Chapter 1081 - 100: Storing Food

As for the third step in preserving food, it’s storage.

Storing food is the most difficult part.

Chen Wen’s idea is to modify the shelter, completely sealing it as a food storage location.

The hunting cabin they made earlier is also there, and some food can be placed inside it.

If these two places are utilized well, they can store about eighty to ninety percent of the food.

They themselves will take away a portion of the food, basically ensuring all the food is properly preserved.

Hua Yun looked around the camp surroundings and suggested storing food in the surrounding trees. Chen Wen found this plan feasible and agreed to it.

The two split up for the task, with Chen Wen responsible for modifying the hunting cabin and shelter, and Hua Yun going to find suitable trees for hiding food.

Regarding the modification of the hunting cabin, Chen Wen had a clear plan.

He intended to add a layer of pine needles and pine branches to the outer layer of the hunting cabin, sealing it completely.

On the inner layer, Chen Wen found some clean branches and stones to build a platform for food storage.

Meanwhile, Chen Wen also planned to seal the small window and entrance reserved earlier.

This would further enhance the sealing for storage.

However, sealing door and windows would happen after the food is placed inside.

Chen Wen placed food into the hunting cabin, mostly processed food.

Once the food was properly placed, Chen Wen began preparing to modify the shelter.

The modification of the shelter differed somewhat from the hunting cabin.

The hunting cabin itself was a semi-circular enclosed type, whereas the shelter was A-shaped, and the two differed greatly.

Thus, Chen Wen decided not to modify the shelter based on the original structure.

He dismantled the shelter and used its original materials to create a structure similar to that of the hunting cabin.

Simultaneously, Chen Wen covered the shelter with a large amount of pine needles and stored food inside.

On Hua Yun’s side.

She found some trees that were growing close together and built a platform among them, which was perfect for storing food.

To prevent aerial predators from spotting the food, Hua Yun specially used a lot of branches to cover the food.

Chen Wen and Hua Yun worked tirelessly until nighttime, finally finishing the repairs on the food storage areas.

After completing this task, the two had dinner and settled in for the night.

Early the next morning, the two planned to continue moving forward.

Before leaving, Chen Wen pulled the Northeast Tiger aside and carefully instructed it on some details to better guard the food.

"Repeat what I said."

After giving instructions, Chen Wen immediately questioned the Northeast Tiger.

He looked just like a teacher checking students on their English recitation.

But the Northeast Tiger was no unprepared student; it immediately repeated: "First, be wary of any approaching animals. Once they dare to get close, intimidate them using the methods you taught me!"

While speaking, the Northeast Tiger let out a low roar, exuding an aura of fierceness.

It looked quite majestic.

Chen Wen nodded slightly, signaling the Northeast Tiger to continue.

After dismissing the fierce aura, the Northeast Tiger instantly returned to its gentle demeanor.

It thought for a moment and continued, "Second, be wary of humans. If any human approaches, unless it’s you, I will immediately run away towards areas with more trees and dense shrubs."

Chen Wen nodded.

And the Northeast Tiger slowly but smoothly spoke the third point: "Third, don’t steal the food, help guard it well for you."

"Very good."

Chen Wen nodded in satisfaction and casually rubbed the Northeast Tiger’s furry head.

He couldn’t deny, the texture felt really nice!

"Be cautious, I won’t be away for long."

Looking at the Northeast Tiger, Chen Wen sincerely said: "Once I’m back, I’ll teach you the most important skill for survival in the wild, the thing you’re currently lacking — hunting!"

The Northeast Tiger excitedly nodded: "Don’t worry, I’ll definitely wait for your return!"

...

Leaving the Northeast Tiger to guard the camp, Chen Wen and Hua Yun took supplies and left the camp.

The two planned to hunt further up north.

This season, Chen Wen figured it was about time for animals to migrate southward; going north now means there would be more and richer prey.

Furthermore, heading further north might lead them to encounter animals they hadn’t seen before, enriching their acquired knowledge.

The two spent the entire morning heading north from the camp.

"I suppose we’ve walked about ten kilometers, right?"

Glancing at the southern sun, Chen Wen sat down to rest.

Hua Yun sighed as she sat opposite Chen Wen, exhaustedly replying: "More than that, our pace was quite fast, I think we walked twenty kilometers this morning."

Twenty kilometers...

Chen Wen frowned slightly and said: "Twenty kilometers might bring us into another team’s survival area."

"No worries, don’t worry."

Hua Yun promptly replied: "Before coming here, I checked the survival distances between participants; the nearest to us is in this direction, which happens to be a joint team of Koreans and Indians, plus a few small South Asian countries. Their total number of participants could barely form one team, so they joined forces."

"But although they are the nearest group to us, I remember there’s a distance of almost eighty kilometers between us, meaning we’d need to walk another fifty kilometers or so to possibly encounter them."

Hearing this, Chen Wen nodded slightly.

While the Forest Extreme Challenge spaced participants widely, encounter between competitors is still possible.

He didn’t want two people firing at him unexpectedly during a hunt.

Talking with Hua Yun, Chen Wen also assessed the environment here.

The further north they went, the sparser the forests around Lake Baikal became.

The reason wasn’t anything peculiar; it was simply the sharp decline in bushes.

Where Chen Wen and the others survived had considerably more bushes, but here they were increasingly scarce.

Northeast Tigers gradually retreated from Lake Baikal, heading southeast, precisely due to this reason.

Northeast Tigers rely on ambush and short-distance pursuit for hunting; dense bushes facilitate easier attacks on prey, thus survival becomes more challenging in Lake Baikal’s sparse northern regions.

Chen Wen noted this information, planning to inform the Northeast Tiger later to strive for survival on the south side.

However, the likelihood of encountering humans there would be higher.

While Chen Wen pondered over trivial matters, Hua Yun was also observing the surroundings.

But this area differed from where they camped, with almost no signs of animals near the water.

Not even many footprints were visible.

This made Hua Yun quite frustrated.

She reconsidered and decided not to delve deeper into the forest for exploration.

If there were scarce signs of animals at the lake’s edge, it indicated the area’s relatively low animal density.

And soon enough, the Golden Eagle brought Chen Wen similar news.

It called a few times in the sky, signaling to Chen Wen that there weren’t many prey here.

Chen Wen understood.

Feeling sufficiently rested, he stood up and said, "Let’s keep moving. There’s probably not much decent game here, we should head further north and see the situation."

Hua Yun nodded and immediately followed Chen Wen.

The two continued their northward exploration.