King of the Wilderness

After sending off the program crew, Lin Yu’an was alone again.

He walked back to the workshop, where the half-finished Ice Drill was quietly awaiting its final transformation.

He placed the steel rod used as the drill shaft into the fireplace, utilizing the burning firewood to slowly heat its tip to a dark red, hot enough to burn through wood.

Then, he selected a piece of birch from the pile prepared for the ice fishing shelter, about half a meter in length and thicker than his wrist.

Using a hand axe and a hand saw, he roughly carved out a T-shaped outline from the wood, then patiently sculpted a smooth handle prototype with a sharp Hunting Knife, one that he could grip with both hands.

Next, he used a bow drill to bore a guide hole in the center of the T-shaped handle, slightly smaller than the steel rod’s diameter.

He aimed the heated tip of the steel rod at the guide hole on the handle, then forcefully and steadily pressed it down with both hands!

”Sizzle——!”

The scorching metal touched the dry birch, instantly erupting in a thick smoke with a pungent burnt smell! The wood fibers carbonized and burned at high temperatures, making a crackling sound.

With immense strength, he forced the tip of the steel rod into the core of the wooden handle!

Once the steel rod was fully embedded, he immediately immersed the entire joint into a nearby pile of snow.

”Zzzzz——”

The fusion of snow and fire caused a rapid cooling, making the surrounding wood shrink instantly, tightly and seamlessly clamping onto the end of the steel rod.

When he lifted this newly completed tool from the snow pile, a perfect whole was born.

It was about a meter long, with a dark-colored steel shaft marked by primitive forging marks. One end boasted a huge spiral blade, the edge gleaming coldly.

On the other end was the T-shaped birch handle, precisely burned into a perfect circular joint.

Lin Yu’an hefted the heavy Ice Drill onto his shoulder. With it, the thick ice layer would no longer be an insurmountable Celestial Chasm.

It was just after morning; still early, he decided to immediately test its performance.

How would it perform? How efficient would it be at drilling? Was it sturdy enough to withstand high-intensity twisting and impact?

He decided to conduct its first field test at the closest frozen river bay to the shelter.

He did not carry any fishing gear or ice fishing shelter, only this newly created Ice Drill, and wearing snowshoes, he stepped onto the flat and solid ice.

He chose a spot away from the shore, with water deep enough. He set the drill’s guide tip vertically against the snow-covered ice, then gripped the T-shaped birch handle with both hands.

He initially rotated it lightly a few times, the sharp guide tip easily piercing through the surface snow and thin ice, marking a precise, non-slip central point on the hard ice layer.

”Alright, big guy, let me see what you can do.” he whispered, as if speaking to a comrade about to go into battle with him.

He took a deep breath, crouched slightly, lowered his center of gravity, and began to turn the handle steadily and with even force, clockwise.

”Crack—— Crunch——”

Contrary to the great resistance he expected, when the two perfectly tempered and tempered blades touched the ice, he felt an exceptionally smooth and satisfying cutting sensation!

The ice didn’t produce any ”bang bang” sound of violent impact, only a continuous, crisp ”crack” sound like a sharp blade cutting hard cheese.

As he rotated, a large amount of white ice chips, like granulated sugar, were efficiently guided upward and out of the hole by the two spiral blades, piling up on the ice at his feet.

He sped up his rotations; the whole process was unexpectedly effortless.

It wasn’t just raw strength; it was the leverage principle, the sharp edge and perfect mechanical structure’s synergy. The heavy solid steel rod provided continuous downward pressure for the drill bit, while the wide T-shaped handle offered him excellent leverage.

He could clearly feel that the hard, thick ice layer was as fragile as tofu before this tool he created by hand.

About five minutes later, he felt the resistance in his hand lighten suddenly!

”Puff——”

Accompanied by a slight muffled sound, the drill tip completely penetrated the bottom of the ice! An icy, fishy-smelling river water instantly surged through the hole, spilling over his boot edge.

Success!

He slowly lifted the Ice Drill out of the hole, revealing a perfect cylindrical ice hole over fifteen centimeters in diameter, its edges smooth, like a deep pupil to another world!

He lay beside the ice hole and looked inside, through the clear river water, he could see the dark, tranquil underwater World below.

The test was a complete success, and Lin Yu’an wasted no time.

He quickly returned to the shelter, immediately starting the final preparations before the expedition.

He folded the collapsible mobile ice fishing shelter like a book, tying it into a portable form with a nylon rope.

He also prepared his ”fishing gear,” pieces of lead weights he remolded from fishing nets, and his homemade ice fishing rod.

Finally, he dug out from the snow some rabbit guts, still pungently fresh, the top-grade bait for this ice fishing trip.