From Robinson Crusoe

"If you have no objections, I'd like to share my thoughts on this challenge."

From my personal perspective, I believe that the 50 groups of challengers involved in the challenge are purely in a competitive relationship.

Although the challenge has no time limit, the longer it is delayed, the more disadvantageous the conditions become for everyone.

The Time and Space Administration stated in its rules that the Ice Age would arrive more quickly here, and temperatures could even drop to minus 65 degrees Celsius during extreme cold.

Once it drags on to this point, all challengers are basically doomed. Even if they hide in burrows and wait for all the animals outside to die, cutting off their food supply, it won't change the outcome.

In addition, various ferocious wild animals, unknown viruses and bacteria, and environmental threats are always present.

To become the victor as early as possible and avoid relying on consuming food to survive, it's best to take the initiative, find other challengers, and kill or force them out of the arena.

"But……"

Paul interrupted Chen Zhou.

"But the entire site is 60 square kilometers. It is simply unrealistic to search for the other 98 people on such a vast land. As long as they are careful and take the initiative to hide, it would take us ten years to find them all."

"Therefore, it is almost inevitable that we will have to rely on consuming resources to survive. Even if we eliminate all the challengers we encounter, there will still be 'rats' hiding in corners, waiting for the Ice Age to arrive, and then relying on our stored food to achieve victory."

To outlast these rats, we must secure all available resources while minimizing consumption.

I think that since the 'rats' have chosen to avoid war, they won't risk fighting for airdrop supplies, lest they be caught by the swarming warmongers.

Every time they evade battle and relinquish supplies, the scales of victory tip in favor of the adventurers.

If the conflict truly comes to a head, as long as the teams that have received supplies multiple times don't suffer serious losses or irreparable damage during the struggle for them, the 'rats' won't be able to outlast them.

Chen Zhou analyzed the situation as he saw it for Paul, and then asked one last question.

"Paul, have you experienced the challenges from the Time and Space Administration?"

Paul shook his head, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"No, this is my first time participating in the 'Rust' project. The mortality rate of this experiment is very high. Only one or two people in each batch can survive to complete the challenge."

Are you someone who has completed the challenge before?

Also in this arena of the Time and Space Administration, Chen Zhou did not hide the fact that this was his second time participating in the challenge.

"yes.

My analysis comes not only from the rules, but also from my understanding of the Time and Space Administration.

I don't know how the Time and Space Administration is defined in your world.

In my opinion, however, such a passive attitude of avoiding war will never lead to a good outcome.

Confrontation and conflict are what the Time and Space Administration wants. If we don't take the initiative, we may be able to live a peaceful life for a while, but in the long run, our fate will be much more tragic than that of the fighters.

Moreover, I suspect that the rewards from the airdrop supplies must be substantial, and they might even play a decisive role in this challenge.

If we don't strive for it with all our might, we will definitely regret it later.

After Chen Zhou admitted that he had completed one challenge, Paul's gaze towards him immediately changed—

In the great Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, even the most fearless warrior would find it difficult to choose to continue and participate in a second challenge after completing one.

They would rather dedicate the rest of their lives to scientific research and do something more meaningful for society than sacrifice their lives prematurely.

The soldiers selected for the "Rust" project are all chosen from among thousands.

After completing their training, 5000 participants entered the "Rust" base, but often only one or two people left, and sometimes none of them survived.

According to the returning heroes, the challenges they faced were all different. Some tested their observation and logical thinking skills, some their endurance, some their adaptability, and some their knowledge reserves. In short, it was impossible to specifically train an all-around participant to take on the challenge.

The blue light inside the base flickered on and off. To ordinary people, it was only a matter of less than a second, but to the participants, it was a long torment that lasted for years or even decades.

Many lives are extinguished in a brief flash, and their fathers, mothers, wives, children, and friends will never see their faces again.

This is so cruel that even high-ranking officials with firm beliefs are unwilling to let their children participate. Instead, they offer huge rewards to attract young people from ordinary families who aspire to become heroes to take on the challenge.

This is precisely what highlights the preciousness of the spirit of those who dare to participate in a second challenge.

Even in the Soviet Union, which had organized more than a dozen "Rust" projects, there were only a handful of such people, each of whom was world-renowned.

Paul grew up bathed in the glory of these heroes and aspired to become one of them from a young age.

He never expected that he would encounter such a great person on his first attempt at the challenge, and a hint of admiration appeared in his eyes.

Putting yourself in his shoes, if he had completed the challenge once, he would absolutely not have been able to muster the courage to participate in a second challenge.

After all, the privileges and rewards that returning heroes can obtain are too tempting. An iron will will not succumb to hardship, but it is possible to become addicted to the sweet ocean and unable to extricate oneself.

……

Although puzzled by Paul's fanatical gaze, Chen Zhou continued his narration.

In conclusion, he believes the key to this challenge lies in airdropped supplies.

However, airdrop supplies are delivered irregularly, so their initial preparations should revolve around competing for supplies, including selecting suitable locations to build temporary shelters, preparing food and weapons, exploring the terrain to confirm their location, and ideally, acquiring a means of transportation if possible.

During the Pleistocene, there were many giant beasts in Eurasia capable of carrying people. Aurochs, Siberian bison, giant deer, woolly rhinoceros, and blubberyur all had the potential to serve as mounts. If they could be tamed, their mobility would be greatly enhanced.

Paul agreed with this.

The veteran has already completed the challenge once, and his insights are definitely more reasonable than those of this "rookie." Moreover, even from his partner's perspective, he can't find anything wrong with his analysis.

After outlining the general objectives, Chen Zhou then explained in detail the details regarding the selection of the shelter location.

If you're surviving in the wilderness, in order to conserve your energy, it's best to choose a sheltered low-lying area or build a shelter in the forest in places with large temperature differences between day and night and frequent strong winds.

A sheltered spot can prevent fat loss and is beneficial for a long-term battle.

But Chen Zhou felt that a good view was more important than shelter from the wind.

He was willing to sacrifice some physical strength and go through more trouble to set up the shelter on a high slope or mountainside, just so that he could know its exact location as soon as the airdropped supplies arrived, and thus be one step ahead of others.

At the same time, the high vantage point also provides an effective overview of the land, allowing one to monitor the movements of other challengers.

If other challengers take a chance and start a fire in the forest or grassland, the smoke will rise.

On a clear day, he can see from the mountaintop even dozens of kilometers away.

As the saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle." Since we have chosen to take the lead in the war, information must be given top priority.

In the event of conflict, any unexpected enemy movement can be fatal. ...

"The challenge has just begun tonight, and the other challengers besides us won't have much time to explore the surrounding environment."

Nighttime is the peak time for wild animals to be active, and you are very likely to encounter wild beasts after leaving the campfire.

We currently lack suitable weapons and sufficient medical supplies, and injuries sustained in battles with wild animals would severely disrupt our progress.

I suggest we take turns keeping watch, hold out until tonight, and then move out tomorrow at dawn. We can choose a location for the shelter while exploring the surrounding terrain and hunting.

We must first solve the problems of food and water; otherwise, all this talk is just empty talk.

After finishing his speech, seeing that Paul had no objections, Chen Zhou used a wooden stick to sweep down a patch of weeds around him, then pulled over his protective suit and spread it on the ground, using the wooden stick as a pillow to close his eyes.

Paul's "post-traumatic stress disorder" had not yet fully healed. He sat by the campfire, occasionally breaking off a branch and adding it to the fire, gazing at the leaping flames as he waited for dawn.

……

The distant mountains were dark and gloomy, the wilderness was overcast, and dark clouds swallowed up the stars and moon.

The half-dried firewood crackled intermittently in the fire, emphasizing the silence. The wind blowing through the edge of the woodland was exceptionally cold, making one shiver involuntarily.

In such an environment, Paul's mind was inevitably tense.

The campfire brought him some warmth, and by its light, he organized his survival tools, selecting a straight and sturdy stick, and began whittling both ends—

Not wanting to waste time, he tried to make two wooden spears overnight.

Throwing weapons represent a major step in human evolution. With the help of stones, wooden spears, and bows and arrows, humans were able to attack wild animals from a safe distance, thus achieving harmless hunting.

Paul felt that, under these conditions, two wooden spears were undoubtedly the easiest to manufacture and the most practical weapons.

If he can successfully make two handy wooden spears tonight, it will save him a lot of effort for tomorrow's hunt.

……

The sound of a knife whittling wood rang out continuously, and the wood shavings piled up into a small, yellowish-brown mound on the ground.

Paul lowered his head, focusing intently on sharpening the spearhead to a point.

The surroundings were as quiet as ever; even the cries of unknown wild animals had disappeared, and it seemed that there was nothing else but the sound of the wind.

Suddenly, a gap appeared in the dark clouds in the sky, revealing a sliver of pale moonlight.

Paul had just finished carving a spear and was about to choose a second stick to continue making it when he turned around and found that Chen Zhou, who had been lying quietly on the ground, had sat up and was staring silently into the abyss-like night.

"what happened?"

"Shh..."

Chen Zhou gestured for him to be quiet, and narrowed his eyes slightly.

In the distance, amidst a thick carpet of wild grass, a group of wild animals were walking toward the edge of the woodland.

They resemble African hyenas, but have longer fur, are larger, and are more robust. Their bodies are dotted with spots, and they travel in groups of two or three, forming groups of up to 16 individuals as they roam among the low grass.

When Chen Zhou heard their footsteps, they were about 300 meters away from the campfire. When he sat up, the wild beasts were only 280 meters away from the campfire.

Although they are not moving fast, if they do not change direction and continue to move here, they will encounter Chen Zhou and Paul soon.

"It's a cave hyena."

Remembering the rules of the challenge, Chen Zhou lowered his voice and said to Paul.

Cave hyenas are much larger than African spotted hyenas. Like spotted hyenas, females are larger and males are smaller.

Chen Zhou estimated that the largest cave hyena in the distance weighed about 90 kilograms, while the others were slightly smaller. Even the smallest one weighed over 40 kilograms, making this pack of wild beasts a significant threat to them.

As far as he knew, cave hyenas were extremely ferocious animals that lived in packs during the Pleistocene and fed on Przewalski's horses.

When food is scarce, they hunt woolly rhinoceroses weighing several tons in packs, competing with cave bears, cave lions, wolves, and wolverines for prey. Under extreme conditions, they may even resort to cannibalism.

Moreover, cave hyenas were also Neanderthals' mortal enemies. They fought fiercely with human ancestors for caves and food, and humans even included these battles in their diet.

Compared to other wild animals, cave hyenas are much more likely to launch attacks.

Seeing them walking straight toward the campfire, Chen Zhou had reason to believe that they had already smelled his and Paul's scent.

Glancing at the vomit not far from the campfire, Chen Zhou figured it was probably these food scraps Paul had vomited that had attracted the cave hyenas.

Cave hyenas not only hunt live prey but are also scavengers, possessing an extremely keen sense of smell.

……

"Get ready for battle!"

Chen Zhou reminded Paul, and without waiting for Paul's reply, he reached out and picked up the wooden spear that had just been sharpened from beside him.

"There are 16 in total, the largest of which weighs over 90 kilograms, making it very difficult to handle."

It's to the northwest, about 250 meters away from us now, and we expect to arrive in about two minutes.

Find more flammable materials and make the fire burn brighter. If there's still time, open your military knife, fix it to a wooden stick with shoelaces, and use it as a long gun for now.

Let's see if we can inflict damage first, then scare them away with fire. If that doesn't work, we'll climb trees. Cave hyenas can't climb, so if we drag this out long enough, they'll leave on their own.

However, this is a poor strategy. We haven't eaten yet, and the longer we drag this out, the worse it will be for us. If they refuse to leave, we'll be in big trouble.

Not to mention that we're in the early stages of a challenge, time is the most precious resource, and we can't afford to waste any time.

As he spoke, Chen Zhou took two steps forward, facing the direction from which the hyena pack was approaching.

During his travels in Africa over the past two years, he had many close encounters with lion prides in protected areas. He also had dealings with spotted hyenas, known as the second-largest lion in Africa, and even shot and killed a 200-kilogram male lion with a shotgun.

But my state of mind then was completely different from now—

Now he has no invincible gun in his hand, only a newly sharpened spear.

Moreover, hyena prides are much larger than lion prides.

Most importantly, they have no fear of humans. On the contrary, due to their nearly 10,000-year-long "cave battle" with primitive humans, their hatred for humans far exceeds that of other animals.

Given their ferocious nature, even if they are full, they would not let go of any lone humans on the grassland, let alone when their stomachs are empty.

From any perspective, this life-or-death struggle was inevitable. (End of Chapter)