The morning wind in Alaska carried a bone-chilling cold. Fortunately, the vibrant, nameless flowers and plants covering the mountainside presented him with a magnificent tapestry.
'To see a view like this, enduring a little cold is worth it.'
The rising sun cast down a brilliant golden glow, and the damp air was filled with the rich scent of grass.
Lin Chen wandered aimlessly through the forest, his eyes fixed on the ground as he searched for a suitable location for a shelter and, with any luck, some food.
"The best permanent shelter would be a semi-subterranean stone house. In a land with such drastic temperature swings between day and night, stone and earth are the perfect insulation materials, and a natural windbreak."
Besides this, the most important thing was not having to worry about a stone house being accidentally set on fire.
In various wilderness survival shows, the most common shelters are log cabins, but all sorts of accidents often happen.
He had no desire to see the home he worked so hard to build burn to the ground.
In the middle and later stages of survival, prolonged hunger and dehydration cause a person's mind to grow clouded. In a muddle-headed state, anything can happen.
He wandered along the Yukon River for the entire morning. Just as he was about to give up, an exposed outcropping of rock suddenly appeared ahead.
It was as if a god had sliced an opening with a giant blade. From this point on, the rock formation and the hill formed a clear dividing line.
Lifting his gaze, he could even see a cliff in the distance with a drop of over ten meters.
"This is fantastic! This spot is absolutely perfect!"
He pumped his arm fiercely. He never would have imagined finding such a perfect site just a second before he was ready to give up.
"This must be like the old saying from Great Xia: 'Where mountains end and rivers run dry, one might doubt there is a road, yet amidst dark willows and bright flowers, another village is found.' It means that when you're in despair and think there's no way forward, hope is just ahead."
Having not eaten for a full twenty-four hours, he swallowed hard, fighting back the hunger in his stomach as he followed the rock formation forward along the sloping hillside.
When he reached the bottom of the cliff, a hollow crevice came into view.
This crevice, embedded in the rock formation, was a good four to five meters wide and about a meter high. It was large enough for several adult men to lie down inside, and you could even move around while crouching without a problem.
"From now on, this will be my bedroom. For the next few days, my main task will be to expand out from this crevice and build a sturdy, permanent shelter."
He had already been walking for six or seven hours today, and his exhaustion was at its peak. Dragging his body through more strenuous manual labor would only jeopardize his health.
He cleared the weeds and loose stones from the crevice, then laid down a soft layer of spruce boughs and nearby Arctic cottongrass that he'd gathered.
This grass was somewhat similar to reeds, with dense, fluffy, white filaments like a goat's beard. From a distance, it looked a bit like fluffed-up cotton. It is one of the main plants used in the Arctic region for insulation against the cold.
He then cut a few wooden poles, propped them diagonally at the entrance of the crevice with the tops braced against the rock formation and the bottoms fixed in the soil. He spread a waterproof tarp over the surface, weighed it down with spruce boughs, and a simple shelter was complete.
"There's plenty of material for a fire nearby, so I don't have to worry about that. I'm sure you've all been watching me for a while now and are dying of curiosity to see what kind of food a chef like me can whip up in the wild, right?"
Lin Chen sat cross-legged inside the shelter, giving the camera a conspiratorial smile.
After a short half-hour rest, he got up again. Carrying the pot of dark green, unknown moss and fully equipped, he headed toward the Yukon River Shore.
Because he'd been looking for a place to build his shelter, he had to give up the promising hunting spot he'd found earlier. Otherwise, just walking back would take several more hours.
He hadn't gone far when a black shadow suddenly shot out of the grass to his front left, disappearing into the bushes on the other side in the blink of an eye.
"Was that a rabbit?" Lin Chen said, a bit unsure. "It seems only a rabbit could move that fast. A pity. With my aim, I'd most likely miss it."
Half an hour later, he arrived back at the Yukon River.
He glanced back at the cliff, feeling increasingly satisfied.
"The shelter is located halfway up the hill. The Yukon River is essentially in a ravine at the bottom. Aside from deer and sheep, very few predators like to run up this kind of terrain."
"Most importantly, the wind direction in a valley is likely fixed. Due to the temperature difference at night, it won't blow uphill. This means my safety is much more secure."
Nighttime was the peak period for animal activity. His shelter was nestled at the base of the cliff and blocked by the waterproof tarp, which would prevent the scents from inside from spreading out, greatly reducing the chance of being discovered by predators.
'Of course, this is all just theoretical. As for how it'll actually play out, I'll just have to take it one step at a time.'
He carried the pot of moss to the riverbank and crouched down. First, he filled the pot to the brim with clear river water, letting the moss soak in it.
"Let me explain this for everyone. This stuff that looks like moss is what we in Great Xia call rock tripe. We also have other names for it, like 'earth skin' or 'earth wood-ear.' The names literally mean the 'clothing of the earth' or 'skin of the earth.' 'Wood-ear' refers to a fungus that grows on wood and is shaped like an ear, which is where it gets its name."
As he spoke, he casually scooped up a few pieces and brought them close to the camera.
"Everyone, take a closer look. See how it's completely different from moss? Some of the pieces really do look a bit like ears."
"Lichen is very nutritious. It has vitamins, minerals, protein, and so on. It's especially high in calcium. Most importantly, it's also high in calories. One kilogram of dried lichen can provide up to three thousand kilocalories, with an average of around two thousand."
"The only downside to this stuff is that it's a real pain to clean. Because it grows on the ground and has a lot of folds, it easily traps sand and dirt. You have to wash it at least five or six times before it's edible."
As he spoke, he scooped the lichen that had been soaking for a while out of the water and placed it on the pot lid. He used his hand to hold back the rest while he poured out the dirty water at the bottom.
After repeating this process a full five times, all the weeds, sand, and grit mixed in with the lichen were finally cleaned out.
"I'm from the south of Great Xia. Where I'm from, we usually stir-fry lichen with pickled vegetables and chili peppers. But I don't have those ingredients on hand right now. I have to find a way to make this more delicious. Just boiling it in water would be a disgrace to us chefs."
His gaze fell upon the dense swarm of red figures in the Yukon River.
Don't be fooled by the fact that it's the salmon run. When migrating, the salmon actually stop eating. The influence of reproductive hormones and intense physical exertion cause astaxanthin to accumulate in their bodies, turning them a deep, gem-like blood-red color.
Red Salmon are a type of salmon, normally suitable for eating raw. But once their bodies turn red, their flavor and texture change.