American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 161 The Strategy of Fire Attack!
The fifth day

At 6:30 a.m., the sky was still a deep inky blue, with only a faint grayish-white light shining through on the distant eastern sea.

Lin Yu'an had finished his routine patrol. The tripwire traps he had set up along the coastline remained silent, without leaving a trace.

As expected, it was an Air Force day, but he was not discouraged.

In early November, animal activity on the Labrador coastline has decreased significantly, making traps extremely inefficient.

His true granary lies in that vast, surging sea.

Taking advantage of the golden window of opportunity during the morning low tide, he went to that rich rocky area again.

This time, he had a clear goal and worked more efficiently, once again harvesting more than 80 kilograms of plump mussels.

He poured all this heavy "black gold" into the natural holding pool that he had personally modified.

Looking at the densely packed, already considerable number of live animals at the bottom of the pool, he felt no anxiety about food.

For at least the next week, he will no longer have to worry about his daily food.

After doing all this, he drank some water, ate a few leftover roasted mussels from last night, and replenished his strength. Then, carrying all his tools, he headed straight for the place he had already chosen, the place that would soon become his new sanctuary.

He stood before that indestructible granite wall, with a gentle slope sloping slowly to the south beneath his feet.

He reconfirmed the exact location and orientation of the shelter, then picked up a sharp stone from the ground and drew a clear rectangular outline about four meters long and three meters wide on the tundra.

"start."

Lin Yu'an said something to himself in a low voice, then took off his heavy windbreaker, leaving him wearing only a close-fitting fleece jacket.

His first step was not digging, but fire prevention.

He was going to use a highly efficient method of breaking ground—fire! But before using fire, he had to ensure absolute safety.

He planned to use an axe to clear away all the surface vegetation, moss, low shrubs, and weeds within a one-meter-wide area outside the rectangular outline he had just drawn.

"The situation is tougher than expected."

He frowned. After several days of clear weather, the low nighttime temperatures had begun to allow the chill from the ground to seep downwards.

Because he doesn't just cut down the vegetation, but needs to scrape off the soil along with the roots until the dark brown soil underneath, which is not easily combustible, is exposed. This clear firebreak will be his first line of defense in controlling the fire.

It took a lot of effort to clear the firebreak, and then they started clearing the surface vegetation in the rectangular area. Soon the vegetation in the area was also cleared away.

He turned and walked toward the edge of the forest, where he began to collect large amounts of relatively dry branches and driftwood. He did not choose the large logs because he did not need prolonged exposure to intense heat.

Instead, it was a ground fire that could evenly cover the entire underground area and burn for a sufficiently long time.

He was like a diligent engineer ant, shuttling back and forth between the forest and the construction site time and time again.

An hour later, he would gather enough fuel to burn for an afternoon and spread it evenly over the bare patch of land surrounded by a firebreak.

He laid it out skillfully, with small, easily flammable dry branches at the bottom, medium-sized blocks of wood in the middle, and several thicker pieces of driftwood on top to ensure a long and stable fire.

He took out a magnesium rod and a scraper from his pocket.

"Crack! Crack!"

With a few vigorous rubs, a cluster of bright, extremely hot magnesium sparks splashed onto the prepared birch bark tinder, instantly igniting the oils abundant in the birch bark and raising a small orange flame.

He carefully placed the tinderbox beneath the fuel pile, and the dry branches quickly ignited, crackling and popping.

With the help of the steady sea breeze, the fire spread rapidly, and soon the entire rectangular area was covered by a layer of leaping flames!

Lin Yu'an did not leave. Instead, he picked up a long branch and started poking at the burning firewood from time to time, pushing the burning firewood at the edges towards the center and clearing away the ashes that had burned out in the center so that the heat below could come into more direct contact with the soil.

He could clearly hear a "sizzling" sound coming from the ground, which was the sound of the moisture in the soil being evaporated by the high temperature.

A unique smell, a mixture of wood ash and roasted soil, filled the air as the fire burned from morning until afternoon.

Once all the fuel has turned into a thick layer of red charcoal radiating incredible heat, the first stage of heating is complete, and now it's time for "simmering".

He walked to the pile of soil he had dug out when he stripped the turf earlier, and using a large wooden board as a makeshift shovel, began to shovel the damp soil over the red-hot coals.

"Pfft-"

When the damp soil comes into contact with the hot charcoal, it immediately bursts into a large amount of white steam.

He moved swiftly, quickly covering the entire fire with a thick layer of mud, creating a structure resembling a primitive earthen kiln.

He explained to the camera, "The purpose of doing this is to prevent the heat from dissipating into the air too quickly." "This layer of soil acts like an insulating cover, slowly and continuously conducting the residual heat of the charcoal into the soil below and around it over the next few hours. This is much more efficient than directly heating it with an open flame."

Only after doing all this was he finally able to sit down and rest.

He took out a mineral water bottle from his backpack, drank the water in big gulps, and felt the waves of heat emanating from the earthen kiln.

About an hour and a half later, he determined that the "simmering" time was sufficient.

He got up again and carefully used the long branch to brush away the layer of dried soil covering the surface.

The charcoal below had long since gone out, leaving only a thick layer of white ash.

He used a wooden board to clear away all the ashes and the top layer of dry soil.

A satisfied smile spread across his face when the heat-treated land was fully revealed before him.

The once hard root system soil now appears as a dry, loose, dark gray.

Many tiny plant roots have been carbonized and become extremely fragile.

He stepped on it, and the ground no longer felt hard, but rather like stepping on tilled soil, with a soft, sinking sensation.

The effects of fire were immediate!

During the fire attack, he found a young, dead birch tree that met all the criteria.

First, use a hunting knife to scrape off all the remaining bark from the tree trunk, revealing the smooth, solid, light yellow wood underneath.

Next, at a gentle angle, he patiently carved a cone shape, about twenty centimeters long, resembling a spearhead, at one end of the wooden stick.

Then, he placed the tip of the stick about five centimeters above the charcoal fire, in the golden area where the heat radiation was strongest but without direct contact with the open flame.

He could clearly see that as the baking process continued, plumes of white steam were being forced out of the pores of the wood, making a slight hissing sound.

The color of the tip of the wooden stick gradually changed from the initial pale yellow to the light brown after the first roast, then to the dark brown after the third roast, and finally to a glossy blackish-brown like a dark roasted coffee bean.

Every minute or two of baking, he would pull the wooden stick out and use a flat piece of sandstone to polish away the overly loose carbonized layer on the surface while it was still hot, revealing the hard, smooth, dark wood underneath.

He repeated this baking and polishing cycle four or five times.

Finally, when he finished processing it, the tip of the digging rod had become hard and its surface was smooth and dense.

Now was the time to put this tool to good use. He gripped the shaft tightly with both hands, aimed the flame-hardened tip at the soil, and then, with all his might, thrust it down!

"puff!"

With a dull yet crisp sound, the hard tip of the rod pierced through the carbonized layer of the plant roots without any suspense, deeply wedging itself into the internal fibers!

He gripped the other end of the stick with both hands, used the ground as a fulcrum, and pried hard. The plant root system that had been entrenched underground for who knows how many years snapped off!
"efficient!"

He was overjoyed and immediately began a strategic, step-by-step, and efficient excavation process.

First, he broke the roots. He used the tip of the digging stick, like using an extended chisel, to continuously strike all the plant roots hidden under the soil and pry them off.

Next, he loosened the soil and, after clearing away the main root obstructions, changed the way he used the digging stick.

Instead of thrusting vertically downwards, he inserted the tip of the stick about 20 centimeters deep into the soil at a 30-degree angle, then suddenly lifted it upwards, easily prying and loosening a large clump of soil!
In this way, he systematically loosened the entire four-meter by three-meter area, row by row.

Finally, he cleared away the loosened soil. He temporarily put down the digging rod, picked up a flat wooden board, and shoveled away the loosened soil, doing so with great care.

He carefully divided the cleared materials into two piles and neatly stacked them on the south edge of the pit, making them easy to access without affecting subsequent construction.

The first pile was a pile of stones. He had picked out all the medium-sized granite stones he had encountered during the excavation. These stones were hard and varied in shape, making them excellent materials for building fireplaces and chimneys in the future.

The second pile was a mound of clean soil, a relatively pure, dark brown soil that contained few roots and stones. This soil would serve as the most important insulating material, covering his future roof.

He repeated this work all afternoon. Without the struggle against the hard frozen soil and stubborn roots, his physical exertion was greatly reduced, and the digging progress was incredibly fast.

As the last rays of the setting sun disappeared below the horizon, he finally stopped working and straightened his aching back.

A perfectly formed pit, about 40 centimeters deep, 4 meters long and 3 meters wide, with vertical walls and a flat bottom, has been perfectly revealed beneath the granite wall.

Lin Yu'an stood in the cave, stomped his feet on the solid bottom, and looked around at the fruits of his labor for the day.

Although he was covered in dirt and exhausted, he was filled with a sense of accomplishment from being in control of the situation!

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.

(7:05 AM Beijing time, good morning~ Remember to eat breakfast.)
(End of this chapter)