Chapter 280: Chapter 277 Nothing Gained

Lisa and Ava’s team formation was baffling, leaving people scratching their heads.

It wasn’t what was expected. Shouldn’t there have been a period of probing before revealing sincerity, and ultimately deciding on unified sisterhood with benefits that cut through gold?

What the hell is this one question one answer, and the team is set?

“Hahaha, as I thought,” Ben laughed.

Bi Fang wasn’t surprised by the outcome at all. If one were to say which two out of the fifteen were the most likely to team up, it was undoubtedly Lisa and Ava.

“Firstly, it is basically impossible for conflicts to occur in the early stages of the contest because everyone is in the same boat, stripped of everything. What would they rob? Clothes?

Secondly, out of the fifteen participants, there are only two women. Objectively speaking, both are at a disadvantage. This forms the basis for sticking together, and both would be in considerable danger when encountering other contestants. However, once they team up, the danger shifts to the other contestants.

The only issue is the foundation of trust, but it doesn’t seem to be a problem now, I suspect they might have discussed it long ago.”

Bi Fang’s gaze flickered. Even with the bases he mentioned, the two were natural allies for team formation. Normally, the decision to form a team shouldn’t be made in a single question and answer—it was too hasty.

The only explanation could be that the two had met before, which led to this brief team invitation.

Perhaps on the helicopter?

If they had known each other before joining the show, then even this conversation wouldn’t have happened. They must have discussed it on the helicopter, right?

So that’s it!

The audience nodded, finally understanding why the team had formed so hastily—it was all arranged in advance!

In the scene, Lisa and Ava huddled together, starting to discuss their route.

After murmuring to each other for a while, they both stood up and headed north.

North!

They were the first team to head north!

Out of the fifteen, eight chose to take on the crossing challenge and seven stayed to take on the survival challenge. Of the eight, six headed south, and so far, only Lisa and Ava chose to go east!

What’s in the east?

The audience began to recall what Ben had said: going east would mean crossing almost six hundred kilometers of forest and prairie before coming across a large river, the Missouri River.

Following the river, one could encounter quite a few small towns.

Six hundred kilometers—that’s a hundred kilometers more than the five hundred kilometers to the south!

“An average person can cover about five kilometers per hour, so covering five hundred kilometers in twelve days is already quite difficult. You’d have to walk at least forty kilometers a day, and an extra hundred kilometers would add a heavier burden, meaning you’d have to walk fifty kilometers a day.

Of course, off-road progression cannot simply be measured by walking speed; in reality, the pace will be somewhat faster, over six kilometers per hour, but it’s still a considerable challenge.”

[Damn, walk fifty kilometers a day? Won’t their legs break?]

[Isn’t that a bit too extreme? My legs hurt just from walking ten thousand steps a day.]

[That’s because you’re weak.]

[Seriously, my legs do start to suffer from walking ten thousand steps a day. I feel like I’m getting old, weak and infirm.]

[The children from the southern village mock me for my aging weakness, boldly carrying me off into the bamboo]

[Something’s off with you, very off—is that the original phrasing??]

The data shocked the audience—fifty kilometers a day, many people were skeptical, can someone really walk that far?

“Of course, they can. Even ancient military marches, equipped with logistics, could cover about sixty kilometers a day. Forced marches could reach eighty kilometers, covering five hundred kilometers in seven to eight days is not impossible. To tell you something even more incredible, has anyone heard of Pan Junfan?”

Pan Junfan?

The audience was stunned, not having any memory of it.

Some quick-reacting viewers were already searching, and Bi Fang didn’t keep them in suspense, revealing, “Pan Junfan, who set the record for a five hundred kilometer cross-country run in 202 hours…”

Before he finished, viewers had already found the information, and they were incredulous.

[Damn, this guy is an amputee with one leg!]

[??? A single-legged amputee running five hundred kilometers cross-country in eight days, what the hell?]

[Am I the only waste here?]

[That’s a bit ridiculous, right? Five hundred kilometers, it’s only over three hundred kilometers on the highway from my house to my grandma’s—halfway across the province?]

“So, covering five hundred kilometers off-road in twelve days is perfectly achievable. The only issue is our contestants have to not only rush on their journey but also hunt and find water sources, which also take time, not to mention six hundred kilometers, so the difficulty is indeed quite significant.”

“However, the choice of route by the pair was unexpected yet reasonable.”

With the most basic geographic knowledge, the lower the latitude, the warmer the temperature, suitable for life, which is why the Amazon Rainforest has the richest variety of species in the world.

Heading south, even if one doesn’t encounter any populated areas, the resources are more abundant and easier to obtain. Hence, nearly all the eight participants chose the south.

“Their decision is a way to avoid contact with the rest, and going east could also play to the strength of women’s endurance. For them, it’s a pretty good route to take.”

Having seen the choices of the fifteen participants, the camera shifted to those who chose to stay and survive for the next twelve days.

Compared to the hasty shelter setups from the previous night, today the participants had noticeably more materials to choose from, and each shelter was constructed with more finesse.

“They started building early.”

Bi Fang slightly shook his head, seven people stayed behind, five set up camp at the safety point, while only two chose to leave the safety point to find suitable camp locations nearby.

It was understandable because, in general, those who chose to stay were weaker.

“There’s no river near the safety point, and the closest river is even dozens of kilometers away. Did they really not consider the drinking water problem when they decided to build here?

Although one should build shelters away from rivers to avoid attracting wild animals to the water, it shouldn’t be to this extent, and besides, if they were closer to the riverbank, they could build even better shelters.”

By being closer to the river, mixing water with mud, Bi Fang could even build a small mud house, unafraid of wind, rain, or hail.

Even if someone managed to cross the wilderness, he was confident he could earn higher scores with his wilderness survival knowledge.

Ah, it all comes down to strength.

By evening, clusters of flame rose on the screen; of the fifteen participants, thirteen were already able to produce fire, and there were two…

“I reckon these two will be eliminated within three days.”

Bi Fang sighed. He hadn’t expected that among the fifteen participants, there would be some who couldn’t even make fire; the disparity in abilities was quite significant.

Being able to start a fire was one of the most basic survival skills, especially in cold environments. Without fire, the body’s energy consumption could be exceptionally high.

No one seemed to have caught prey that day, except for Mugalen who had canned food to eat; the others almost went hungry the whole day. Water wasn’t too much of an issue, with frost in the morning quenching their thirst.

Spring wasn’t truly here yet, so barely any wild fruits or insects could be seen. To obtain food, hunting was the only option, but success in hunting depended on both luck and skill.

The luck of the fifteen participants didn’t seem to be very good.

However, Ji Zuodong found a river, which might give him the chance to catch some fish.

“Hu, it’s finally almost done.”

Mugalen released the stone he had been holding. After a whole day of grinding, his hands were severely sore, but he couldn’t suppress his excitement.

The entire piece of wood was polished incredibly smooth, thicker in the middle with flattened sides and curved inwards, nearly as tall as a person—it looked like a powerful bow.

With a sharp blade in hand, what is there to fear?

Bi Fang nodded in amazement: “Mugalen’s bow-making skill is indeed impressive. If he were to open a shop, he would probably do well. Up to this point, the bow’s shape has been completed. What’s left is smoking it, drying out the moisture inside the bow, settling its shape, and at the same time strengthening its hardness and tenacity.”

In the picture, Mugalen indeed started to smoke the finished bow over the fire. He sat next to it, braiding a cord from tree bark, intending to use it as bowstring. Come tomorrow, a brand-new English Longbow would be complete!

“The English Longbow is capable of hunting large animals, and the Rocky Mountains are teeming with them: there are carnivores like Black Bears, Grizzly Bears, Brown Bears, American Mountain Lions, and wolverines, and herbivores like reindeer, Moose, Elk, and bighorn sheep, and so on.”

[Brown Bear, Black Bear, Mountain Lions… can he actually kill these things?]

[Wow, that sounds really dangerous]

[Is that bow strong enough?]

“Of course, the effective range of an English Longbow is around two hundred meters, with a lethal distance of over a hundred meters. The draw weight is about 135 to 180 pounds. I usually get within ten meters of the prey, and that distance is very dangerous, but if I give myself a bit more space, say twenty meters, the lethal force is high and the accuracy is better too, which significantly reduces the difficulty of hunting.”

Awesome!

Although many viewers didn’t really understand how much a pound was, they could tell by the number that it was something substantial.

Over a hundred pounds, Mugalen thought joyfully, that even if he encountered a Mountain Lion, he would have a fighting chance!

Looking at the longbow over the flame, Mugalen crawled back into the hole he had dug the day before and slowly drifted off to sleep. Sacrificing a day was totally worth it.

Achieving mastery in skill is what empowers one to bravely explore. Otherwise, one might not even leave remains upon death. Mugalen was confident, but confidence didn’t mean arrogance. Good things come to those who wait, no need to rush.

In another part of the forest, Doligong dug a peculiar fire pit: he first excavated a large pit, deep enough for a forearm and twenty centimeters wide. About twenty centimeters away, he dug another smaller-mouthed pit of identical depth and joined the two at the base. The tunnel was wide enough for an arm to pass through.

Having done all this, Doligong then started a fire in the large pit using conventional methods.

This operation left Bi Fang quite astonished.

Bi Fang didn’t wait for the viewers to ask and proactively explained: “It’s a Dakota Fire Hole. This type of fire pit is often used in war zones to prevent detection by the enemy.

It’s a bit time-consuming to set up, but if done correctly, it can keep a fire burning discreetly for a long time with minimal smoke.

To reduce smoke, one should collect as much dry wood as possible, and the height of the wood should not exceed the height of the flames.”

The scene switched again—Ji Zuodong, gripping a wooden spear, focused on the pitch-black river. Although it was night, the moonlight and the firelight allowed him to barely make out some detail; he hoped to catch a meal for dinner.

In the valley, Bonuo surveyed the terrain, holding Nylon Rope in his hand, pondering something.

The only duo who had teamed up also huddled together to sleep, trying to conserve as much heat as possible.

As darkness crept in, more and more participants drifted into dreams, while others stared at the countdown on their wristbands, overwhelmed by despair.