Chapter 2: Jungle Survival (1)
As Leo Chen walked toward the stream, he spoke aloud, "The stream is crucial in our survival process. As the old saying goes, follow the water and you'll always find people. This must be the condition for escape, right?"
"But…" Leo suddenly turned his head, speaking seriously to the panel, "We don't know exactly where we are. We've been walking for so long that we've already lost our direction. For safety's sake, we should remain cautious and wait for the time limit to expire before we leave." He continued walking after finishing his thoughts.
"The streamer is really clear-headed, not rushing into choosing his escape route."
"Who knows whether following the river will lead to any dangers? I agree with the streamer."
"Exactly, who knows what conditions constitute a successful escape? It's better to play it safe."
…
Soon, Leo arrived by the stream, and seeing the clear water, he swallowed and said, "In the wild, you should avoid drinking water directly from streams. It often contains parasites. If you must drink, make sure it's from a flowing water source. And, if you've been thirsty for a while, don't drink too quickly, as it could cause nausea."
With that, he cupped his hands and drank slowly, replenishing the fluids his body was lacking.
"Full of details, brothers. You should learn this stuff now!"
"To be honest, if I get selected for the game one day, this knowledge might save my life."
"Phew, I've made it, brothers. Now, we need to solve the food problem," Leo said, wiping his mouth as he gazed at the rocks in the stream.
He slowly approached the rocks and continued, "The stream is rich in food, like…" Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly flipped over a rock, revealing several startled shrimp underneath. In a flash, he caught all of them.
"Even the juvenile shrimp, huh, streamer?"
"They're so small, they wouldn't even fill the gaps between my teeth!"
"I can only say, practice makes perfect. I clearly saw the fish beside them, and instead of catching fish, the streamer's catching shrimp? Don't know what he's thinking."
Leo smiled bitterly. "Guys, under these conditions, I can't be picky. They may be small, but we can accumulate a lot, and besides, I don't have the tools to catch the fish right now."
He continued catching the shrimp, and by the time it was nearly dark, he had barely gathered a pound of them. He wrapped his catch in his shirt and thought for a moment. "Brothers, we're still missing a container to carry water. It'd be too dangerous to go out at night without one." He looked around at the large trees and decided to make a water container out of tree bark.
Leo stripped off a large piece of bark, then used his knife to carve a few thin strips, which he twisted into string. He wrapped the bark into a cone shape, punched a few holes on the side, and threaded the string through the holes, securing it tightly. A simple water container was now ready.
He carefully gathered his shrimp, took the container, and made his way back to the shelter.
Once back at the shelter, Leo immediately gathered some dry branches and, before it was fully dark, successfully lit a campfire with his lighter.
"Alright, we're back at the shelter, and the fire is going. Now we need to think about how to cook these shrimp," he said, looking at the tiny shrimp in front of him.
He scratched his head, a bit troubled. If he roasted them, there might not be much left after cooking, and he didn't have a pot to boil them. Looking at the nearby trees, an idea crossed his mind. "Today, we'll make a wooden bowl to cook the shrimp."
He pulled out his knife and chopped two thicker branches, beginning to carve out a wooden bowl.
"Streamer, are you sure you want to listen to what's being said? I'm not afraid of the bowl burning through. Then we'll be left without any shrimp!"
"Forget it, streamer, be careful. Even if the meat's gone after roasting, it's better than not having anything at all."
"Yeah, just abandon that idea."
Leo ignored the viewers' comments and continued carving diligently. After a long while, he managed to carve out a makeshift bowl.
"Now, it's time to witness a miracle," Leo said, placing the wooden bowl he had painstakingly carved over the fire. He filled it with water and added the shrimp. After a while, although the bottom of the bowl was charred black, there were no signs of it burning through. Instead, the water slowly began to boil.
"Well, it actually worked!"
"Just a lucky guess. But look at the state of that bowl, it won't last long."
Leo laughed as he looked at the comments, "This wasn't a guess. You see, water boils at 100°C, and wood has a much higher ignition point. During boiling, the heat is absorbed by the water, preventing the wood from reaching its ignition point. In the end, the water boils, and the bowl remains intact."
"Wow, I never thought watching a survival show would remind me of physics class."
"Gotta admit, this is eye-opening. Who would have thought a wooden bowl could boil water?"
"Never expected physics knowledge to play a role in survival. Knowledge is power!"
Leo read the comments while taking a wooden spoon and scooping a full spoonful of shrimp. He blew on it to cool it down and then swallowed it in one bite, his face lighting up with a satisfied expression.
"Nice! Is it you surviving, or us? Watching this is making me hungry."
"It's been a long time since I've eaten wild water food. Nowadays, everything is farmed."
"Ah, all because of that island nation's mistake. If not for that, the world would still be beautiful and rich in resources."
"I hope the streamer and others can buy more from the shop to help eliminate the world's pollution."
As the live chat continued, Leo finished his meal. "Honestly, the shrimp doesn't taste that great, but at least it's replenishing the energy I used up, so I'm not so hungry anymore."
"Alright, now that we have some time to relax, let's all lie down and enjoy the starry sky we haven't seen in decades," he said.
He lay down on the ground, gazing at the starry sky in silence. The viewers in the live stream also stopped sending messages, and the world seemed to quiet down. Amid the sounds of insects, everyone was immersed in the beauty of the stars.
"Alright, everyone, it's time to sleep. See you tomorrow," Leo said, closing the live stream and returning to his shelter, drifting into a deep sleep.