American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 154 The Frozen Throne! All Assemble!
The plane landed in Nene, an Inuit town at the northernmost tip of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

As Lin Yu'an stepped out of the cramped cabin, a chilling current, more frigid than that of Alaska, carrying the salty sea breeze and the scent of glaciers, instantly filled his lungs.

The air was as cold as shards of glass, which invigorated him.

This is the last civilization on the road to the Frozen Throne.

The person who came to pick me up at the airport was my old friend whom I hadn't seen in a long time, executive producer Mark.

"Lin!" Mark gave him a tight hug and patted him hard on the back.

“You look even more robust than you did at Lake Chilko! I heard you’ve built a nice cabin in Alaska.”

“You too, Mark, looks like you’ve been putting in a lot of work at the gym in Los Angeles.” Lin Yu’an chuckled and punched him on the shoulder.

“Let’s go, let’s go to the base first.” Mark led him into a pickup truck belonging to the production crew.

"According to regulations, you need to undergo a three-day mandatory quarantine and final preparations."

“This time is different, Lin. Every single one of the contestants we invited is here for your title of ‘Season 8 Champion.’ You will be the target of everyone’s attacks.”

Lin Yu'an's expression remained unchanged: "I understand, Mark, and I'm also looking forward to competing with them!"

In the town's only simple wooden inn, Lin Yu'an carried his expedition backpack and walked into the narrow corridor. He was led into a simply furnished room.

Just as he was looking for his room number, a door next to him opened.

A woman with long hair and a unique temperament walked out. She was wearing a deerskin vest that she had sewn herself, and her eyes were calm and full of wisdom.

The two looked at each other and were both taken aback.

Lin Yu-an immediately recognized her—Wonia Seton, the runner-up of the sixth season, a true master of traditional crafts.

Vonia recognized him too. She gave him a friendly smile and nodded as a greeting before heading straight for the stairwell.

There were no unnecessary pleasantries; the first meeting between these powerful individuals was filled with subtle scrutiny.

Lin Yu'an found his room and put down his equipment.

Instead of resting, he took out the Damascus hunting knife that old George had forged himself, and the Arkansas stone that Stan had given him, and began a meditative grinding process.

The fine whetstone slowly glides across the hard blade, making a reassuring "shh...shh..." sound.

He needs to go through this process to quickly get himself into the zone.

When he finished, the edge of the hunting knife had a nearly invisible white line that gleamed with a chilling light.

The following morning, the six legendary contestants were formally summoned to the program team's temporary meeting room for the first time.

This will be their first formal meeting, as well as the location for the final equipment inspection and safety training.

The room was simply furnished with a huge long table, six chairs, and several cameras that were already turned on around it.

When Lin Yu'an pushed open the door, there were already five contestants in the room, and he immediately felt the oppressive aura.

Executive producer Mark clapped his hands, breaking the silence with his signature smile, as he saw everyone had arrived.

"Alright everyone, everyone's here now. Welcome to Labrador!"

“We still have some time before announcing the final rules. I know that many of you are meeting for the first time. So, I think you can get to know each other first.”

“Kelly, would you like to start? Tell everyone who you are, where you come from, and why you’ve come back this time.”

Kelly looked up and flashed her signature sunny smile: "Hi, I'm Kelly Russell, 31 years old, a contestant from Season 7, who lasted 89 days before being forced to withdraw after suffering severe frostbite on her toes."

"I came back because I love this life, and I want to see what gifts nature will give me in this new land."

Mark turned his gaze to Vonia: "Vonia, you are one of the strongest female players in the history of Wilderness Solitaire. Tell everyone your story."

Vonnia opened her eyes, her voice soft yet powerful: "I am Vonnia Seton, 45 years old, and I lasted 73 days in season six."

“I am a practitioner of primitive skills. I am skilled at using animal fur and bones to create warmth and tools for myself. I have come back to see if my skills can take me further in this harsher land.”

“Michelle.” Mark turned to another woman.

“You come from the snowy world of Maine, so it’s safe to say that this environment is very familiar to you.”

Michelle Finn's answer was full of confidence: "I am Michelle, 47 years old, an eighth-season contestant, and I lasted 63 days. The cold is my old friend. Last time, I missed the finish line because of a small mistake."

"I came back to correct that mistake and take what I deserve." After she finished speaking, she glanced at Lin Yu'an, a fellow contestant, her eyes full of challenge.

“Speaking of mistakes,” Mark said, looking at the youngest player with the sharpest eyes.

"Colton, as our youngest hunter, what do you have to say this time?"

Colton tightened his grip on his recurve bow, making no attempt to hide his fighting spirit: "My name is Colton Rollins, I'm 23 years old, a season 8 contestant, and I lasted 59 days. Last time I was too young and made a mistake I shouldn't have made."

“This time, I’m much better prepared. My bow and traps will be far more deadly than before! I have only one goal—to be the final victor and take home $50!”

Amos pushed up his glasses: "I am Amos Rodriguez, 40 years old, lasted 58 days in season seven, and I am a retired special forces soldier and primitive skills mentor."

“For me, this is not just a competition, but also a profound spiritual journey. I want to test what I have learned on this land.”

Finally, all eyes, like searchlights, focused on Lin Yu'an. The atmosphere in the room became somewhat subtle at this moment; he was the only true champion here.

Mark sensed the atmosphere and smiled, saying in a slightly teasing and provocative tone, "Alright, Lin, our only champion."

“You’ve already taken a million dollars and built your own kingdom in Alaska.”

"Tell those who want to challenge your throne, why did you come back? Isn't your fireplace big enough?"

Mark's joke elicited a soft chuckle, but all the legendary players' eyes remained sharp as knives, fixed on Lin Yu'an.

Lin Yu'an slowly stood up. Unlike others, he did not elaborate on his philosophy, goals, or personal journey.

He simply looked around calmly, and then, in an extremely flat tone, uttered a sentence that instantly plunged the entire room into deathly silence.

"I am Lin Yu-an."

"The champion of season eight."

"I held out for 93 days at Lake Chirko."

"During this period, a mule deer and an adult black bear were hunted down."

There are no adjectives, no emotions, only a series of irrefutable facts.

93 days—this number has surpassed everyone's record.

In the history of "Living Alone in the Wilderness," when players encountered bears, they mostly chased them away, avoided them, or defended themselves in extremely passive situations.

Lin Yu'an is the only person to have successfully hunted down an adult black bear!
For a moment, the air in the room seemed to freeze.

"My return this time is very simple."

"I've come back to accept your challenges."

"The throne is here; bring it on!"

After he finished speaking, the entire room fell silent.

The photographer and Mark exchanged a glance, both seeing barely suppressed excitement in each other's eyes! They knew they had achieved the effect they wanted.

A true king has issued his declaration of kingship to all challengers!

“Very good.” Executive producer Mark was very satisfied with this answer.

He stepped forward and continued to control the situation: "Well then, welcome back, legends!"

“Each of you harbors resentment over your previous departure. Therefore, we have established this ‘Frozen Throne’ to give you a chance to prove yourselves again!”

"Now, let's announce the final rules..."

He paused, his tone becoming extremely serious: "But this time, the rules are more brutal than ever before."

"You have only one goal: to be the sole survivor who stays until the end and win the grand prize of five hundred thousand dollars!"

Mark added, "If more than one player survives by day fifty, they will split the prize money! But believe me, the Labrador winter won't let that happen easily."

"However, if even one person refuses to split the prize money equally, the two sides will enter overtime. If the outcome is still undecided after 15 days of overtime, the game will be forcibly ended."

"The production team will compare the contestants' physical data with the data from the first day, and the contestant who loses the least weight or has the best overall health will win."

Then Mark continued, "You are all experienced experts, so I won't waste time with nonsense; we'll just look at the data."

He pointed to a weather report on his iPad: "Your deployment time is early November, which means you will not have any acclimatization period and will go straight into the early winter of Labrador."

“First, the temperature.” He tapped the screen.

"In the week following the deployment, the average nighttime temperature will stabilize at -15 degrees Celsius, and according to historical data, you will face sustained low temperatures below -30 degrees Celsius in December! But that's not the worst part."

His finger traced the vast Labrador Sea on the map.

"The most terrifying thing is the wind. This is the corridor of North Atlantic storms, and continuous, cold winds with speeds exceeding 60 kilometers per hour are commonplace. Under the wind chill effect, the wind chill temperature, which is -15 degrees Celsius, can easily drop below -30 degrees Celsius."

"Any exposed skin of yours could suffer severe frostbite within minutes! Your shelter will continuously face the most severe tests."

Hearing this, even Michelle Finn from Maine looked serious, knowing how serious a cold could be.

"Secondly, there's the issue of food acquisition. By early November, all terrestrial plant-based foods will have disappeared, and the activity of most small mammals will also decrease dramatically. How effective your tripwires will be depends entirely on luck."

He pointed to a seawater temperature map: "Your greatest hope lies in the water. But in mid-to-late November, the surface seawater temperature in the fjord will be very close to freezing."

"Large amounts of drift ice and flat ice will begin to appear on the sea surface, which means that your gillnets and fishing lines will be at constant risk of being entangled and cut by ice."

"And when the bay finally freezes over, your foraging activities on the water may come to an end!"

All the legends present turned extremely serious, especially the player with the thorn net, whose face was even more gloomy.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

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(End of this chapter)