American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 46 A Glimmer of Hope, A Do-or-Die Strategy!

Forty-six days.

A stormy night passed, and Lin Yu'an spent it recounting and reminiscing.

As the first rays of dawn pierced the thick fog, the rain outside the shelter finally stopped.

"The rain has finally stopped, but this awful weather is still not suitable for boat fishing."

He looked at the still turbulent lake in the distance and shook his head helplessly.

"It seems that obtaining food remains a major problem today, and it will take time to repair the fishing nets."

He began to try to distract himself by whittling wood in a corner of the stone house, but after only a short while, he began to feel tired and powerless.

Several days of food shortages and intense physical exertion had begun to cause his body to protest.

Lin Yu'an, panting heavily, slumped down by the stove, his voice hoarse.

"The situation is... worse than I thought. I really can't concentrate right now, I need to get myself moving."

He subconsciously touched the small cross pendant on his chest, which was Arya's talisman and the source of his power.

"Yes! We can't give up yet! It's far from over!"

A glimmer of light rekindled in Lin Yu'an's eyes!
Fortunately, the cold wind outside had subsided somewhat, and he forced himself to stay alert and, braving the cold wind, checked the miniature traps set up around the shelter once more.

But unsurprisingly, the trap remained empty.

In the midst of the stormy weather, even the normally active small rodents were reluctant to come out.

"It seems we'll have to try our luck somewhere further away."

Lin Yu'an slung his bow and arrows over his shoulder, preparing to venture deeper into the forest once more.

He suddenly remembered the squirrel hole he had discovered earlier, from which he had only taken half of the nuts.

He was somewhat excited and immediately got up and walked towards the squirrel hole.

Arriving at the familiar tree hole, he cautiously peered inside. The hole remained quiet, with no sign of any squirrels.

He reached his hand into the tree hole, groped around for a moment, and then a look of surprise appeared on his face!

"They're still there! They're all still there!"

He excitedly scooped out handfuls of plump pine nuts and hazelnuts, the very half he had deliberately saved!
"Great! It seems this little squirrel has really forgotten about this place, or... it has met with misfortune?"

Lin Yu'an silently apologized to the little squirrel that might no longer be there, and then carefully put the precious nuts into the bag.

Back at the shelter at noon, Lin Yu'an spread all his food out on a clean stone slab.

A few small pieces of the last remaining smoked dried fish, and a handful of nuts that had just been retrieved from the squirrel hole.

"This is all the food I have. I'm going to eat it all tonight to get enough energy."

"Today, regardless of the weather, I will hunt without regard for the consequences!"

He placed the stainless steel pot on the stove and poured in the last half bowl of beaver oil.

Once the oil is hot, slowly fry the smoked dried fish.

Then, put the pine nuts and hazelnuts with their shells cracked into the pot and stir-fry them together with the smoked dried fish.

The nuts, soaked in oil, quickly release a rich aroma and their surface turns golden and glossy.

When the "hodgepodge" of all his food was cooked, the entire stone house was filled with an invigorating aroma! Lin Yu'an picked up a piece of dried fish covered in oil and crushed nuts, took a deep breath, and then solemnly put it into his mouth.

The richness of the oil, the crunchiness of the nuts, the smoky flavor of the dried fish—a multitude of flavors bloom simultaneously on his taste buds, bringing an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.

He ate quickly and thoroughly, finishing every last drop of food, including the last drop of oil, from his bowl.

A powerful surge of heat rose from his lower abdomen, reigniting his fighting spirit!
After Lin Yu'an felt his strength gradually returning, he put on his equipment and continued into the forest, this time intending to go further.

He searched carefully for a long time in the area where he had previously found traces of large animals.

Apart from branches and leaves knocked down by the wind and rain and some old footprints that had been washed away and blurred, there was nothing to be found.

But not far from this area, on the muddy shallows by the lake, he vaguely saw a string of clear marks!

"Th-those...those are...hoof prints?" Lin Yu'an's heart skipped a beat, and a surge of joy instantly swept through his body!
Ignoring the muddy ground, he quickly ran to the shallows by the lake, squatted down, and carefully examined the hoof prints.

The hoof print was not large, but its shape was very unique, with deep edges, clearly belonging to a kind of ungulate!

"That's right! They are definitely hoof prints! And judging from the size and spacing of the hoof prints, it is very likely a deer!"

"Great! It must have come out to the lake to drink and look for food after the storm stopped!"

Lin Yu'an quickly determined the direction the hoofprints had gone—they were heading towards the lake!

He observed carefully and found that the footprints were indeed heading towards the lake. Looking up, he saw a small island about 200 meters from the shore not far ahead, and he instantly understood!
"So that's how it is! This guy swam all the way to the island!"

Lin Yu'an's eyes suddenly lit up, and the hunting spirit in his heart burned even more fiercely!
The "Pioneer" canoe, which seemed to have been rendered useless due to the wind and waves, has now become his only hope!
Although the waves on the lake were less intense than before, standing on the shore, one could still feel the strong winds whipping up small, scattered waves, and the surface of the lake in the center was not calm.

Crossing this 200-meter stretch of water in his canoe still carries considerable risk.

"This is definitely an adventure. The waves on the lake have not yet completely subsided, and it is still unknown whether the Pioneer can withstand such large waves."

"If the boat capsizes, hypothermia will be my biggest enemy in this icy lake."

"Therefore, before setting off, I had to prepare for the worst-case scenario, so that at least I wouldn't sink into the water immediately if the boat capsized."

He immediately returned to the shelter. It was still early, and his eyes swept over the large waterproof hiking backpack he was carrying.

Lin Yu'an's eyes lit up. "I've got it! This waterproof backpack, if filled with some lightweight and non-absorbent material, can become a great temporary life-saving float!"

He immediately got to work. First, he temporarily removed some unnecessary items from his backpack, and then looked for suitable filler.

"What I need are materials that are low in density or can hold a lot of air."

His first thought was of some dried reed stalks that he had collected and dried before.

He gritted his teeth, removed the reed curtain from the door, and stuffed handfuls of dry reed stalks into his waterproof backpack, allowing the hollow structure of the reed stalks to provide some buoyancy.

Then he looked at his -30°C down sleeping bag. Although he was a little reluctant to part with it, he couldn't care less about that in this life-or-death situation.

He stuffed the entire sleeping bag into his waterproof backpack, both the inner and outer linings of which were highly waterproof.

The fluffy goose down can trap a lot of air to provide buoyancy, so even if he really falls into the water, this buoyancy device should be able to hold him up for ten minutes without any problem.

Finally, he repeatedly folded the opening of the backpack and sealed it completely with paracord and the backpack's own buckles to ensure its waterproofness.

A bulging, seemingly buoyant "waterproof backpack lifebuoy" was thus completed.

"This simple buoyancy device, although not as good as a professional life jacket, should buy me precious time to survive in a critical moment!"

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(End of this chapter)