HUN Chapter 8: Wilderness Boot Camp

"Here, there are no pleasantries, no comfort, only the harshest tests and the most direct elimination! You have seven days to prove to us that you're qualified to step onto that true wilderness and compete for that one million dollar prize!"

He swept his gaze over everyone and continued, "In these seven days, you will face comprehensive assessments of physical fitness, skills, and psychology. Every assessment will have eliminations!"

"Remember, we don't need theorists or armchair experts who only talk big on paper, but true tough guys and wise men who can actually survive in extreme environments! Now, put down your luggage. The first assessment, timed shelter construction, begins immediately!"

All candidates were led to a forest clearing. Each person was given only a multi-functional survival knife and a length of paracord, required to build a single-person shelter within three hours using surrounding natural materials that could withstand nighttime low temperatures and potential rainfall.

For many well-prepared candidates, this wasn't difficult. They quickly dispersed, beginning to cut branches and look for suitable building locations.

Lin Yu'an didn't rush to start. He first carefully observed the surrounding terrain, wind direction, and types of trees available for use. He noticed there were many pine and birch trees here, and the ground was quite moist.

He chose a location that was sheltered from the wind, on slightly higher ground, with several fallen logs of moderate thickness nearby.

Most other candidates chose to build traditional A-frame or lean-to shelters, working quickly, but Lin Yu'an took a different approach.

He recalled a type of shelter called a "ground burrow" that was used during China's guerrilla warfare period. This type of shelter was half underground and half above ground, utilizing ground heat for insulation with excellent windproof and moisture-proof effects, and was very concealed. America had similar shelters, but with slight differences.

Of course, digging an underground cave without tools was unrealistic, but Lin Yu'an cleverly utilized the natural depression formed by those fallen logs and a slightly sloping small earthen bank.

He first used his survival knife to quickly sharpen several thick branches as support poles, then used the fallen logs and earth bank to build a semicircular framework.

Next, on the shelter's "walls" and floor, he laid thick layers of dry pine needles and birch bark, which were excellent insulation and moisture-proof materials.

His movements weren't fast, but each step was very precise and efficient. He didn't waste any energy and had no unnecessary motions.

"Hey, Asian kid, are you building a mouse hole?"

A tall, bearded white man nearby, seeing Lin Yu'an's half-finished structure, couldn't help but mock him.

He was a participant from the previous season who had been eliminated early due to a small mistake and had returned this time with pent-up determination.

Lin Yu'an ignored him, simply gave him the middle finger, then focused on his own work.

The white man's face darkened when he saw Lin Yu'an dare to give him the middle finger. He glanced at the camera but took no further action.

Lin Yu'an didn't care what the white man was thinking. He began weaving the walls with the flexible branches he had cut. He didn't directly cover them with leaves.

Instead, he first wove a fence-like structure with branches, then filled it with large amounts of pine needles, dry grass, and moss, finally covering it with large pieces of birch bark and securing it with paracord.

This method not only made the shelter's walls exceptionally thick and warm, but also ensured breathability. Most importantly, his shelter's entrance was very small.

And he cleverly used the trees for concealment. From a distance, it almost blended seamlessly with the surrounding environment.

Three hours later, Rick blew the assembly whistle.

He inspected each candidate's shelter one by one. Most were barely adequate, some had unstable structures, others had serious air leaks, and some even had questionable basic rain protection.

When he approached Lin Yu'an's somewhat "short and unremarkable" shelter, his brow furrowed slightly.

But when he bent down and carefully examined the shelter's internal structure and construction method, a barely perceptible surprise flashed in his eyes.

Rick patted the thick "wall" with his hand and said, "Your shelter... is very dry. Interesting. Tell me your thinking."

Lin Yu'an calmly explained, "I built an improved semi-underground shelter, utilizing the terrain and fallen logs. I mainly considered insulation, wind protection, and concealment. The walls use a multi-layer filled structure that can effectively block external cold and moisture."

Rick asked with interest, "Is this a construction method unique to China? Or did you reference semi-underground shelter construction?"

Lin Yu'an nodded, "I used traditional architectural wisdom passed down from China's wartime ancestors. Its thermal insulation and concealment played no small role in guerrilla warfare against Japanese fascists."

This statement startled Rick, who instinctively looked toward the camera operator and director. Seeing no reaction from them, Rick stopped paying attention to Lin Yu'an's comments about guerrilla warfare, simply nodding thoughtfully and moving on to the next shelter.

After the first assessment ended, five candidates were immediately eliminated on the spot for having substandard shelters.

Lin Yu'an successfully passed with his unique and practical design. The man who had mocked him earlier, although his shelter was built tall, nearly got eliminated due to air leaks.

Over the following days, the boot camp assessments became increasingly harsh.

Especially the wilderness fire-making test, the production team required mastery of fire-drill or bow-drill fire-making as basic fire-making ability, and only then could other fire-making methods be chosen.

With excellent patience and perseverance, Lin Yu'an successfully obtained fire using the bow-drill method! Then he chose magnesium rod fire-making, completing the fire in just 3 minutes. His high success rate and speed made everyone take notice.

But most people who lacked patience lost points on the basic fire-making ability.

In the wilderness water procurement ability test, while most people were still struggling to find streams or dig collection pits to obtain water, they could choose items found in camp for water purification.

Some contestants chose to use socks filled with charcoal to create simple filtration devices, while others chose small stainless steel pots to boil water, truly showing their various abilities.

Lin Yu'an used a plastic bag, filled it with water and hung it over the fire source, directly heating the water in the plastic bag with open flame for purification.

Plastic bags are mainly composed of polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride, with a melting point of about 120°C, so the plastic bag won't burn before the water evaporates.

After seeing Lin Yu'an's method, someone immediately adopted a similar approach, choosing plastic bottles for the same purification method.

But only Lin Yu'an, as the first contestant to use this method, received extra points. Other contestants using this method only received passing scores.

In the final assessment, candidates were required to find three hidden marker points within a specified time in an unfamiliar mountain forest using only a simple map and compass, while collecting designated "survival supplies" along the way.

After receiving the map, most other candidates rushed off without checking if their compass was working properly, getting lost due to their eagerness for quick success.

Before departing, Lin Yu'an spent several minutes on inspection work, checking if the compass was normal and studying the map, firmly memorizing key information like terrain, contour lines, and river directions, ensuring the authenticity of the compass and map.

Sure enough, the map wasn't accurate! It had slight discrepancies with the actual terrain and topography!

After discovering the map's inaccuracy, Lin Yu'an immediately relied on his analysis of the surrounding environment and used marker exploration methods to systematically find the first marker point!

Without suspense, his assessment results ranked among the top.

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