Chapter 176

Perhaps for the sake of the show's effect, everyone's clothing provided exceptional warmth; as night fell and temperatures dropped to around minus thirty-five degrees, as long as one wasn't facing the wind, the cold was barely noticeable.

The most severe cold problem didn't pose much difficulty for them.

That night, apart from the unlucky Hanson, everyone successfully built their shelters.

Yet among the forty-nine people, over ten still hadn't found enough food to replenish their supplies, but since it was only the first day, though hungry, they could still endure.

Among them, Emily was one of those ten or so.

Her spawn point was also in the forest, but her luck was bad—though her check-in point was only forty kilometers away, it lay deep within the endless woods.

If she walked straight toward her destination through the forest, she'd easily get lost, so after consideration, she could only use Atrin Lake as a reference, which ironically increased her distance to eighty or ninety kilometers; if she wandered further in the forest, it could even exceed one hundred kilometers.

That day, after calibrating her direction, she'd walked barely two or three kilometers when she unfortunately encountered an adult Arctic wolf.

Facing such a fierce beast, Emily couldn't help but be afraid, but fortunately, the Arctic wolf had apparently just finished eating and didn't attack her—only trailed her from afar, making her tense to the point of panic.

This pursuit lasted a full three kilometers.

Throughout, Emily had no time to search for food; she had to remain constantly alert for the wolf's possible attack.

As darkness fell, Emily used a match to light a torch; the moment the torch ignited, the Arctic wolf clearly startled, hesitated outside for a while, then reluctantly retreated.

Though the danger was gone, Emily had missed the chance to search for supplies and build a proper shelter.

In the end, she could only hastily find a small embankment, use fallen leaves on the ground for basic cover, and light a fire around the perimeter.

Starving, she shut off her device early and chose to sleep.

As for moving through the night holding a torch, she dared not—this darkness affected her too severely; the torch's visibility range was too narrow, and if she were bitten by something or stumbled upon another predator, she'd likely be eliminated.

There were many like Emily, but most survivors got through smoothly, and some even had great luck—like Jack, who found a snowshoe rabbit that had died by crashing into a tree stump, and gathered plenty of mushrooms nearby, enjoying a hearty meal.

At the production team's camp, a massive screen showed fifty signals; apart from Hanson's, which appeared gray, all others had green dots in the lower-left corner, indicating all participants' vital signs were healthy.

"How's Hanson doing?"

Daniel sipped his coffee, asking casually.

George chuckled: "He scared himself—the snake's venom isn't strong; even if ignored, his body would metabolize it. What a waste."

"Heh, he just had bad luck." Daniel's gaze settled on the screen—most livestreams had ended, only a few still active.

"George, who do you think will open the treasure chest this time?"

George immediately pointed to the avatar labeled 32 on the left side of the screen: "Him—Qin Yun, China's extreme sports expert and top-tier wilderness survival specialist."

Daniel pointed to an avatar on the right: "Tang Mu—I think he has the best chance. Want to bet?"

"What's the bet?" George's interest sparked.

"We each pick three people, see who lasts longest—the winner treats the whole production team to dinner."

"No problem, Daniel, get your dollars ready."

"Hahaha."

Quickly, both picked their contestants: Daniel chose Tang Mu, Jack, and Xiao En—Tang Mu a retired Navy SEAL, Jack a wilderness survival streamer, Xiao En a professional hunter.

George picked Qin Yun, Jelad, and Kun Tai—all content creators, one from China, one from the U. ., one from Thailand.

"George, wilderness survival—Asians can't cut it. You wasted two slots," Daniel said with a smirk at George's choices.

"Not necessarily."

Though Daniel was the director, he hadn't personally selected the contestants—assistant directors were involved, so he'd never actually watched Qin Yun's livestream.

If he had, he wouldn't think that way.

"If not for our collaboration with TikTok, we wouldn't even have these two slots from China."

"Hahaha, no need to argue more, Daniel—just don't back out later."

That night, Qin Yun slept fitfully, occasionally rising to add more firewood to keep the external bonfire burning.

Yet despite this, his sleep quality remained high—his powerful cardiorespiratory control allowed him to fall asleep anywhere, anytime; nighttime awakenings affected him not at all.

As dawn's light appeared, Qin Yun swiftly exited his shelter and activated his drone and action camera for day two's activities.

After a night of drying and freezing, the lichen laid aside had hardened like stone; Qin Yun tossed one into his mouth—it was slightly sticky, tasteless, but with cloudberries mixed in, it offered a faint tart-sweetness after chewing.

Good as a snack.

"Good morning, everyone. This is my second day at Atrin Lake. I still have some leftover ptarmigan from yesterday—having a bowl of broth and some meat for breakfast, I doubt anyone could refuse."

While preparing breakfast, he controlled the drone to fly out and capture stunning aerial footage of the forest.

"So beautiful—I'd love to walk there."

"By the way, why can't we tip in this livestream?"

"It's official—tip a hammer."

After eating his fill, he didn't leave immediately. He cleaned the stone trough, boiled water, and went into the forest to gather several pieces of wood.

"You might not know—I'm also a qualified carpenter in China," Qin Yun said with a faint smile, wielding his dagger as he worked. "In the wild, water is vital. Though here it's frozen solid and snow is everywhere, you still need to boil it before drinking. So I plan to make a container to store drinkable water."

Qin Yun's carpentry skills were rarely used—he was a master, but his usual livestreams took place in snowfields or uninhabited zones, leaving no materials for him to work with.

His dagger was sharp, and his strength immense.

Under the camera, his wrist flicked—wood shavings flew; soon, a comma-shaped water flask took shape.

He held the finished product up to the lens, proudly: "How's that? Beautiful, right? Now I won't have to worry about water."

Then he carved the Chinese character " Qin " onto the flask.

"666, Qin's craftsmanship is insane—this flask is gorgeous. When the show ends, can you give it to me?"

"Someone's got a big face—give it to you? Better give it to me."

"Go check out others' livestreams—foreigners are so professional."

"No matter how professional they are, who's more professional than Qin? You're just worshiping the West."

"Fuck off."

At this moment, the water in the stone trough had boiled. Qin Yun rinsed the flask, then poured the scalding water inside.

He kept the flask pressed against his body.

"The temperature here is too low—leave it anywhere else and it'll freeze. I need to keep it against my skin to maintain the water's warmth with my body heat."

After speaking, he extinguished the fire, packed the smoked ptarmigan into his backpack, rekindled a firestarter, and prepared to depart.

"According to my estimate, I'm now less than ten kilometers from Atrin Lake's shore—I need to speed up and reach by one p. . Let's go!"

"The environment around Atrin Lake is a rich ecosystem—many animals live in the forest. This season, we might encounter Arctic wolves, lynxes, snowshoe rabbits, lemmings, sables, moose, and even, if unlucky, a hungry brown bear waking from hibernation—so we must be cautious."

"Also, the forest has many hidden crevasses formed by thawing permafrost, or slippery slopes—so walk carefully, don't be careless."

"Wilderness survival is an extreme sport of humans re-adapting to nature—you must maintain deep reverence."

Qin Yun chattered endlessly like a talkative man, naming every plant the camera captured as if he knew them all by heart.

Since he'd joined—and to break into the overseas market—he took this survival challenge seriously. Winning the championship was mandatory; showcasing his skills during the livestream was equally important.

In his domestic livestreams, he never explained things in such meticulous detail.

"Crack—!"

Suddenly, a snapping twig echoed. Qin Yun instantly grabbed the flying drone.

As soon as he caught it, the propellers stopped, and silence fell.

He squinted toward the sound's origin and whispered: "I just heard something—probably an animal snapping a dry branch."

Then he crouched, hiding behind a dense thicket, peering cautiously toward the direction.

His eyes lit up—he brought the action camera closer.

"Look—it's a snowshoe rabbit! In China, we have many ways to cook rabbit: braised rabbit, spicy diced rabbit, spicy rabbit head—wait, now I'm salivating…"

Before he finished, a shadow darted from the opposite direction, lunging at the rabbit.

And—the rabbit was gone!

"..."

Qin Yun stared, dumbfounded, speechless.

"Hahaha, Qin, what's that face? Why aren't you laughing anymore?"

"I'm dying laughing."

"Already screenshot—saving it as an emoji."

"Qin wanted rabbit head? Hahaha."

"You could kill that lynx."

He released the drone, framing the entire scene.

"Looks like my braised rabbit is off the menu—the lynx stole it."

Hearing the drone's buzz, the lynx, still clutching the rabbit, looked up sharply, eyes wary.

Then it turned and vanished back into the forest, gone from the camera's view.

Qin Yun stood, shrugged.

"Bad luck—I stumbled upon a lynx hunting. I could've shot it with an arrow, but it didn't offend me, and I'm not hungry—so I'll show mercy and let it go."

Qin Yun continued walking.

He walked three hours straight—then a sudden cold wind brushed his face, and his expression brightened with delight.

He quickened his pace—and suddenly, the view opened wide: a vast ice plain stretched between earth and sky, distant snow-capped peaks rising, snowlines undulating along the mountains, merging seamlessly with the frozen lake—immense and desolate.

"Hahaha, I've reached Atrin Lake's shore!"

As he spoke, a distinct, crisp chill struck his face—revitalizing him entirely.