NOVEL NEXT Chapter 279 - 276: What Happened?
Chapter 279: Chapter 276: What Happened?
The nascent sun rose above the clouds, and sunlight spread evenly down, casting shadows across the sparse forest and tinting everything with a faint, bright golden hue.
As the temperature gradually recovered, clarity began to dawn in everyone’s hearts.
Of the fifteen contestants, not a single one chose to set off immediately; instead, they searched for materials right where they’d been dropped.
Perhaps many had originally planned to cross the wilderness directly, but the severe chill of the previous night had brought everyone to a stark realization, scrapping all initial plans.
Surviving in the wilderness was far from as simple as they had imagined.
Bi Fang hadn’t brought everyone here by airdrop until evening just for this reason—to let them understand their own strength after surviving a night, which served as a cooling-off period. Otherwise, had they been dropped during the day, many might have rashly chosen to traverse the wilderness only to run into trouble later on.
But this scene seemed utterly dull to the audience.
After all that buildup, not a single person moved forward to start the journey or tried to find civilization; they all stayed at the “safe point” where they were initially dropped. The viewers, accustomed to Bi Fang’s usual bold approach, were somewhat impatient.
[Isn’t anyone going to cross the wilderness? Even if they don’t find civilization directly, shouldn’t they at least try to find a cabin?]
[Is everyone really just staying put? So timid?]
[From the heart.jpg]
[Old Fang would have probably just set off already.]
“It’s not that no one wants to cross over. If you look closely, you’ll find that actually quite a few people are making weapons,” said Bi Fang, shaking his head and pointing to Bonuo in front of him.
To do a good job, one must first sharpen one’s tools.
As a member of the Rover Cavalry, despite sleeping in a hammock all night, his years of intense training had not left him too worse for wear. However, Bonuo still vaguely sensed that something was amiss.
It was too cold; he had been woken completely by the freeze. The hammock was clean and convenient, but it served only as an emergency measure. A couple more nights in it, and he wouldn’t be able to endure.
This wasn’t his first time surviving in the wild. Training in the wilderness was commonplace; sometimes, he could even spend a full day and night lying in the thick grass, so although Bonuo realized the difficulty of the challenge, he didn’t plan to stop there. He was determined to cross the wilderness and earn a higher score!
Out of the fifteen, there couldn’t be too many who would last the full twelve days, but there wouldn’t be few either—at least Mugalen and that Huaxia person posed a significant threat. Playing it safe would make it difficult to come out on top!
With this mindset, Bonuo forcefully snapped off a tree branch, then found two stones of appropriate quality and, after chiseling them slightly, began to carve the wood.
“He wants to make a spear, doesn’t he?”
Bi Fang nodded. This was a choice many other contestants had also made: to craft a weapon to the best of their ability, be it stone or wood, each with its own advantages, whether for defending against danger or hunting animals.
Stone Spears, wooden spears, stone hammers…
As time passed, a variety of weapons began appearing before the audience’s eyes, inspiring awe. They were seeing many methods of weapon crafting they had never seen Bi Fang use before; it was quite novel.
Clutching the fully roasted wooden spear, Ji Zuodong extinguished the fire, slung three long spears and two short spears behind him, and, with the air of a primal Hunter, set off into the depths of the forest.
Wild and enchanting, he caught the admiring gleam in the viewers’ eyes—this outfit was incredibly cool.
[Whoa, we’ve got a Great Sage here]
[An old general with his flags all set]
[Slowly hits out a question mark?]
[Ji Zuodong: Are you being polite?]
With their preparations complete, more and more people made their choices, erasing any traces of themselves and setting out on their journey, like Bonuo and Ji Zuodong.
And when they erased their marks, everyone knew they were not planning to return.
Meanwhile, Mugalen was still struggling incessantly with a large tree, adamant like someone who wouldn’t rest until it was felled.
This caught Bi Fang’s attention because he noticed Mugalen had taken quite a while just selecting the tree. With his keen eye, Bi Fang instantly recognized it as a fir.
Fir.
A type of wood definitely worth pondering over.
To make an ordinary wooden spear, there was no need to go through such troubles. One could just pick a branch from any of the common tall trees; they were everywhere, so why waste time searching for fir?
After watching for a long time, Bi Fang realized what Mugalen was up to only after he shaved off the outer layer of the tree, and he said somewhat surprised, “He’s making a bow!”
[A worker?]
[In the wild mountains and forests, you want a worker?]
[Without even a meal secured, and you think about a worker?]
“It’s not about a worker; he’s crafting a bow and arrow,” explained Bi Fang, mimicking the action of drawing a bow.
The audience realized and was again deeply puzzled. They’ve seen Bi Fang make bows and arrows before—using branches. Why go through the huge effort of cutting down a whole tree for it?
“Because he plans to make a real bow and arrow. My method of bow-making was just a quick fix; its durability and strength are incomparable to a true bow and arrow. Mugalen is adopting a very primitive method, using the entire tree to make a sturdy bow.
Willow, fir, walnut wood—these are all ideal materials for making bows. If you want a good bow, the material is crucial, which is why Mugalen went to the trouble of searching for fir.
This is an incredibly time-consuming approach. He might not even finish it today. I think Mugalen must have planned this from the start; otherwise, he wouldn’t be spending so much time on it.”
Bi Fang couldn’t help but admire Mugalen’s perseverance. Had it been someone else, perhaps even himself, they might have made some weapons, but definitely wouldn’t spend such a long time. Even if making a bow, they would use a simpler method, like last time, and not chop down a tree to craft a large bow.
The survival challenge lasts only twelve days, using up a whole day or even more to make the bow is quite risky because you’ll be tens of hours behind everyone else.
While others might have already found rivers and food, you might end up empty-handed because your bow isn’t completed yet.
“However, Mugalen has a 500g can of meat, so it’s understandable why he would do this. The human body needs about 1700 calories per day, of course, this varies with size and activity, but that’s the rough amount. 100g of pork belly has about 350 calories, meaning that can covers the daily caloric intake, which is his advantage,” Bi Fang mused.
[That’s pretty awesome, it feels like gambling.]
[+1, if it were me, I definitely wouldn’t eat the can of meat unless I had to, saving it for when I’m desperate. I didn’t expect Old Mugalen to be so bold, using it up right from the start.]
[The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all.]
Mugalen was unaware of the audience’s heated discussion and patiently continued crafting his large bow, with Stone Chisel in hand, bit by bit chipping away the unnecessary parts.
The initial shape is always the easiest to achieve, the subsequent finishing and treatment are what truly consumes time and effort, it is also the key to the quality of a finished bow.
“It’s an English Longbow.” Even though the bow was only a rough shape, Bi Fang recognized what Mugalen was attempting to make and joked, “Should I say it’s expected from a Deer Hunter?”
Thinking about Mugalen’s background, it wasn’t hard to understand why he chose to make such a bow.
The English Longbow isn’t a recurve bow, it’s quite primitive in design but tremendously powerful, capable of shooting a hundred meters and piercing armor, it is one of the best quality longbows.
A skilled archer can shoot six arrows per minute, or even twelve arrows per minute without aiming.
The only drawback is that the user must have a sturdy physique along with superior skill and coordination.
Many soldiers had abnormal spinal curvatures due to the long-term pressure and specialized posture even after dying.
One of the reasons the United Kingdom initially chose to equip support troops with firearms wasn’t because of their greater power, but rather because, like crossbows, firearms required less training to use effectively. Otherwise, it might not have been easy to phase out the English Longbow, given its significant power.
Having one is like owning a firearm, and its primitive design also means it’s easier to create.
With so many advantages, it’s no surprise some traditional hunters still use it today, and certainly not surprising for Mugalen, who comes from a traditional hunting background, to choose to make one.
After listening to Bi Fang’s detailed explanation, the audience began to understand why Mugalen would rather spend a day crafting such a bow.
[This is a game-changer! If he makes it, wouldn’t it be like slicing melons and cutting vegetables?]
[No wonder Old Mugalen took half the day just to select the tree, how can you create a game-changer without good materials?]
[All of them are talents!]
[Gululu sends 10 Big Bones to the host—great commentary, learned a lot, awesome!]
Seeing that Mugalen wouldn’t finish any time soon, the Director of Photography switched the camera back to the other contestants. They were all grown-ups, some leaving and some staying, everyone with their own ideas.
Those who completed their weapons and equipment left, while others intent on surviving the twelve days in the forest began diligently building their shelters.
As the camera panned over each one, when the shot landed on Ava, Bi Fang couldn’t help but sit upright. Not because a female contestant appeared on the screen, but because the only two female contestants had crossed paths!
This was the first encounter between contestants!
It’s important to remember, the show allows teaming up but does not prohibit fighting! Resource plunder is allowed as long as no harm is caused!
Now it depends on whether the contestants can grasp this intention.
The audience was also surprised by the encounter.
[Wow, they found kin so quickly?]
[Awesome, and it’s both ladies too, start fighting, come on, fight! The kind where clothes get ripped off!]
[???]
[How were the airdrops done at the beginning? Why is it so easy for them to encounter each other?]
“Everyone might remember, the fifteen contestants were dropped off by four helicopters, effectively in four groups. These groups were spaced out, but the members within each group were very close to each other,” the host explained.
Since forming teams and plundering were both options, it was necessary to give contestants a chance to meet. If they were too far apart, they might never find each other, let alone engage in conflict.
It so happened that Ava and Lisa were in the same group, less than a kilometer apart. If they didn’t explore broadly, they could easily bump into each other.
Therefore, when the two met, they were both startled, confronting one another in the middle of the forest, neither speaking, in total silence.
The silence lasted for a long time, but not a single viewer felt impatient, all were looking forward to what would happen next.
“Let’s team up.”
Ava broke the ice first. She didn’t want to waste time, as wasting time in a competition meant wasting life.
Lisa only thought it over briefly before nodding: “Okay.”
Viewers: “…”
Had they already crowned their Kings of Scarlet?
What exactly happened that led to their teaming up so quickly?