American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 180 Exploration After the Storm

Day 20, late at night.

A piercing electronic ringtone echoed throughout the entire shelter! It was the satellite phone that Lin Yu'an had placed in a waterproof box in the corner.

Lin Yu'an sat up from his sleeping bag, his brows furrowed slightly.

He knew that at this point in time, the production team's use of this emergency communication line meant only one thing: the situation had exceeded their expectations.

He opened the box and answered the phone.

“Lin! Can you hear me? Is that you?” came the anxious voice of executive producer Mark from the other end of the phone.

"It's me, Mark. I'm fine." Lin Yu'an's voice was calm and steady, a stark contrast to the anxiety on the other end of the phone.

"God! I'm so glad you're okay!" Mark was clearly relieved.

"Our weather advisor just sent an emergency alert: the intensity of this storm has far exceeded our historical data models! The wind speed may have already reached hurricane level!"

“We must confirm the safety of every athlete! Listen, Lin, we have contacted the Canadian Coast Guard’s heavy helicopter base, and they are on standby.”

"Once the eye of the storm has passed, and even a half-hour flight window opens up, we will immediately send a plane to support you or to pick you up and remove you from the race! How are you doing now? Do you need emergency assistance?"

Mark's voice was filled with anxiety and concern; in the face of a natural disaster of this magnitude, the safety of any athlete was the top priority.

“I’m fine, Mark,” he repeated, his tone brimming with absolute confidence.

“My shelter is very sturdy, and I have enough fuel and food. I don’t need emergency support, and I have no intention of withdrawing from the race.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, as if they were shocked by Lin Yu'an's composure.

“…Alright, Lin. It’s your decision.” Mark’s voice held a hint of admiration.

"However, keep communication open, and call us immediately if anything unexpected happens! Don't try to be brave!"

"clear."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Yu'an put the satellite phone back into the waterproof box.

He knew that the other athletes were probably enduring unimaginable suffering in their makeshift shelters, or they might have already returned home to enjoy a delicious steak.

The time has come to the twenty-first day.

Lin Yu'an woke up in a silence that was almost deafening.

He opened his eyes in his sleeping bag. The howling wind that had lasted for two days and two nights, and the low-frequency resonance that had shaken the entire shelter and prevented him from sleeping peacefully, had completely disappeared.

The world seemed to have been muted, replaced by a deep tranquility that soothed his ears.

The only thing he could hear was the faint crackling sound of the burning charcoal in the fireplace.

The storm has finally passed.

He immediately got up and, by the dim light of the fireplace, meticulously inspected every inch of the shelter's structure, as was his daily routine.

The walls are as solid as a rock, the roof is as stable as Mount Tai, and the airflow in the flue becomes smooth and steady after the internal and external air pressures are restored to balance.

He walked to the door, reached out and grasped the rough wooden bolt, and with a forceful lift, pulled it out of the slot.

Then, he placed his palm on the heavy door panel, took a deep breath, and pushed outwards with force.

The door remained completely still.

A heavy, solid resistance came from outside the door, as if someone on the other side was wrestling with him.

"Ok?"

He frowned, took a half step back, lowered his center of gravity, braced his shoulder against the door, and increased the force again.

The wooden structure of the door made a dull creaking sound, but the door was still held firmly by a huge external force, moving outward by less than a centimeter.

"It must have been buried by snow."

He immediately understood the situation: the snow at the doorway, repeatedly blown and compressed by the storm and gale-force winds exceeding 100 kilometers per hour, was no longer fluffy snowflakes.

Instead, it transformed into a hard "snow wall" with extremely high density, as hard as ice.

"Pushing it outwards is impossible."

He immediately changed his strategy, explaining to the camera, "Fortunately, the door I designed can be opened from both the inside and outside. Now, we can only pull it inwards."

He hooked his fingers into the groove on the inside of the door panel, planted his feet firmly on the solid ground, leaned back, and suddenly exerted force backward!

“Gah—chih!”

An extremely harsh friction sound came from between the door panel and the door frame, followed by a muffled "thud" as he forcefully pulled the door panel inwards, creating a gap.

A stream of snow-white, powdery dry snow, like flour, poured down from above the door crack in an instant, landing quite a bit on the shelter floor.

Immediately afterwards, a blast of cold, fresh air, carrying the pure scent of snow, rushed into the shelter.

He continued to pull hard, opening the door completely.

"Wow--"

The snow wall piled up at the entrance collapsed inwards immediately after losing its support.

Large amounts of densely packed snow and powder instantly flooded the entrance to the shelter, piling up more than half a meter high and almost blocking the entire doorway.

But Lin Yu'an couldn't care less about any of that at the moment. His gaze went through the open doorway to the outside world, and he was completely shocked by the scene before him.

The whole world seemed to have been reshaped by nature, a master craftsman, with ice, snow, and sunlight. The sky was a thoroughly washed, deep, unreal blue.

From the pale blue of the horizon, it gradually transitions upwards to the indigo of the zenith, as pure as a huge, flawless sapphire, without a single cloud or impurity.

The dazzling sunlight rose from the horizon, shining on the boundless snowfield covered with fresh snow.

Each tiny snow crystal is like an independent prism, breaking down and refracting sunlight, ultimately converging into a dazzling, diamond-like brilliance!

This white world was so bright it was almost blinding, so bright he could barely open his eyes.

He squinted, and after a moment his eyes adjusted, he could finally see his surroundings clearly.

The terrain around the shelter had been completely changed; the familiar trees and rocks were mostly covered by thick snow-covered hills!

"Good morning, everyone. As you can see, the storm has passed, but it has left us with a whole new world." He spoke to the camera, his voice rising with excitement.

He didn't go out immediately, but went back into the shelter first, changed into warmer and more waterproof clothes, and then began to clear the snow from the doorway.

Using the wooden plank he had previously used as a digging shovel, he carefully cleared away the snow that had flooded into the doorway, shoveling it away one scoop at a time. The snow was packed very tightly, and each shovelful was quite heavy.

Only after he had cleared a path wide enough for him to pass through and closed the door from the outside did he truly and completely stand in this reshaped world.

He took a deep breath of the icy, yet exceptionally pure air, feeling the warmth of the sunlight on his face.

A surge of joy at surviving a disaster and a desire to explore a new world instantly filled his heart!
But instead of rushing out immediately, he turned around and examined his shelter once more.

The first thing he did was not to explore, but to conduct a thorough safety inspection of his shelter.

He first walked around the shelter, carefully examining the junction of the stone foundation and the wooden walls, and then he turned his gaze to the roof.

He looked at the half-meter-thick layer of snow on the roof, which was pressed very firmly by the wind, and his brows furrowed slightly.

"The snow is too thick. This wet snow has an extremely high density and weighs far more than dry powder snow."

"Such a heavy weight continuously pressing on the roof may not pose a danger in the short term, but it could create excessive pressure at any time."

"Moreover, the most crucial thing is the chimney. I must ensure that there is no excessive pressure around it, so as not to affect the exhaust or cause lateral pressure on the stone structure."

He immediately took action. He walked to the wall, grabbed the lowest logs with both hands, braced his feet on the cracks in the stone base, and with a few powerful climbs, he stood steadily on the roof.

He first gently tapped the stone wall of the chimney with the back of his axe.

"Boom! Boom!"

A dull, solid sound came from inside; the structure remained stable, showing no signs of loosening. Only after confirming the chimney was safe did he begin to deal with the snow.

He hung the axe back on his waist, then knelt on the roof and began to push the snow around the chimney toward the edge of the roof using only his hands and the flat plank he had previously used as a digging shovel.

He moved very carefully, trying to avoid disturbing the soil insulation layer below. A large amount of snow was pushed off the roof and landed on the snow below.

After he had cleared the area around the chimney and greatly reduced the overall load on the roof, he slid down from the roof and landed steadily on the soft snow.

I stepped back a few paces, standing at a slightly distance, and took a full look at my home after the storm.

This discovery led him to another unexpected delight.

The raging blizzard, while attempting to destroy his shelter, inadvertently gave it a perfect "upgrade".

The strong winds whipped up large amounts of snow, which pounded against the three walls of the shelter and then compacted it.

At this moment, a huge snow dike, more than a meter thick, had formed outside his wooden wall.

The snow embankment, like a sturdy white wall, completely enveloped the lower half of his shelter.

Lin Yu'an walked to the snow wall and pressed it with his hand. The snow was pressed extremely hard, like an ice brick.

"This is practically a natural igloo structure."

"This snow wall unintentionally added a third layer of insulation to my shelter."

"Snow itself is a poor conductor of heat because it traps a large amount of still air inside."

"Now, this one-meter-thick layer of compacted snow can greatly prevent indoor heat from escaping through the walls, while also completely blocking any cold winds that try to seep in."

"In terms of warmth and wind resistance, it may be even better than if I added another layer of wooden wall."

He touched the cold but solid snow wall with his hand, and then looked at the frozen bay in the distance that shimmered in the sunlight.

This filled him with a tremendous sense of accomplishment and unparalleled security.

Nature tested his shelter in its most violent way, and he not only withstood the test but also drew strength from the disaster, becoming even more indestructible.

It was this impregnable shelter that gave him the right to stand here and calmly appreciate the magnificent scenery after the storm.

He returned to the shelter and began preparing for today's exploration, carefully inspecting his recurve bow, then slung his quiver and backpack over his shoulder, finally putting on his snowshoes and hanging his axe at his waist.

He officially began his first tour of this "white new world".

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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