Chapter 174: The First Shelter (Part 3)

This year's wilderness survival is different from previous seasons.

Look at past seasons' shows—the contestants' shelters gradually improved and became more elaborate, some even building full wooden huts to live in comfortably.

But this season is clearly different, because it's live-streamed, and each week in the first round acts as a Taotai cycle; receiving new maps at the check-in points becomes a whip driving contestants to keep moving forward. So building shelters becomes a temporary matter.

Qin Yun has extensive experience operating drones and is skilled in cinematography, so his footage always carries strong aesthetic appeal.

Even though the drone now has AI control, his sense of framing and occasional adjustments to capture scenic shots are unmatched.

"You've all seen the map just now—the check-in point is by the lake, so the best approach is to leave the forest first, find the lake, then follow its shore."

As he spoke, Qin Yun scanned the surroundings, searching for possible food.

Suddenly his eyes lit up—he brought the camera close to the side of a rock, where a layer of gray-green substance clung tightly to the surface.

"Look what I found—this is lichen, a food reindeer love, and humans can eat it too. Until I find something better, I'll keep this lichen and see if I can turn it into my dinner tonight."

Chinese netizens watching this burst into complaints again.

"Qin Ye really doesn't pick his food."

"He can actually eat something that looks so disgusting."

"It's so unhygienic—can you even eat that?"

"Qin Yun, who's the other Chinese contestant? I heard it's a woman—I'll go check."

This livestream isn't on a personal account but an official one, and since viewers can actively switch between contestants' feeds, the viewership is enormous.

As soon as it went live, the Chinese Douyin official livestream hit over ten million viewers and was rapidly climbing toward twenty million.

Qin Yun pulled out his dagger and began gently scraping against the rock; soon, a patch of gray-green lichen was pried loose.

Looking at the lichen in his hand, Qin Yun suddenly realized he had no gear to carry things—just his clothes and tools; his batteries and map were still stuffed in his pockets.

After thinking for a moment, he placed the lichen back on the rock and smiled at the camera: "Holding it in my hand is inconvenient—I think I should make a backpack first, so my hands are freed up."

As he spoke, the drone rotated around him, his voice echoing: "Look at this environment—everywhere are spruce, pine, birch, and moss. I can make a simple backpack from just a few of these materials."

After wandering around and finding no animal hides or similar materials, Qin Yun finally used birch bark as wrapping, spruce branches as a frame, moss and pine needles as a base, and two vine strips as ropes—tying the top to the frame's peak and the bottom to each side to form shoulder straps.

He displayed the finished product to the camera and grinned: "How's that? Now even if I move around a bit, this won't fall apart easily, and it can carry plenty—I can collect wild berries along the way and stash them inside."

"6666, Qin Ye is as awesome as ever."

"This guy's DIY skills are insane—how come I never saw him before?"

"Holy shit, guy upstairs, you don't even know Qin Ye?"

"Is it surprising you don't know him? He's not a celebrity."

Qin Yun placed the lichen inside his backpack and continued forward.

"Atlin Lake is in western British Columbia, Canada, at 59. degrees north latitude, so daylight here is very short—just over six hours. I entered the spawn point by helicopter at 11 a. ., it's now about 11: 0 a. ., and if my estimate is right, sunset should be around 4: 0 p. . So I must build my overnight shelter before then."

After walking through the forest for about thirty minutes, Qin Yun suddenly stopped, lowering his voice.

"See those footprints ahead? If I'm right, they're from a spruce grouse."

As he spoke, he gripped his bow, a flicker of excitement crossing his face.

"Maybe tonight I'll have a feast."

Not just him—the livestream viewers were excited too. Back in China, the animals they saw were mostly protected species Qin Yun couldn't hunt, but here in Canada, everyone had registered permits and could hunt freely without legal worries.

"Qin Ye is about to go on a killing spree."

"Hahaha, I can tell Qin Ye's excited."

Following the grouse's footprints, Qin Yun advanced two or three hundred meters, then suddenly froze—he quickly hid behind a tree, crouching low. His action camera slowly extended forward, revealing a bird with a coat patterned like a leopard's.

Its wings were short, its neck long, and its eye sockets ringed with red.

"Spruce grouse can fly—and they fly hard. Their short bursts are explosive. If I make the slightest noise, they'll take off. I must hit them in one shot, or they'll vanish."

Qin Yun whispered softly, retracted his action camera, then turned the drone's lens to face behind him, locking onto the grouse's position along the arrow's trajectory.

Now both he and the grouse were framed in the shot.

He slowly drew his bow, aiming at the grouse twenty meters away, his gaze cold.

Once fully locked, he released his right hand without hesitation—the arrow vanished from his grip; the next second, a piercing cry began and instantly cut off.

"Gaa—!"

Qin Yun snatched up the drone and sprinted over. On camera, the grouse lay completely still, a green arrow piercing its neck just below the head, drops of blood pooling on the ground.

He picked up the grouse, weighed it in his hand, and smiled.

"Fat and plump—I'm in for a treat."

Netizens watching this flooded the comments with likes.

Many foreign viewers who'd stumbled in were also stunned.

They flooded the comment section with messages.

But domestically it was Douyin, overseas it was TikTok—the two platforms did not interconnect.

He took out the lichen from his backpack, placed the grouse inside, then covered it with the lichen.

"Lichen is acidic; its odor masks the grouse's blood, so there's no worry about attracting carnivores," Qin Yun explained, re-calibrated the drone, and continued forward.

"So far I've walked less than two kilometers, and I still have a long way to go to reach the lake—I can't be sure I'll make it today. But whether it's lichen or grouse, both need a lot of water to process. There's water in the forest, sure, but nowhere near as convenient as by the lake."

"Of course, if I really can't make it, I won't force it."

Since beginning this livestream, Qin Yun's sense of framing had become second nature—he ensured every frame was worth showing, a habit now ingrained.

After another half-hour of walking, Qin Yun rubbed his stomach and spoke to the camera: "I'm getting hungry—I need to find something to eat. In the wilderness, if you can't hunt animals, there are plenty of edible plants in the forest."

"Like this!"

Qin Yun pointed the camera at a cluster of shrubs on the ground, covered in dense clusters of yellow berries.

"These are cloudberries. See how they're frozen? I'll taste one first."

He plucked one and popped it into his mouth—a crisp, icy sweetness instantly bloomed across his tongue.

He smiled: "Clearly, these cloudberries are fully ripe. The frozen texture adds a unique flavor—sweet, not sour at all. I'll gather some; if I get a chance to prepare the grouse tonight, adding them will make the meat even more delicious."

He piled the berries thickly on top of his backpack until no more would fit.

And with that, another two hours passed—the forest grew darker, sunset clearly near.

He sighed: "Looks like reaching the lake today is out of the question. I need to find a suitable spot to build my shelter quickly—otherwise, when night falls, I won't see a thing."

At his legendary level, finding a shelter site was easy—but bad luck had plagued him; so far he'd found no water, only lightly replenishing his fluids with cloudberries.

That made processing the lichen and grouse even more impossible.

"Look over there—that cluster of rocks is perfect for my overnight rest. The uneven heights mean I just need to make minor adjustments, and I'll have a decent place to sleep."

Qin Yun looked ahead at several massive rocks of varying sizes, with a space between them large enough for an adult. All he needed to do was fill the gaps and cover the top—this night should be fine.

But just then…

His ears twitched, a look of delight crossed his face.

"Listen… what's that sound?"

Qin Yun quickened his pace, leaping over the rock pile and jogging forward.

Seeing Qin Yun's movement, Chinese netizens grew curious.

"What did Qin Ye hear?"

"Probably water—he mentioned it earlier."

"Maybe an animal."

Minutes later, Qin Yun looked down at a stream flowing across his path and smiled.

"Looks like I'm lucky—there's a live stream here. What a pleasant surprise."

He confirmed the streambank was safe, then descended.

"The temperature is around minus fifteen degrees, and the current isn't fast, yet the stream hasn't frozen. The only possible reason is that its source is underground water, which stays above freezing year-round—so even in extreme cold, it remains liquid."

"For me, this is an unqualified good sign."

He smiled, then sobered, pointing to a trail of footprints: "But I must be more careful—where there's water, there are wild animals. Look at these prints—this is a coyote's. Nearby are herbivore tracks too—this one's moose, this one's beaver, this one's red fox."

Every time Qin Yun spotted a footprint, he named the animal precisely, revealing his deep zoological knowledge.

This effortless, encyclopedic expertise left a powerful impression on many who didn't know him.

But…

"Damn, if not for auto-translate, I couldn't understand a word of bird language."

"Why are Chinese people speaking English? Terrible streamer—just watch foreign ones instead."

"Fuck off, idiot."

He didn't drink directly—this water source, frequented by so many animals, must be teeming with bacteria. If he got diarrhea here, pressing the rescue button would be his best option.

Then Qin Yun returned to the rock pile and began preparing to make fire.

"Given the terrain and current weather, I can easily find plenty of fire-starting materials. I just checked—there's plenty of spruce branches and pine knots, which ignite instantly and make excellent tinder. Birch bark and dry wood wool are also abundant—more than enough."

"I have a bow—I could use the bow-drill method to make fire, but today I'll demonstrate the traditional Chinese hand-drill technique, and I'll also make a fire starter—the kind that smolders for a long time, stored in a tube or bark cylinder, kept alive by covering it, and reignites with a single blow when uncovered."

Qin Yun had only just thought of making a fire starter—it would make future fire-starting much easier.

As he gathered materials, he explained: "Hand-drilling for fire means first finding tinder—what I mentioned earlier: dry pine resin, pine knots, or birch bark. Then gather dry fuel—fine pine needles, thin twigs, and larger sticks about the thickness of your arm."

"Once you have materials, build a fire structure: a drill rod and a fireboard. The rod must be straight and hard—birch is ideal. The fireboard should be softer, to generate sparks more easily—I recommend spruce."

Qin Yun spoke as he worked, movements swift and precise: "Now carve a groove into the fireboard—use a stone or dagger. Then cut a notch beside the groove, so sparks fall through it. Place the tinder—a small pile of birch bark fluff and pine resin shavings—directly beneath the notch. Then grip the drill rod between both hands and rub it back and forth."

"If you're just playing around, wear gloves—rapid friction will blister your hands. But my skin's thick and calloused—I'm used to it, no worries."

Qin Yun increased his speed, gradually pressing down harder.

"Damn, Qin Ye's hand speed—someone's gonna die of happiness."

"Hehe, what'd you say? I didn't understand."

Seeing these comments, Su Huan, who had been watching the livestream, suddenly blushed and spat twice.

Sometimes hand-drilling depends on luck, but with such ideal tinder conditions, Qin Yun soon saw white smoke rising from the bottom of the drill rod—this meant the wood was heating up. He did not stop; instead, he sped up.

As he rubbed, he said: "Hehe, almost there. Once black carbon powder appears below and turns red, the fire tinder will be ready."

Soon, each of the outcomes he described appeared on camera. Qin Yun gently blew on the tinder, and sparks leapt up, followed by a flame. This time, his hand-drilled fire-making succeeded on the first try.

Just a few minutes later, a pile of fire appeared before the rock, and a gentle warmth slowly spread outward, bringing a sense of calm.

"Next is building a shelter. Before it gets dark, I need to gather moss, lichen, various tree barks, and branches. Once the shelter is done, I can deal with my pine grouse and rock tripe."