HUN Chapter 70: Only Two Remain

With the consecutive broadcast of episodes seven and eight of "Alone: Grizzly Mountain," the cruel reality of winter's arrival was displayed in all its harsh glory.

Inuit huntress Kayla quit in episode seven due to hunger and emotional breakdown.

The resolute veteran Ron, after engaging in a life-or-death struggle with hunger and cold for seventy days, ultimately had to withdraw regretfully when his bodily functions reached their limit, following medical team recommendations.

Thus, when episode nine began, by day eighty, on the shores of the vast and frigid Chilko Lake, only two lonely figures remained: Lin Yu'an and Clay Jenkins.

A true battle of champions had officially begun.

The episode opened with cameras switching back and forth between the two contestants' camps, creating a strong sense of contrast.

Clay's camp remained his sturdy and practical log cabin. Though his stored venison and smoked fish were constantly being consumed, with his powerful fishing skills, he could still occasionally catch several important protein sources from beneath the lake surface that had not yet frozen completely.

On the other side, Lin Yu'an's stone shelter, covered in pristine white snow, looked like a half-buried fortress. Abundant fuel kept his stove consistently warm, while the large quantities of jerky and wild onions he had previously stored left him temporarily without worries.

However, the "script theory" controversy sparked by episode six continued to ferment online. Despite official statements from the production team, many North American viewers, particularly Clay's die-hard supporters, remained skeptical of Lin Yu'an's overly "lucky" experiences.

"We'll see. Once he doesn't have the 'scripted' deer and saw chain, he'll give up quickly!"

"That's right, Clay relies on real skill. Fishing isn't something just anyone can succeed at."

"But Lin caught quite a few big fish before he made his own fishing rod. His technique should be pretty good too."

"The commenter above must be from Texas, right? You should read more books to understand this world."

Facing these persistent doubts, Lin Yu'an in episode nine seemed to hear the discussions from thousands of miles away, responding with the most powerful answer through a series of hardcore operations.

In the footage, Lin Yu'an demonstrated his daily food acquisition. First was checking those steel wire snare traps he had reset after the heavy snow, targeting snowshoe rabbits.

The camera followed him through knee-deep snow to a patch of shrubs. Next to a triggered trap, a snow-white snowshoe rabbit was firmly caught. Lin Yu'an skillfully processed the prey and reset the trap, the entire process flowing smoothly without any signs of editing.

"In the snow, as long as you find the right rabbit trails, snare traps have a very high success rate," he said calmly, as if this were just routine business.

Using beaver skin to make a hat was also one of the highlights.

What followed was the "long pole snaring" skill that made countless viewers' eyes widen. When Lin Yu'an, holding his self-made four-meter spruce snaring pole, spotted a spruce grouse pecking at pine needles on a low pine tree, a textbook-level hunt began!

The action camera lens followed him closely throughout, from his slow approach to raising the long pole, then gradually placing the steel wire snare around the grouse's head, all in one seamless motion without any cuts or editing!

When Lin Yu'an flicked his wrist sharply and precisely "hooked" the grouse down from the branch, viewers could clearly see the entire process of the startled grouse flapping and struggling.

This scene obviously could not be arranged through a script.

The series of hardcore survival skills Lin Yu'an displayed in episode nine, particularly the miraculous, single-take "long pole grouse snaring," completely ignited the bullet comments on Bilibili.

[Holy crap! Single take! How the hell do you fake this? Do those who said it was scripted feel embarrassed?]

[Traps, hunting, fishing, he's good at everything! All-around king!]

[Don't forget construction and cooking! Brother An is a hexagonal warrior!]

[Just with this grouse-snaring skill alone, Brother An deserves the championship! Too awesome!]

[Brother An has too many legendary moments! He single-handedly carries all the highlights of season eight!]

[Grouse, you're so beautiful~ Who would have thought Brother An was actually the ancestor of grouse snarers! This grouse-snaring technique is so amazing!!]

However, on mainstream North American forums and social media, audience reactions presented a mixed situation.

Some viewers, particularly rational survival enthusiasts, were completely won over by Lin Yu'an's hardcore grouse-snaring technique!

“Okay, I have to admit, that long pole snare technique was insane! There's no way to fake that. This guy has real skills!”

“I also changed my mind when I saw him snare that grouse with the pole!”

“His ability to craft tools and adapt to the environment is impressive. The snare pole is a game changer. Clay is a great hunter, but Lin is a great survivor.”

But another group of stubborn skeptics and Clay's die-hard fans launched attacks from new angles.

“So he can catch a few dumb birds with a stick? What's so impressive about succeeding once?”

“This is still suspicious! Why didn't he show this skill earlier? It feels like the producers told him, hey, everyone thinks you're fake, go do something impressive in front of the camera.”

“All his major food scores came from luck. Now he can only catch small prey, which proves he can't consistently obtain food like Clay can.”

The broadcast of episode nine did not completely quell the script theory controversy, but instead pushed the showdown between Lin Yu'an and Clay to a fever pitch.

Although Lin Yu'an used undeniable personal skills to powerfully counter the "script theory" and earned respect from many rational viewers, Clay's tremendous impact from being the first to get "a whole deer" remained an insurmountable mountain in many people's hearts.

The episode ended with scenes of both men working hard in the icy snow for their next food sources.

Viewers understood that the next episode would be the final showdown!

[NEXT CHAPTER]

Chapter 71: Black Bear Encounter!

Time had reached day seventy-three.

Winter had completely transformed the shores of Chilko Lake into a world wrapped in silver.

This day was a rare, clear-weather day, and also the day for the production team to collect footage.

Lin Yu'an set up his camera, and instead of busying himself with work as usual, he rarely moved a flat wooden stump and sat at the entrance of his stone shelter.

Holding a wooden bowl filled with hot pine needle tea in his hands, his gaze looked distantly toward the ice and snow-covered lake surface in the distance, lost in thought about something.

Just then, an orange-red figure, like a dancing flame in the snow, emerged from the nearby tree line.

It was that rather intelligent young red fox that would wait by traps for free meals.

However, today the little fox seemed unusually wrong.

It just stood in the snow about ten meters away from Lin Yu'an and stopped.

The red fox's body was tense, its ears alertly upright, and its fluffy large tail hung uneasily behind it.

It wasn't looking at Lin Yu'an, but constantly and restlessly turning its head toward the deep forest from which it had come.

Low "whining" sounds came from its throat, filled with obvious tension and... fear.

"Hmm? Little fellow, what's wrong?"

The smile on Lin Yu'an's face instantly vanished as he immediately noticed the little fox's abnormal behavior.

His sixth sense also sent him a strong alarm at this moment, a premonition of danger!

Lin Yu'an's gaze followed the little fox's alert attention toward that eerily quiet spruce forest.

His heart began to beat rapidly.

For this cunning fox to show such intense fear, whatever was coming was definitely no ordinary threat.

Without the slightest hesitation, he quickly turned around and hurried back into his stone shelter.

"Guys... something's coming... a big one."

He didn't hide, but immediately took action, preparing for the approaching battle.

His movements were quick but not chaotic, displaying extremely strong adaptability.

He first quickly took out the bear spray canister issued by the production team, checked the safety pin, and hung it on his waist!

Next, he hurried to the corner and picked up the 50-pound American hunting bow that had accompanied him for many days.

He quickly and expertly strung the hunting bow, with a muffled "twang," the bow body filled with tension.

He slung the quiver across his shoulder and checked all the arrows with hunting points.

After completing all this, he took a deep breath, having mentally prepared for the worst.

He knew that bear spray and bow and arrows might not play a decisive role when facing a hungry bear.

His real trump card was his unknown spatial ability, which could eliminate any animal at any time!

He glanced at the action camera still working on his chest, and a thought instantly flashed through his mind.

If it really came to using the spatial ability, he would have no choice but to physically destroy this action camera afterward.

The restless young red fox outside suddenly let out a short, sharp cry.

Then it suddenly turned around and ran wildly in the direction opposite to the dense forest without looking back, quickly disappearing behind a snow mound.

Lin Yu'an's pupils suddenly contracted. He knew the real threat had appeared!

He had no hesitation whatsoever, nor did he show the slightest retreat.

Instead, there was a mixture of tension, alertness, but also an unprecedented fighting spirit!

"Guys, looks like we have a big visitor coming."

His voice was low and steady, without a trace of trembling, and even carried a hint of barely perceptible excitement.

Lin Yu'an resolutely walked to the open snowy ground in front of his shelter entrance.

He needed a clear view and enough reaction space.

"Crunch... crunch crunch..."

A slow and heavy sound of stepping on snow came from deep within that quiet spruce forest.

Finally, under Lin Yu'an's focused gaze, a massive black figure slowly emerged from the shadows of the spruce forest.

It was an extremely robust adult American black bear!

Its fur reflected an oily sheen in the cold sunlight, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding pristine white snow.

Although not as desperately large as a grizzly bear, its sturdy limbs and powerfully built broad body still radiated a strong sense of oppression.

The black bear had obviously been attracted by the lingering meat aroma from Lin Yu'an's smokehouse and the little fox's activities.

It stopped about fifty meters away from Lin Yu'an, its huge nose sniffing forcefully in the air, seemingly analyzing and confirming the source of the scent.

Then its small bead-like black eyes locked firmly on Lin Yu'an, this two-legged creature that dared to stand before it.

One man and one bear, eyes meeting.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

The air solidified, everything was silent, with only the faint whimpering sound of wind blowing through distant treetops.

Lin Yu'an felt his adrenaline surging, but his thoughts remained exceptionally calm.

His left hand gripped the hunting bow tightly, while his right hand fingers were already positioned on the bear spray's trigger valve.

His eyes showed no evasion or fear, meeting the black bear's cold, scrutinizing gaze head-on.

He didn't retreat, didn't shout loudly, nor did he make any aggressive provocative movements.

He just stood there quietly, like a statue rooted in place, using his posture to declare his presence and unyielding spirit to this black bear.

The black bear seemed somewhat surprised by the composure of this small creature before it.

It irritably scraped the snow on the ground with its front paws and let out a low, thunder-like roar from its throat, trying to overwhelm its opponent with presence.

"ROARRR!"

The powerful sound waves echoed through the quiet forest, filled with warning and threat.

Lin Yu'an still didn't move. His brain was racing, assessing the opponent's intentions and distance from himself.

He knew this black bear was likely just attracted by the food scent and was currently in a probing phase.

If he showed fear and intention to flee now, it might instantly trigger the opponent's hunting instinct, causing him to lose the opportunity for a first strike.

He began speaking to the black bear in a calm but powerful voice. This wasn't for communication, but to let the opponent know he was a vocal being, different from ordinary prey.

"Hey, big guy... this is my territory!"

The black bear tilted its massive head, seemingly trying to understand this strange sound.

It walked forward a few more steps, stopping about forty meters away, its front paws alternately pressing on the snowy ground, appearing somewhat hesitant.

Lin Yu'an's right hand had completely grasped the bear spray canister, his thumb steadily positioned on the safety pin.

The standoff reached its peak at this moment!

Whether to fight or retreat depended entirely on the opponent's next thought.

Lin Yu'an's gaze showed no wavering. He had made all preparations.

If this black bear dared take one more step forward, he would draw his bow and nock an arrow without hesitation!

The action camera on his chest and the fixed camera at his door were silently recording everything.

[NEXT CHAPTER]