NOVEL NEXT Chapter 286 - 283: Night Raid
Chapter 286: Chapter 283: Night Raid
“`
Don’t panic, the reason is the same as yesterday.
I’ve been attending classes during the day and busy with car parts at night; I haven’t had time to write.
The official chapter will drop in the early morning; everyone can rest early.
The rising sun climbed above the clouds, and sunlight spread horizontally across them, casting shadows in the sparse woods and tinting them with a faint bright golden hue.
As the temperature gradually returned, the answer became clearer in everyone’s hearts.
All fifteen contestants chose not to set out immediately but to search for materials on-site.
Perhaps many had planned to traverse the wilderness directly, but last night’s bitter cold made everyone recognize the reality, and all original plans were scrapped.
Wilderness Survival was far from as simple as they had imagined.
Bi Fang explained in the evening that this was the purpose of dropping everyone off here—to let them understand their strength after surviving a night. It acted as a cooling-off period; otherwise, had the drop-off happened during the day, many might have rashly chosen to cross the wilderness, and it would be troublesome if they encountered danger later on.
But to the audience, this scene was quite dull.
After all that buildup, not a single person set out to advance or try to find civilization; everyone stayed put at the “safe point” where they were initially dropped off. The audience, accustomed to Bi Fang’s bold and forward style, were somewhat disappointed.
[Isn’t anyone going to traverse the wilderness? Even if they don’t find civilization directly, shouldn’t they at least try to find a cabin or something?]
[Really? Everyone is staying put? How timid!]
[Right in the feels.jpg]
[If it were Old Fang, he’d probably set off right away.]
“It’s not that no one wants to cross, if you look carefully, you’ll see that actually, quite a few people are making weapons,” Bi Fang shook his head and pointed to Bonuo in front of him.
To do a good job, one must first sharpen the tools.
As a Rover Cavalry, even though he’d spent the night in a hammock, his constant intense training meant he wasn’t too badly affected. However, Bonuo still faintly sensed something amiss.
It was too cold; he was completely awakened by the freeze in the morning. The hammock might be clean and convenient, but it was only a stopgap measure, and he wouldn’t withstand sleeping in it too often.
It wasn’t as if he hadn’t survived in the wild before; training in the wilderness was commonplace, and sometimes he could even spend a day and a night lying in a pile of grass. Therefore, although Bonuo was aware of the challenge’s difficulty, he didn’t plan to stop there. He wanted to cross the wilderness to earn a higher score!
Out of the fifteen, it was unlikely that many could last twelve days, but there wouldn’t be few either; at least Mugalen and that Huaxia person posed a significant threat. If he played it safe, it would be hard to come out on top!
With that thought, Bonuo snapped off a branch with force and then found two stones of suitable quality. After some light chiseling, he began to carve the wood.
“Do you want to make a spear?”
Bi Fang nodded; this was a choice made by quite a few contestants — to make a weapon as best as they could. Stone or wood, each had its advantages; whether defending against dangers or hunting animals, it was essential.
Stone Spear, Wood Spear, Stone Hammer…
As time progressed, a variety of weapons came into view for the audience, causing admiration. Many of the methods of making these weapons were new to them, having never been used by Bi Fang, and they found it novel.
Cradling the finished wooden spear, Ji Zuodong extinguished the fire and, with three long Spears and two short spears strapped to his back, set off into the depths of the forest in the manner of a primitive hunter.
Wild and charming, it made the viewers’ eyes sparkle; his outfit was overwhelmingly cool.
[Wow, someone’s going full Monkey King here.]
[Looks like an old general with flags on his back.]
“`
[Slowly typing out a question mark?]
[Ji Zuodong: Are you being polite?]
As preparations were completed, more and more people made their choices. Bonuo and Ji Zuodong did their best to erase any traces on the spot before they embarked on their journeys.
When they cleared their own traces, everyone knew that they had no intention of coming back.
Meanwhile, Mugalen was still struggling with a large tree, determined not to stop until he had felled it.
This caught Bi Fang’s attention because he noticed Mugalen had spent a long time just selecting the tree. With his keen eyesight, he immediately saw that Mugalen had chosen a fir.
Fir wood.
A type of wood worth pondering over.
For making ordinary wooden spears, there was no need for such trouble. One could simply use the branches of some common tall trees, which were everywhere. Why bother wasting time looking for fir?
Bi Fang watched for a long time and only understood Mugalen’s intentions when he saw him strip off the outer layer of the tree. He expressed his surprise.
“He’s making a bow!”
[Worker?]
[In the wild mountains and ridges, you still want a worker?]
[You can’t even get a meal, and you’re thinking about a worker?]
“Not a worker, but making a bow and arrow,” Bi Fang gestured to mimic drawing a bow.
The audience suddenly understood but were then deeply puzzled. They had seen Bi Fang make bows and arrows, using branches, so why would someone go through the trouble of cutting down an entire tree?
“Because he wants to make a real bow and arrow. My previous bow-making technique was just a shortcut; it can’t compare with the durability and strength of a real bow and arrow. And Mugalen’s choice is quite primitive: making a sturdy bow out of an entire tree.
Willow, fir, and walnut wood are all ideal materials for bow-making. To create a good bow, the material is key, which is why Mugalen would go to the trouble of finding fir.
This is a very time-consuming approach; he might not even finish it in one day. I guess Mugalen planned this from the beginning; otherwise, he wouldn’t have risked spending so much time,” Bi Fang couldn’t help but admire Mugalen’s determination. If it were someone else, even him, they might make weapons, but certainly not spend so much time on it, and if they did make a bow, they would use the simple method from last time instead of felling a tree to shape a large bow.
Survival time totals only twelve days. Taking out an entire day, or even more, to make a bow was quite risky because one would be hours behind everyone else.
Others might have already found rivers and food by then, but you might end up empty-handed because the bow wasn’t finished yet.
“However, Mugalen has a 500g can of meat, so I can understand his approach. The human body generally needs to consume about 1700 kilocalories per day; of course, this varies with size and activity level, but that’s the rough amount. And 100g of pork belly has about 350 calories. So, that one can could cover one day’s energy consumption, which is his advantage.”
[That’s pretty badass. It feels like a gamble.]
[Plus one, if it were me, I definitely wouldn’t eat the canned meat unless I had to, and would wait until I couldn’t go on. I didn’t expect Old Mugalen to be so bold, using it up right away.]
[Perhaps it’s a case of the boldness of the skilled.]
Mugalen was unaware of the heated discussion among viewers as he patiently crafted his large bow, holding a stone chisel and painstakingly chipping away unnecessary parts.
The initial rough shape was always the easiest to achieve; the later refinements and treatments were what really took time and effort and were key to the quality of the finished bow.
“It’s an English Longbow.” Even though the bow was still in its rudimentary form, Bi Fang could tell what Mugalen intended to make, and he laughed, “Should I say it’s no surprise coming from the Deer Hunter?”
Thinking of Mugalen’s identity, it wasn’t hard to understand why he was making such a longbow.
The English Longbow isn’t a recurved bow. Its design is quite primitive, but its power is immense; it can shoot a hundred meters and penetrate armor. It is among the highest quality of longbows.
“`
An adept archer could even fire 6 arrows in a minute, and without aiming, they could fire 12 arrows in a minute.
The only drawback was that the user had to have a robust physique, superb skills and coordination on all fronts.
Many soldiers, due to long-term stress and the impact of special postures, had spines that were abnormally curved after death.
The original reason the United Kingdom began equipping support troops with muskets was not even because of the firearms’ greater power, but because, like the crossbow, guns were weapons that could be used easily with little training. Otherwise, the English longbow might not have been phased out, indicating its formidable power.
Owning one was like having a firearm, and its primitive design also meant it was easier to make.
Having so many advantages, it’s no surprise that even now some traditional hunters still use it, and it’s no wonder that Mugalen, who came from a traditional hunter background, chose to make one.
After hearing Bi Fang’s long explanation, the audience finally understood why Mugalen would rather waste a whole day to craft such a longbow.
[This is a godly weapon! With it, wouldn’t chopping vegetables be a piece of cake?]
[No wonder Old Mugalen was so picky about the trees, how could you craft a godly weapon without good materials?]
[All of them are talents!]
[Gurulu Gurulu gifted the host Big Bone*10—Excellent commentary, quite enlightening, awesome!]
Seeing that Mugalen couldn’t finish grinding for a while, the director of photography switched the camera to other contestants. They were all grown-ups; whether they stayed or left, they each had their own plans.
Those who were finished making weapons and equipment left, and those who wanted to survive twelve days in the forest began earnestly constructing their own shelters.
Looking over, when the camera turned to Ava, Bi Fang couldn’t help but sit up straight. It wasn’t because a female contestant appeared on screen, but because the only two female contestants had encountered each other!
This was the first time contestants had encountered one another!
One should know that the program allowed teaming up but didn’t prohibit fighting! As long as no harm was done, resources could be snatched away!
It was up to the contestants to understand the intent.
The audience was also surprised by the encounter.
[Wow, they found their own so soon?]
[Amazing, amazing, it’s the two ladies. Fight, start fighting, the kind where clothes get ripped off!]
[???]
[How were the airdrops done initially, how come they encountered each other so easily?]
“Everyone should remember, the fifteen contestants were originally dropped off by four helicopters, divided into four groups. These four groups were quite far apart from each other, but the members of each group were very close to each other.”
If contestants could form teams and also snatch resources from each other, then they definitely needed an opportunity to encounter each other. If they were placed too far apart, contestants might not even meet, let alone snatch anything from each other.
As it happened, Ava and Lisa were from the same group, less than a kilometer apart, making it very easy to run into each other if they didn’t explore too widely.
Therefore, when the two met, they were both startled. Standing off against each other from five meters apart in the forest, neither said a word, and all was silent.
The silence lasted a long time, but not a single viewer felt impatient, all anticipating the next development.
“Let’s cooperate.”
Ava took the initiative to speak first. She didn’t want to waste time; in a competition, wasting time was wasting life.
Lisa, after a moment of thought, nodded: “Okay.”
“`
Audience: “…”
Are they the Scarlet King now?
What just happened and they already formed a team?
“There’s something here!”
Mugalen moved slowly through the grass, searching for animal tracks. As a member of the Deer Hunter community, there was no doubt that Mugalen had real skills. Less than two minutes after getting off the vehicle, he spotted the traces of prey amidst the grass, which looked almost identical to the untrained eye.
A patch of grass that had been trampled down.
Mugalen’s expression lit up with joy. Just as he was about to move closer for a more detailed look, he suddenly remembered to glance over at Bi Fang with his peripheral vision to see if he had found anything, only to come up empty.
In his peripheral vision, there was nothing but a patch of moss.
Huh?
Where’s the person?
How could someone that big just disappear?
Mugalen was taken aback. He turned his head to the side, only to find that Bi Fang, who had been standing behind him, had vanished without a trace. He couldn’t believe his eyes.
The two of them had clearly gotten off the vehicle together. How could he just suddenly disappear?
He hurriedly turned back to ask Barton, who pointed in a direction. Mugalen followed the gesture and saw Bi Fang walking deep into the forest, leaving only a small silhouette behind.
Did he find something?
That fast?
Mugalen hurried over and slowed his steps as he got closer to avoid startling the game. Barton followed closely in the car, stopping at a safe distance to get out with the two small ones to see what Bi Fang had discovered.
Barton, who had stayed in the car, saw very clearly that Bi Fang had seemingly glanced around casually after getting off the vehicle and then walked purposefully in one direction, in stark contrast to Mugalen, who was searching for clues all around.
“Primitive Survival 21 Days,” “Survival 1 Plus 1,” “King of Survival,” “Wilderness Couples File,” and so on, were quite popular wilderness survival programs in a previous life.
However, in this world without Bear Grylls or Grandpa De, these exciting programs had not emerged. But when Bi Fang introduced the concept of wilderness survival in the form of live entertainment and achieved great success, it was as if people had their meridians unblocked—when one understands, all understand.
The Discovery Channel was among the best, and right out of the gate, they played their cards well. Following Bi Fang’s 21-day sea survival, they launched the brand-new program, Wilderness Arena.
Many wilderness survivalists competed together, facing wilderness survival challenges that lasted for 300 hours—twelve days.
Within this time, those eliminated would receive no reward, and the rankings would be decided based on the remaining survivors. Bi Fang would judge, with the first place receiving a hundred thousand Ugly Gold as a reward, the second place fifty thousand, and the third place ten thousand, all with covered medical expenses.
If no one remained, then no reward would be given.
This was a challenging and also a tempting competition format.
A first-place prize of a hundred thousand Ugly Gold was quite a substantial reward, and on top of that medical expenses, travel costs, and such were all covered by the program and the hundred thousand US dollars were completely at the winner’s disposal.
As for Bi Fang, he played multiple roles within the entire program, both as a commentator and safety consultant, responsible for handling any potential crisis that might occur, and also as the final judge.
There were multiple judges, but Bi Fang held the most power, with the ultimate interpretative and decision-making authority, while the other judges only had advisory power, reflecting the Discovery Channel’s high regard for him.
On one hand, Bi Fang’s fame was immense, having achieved many legendary feats. If an ordinary person accomplished even one of these, they could live on it for a lifetime, but when all of these feats happened to one person, that person became synonymous with legend.
And from any angle, Bi Fang was also a crisis management expert, seemingly able to resolve any issue, no matter how desperate the situation seemed. He always managed to turn danger into safety, boosting his reputation even higher.