Lin Yu'an grasped the logging axe and held the camera, watching the bush where the strange noise came from with caution, his heart pounding powerfully in his chest, adrenaline starting to quietly seep in.
He held his breath, trying to discern the movements in the darkness, the rustling sound accompanied by low whimpering, getting closer and closer.
Lin Yu'an took half a step back, positioning himself more advantageously for exertion, and adjusted the angle of the camera on his chest slightly, hoping to capture something.
At this moment, a pair of eyes glowing with a ghostly green light slowly emerged from the shadows of the bush!
In the infrared camera, Lin Yu'an saw clearly the face of the visitor — a fox! It was obviously attracted by the previous struggling noises.
At this moment, it was greedily staring at the snowshoe rabbit not far away, which was barely alive and tightly bound by the lasso.
A threatening growl came from its throat, seemingly warning Lin Yu'an not to compete for this unexpected gain.
Lin Yu'an laughed loudly at the camera, "Oh, so it's you, little guy. Seems like you want a share too, but no way, this is my prey."
Seeing that Lin Yu'an did not retreat, the fox became even more restless; it arched its body, its growling louder and even showing its sharp teeth.
Lin Yu'an did not have the hunting bow and did not want to entangle too much, as being bitten would be a big loss! Against such small to medium-sized carnivores, momentum often matters more than strength.
"Get lost!" Lin Yu'an shouted a short and powerful roar!
The red fox was obviously startled by Lin Yu'an's sudden momentum and fierce movements, instinctively shrinking back, and the whimpering sound in its throat weakened.
It gave Lin Yu'an a wary glance, looked longingly again at the snowshoe rabbit on the ground, and finally tucked its tail, disappearing reluctantly back into the bush, fading into the darkness.
"Phew..." Lin Yu'an breathed a sigh of relief.
He shrugged at the camera, "Looks like my voice still has some use; let's take a look at the spoils!"
He quickly walked to the trap, the snowshoe rabbit had already fallen silent, he carefully untied the lasso, picked up the slightly heavy rabbit, a genuine smile appeared on his face.
"Great! A perfect source of protein! Didn't expect to have a midnight snack today!"
He excitedly showed the rabbit to the camera, this was the first real prey he had caught since arriving at Chilco Lake, it was significant.
He did not stay in place for long, grabbed the rabbit, and quickly returned to the shelter.
Warm firelight danced within the shelter.
Lin Yu'an skillfully began to process the snowshoe rabbit, explaining in detail to the camera as he worked: "To process a rabbit, start skinning from the hind legs, that way it's easier to keep the pelt intact."
His sword technique was precise and steady, and soon a complete rabbit skin was removed.
"Be careful when removing the innards, avoid breaking the intestines, contaminating the rabbit meat, most of these innards can't be eaten, but you can keep them as bait for future traps, some animals might be interested."
He washed the cleaned rabbit meat with stream water and then divided it into two halves.
"Alright, now we can prepare our dual rabbit feast, a wilderness banquet!"
Lin Yu'an skewered one half with a sharpened stick, roasting it slowly over the fire.
He placed some rabbit meat chunks along with previously collected, safe confirmed wild Jerusalem artichokes into a stainless steel pot, adding stream water, secretly brought seasoning, and salt, beginning to stew.
Soon, the aroma of grilled rabbit meat and the savory scent of rabbit soup filled the small shelter, sprinkling a little salt made the hungry Lin Yu'an's fingers tingle.
When the first piece of golden, seemingly oily roasted rabbit leg meat was sent into his mouth, the primitive charred flavor made him feel as if every cell in his body was cheering, and after a sip of the steaming hot, meat and plant aroma mixed broth, all fatigue and chill vanished!
"Mmm—! So delicious!"
Lin Yu'an let out a sigh of contentment, giving a thumbs up to the camera, "Guys, this is definitely the best roasted rabbit I've ever eaten in my life!"
He ate while sharing his joy with the camera, also expressing his longing for his family, warm food, and hope for the future were his most powerful weapons against loneliness and hardship!
At the crack of dawn.
The midnight snack Lin Yu'an enjoyed turned into a hearty breakfast, replenishing enough energy, he returned once more to the piece of land chosen yesterday as the permanent camp.
He stood in the center of the clearing, looking around, his heart already sketching the blueprint of his future home.
"Alright, starting today, I'm going to lay the first cornerstone for my new home!" Lin Yu'an said to the camera, his voice full of energy.
He took out the self-made bark map and a small piece of charcoal from his backpack, beginning to sketch the rough outline of the shelter on the relatively flat bark surface.
While drawing, he explained to the camera: "Based on the terrain here and my initial idea, I plan to build a half-underground stone house shelter."
"The main structure will exploit the natural slope of this hillside, digging inward a bit to form a semi-pit space, better utilizing geothermal insulation and providing more stability."
He pointed to some scattered stones of varying sizes at the foot of the slope: "This nearby stone resource seems fairly abundant, I will use these stones to build walls."
"Stone walls have better insulation and defense than simple wooden walls, especially in areas where grizzly bears roam."
"For the roof part, I will use harvested logs to build load-bearing beams and rafters, then lay waterproof tarps."
"Finally, cover with thick mud, moss, and turf to form a 'living roof,' providing waterproofing and insulation, blending with the surrounding environment, increasing concealment."
His plan was clear and detailed, the plan completed, then came the arduous physical labor.
First, a sufficiently flat site needs to be cleared, and preliminary excavation work begins.
Without a shovel, he could only rely on the axe's backside and a sturdy wooden stick to dig, prying those slightly hard soil and stones bit by bit.
This was an extremely labor-intensive and patience-consuming process, sweat soon soaked his clothes, and his arms felt sore from prolonged exertion.
But he did not pause at all, silently, over and over, repeating the digging actions.
During the digging, he also paid attention to collecting those nearby stones that were of suitable size and relatively regular shape, stacking them aside for future use.
As the sun gradually declined westward, after a day's effort, Lin Yu'an finally cleared a site of about ten square meters and preliminarily dug out a shallow pit's outline.
He straightened his somewhat aching back, looking at the land before him that embodied his sweat, his heart filled with a sense of achievement.
"Very good, the first step is completed!"
"Tomorrow, we can try to build the first wall! This will be the first cornerstone of the new home!"
He wiped away the sweat and dirt on his face, offering a bright smile to the camera.
In the evening.
Lin Yu'an went to check the few simple fish traps set up by the stream yesterday, these small pools surrounded by stones and branches hoped to trap some drifting small fish.
Fortunately, in one of the fish traps, there were actually two palm-sized trout swimming inside!
"Haha! Seems like we'll have fish soup again tonight!"
Lin Yu'an cautiously caught the two lively trout, afraid they might escape.
He showed his catch to the camera, saying what Westerners like to say: "Though not big, it's a gift from nature. In this wilderness, every bit of food is precious, we must learn to be grateful, and learn to cherish, ensuring everything is utilized to its fullest potential."
Dragging a tired body back to the temporary shelter, he skillfully cleaned the fish, using the remaining rabbit broth as a base, stewed a pot of delicious fish soup.
Warm firelight danced once more in the shelter.
The aroma of fish soup dispelled the fatigue of the day, Lin Yu'an sat beside the fire, slowly savoring his labor's fruit, his heart filled with confidence for the challenges ahead!