American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 193 The Twenty-Sixth Day

Day 26.

Yesterday, Lin Yu'an had just completed a difficult project: an ice diamond with a primitive shape, covered in forging marks, but with a blade that gleamed with a cold light. It leaned quietly against the corner of the shelter.

It is not just a tool, but the first spark of industrial civilization that he ignited in this wilderness with his wisdom, sweat and will!

He stood up and glanced at the hearth. The charcoal inside had burned out, leaving only a few red embers.

Just then, a familiar mechanical roar, out of place in this primitive world, came from the distant horizon.

The sound came from afar, initially like the buzzing of a mosquito, but quickly became louder and clearer.

Lin Yu'an raised his head and squinted in the direction from which the sound came.

Beneath the low-hanging, leaden clouds, a familiar black dot is rapidly growing larger.

It pierced through the sounds of the wind and waves, carrying an undeniable sense of power, and entered the world he had grown accustomed to for the past twenty-odd days, a world filled only with the sounds of nature.

It's a helicopter.

He knew this was a routine inspection by the production team. According to the competition rules, the production team would conduct a mandatory medical check-up on all contestants every so often.

They also collect the footage they recorded, provide new batteries and necessary medical advice, all to ensure the safety of the contestants and to ensure the survival competition can proceed smoothly.

The production team was unable to arrive as scheduled a few days ago due to a blizzard.

He didn't show much excitement, but calmly watched the black Bell 212 helicopter hover in the air like a giant dragonfly, circling once above his shelter, seemingly assessing the landing site.

Ultimately, the helicopter chose a relatively open and flat gravel beach in front of the shelter, kicking up a cloud of snow dust as it landed steadily.

As the roar of the engine gradually subsided and finally turned into the whooshing sound of the rotating propellers, the side door of the cabin slid open.

Four figures jumped out of the cabin one after another.

Leading the way was a tall, middle-aged man with gray-gold hair that was somewhat disheveled by the cold wind, and sunglasses that could protect him from the intense polar light.

Even through the sunglasses, Lin Yu'an could feel his sharp and scrutinizing gaze. Lin Yu'an recognized him at a glance; it was Mark.

Following closely behind was a woman in an orange-red first aid suit. She was Anna, the doctor accompanying the team. Her face showed professional gentleness and concern, and she was carrying a large medical first aid kit.

The third person to jump was a man wearing a dark green jumpsuit. He was also very tall and strong, but unlike Mark's weathered look, he had an aura of competence and composure that belonged to an active-duty soldier.

His flight suit patch featured the emblem of the Royal Canadian Air Force Search and Rescue Service, a red maple leaf against a blue and white background representing the sky and the sea.

He was the safety director for this challenge, as well as the captain of the helicopter, Royal Canadian Air Force Captain David Hammond, codenamed "Grizzly".

According to the security agreement reached between the program team and the Canadian military, every mandatory medical examination of the contestants must be accompanied and technically supported by one of the most experienced active-duty search and rescue pilots.

His mission goes far beyond piloting aircraft. He needs to use his professional expertise to assess the safety of each camp site, the potential risks posed by weather changes, and to carry out the most challenging rescue and evacuation missions in any emergency.

For Grizzlies, this vast and brutal Labrador coastline is both his training ground and the battlefield where he has carried out countless life-or-death rescues.

His gaze swept calmly across Lin Yu'an's camp, as if he were conducting a routine mission assessment.

Finally, there was a cameraman carrying a professional-grade camera. From the moment he jumped off the plane, his lens was always pointed at Lin Yu'an, recording this moment where civilization and wilderness met.

Mark took off his sunglasses, but instead of immediately stepping forward, he stood still, his gaze slowly sweeping over Lin Yu'an's entire camp.

His gaze shifted from the sturdy semi-subterranean shelter to the stone trough next to it, which served as a forge.

Then, they moved from the oddly shaped, huge bellows made from a yellowish-brown plastic box next to the stone trough to the "snow well refrigerator" not far away, which was covered in snow and only had a lid showing.

Finally, his gaze fell on the neatly stacked birch and driftwood at the entrance of the shelter, and on the newly made, primitively shaped ice diamond leaning against the corner of the wall.

A flicker of surprise crossed his face, which was then replaced by an incredulous and complex emotion.

Mark had initially thought that after experiencing that disastrous "bomb cyclone," he would see a player struggling to survive and barely holding on.

But what he saw was an "engineer" working on the tech tree in this wilderness!
“My God…” Mark finally couldn’t help but mutter to himself.

Then, he strode towards Lin Yu'an, a sincere and undisguised smile of admiration on his face.

"Lin! It seems that the storm was more of an opportunity for you than a disaster."

He calmly replied, “I was just lucky, Mark. The ocean gave me some trash that others didn’t want, and I just happened to know how to use it.”

“Trash?” Mark chuckled and shook his head, his gaze slowly sweeping over the amazing creations in the camp.

“No, Lin, this can’t be explained by luck. It’s a testament to knowledge and ability.”

He pointed to the well-structured horizontal forging furnace: "I can understand this; it's a forging furnace."

Then he pointed to the huge, tan-colored plastic box next to him: "And this big thing made of fishing pontoons is undoubtedly the bellows used to supply it with air."

Mark's gaze finally settled on the foldable A-shaped object made of countless intricately woven willow branches, and for the first time, genuine curiosity and confusion appeared in his eyes.

He asked, "But what is that thing...? It looks like some kind of screen, or... a trap?"

Lin Yu'an followed his gaze and a faint smile appeared on her face: "That's my mobile shelter, an ice fishing hut. I spent the whole day yesterday making it."

“Ice fishing hut…” Mark repeated the word, his eyes filled with even greater amazement.

He then noticed a strange device in the snow not far away, with only a blue lid sticking out, and asked curiously, "And what about that plastic bucket buried in the snow?"

Lin Yu-an explained, "That was a 55-gallon barrel that I found after the storm. Now it's mainly my food storage room, containing all my food."

After hearing all this, Mark fell completely silent.

Forge, bellows, foldable ice fishing shed, snow well refrigerator... all of this has completely exceeded Mark's expectations for a "survival challenge".

He finally spoke, his tone filled with sincere admiration: "Lin, you're not just surviving, you're practically building a civilization here!"

Dr. Anna also came over. She was equally shocked by the scene before her, but her professional instincts made her pay more attention to the people's condition.

“Hello, Lin. I’m Anna.” She extended her hand. Lin Yu’an was taken aback for a moment, then extended her hand and gently shook hers.

She opened the medical kit in her hand and said in a relaxed tone, "Mark is right, this is incredible. But according to regulations, I have to make sure your body isn't overloaded."

"Would you mind if I did a simple check-up for you? Blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, and we can chat for a bit while we're at it."

"Of course, thank you for your trouble." Lin Yu'an nodded, sat down naturally on the wooden stool, and rolled up his sleeves.

He obediently allowed Anna to tie the blood pressure cuff to his arm.

"Don't be nervous, we're just having a chat."

As Anna took her measurements, she asked softly, "When was the last time you ate? What did you eat?"

"About half an hour ago, there were a few fried hairy fish and some hot water."

“Capelin? High in protein and fat, a fantastic source of energy. Looks like you’re already an excellent fisherman.” Anna nodded approvingly, noting down the blood pressure reading; everything was normal.

"I was just lucky," Lin Yu'an replied modestly.

Anna smiled and continued, "In these past twenty days or so, have you felt dizzy, nauseous, or had blurred vision?"

"No."

She changed the subject, her tone still gentle, but her eyes more focused: "Then let's talk about something more important, the mental state? In such a completely isolated environment, loneliness can devour a person's will like a wild beast."

"Have you been experiencing excessive anxiety, despair, or hallucinations?"

Lin Yu'an thought for a moment, then glanced at the dark green box in the corner of the shelter and slowly shook his head.

"Despair is a luxury, and I can't afford it here. But I do feel lonely sometimes, especially at night when the wind is strong, and I feel like I'm the only person left in the world. But thankfully, I can always find something to do after dawn."

Anna listened quietly, her eyes filled with admiration.

She put away the blood pressure monitor and then used a forehead thermometer to check his temperature, which was also within the normal range.

"Judging from your physiological indicators and mental state, you are in excellent condition, and it seems that you are adapting very well."

While conducting medical examinations, the cameraman carefully replaced the batteries and media cards for all the cameras inside and outside Lin Yu-an's shelter.

"Grizzly" has completed its security patrol of the perimeter and now stands like a silent mountain, guarding the helicopter.

After the inspection, Mark came over, ready to ask some questions about the details of his camp construction.

But before he could speak, Lin Yu'an said, "Mark, I've made a discovery. Something that might be very important. I need your help."

Mark's face lit up with interest: "Oh? What is it?"

Lin Yu'an did not answer directly, but turned and walked into the shelter. A moment later, he came out carrying the dark green professional safety box.

Mark, Anna, and even the cameraman and "Grizzly Bear" in the distance—everyone's attention was drawn to this box, which shouldn't have been there and exuded the aura of modern industrial civilization.

“This is…” Mark’s eyes lit up instantly; he recognized at a glance that this was no ordinary box.

"A Pyreke box? Or something like military-grade equipment? Where did you find it?"

Lin Yu'an answered succinctly: "To the south, about two kilometers away, behind an ice pressure ridge, it is stuck between a piece of driftwood and several pieces of floating ice."

He pointed to the combination lock in the center of the box, which he had already opened: "It was locked before, and it took me a while to open it."

Mark's surprise deepened: "You opened it? What's inside? Guns? Food? Tools?"

"None of them." Lin Yu'an shook his head, squatted down, unlocked the four latches, and slowly lifted the lid of the box.

"It's something more important."

When the contents of the box were revealed to everyone, they fell silent: stacks of well-sealed research materials, a sturdy special laptop, and a dark blue logbook.

Mark carefully picked up the journal, and when he saw the words "Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution" on the cover and opened the title page, he immediately understood the weight of it all.

“My God… Lin, do you know what you’ve found, Lin? This could be the culmination of an entire quarter’s worth of research for a research team.”

"I know," Lin Yu'an said calmly.

“I checked the contents. Apart from the logbook, all the other documents were sealed very well, and I didn’t open them to look at them.”

“These things are useless to me, but they may be everything to their owner. I hope you can take them away and find her, or her family and colleagues.”

Mark looked up at Lin Yu'an solemnly: "We will. This goes beyond the scope of the competition. We will use all our resources to contact Woods Hole and find the owner. I promise you."

Mark looked at him, then suddenly seemed to remember something. He smiled and said, "You know, Lin. When this box finally returned to its owner, she must have been very curious about who found it, and under what circumstances, and protected it."

He looked at Lin Yu'an with a hint of encouragement in his eyes: "You should leave her a letter and tell her about your experience of finding it."

Lin Yu'an was stunned for a moment. He hadn't thought that much about it before; he just instinctively felt that he should return the item.

But Mark's words made him realize that returning the box was not just a process of returning something to its rightful owner, but also a wonderful connection that transcends time and space.

He understood, and nodded solemnly to Mark: "You're right, Mark, I should do it this way."

Mark immediately took out a waterproof hard-cover notebook and a black marker from the inside pocket of his parka and handed them to him.

"Use this one, it's waterproof."

Lin Yu'an took the pen, used the earthen-yellow bellows as a table, and began to write on the paper.

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)