American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 42 Only Five Remaining
In the fourth episode, the timeline has progressed to the point where the contestants have been surviving alone in the wilderness for more than thirty days.

The harsh environment and scarce food resources have reduced the original ten top survivors to just five who are still persevering.

Each person initially demonstrated extraordinary perseverance and a unique way of surviving.

In this episode, Lin Yu-an undoubtedly had the most screen time and was one of the most entertaining parts.

The program first fully showcased his entire process of creating an underwater wire snare trap and successfully capturing two large beavers.

From the accurate assessment of beaver habits to the ingenious construction of the wire snare, the concealed arrangement of the underwater entrance, and the decisiveness and composure when finally reaping the prey, every step kept the audience entertained.

"Guys, look at that physique! The first one hit the big one!"

The scene of Lin Yu'an dragging the struggling beaver ashore and looking excitedly at the camera stirred up countless viewers.

Next, there was a wonderful scene of using a simple smokehouse built with waterproof tarpaulin to smoke beaver meat.

The audience witnessed how he cleverly used limited materials to build a fumigation space that could effectively gather smoke.

The highlight of this episode, presented by Lin Yu-an, is a complete display of a beaver skin made entirely by hand and using all-natural brain tanning techniques, which took several days to complete.

From scraping off fat and removing flesh, to making brain tanning agent, to the arduous "skin-breaking" kneading, and finally to smoking and coloring, Lin Yu-an handled every step meticulously.

When the two soft and elastic beaver skins were unfolded in front of the camera, many viewers felt a sense of accomplishment.

Meanwhile, Clay Jenkins, who successfully hunted a blacktail deer in the previous episode, continues to maintain his strong momentum.

With ample meat reserves, he devoted more of his energy to fishing.

In the footage, Clay uses his extensive experience and the materials he brought to create an exquisite gillnet.

He cleverly positioned the gillnet at the entrance of a relatively calm river bend, fixing one end to a tree stump on the bank and connecting the other end to a long retrieval rope.

“The advantage of gillnets is that I don’t need to watch them all the time. If they’re set up properly, the fish will run into them on their own,” Clay explained confidently in front of the camera.

Sure enough, the next morning, when Clay pulled the retrieval rope and slowly dragged the gillnet out of the water, several trout and whitefish of varying sizes were caught on it! This efficient fishing method made his food source more stable.

While processing his catch in front of the camera, Clay remarked, "With venison and now a stable fish harvest, I feel more confident about the days ahead."

His calm and composed demeanor, as if he had everything under control, further solidified his status as a champion candidate in the eyes of many viewers.

Besides Lin Yu-an and Klay, who both performed exceptionally well, the remaining three contestants also persevered through their own difficulties. Although they didn't get as much screen time as the other two, they still showcased the cruelty and hardship of wilderness survival.

Veteran Ron has a well-built shelter, but obtaining food is becoming increasingly difficult.

After several days of fruitless fishing, he could only survive on a few scattered catches of fish and a small amount of plant roots he had collected.

In the footage, he appeared somewhat thin and tired, and expressed his desire for food to the camera more than once. However, the determination in his eyes did not diminish, and he continued to actively seek new hunting opportunities and try to make more sophisticated bird traps.

Kayla, an Inuit huntress, uses the survival wisdom passed down from her ancestors to always find unique food sources in areas that others consider resource-scarce.

In this episode, she demonstrates how to extract edible parts from specific mosses and how to track down and discover some of the treasure troves where squirrels store food for the winter.

However, these foods provided limited calories, and her weight continued to drop, causing her to face immense physical and psychological stress.

She began to alleviate her loneliness by singing and making small handicrafts.

Bill, the lumberjack, still had his physical strength as an advantage, and there was plenty of firewood piled up around the shelter.

However, being unskilled in fine hunting and fishing, his food sources were extremely unstable.

He tried to build a large log trap in a rough way, hoping to catch deer or other large animals, but after several days he caught nothing and instead exhausted a lot of his energy.

Bill returned empty-handed once again. He sat wearily at the shelter's entrance, staring at his empty hands and the darkening sky, a profound sense of powerlessness and despair washing over him. The camera captured moments when he became increasingly agitated due to hunger and frustration; he began frequently checking his weight and began to waver about whether he could persevere.

As for another contestant, Bob, who had a somewhat gay vibe, no one expected him to last so many days, but this episode was also the time for him to leave.

"I...I might not be able to hold on any longer."

He faced the camera, his voice low and his eyes devoid of their usual sparkle, saying, "I'm so hungry. I haven't had a decent meal in days."

"I thought I could survive here with my intelligence, but I was wrong... There's nothing here... absolutely nothing... My intelligence is completely useless!"

He completely broke down, unable to hold back his sobs in front of the camera, expressing his longing for his partner, family, and the food of the civilized world. More importantly, he confessed that he had lost the confidence and motivation to continue the challenge.

Finally, after a painful struggle and much thought, Bob pressed the yellow SOS button.

After the fourth episode aired, American viewers had mixed opinions on Lin Yu-an's performance, but the mainstream view was that he had a lot of luck involved and was still not as good as Clay in terms of ability.

"Lin's capture of two beavers was indeed impressive, but that was largely because those beavers were inexperienced. Compared to Clay's black-tailed deer, they were not as valuable in the long run."

“I agree. Beavers don’t have much meat. The real test is the food supply. Clay not only has venison, but the gillnets seem to provide a steady stream of fish, which is much more reliable than beavers.”

"Lucky kid Lin! But I still think Clay is better; his hunting experience and mentality are more like a champion's."

"Hopefully Lin can keep going and prove that his choice was right. But right now, Clay's advantage is too obvious."

On Bilibili in China, Lin Yu'an's performance reignited the enthusiasm of her fans, with the barrage and comment sections filled with praise.

[My God! Uncle An has pulled out all the stops again! Two giant beavers! Now they're guaranteed to have food!]

[Trap Master Lin Yu-an! I've learned something (even though I can't use it)!]

The part about tanning beaver skin left me speechless! Purely handmade from scratch!

[Those commenters saying Americans think Angolan is lucky are probably just jealous of his skills! Hitting two traps in a row, that can't be pure luck, can it?]

[An Ge even specifically reminded everyone about how to prepare beaver meat, emphasizing that it must be thoroughly cooked! An Ge, you must survive the beaver's curse!]

Although Clay is also very strong, our Ang is steady and pragmatic, surviving step by step. The outcome is still uncertain! I'm optimistic about Ang's potential for a late-blooming success!

Meanwhile, the program producers were very satisfied with the response to the fourth episode.

With only five players remaining, the competition has become incredibly fierce.

Lin Yu-an's "luck streak" and Klay's "hard skills" formed a stark contrast and generated continuous discussion, while the struggles and perseverance of the other three contestants added more genuine human brilliance to the show.

The production team also left a cliffhanger at the end.

As winter approaches, temperatures will continue to drop, and food resources will become even scarcer.

The remaining five top survivors will face even more severe tests.

Who will be able to hold out until the end?
All the answers will be revealed in subsequent episodes!

This battle between ice and fire, this contest of wisdom and courage, has only just entered its most thrilling phase!
Results Report:
Overall Best New Books: 10th.

Urban New Books: Ranked 4th.

New author on both lists: ranked #1.

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(End of this chapter)