Wilderness Survival with Druid System

Chapter 540: Chapter 39: Setting the Net

Spread out the bear skin under the tree to dry and shape it.

Taking advantage of this time, Chen Wen planned to set the net by the lake.

Once the gill net is made, it needs to be used immediately; every minute it sits on the shore is a waste.

Chen Wen picked a slender tree from those cut down in the morning, and tied the gill net to its trunk.

”When setting a gill net, you generally need to tie it to a relatively long piece of wood, so you can fish by the lakeside.”

Chen Wen said, ”After all, I don’t have any floats, just putting the net into the water makes it hard to achieve effective fishing.”

”Tying the net to a tree trunk allows the wood to act as a support, helping keep the net vertically in the water and better intercept fish, thus improving catch efficiency.”

”At the same time, the trunk also provides buoyancy, keeping the net stable in the water, preventing it from sinking. Although the net is much lighter than the trunk, the net’s material density is high, and it would sink in water, whereas the wood, being lighter—even if much heavier—can float on the surface, just like any sizeable plastic ball would float while any small iron ball would sink.”

”Moreover, using the trunk as support also fixes the net’s position, letting it fish exactly where I want to and makes it convenient to retrieve or set the net; when it’s time to collect, just drag the trunk ashore, and it’s easy to find where the net is.”

”So, you see, when setting the net, every participant ties it to wood.”

Hearing Chen Wen’s words, Greg was quite satisfied.

Although previous survivors would tie the gill net to wood for fishing, few explained the principle behind it.

Chen Wen explained it this time, essentially giving the audience some scientific insights.

Incidentally, it also increased his screen time—perfect!

After speaking, Chen Wen planned to set the net by the river.

At this point, the previously uninterested Wolf Mink suddenly perked up, insisting on going with Chen Wen to the river.

Initially, Chen Wen thought of leaving the Wolf Mink at home to reduce energy consumption and consequently lessen food intake.

But seeing the pitiful look in Wolf Mink’s eyes, Chen Wen sighed and softened.

”Alright, let’s go together then!”

The Wolf Mink immediately flipped excitedly, ”Great! Let’s go!”

...

They arrived at the riverbank.

The Wolf Mink, like a horse released from its bridle, jumped into the water with a splash.

While Chen Wen worried about whether Wolf Mink could swim, he saw it skillfully paddling through the water, moving with ease.

Well then, it can even swim.

Chen Wen shook his head, realizing he had underestimated the Wolf Mink.

But on second thought, the area where the Wolf Mink lived had many water bodies, and fish were part of their diet.

Being able to swim wasn’t anything unusual.

On the contrary, it would be strange if it couldn’t swim.

Ignoring the Wolf Mink, Chen Wen began searching for a suitable place to set the gill net.

”Generally speaking, nets need to be set in those deep-water areas.”

Chen Wen said, ”Luckily, Great Slave Lake is deep, but the area I’m in now has a gentle shoreline, not steep—unsuitable for net setting.”

When choosing a shelter, Chen Wen specifically selected a gentle area.

This made fetching water convenient and provided easy access.

But it wasn’t suitable for setting nets.

Looking around, Chen Wen saw that the southern shore was gradually becoming steeper, so he carried the net southward.

Upon leaving, Chen Wen whistled.

The Wolf Mink, hearing the sound, immediately emerged from the water.

After shaking off the water on its body, the Wolf Mink wobbled along after Chen Wen.

...

Heading south.

The terrain of the lakeshore became increasingly steep, the ground changing from sand to rock.

Chen Wen even saw several steep cliffs.

After circumventing the cliffs, the landscape before Chen Wen had transformed entirely from plains to hills.

The rugged terrain slowed Chen Wen’s pace as he had to focus on maintaining balance to avoid falling.

Yet, this kind of terrain didn’t deter Chen Wen but rather excited him more.

After all, only with such terrain do deep-water areas appear by the lakeside.

Setting a net in such an area could catch genuinely big fish!

After patiently searching for half an hour, Chen Wen finally found a spot that satisfied him greatly.

It was a relatively steep cliff, with a notable slope but not high, probably about three meters tall.

Generally, people might worry about falling or getting hurt when descending, but for Chen Wen, this slope was totally acceptable.

He carried the net down slowly, using the tree trunk to balance below the cliff.

Beneath this cliff was a large exposed section of the Canadian Shield.

These exposed, intricately patterned rocks are the hardest, most stable core of the North American Plate.

”Everyone, take a look at these patterned rocks. They formed during the Precambrian era and are among the Earth’s oldest rocks, dating back hundreds of millions, perhaps billions, of years.”

As Chen Wen spoke, he reached out and touched these ancient layers of rock.

After a moment, he smiled and said, ”I hope these ancient rocks can bring me a bit of luck.”

”Of course, I chose this spot for more than just the rocks. I saw the water here looked dark, obscuring the view of the lakebed, so I chose this place.”

He lifted the tree trunk horizontally, then placed it on the water’s surface.

The net also entered the water.

Chen Wen found some large stones nearby and fixed the tree trunk on the lakeshore.

After feeling slight movement when shaking the trunk.

Chen Wen nodded in satisfaction.

This spot was quite good and the net was securely fixed.

After standing still for a while, Chen Wen prepared to leave.

But just at that moment, the Wolf Mink seemed to sense something.

It gently nipped at Chen Wen’s pant leg and pulled.

”What’s wrong?”

Chen Wen sensitively noticed the Wolf Mink’s alertness.

At this point, the Wolf Mink spoke, ”There’s a strong scent here, the fox that previously stole food from the camp.”

A fox?

Chen Wen wasn’t too bothered.

Such an animal, aside from snatching tiny bits of food unnoticed.

Had no impact on his survival.

So, Chen Wen planned to take the Wolf Mink back.

After all, the two of them were out and the camp was completely exposed.

If something followed the scent over there...

It would be an all-you-can-eat buffet!

But just then, the Wolf Mink suddenly took an aggressive stance.

It leaped to the top of the cliff, letting out a series of growls.

Following the Wolf Mink’s noise.

A string of howls echoed; evidently, the fox it mentioned had confronted the Wolf Mink.

Worried about the Wolf Mink getting hurt, Chen Wen dashed forward.

He grabbed the long spear, scanning the area.

A ball of red fur caught Chen Wen’s attention.

Focusing closer, he saw it was an adult red fox, its body nearly a meter long, entirely red except for its chest and lower cheeks, which bore white fur.

A remarkably beautiful red fox.

Moreover, it was a special animal.