American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 78 Medical Team Arrives

The time has come to the eighty-seventh day.

The harsh winter on the shores of Lake Chirko has already shown its power without mercy.

The gloomy weather and snowfall over the past few days have made the whole world seem gray and oppressive.

Outside Clay Jenkins' cabin shelter, the gillnet he had once pinned his hopes on had yielded no results for three consecutive days.

The gillnet that had brought him such great success today was now completely frozen on the lakeshore. He had utterly lost one of his sources of food.

I can still fish, but once the bait sinks into the icy lake water, there's been no further movement.

He had only a few pieces of dried venison left, and very little smoked fish was also left.

But that's not the worst.

What's even more terrifying is the mental exhaustion, the amplified sense of loneliness, and the longing for family.

He has now lost the desire to explore actively, and his daily activities are limited to the short distance of 100 meters between the shelter and the ice fishing spot.

He no longer speaks to the camera, but silently and mechanically repeats the bare minimum for survival—adding firewood, melting snow, cooking dried meat, and waiting.

At noon that day, a familiar roar of propellers came from afar, breaking the deathly silence of this land.

It was a routine medical check-up helicopter used by the production team.

Clay slowly walked out of the cabin and watched the helicopter land on the snow not far away.

He didn't tidy himself up as usual; he just stood there quietly, his eyes filled with an almost numb calm.

Safety supervisor David and accompanying doctor Anderson jumped out of the cabin and walked quickly toward him.

"Clay, how are you feeling?"

David looked at his noticeably thinner and slightly haggard face and asked with concern.

Clay simply shook his head and said nothing.

Dr. Anderson immediately opened his medical kit and began a series of physical examinations on Clay.

He measured Clay's blood pressure and heart rate, checked his weight loss, and drew a small vial of blood for a rapid health indicator analysis.

The results of the inspection were not encouraging.

Dr. Anderson looked unusually serious as he showed Clay the data on his tablet.

“Clay, you have lost more than 30% of your weight, your blood pressure is low, and your heart rate is unstable.”

"More importantly, your blood test shows that several key trace elements and sugar levels are below safe levels."

"This can easily cause problems with your mental state, and your body is also starting to 'drain' itself."

He paused, then said in a heavy tone, "From a medical perspective, your current physical condition is already very poor. If this continues, it may cause irreversible damage to your overall bodily functions."

"Clay, the motto of our 'Wilderness Solitude' is to push the limits, but never at the cost of life!"

"As the program's medical director, I am responsible for your health. I strongly recommend that you end this challenge immediately."

Clay listened quietly without arguing. He knew that what Dr. Anderson said was true.

He could clearly feel his body's weakness; every time he got up, he felt dizzy, and he had difficulty falling asleep at night due to hunger and cold.

Clay remained silent for a long time, his gaze fixed on the distant, snow-capped mountains, as if making a final struggle.

He was a proud hunter, a tenacious Marine reconnaissance soldier, and he never imagined he would end up like this.

Finally, he nodded heavily and said in a hoarse voice, "I...I accept this result."

The moment he uttered that decision, he felt as if all his strength had been drained away. A profound, silent sense of loss overwhelmed him completely!
He looked up at David and asked the last and most important question on his mind.

"Who else...who else is still holding on?"

"Is that Ron? That veteran?" In his view, only a veteran with a strong will like Ron could have persisted until now, just like him.

David and Anderson exchanged a glance, both seeing a complex emotion in each other's eyes.

David stepped forward and gently patted Clay on the shoulder, his tone full of respect.

“No, Clay Ron withdrew after seventy-odd days.”

Seeing Clay's bewildered look, he decided to let him know that his defeat wasn't so bad.

“Clay, there’s one more person who’s held on until now. It’s Lin, that young man from China.”

"Forest?"

A hint of surprise flashed in Clay's eyes.

In his vague memory, he was a college student who was "not doing his job properly".

David continued, “And… not long after you hunted that black-tailed deer, around the fortieth day, he also successfully hunted a slightly larger mule deer.”

This news made Clay's pupils shrink slightly! He had also hunted a deer?

However, what David said next was like a thunderclap, exploding in Clay's mind!
"And that's not all. Just about two weeks ago, on the seventy-third day..."

"Lin...he single-handedly, using a bow and arrow, fought head-on and successfully hunted down an adult American black bear."

"what!"

Clay suddenly raised his head, and for the first time, his face, which had been numb from weakness, showed an expression of disbelief and extreme shock!

He even wondered if he was hallucinating because of hunger.

Lin hunted down a fully grown black bear!

He was a top-notch hunting guide himself, and he knew better than anyone how terrifying the skill, courage, and luck it would take to accomplish such a feat alone in this wilderness without a gun!

That went beyond the scope of ordinary hunting; it was a true life-or-death struggle!

Only those who have lived on this land can truly understand its difficulties and dangers!

Clay was speechless with shock. The image of the young, even somewhat handsome, Eastern man flashed through his mind, making it impossible for him to reconcile with the image of a bear-hunting warrior.

At that moment, all the resentment and disappointment were instantly replaced by a more complex emotion—a heartfelt admiration for a stronger person!
He lost, and he accepted his defeat wholeheartedly.

Clay slowly exhaled, and the pride and pressure of being the leader that had been weighing on his heart completely vanished at that moment.

A bittersweet smile appeared on his face. So, he, Clay, had always been the pursuer! This achievement was something he could be proud of!

He muttered to himself, "Black Bear... that kid... he's really a strong one."

Clay looked at David again, his eyes no longer filled with confusion, but with curiosity and anticipation.

He said sincerely, "If I have the chance, I really want to... really want to meet him. I want to know how he did it."

Amidst the deafening roar of the helicopter rotors, he was slowly hoisted and lowered into the warm cabin.

After saying this, he took one last look at the land where he had fought for eighty-seven days, and walked towards the helicopter that could take him back to the civilized world.

As the helicopter slowly ascended, he glanced down through the porthole one last time.

Snow, forests, glaciers... everything seemed so distant, so unreal.

A powerful figure has fallen, and a new legend is emerging on this frozen wasteland, waiting alone for the final crown to be bestowed upon him!

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

(It'll be daytime soon if I update again~)

(Vote for monthly tickets, everyone should take a break~)

(End of this chapter)