From Robinson Crusoe

The vast twilight quietly descended upon the grassland.

As the sun's rays fade from the gently rising earthen slope, the endless heat bestowed upon the earth by the stars begins to dissipate, and a cool breeze blows across the wilderness.

At the edge of a sparse pine and cypress forest, a few small birch trees were crookedly rooted in the wild grass.

For tens of thousands of years, the climate here has been alternating between glacial and interglacial periods. Tropical plants that once covered Eurasia could not adapt to the cold climate, either shrinking their populations or spreading their seeds to warmer places.

Angiosperms, especially deciduous species, took over the territory left by tropical forests, as they are better adapted to cooler climates.

Besides tall pines and cypresses, the most common plants in the high latitudes of the north are lichens, mosses, and dwarf reeds, occasionally interspersed with small willows and low birches.

……

Of course, in addition to plants that have established themselves in cold regions and mammals that have grown thick fur, insects, witnesses to the history of biological evolution on Earth, are also present.

When Chen Zhou dug the shallow pit, he attracted a swarm of buzzing mosquitoes.

Like some of their modern offspring, they had black and white stripes on their legs, covered in patterns, and danced around Chen Zhou under the influence of the heat source.

Unfortunately, Chen Zhou's enhanced skin was too tough. The mosquitoes tried for a long time but failed to insert their mouthparts. They could only whine helplessly, flap their wings, and return empty-bellied.

When the faint blue halo appeared at the edge of the woodland, they shamelessly approached, trying to gain some benefit from it.

……

Chen Zhou slowly stood up, watching the enormous body in the halo fall to the ground from a height of about 1 meter. He couldn't help but pick up a wooden stick beside him, his heart filled with vigilance.

He didn't know if this person was his companion or if he had any ill intentions.

Given the unknown circumstances, we must be prepared for battle at any time.

Even if this person is his belated partner, who knows if he is trustworthy?

If this person also intends to kill their companion and seize their survival tools, wouldn't they be putting themselves in danger if they are completely unprepared?

Of course, if the person showed no malice and could be confirmed as an accomplice, Chen Zhou would not take advantage of the situation to kill him.

After all, the challengers all work in groups.

In this perilous and primitive land, the effect of the two working together is far more than just 1+1=2.

Building shelter and hunting are secondary; the main concern is that if one of the two is injured, the companion must take care of them. Even if the injury cannot be treated quickly, at least they can get some food so that the companion doesn't starve to death.

At the same time, partners can develop more tactics, reduce working hours, and increase the chances of winning against other challengers.

Even if he can't do anything right, at least he can talk.

Having experienced living alone on a deserted island, Chen Zhou had had enough of talking to trees and flowers. As long as he wasn't pushed to the brink, he was relatively tolerant.

……

While Chen Zhou was pondering whether the person who appeared out of nowhere was his partner, the tall man who had fallen to the ground had already changed from a curled-up position to a kneeling position.

When his body stretched out, Chen Zhou realized just how enormous the man was.

Since the island survival challenge ended and he returned to the modern world, Chen Zhou's physical condition has changed, and he has also experienced a slight growth spurt, with his height increasing from 184 cm to 187 cm.

His height of nearly 190 cm, coupled with years of high-intensity exercise, has made him far more muscular than the average person.

But compared to this man, his physique paled in comparison.

……

The man kneeling on the ground had dark brown hair, wore a loose camouflage combat uniform, and was estimated to be over 2.1 meters tall with broad shoulders and a burly build.

Viewed from the side, the man has a high nose bridge, a well-defined jawline, and thin lips, exhibiting distinct Slavic features.

Although he was burly, his face did not have the thick beard of a Russian bear in the army. He looked quite young, about twenty-three or twenty-four years old, and had the vigor unique to young people.

Having just experienced a journey across time and space, the man appeared to be in great pain.

He pressed his hands to the ground, bent his back, lowered his head, frowned, closed his eyes, and kept dry heaving.

Soon, the grass was covered with his vomit.

Even though he was so uncomfortable that he vomited up his dinner from the night before, it did not relieve the pain of traveling through time. The man's body twitched slightly, and he used one hand to support his body while covering his stomach with the other, as if his intestines were spasming.

Chen Zhou silently watched him, judging from his heart rate and breathing frequency that the man had not been modified and was just a strong man with above-average physical fitness who could not pose a threat to him. So he put down the wooden stick and continued to make his fire.

……

As he rubbed the thin stick together, trying to create sparks in the tinder, the mosquitoes, having found their new prey, swarmed towards the man.

Clearly, the burly man kneeling on the ground and still vomiting did not have the same amazing "defense" as Chen Zhou. He could neither resist the mosquito attack nor spare the energy to drive away the mosquitoes.

After a hearty meal, the mosquitoes flew away from the strong man's cheek. More mosquitoes, attracted by the carbon dioxide and heat, emerged from the grass roots and branches to join this sweet feast.

Hearing the increasingly annoying buzzing sound, Chen Zhou, who had already lit a tinderbox, used his hand to shield himself from the cold wind at the edge of the woods while gently blowing on the fire.

Seeing the flames gradually spreading on the dry grass, emitting a warm red glow, he quickly added a few larger blades of grass to the flames, along with a few oily pine branches. Then he got up, walked over to the burly man, and swatted a swarm of mosquitoes.

It's not that Chen Zhou can't stand mosquitoes sucking human blood.

He just didn't want to lose this companion.

As the swarm of mosquitoes grows larger, if the prey does not resist, they could actually suck a person to death.

Even if they can't drain a man's blood, if he contracts some kind of primitive malaria and loses his ability to work, it will still be a burden to him.

……

After chasing away the swarm of mosquitoes surrounding the burly man, Chen Zhou returned to the fire and carefully tended to the flame.

Not long after, a bright red flame burst forth under the starry sky more than 10,000 years ago.

Bright tongues of flame flickered and danced in the cold wind.

Insects attracted to light swarmed around the campfire, occasionally crashing into it with a crackling sound.

A few clumps of dark clouds floated in the deep blue sky, and the obscured moonlight outlined the vegetation on the grassland with a layer of frost-like arcs.

Tall grasses undulated like waves in the dark night, stretching into the distance. The distant roars of wild beasts echoed, accompanied by the warning of prey, and the heavy thud of hooves on the ground.

This "musical" started hastily and ended abruptly, concluding with a piercing scream not long after.

……

Chen Zhou poked at the burning firewood with a stick, smelling the unique aroma of pine wood burning in the flames, while glancing at the burly man out of the corner of his eye, and thinking about where to get dinner for tonight.

He knelt on the ground for about 20 minutes before he stood up shakily, weakly picked up a bunch of grass to wipe the vomit from the corner of his mouth, and staggered to the campfire before plopping down on the ground.

By the firelight, the burly man looked at Chen Zhou carefully and tentatively spoke in broken Chinese.

"Thank you, comrade."

Seeing that his partner, who had saved him, did not respond and was still poking at the campfire, the burly man switched to Japanese.

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Zhou turned his head and smiled slightly.

"No need for that. I speak Russian, Comrade."

Upon hearing Chen Zhou's fluent and standard Russian, the burly man's face lit up with joy. He grinned, revealing his white teeth, and extended his hand to Chen Zhou.

"Hello comrade, my name is Pavel Korchagin, what is your name?" Chen Zhou shook hands with the burly man named Pavel in a friendly manner.

"Hello, my name is Chen Zhou."

If I'm not mistaken, this should be your partner for this challenge. I hope we can be the last ones standing.

"Most definitely!"

Paul seemed more confident than Chen Zhou, exuding the fearless spirit of a newborn calf, which inexplicably gave Chen Zhou some confidence.

After a brief self-introduction, Paul, still not fully recovered from the "aftereffects of time travel," fell silent again, staring blankly at the firelight.

Chen Zhou was quite curious about this Slavic man who shared the same name as the protagonist of "How the Steel Was Tempered," so he asked him with great interest.

Do you know Tonya Tumanova?

Tonya Tumanova is Pavel's first love in the book and is one of the most memorable women in his life. Having experienced Robinson Crusoe, Chen Zhou really wanted to know if his partner was a character from the book.

Paul paused for a moment when he heard Chen Zhou's question, then smiled and answered.

"I don't know Tonya Tumanova, but I know she's a character in 'How the Steel Was Tempered'."

I really liked that book, and so did my father, which is why he named me that.

When Paul mentioned "How the Steel Was Tempered," he became noticeably more excited. He spoke rapidly to Chen Zhou about the plot of the book and the "gadfly" spirit that Paul admired.

Before long, he started talking about the movie adapted from "How the Steel Was Tempered" and its global box office of 300 billion rubles, which left Chen Zhou completely confused.

Having lived in modern times for so long, he had never heard of such a popular Russian film. Even if the ruble wasn't as strong as the dollar, 300 billion rubles was still a considerable sum. A film with such box office success would rank among the top in the global film industry. How could he not have seen it?

Instead of directly pointing out the irrationality in Paul's words, they thought that they would have a long time to get to know each other, and these trivial matters could be understood gradually.

Seeing that Paul's complexion was gradually becoming rosy and that he seemed to have regained some strength, Chen Zhou steered the conversation to the main topic and asked Paul what his survival tools were.

……

Paul was having a good time chatting, but when Chen Zhou interrupted him, he didn't seem unhappy.

He had just remembered this, and after being reminded, he quickly began searching his body.

Soon, a multi-functional military knife, a small bottle of disinfectant alcohol, a fire starter, a compass, and a pack of needles and thread were placed next to the campfire.

Chen Zhou frowned as he looked at these small survival tools.

"Damn it, I knew the Time and Space Administration was up to no good..."

If I remember correctly, giant beasts from the Pleistocene epoch were measured in hundreds of kilograms or even tons. True mammoths that lived in Eurasia could reach 4 meters in height and weigh up to 8 tons.

The steppe mammoth, which also belongs to the mammoth genus, was even larger, with a shoulder height that could reach 4.5m and a weight limit of 10 tons.

Besides these two herbivorous giants, the male cave bear, which also lives in the mammoth steppe of Eurasia, can reach a size of about one ton.

Faced with such a behemoth, the Time and Space Administration only gave us small daggers less than 20cm long. They're treating us like Superman, giving us way too much credit..."

"Not to mention, in addition to the prehistoric creatures living in Eurasia, the Time and Space Administration also brought other ferocious beasts from the same period here."

The giant bear with slender teeth, the saber-toothed tiger, the North American cheetah, and the dire wolf are all formidable opponents.

Judging from this situation, most challengers probably won't even make it to the day they have to fight their own kind before they die under the claws of wild beasts.

Compared to the difficulty of the isolated island, this is the real challenge.

While silently criticizing the Time and Space Administration and pondering what weapons to manufacture and what traps to dig to hunt giant beasts and defend against their attacks, Chen Zhou hadn't yet come up with a suitable plan when Paul asked him a question.

"Excuse me, Comrade Chen Zhou, may I take a look at your survival tools?"

Hearing this, Chen Zhou blushed.

"Survival tools? What survival tools?"
I didn't even see it. If you hadn't come, I would have gone and stolen someone else's.

"Those damn Time and Space Administration brought me here without my consent, and then they even embezzled my survival tools! Who can I complain to?"

Of course, he could only mutter these words to himself. On the surface, Chen Zhou could only sigh and helplessly point to the protective suit lying to the side.

Watching the naive, large Paul pick up the protective suit and search for usable tools on it, finally revealing a disappointed expression, Chen Zhou couldn't help but want to laugh.

Well, this time one person's pain has become two people's helplessness.

Although the protective suit was still useless, seeing Paul's disgusted expression made him feel a little better.

……

"There's nothing I can do, I'm just unlucky."

Look at your tools, at least they're all useful. Now look at mine.

Sigh, I guess everyone has their own destiny, so let's just go with the flow...

Patting Paul on the shoulder to comfort the big man, Chen Zhou's expression changed, and he began to talk seriously about practical issues.

"Right now, these are all the tools we have. We have no food, no shelter, no water, and no weapons."

Before the first supply drop arrives, we must at least ensure our own survival.

Maintaining physical strength and combat capability, and avoiding injury and illness, is essential to being competitive in the struggle for airdrop supplies.

Sensing the change in atmosphere, Paul's expression turned serious. He stood up straight and replied in a deep voice, "Understood."

"Alright, I should be a few years older than you, and I should have more knowledge about wilderness survival and hunting."

If you don't mind, I'll arrange the rest of the operation.

Seeing that Paul was very obedient, Chen Zhou decided to take the initiative and seize command for himself.

On the one hand, he is indeed much more mature than he looks, and on the other hand, he is used to ordering others around.

Even if Paul wasn't one of the natives on the island, but a modern man from another world, he still wouldn't be willing to take orders or consult with others.

This is no child's play; any carelessness could cost you your life.

Fighting against a harsh natural environment is difficult enough, let alone having to contend with ferocious beasts and the most difficult opponents among their own kind.

Under no circumstances would Chen Zhou entrust his safety to Paul, a naive Soviet soldier, unless Paul could demonstrate abilities that would impress him.

"no problem."

Faced with Chen Zhou's demands, Paul demonstrated the excellent obedience expected of a fine soldier.

"However, Comrade Chen Zhou, if your decision is too irrational, or if your arrangements cause us to be injured or suffer serious losses, I will no longer follow your orders."

This is a matter of principle.

Until then, I will obey all your arrangements and do my best to cooperate with all your actions.

You are my only ally in this challenge, and I will trust you completely. I hope you can trust me too.

"No problem, Comrade Paul, we'll have a pleasant working relationship!"

Under the witness of the campfire, Chen Zhou reached out and shook hands tightly with Paul.

At least on the surface, their smiles appeared bright and genuine. Whether the collaboration could continue smoothly depended on whether they could truly "trust each other." (End of Chapter)