Chapter 173: Survival in the Wild: Qin Ye

January 1, morning.

The production team of "Survival in the Wild" delivered each participant's required gear on time.

The clothing, from inner to outer layers, was high-tech: lightweight, warm, unimpeding movement, and visibly non-bulky.

The three items Qin Yun selected—the dagger, rope, and bow—were also delivered to his room.

The bow was not a modern compound bow, but a traditional hunting bow: the grip was solid wood, the limbs carbon fiber; no sight or stabilizer, yet its feel in hand was exceptionally comfortable.

Traditional hunting bows had a rugged style that matched Qin Yun's aesthetic perfectly.

As for the rope and dagger: the dagger was half a foot long, capable of piercing a person with a single thrust; the rope was made of a special material, thumb-thick—he tried cutting it with the dagger and found it left not even a scratch, its strength maximized.

"Beeep—!"

A shrill whistle sounded; contestants still inside their rooms quickly dressed, secured their gear, and stepped out.

When they reached the vast training ground, ten helicopters had already landed there—no one knew when.

"Heh, hope you survive the first day, Chinese." As Qin Yun walked through the crowd, a white man beside him sneered mockingly.

Qin Yun glanced back, ignored him. The man was Jack, also American, a streamer on the same platform as Gerard; the two didn't get along. Ever since Jack got close to Gerard, he'd viewed Qin Yun as an enemy.

Jack's several friends also seemed to have formed their own camp.

In this training camp, though Americans dominated, they weren't a unified bloc. Many were too lazy to make friends and went solo; some openly displayed racial prejudice, looking down on Black and Asian people; others clashed due to their self-media ties.

Thus, nearly thirty Americans could be roughly divided into seven or eight groups.

From Qin Yun's perception, at least thirty percent of the trainees held hostility toward him—Asians made up the majority; apart from the Thai man Kun Tai, other Asians' animosity toward him far exceeded that of Europeans and Americans.

Seeing Qin Yun ignore him, Jack sneered.

"Qin Ye, this outfit looks amazing on you." Guo Yao's eyes lit up upon seeing Qin Yun.

Qin Yun's looks were already high, his physique excellent; this outfit, custom-tailored, accentuated his demeanor—clean, sharp, and strikingly eye-catching.

"Hahaha, same to you."

As they spoke, Gerard, Emily, and Michael arrived.

The moment Emily saw Qin Yun, if this were an animated film, her eyes would have bulged into hearts.

She sprinted straight toward him, arms wide open to hug him—her fangirl antics made Guo Yao suppress a laugh.

Deep down, she too wished for Emily's courage to express herself openly, but she couldn't do it.

"Qin, you're so hot, let me hug you."

Qin Yun's face darkened; he reached out and pressed his hand against her head, stopping her approach.

"Emily, stay away from me."

Emily flailed wildly but couldn't break through Qin Yun's iron grip; finally, she gave up, looking pouty.

"Qin, men are all fickle. Your girlfriend won't ever know what we do."

"Heh." Qin Yun didn't look at her; his gaze settled on Gerard and Michael.

Their clothing colors differed from his—not just theirs, but all fifty contestants' outfits, at a glance, were mostly unique.

Women's were slightly lighter green, with distinctive patterns; men's were darker, each with unique textures.

After a brief greeting, Michael spoke first: "We must hold out until the end, become one of the final ten."

"Exactly," Gerard chuckled. "The champion depends on luck, but surviving the first round—I think everyone here can manage."

"I hope so," Emily wasn't as optimistic as the two; she dropped her playful tone. "But the checkpoint inspections probably won't be easy—maybe they're far from our drop points, requiring days to reach."

Guo Yao frowned: "What if we don't reach the checkpoint? Do we get eliminated directly? Director Danny didn't mention this yesterday."

Qin Yun shook his head: "He did. Yesterday, Danny said each cycle is seven days—you must reach the checkpoint to activate your next week's eligibility. Not going means automatic disqualification."

Guo Yao finally understood; she stuck out her tongue, embarrassed—she'd missed such crucial information.

As they spoke, the production team appeared.

Onstage stood fifty paper boxes; from their packaging, they were clearly the recording equipment.

"Clap! Clap!"

Danny clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention, then shouted: "Ladies and gentlemen, you've all seen the button on your chests, right? Press it, and the rescue team will arrive in the shortest time possible—so press it only when absolutely necessary. Also, do not remove this outfit for extended periods; it has real-time vital sign monitoring—we can observe your vitals. If your vitals drop below a critical threshold, you'll be automatically eliminated. Maximum time allowed without the suit: two hours. Exceed that, and you're deemed to have forfeited."

Qin Yun reached up and touched the raised button on his left chest—it was cleverly designed: pressing directly did nothing; you had to first release the lock before pressing, preventing accidental activation from falls or impacts.

As for not removing the suit—in this hellhole called Lin Hu, they wouldn't take it off even if ordered.

So this show was actually unfriendly to women—who knew if any female participant happened to be menstruating during this wilderness survival?

Danny held a tablet: "When I call your name, come up, collect your recording equipment, then board the helicopter to your drop point. The moment you leave the helicopter, the show officially begins."

"First… Owen, Helicopter One."

"Second…"

Danny moved quickly, calling names one by one; contestants rushed forward, snatched their equipment boxes, and sprinted toward the helicopters.

"Gerard… Helicopter Five; Emily… Helicopter Six…"

Gerard exchanged fist bumps with the group, then ran up. Emily fist-bumped Michael and Guo Yao, then opened her arms to hug Qin Yun.

Qin Yun sighed internally: damn it, still trying to take advantage at a time like this.

But this time he didn't refuse—he was hugged tightly.

"Qin, go get 'em! You'll win the championship."

"Thanks. Stay safe."

Emily nodded, walked up, grabbed her box, and ran to the helicopter.

"Guo Yao… Helicopter Three."

"Qin Ye, I'm off then," Guo Yao took a deep breath.

"Mm. Prioritize safety. Don't be reckless."

"I will."

As the number of people in his field of view dwindled, Qin Yun finally heard his name called.

"Qin Yun… Helicopter Nine."

Entering the helicopter, he glanced at the other four; one of them was unmistakably the Japanese man Yamamoto Kazusuke, while the other three he had no prior contact with.

Soon, the helicopters powered up one after another, slowly lifting off and heading toward Lin Hu.

…

In January, Lin Hu was a world of glassy ice—under extreme cold, an endless ice plain stretched out, appearing unreal. Around the lake's edges, dense coniferous forests coated in rime stood dark and heavy, their ice crystals refracting scattered light, as if the entire world shimmered.

Looking down at this scene, Qin Yun's interest stirred; such an environment existed in China only in high-altitude regions like Xinjiang, yet compared to those, the surroundings of Lin Hu in Canada were even more primitive.

With fewer people abroad, those living here were exceedingly rare.

Only ice, snow, forests, distant mountains, and vast, dead silence remained.

Not quite…

"Roar—!"

It was a charging mountain lion, and a startled moose fleeing in panic.

The helicopter slowed to a stop; a voice came through Yamamoto Kazusuke's headset: "Yamamoto Kazusuke, you have reached your drop point. Exit the helicopter immediately."

Then, a winch rope descended a section; Yamamoto Kazusuke removed his headset, grabbed his box, and walked to the helicopter door. As he grasped the winch rope, he turned back and spoke in Japanese: "Chūgokujin, I'll bet you'll be eliminated on day one. Press the rescue button."

With that, the winch rope swiftly carried him downward, and in the blink of an eye, he vanished into the woods.

Qin Yun raised an eyebrow, nearly laughing—his words meant Qin Yun would be eliminated on day one and would have to press the rescue button.

As a legendary-level wilderness hunter, Qin Yun wasn't lacking in confidence. If he wished, he could live here indefinitely; had this show not changed and introduced so many variables, the two million dollars would have been nearly half his already.

The helicopter flew another half-hour; Qin Yun estimated they'd traveled nearly two hundred kilometers—this distance made it nearly impossible for him to encounter Yamamoto Kazusuke.

"Qin Yun, you have reached your drop point. Exit the helicopter immediately."

The voice in his headset sounded; Qin Yun hung up his headset, picked up his box, gripped the winch rope, and as it began to reel in, his body rapidly descended.

Moments later, after falling forty to fifty meters, Qin Yun landed firmly on the coniferous forest floor.

He tugged the winch rope; it retracted automatically, and the helicopter sped away.

Qin Yun did not rush to open his box. He quickly scanned his surroundings: he was surrounded by coniferous forest; though it was daytime, the interior remained dim.

Not an ideal drop point.

Because during the helicopter ride, he had already lost sight of Lin Hu's ice surface, so he didn't know how far he was from the lake. But based on his estimate, it was no more than twenty kilometers.

After confirming the area was safe, he swiftly opened the box, assembled the drone and camera, and powered them on.

Inside the box, besides the equipment, were only batteries and a map.

On the map, there was a red dot and a star dot; beside the red dot was written: PEP—that was the physical examination point; beside the star dot was written: Bp—that was the drop point.

The map clearly marked the distance from his current location to the physical examination point: 70 KM. The terrain features were distinct, and the north-south orientation was clearly labeled; as long as one wasn't illiterate and could navigate outdoors, finding the location wouldn't be difficult.

He briefly studied the drone—it was the same as during training: DJI, with a live-stream display, though no comments were visible. It had two modes: fully manual and fully AI-autonomous.

He activated the full AI-autonomous mode, pointed the drone's lens at himself, and began the official live stream in fluent English: "Hello everyone, I'm Qin Yun, a temporary wilderness survival enthusiast. I'm now in the coniferous forest near Lin Hu in Canada. I checked the map—the physical examination point is seventy kilometers from my location. That's not too far, but not close either. For many, walking ten kilometers a day might be their limit, but those who know me know I once traveled one hundred forty kilometers in a single day across a snow-blown, uninhabited highland."

He adjusted the lens, capturing some empty scenery footage: "Still, even so, one must maintain sufficient reverence for nature in the wild. So today, my first task is to find a suitable spot to build our shelter and acclimate to the environment around Lin Hu."

He packed away the map and batteries, slung his rope and bow over his shoulder, and strapped a dagger to his waist before setting off.

At this moment, wilderness survival fans worldwide had been waiting for hours on the official website, Douyin, or TikTok before the live stream began.

As the screen lit up, fifty clear split-screen live streams appeared simultaneously, each labeled with the contestant's name and nationality.

In China, countless netizens quickly found Qin Yun's stream and clicked in.

Upon entering, they heard the familiar line: "temporary wilderness survival enthusiast," and immediately erupted in mockery.

"Hahaha, Brother Qin is beyond saving—still calling himself 'temporary.'"

"The temp worker is saving the world now."

"Great! I thought this wilderness survival show was pre-recorded, but it's live—production team's got guts."

"I love this—watching it live is way more thrilling than pre-recorded."

"Now the contestants are under serious pressure—if anyone gets eliminated on day one, not only will they be humiliated, but their entire country's face will be lost."

"I hope Guo Yao lasts longer."

"Aren't you worried about Brother Qin?"

"Hehehe, Brother Qin's going hunting."