Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness

The fierce fire roasts the camphor wood, and the fine oils slowly seep out from the fibers, filling the air with a rich and pleasant fragrance.

After the camphor leaves are picked and placed on a stone slab, they’re ground into a green paste with a smooth stone. Bi Fang applies it to his exposed skin, and the mosquitos around seem to vanish into thin air.

Engulfed by flames, the stick gradually turns black.

Bi Fang picks up the tree stick and, using a dagger, carves a cross notch at one end. Pressing against it, he takes a round stone and strikes the back of the dagger to split it into a cross slot.

He removes the wooden handle of the steel dagger and inserts the slender iron blade into the middle of the cross opening. Aside from accommodating the slender iron handle, Bi Fang also carefully carves a few grooves inside the cross notch to fit about two centimeters of the dagger’s blade length, forming a simple inlay structure.

Bringing the cross notch together again, one could not tell that something had been inserted inside.

Bi Fang explains, "One side is concave, the other is convex; fitting them together forms the simplest mortise-and-tenon structure. It’s not prone to breaking or falling out. Accommodating part of the dagger’s blade ensures it won’t easily bend."

Grasping the fastened break, Bi Fang pulls out a piece of white rope from his bag, wraps it carefully around, and finally ties a tight knot.

"This rope is made of Dyneema material -- cut-resistant, wear-resistant, and its strength is more than ten times that of quality steel, second only to top-grade carbon fiber. With a density less than water, it can float on the surface and is very light. If you’ve seen my Mount Everest climbing video, you should know it, and yes, you guessed it right, this is the same piece I used before."

"I didn’t use all of it after climbing Mount Everest last time. We’ll continue to use it this time. But honestly, its strength is so high, it’s really tough to cut..."

Bi Fang pulls at the excess rope, and with a harpoon, he slowly cuts it off bit by bit. This is a dagger gifted by the System, and even with that, it struggles to cut through the Dyneema rope, showcasing its high material strength.

[Damn, Old Fang’s rope that went up Mount Everest, forged in the wilderness, and about to bathe in bear blood. I can’t imagine how much its value could soar.]

[A conservative estimate, two million!]

[Awesome, if it was mine, it could become a family heirloom, to be treasured at home.]

[White Tassel Spear!]

[Back in the day, I wielded the Lance of Glistening Silver, cutting a path seven times in and out at Changban Slope, leaving my enemies riddled with holes, rolling in piss and shit!]

Bi Fang wields the approximately 1.8-meter-long spear with its bark peeled off, leaving a white branch with delicate patterns, straight in form, with a six-inch blade and an extra length of rope dangling, swinging in the wind.

He stakes it into the ground and steps on it, testing its tenacity; it bends close to sixty degrees without any sign of breaking.

After finding a pine tree, he easily stabs into it, and slowly oozing resin, Bi Fang wraps the flowing pine resin around the joint of the spearhead and shaft to reinforce it three times.

Mortise-and-tenon, winding rope, resin bonding; after these three steps, the wooden spear has become one, whether chopping or stabbing, making it very difficult to disengage.

The sharp spear pierces the sky, emitting a piercing whistle, with the nearby leaves rustling in response.

Bi Fang, very satisfied with his work, puts it away and proceeds to make another two wood spears.

At the same time, the other hunters are all busily engaged in their activities.

Each person chooses their activity area, but the production team didn’t airdrop them into the center of a random forest; instead, they had to make their own way.

The radii of human settlements are wide, and most haven’t found much, encountering only some wild chickens and rabbits; the larger animals remain unseen.

Only by venturing deeper into the forest does the real test of skills begin.

It’s 9:30 in the morning now, and Bi Fang estimates that by afternoon, people will start to make discoveries one after another.

Deep in the jungle, fully-armed Sato, wearing cut-resistant clothing, carrying a small bomb-proof shield, and holding a glaive as tall as a person and a crossbow, moves through the bushes, presenting an anachronistic blend of the modern and ancient.

Times have changed.

Traditional hunters have also learned to protect themselves.

The show prohibits the use of heavy crossbows and firearms, but both normal bows and modern equipment don’t fall into these categories.

Other hunters participating in the show do not have the benefit of Bi Fang’s System, cannot be precocious in their youth, and don’t have any restrictions on equipment, so they load up with all they can.

Besides Sato and Mugalen, who carry weapons and are of an offensive type, there are also those who dig traps and specialize in defensive counterattacks.

Primitive hunting, without the restraint of hunting dogs and targeting large predators like the Asian Black Bear, is ultimately very dangerous. The best option is naturally to lure the bear into stepping into a trap.

Giant wooden traps and deep pits with wooden spikes are good methods for dealing with large animals.

"Seeing a camphor tree taller than twenty-five meters signifies that we have already entered deep into the forest," Bi Fang says, rising from the ground and extinguishing the fire pit.

Behind him are two wooden spears, one hand wielding an even sharper and harder steel spear, and on the ground lie five short spears, each about half the height of a person, along with a dart thrower.

To deal with thick-skinned creatures like the Black Bear, regular arrows are far from sufficient. One must use a dart with greater penetrating power; only then can it pierce through the thick layer of fat, damaging the organs and muscle tissue.

"The founding father of modern forensic science, Edmond Locard, once proposed a law named after him, which states:

’Every contact leaves a trace’."

"To put it simply, it means ’All contact leaves evidence.’ My translation might not be perfect, but that’s the general idea."

Bi Fang waved his spear, splitting the obstructive shrubs in his path, and strode forward. With the long shaft weapon, the journey became much easier.

"This statement, after being consistently exemplified by Locard, is regarded as an axiom by insiders and has become a cornerstone of courtroom science, especially the study of physical evidence."

"Locard’s Law tells us that matter is composed of countless particles. When a suspect enters a scene or commits an act, particles are exchanged between the objects they touch and their body, leaving traces." @@novelbin@@

"At the same time, his body also picks up some traces from these object surfaces; even if the suspect has tried to clean up, it’s very difficult to completely remove these traces."

Every corner he stood in, every object he touched, everything he left behind, even unconsciously, became silent witnesses against him.

Not just his fingerprints and footprints, but his hair, fibers from his clothes, broken glass he touched, marks left by tools he used, paint he scratched off, and blood or bodily fluids he left behind or collected.

All these and more support the silent testimony against him. These evidences do not forget, do not get confused by the heat of the moment, and unlike testimonies from people, they do not disappear.

It is evidence that exists as fact.

Physical evidence does not make mistakes; it does not perjure, and it does not disappear completely.

Only those who cannot find, study, and understand it would diminish its value.

"To me, hunting for game and looking for a criminal are the same—if it has ever existed in a place, it must have left traces."

"As for what kind of evidence, that depends on the ’suspect’s’ physical characteristics and behavioral habits. There are two types in total, tangible and intangible."

"The tangible ones are hair, scratch marks, footprints, and damage along the way, while the intangible ones are scents, preferred food, and potential gathering points."

"To find a bear, you must be familiar with its behavioral habits."

Bi Fang pushed aside some branches, his gaze sweeping over one tree after another.

"With the exception of the polar bear, which doesn’t have the conditions, all bears like to rub against trees because they can’t reach their backs with their paws, and long-haired animals easily get infested with lice, so it’s important to look for scratch marks on nearby trees, which will be very obvious. The entire tree can have a hole rubbed into it."

"Next is footprints. The weight of a Black Bear can leave deep footprints on the ground very easily."

"Then there’s the scent, but without a hunting dog, this can be disregarded."

Bi Fang himself could use this technique, and there are indeed people with a super-strong sense of smell, but obviously, most people can’t, so without a hunting dog, this technique isn’t worth considering.

"Lastly, there are traces of behavior—from eating to walking. Predators at the top of the food chain don’t pay much attention to hiding their tracks. Often, when you see a clear pathway in the wild, you need to be careful—it could be a path used by some large herbivore or predator."

This is a form of confidence born from being at the top of the food chain.

Rabbits and mice need to look around when eating grass, but elephants never overdo their vigilance since few animals can threaten them.

"Pay more attention to fallen hair on the trails. If there’s hair, there’s a ninety percent chance it’s from a fierce predator, so be extremely cautious."

"Also consider dietary habits. Look for places where things that should exist are massively disappeared or show signs of damage."

"The Asian Black Bear is a typical omnivore, mostly feeding on plant matter. Its diet is varied and includes, but is not limited to, various plant shoots, leaves, stems, roots, fruits, as well as mushrooms, shrimps, crabs, fish, invertebrates, birds, rodents, and carrion. It will also dig up ant nests and bee hives."

"We can look for upturned ant nests, fruit nearby gnawed to a mess, or partial bee hives that have been bitten off."

"[Ah, I know this, bears love honey.]"

"[So awesome]"

"[Details, it’s all in the details]"

"[Speak slower, I’m taking notes]"

"[Attention, make sure you remember this everyone!]"

"[But why do bears like honey?]"

Bi Fang didn’t answer; he grasped the spear and shook it, grabbing the tail end and using the point to lift a drooping branch.

As the leaves were turned up and the sunlight shone down, several sharp scratch marks appeared on the tree trunk.