American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 13 The Initial Construction of the Stone House Shelter
After a good night's sleep, the energy from the rabbit meat and fish soup in her stomach made Lin Yu'an feel refreshed when she woke up in the morning.

Lin Yu-an flashed a vibrant smile at the camera lens on his chest: "Good morning, guys!"

"The fourth day at Lake Chirko is a beautiful sunny day, perfect for physical labor! My goal today is to build the first wall of our new home!"

After simply washing up with the hot stream water, he heated up the remaining bland rabbit soup and added a few wild Jerusalem artichokes that he had previously collected and confirmed to be safe to eat, as his breakfast for the day. Although simple, it was calorie-rich.

After finishing breakfast, Lin Yu'an checked his equipment again, especially the blades of his logging axe and multi-tool, making sure they were sharp enough, and then headed to the permanent camp with full confidence.

Today, the construction of the new campsite begins with the most basic and physically demanding task: building stone walls.

Standing on the slightly sloping open space he had initially cleared, Lin Yu'an spoke eloquently to the camera. At that moment, he didn't look like a wilderness survivor, but rather like an experienced construction engineer explaining a construction plan.

“When building a stone house, choosing the right stone is key.”

"We need more than just stones of the right size; we need to consider their shape as much as possible, and try to choose stones with one or more relatively flat sides."

"This way, the stones will be more stable and the gaps will be smaller. Later, we will need a mixture of soil and wood ash as an adhesive and filler to seal the gaps in the stones, which will help to fix them and prevent wind damage."

Lin Yu'an began carefully searching for suitable stones on the hillsides and streams around the campsite, and soon he was able to select building materials that met his requirements from a pile of rubble.

"Oh, this damn stone is really heavy!"

He performed in front of the camera, using all his strength to pry a rock out of the mud. Then he moved step by step to the edge of the camp, but in reality he would secretly use his spatial cheat ability to save energy.

After accumulating some stones, Lin Yu'an began to build the first stone wall. He had previously focused more on selecting the stones, so these stones were all very suitable for building.

After each stone was laid, he would continuously fill the gaps between the stones with a special adhesive mixed with soil and wood ash to ensure the strength of the wall to a greater extent.

After several hours of building, Lin Yu'an finally straightened up, rubbed his sore lower back, and looked at the stone wall that was beginning to take shape, a proud smile on his face.

"Look at this! It's not perfect yet, but it's our masterpiece from this morning! We feel really accomplished!"

In the afternoon, Lin Yu'an did not continue building the wall. This kind of high-intensity physical work could not be rushed. He decided to check the traps he had set up yesterday and practice with his brand-new American hunting bow.

Upon arriving at the trap area, he discovered several elastic lasso traps that had been set up the day before, and one of them had yielded another harvest!
A small, grey wood pigeon was there, but it was better than nothing. Another trap had been destroyed by some animal; the noose was bitten through, and the bait was gone.

Lin Yu'an frowned and analyzed to the camera, "It seems there are quite a few competitors here. This mark looks like it was made by a mustelid."

"It could also be a badger or a mink. Their teeth are very sharp, and ordinary fiber lassos would have a hard time trapping them. It seems I'll need to use wire lassos to set traps from now on."

He carefully stored away the captured prey, then began to meticulously repair and reinforce the other traps, applying new bait to some key locations.

After quickly dealing with the trap, Lin Yu'an arrived at a relatively open woodland by the stream, where he took out the carefully wrapped American hunting bow and quiver from his back.

He chose this hunting bow based on his arm span and strength; it was an American-style hunting bow with a moderate weight of about 50 pounds, which ensured both range and power without being too heavy. The arrows were standard hunting arrowheads.

As he assembled the bow and arrow, he said to the camera, "Although it is not as easy to draw as a compound bow, it requires more stability of posture and arm strength."

"But its only advantage is that it's suitable for the wild and not easily damaged. If a compound bow is damaged in the wild, it's a disaster!"

He selected a dead tree about twenty meters away as his target, and then slowly drew back the bowstring.

"Buzz—" The bowstring made a low, vibrating sound when it was fully drawn.

Lin Yu'an's eyes instantly became focused and sharp. He maintained a steady posture, aimed, and then... released!
"Whoosh-!"

The arrow flew out of the bowstring with a whooshing sound!

"puff!"

With a soft thud, the arrow struck the trunk of the withered tree steadily. Although it didn't hit the bullseye as he had expected, the deviation wasn't too great. "Not bad!"

Lin Yu'an let out a breath, a satisfied smile appearing on his face: "I still need to get used to the feel, but this bow is definitely a good buddy!"

After shooting a few more arrows, he gradually got the hang of it. Although his accuracy still needed improvement, he believed that with diligent practice, this hunting bow would become an important hunting tool for him in this wilderness.

He put away his bow and arrows and said to the camera, "That's all for today's practice. Hunting large prey requires more patience and preparation. I believe that it won't be long before we'll be able to hunt our first large prey in this forest!"

As evening approached, a fine autumn drizzle began to fall, and the temperature dropped considerably.

Inside the temporary shelter, Lin Yu'an stoked the fire and began preparing dinner.

Although there wasn't much meat in this pigeon, marinating it slightly with the spices he "secretly brought" and then skewering it on a branch and slowly roasting it gave it a unique flavor.

Raindrops pattered on the tarpaulin roof, making a "pitter-patter" sound, yet the temporary shelter remained dry.

Lin Yu'an sat by the fire, enjoying a simple dinner while carefully planning the construction progress of the permanent shelter for tomorrow, as well as the wood and stone that needed to be prepared, on a self-made bark map.

The rain grew heavier, and the night in the mountains and forests was exceptionally quiet, with only the sound of rain and the crackling of burning firewood.

Such weather will certainly have some impact on his construction work, but it will also give him more time to think and plan.

The warm firelight and the pattering rain kept him company through yet another lonely night.

The continuous autumn rain finally stopped in the early morning.

But the sky remained overcast, with thick clouds hanging low, and the air was filled with a damp, chilly atmosphere.

The ground around the temporary shelter was muddy, making a "plop plop" sound when you stepped on it, making walking difficult.

Lin Yu'an crawled out of his sleeping bag and faced the somewhat blurry camera lens on his chest, which was still damp from the moisture.

"Good morning! The rain has finally stopped, but the weather doesn't look too friendly today. However, the good news is that our temporary shelter has withstood the test and doesn't leak!"

He checked the fire; the extra firewood he had added before going to bed was still burning slowly, emitting a faint warmth. He carefully added some dry kindling and tinder, and the flames danced merrily again.

The little pigeon that was caught was completely devoured by Lin Yu'an's stomach last night, so breakfast was still a simple boiled Jerusalem artichoke.

While munching on Jerusalem artichokes, Lin Yu-an planned for the camera: "This is the last of the Jerusalem artichokes. After we finish this, we won't be going to collect any more for a while."

"Because I have already harvested most of the Jerusalem artichokes that have recently matured, the remaining Jerusalem artichoke roots in that area are still a bit small. I expect the best time to harvest them will be in about twenty days. We'll use them as our food reserves."

"We have three main tasks today. First, we will continue the construction of our permanent shelter and try to build the stone walls higher."

"Second, check my traps and see if there are any unexpected gains in this rainy weather."

"Third, weather permitting, I'd like to continue practicing my archery accuracy."

After having breakfast, he stepped into the rain-soaked mountains and forests.

Everything in the forest seemed to have been washed clean, filled with the fresh scent of rain.

To add to that, some readers might feel that the "golden finger" (a cheat code) is used too infrequently. I want to clarify that the golden finger won't be explored in depth in the early stages; it will be explored after the "Wilderness Solitary Life" episode ends. During this episode, we need to constantly record material to ensure we don't get accused of cheating. Those who have watched the "Wilderness Solitary Life" show know that one season's champion, Juan, was suspected of cheating, surviving for a month solely on water.

This chapter mainly focuses on living alone in the wilderness, true wilderness survival, rather than relying on some kind of cheat code to smoothly advance through life. This chapter is crucial for the development of the subsequent plot.

I humbly request that you, my readers, give me a little more time!
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(End of this chapter)