Wilderness Survival with Druid System

Chapter 180: Chapter 3: Selection of Gear

Noon.

Chen Wen and Hua Yun pored over the list from the program crew, constantly deliberating over what gear to bring.

Eventually, the two slowly reached a consensus.

”A water bottle, knife, winter sleeping bag, fire starter, and machete—those five items we both need to bring.”

Hua Yun summarized the discussion results.

Chen Wen nodded.

Whether it’s for defense, warmth, or hygiene, these five items are indispensable.

”Then there’s salt. I feel we both need one block each.”

Hua Yun continued, ”Considering the longest duration, three months, ninety days, if we don’t bring salt, we’ll be sluggish later on, and it’s hard to naturally source salt.”

Chen Wen nodded slightly.

He was also well aware that salt is something the human body can’t do without.

Without long-term salt intake, a person’s physical and cognitive abilities are severely affected.

”So, one block of three pounds of salt each, and we don’t need to bring fat; this fat isn’t salted anyway.”

Chen Wen continued, ”The area we’re surviving in has plenty of animals with fat, and they’re all huntable.”

An old saying goes, money can make the ghosts grind the mill.

Whether money can make ghosts grind the mill, Chen Wen didn’t know.

But money can certainly make bottom lines disappear.

Under the program crew’s monetary power, every creature in the Yukon Territory is fair game.

However, some protected animals had hunting quotas.

”Then we won’t bring the fat.”

Hua Yun nodded, agreeing with Chen Wen: ”As for weapons, my bow and arrow are a must.”

Chen Wen agreed without hesitation.

This time, he was counting on Hua Yun wielding the bow and arrow to hunt, while he followed wildly collecting entries.

After all, being able to establish a hunting flow in the wilderness with a bow and arrow, Hua Yun’s archery skills were naturally beyond doubt.

”What about you?”

Hua Yun asked Chen Wen.

”I’m not bringing a bow and arrow; I can’t use them.”

Chen Wen said, ”I’ll just bring an extra axe, it’s more useful for chopping wood. Honestly, I feel I don’t need to bring a machete, as an axe can substitute for it.”

Hua Yun thought for a while and asked, ”Not bringing it is fine, but we’d better not separate.”

”Without a machete to clear the path, there are many places you can’t go.”

Chen Wen nodded: ”Of course, this time we must stay united, no splitting up.”

”Next, cookware: pan or pot?”

Hua Yun inquired.

A pan is a flat-bottomed pan, while a pot is a deeper, round-bottomed pot.

Chen Wen said, ”A pot, it’s good for cooking; in icy and snowy conditions, we need hot food.”

”Okay.”

Hua Yun nodded.

Her cooking skills are average, mostly grilling, so this time Chen Wen would handle the cooking.

Chen Wen added, ”Let’s bring one enamel bowl; you use the bowl, I’ll use the pot.”

To lighten the load, some hygiene issues had to be sacrificed.

Hua Yun didn’t mind this; her personality was somewhat neutral.

”For fishing, do we bring nets or rods?”

Hearing this, Chen Wen frowned slightly.

Their debate focused mainly on what to bring next.

”I stand by my old opinion.”

Chen Wen said, ”Once the river is completely frozen, fishing becomes difficult, and we don’t have the time to stay in one place fishing, so let’s not bring them and lighten the load.”

Hua Yun frowned upon hearing this: ”But without these, it’ll be tough for us initially.”

”When we get to the Yukon River, fish are the easiest food for us to get.”

Chen Wen sighed upon hearing this: ”That’s why I said I could use a stick as a spear, wading to spear fish.”

”The water’s freezing!”

Hua Yun looked up, glaring at Chen Wen: ”Whether it’s a cold or hypothermia, we can’t afford those consequences!”

On this issue, Hua Yun felt Chen Wen was being ridiculous.

Who goes fishing in the Arctic Circle’s waters in October?

Chen Wen was also helpless.

Through his testing, the feathers from the organ entry ”Feather (Little Owl)” were waterproof!

The dense feathers of the little owl were like down feathers, effectively waterproof.

Chen Wen could entirely rely on these feathers to catch fish, minimizing the cold river water’s impact.

But he couldn’t tell Hua Yun this!

To avoid exposure, Chen Wen had to compromise, ”Then let’s bring a fishing net, but it needs to be a lighter one.”

”Okay.”

Hua Yun nodded in satisfaction, ”Let’s bring a thorn net, set it at night and collect it during the day; it’s pretty good for catching fish.”

The next period was filled with constant discussion.

Finally, all items were decided.

”I’ll bring a water bottle, knife, winter sleeping bag, fire starter, machete, salt, bow and arrow, skis, rope, and an enamel bowl.”

Hua Yun checked the list: ”You’ll bring a water bottle, knife, winter sleeping bag, fire starter, salt, axe, skis, rope, pot, and a thorn net.”

Each of them had ten items, and none weighed much.

Chen Wen carefully contemplated these tools.

After a moment, he said, ”You bring a bear spray; I’ll bring a flashlight.”

Hua Yun thought and nodded in agreement.

”Should we bring a waterproof cloth?”

Hua Yun asked.

Chen Wen shook his head slightly, ”Waterproof cloth is too bulky, and pine needles and moss can substitute for it.”

Hua Yun nodded, asking again, ”No food at all?”

”Hmm, if we really want to bring some, let’s bring easily carried canned goods. I can carry the weight, and empty cans can serve as bowls.”

Chen Wen pondered and said, ”No canned meat; are there fruit or vegetable cans?”

”The only canned good is sweet corn.”

”Then that’s it.”

”Okay, if there’s no issue, I’ll submit it.”

”Fine, that’s all.”

...

Chen Wen and Hua Yun submitted their list. The staff responsible for collecting them seemed surprised.

Chen Wen and Hua Yun submitted theirs quite late; others had already turned theirs in.

But Chen Wen and Hua Yun had the fewest items, and they only brought four cans of corn as food.

”Just this?”

The staff confirmed again.

Hua Yun nodded.

This pair of contestants were really confident.

The staff muttered internally and took the list away.

...

At night.

Chen Wen met the biggest investor, Mr. Belmont.

He completely fit Chen Wen’s impression of a wealthy person.

Elegant demeanor, gracious in speech, clothes of texture Chen Wen had never heard of.

The watch and ornaments on his hands were made of solid gold!

Even his glasses had gold frames!

Rich!

No wonder he’s a man with a gold mine at home!

Belmont welcomed everyone and hoped they’d have fun these few days and do well in the program.

At the banquet, Belmont also reminisced about his ancestors.

”My ancestors struggled to survive in such icy and snowy conditions, searching for gold mines, which eventually created the Belmont Family.”

Belmont’s eyes showed regret, ”If it weren’t for being too old, I’d really wish I could be like you, exploring the wilderness and tracing my ancestors’ footsteps, experiencing their entrepreneurial struggles.”

His words were skillful, drawing a round of praise.

However, Chen Wen was confused and asked Hua Yun, ”Isn’t Belmont his name? How did it become a family name?”

Hua Yun quietly explained, ”Belmont is the surname, not the first name; he’s called Mr. Belmont because his ancestor Neil Belmont founded the family. They take pride in the Belmont name through generations.”

”I see.”

Chen Wen realized.

Though he was a bit puzzled, he seemed to have heard the name Neil Belmont somewhere before.