HUN Chapter 13: Initial Construction of the Stone House Shelter

After a good night's sleep, the energy from the rabbit meat and fish soup made Lin Yu'an feel refreshed when he woke up in the morning.

Lin Yu'an showed an energetic smile to the camera lens on his chest, "Good morning, guys!"

"Day four at Chilko Lake, it's a beautiful sunny day, perfect for physical labor! Today my goal is to build the first wall for our new home!"

After simply washing up with heated stream water, he warmed up the remaining thin rabbit soup and paired it with a few wild Jerusalem artichokes he had previously gathered and confirmed safe to eat as today's breakfast. Though simple, it provided sufficient calories.

After breakfast, Lin Yu'an checked his equipment again, especially the edge of the logging axe and multi-tool knife, ensuring they were sharp enough, then confidently headed to the permanent campsite.

Today's construction of the new camp would begin with the most basic and physically demanding stone wall masonry.

Lin Yu'an stood on the slightly sloped clearing he had initially cleared out, speaking eloquently to the camera. At this moment, he didn't look like a wilderness survivor, but rather like an experienced construction engineer explaining a building plan.

"Building a stone house, choosing suitable stones is key."

"We need not just appropriately sized stones, but more importantly their shape. We should try to select stones that have one or several relatively flat surfaces."

"This way they stack more stably with smaller gaps. Later we'll need a mixture of soil and plant ash as adhesive and filler to block the gaps between stones, serving to secure and windproof."

Lin Yu'an began carefully searching for suitable stone blocks around the hillsides and streams near the campsite. Soon he could select building materials that met requirements from a pile of random stones.

"Whoa, this damn stone is really heavy!"

He performed for the camera, using all his strength to pry a stone from the soil. Then step by step he moved it to the camp's edge, though in reality he would secretly use his spatial ability to save energy.

After accumulating some stones, Lin Yu'an began stacking the first stone wall. He had previously put more effort into stone selection, so these materials were all very suitable for stacking.

After placing each stone, he would continuously fill the gaps between blocks with that special adhesive mixed from soil and plant ash, ensuring the wall's strength to a greater degree.

After several hours of stacking, Lin Yu'an finally straightened his back, pounded his somewhat aching lower back, looked at this stone wall that was beginning to take shape, and showed a proud smile on his face.

"Look at this! Though it's not perfect yet, this is our morning's masterpiece! Really gives a sense of accomplishment!"

In the afternoon, Lin Yu'an didn't continue building the wall. This kind of high-intensity physical work couldn't be rushed. He decided to check the traps he had set yesterday and practice with his brand new American hunting bow.

Arriving at the trap area, he found that among the several spring snare traps he had set yesterday, one had yielded results again!

A gray wood pigeon, not large in size, but better than nothing. Another trap had been destroyed by some animal, the snare was bitten through, and the bait had also disappeared without a trace.

Lin Yu'an frowned and analyzed to the camera, "Looks like there are quite a few competitors here. These marks look like the work of a mustelid."

"Very likely a badger or marten. Their teeth are extremely sharp, ordinary fiber snares are hard to contain them. It seems I'll need to use wire snares for future traps."

He stored the captured prey, then began carefully repairing and reinforcing other traps, and applied some fresh bait at key positions.

After quickly dealing with the traps, Lin Yu'an came to a relatively open woodland by the stream. He took down the carefully wrapped American hunting bow and quiver from his back.

This hunting bow was one he had selected based on his arm span and strength, a moderate draw weight American hunting bow of about 50 pounds, ensuring both range and power while not being too heavy. The arrows were standard hunting arrowheads.

While assembling the bow and arrow, he said to the camera, "Although its draw force isn't as labor-saving as a compound bow, and it has higher requirements for posture stability and arm strength."

"But the only advantage is it's suitable for the wilderness, not easily damaged. If a compound bow breaks in the wilderness, that's a disaster!"

He selected a dead tree about twenty meters away as a target, then slowly drew the bowstring.

"Hum..." The bowstring made a deep vibrating sound when fully drawn.

Lin Yu'an's gaze instantly became focused and sharp. His body maintained a stable posture, aimed, then... released!

"Whoosh!"

The arrow shot out with a sound of cutting through air!

"Thud!"

With a light sound, the arrow firmly embedded in the dead tree's trunk. Although it didn't hit the bullseye he had envisioned, the deviation wasn't too large either.

"Not bad!"

Lin Yu'an exhaled and showed a satisfied smile, "The feel still needs adjustment, but this bow is indeed a good companion!"

After shooting several more arrows consecutively, he gradually found some feeling. Though accuracy still needed improvement, with diligent practice, this hunting bow would definitely become an important hunting tool for him in this wilderness.

He put away the bow and arrow and said to the camera, "Today's practice ends here. Hunting large game requires more patience and preparation. I believe it won't be long before we can bag our first large game in this forest!"

In the evening, fine autumn rain began falling from the sky, and the temperature dropped considerably.

Inside the temporary shelter, Lin Yu'an made the fire burn more vigorously, then began preparing dinner.

Although this wood pigeon didn't have much meat, after marinating it slightly with the spices he had "secretly brought," then skewering it on branches to slowly roast, it had its own unique flavor.

Raindrops drummed on the tarp roof, making "pitter-patter" sounds, but the temporary shelter remained dry inside.

Lin Yu'an sat by the fire, enjoying his simple dinner while carefully planning tomorrow's construction progress for the permanent shelter on his homemade bark map, as well as the timber and stone materials that needed preparation.

The rain grew heavier, making the mountain forest night seem particularly quiet, with only the sound of rain and the crackling of burning firewood.

Such weather would certainly bring some impact to his construction work, but it also gave him more time to think and plan.

The warm firelight and pattering rain accompanied him through another lonely night.

The continuous autumn rain finally ceased in the morning.

But the sky remained overcast, with heavy clouds pressing low, and the air filled with damp, cold breath.

The ground around the temporary shelter was muddy, making "squelch squelch" sounds when stepped on, making walking somewhat difficult.

Lin Yu'an crawled out of his sleeping bag and spoke to the somewhat blurry camera lens on his chest, still not completely dry after being moistened by water vapor.

"Good morning, the rain has finally stopped, but it looks like today's weather isn't very friendly either. However, the good news is our temporary shelter withstood the test and didn't leak!"

He checked the fire pit. The firewood he had deliberately added before sleeping last night was still burning slowly, emitting faint warmth. He carefully added some dry tinder and kindling, and the flames began dancing cheerfully again.

The captured small wood pigeon had been completely eliminated by Lin Yu'an's stomach last night, so breakfast was still simple boiled Jerusalem artichokes.

Lin Yu'an chewed on the artichokes while planning to the camera, "This is the last bit of Jerusalem artichokes. After eating them, I won't be gathering them again in the near term."

"Because I've gathered most of the recently matured Jerusalem artichokes in that area. The remaining artichoke tubers in that region are still a bit small. I estimate it will be another twenty-some days before the optimal harvesting time. We'll consider them our reserve food."

"Today's main tasks are three-fold. First, continue construction of our permanent shelter, trying to build the stone wall higher."

"Second, check my traps to see if this rainy weather brought any unexpected harvest."

"Third, if weather permits, I want to continue practicing my archery accuracy."

After breakfast, he stepped into the post-rain mountain forest.

Everything in the forest seemed to have been washed anew, filled with the fresh scent after rain.

Author's Note: Some readers might feel the golden finger utilization rate is too low. Here I need to explain that the golden finger won't be deeply developed in the early stages. We need to wait until the wilderness solitary living arc ends. This arc requires constant recording of material to ensure he won't be labeled as cheating. Those who have watched the "Alone" show know that one season's champion, Juan, had cheating suspicions, surviving a month just by drinking water.

This arc focuses on writing about wilderness solitary living, true wilderness survival, not relying on golden fingers to coast through. This arc is very important for subsequent plot development.

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