposure.

”Oh? Let’s see what we’ve found here.” There was a hint of treasure-hunting excitement in Lin Yu’an’s voice.

He grabbed one end of the rope and pulled hard.

The rope was heavy, half-buried in sand and driftwood. He exerted a bit of effort to fully extricate it from the pile of debris.

This was a piece of marine nylon cable, with a diameter of about three or four centimeters, resembling the kind used to moor large fishing boats or at docks.

It was unclear how long it had been drifting in the sea, with some tiny shells attached to the surface. However, when Lin Yu’an brushed off these attachments, the core fibers showed no signs of decay.

He grabbed both ends of the rope with both hands, attempting with all his strength to break it, but the cable only stretched taut without budging, showcasing incredible resilience! This made him even more satisfied with the cable’s strength.

Eventually, he found a severely worn spot and used the tip of his knife to repeatedly cut and sever the fibers, finally cutting off the entire section of rope.

He carefully examined the internal fibers of the cut end and found them still tightly compact, maintaining considerable strength.

”Great! This is truly... a gift from the ocean!”

A bright smile appeared on Lin Yu’an’s face, fully aware of the value of this find!

”This length of cable washed ashore is about two meters long. Despite the wear and soaking, to me right now, it’s more precious than finding a chest of gold!”

He knew that this thick cable was intricately twisted from numerous finer nylon fibers. By patiently unraveling it, he could obtain a plentiful supply of tough, abrasion-resistant, waterproof string.

These strings, whether used to tie the framework of a shelter or to create trigger mechanisms for traps, are a thousand times more reliable than the ones made from plant fibers! They would also save his tripwire to the greatest extent possible!

This is an industrial product of the civilized world, the most scarce and the most powerful item in the wilderness!

By noon, the sun had reached its highest point, but the sky remained overcast.

Lin Yu’an, carrying his two most important finds of the day, a nascent ”seafood holding pond” and this invaluable piece of abandoned cable,

returned, content, to the humble temporary shelter.

He didn’t rush to start a fire to cook but treated the wet rope like a treasure, first washing it clean with freshwater.

Then he spread it out on a dry rock to dry, planning to carefully unravel it the next day.

After doing all this, the hunger in his belly belatedly reminded him that it was already afternoon.

After a busy morning, he decided to use today’s freshest finds to make himself a sumptuous lunch to reward his hard work.

To accumulate enough energy for the task that afternoon, the search for a permanent shelter location.

He walked over to the small temporary shelter and skillfully used the magnesium rod and the back of the Hunting Knife to ignite a small bundle of birch bark and broadleaf cattail spikes.

Soon, a bright and warm campfire danced in the stone stove.

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(Ten thousand words accomplished today, seeking monthly votes~)